Cover
Title
Translating God
Hearing God for Yourself & the World Around You
Copyright © 2015, Shawn Bolz
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www.bolzministries.com
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) 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.™
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Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
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Editor: Sally Hanan, www.inksnatcher.com
Interior Design: Renee Evans, www.reneeevansdesign.com
Cover design: Yvonne Parks, www.pearcreative.ca
First Edition, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-942306-19-1
eISBN: 978-1-942306-30-6
Publisher: ICreate Productions, 225 South Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale, CA 91205,
www.bolzministries.com
Shawn Bolz’s new book, Translating God, is an amazing read, full of practical insight and interesting powerful stories that illustrate his teaching points. I read the book in one sitting on a flight to Asia and found it difficult to stop reading. I encourage anyone who wants to learn more about prophecy to buy and read Translating God.
I not only want to recommend the book, I want to recommend the author. I remember praying for him about twenty years ago when he did not have a well-known ministry, and I want to let the reader know that Shawn has developed into a very healthy prophetic minister of some very powerful and accurate words that have greatly encouraged many.
RANDY CLARK,
Speaker, Founder Global Awakening
Author and coauthor of over forty books, including There Is More!
One of the goals of my life is to see an honor-based culture come into being in our community of believers, particularly among the prophetic community. We cannot continue in insecurity, competition, and jealousy. I have personally known Shawn Bolz and observed his ministry journey for well over twenty years. The book you hold in your hands is the fruit of the “joining of the generations.” With years under his belt, a giftedness that is undeniable, and a lifestyle that exalts Christ Jesus, it is my honor to commend to you the ministry and writings of Shawn Bolz.
JAMES W. GOLL,
Speaker, Founder Encounters Network, Prayer Storm, and God Encounters Training online school, Author of over twenty-five books, including The Lost Art of Intercession and The Seer
Although I have read numerous books on prophecy, I can’t say that many of them have enthralled me, but this one has! As I went through Translating God, I came to admire greatly Shawn Bolz’s transparency, humility, and especially ability to analyze different aspects of prophecy. His astute biblical and theological comments provide a solid basis for understanding his message and putting it into practice. I know you will love this book!
C. PETER WAGNER,
Speaker, Vice President Global Spheres, Inc.
Author of over fifty books, including Churchquake! and Acts of the Holy Spirit
I’ve known Shawn Bolz for years now, and I’ve ministered with him in many situations. I want to wholeheartedly endorse his newest book, Translating God. This book will help you as you seek to have open ears to hear and heed the wonderful voice of God. Also, you will grow in your desire to draw ever closer to God. Your life will be greatly enriched and enlightened by devouring this book. It is a delight to be a friend to Shawn, as well as a ministry partner.
BOBBY CONNER,
Speaker, Cofounder Eagles View Ministries
Author of multiple books including the Shepherd’s Rod series
Shawn Bolz is a prophetic voice to this generation who understands what matters most: our abiding relationship with the Lord. Your life and your ministry will be sharpened and enriched as you answer this holy invitation in Translating God: to stay raised and seated with Christ in heavenly places. It is from this position that we can dream with God and love people powerfully.
GEORGIAN BANOV,
DD honoris causa, Cofounder Global Celebration
It’s not often that we get to see a prophetic gift mature in front of our own eyes. I am so thankful for Shawn Bolz and his approach to life and the nature of God. Our people here at Bethel Church, Redding, have been deeply impacted over the years by what Shawn carries. Every time he visits our church, we experience promotion and increase. Translating God is a must-read for anyone interested in learning how God sees people and how he interacts and engages with us. It will take you to another level.
ERIC JOHNSON,
Sr Pastor Bethel Church, Redding, CA. Author of Momentum and Christ in You
Shawn Bolz’s book is filled with refreshing and practical encouragement about delivering good news to all people in times of darkness and instability. Translating God is an essential message about our ability to impart hope and God’s sincere love through prophetic ministry. It is an honor to know Shawn and see the acceleration of grace and maturity in his ministry. Seize the opportunity to “do the stuff” and you’ll see that it really works!
