Christian Mystic

The Mystic One – Chapter One

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Daniel

“Poppy, with your book, just spread the love of Jesus.” — Emma, age 11

Message From Jesus

Prelude – Captain’s log, stardate: 10182021

One morning I awoke to Jesus standing at my bedside.  How long was he watching me sleep? With a huge smile on his face, reflecting an infectious joy bursting from his being, he spoke: “Daniel, Go and tell all your friends that if they want to get to know me…” 

At this point, Jesus showed me a vision of me holding up a Bible open to the Gospel of John pointing to chapter one. 

Jesus began to share this message: 

“Marinate your mind in this Gospel.  Just as Namaan immersed himself seven times in the Jordan River to receive healing for his physical leprosy (a deadly lack of feeling and sensitivity), so now immerse yourself and marinate your mind in the truth of this Gospel to receive healing for your spiritual leprosy. Refresh yourself in this life-giving message of the Gospel of John as many times as it takes and receive all the healing you need.” 

Knowing Jesus Christ is Everything! 

I am interested in discovering what the Apostle Paul was on about when he said, “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christand become one with him.” (Philippians 3:8-11 NLT)

Are you curious to know for yourself the “infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus” that Paul was so obsessed with? Are you curious what it means to “become one with Christ”? 

Me too.

Jesus said, “If you want to get to know me…” 

Ball’s in your court 🎾 

ACTIVATION:

The Gospel of John is a witness, a testimony, with the express purpose of connecting you in relationship with Jesus. Written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by Jesus’ close and dear friend John, who identified himself as, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, this Gospel’s purpose is that we might know we possess “eternal life” (John 20:31, 1 John 5:13). Jesus defines eternal life as an experiential knowing — as a relationship — with his Father and with himself (John 17:3). John presents Jesus as the One who is eternal Life (1 John 5:20). 

Your Challenge: 

Schedule at least two hours (and yes, I just googled: “How long does it take to read the Gospel of John?”) where you can be alone and undisturbed. Grab a Bible, (I would suggest a good readable translation such as the New Living Translation or The Passion Translation) and read through the entire Gospel of John! And, most importantly, never forget to invite the Author, the always present and available Holy Spirit of Truth who always leads us into all truth, to reveal Jesus and elucidate his Word to you as you read.

———

“CUT!” <end scene>

“Okay, that’s a wrap people. I think he nailed it. We were worried that he was going to get a little preachy and pretentious, but he pared it down quite a bit in the plethora of edits, making so many improvements by removing all of his sass, and most importantly, he seems to have remembered that he actually loves people. I think the opening quote from his daughter is going to help guide the message and tone of the book in a really good direction that we can all get behind. I think Jesus would be proud. And who knows, Daniel seems to think they will go for this challenge…”

p.s.

I am reminded of the time when Jesus knocked the religious wind out of me (in much the same way as when Fezzik knocked the wind out of Wesley… you know, in that scene in the movie Princess Bride, when Fezzik slams Wesley back against the rock wall to dislodge Wesley because Wesley was on his back slowly choking him out to put him to sleep? Remember?) with the following verse from the Gospel of John some 20+ years ago:

“You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.” — John 5:39, The Message

Okay, so that was definitely NOT the translation I first read it in… but, I like it! 

Here’s the version I first read it in:

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” — John 5:39 NKJV

Basically, what this Scripture is saying is that you are holding up your bible in front of Jesus’ face while simultaneously wondering where Jesus is. (That last sentence was from my daughter Emma.) I have now come to see, based on what Jesus says, that the Scriptures are not enough. You need more! You need what the Scriptures have always been “testifying of”!

My point is this:

“The Bible is the treasure map. Jesus is the treasure.”

It is known that first century life in Israel was very religious. Every boy was raised in a religious community that met in synagogue every Sabbath with the reading of the Scriptures. Every man was trained to the point where they could read from the Tanakh, and were expected to, beginning at the age of thirty. This is why Jesus was thirty years of age before he began his public ministry.

