God Told Me? (part 2) - [2 Peter 1:16-21]

Bethlehem Bible Church

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Well, there's been lots of discussion about last week's sermon, and so I think I will try to stimulate some more conversation this morning

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Do you remember years ago that oral Roberts said that a 900 foot vision of Jesus?

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Told him to build a 60 -story hospital in South Tulsa Never mind there were already three hospitals in that area of Tulsa and the officials begged him

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To build it in a different place, but after in the early 80s. It was built It was a complete failure only two stories occupied and all kinds of debt

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Jesus came back and told him that he needed to get eight million dollars or die within two months a dog -tracked owner in,

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Florida Bailed him out, but two years later. The place was closed my question this morning is did

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God really tell oral that? You recall Benny Hinn last decade he said in the coming decade prophecy

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God told him that Castro would die in In the 90s the homosexual community in the u .s..

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Would be destroyed by fire before 1995 and before 2000 there be a major earthquake on the east coast and Jesus would appear in his healing crusades in person

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Did Jesus really tell Benny Hinn that? Carlton Pearson in Dateline interview on TV August 2006

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Carlton said God I don't know how you're going to call yourself a loving God and allow all these people to suffer so much and then just Suck them into hell, and I believe it was a spirit of God in me saying is that what you think we're doing so God?

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Allegedly told him is that what you think I'm doing the interviewer said Keith Morrison. You heard this voice

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Yes, sir, and I said that's what I've been taught He talked back. He says at that voice in his head

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God I can't save the whole world and that's when I heard the voice say Precisely that's what we did and if you tell them that they are redeemed

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You wouldn't create those kind of problems. Can't you see they're already in hell I? Immediately started thinking about my grandparents well

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Maybe they're not in hell Maybe if they're saved already if the cross in Christ and all that stuff really happened in is really spiritual

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Which I believe it is then he came to save the world then the world is saved unless he's a total failure The non -professing

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Christian Keith Morrison then said you mean Hitler's in heaven Pearson said you think

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Hitler's more powerful than the blood of Jesus Did God really speak to Carlton Pearson?

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How could we forget of James Ryle who said in a dream God told him that the

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Beatles? guitars and amplifiers Belong to the Lord the Lord said to me

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Ryle said I called those four lads from liver to upon to myself There was a call from God on their lives

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The Lord said to me the same kind of reaction that the Beatles extracted will come only this time the girls will not scream

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Ringo John George and Paul they will scream Jesus Jesus Jesus Did God really say that to him?

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I mean I almost want to laugh or do I cry? Jack Hayford said

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God give me some word because I have to go speak to President Clinton And I need to know what to say on the way in Hayford said

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I was given this impression to say to President Clinton at the time and I did there are no alligators here

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It's the first thing he said to President Clinton Did God really say that to Jack Hayford this year

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Pat Robertson said that God told him who would be elected in present as president in? November But he said he couldn't tell because he'd get too much criticism for 60 minutes

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Mark Dever told of a man who said to him God told me to plant a church But he only told me to use the red letters of the

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Bible Did God really say these things to all these people Matter of fact

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God told me this morning not to preach the Bible so therefore all these stories

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Okay, I met a man right over here one time in my old study

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And I see he was a pastor and I said well What what are you preaching through these days because that's what you always ask a pastor what book of the

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Bible you're preaching through and? They'll probably be preaching verse by verse expositionally You'll know it's a fairly solid place, and he said well

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You know sometimes we just have a lot of praise music and sometimes God tells me not to preach in Every age we go through these troubles, and here's the trouble

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We know what the Word of God says We have some kind of issue in our life And if we're not careful

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We're going to want more than the Bible says let's turn our Bibles to 2nd Peter chapter 1 and deal with this in Context with the false teachers of Peter's day, and then have some practical application for us today because we all have

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Decisions that we have to make and decisions that we need to make sure Come from an external revealed true source versus from the inside We are not