MICKEY ROBINSON,
Speaker, Author of Falling into Heaven
I believe that this is the most important book I have ever read on the subject of the prophetic. Shawn has laid out heart priorities that are indispensable for anyone wishing to function or grow in the prophetic. This book invites us to fully step into a New Testament wineskin of attitude, transparency, and accountability that has been notoriously absent in prophetic circles. Shawn’s own decades of experience and high level of prophetic gifting give this book a desired credibility factor. I read this book cover to cover and strongly recommend it for anyone desiring to function in or pastor the prophetic.
JOHNNY ENLOW,
Speaker, Founder RISE—a training and equipping center
Author of The Seven Mountain series, among others
Shawn has tapped into something so powerful and exciting, it opens a new door of possibility. I am very keen to see if what Shawn experienced can be activated in others. If so, it is a game changer for the body of Christ. This is the stuff the millennium is likely to produce, and it makes perfect sense that it shows up now, at the end of the church age, in a young man who has tasted the powers of the age to come.
DR. LANCE WALLNAU,
Business Consultant, Director The Lance Learning Group
Author of Invading Babylon and Turn the World Upside Down, among others
The supreme call and purpose of the prophetic is to release and reveal the love of the Father to a world longing to hear and see. I have witnessed Shawn manifest this reality time and time again while we have traveled the globe together. He carries authority to write this message simply because he lives it.
SEAN FEUCHT,
Musician and Founder Burn 24-7, Coauthor of Fire and Fragrance
I have known and observed the ministry of Shawn Bolz for years. He is a true prophet to our generation with a unique pulse on the redemptive and loving nature of God. He is a gifted communicator and writer, able to not only communicate God’s word but God’s ways. I am so grateful for who he is and what he brings to the body of Christ.
FAYTENE GRASSESCHI,
Speaker, Artist, Musician, Founder TheCRY Movement and MYCanada
Author of Marked and Stand on Guard
In 2001, when I began writing The School of the Seers, I spent two years reading every book I could find on the prophetic, angels, discernment, and dreams and visions; over 150 in all. I wish this book from Shawn Bolz had existed then! A huge amount of mistakes and heartache could have been avoided simply by reading the core truths in this book. This is not another book about what certain colors mean or how to interpret spooky dreams. This book speaks to the heart of the prophetic learner and deals with the soil of the heart, because if the soil is good, then the harvest can be good. The stories Shawn shares are memorable and stunning, and the points regarding speaking from the heart of God and being accountable for accuracy rates are so refreshing. This book is a quick read so buy it, read it, and then read it again!
DR. JONATHAN WELTON,
Speaker, Founder The Welton Academy
Author of Normal Christianity, Eyes of Honor, and The School of Seers
The world has changed and so must the church. In a world where hope is discouraged, vision is blurred, and people are desperate to know there is a God who loves them, Translating God is an essential guide and gift to the church for training, enlightenment, and equipping. Shawn not only trains the church how to “lower the bridge” of communication to the God-hardened, godless, and God-confused; he also breathes God’s love back into our hearts by way of encouragement and edification.
As an evangelist to some of the most difficult places in our country and world, it’s of major importance for us to have such a resource at our fingertips to help us be more effective there. This book will help us communicate not only the existence of God, but the truth that he desperately loves people. I highly recommend it as a significant tool for today’s harvest.
CINDY MCGILL,
Speaker, Founder Hope for the Harvest Ministries
Coauthor of What Your Dreams Are Telling You
Translating God is a book the church has been waiting for. Shawn Bolz carefully walks us through his journey of discovering the God who is not “counting their trespasses against them.” This book is a practitioner’s manual that encourages and instructs; it’s refreshing, biblically balanced, and experientially inspiring. I believe this is a now word for every church that’s hungry for a relevant and on-point prophetic ministry.
BISHOP JOSEPH L. GARLINGTON,
Sr., Presiding Bishop Reconciliation!, an International Network of Churches and Ministries
Senior Pastor of Covenant Church of Pittsburgh
What I love most about Translating God is how God uses the prophetic to show his facets of love for us. Story after story demonstrates how God’s heart is poured out for his children. He will use whatever it takes to love someone into his kingdom. God is jealous for his bride and is after us. Shawn, as a young boy and now as an adult, has stewarded the prophetic in a natural way that has been beautiful to watch. He has done a wonderful job with this book in sharing his revelation on how love should be the main goal of our prophetic gift, especially when serving others.