And yet, in spite of this biblically literate population of first century Jews, the Gospel of John informs us that Jesus, “came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.” (John 1:10-11 NLT) 

As Paul Young says, “When Jesus showed up he was not recognizable inside the paradigm that religion had constructed.” Our paradigms… our perspectives through which we view reality, have always been the problem. Our sight needs healing but we cannot be healed from our blindness if we still claim we can see (John 9). 

All that to say, the reality of Jesus is WAY beyond and far superior to the mere curriculum of the Scriptures, all of which were only intended to introduce you to the very real experience of his friendship! (According to Jesus).  

This is NOT however intended in any form or fashion to dismiss, denigrate, disparage, or even to dissuade you from making a lifelong study of every word of Scripture! Memorize the whole blessed thing! There is no fault in loving God with all your mind! It’s part of the GREATEST commandment!

“One of them (a Pharisee), an expert in religious law, tried to trap him (Jesus) with this question: 

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. — Matthew 22:36-38 NLT

 Saul (who we have now come to know as the apostle Paul), a disciple of the renowned rabbi Gamaliel, and a self proclaimed Pharisee of Pharisees, no doubt was well familiar with the whole of Scripture. But, with all of his religious zeal and devotion, and memorized Scripture, did he love God with all his heart, all his soul, and all his mind? 

His legacy is as one who formerly persecuted followers of Christ, hunting them like the SS of the Nazi regime and hounding them to imprisonment and even death. That is, until he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. 

You know what I’m thinking? I’m thinking that since this is a book dedicated to encounters with Jesus, we ought to honor the apostle Paul’s encounter with Jesus by devoting some space right here and now to Paul’s encounter with Jesus! (I probably could have saved some space in this book by trimming the fat off of that previous sentence… and definitely NOT including this current sentence that you are, in fact, right now reading, about me explaining how I should have more thoroughly edited the previous sentence… which you have to admit, was not really quite as efficient as it should or could have been written… in my opinion… actually, when I think about it, this whole paragraph could likely be deleted and no one would even miss it. Does it say anything useful at all? At this point I would likely argue that humor is always useful and this very lengthy paragraph does amuse me… I find it cathartic to ramble on so and torment my readers with my trivial sense of humor… tra-la-la.)

And so, without any further ado, the conversion of the apostle Paul:

“But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priestand asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he traveled, he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him. He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

He said, “Who are you, Lord?”

The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It’s hard for you to kick against the cattle prods. Rise up and enter into the city, then you will be told what you must do.”

The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one. Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. They led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. He was without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank.

Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

He said, “Behold, it’s me, Lord.”

The Lord said to him, “Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judah for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight.”

But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he did to your saints at Jerusalem. Here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

Ananias departed and entered into the house. Laying his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his sight. He arose and was baptized. He took food and was strengthened. Saul stayed several days with the disciples who were at Damascus. Immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that he is the Son of God. All who heard him were amazed, and said, “Isn’t this he who in Jerusalem made havoc of those who called on this name? And he had come here intending to bring them bound before the chief priests!”

But Saul increased more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived at Damascus, proving that this is the Christ…”

(and then… and then… there was this whole plot to murder him… and then…etc…etc… and, don’t you wish you could read the rest of the story for yourself? Well, have I got news for you! You can! Paul’s story (as well as all of his supporting cast and crew, past, present, and future) has been published and is widely circulated in this book called the Bible. What you just read was from Acts chapter 9:1-22 in the WEB 🕸️ translation. All the spidermen of the multiverse convened at the council of “Let’s make a translation that is practically copyright and hassle free for people (such as Daniel) to copy and paste large portions of into another book that someone (likely named Daniel) is going to write, so that he doesn’t have to worry about getting sued by a Bible translation company” and made the WEB translation. Very nice of you guys! Thanks Peter Parkers! Thanks Spidermen! We love y’all!)

Jesus partnered with and inspired Saul, (who we know as Paul), to write a huge portion of the New Covenant (the New Testament). God enlivened and restored every bit of that investment Saul made in God’s word; for as the Scripture says, “My word does not return void but accomplishes the purpose for which I sent it.” And what is the purpose for which God has sent his word? Jesus enlightens us regarding this in the Gospel of John:

For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” — John 12:49-50 NASB

Father’s command is eternal life! Well isn’t that somethin’? Maybe we should look into that? Perhaps we ought to even do like a research project on this… ya know?