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Quakers at this church last time. I checked Quaker said this God has put himself in you therefore what your feelings are are therefore good feelings and Therefore you should listen to yourself

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We believe that the fall when Adam and Eve fell it affected everything about us

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Yes heart soul and mind and we have been Fallen and so what our

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Impressions might be what our intuition might be that is also fallen and we cannot trust ourselves

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We cannot trust ourselves with making Decisions about who God is and what he's said we have to go to what

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God has told us Explicitly in Scripture, and this is a fascinating study it

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Stirs up all kinds of questions, and I'm sure some objections today, but here's my point if I had to boil it all down That this

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Word of God is Authoritative it is objective and it is sufficient for everything and you have everything you need in Christ in this scripture and your desire to search outside of that for guiding can be a betrayal of Your understanding of God's sovereign hand as you live in light of that So let's look at 1st 2nd

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Peter see contextually what was going on And then we'll drive some principles that I think will help you with your own decision -making

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Basically what Paul excuse me what Peter is saying in the book of 2nd Peter is Jesus is going to come back the false teachers say he's not going to come back the false teachers say you know

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It's just another day another day another dollar nothing spectacular will come Jesus is going isn't going to come back and by the way if you don't think he's going to come back it affects your moral

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Living if there's no accountability Then you slack off when father goes out of town, and you know he's coming home on Friday You get in gear on Thursday doing all your chores

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There's something to be said for Christ's soon return that we respond ethically and morally and it is a good thing for our obedience

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Jesus will return look busy I Saw that bumper sticker No on the contrary

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Jesus is coming back be faithful in service Now these false teachers were going around saying you know

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God had told me these things God had revealed me the revealed these things to me Or they would say you know what what

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God has said through the Apostles has not happened and Peter wants to make sure that these

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Folks during trying times can trust the word During difficult times that the

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Bible through the Apostles is final Infallible and Certain so much so in our own confession of faith at this church.

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It reads the sum total of God's revelation It's regarding the word concerning all things essential to his own glory we believe the

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Bible contains everything essential to God's glory and to the salvation and faith and life of Men is either explicitly set down are implicitly contained in the scriptures

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If you believe what I just said in our statement of faith You don't need God to audibly talk to you to have an impression to try to analyze

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Open closed door and we'll get to that in a little bit. You don't need to do what Edwards said Why would you abandon the

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North Star for direction and follow a jack -o' -lantern? When I was in Germany and use that line

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I had to ask ahead of time nine The Here's what

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I'm after today Do you really think the Bible is sure and certain and sufficient if you do it'll affect the way you make decisions?

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I don't want us as a church This isn't a scolding sermon because I think you do believe it But I don't want you to get some kind of temporary spiritual

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Alzheimer's and forget how Certain the Word of God is and how complete?

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Because if you open that Jeanne's bottle up and place a comma where God has placed a period you are in big big trouble

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Where is the promise of his coming? The answer was it was back in the scriptures and now we move to this passage chapter 2 verses

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Excuse me 2nd Peter chapter 1 verses 16 through 21 that will fortify

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I hope your trust in the certainty of Word of God that you put nothing on par with the

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Word of God and we learn Last week there are three basic outline exhortation straight from The movie

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Gettysburg the Confederates were coming to remember we can't lose this Ridge or the battle is lost

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Fix bayonets and so here are three ridges that you can't lose Regarding the

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Word of God and its efficiency or you will lose the battle when it comes to making poor decisions and somehow

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Trusting in your heart or somehow getting caught up by false teachers by the way Let me just say it you guys are all kind of looking at me like this is all review get to the new stuff

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So let me just push it right now while we don't really while we're not really affected by false teachers as much today in our church because I think the elder board and and the congregation has matured together and we

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We don't buy into these false teachers Oh that guy's just tricked all the BBC and it's the latest guy on TV down in Florida, and he must be real

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I don't think we have that problem with false teachers But I think we have a problem with a bigger false teacher and that is our own hearts

