- Mar 5, 2024
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- 798
This Generation Seeks A Sign, But None Will Be Given
When it comes to the supernatural gifts, in many respects we live in a very faithless time. A friend of mine received a dream a few weeks ago that went like this:
Dinner With Roger & Pete Dream
My wife and I were hungry and in a diner, and the people there offered us a bite of the burger they make. I thought, "Wow this is good. I want one!" My wife said, "Nah, not for me," and she left him me there to eat. I ordered a burger and sat down on stool at the counter. Seated next to me were Roger Daltrey with Pete Townshend of the English band The Who. They were cutting up and laughing and carrying on, and were about half finished with their meal. After a period of time I was really hungry and wondering where my burger was. About that time a burger was placed on top of a glass covering about 3 feet up above him and I thought, "My burger!" Roger reached up, grabbed it and put it in front of Pete, and they laughed because I looked so sad it was not mine. As I sat there looking glum, Roger picked up the plate again and dumped it my lap with Pete laughing, but I caught it and saved the burger and the home style round potato chips that came with it. The cheeseburger was at least a 1/2 pound cooked, and served open face.
After reading it, I told him it was about the spiritual gifts, and how non-Charismatics tend to mock and belittle those who believe in them in the modern era. The first verse to The Who's most iconic song - the one they were most widely known for - went like this:
People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Pete Townsend, the guitar player for the band, once shared the following in an interview concerning this song: “‘My Generation’ was inspired by the fact that I felt as artists we had to draw a line between all those people who had been involved in the second world war and those who were born right at the end of it. They had sacrificed so much for us, but they weren’t able to give us anything... We weren’t allowed to join the army, we weren’t allowed to speak, we were expected to shut up and enjoy the peace… And we decided not to do that.”
Non-Charismatics will say the same things. They incessantly repeat the mantra, "Charismatics act like they are superior, and that others are not as gifted as they are." And like Townsend's comments about WWII, this too spills over into the spiritual war. The Charismatic argument is that without the power of God not much of any importance is going to be accomplished, but to us it seems very matter of fact, and not something meant to offend. We know that believing the gifts are still for today is nevertheless no guarantee one will be used by God to manifest them.
But the dream points to the fact that there will be a growing resentment among those NOT used of God in the years ahead. If they feel they are being left out of making significant contributions in the spiritual war, they will react in the same way Townsend and Daltrey did in this dream. They will mock and say "Someone must have ate some bad chopped suey last night." Others will try to discredit by saying, "Show me proof. Show me a prophecy that something would happen on this exact day at this exact time and how it then came to pass, and then I will believe." I've seen this sort of thing posted in the past myself, actually.
In reality, Cessationists are faithless, and place no trust in the word of God which states that in the end-times God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and His people will prophesy, dream dreams and see visions (Joel 2:28). In their faithlessness, they are like the generation in Jesus' time who told Him, "Show us a sign," and yet no sign will be given to them. The unbelievers of His time wanted to see signs in the heavens like the sun growing dark or the moon turning to blood to PROVE He was the Messiah, when in reality there were signs all around them but they had no eyes to see nor ears to hear what the Lord was saying and doing. Nor will many have them in the years ahead.
To those who have their ears to hear what the Spirit is saying, however, and are able to receive prophetic words in due season, they can be a tremendous blessing, even if the proper interpretation sometimes demands that they wait a little while, as can be the case with dreams. But much like scripture, prophetic words can be like spiritual food, feeding us knowledge of what is coming down the road so we will not be caught off guard by the enemy. The call then is to shake off the discouragement brought on by those bound up by resentments and a false sense of inferiority. Though they might discredit the gifts through their words and actions, they should be prayed for. As scripture promises, the older generation will dream dreams, and the messages they receive will be placed on a pedestal and received with thanksgivings by those hungry for a word from God. Those waiting for a sign before they will believe, however, will miss what He is doing just as many in New Testament times did, and the reason will be because they ultimately had no ears to hear what the Spirit was saying to the churches in their time.
___________________________
Note: For fans of their music, this thread is not a denigration of the English group The Who, or of Daltery or Townsend in particular. It was simply a visual device used by the Spirit of God to communicate what is coming in the future for those who would believe in the promise of Joel 2:28. They will have to face ridicule in receiving what the Spirit is saying through dreams, visions and prophecy.