<I want to, at this point, wrap up this chapter by telling you of one of my encounters with the Gospel of John that saved my life:>

I thought I was LOST… like, for good. Do you know what that feels like? If you do, I am SO sorry! But, not to worry, I am your poster boy of hope. Yes, there is hope for the lost! Here is my story (at least one of the many thousands of stories you’ll likely find interesting):

I was reading the Gospel of John one day many, many, moons ago, (this was definitely before Blockbuster and Radio Shack went out of business, and perhaps even before Al Gore invented the internet) looking for a loophole in the Scripture for Daniel to find salvation… and I found it! It was right there in John 6:37:

“However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.” — Jesus, John 6:37 NLT

Jesus, who cannot lie, has promised to receive (and NOT reject) ALL who come to him! 

“I am coming to you, Jesus! Ha! In your face, Jesus! No matter what kind of a jerk you and I both suspect I am, you can’t get rid of me now! You HAVE to receive me! You promised! Even if I turn out to be an incorrigible  brat like that boy in the book “The Ransom of Red Chief”and totally drive you crazy!”

I actually thought I caught Jesus in THE GREATEST cosmic mystical glorious loophole of any century… an’ dag’gummit, I was tickled pink!

“He tricked hisself into guaranteeing my acceptance… and I caught him! Can you believe that? …I feel SO smart! I feel like Sherlock Holmes er somethin’!”

Okay… so, I admit, that was my broken perspective at the time.

The truth is, (and Jesus backs me up on this point), I am a gift to Jesus from the Father. The Father gave me to Jesus. This is shown by the fact that I came to Jesus. The Father doesn’t give crap gifts to his Son. He only gives good gifts to his Son. 

“You, Daniel, are a good gift to my Son,” Father declares.

Father says the same to you:

“You,             _______ (<— insert your name here), are a good gift to my Son, Jesus.”

And Jesus promises to give eternal life to all those who the Father has given him… ALL those who come to him. Here is the evidence:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” — Jesus, John 17:2-3 NKJV

These verses, and much much more, from the Gospel of John have formed a proof, like a mathematical proof from geometry class, so that I can know with absolute certainty that I possess eternal life! 

I am IN!!! I am secure in the love and care of my Good Shepherd and my loving Papa! I am secure and safe in his family and this shall never be revoked… an’ y’all are IN too!!!

You can have this same assurance!

Say it with me:

“I am secure in the love and care of my Good Shepherd and my loving Papa.” 

The Gospel of John saved my life! Jesus restored me to LIFE… just like Lazarus, he has brought me back to life (John 11), by the power of his word! I now know Jesus, the Mystic One, who is my Salvation!

You can too! Are you up for that Gospel of John reading challenge?

p.p.s.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this. I appreciate you! I do have a request… would you pray for me? Send me some positive vibes… a warm thought… thank Jesus for me. Would you download a sample of this book? At the time of this writing there are links at daniellovett.com to take you to thechristianmystic.org where you can download the free sample of The Mystic One (it is currently titled The Christian Mystic, sorry for the confusion on that point. God told me to rename it.)

If you want to go above and beyond, please consider subscribing to my Youtube channel “Awakening with Daniel Lovett“, please like and share this brand new first chapter. Leave me a comment here or on the Youtube channel to tell me what you think!

You are loved! You are seen! You are appreciated! You are honored! You are!

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What is a Christian Mystic?

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Daniel

A good friend asked me today what a Christian Mystic is. I laughed.

I told him, “You are going to be SO excited once you discover for yourself how adventurous and fun a relationship with Jesus Christ can be. Being a Christian Mystic means you are experiencing God for yourself. You get to enjoy the dynamic, adventurous, fun person of Jesus. Your very best friend.”

Being a Christian mystic is an experience of our union with God.

Paul writes: “I am struggling for you… that you may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:1-3

The Bible says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”

The Bible just isn’t enough!