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We have a teacher that will falsely lead us and it's ourselves That we will think something feel something

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God is leading in a certain way and we will be tricked if we're not careful and in the Word of God we have met the enemy and the enemy is us so we need help from the outside and so these fixed bayonets

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That we saw last week were number one versus 16 through 18 You should see the

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Bible is reliable because of the apostolic witness Because the Apostles themselves chosen by God heard and saw

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Jesus's preview of a second coming Why should you believe? readers of 2nd

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Peter that Jesus is going to come back that the words of his of the prophecy of his soon return are true is

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Because the Apostles have been given both ear and eye witness to that very fact you see the verses

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We won't go into these again, but just for those who weren't here last week We're 16 for we the

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Apostles did not follow Cleverly devised tales when we made known to you The powerful coming of the

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Lord Jesus Christ That's a good translation are the NAS the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but we were remember the

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Mount of Transfiguration were I Witnesses of His Majesty we are basing our knowledge on historical fact

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This wasn't an impression. It wasn't internal We heard and we saw an historical fact and if you were there you would hear and also see as well

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He says we're not making this up. We've been accused of that We're not following some kind of weird myth our wives tale

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This has been made known to us and that word there made known those two words is often used in the

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Bible to show God's mystery mystery is not something mysterious mystery is something that we didn't know before and now we know

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We didn't know before some of these facts now We know and God says I've made known those to you readers of 2nd

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Peter through the Apostles And he says we were the eyewitnesses.

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I Colts and Men's clubs and masons and stuff like that back in those days they had something similar and what you had to do to be initiated into the right of the

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Royal Order of the goats or whatever it was you had to be there and you had to see you can't just be outside and go

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I know what's going on in there when you were brought in through all the smoke and mist and steam and everything else and in Through the curtains and you saw you were initiated.

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That's what that word eyewitnesses was and this time So it's like Peter steals this weird

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Royal Order of the goats a mysticism word eyewitness And he says you think you're an eyewitness to this kind of shenanigans stuff going on We were really eyewitnesses to what we saw the real preview of Christ at the

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Transfiguration We didn't make up fables

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We saw and now verse 17 we heard For when we received honor and glory from God the

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Father such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory This is my beloved son with whom

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I am well pleased We not only saw Jesus, but we also heard the father and we verse 18

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Ourselves heard the utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain

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We saw the preview of God's glory we saw the preview of the kingdom we saw the preview of the

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Second Coming and we know according to Christianity the Apostles hold a high place when it comes to the writing of Scripture and following them and so Peter says second

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Peter audience Jesus is coming back because the word has foretold it and we are the apostolic witnesses number two

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Fixed bayonet charge number two, so we would hold our ground as well Of course, we should trust the

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Bible is reliable because of apostolic witness But more than that number two, you should see the

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Bible as sure because it always trumps experience Even the Apostles we have something more sure than apostolic witness

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Something more sure than an experience and that is the Word of God You notice the text again verse 19 and so we have the prophetic word made more what?

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Sure You want to know that Jesus is coming back second Peter audience number one The Apostles have foretold that and they have seen it and number two.

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There's something even more important than the Apostles Experience and that is the Word of God. You notice the text

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We have the prophetic word the proclaimed word the forth told word That is more sure

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Scripture is more trustworthy than experience John MacArthur said that original arrangement of the sentence supports the interpretation that Peter is ranking scripture over experience

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The prophetic word scripture is more complete more permanent and more authoritative than the experience of Anyone what is more sure than experience

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John says the word? Peter's point is precisely this issue the pilgrimage from experience to experience

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More and more spectacular is not only frustrating it is counterproductive Spiritually Peter says listen

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I had an experience a real one, but I have a more sure word than my own senses

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I can't even trust my own senses in a real experience of seeing the glory of God That's why when black of he says

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God wants you to come to a greater knowledge of his self the experience He doesn't understand this passage

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I'll stick with the more sure word as a pastor. I want you to stick with the more sure word

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Bane that charge number three so you'll hold your ridge to this Bible is sufficient

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It's apostolic it trumps experience and number three God wrote it

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Verses 20 and 21 you should see the Bible is certain because of its divine origins

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Peter says the Apostles that are false say Jesus isn't coming back the Apostles that are true saying

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Jesus is coming back Make your choice. Do you choose what men say or do you choose what

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God says because God speaks through humans? Make your choice. It's the same today with us make your choice

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You want to go with what God surely says or what you've experienced our felt our thought or had the impression of?

