By Wenona Russ

We all have been here, at that pivotal moment in our lives where we literally NEEDED a word FROM THE LORD.  Those who are truly hungry for God have been at a place where we have been starving for a Word from God.  And rightfully so….God said those who hunger and thirst after righteousness SHALL be filled.

Yet, we all have been at that place where we have NOT been able to hear from God…or we felt that we needed ‘confirmation’ from the Lord regarding ‘a word’ either we ourselves have heard, or a word given to us from others.

This is the reason many are (I can say) literally addicted to church, to sermons, to conferences, to conference calls, to convocations…

Addiction is NEVER a good thing.  I know BeBe and CeCe came out with a ‘gospel’ song years ago called ‘Addictive Love’ and it’s supposed to be talking about how we as believers are addicted to the love of Jesus Christ.

I know we have been saying this cliché for years in the church that they are ‘addicted’ to ‘the word,’ when really they are addicted to CHURCH.  Because the only time they get any ‘word’ is when they are inside of a building being fed ‘a word’ from a man or a woman.

But addiction can be a dangerous thing, even in a spiritual connotation.

If we are not careful, we will become ‘addicted’ to miracles, signs, wonders, and FALSE words said to be from God.  We can be addicted to the supernatural, never questioning THE SOURCE.

Where did this need for ‘confirmation’ of a word that proceeds out of the mouth of God come from?

Do you remember Gideon in the Bible?

Read up on the story of Gideon in Numbers 6.  To make a long story short, Gideon heard from the Lord…yet in verse 17, he turns around RIGHT AFTER hearing from God and asks for a SIGN!

You know…in the Old Testament, God had to deal with people with signs and wonders because MOST of the Israelites simply could NOT hear from God for themselves.  So the Israelites depended a LOT upon others to bring them the Word of the Lord.  This was because Israel stayed in rebellion and disobedience TO GOD almost more than they walked in obedience to God.

Disobedience will MUTE your ability to hear from GOD!

And walking in continued disobedience gives people over to strong delusion! Passivity will also mute your ability to hear from God.  In “the New Idolatry,” Pam Sheppard lays it on the line.  Here is an excerpt:

Some passive Christians are like helpless zombies, unable to take corrective action where necessary.  On the charismatic side, good people have been deceived into accepting all things supernatural as “of the Lord” and consequently, they have made ‘a voice from God’ as the deciding factor in every matter, both trivial and important. Passive believers have also suppressed their personalities to such an extent that they can’t distinguish their own persona from the demonic influences that bind them.”

To read a free 30 page preview of the New Idolatry, click here. Scroll down the page to the book’s title and click the “free preview link.”