Act Like Men, Part 8

If you've got your Bible, turn with me to Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1. This is a unique year in the history of the church. For in October of this year, on the 31st of October, will be the celebration of the 500 year celebration of when Martin Luther would take his 95 theses and nail them to that door in Wittenberg, Germany and what began the reformation of the Protestant church. 500 years ago this year. And guys like Martin Luther and John Calvin and John Knox and other reformers had one goal in mind.

And that was to take the church and turn them back to looking at Scripture as the only authority for faith and life. Interestingly, 500 years later, we are still trying to do that. Getting the church to believe that the word of God is the only supreme sufficient authority for faith and life. We pay a lot of lip service to the authority of God's word in our lives. We say we believe that God's word is our ultimate authority, but we live as if God's word doesn't even exist sometimes. And the Bible does say in Psalm 138 that thy word, O Lord, is magnified even as your very name is magnified.

Putting the word of God on the exact same level as the name of God himself. Meaning that God's word is all authoritative as Christ himself is all authoritative. And so we need to come to a point in our lives where God's word is our ultimate authority. Hebrews 1, 1-3 speak to us about that one fact. That God's word is the ultimate authority. And Hebrews 1, 1-3 talks to us about the sufficiency as well as the whole book does. The sufficiency and supremacy of Jesus Christ, our Lord. And so as we embark on this book, we must understand what it is God has for us.

And so the writer of Hebrews says, God after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in his son. We're going to stop right there. Because this has become a very pivotal passage of scripture when it comes to how people understand the authority of God's word in their lives. You have heard it said, maybe you heard it said today or over time. Someone comes to you and says these words. God said to me. God spoke to me. I had a dream.

I had a vision. And in that dream, in that vision, God said to me. Now, is that true or is that false? Those who say it's true, use this passage to prove it's true. Those who say it's false, use this passage to prove it's false. So which is correct? A number of years ago when I became the college pastor at the King's College in Briarcliff Manor, New York. One of the students came up to me upon the first couple of months of my ministry and said, Mr.

Lance. I had a dream. And you were in that dream. And God spoke to me about you in that dream. I said he did. He said he did. He said to me that God told him that there's going to be a great revival at the King's College under my ministry. And that I should be anticipating wonderful, marvelous things to happen because a revival will sweep the college campus. And I said to him, are you sure I was in the dream? He said, yes, I am. I said, well, I have news for you. If I was in it, it's a nightmare, not a dream.

So you must understand that. Number two, I'm pretty sure God didn't tell you that. Well, seven years after that conversation, I left. Four and a half years after that, three years or two and a half years later, the school closed. No revival took place. Evidently, God didn't tell him what he thought God had told him. So how do you deal with situations like that? Worse than that, at that same college campus, I had a student secretary who had a twin sister who was killed in a car accident. So four students from the college left the campus, went to the mortuary because God told them to raise her from the dead.

So I got wind of this after they had already left. And so I waited with great anticipation for their return. They returned the next day. And so upon their return, I brought them to the office of the president and the president and I sat down and talked to them and said, Could you explain to us why you left to go raise this girl from the dead? You do know, don't you, that the Bible always speaks of Christ raising three people from the dead, not a whole bunch of people from the dead. So explain to us why God would choose you to raise this young lady from the dead.

And the spokesperson for that group said, Well, God told us to do this. I said, Really? So what happened when her already embalmed body lying in a casket did not rise up? Well, they said she came to us and said she wanted to stay right where she was. So I said, as only I can say, so not only does God speak to you, but dead people speak to you. That's quite amazing. And so I would venture to tell them what the scriptures said about God speaking to them. Now, maybe you haven't been a part of any of those conversations.

If you haven't, then that's a great thing for you. You have been spared by the sovereignty of God. But for those of us who've been in church ministry for any period of time, know that people say and come to them and say, Yes, God said to me, God spoke to me, God did this. And they attribute what happens in their life to God giving them a word. How do you answer them? I like to say to them, Was it a base voice or a tenor voice when God spoke to you? Was it a loud voice or a soft voice when the Lord spoke to you?

I would pray it would be a soft voice because his loud voice splits rocks and moves mountains. So I would trust that it was a soft voice that you heard. I would also say, Did you remain standing or did you fall down when you heard the voice? You have to ask the questions. So we ask this question, Does God speak today? If so, how? If not, why not? What does the Bible say? Because there are well-meaning people and maybe you're one of those well-meaning people who really actually believe that God speaks to them, whether in a dream or a vision or audibly, you really have that belief.