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Someone might say well the Apostles are just men while they were men moved by God look at verses 20 and 21

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But know this first of all, this is the truth. This is important. This is at the top of the list

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That no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation You don't inspire

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Scripture This is this is how God reveals himself For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will this is not future

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Prophecy necessarily. This is any kind of Scripture that was told by God. It was never made by an act of human will

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It wasn't Peter going. I think I'll write the Bible today alone But these men were moved by the

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Holy Spirit spoke from God. They were born along like a sail is born along in a

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Sail ship you say well What does it matter?

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What should we do? All right. Now, let's get to the punchline Since God's Word is holy sufficient authoritative and clear

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Here's what Peter wants his people to do and here's what I want you to do Forget other leadings impressions feelings and other pieces about it

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I have a piece about it forget all that and obey what's in the scripture. Look at that. Take a look at verse 19

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We have the prophetic word made more sure but I skipped over this early because I wanted to give you the punchline now I don't know what to do.

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I don't know how to make a decision. I've got all these false prophets running around I need to marry someone. I need to buy a car.

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Do I change this? Do I do that? Do I move a thousand decisions? Here's the main advice Obey what you do know and God will lead you to what you do well see the text to pay attention as a

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Lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your heart readers of 2nd

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Peter False teachers on every corner Peter says obey what you know, you have the Bible obey what you know, and you're going to be safe Be careful to pay attention to obeying

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The hearts like a false teacher the false teachers are false teachers God said something be busy about obeying that and watch how will he will lead you and guide you

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That's why when I read an experience of God if you start doing before you have a direction from God more than likely

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You'll be wrong page 89 Friends that is exactly opposite of what Peter is saying.

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You don't need any direction. You need to get obeying what you already know Be in the word prayer and service and giving etc.

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You already know enough get busy doing it But what do we do because we're fallen? God, I kind of don't like to do some of those things

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I tried a minute didn't work out and I kind of need something new I need something fresh this kind of you know obey the

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Bible and call me in the morning prescription I don't like anymore I got it you know God is the same yesterday today and forever and he used to talk to some people still small voices and I Guess out of all the people in the

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Bible only hundred one hundred or less were talked to by God But I think I'm probably the hundred and first and God you got to tell me and God is saying

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I've told you I've told you don't look in look out to the source And if you notice the passage here take heed this is important.

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This is not if you want to this is not every other day This is not you know To what degree should you take heed to the revealed

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Word of God as to a lamp shining in a dark place? The world's dark society's dark world systems dark.

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I don't know what to do. I don't know whether to change jobs I don't know whether to marry this girl. I don't know what to do

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Well, here's the lamp that stands right in the middle of the dark place. And here's the lamp the Word of God obey it

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God Purposely didn't tell you how to pick a wife or if you should change jobs Why crave what he hasn't said he said this is enough

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You have to trust me as a sovereign God enough that if you obey the scriptures and walk by the fruit of the

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Spirit I will lead your life on The flip side those that say you know what I need to have more hands -on leading

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Deny their trust in the sovereignty of God because they want more than God has purposely not given them

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You'll have to do it forever I've got a hands -on guy and I need hands -on help and I don't do good with the manager unless he's really hands -on

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How long do I have to do it? Look at the text until the day dawns This is metaphorical language here until the day dawns and the morning star that would be the planet