The reason I say that is because Jesus does! This Scripture used to describe me so well:

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.” John 5:39-40 NLT

I have now come to see, based on what Jesus says, that the Scriptures are far from complete. You need more.

“hmmm… are you sure you want to phrase it that way Daniel?”
“Uhhh… yea, I guess so.”
“Ok. I guess you like getting persecuted or something don’t you?”

My point is this:

“The Bible is the treasure map. Jesus is the treasure.”

Listen, the religious of Jesus day practically had the Bible memorized! Rob Bell points out in his talk “Dust”. In Jesus day, most Jewish boys by the age of 10 would have the Torah memorized. Genesis through Deuteronomy memorized. Those who showed promise as a good and bright student were accepted as disciples of a Rabbi. (Do yourself a favor and click the above link to Rob Bell’s talk). It was these exceptionally bright and promising students who had the entire Bible memorized who grew up and became the men who rejected their own Messiah and King and crucified him.

So yea, Jesus came to a culture well versed in Scripture yet they missed recognizing their own Messiah. They refused to come to, and submit to Jesus. They didn’t “know” him. How different are we?

Eternal life is found in relationship with the Living God. A real relationship with a real person. You are “saved” by knowing him.

Jesus will one day say to all those who didn’t know him: “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” ~ Jesus Matthew 7:21-23 NLT

After all, it is knowing Jesus that is the very definition of eternal life (John 17). God is a very relational God. It is ALL about relationship.

What does it mean in the above verse to “do the will of the Father?” What is the will of the Father?

Well, from my studies in Scripture, the Father’s will is found in believing and loving Jesus and equally important, to love others. And God tells us we can’t possibly hope to love God or others without first being loved, without first receiving His love. So receiving and basking in the love of God is the first step to our love bankrupt hearts toward the will of the Father. So essentially, the Father’s will is to love you.

I believe that above all else God is asking you, “will you let me love you?”

Will we have the courage to stand in his love or will we be cowards that run and avoid and evade him – for all the various insane reasons we choose to do that?

God himself is that supply of love by which we can do what he wills. There is no love apart from God, for God is love (1 John 4).

“God is love… in whom we live and move and have our being.” – Bible

This idea has completely transformed the way I view reality. A paradigm shift took place as I began to believe and meditate on this. All of life becomes a mystical God experience when we realize this and practice the presence of God.

WHY THE WORD MYSTIC?

Well, because “mystic” is a Christian word that describes our “knowing” – our experience of God. Time spent in conversation with God can be something of a magical exhilarating experience. It can get pretty wild and wonderful. And also, due mainly to our unbelief, it can be a very frightening experience.

In order to not be stricken with stark terror and have a psychological meltdown when coming into his Presence, I would advise you to believe the Gospel – the Good News of Jesus. He has already single handedly saved you and it’s not your fault. As one translation of a verse says,

Ephesians 2:7-10The Message (MSG)

7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Yes, a brush with the Divine can be dangerous but you are bound to encounter him one day very soon anyway. Wouldn’t it be foolish not to get to know him now?

There is a quote from Narnia when one of the children asked if Aslan was safe:

“Safe? Who said anything about safe?

‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”

More from brother John on the subject:

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John Crowder Mystical School (Testimony)

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Daniel

(Here is the music I’m listening to while I write this)

Yes, I went to a John Crowder Mystical School. After all, he came to Wisconsin just for me. Well, not really, but I’d like to think so.

I first heard about John Crowder from a friend of mine on the same day the Lord answered one of my craziest prayers in a unique way. I had prayed to time travel. He answered my prayer that same day and ten years before. Read all about it here.

My friend said, “It sounds to me like you’ve been on a Jesus Trip.” He then told me about John Crowder. When I got home I checked out John’s Jesus Trip videos on Youtube and was hooked. Here was a man with an incredible gift. He had such a firm grasp on the Gospel of Grace and the gift of intelligence and a sharp wit. His talk reminded me of the times I had watched Gilmore Girls with my wife. If you have ever heard the dialogue in that show, you get the picture. Succinct, witty, and VERY humorous. (And I’d warrant that this is likely the first time John Crowder has ever been compared to the Gilmore Girls.) Most people have to painstakingly edit their videos to get it to be as snappy and succinct as John Crowder was just naturally without any editing.