What do you do with that? What does God's word say about that? Well, hopefully we can show you this week and next week and the week after that. And if need be, the week after that, what the Bible says concerning that.

For instance, if someone says, Yes, God spoke to me. And you say, Well, no, he didn't. And they will say to you these words. Yes, the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 13, verse number eight, that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Have you heard that one? I hear that one all the time. Well, because it's in the book of Hebrews. And it's not till the end of the book of Hebrews, it will take us quite a while to get there. I thought we'd look at it today.

Is Christ the same yesterday, today and forever? Answer? Yes, he is. In terms of his essence, in terms of his nature and in terms of his character, he is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is immutable. He is unchangeable. He is the eternal God of the universe. That is true. But to use the verse, Hebrews 13, eight, that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. To prove that as God spoke in yesterday, so now he speaks to you. Is to take a verse out of context and attribute to it a meaning that is not true.

For instance, if God is the same yesterday, today and forever, people will say yes, he is the same yesterday, today and forever. God spoke in yesterday, he speaks today and will speak forever. Okay? How did God speak in the yesterday? I have to ask that question. People will say, those who believe that tongues and interpretations of tongues are for today, that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Okay? If Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, why didn't Jesus ever speak in tongues?

If he is the same yesterday, today and forever, because he never did. They didn't come about until Acts 2 with the apostles. Oh, by the way, if Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, why did you yesterday have to begin with Jesus in the incarnation? Why didn't you yesterday go back to the Old Testament? Because Jesus did exist in the Old Testament. But he did not exist in bodily form. The incarnation did not happen to the New Testament. He appeared as the angel of the Lord at various times in the Old Testament.

But why did you yesterday just have to be the Old Testament? Why not go back into eternity past? You have to ask that question. Right? On top of that, if you believe that God speaks to you today and that you can speak in tongues and have the interpretation of tongues, and Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, how is it then in the forever, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13, 8, that tongues will cease?

Prophecy will cease. See, your interpretation doesn't match what Scripture says. If it doesn't match what Scripture says, you have a problem.

And so you have to be able to work through verses with people who believe that God is speaking to them today. So the question comes, how does God speak? How did God speak in the past? It's always a great question. Well, the Bible tells us. He was one. God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, God spoke in the past. How did God speak in the past? Did God speak audibly in the past? Well, did God speak to Adam? Answer? Yes, He did. Read the book of Genesis.

Did God speak to Adam and Eve? Answer? Yes. He did speak to Adam and Eve. Did God speak to Cain? Yes. Did God speak to Abel? No. So, because God didn't speak to Abel, He spoke to Cain, we know that God doesn't speak to everybody. Evidently, because Abel received no word from the Lord. God spoke to Noah. God spoke to Noah and his sons. God spoke to Abraham. God spoke to Abraham on several occasions. Genesis 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, and 22. God spoke to Abraham a lot. God spoke to Abimelech, Rebekah, Isaac, Jacob, Laban, Joseph.

That's just in the book of Genesis and that's not everybody He spoke to. So, that's a great study. How did God speak to these people in the book of Genesis? God also spoke, if you read your Bible, in times past to Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Balaam, Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, the minor prophets. Did God speak audibly in the past? Answer? Yes, He did. He did. He communicated to others verbally, vocally. They heard Him speak. Very important. So, the bio writer of Hebrews says, God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in or by the prophets.

He spoke by the prophets. Was Moses a prophet? Yes. He wrote the first five books of the Bible. Was Moses there in Genesis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6? Nope. So, how does Moses know about creation? How does Moses know about the flood? How does Moses know about the fall of man? Somebody had to tell him. Who told him? Answer? God. God told him. Was David a prophet? Yes, he was a prophet. He was a king and he was a prophet. And David wrote. So, the Bible says that God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers by the prophets.

In many portions and in many ways, because He did do that. He spoke in many portions, in various times, through a period of 1400 years and 40 different authors. He spoke through those men. To give us what we have now as the word of the living God. So, He did do that. He spoke in many ways. If you read the Old Testament, He spoke in dreams, visions, tablets, orally, oral communication. You can go back and read the Old Testament and see how God spoke in ages long ago. To the fathers by the prophets in many portions and in many ways.

Which would cause Peter to write these words. 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21. But know this, first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation.

One's own private origin. It didn't come about by man's mind. Okay? For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved or born along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Peter tells us that there were men, holy men of God, who were born along by the Spirit of God. Moved along by the Spirit of God. A word used in Acts 27 to speak of a ship that once it lost its rudder was moved along by the wind. Born along by the wind. It moved that way. So too, prophets, holy men of God, were born along by the Spirit of God to write the words of God.