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Venus literally But it's figurative language arises in your hearts You need to keep obeying until this morning star

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Christ comes again. He's going to come again Don't pay attention to the false teachers and keep obeying the word that you do know until he comes back

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And here he's not even talking about the New Testament. He's talking about the old until Jesus returns

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Those in trouble and in trial should always obey the light given to them in the

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Word of God and force Themselves not to follow their own intuition. There are two religions in the world if you think salvation wise

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There's the religion that says I do God saves it's the religion that MacArthur calls human achievement and it's every religion in the world except Christianity works

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Merits based there's another religion called Christianity and Christianity says I am the problem

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I can't do and God has to do it for me if God doesn't save through Christ Jesus the risen Kings Substitutionary atonement

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I can't be saved two religions do or it's been done for you Now there are also two religions when it comes to guidance for people the religion that says guidance is found on the inside You're good.

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You're nice You're better than the rest and you have kind of a divine light inside of you and you're a

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Quaker at heart and you go For what, you know, and the other religion says I can't trust myself

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I've been affected by the fall and more than once I've got myself into big trouble by following my heart I mean, by the way, this just destroys all the

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Disney movies You'll ever see so I'm sorry to do that to you because some of the animation is good But go with your heart and oh, you know, well, why am

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I doing this pacing back and forth? Two religions of guidance one says that's inside one says it's outside and God is so good and so gracious and Kind to us to say don't trust yourself.

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Matter of fact in this Proverbs. It says, you know who trusts themselves a fool

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Why would God tell us all this if we could just hear from God and he walks with me and talks with me along life's

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If he's talking with you through the scripture, amen People say God told me well

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I want to know chapter or verse because God didn't tell you a you're not an apostle Be your life is completely destroyed by your following your own intuition

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And if God was gonna speak to somebody it'd probably be RC Sproul and not you but anyway, I'm getting beyond my point

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Why are those who are the most immature? Tend to be the most subjective because they're related

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Because the subjective ones become immature because this is what builds what gains strength which gives us muscle tone and fiber

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But it's hard. It's so hard that God has to command you to study it if it was easy

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We wouldn't have to have any kind of command It's so hard the the longest psalm in all the Bible 119 that we looked at is a whole thing

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Trying to show us David a man after God's own Heart who loves the word.

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He says I delight in it I delight it's everything to me. He says

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I lift up my hands in worship. The Bible is sure

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We aren't the Bible is infallible. We aren't so why do we slip over? We have to be careful people these days have now come up with a new category

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I've been to have an impression from God, but I've got an infallible impression and it didn't work out and you know

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I'm glad I'm not an Old Testament law because When God speaks and it doesn't come true you get killed so I don't really want to get killed today

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And so I've got a kind of fallible impressions. Listen, it's it's from God. It's always infallible

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Let me read you Luke 11 28. Don't go there. But let me just read it to you this is Jesus's words on the contrary blessed are those who hear the

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Word of God and Observe it You want blessings from God study the

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Word of God and do it. Let me change that around the verse a little bit on The contrary blessed are those who hear an impression from God and observe it

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Blessed are those who see a door open and think that they need to go through it

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Blessed are those who have been led by God from through circumstance and think somehow it's perfect revealed

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Will of God never in the Bible to say listen to your inner voice follow your heart go with what you know, because we

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We would make mistakes if we did that You think Mike, you know what you nobody talks like you're talking today.

