Through the Eyes of Love: Encouraging Others through Prophetic Revelation

PRAISE FOR

THROUGH THE EYES OF LOVE

"Shawn Bolz is a personal favorite. Through the Eyes of Love is certain to recalibrate the hearts of many that we might accurately represent the heart of God, the heart of Love."

—BILL JOHNSON, SENIOR LEADER, BETHEL CHURCH, REDDING, CALIFORNIA; AUTHOR OF THE RESTING PLACE

Shawn reminds us how we are all called to love people by being the hands and feet of Jesus on this planet. This book will challenge you to not just see others through God’s eyes, but to do something about it.

—CHRISTINE CAINE, BESTSELLING AUTHOR; FOUNDER, A21 AND PROPEL WOMEN

Through the lens of love, we become vessels of love—releasing healing to a hurting world. I recommend this book because I respect Shawn, whom God is working through mightily . . . because he views the world through the eyes of love.

—JOHN BEVERE, MINISTER AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR; COFOUNDER OF MESSENGER INTERNATIONAL

After reading this book, you will walk away personally impacted by the Father’s heart for you and those around you, inspired by the powerful testimonies Shawn shares and more connected to the heart of God!

—KRIS VALLOTTON, SENIOR ASSOCIATE LEADER, BETHEL CHURCH, REDDING, CALIFORNIA; AUTHOR OF POVERTY, RICHES, AND WEALTH

Let Shawn take you through these powerful real-life stories into the beautiful discovery of the God who loves you. This book has the power to change your life and how you see the supernatural world all around you. Encounter God through the eyes of love!

—BRIAN SIMMONS, AUTHOR OF THE SACRED JOURNEY; LEAD TRANSLATOR OF THE PASSION TRANSLATION

This book will reveal to you that the prophetic is applicable and functional in literally every area of life. It demonstrates that the world is waiting for you to activate your prophetic gift. Are you ready? Are you ready for this encounter, for this adventure? Let’s go—

—ROBBY DAWKINS, PASTOR, AUTHOR OF DO WHAT JESUS DID

Shawn, thank you! This book is rich, revelatory, and empowering. Thanks for being a voice that represents love himself so well. Thanks for raising the bar!

—PATRICIA KING, FOUNDER OF PATRICIA KING MINISTRIES; COFOUNDER OF XPMEDIA.COM

No matter where you may be on this journey, this book will stir a hunger inside of you to step into all God has for you. You cannot read these stories and remain unprovoked by a God who is in pursuit of people to reveal His love to them. Shawn will challenge your paradigms and I am grateful for that.

—BANNING LIEBSCHER, FOUNDER AND PASTOR OF JESUS CULTURE; AUTHOR OF ROOTED

"Through the Eyes of Love is a core resource for exploring the prophetic and its significance in our everyday lives. There is so much valuable wisdom here."

—CHÉ AHN, SENIOR PASTOR, HROCK CHURCH; PRESIDENT, HARVEST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY; INTERNATIONAL CHANCELLOR, WAGNER UNIVERSITY

By using stories and helpful conversations, Shawn illustrates how to hear from heaven’s viewpoint and bring Christ’s redeeming love, hope, and solutions to people in every situation. I recommend that you read this book from cover to cover; you will be inspired and your faith stirred to impact the world all around you.

—GEORGIAN BANOV, PRESIDENT AND COFOUNDER OF GLOBAL CELEBRATION AND THE GLOBAL CELEBRATION SCHOOL OF SUPERNATURAL MINISTRY

As human brokenness is materializing on the planet in many different forms, Christ is calling the body to function ‘through the Eyes of Love.’ I am honored to call Shawn Bolz a friend. Shawn has the character, humility, and revelation to bring this message to humanity.

—BRIAN HEAD WELCH, COFOUNDER OF THE GRAMMY AWARD–WINNING BAND KORN; BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SAVE ME FROM MYSELF; COSTAR OF LOUD KRAZY LOVE

What I most love about Shawn and Cherie is their absolute intention and passion to know by experience the nature of God and to make that both known and attainable for others. This book is a life changer and in some circumstances, a lifesaver.