That's why the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3, all scripture is God breathed. Theopneustos. All scripture is God breathed. And that God breathed scripture is profitable for all things. In other words, the God breathed scripture is sufficient and supreme. To take a man of God and make him thoroughly equipped unto every good work. God's word does that. Now remember, God gave us these words. God spoke his words into existence as he spoke the universe into existence. Remember Psalm 33? Psalm 33 reads this way.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. So God would speak the universe into existence. The universe is here by the very word of God. We have in our hands the very word of God. The breath of God. The God breathed words.

That holy men of God who were born along by the spirit of God would write down. So that we can have them today. Interesting to note that when the Bible in the New Testament refers to God speaking. Says the scripture speaks. Let me give you two illustrations of that.

The first one is in the book of Galatians. If you got your Bible turn to the book of Galatians. Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. Verse number 8. Says as Paul is writing the scripture. For seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith. Preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying. All the nations will be blessed in you. Now that's what God said. To Abraham. God was preaching the gospel through Abraham. But Galatians 3 verse number 8 says. The scripture spoke these things. That's very important to understand.

Why? Because in the beginning was the word. And the word was with God. And the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And that word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. So important to get that. Why? Because over in the book of Romans. The ninth chapter. Says this in verse 17. For the scripture says to Pharaoh.

But the scripture didn't say to Pharaoh. God said. To Pharaoh. But when God speaks. Scripture speaks. Because when scripture speaks. God speaks. Says for the scripture says to Pharaoh.

For this very purpose I raised you up. To demonstrate my power in you. And that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. That's Exodus 9 verse number 16. So you have two occurrences. Very explicitly detailing for us. That when God speaks. Scripture speaks. Because God is the word. God is the word. That's why Romans 3 calls the scriptures. The oracles of God. The oracles of God. The voice of God. Does. God. Speak. Today. Answer. Yes. How does God speak. Today. He speaks to us through his all sufficient.

Totally supreme word of God. Which is the very breath of God. So. Someone comes to you and says or I come to you and say hey. God told me. To build an orphanage. In India. I need you to give me. Three million dollars. Because God told me to do that. What's your response. What's the chapter what's the verse. If you have no chapter you have no verse. God didn't speak. Because. Text says. These words. God. After he spoke. Long ago. To the fathers. In the prophets. In many portions and in many ways. Now if you just stop right there.

It tells us that God spoke long ago this way. Meaning that he's no longer speaking that way. If you just stop right there. But you got to read verse two. Because those who say that God speaks to them say well verse two says in these last days God has spoken to us in his son. Now listen very carefully what I'm going to tell you. Because this hinges on what you believe about how God speaks to you. Your text says in these last days and those who say that God speaks to them either audibly or in visions or in dreams will say.

Will say that these are the last days. And you know what they'd be right. Because these are the last days. The last days that began with the first coming of Jesus.

He ushered in the last days. And in. At the end of the tribulation. The last days. And you can go all throughout the scriptures and look at the phrase the last days and see that it was ushered in by Christ.

And Peter even refers to it in Acts chapter two. By the way Acts chapter two verses seventeen and following. Which helps us understand about dreams and visions. How your young men will dream dreams and have visions. And those who believe that God speaks to them in dreams and visions will use Acts two. A quotation from Joel the book of Joel to prove that God today in these last days is still speaking through dreams and visions. Are you still with me? Because some of you look like whoa man I don't know what you're doing up there pastor but I'm kind of lost today.

You know this is very important you need to get this. Churches across our country. Denominations across our country. TV preachers across the country are always saying God told me. God said to me. Did he? Are you sure? How do you know? And so they will say in these last days. God has spoken to us. Acts two quotation of Joel. The book of Joel. That your young men will dream dreams in the last days. Your young men will have visions in the last days and these are the last days. And they would be right.

These are the last days. But that's not what Hebrews one verse number two says. So yes it does you just read it. So no this is what it says ready. Your text says in these last days has spoken to us in his son. But grammatically that's not correct. For it says. In the last. Of these days. What days? The days in which God spoke. Long ago. You know that. Because the last is an adjective stands by itself. It does not modify days. Then we told you great grammar great theology bad grammar bad theology.

In the last of these days what days in the last of the days in which the Messiah was speaking. He spoke to us in his son. It's not the fact that this is referring to the last days. Which we are presently in right now when when Paul would say in second to be three in the last days perilous times will come.