BENI JOHNSON,
Speaker, Sr Pastor Bethel Church, Redding, CA
Author of The Happy Intercessor, Prayer Changes Things, and What If
I love this new book Translating God by Shawn Bolz. It’s both a practical guide and cutting-edge work that is a must-read for all who are hungry to grow in the art of hearing God. Not only is Shawn a personal friend, but he is one of the premier voices in prophetic ministry today whose gift of revelation and delivery in ministry to individuals is second to none. If you are hungry to grow in the prophetic and move in the gifts of revelation, then the insight and impartation in this book are must-reads for you! I highly recommend this book.
JEFF JANSEN,
Speaker, Founder Global Fire Ministries International
Senior Leader of Global Fire Church and Global Connect. Author of Glory Rising, Furious Sound of Glory, and Enthroned
Finally! A book about prophecy that sees love as a higher goal than knowledge, focuses on building relationships more than being accurate, and calls prophets to be accountable for the revelation they receive. I was moved to tears several times reading the prophetic stories in this book because they show how deeply God loves us. Most of all, I felt that I had found a prophet after God’s own heart, a prophet who had learned to love (see John 13:34-35 and John 15:12-17). I love this wonderful book.
STACEY CAMPBELL,
Speaker, Cofounder Revival NOW! Ministries and Be a Hero
Coauthor of Praying the Bible and Ecstatic Prophecy
Shawn Bolz has one of the most extraordinary and accurate prophetic ministries I know of, which is why I’m excited about this book! Shawn has an ability to take the hyper-mystical out of the prophetic and make it accessible to everyone who is hungry for intimacy with God. Thankfully, that is captured in this authentic book, which emanates grace, truth, and the love of God from every page.
The powerful testimonies and practical teaching in this book will equip you to hear the voice of God and release prophetic insight and encouragement to yourself and others. If you’ve had experience in prophetic movements, this book is a major heart correction. It marries sound biblical teaching with God’s character and nature. Whether you are called to minister behind a pulpit or in the marketplace, this book is for you. Read this book and then put what you learn into practice.
WILL FORD,
Director, Marketplace Leadership, Christ for the Nations Institute
Author of Created for Influence: Transforming Culture from Where You Are
I’ve always been on the hunt for prophetic books that capture the heart culture of the prophetic by a person who is living proof of what the Father has in mind for this precious gift. My great friend Shawn Bolz embodies all of the above.
This book has inspired me and imparted to me. I truly believe that Shawn is a prototype prophet for an emerging breed of prophetic vessels that will release the third great awakening and reformation in the house. His paradigm of love for humanity and intimacy with the Father is truly what this new breed must carry. I’m convinced that this book will be a classic training tool used to release a culture and the DNA of Jesus-style prophets. It will help many become attuned to the wavelength of heaven.
SEAN SMITH,
Speaker, Founder Sean Smith Ministries and Pointblank International
Author of Prophetic Evangelism and I Am Your Sign
Translating God reminds me of Bill Hammond’s book Prophets and Personal Prophecy as far as how heavy and important the content is. Hammond’s book was a huge language giver, protocol setter, and inspiration to many. What that book was for its time (and still is for our time today) is exactly what this book is for this time and this generation (and those to come). What God has entrusted Shawn with is rare, but it must become widespread!
God was very intentional when he connected 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) and 1 Corinthians 14 (the gifts chapter), because God’s great power and love are dynamically connected to one another. You cannot have one without the other. Translating God is an amazing testimony of this reality. Not only was I encouraged by reading it, but I have seen and experienced firsthand both the great love and gift (power) that Shawn flows in. Every generation has been given the chance to change the world, and I truly believe that Shawn and this important book will do just that.
RICK PINO,
Musician, Founder Heart of David Worship and Missions Center
MEMORIAL
In memory of Bob Jones, whose childlike faith in the supernatural helped me believe in my own experiences. Your encouragement and trust and the hours and hours you spent with me, showing me that God in me was as powerful as God in you, will never be forgotten. I still don’t understand half of the prophetic words you gave me, but the other half developed what I am doing now. I know that now that you are in heaven, your conversation with God has only increased, and we are all benefiting from your eternal state. I am so glad that this project, and many others like it (by all your spiritual family here on earth), is making your eternal treasury full. Our fruit is your fruit!