—GRAHAM COOKE, SPEAKER AND AUTHOR, WWW.BRILLIANTPERSPECTIVES.COM

This will become a landmark book that will impact believers to use the gift of prophecy as a tool of evangelism and love. I’m thrilled to endorse it and encourage people to spread the word: prophecy is a gift of hope and compassion.

—PAUL MARC GOULET, SENIOR PASTOR, INTERNATIONAL CHURCH OF LAS VEGAS

This penetrating message of loving people is just the message we need to hear in our often hypercritical world. Shawn is real. His transparency is refreshing. Please read all of this book from cover to cover.

—CINDY JACOBS, COFOUNDER, GENERALS INTERNATIONAL

"Through the Eyes of Love opens up fresh adventures and opportunities for each of us to exhibit love in our vertical walk with the Lord and our horizontal walk with mankind. What the world needs now is love, and Shawn Bolz is paving a way that we can each follow."

—JAMES W. GOLL, FOUNDER OF GOD ENCOUNTERS MINISTRIES; AUTHOR, COMMUNICATIONS TRAINER, CONSULTANT, AND RECORDING ARTIST

If you want to connect with the heart of God—for yourself and for your world—so that you will live in the fullness of your destiny, look no further. This book will make you laugh and will make you cry and will shape your mind and heart with the beauty of God’s affection for humanity. Be prepared to be challenged, inspired, and mobilized.

—JULIAN AND KATIA ADAMS, DIRECTORS OF FREQUENTSEE

"Through the Eyes of Love is a beautifully written book connecting God’s love for us with our ability to hear Him. The stories and teaching in this book allow us to move into a new dimension of understanding."

—BOB HASSON, COAUTHOR OF THE BUSINESS OF HONOR

© 2019 Shawn Bolz

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Emanate Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Emanate Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

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 Verion are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB® is a federally registered treademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are taken from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Any Internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Thomas Nelson, nor does Thomas Nelson vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

The names of some of the individuals featured throughout this book have been changed to protect their privacy.

ISBN 978-0-7852-2730-4 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-2729-8 (TP)

Epub Edition July 2019 9780785227304

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019938071

Printed in the United States of America

1920212223LSC10987654321

CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

  Chapter 1  Connecting with the Father

  Chapter 2  Speaking God’s Words of Love

  Chapter 3  Revelation Is About Relationship

  Chapter 4  Prophecy in Personal Identity

  Chapter 5  Prophecy in Marriage and Family

  Chapter 6  Prophecy in Life Direction

  Chapter 7  Prophecy in Restoration

  Chapter 8  Prophecy in Entertainment

  Chapter 9  Prophecy in Work

Chapter 10  Prophecy in Finances

Chapter 11  Prophecy in Government

Chapter 12  Prophecy in Redemption

Conclusion: The World Needs You

Acknowledgments

About the Author

FOREWORD

I’ve released you from your work here.

My dad turned toward my mom as he said, Jan, you won’t believe what the Lord just said to me!

Her immediate response was, No, I will, because the Lord just said the same thing to me: He’s released us from our work here!

That was the voice of the Lord in 1973.

So, when it comes to the idea of hearing God’s voice, I immediately think of that season in time when my mom and dad first received their marching orders from the Lord, leading to the founding of what we know today as TBN.

Those seven unmistakable words resulted in the world’s largest and most watched faith-and-family broadcaster, now reaching more than 175 nations across the earth with inspirational and entertaining programming twenty-four hours a day in fourteen languages and on thirty-two networks around the globe.

But why wouldn’t God speak to His children this way?

Jesus Himself declared, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Contextually, Jesus spoke this to the Devil during His desert experience while being tempted with all the kingdoms of this world. But that’s how paramount the Word of God is.

Some seem to believe that every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God has already been spoken or written in the canonized scriptures. However, I believe such a mind-set is shortchanging an eternal God who is still calling things into existence today for those who are willing to listen to the still, small voice and follow.

Over the years of following Him, many of us in Christendom have experienced this truth and understand that God’s voice is ongoing and both loving and instructive to His children—very much along the lines of Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

Laurie and I experienced this personally when we felt unmistakably called to Hollywood, producing motion pictures by God’s grace, one—The Omega Code—to become The Hollywood Reporter’s number one Independent Film of the Year. But we also heard it just as clearly when we were abruptly called back out of Hollywood to walk away from the company we’d built and rejoin the staff of TBN, having no idea at the time we would one day be leading the ministry.