Link to article cited:
americansongwriter.com
When it comes to the supernatural gifts, in many respects we live in a very faithless time. A friend of mine received a dream a few weeks ago that went like this:
Dinner With Roger & Pete Dream
My wife and I were hungry and in a diner, and the people there offered us a bite of the burger they make. I thought, "Wow this is good. I want one!" My wife said, "Nah, not for me," and she left him me there to eat. I ordered a burger and sat down on stool at the counter. Seated next to me were Roger Daltrey with Pete Townshend of the English band The Who. They were cutting up and laughing and carrying on, and were about half finished with their meal. After a period of time I was really hungry and wondering where my burger was. About that time a burger was placed on top of a glass covering about 3 feet up above him and I thought, "My burger!" Roger reached up, grabbed it and put it in front of Pete, and they laughed because I looked so sad it was not mine. As I sat there looking glum, Roger picked up the plate again and dumped it my lap with Pete laughing, but I caught it and saved the burger and the home style round potato chips that came with it. The cheeseburger was at least a 1/2 pound cooked, and served open face.
After reading it, I told him it was about the spiritual gifts, and how non-Charismatics tend to mock and belittle those who believe in them in the modern era. The first verse to The Who's most iconic song - the one they were most widely known for - went like this:
People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Pete Townsend, the guitar player for the band, once shared the following in an interview concerning this song: “‘My Generation’ was inspired by the fact that I felt as artists we had to draw a line between all those people who had been involved in the second world war and those who were born right at the end of it. They had sacrificed so much for us, but they weren’t able to give us anything... We weren’t allowed to join the army, we weren’t allowed to speak, we were expected to shut up and enjoy the peace… And we decided not to do that.”
Non-Charismatics will say the same things. They incessantly repeat the mantra, "Charismatics act like they are superior, and that others are not as gifted as they are." And like Townsend's comments about WWII, this too spills over into the spiritual war. The Charismatic argument is that without the power of God not much of any importance is going to be accomplished, but to us it seems very matter of fact, and not something meant to offend. We know that believing the gifts are still for today is nevertheless no guarantee one will be used by God to manifest them.
But the dream points to the fact that there will be a growing resentment among those NOT used of God in the years ahead. If they feel they are being left out of making significant contributions in the spiritual war, they will react in the same way Townsend and Daltrey did in this dream. They will mock and say "Someone must have ate some bad chopped suey last night." Others will try to discredit by saying, "Show me proof. Show me a prophecy that something would happen on this exact day at this exact time and how it then came to pass, and then I will believe." I've seen this sort of thing posted in the past myself, actually.
In reality, Cessationists are faithless, and place no trust in the word of God which states that in the end-times God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and His people will prophesy, dream dreams and see visions (Joel 2:28). In their faithlessness, they are like the generation in Jesus' time who told Him, "Show us a sign," and yet no sign will be given to them. The unbelievers of His time wanted to see signs in the heavens like the sun growing dark or the moon turning to blood to PROVE He was the Messiah, when in reality there were signs all around them but they had no eyes to see nor ears to hear what the Lord was saying and doing. Nor will many have them in the years ahead.
To those who have their ears to hear what the Spirit is saying, however, and are able to receive prophetic words in due season, they can be a tremendous blessing, even if the proper interpretation sometimes demands that they wait a little while, as can be the case with dreams. But much like scripture, prophetic words can be like spiritual food, feeding us knowledge of what is coming down the road so we will not be caught off guard by the enemy. The call then is to shake off the discouragement brought on by those bound up by resentments and a false sense of inferiority. Though they might discredit the gifts through their words and actions, they should be prayed for. As scripture promises, the older generation will dream dreams, and the messages they receive will be placed on a pedestal and received with thanksgivings by those hungry for a word from God. Those waiting for a sign before they will believe, however, will miss what He is doing just as many in New Testament times did, and the reason will be because they ultimately had no ears to hear what the Spirit was saying to the churches in their time.
___________________________
Note: For fans of their music, this thread is not a denigration of the English group The Who, or of Daltery or Townsend in particular. It was simply a visual device used by the Spirit of God to communicate what is coming in the future for those who would believe in the promise of Joel 2:28. They will have to face ridicule in receiving what the Spirit is saying through dreams, visions and prophecy.
Link to article cited:
Behind the Meaning of The Who's "My Generation"
When The Who released "My Generation" in 1965, they didn't know the vast impact it would have on the counterculture for decades to come.
americansongwriter.com