Yes that's true. We are in those perilous times. In the last day speaking of the time when Christ first arrived until he comes again at the end of the tribulation.

All that period is the last days. Yes it encompasses all that. But he was one two doesn't say that it says in the last of these days. Because last in days are in different forms. Therefore they can't modify one another. Therefore they can't refer to the same thing. In the last of these days. The days in which God was speaking meaning he's no longer speaking today. Very important to understand that. Now before you get upset with me. Because some of you might be thinking wow pastor. I don't believe that.

Just stay with us. Work this through with us. This week and next week and the next week. And we will show you what the Bible does actually say. Because you must understand. The scriptures. Many Christians believe that they get personal messages. From the Lord. And based them. Based them on faulty interpretations of Hebrews 1 1 and 2. Hebrews 13 verse number 8. Acts 2 17 5 which we'll talk about next week. And the book of Joel which we'll talk about next week. And Romans 12 verse number 6 which we'll talk about next week.

They base them on faulty interpretations. And then you've got to ask this question. Wait a minute. What about what I have experienced. Is experience. A valid test of truth. I have experienced the voice of God. I've experienced a dream. I've experienced a vision. So we border on mysticism and hosticism. You've got to be careful about that. So how do you answer people who have these experiences. Turn with me to your Bible to 2 Peter chapter 1.

Let me show you how Peter dealt with his experiences. 2 Peter chapter 1 verse number 16. Peter is speaking. He says for we did not follow cleverly devised tales. And we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter says listen.

When we talk to you about the coming of Jesus. Okay. We didn't give you any cleverly devised fairy tales. Because when the writers of the New Testament talked about the coming of Jesus. They would inevitably quote the Old Testament. They would go back to the Old Testament writers. And use scripture to prove the second coming of the Messiah.

So Peter says for we did not follow cleverly devised tales. When we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Listen carefully. Even though we had an experience. And nobody had a greater experience. Than Peter, James and John. On the Mount of Transfiguration. Nobody. We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. So he says. Verse 17. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father. Such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory.

This is my beloved son. With whom I am well pleased. Now we know that happened two times in scripture. Once at the baptism. And once on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter, James and John were not at his baptism. So it's not referring to that situation. So it must be referring to the Mount of Transfiguration. On the Mount of Hermon. Up by Caesarea Philippi. In the northern part of the land of Israel. Because they went up into a high mountain. I know that many would tell you it's on top of Mount Tabor.

By the Jezreel Valley. But they are wrong. They are wrong because the Bible says they went up into a high mountain.

Not a low mountain. And Mount Tabor is a low mountain. And so when you put the context of Caesarea Philippi together with Mount Hermon. And on the next day they went up into a high mountain. Then you know that it's Mount Hermon. And not Mount Tabor. And if you go to Israel with us. You'll be able to see and stand at the base of Mount Hermon. And understand the great and glorious Transfiguration of Christ. It says in verse 18. And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven. When we were with him on the holy mountain.

Now Mount Hermon is not a holy mountain. But it was holy at this time. Because the majestic glory was on the mountain. And Christ himself was on the mountain. The mountain itself was not holy. But God himself made the mountain holy. Because that's where he was. So we have the prophetic word made more sure. Listen carefully. We had an experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. An experience unlike anyone else has ever experienced. Because it was there where Christ unzipped his flesh. And there the glory of the Lord was shined all around.

And there the voice out of heaven would come. This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. And there on the mountain stood Moses. And there on the mountain stood Elijah. And there was a preview of the second coming of the Messiah.

In all of his majestic glory. And Peter said that was our experience. But he says. We have something more sure than that experience. We have a guarantee. Something greater than our experience. What is that? We have the prophetic word made more sure. Or we have a more sure prophetic word. What we have is the prophecy of the Messiah. His coming again. Which by the way Peter says is more sure than my experience. Then he says this. To which you do well to pay attention to. You would do well to pay attention to the prophetic word.

And not my experience. Why? Because my experience is unreliable. My experience is non-verifiable. My experience is my experience and mine alone. Except for James and John who were with me. It's an unrepeatable event. But God's word is a repeatable word. A word that can be examined. A word that can be tested. A word that can be trusted. A word that can be believed. It is verifiable. It is something that can be put to the test. You have a more sure prophetic word. To which you do well to pay attention.

As to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns. And the morning star arises in your heart. Speaking about the coming of the Messiah. And the glory of his presence upon his arrival to this earth. And that's when he goes into verse 20 where he says. But know this first of all.

