Jack S. Deere - Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies, Dreams, and Visions

In this thoroughly revised edition of Surprised by the Voice of God, Jack Deere has provided the body of Christ with the most biblical and practical treatment available on this crucial topic. I know of no one else in the church who is as well grounded in the Scriptures and skilled in the practical dynamics of prophetic ministry as Jack Deere. If you have ever been told that the revelatory gifts of the Spirit are a threat to the Bibles sufficiency for life and godliness, this is the book for you. Simply put, this is the book for all of us! I cant recommend it too highly.

Sam Storms, PhD, Enjoying God Ministries

From the opening sentence, Jack Deere grabs your heart and mind with a compelling mixture of biblical insight, stories, personal testimony, church history, and godly wisdom. This book is a tremendous read! Whatever your experience has been, your faith will be built up, your mind stimulated, and your spirit stirred with a greater desire to hear the voice of God ever more clearly.

Hannah and Alex Absalom, leaders of Dandelion Resourcing, and authors of Hearing the Voice of God and Healing the Sick

Jack Deere has done it again! In this all-new, updated edition of his classic on hearing the voice of God, he reminds us that God never stopped speaking to his people and continues to speak today through prophecy, dreams, and visionalways in ways consistent with the revealed Word of God. Combining biblical study with his own experience, he shows us not only how to recognize the voice of God but also how to walk in deeper intimacy and friendship with the Lord. I highly recommend it!

R. T. Kendall, author of Prophetic Integrity

ZONDERVAN REFLECTIVE

Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God

Copyright 2022 by Jack Deere

Portions of this book were previously published as

Surprised by the Voice of God 1996

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

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ePub Edition August 2022 : ISBN 978-0-310-11375-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Deere, Jack, author. | Deere, Jack. Why I am surprised by the voice of God.

Title: Why I am still surprised by the voice of God : how God speaks today through prophecies, dreams, and visions / Jack Deere.

Description: Updated and expanded edition. | Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2022. | Portions of this book were previously published as Surprised by the voice of God 1996.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022013415 (print) | LCCN 2022013416 (ebook) | ISBN 9780310108153 (paperback) | ISBN 9780310113751 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Holy Spirit. | Prophecies. | DreamsReligious aspectsChristianity. | Visions. | Deere, Jack. | BISAC: RELIGION / Christianity / Pentecostal & Charismatic | RELIGION / Christian Living / Spiritual Growth

Classification: LCC BT121.3 .D44 2022 (print) | LCC BT121.3 (ebook) | DDC 234/.13dc23/eng/20220627

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022013415

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022013416

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Public domain. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the (NASB) New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Brian Bobel

Cover photo: YakobchukOlena / iStock photo

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

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For John Wimber (19341997)

who changed the way the world goes to church.

Churches all over the world now have

ministry teams to pray for those attending services

and worship teams saying I love you to God

in beautiful contemporary music.

He was my spiritual father

who taught me and countless others

how to heal and hear the voice of God.

Contents

Chapter 1
The Beginning of a Friendship with God

J esus knew the Bible stone-cold. His enemies discovered this fact the hard way. The young carpenter humiliated the proud professors of the Bible in debate after debate. Yet Jesus claimed that he needed more than his superlative knowledge of the Bible. He had to hear his Fathers voice in order to fulfill Gods purpose for his life. The only perfect Person, the only one who knew the exact meaning of every single verse of Scripture and how to apply it perfectly, said, I only speak words my Father gives me, and I only do what I see my Father doing.

The principal enemies of Jesus, the religious elite, had supreme confidence in their knowledge of Scripture, and though some of the elite may have memorized the entire Old Testament, none of them had ever heard the voice of the Father (John 5:3740).

I, too, was an enemy of Jesus until I heard my first verse of Scripture. I was barely seventeen the night my friend Bruce quoted John 10:28 to me: I give my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. That night, I believed in Jesus. I trusted him to forgive my sins and give me new life. On December 18, 1965, at two in the morning, the Light of the world came into my heart. I was no longer a fatherless boy.

Ten years later, I was a professor of the Bible who had never heard the voice of God. I didnt believe in the voice of God. I believed in Scripture. I taught my students not to believe in the voice of God.

After a Hebrew syntax class, one of my students lingered to talk. He said, The Lord spoke to me and told me to come to seminary.

The Lord spoke to you? I asked.

Yes. Definitely, he replied.