DISCLAIMER
I love the prophetic so much, but it is mostly a personal ministry between God and an individual or group. Therefore I changed most of the names of people in the book, or I made the stories purposely more vague than I wanted to.
While I love the glory they carry, I want to honor the privacy of the presidents, billionaires, celebrities, and church leaders that I told stories about, even if they were okay with me telling who they were at times.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
one A SIMPLE GOAL OF LOVE
two THE REVELATION OF REVELATION
three WHY I EAGERLY DESIRE THE PROPHETIC
four THE PROPHETIC IS FIRST A CULTURE OF OUR HEARTS
five THE NATURE OF NEW TESTAMENT REVELATION
six REVELATION, A STEP PAST DISCERNMENT
seven THE WAY GOD COMMUNICATES
eight THE REVELATION GIFTS
nine PROPHETIC POWER IS RELATIONAL POWER
ten REVELATION—EVERYONE GETS TO PARTICIPATE
eleven ACCOUNTABILITY, A NEW WAY TO GROW
twelve RESPONSIBILITY IN REVELATION
thirteen PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORD
by Bill Johnson
I am amazed by Shawn Bolz’s book Translating God: Hearing God’s Voice for Yourself and the World Around You. It is one of the most encouraging books I’ve ever read. As such, it is filled with great biblical insight and is saturated with God stories—the kind that give hope and draw the reader near to a wonderfully perfect Father. I am moved, deeply moved. At times, even to tears.
Shawn has been a dear friend for many years. I have watched with wonder as God has used him to display his perfect love for people through words of knowledge and prophecy. I find the wisdom with which Shawn stewards this gift to be very inspiring. His transparency in the prophetic process makes the rest of us believe God could use us in a similar fashion. One of the statements found in this book helps us understand why: “This is the goal of prophecy: to connect people to the empowering nature of God so they can become like him and display his marvelous nature to all the earth.” The prophetic connects people to the nature of God so they will become like him and reveal him. Brilliant!
The prophetic is such a wonderful part of our life in Christ. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like for the last forty years without the prophets; they have made me richer in every possible way. Perhaps that’s why the enemy of our souls likes to distort their ministries so much. Here, too, Shawn adds a depth of wisdom that should calm the hearts of those who have only experienced heartache and disappointment through this ministry. The time for the authentic has come.
I’ve been amazed to watch how God sets people up to receive his love through precise words of knowledge. Shawn’s gift in this area has become a sign and a wonder on a whole new level in recent times. Witnessing Shawn’s increase in precision has released several in our ministry to take greater risks to see if God would use them similarly. And, in fact, he does. The results are quite remarkable. Why are so many growing in this vital expression of God’s heart? I credit Shawn’s practical approach to hearing from God, along with his wisdom in stewarding his gift, while maintaining love as the centerpiece of the prophetic ministry.
As much as I love healing and all the other manifestations of God’s love, I’ve never seen anything cut to the heart of a person quicker than an accurate prophetic word. In a recent study, several thousand people were asked what one question they would ask God if they could be assured he would answer. The number one question, asked more times than number two and three combined, was: “What is my purpose in life?” Perhaps this is why the prophetic is so powerful. When it’s done well, people realize they are known and loved by God, who then leads them to their purposes. This process is one of the most glorious things I’ve ever witnessed. This is where my eyes are regularly filled with tears. God really is love, and that is seen through his passion for people coming into their reason for being. Translating God is filled with such stories, but the stories do more than encourage, although that would be enough for me. The stories are so inviting that they automatically instill courage so that the reader might grow in these kinds of Holy Spirit expressions too. That makes books like this priceless! In my heart, I can see countless people growing in their ability to manifest God’s love in a way that has an immediate impact on people’s lives, simply by reading this book.
Read, enjoy, and be changed. The world is crying out for God to manifest himself through his gifts flowing through his people.
BILL JOHNSON
Senior Pastor, Bethel Church, Redding, CA
Author of When Heaven Invades Earth and Hosting the Presence, among others
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A SIMPLE GOAL OF LOVE
I was sitting next to a man on a plane ride to Australia, so I struck up a conversation with him and found him to be very engaging, even though he seemed a little distracted. We talked about life and family and careers. He was working for oil companies, and this was his last month traveling the globe for them. He was particularly fascinated by our work against human trafficking and had not heard of the current research or grass roots efforts by groups like ours. He appeared very touched.