That no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will. Men moved by the Holy Spirit from God. Or the Holy Spirit from God spoke. They spoke from God. So what you have in your hand is a more sure prophetic word. That everything that is spoken can be tested, tried, proven. Because God has spoken that word. It's very important to understand that. Because people will say. God told me to do that. Did he? Did he really? How did he tell you?

Did God speak in the past? Absolutely. God spoke in the past audibly. God spoke through dreams and visions and through tablets. He did. He spoke to the prophets. So that the fathers would understand the truth of the coming Messiah. And the redemptive plan of God. Yes, God spoke. He did speak. In the last of these days. What days? The days in which God was speaking. He has spoken to us in his Son. Jesus Christ our Lord. And so when the word became flesh. And dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory.

John says. John tells us in 1 John. Chapter 1. What was from the beginning. What we have heard. What we have seen. Our eyes. The word of life. He calls Christ the word of life. And the life was manifested. And we have seen and testify and proclaim to you. The eternal life which was with the Father. It was manifested to us. What we have seen and heard. We proclaim to you also. So that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed our fellowship is with the Father. And with the Son Jesus Christ. These things we write.

So that our joy may be made complete. We write these things down. Why? Because Matthew chapter 3 verses 1 to 6 says. That the holy prophets spoke. And the prophets and the apostles. Spoke. God's word to us. And recorded it for us. We know that there were 13 apostles. There were 12 apostles. Judas was disqualified. He was a false apostle. Matthias took his place. Paul becomes number 13. There were 13 apostles. And they were the ones who gave us the mystery. Of the kingdom of God. Matthew chapter 3 verses 1 to 6.

And that mystery was given to us. That the Jews and Gentiles. Would be one in the church age. That which was concealed in the past. Is now being revealed in the present. By God's holy prophets. As he spoke to us his word. And the church is built on the foundation. Of the apostles and the prophets. What's the foundation of the apostles and the prophets? The words that the apostles. And the prophets gave to us. Because they were holy men of God. Born along by the spirit of God. To speak to us the word of God.

And to record it. So we would know. That God has spoken. In his word. So when you come to the book of Revelation. I know my time is gone. When you come to the book of Revelation. Written in 96 AD. It says. The revelation of Jesus Christ. Not the revelations. Not plural. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Our Lord. It is the apocalypsis. The unveiling. The uncovering of Jesus Christ. Our Lord. And no book like the book of Revelation. Unveils to us. The character and nature of our God. Quite like the book of Revelation.

In fact it gives us titles and names. Nowhere else recorded in the New Testament. About Jesus Christ. Our Lord. And Christ unveiled his glory to John. He could write it down. And what he wrote down. Was everything pertaining. To the end. Of. The age. And so.

Jesus says in Revelation 22 verse number 18. You cannot add. Or take away. From the words of this book. What book? The book that takes you all the way. To the end of the age. All the way into eternity. So if you say. God speaks to you. Then you are adding words. Of scripture. Past. Eternity. And that's impossible. You can't do that. Christ says if you add to the words of this book.

Or take away from the words of this book. Then I will add to you the plagues. That are written in this book. See but wait a minute. Wait a minute. Peter says. These words. In the book of Acts. As he quotes the book of Joel. It shall be in the last days. God says.

That I will pour forth. Of my spirit. On all. Mankind. And your sons and your daughters. Shall prophesy. And your young men shall see visions. And your old men. Shall. Dream dreams. At the end it says and. It should be that everyone who calls. In the name of the Lord will be saved. And people who believe. That God speaks today. Through visions and through dreams. Who gives them a prophetic utterance. To use this. Verse. These verses to prove their point. So is it true. That in these. Days. That Peter speaks of.

Young men will dream dreams. And they say. That this. Is what happened. In Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost. Are they right? Or are they wrong? Next week. We'll explain that to you. Let me pray with you.

Father we thank you for the word of the Lord. We thank you for the. Faith that was once. For all. Delivered. To the Saints. We thank you Lord that we can trust your word. We can believe your word. Because. It is. The word of truth. And everything that we. Believe. Comes from the word of God. When Martin Luther. Banged those 95. Theses on the Wittenberg door in Germany. He wanted to take the people of God. Back to the authority of the word of God. It is a supreme. All sufficient authority for man's.

Faith. And life. May that be true for us. Here at Christ Community Church. Never wavering. From the scriptures. Knowing. That your word is true. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.