Do be wary when someone says that God or a representative of God speaks to him and projects himself as the chosen one to share message to all. He will say that God speaks to him and wants him to let the flock in the congregation know.
It is alright to have faith and out of faith feel the closeness with God but such a person often is convinced that God has planted or inserted thoughts in him.
But haven't God and saints already spoken and all that were spoken are in the Scriptures - the Written Word. It is more worthy for the one who addresses the congregation to go by the divine Word as written in the scriptures if the scriptures are the accepted spoken words of God.
Moreover even if there is need for God to speak to men on top of what he had spoken through the scriptures, surely he will not just speak to one man but to many so that the rest would benefit from corroborative conclusion that such and such could indeed be the message from God.
But even then it must not detract from the written spoken Word in the scriptures. Otherwise, if a lone man speaks and stands out as the modern day messenger of God and yet not questioned by men in his congregation, then the seeds of cult will be sown.
The man then becomes the modern day stand-in for the prophet of God and what he says in the name of God is deemed as said by God. At least this is what he wants his listeners to believe. What more if he could perform a miracle or two? He would then be deemed as God.
Often the catch phrase is that "God speaks to me in my prayer!" This alone with pleas aloud for faith in God through him will sway the crowd. Any soothsayer or fortune teller would want to say this so as to win confidence and following in him. But the difference from soothsayer or fortune teller is that he is invoking God and his selling point is that God is with him and speaking directly to him. He becomes the stand-in for God.
Even in a temple of the good lord Lord Bo Tien, we will come across the occasional one who will say, "Well you all don't know. Wait till you reach my level and experience what I experience, then we can talk further." Isn't that insinuating that he is more with the divine good lord or saint than the rest. The rest must trust and believe what he says. He wants the rest to know he is the leader and the one chosen by the good lord ...
Men are always like that and they seem to forget that even in the case of a temple of the good lord Lord Bo Tien, what was spoken and written in the scriptures or the recorded messages are good enough and for eternity. Is there the need for God or a good saint to speak further. Even if there is the need, surely he will do so in better ways, perhaps more openly and not to one or a handful men.
But men can be gullible more so if someone charismatic proclaims, "God speaks to me." Then men will idolise or rather hero worship the man who sways their hearts with the four words, "God speaks to me."
Even if God or a representative of Lord Bo Tien does need to speak to a man, it is more for the personal benefit of that man and not for God or heavenly angel to speak to others through that man. Don't you think so? Best for that man to cherish the blessing and not divulge or he might invite ridicule as had been the case for some pioneer members of a temple in the name of the good lord Lord Bo Tien.
But men can be gullible more so if someone charismatic proclaims, "God speaks to me." Then men will idolise or rather hero worship the man who sways their hearts with the four words, "God speaks to me."
Even if God or a representative of Lord Bo Tien does need to speak to a man, it is more for the personal benefit of that man and not for God or heavenly angel to speak to others through that man. Don't you think so? Best for that man to cherish the blessing and not divulge or he might invite ridicule as had been the case for some pioneer members of a temple in the name of the good lord Lord Bo Tien.