At one point he got up and went to the bathroom, and that’s when I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit: He hasn’t told you the whole truth. He is not working for oil companies but is the air marshal. I want to encourage him about his retirement, which is coming fast. I also heard a word of knowledge and got his wife’s name; the place he always wanted to visit in Europe in his retirement; and knowledge about his daughter, who was pregnant with complications. I was so overwhelmed that when he got back, I didn’t know what to say.
He initiated though, not knowing what he was inviting, and started right in about God. “You were talking about your relationship with God and how you felt called to what you were doing. How did you know you were called?”
I loved the lead into my word for him. I began to explain how real Jesus is and how he has so much love for us and is present in our lives. Then I asked him if I could share with him some things I felt God was showing me in order to encourage him. He was very excited and said yes.
“He told me you are the air marshal and that your wife’s name is Patricia. He also told me that he wants what you want more than you ever wanted it—like going to the Italian vineyards in southern Italy when you retire. He also told me about your daughter, Anna, and how she is pregnant but experiencing difficulties, and how you prayed and asked him to help her. You told him you would do anything if he would just help her. He wants to help her more than you do, and she and her baby are going to be okay.”
He had tears in his eyes the whole time, and when I talked about his daughter, tears streamed down his face. He was gripping both seat handles intensely. “I am not the air marshal!” he said.
I laughed, because he had just received a direct communication from God that impacted him deeply and he was trying to cover his base about his job. “Well, is anything else true of what I felt from God?”
“Yes, all of it!” he said, “but I am not an air marshal.” He was covering again.
I just laughed because I knew he was, but thought maybe he was required to say this. We prayed together and exchanged information, and when the rest of the passengers got off of the plane, he stayed behind. I didn’t get to say goodbye, because he went up into the cockpit.
When I was at baggage claim I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and it was my new friend.
“I can’t believe God showed you I was an air marshal! I had to go and do a background check on you before I talked to you! That was amazing that God showed you all of that! I want to hear from God like that! I feel like everything is right again in my world.”
What a statement! I knew he had never felt more loved and connected to God than at that moment, and I knew both of us would never be the same.
The prophetic is one of the greatest tools of love we have. Picture how technology has created a platform of connection in one generation. We can communicate virtually anywhere in the world through smart devices, Internet services, streaming, virtual reality, etc. Technology has created the connection for anyone to talk anywhere to any of his friends, and to even make new ones. You can become part of an online community that you would have never had access to without it.
The prophetic is meant to be like this; it is the technology or smart device to our spiritual love. It is the tool that accelerates relationship and creates connection with people, cities, countries, industries, and the world. Through it we see a very real glimpse of God’s heart and get to treat people exactly the way God intended them to be treated from the beginning.
As with technology, revelation was not just meant to inspire prophetic gifts, but to help us live with a connection to how God feels and what he thinks. It is supposed to be our way of life—to see people the way God always longed for them to be seen and, from that revelation, to treat them out of his culture of love so that they will want to be the version of themselves we see. (More on that later.)
Having a deep relationship with God that includes authentic friendship will definitely lead you into sharing that kind of relationship and friendship with others. Many people pursuing prophetic gifts are about as close with God as they are with their yearbook friends, but they still insist on trying to use prophecy on others. Then they get discouraged about the lack of relational depth developed through the experience. It’s because prophetic ministry is about your being a gateway to God’s thoughts, emotions, and heart for others through your connection to him.
The world is full of 7+ billion pieces of God’s heart, and as you get to know him, you begin to absorb his affection for humanity. Your relationship with him is the primary source and goal of revelation.
Throughout this book, I am going to focus on why we should highlight love rather than information as the goal of prophetic ministry. I will bring insight into why God speaks, how he speaks, and how to steward and develop a track record of revelation. I will also challenge other philosophies of how to move in the prophetic that might violate this principle of love. Lastly, you will find pieces of my own journey here so that you can learn from my strengths and failures. I want you to take huge risks, but to do that you might need my examples of how I survived some very real misses.
There is nothing like being a translator who brings good news—news that not only is “feel good” but can transform. I love seeing people connect with God, family, friends, their life purposes, and even just nature because of a useful prophetic word. It’s like the puzzle pieces come together in love for them.