The best part about watching John’s “Jesus Trips” is that they are infused and just simply swimming in the joy of the Good News of Jesus. His talks are centered on Jesus Christ and the cross.  He actually seems to think Jesus pulled something off, as if Jesus really actually accomplished something on the cross! What a novel idea. What a breath of fresh air when contrasted with the stagnant lifeless nature of some “do-it-yourself-religion” clubs I have witnessed over the years.

Over the past couple years, if I got depressed, I’d listen to John and be laughing once again. Giddy with the Joy of Jesus – the Joy that IS Jesus. John became a friend on the journey. I learned SO much about the finished work of the cross.

But along the way, a friend of mine, who I had poured out my heart and shared my story with, called John a false teacher. I told him that if he judged John, he was judging me. I defended John. Even though John has done a great deal to make himself an easy target for persecution (by having a bit of fun!), I defended him. Even though I may disagree with him on some points (because I still insist on being wrong about a few things – LOL), I defended him. Because I believe Jesus would have and does.

My friend had no evidence for his evil suspicion and rash judgement. He had absolutely nothing based on actual Scripture which tells us exactly what to look for in false teachers.

So John Crowder gets excited about the supernatural. Don’t you? And if not, why not? I picked up his earliest book all about the supernatural events in church history that often get overlooked or ignored or (and most often) swept under the rug. I have witnessed this myself how a Moody publication (Moody is where I went to Bible college) cut out the bit about holy laughter from a testimony of a famous saint in church history.

I’m not going to lie to you, I love my brother John Crowder. He has helped me immensely. This doesn’t mean I think he is without his flaws or weaknesses (Though Christ views him as perfect – because that’s what the cross was for – to render sinners perfect, and really isn’t his the only perspective that should matter?) and I don’t think you can build a solid life of following Jesus by limiting yourself to his teaching and guidance alone. We all need each other in the body of Christ. As the apostle Paul wrote about here:

“The body (of Christ) is a unit, though it is comprised of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

14For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. 15If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

18But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” 22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, 24whereas our presentable parts have no such need.

But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

So there you have it. We all serve a part and function and need one another. John Crowder is vital to the body. Joel Osteen is vital to the body. And the real stretch, even John McArther is vital to the body. I know, right?

And yet, Joel Osteen, another brother in Christ, was labeled as a false teacher as well! Can you believe it?!? And why? Was it because Joel doesn’t say “Jesus” enough in his sermons or doesn’t minister the way the “watchdogs for the faith” think he should? Yet here is what Joel Osteen declares on his website about the Lord Jesus:

“Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood for our sins. We believe that salvation is found by placing our faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross. We believe Jesus rose from the dead and is coming again.”

(More on this plague of heresy hunting in another post maybe).

My Mystical School Experience

First of all how can I sum up three days in one blog post? I can’t and won’t.

I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous about going. I loved John’s Jesus trip videos on Youtube which are all very lucid and amazing but then, I had also seen film of his meetings which looked very strange to me. In them, John was behaving like he was drunk and often said strange things like, “grab your neighbor by the earlobe and tell them…” or “slap your sweaty palm on someones head and…” The audience too seemed inebriated in these videos and laughed a great deal. “What kind of a circus is this?”

But then I’d ask myself, “When did I become a stodgy judgmental religious prick to judge them for an experience that I can’t yet relate to? ” I also remembered this quote:

“Those Who Hear Not the Music Think The Dancer is Mad”

So what is this music they are hearing? It certainly seems to make them happy. I could use some happy. Was I willing to join with these and risk being judged myself? Was I willing to hear the music or to metaphorically drink whatever they were drinking, myself?

I woke up Thursday morning the day before the conference and I heard God say clearly to me, “I don’t want you to go.” I argued with him all day Thursday and Friday and figured since he didn’t say, “I command you not to go”, I went anyway… with my guard WAY up.