I truly appreciate Shawn’s chapter on Prophecy in Life Direction where he aptly says, Encounters with God help us get in touch with our God-given identity, and our lives naturally change directions as a result. And sometimes when we are simply walking with God through regular seasons of life, we sense that following His plan means making a massive life change.

I’m sure that if you’ve been walking with God for any length of time, you too have experienced both the regular seasons of life and perhaps the upheaval of massive life change. But one thing is for sure, walking with God and listening to every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God in your life is never boring! His ways are higher than ours.

Through the Eyes of Love will forever codify in your heart of hearts the fact that God loves His children enough to be intimately involved in their relationships (starting with Himself), their marriages and families, personal identities, restoration when needed, finances, and their lives’ direction.

Enjoy this book. I certainly did.

Matt Crouch

INTRODUCTION

Our mighty God is ever present in our lives. He is not just in a church building or in organized Christian evangelism. He is a God who wants to be involved in the details of our lives and to infiltrate all areas of culture.

God’s love is not meant to be esoteric, broad and detached from real life. God’s love looks and sounds like something tangible in our world. We can see His love at work in all realms of society today: business, education, government, entertainment, families. It is also present in and has a valuable perspective on everything we struggle with—identity, health, relationships, employment, money, life transitions, the restoration of what is broken.

I’ll be addressing these areas of life throughout this book, sharing stories that reveal what God’s eyes of love see in these situations and explaining how we, too, can look through His eyes of love.

As Christians we are to be known by God’s empowering love living in us, a kind of love that can only come from Him. His love isn’t just good ideas and warm fuzzies; it’s a love that transforms. When we experience it, we will be able to live our destinies fully. It will cause us to collectively engage all areas of our world, from churches to brothels, to be God’s love to them, and to see God transform and restore them.

I wrote this book to boast in what God is doing and to help you and those around you be transformed by hearing this voice of love. You will discover the kind of transformation that can happen when we partner with God—when we see with His eyes, do what He does, and speak what He speaks. His love creates opportunities for us to align ourselves with truth and goodness, to empower us to be who He created us to be. His love will help you and those around you to thrive.

Who knows how God might want to bring new healing, peace, and strength to your heart? Who knows how He might want to use you to reach others through hearing His voice of love?

I want to ignite your faith and invite you to a realm you may never have imagined was available to you. It is more available than what many would guess. I do ask that you suspend your belief system—be open to being activated and charged by these stories. Go on a journey of discovering this voice for yourself. Do what the Jews in Acts 17:11 did: they received the message about God and God’s love, and they searched the Scriptures to see if the message was true.

I pray that your eyes will be opened to see God’s love in ways that are beyond what you could imagine. Begin, or continue, your journey as you let your faith be jump-started through these stories.

1

CONNECTING WITH THE FATHER

What would change if you looked at your life with a scale of love weighing every interaction? What if your value system were truly rooted in love, impacting every decision you made? What would change if you looked at others through the eyes of love, or if you spoke God’s words of love to the world? To your family? To your identity? These questions are central to the perspective of biblical living.

These questions drive me to do what I do with my life—to seek and live out solutions found only through a connection to love. This book is full of stories about the answers to these questions, and stories about what happens when we look at any situation with God’s love and find that everything we thought we knew can transform before our eyes.

When we look through the eyes of God’s love, the impossible becomes possible. After all, we know from Scripture that His love removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. It restores shattered hearts, sets captives free, breaks bondages, brings hope to the hopeless, creates beauty out of nothing, and brings death back to life! This is the power of love, and these are the possibilities God sees when He looks at us. This can become our own perspective in our daily lives.

Not only does God show us His amazing love, but He also speaks to us. Almost every significant story in the Bible is about God speaking to a person and that person making choices because of his or her relationship with Him. Our whole journey of connection to God is hinged on the fact that He communicates with us. He gave us the Bible, the Word. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come and speak to us, and then the book of Acts takes us on