(About hearing the voice of God. Isn’t it funny that we trust our own ability to hear God clearly? I mean what if this wasn’t God? It might not have been. I was pretty sure it was, but who knows? We have to be humble in recognizing that we don’t always hear clearly.)

I sat in the back and that whole first day had a knot in my stomach. The reason for that was because he was covering the material that I had read about in his book I already owned. Among other things, he talked about teleportation miracles throughout church history and even up to the present. Ok so John got a few details wrong about the Joshua Mills teleportation story, so what? This was the very topic that, when I brought it up in a blog post, caused the most trouble and garnered the most rejection I’ve ever had due to a blog post. It’s now my most popular blog post. Go figure.

I met a man who also attended the meeting who shared his testimony with us. He is an older saint who came to Jesus during the Jesus Movement of the 70’s in the most remarkable way. He was with a friend in a car driving somewhere to get drugs and suddenly he was teleported out of his car and into the heavenlies where he was directly confronted by God himself about how he was choosing to live his life. He experienced such a wonderous love in God’s presence that he gave his heart to Jesus. He came back into the vehicle to hear his friend, scared out of his mind, shouting, “Where did you go?” He says he has been a Jesus freak ever since. (I truly wish you could hear him tell his story for himself).

Well, that Friday night I prayed and asked God why he didn’t want me to go. That night God gave me a very vivid dream:

John had moved to town and was a do-it-all-himself carpenter and was building a house for my friends mom. She was anxious to move in but the place wasn’t ready. John needed help and asked me to consult and even be subcontracted. I walked though the house. The house was mostly built, and built well, but the part he could not get right were the stairs. It was a multilevel house and none of the levels were connected.

A spiral staircase lay sideways in the hall that you had to duck to get under. Parts of it were unstable and dangerous. Especially for children. As I walked through the house examining it, I couldn’t quite make sense of how to fit in the stairs either. I knew he needed to deconstruct some parts of it but I couldn’t help him. When my friends mom walked in and confronted him, he shrugged it off with a grin.

As I woke my thought was that the house represented a functional spiritual life as disciple of Jesus Christ. John alone was not the end-all-be-all and could never provide the whole package that people desperately need to live a functioning Christian life. We all need each other, remember? We need the five fold ministry at work in the body of Christ. We need Pastors (which John clearly says he isn’t), Teachers, Apostles, Evangelists, and Prophets.

We need all the spiritual gifts operating in the body. Here is a bit on Spiritual Gifts from Wikepedia (the most accurate and trusted source for solid information on the web – because experts like you and me get to write it ourselves!):

“Kingly” gifts are those involving church administration or government. Others categorize them into “gifts of knowledge” (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, distinguishing between spirits), “gifts of speech” (tongues, interpretation, prophecy), and “gifts of power” (faith, healing, miracles).

Interesting.

Could it be true that most “Christian” ministers don’t actually even believe the Gospel?  If the enemy was clever, wouldn’t he try to infiltrate the church and perhaps even set up a base of operations within the institution of the so-called ‘church’? Doesn’t the Bible tell us that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and his servants masquerade as ministers of righteousness? All of these things I don’t doubt. So then, is John then to be honored and celebrated as he roasts the sacred cows of a dead and putrid religion? A herald who announces to us and the world that the emperor has no clothes?

However, it would pain me, as someone who loves his brother John and largely respects his ministry, to then have John undermine his own ministry through a lack of humility or foolishness or greed. I want him to succeed. I want his ministry to flourish. I want the Gospel to continue to go forward through my brother John.

John has so many persecutors already that I could never stomach the thought of being another. So I won’t. Ok, so he continues to misquote a certain Scripture from Isaiah, no one gets everything right all the time. Everyone blunders in some small and even big ways. But on the whole, I have decided that for myself and for the people I care about (including you) that John is worth listening to. You will derive FAR more benefit than harm from his ministry. Of course this sort of honor and endorsement normally only occurs after someone dies… because we normally only choose to recognize someone’s value after their gone.

Enjoy this playlist of John Crowder’s Jesus Trip and be sure to subscribe to his channel:

Categories: Christian Mystic | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

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