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I know one ever says this Peter said it Jesus said it

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The mistake of Christianity today is mistaking an impression for the voice of God my

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Word is a lamp unto my own feet No, thy word is a lamp unto my feet

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We want to be focused on the Word of God and obeying what we know. Let me have somebody else's words convict you

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Spurgeon 1869 his sermon was called waiting for signs and wonders and For those who have wait for some other word from God outside of Scripture to obey their lives and work and have family life

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And everything pertaining to life and godliness. Here's what he said to them and it just it's so true He said you are acting the part of an idolater

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What does the idolater do? He says I cannot believe in an unseen God I must have a golden calf or an image that I can see with my eyes and touch with my hand

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You say just the same thing. You cannot believe God's naked word. You demand something you can feel something you can see sheer idolatry

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Do you not see it you make your own feelings and emotions or strange? Impressions to be more worthy of trust than even

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God himself you make them idols and put them into God's place You so far as you can undefy the deity and then

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Spurgeon says Oh tremble at such a crime as this Friends go for the truth

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Find an ology in your life Bibliology Christology Pneumatology and study it nothing nation says in this world can take the place of truth

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Scripture is not a source. It's the source and if you want some New England quotes I'll give you one

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Henry David Thoreau rather than love rather than money rather than fame. Give me truth

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John 17 17 thy word is truth Let's talk about a few things that sometimes we mistake as truth

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And I want you to at least think about the next time it happens before you just follow your heart

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First one is impressions God speaks to people today by means of impressions

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Friends I don't really know what that's like. I have intuition. I have thoughts. I think to myself

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Well, maybe God would like me to do that But that's as far as it goes because I know that if I trust in my own heart

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Proverbs 28 26 I will be what the Bible says a fool He who trusts in his own heart is a fool

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Jeremiah 17, you know the words, right? What's Jeremiah 17 9 say?

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The heart is desperately wicked Deceitful above all else. I'm the one who can know it.

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I mean we can't we can't trust ourselves We have to be very very careful

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If you get an impression You say you know what? I had an impression.

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Okay, good off we go Don't say I must obey my impression and then say, you know,

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I'm kind of tentative in this decision But here's what I'll do to make myself feel better and others won't think I'm as crazy

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God told me to do it. So then after I do what my impression told me to do. I have some stamp of validation

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There's no stamp of validation There is a good God and a generous God who will just let you fumble your way through until it's time for him to rescue you

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But you ought not to be so presumptuous as to say I had an impression Peter would say no You did not you had an impression, but don't follow that impression.

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I God's kind of, you know gave me an impression. I would say to that person

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Stay in the word stay in prayer Obey your employer now as much as you can seek outside counsel and then say this

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God I trust you enough as a sovereign God that You haven't told me how to change jobs or do anything else and I just think it's a good decision for my family

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I think it's wise. I think it's prudent. I think the other godly people in my life had said the same thing and I think

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I will just Walk out in faith trusting you that's the way we make decisions

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart. It did not say trust Your heart unto the

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Lord lean not on your own understandings that should get rid of all the impressions right there, too Unless we call it an impression what

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God says in all your ways acknowledge him Faithful in the word faithful and spiritual disciplines faithful in the local church faithful it to your employer at home or at work wherever it is

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And God will make your paths what? crooked He says, you know what?

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I can't believe you're so stupid to just do what I say in my word You think you're gonna follow me? I'm gonna teach you better Would he ever do that?

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This sounds ridiculous God says I purposely haven't told you all the details.

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I mean seriously, let's even think about parenting for a minute How much in the Bible is about parenting? It's hardly anything

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What that's like one of the most important things in life, don't you think 80 % of the Bible should be about parenting Especially with some of the kids we have.

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I mean, we've got a no -ho. I said we But God says listen you become the right kind of person

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Initially by the regenerating grace of God and you keep your Bible You keep your face in the

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Bible. So your blood turns bibling as Spurgeon says and you'll know the right things to do He purposely didn't tell us but we want to go

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God, you know I know where to send my kid. I don't know what to do. And I just need more guidance He's given you all the guidance and there's a huge trumpet going out saying listen

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We don't know we have to trust God that he'll make those Checks and balances in his sovereign hand.

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It's good to plan Well, what else do people say sometimes People say

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God led me let's turn to Acts chapter 5 for a minute. God was leading me Now let me just say this as you're turning there you can always see

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God's leading hand as you look back in history and You see his providential leading hand.

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It's very easy to determine and you can see how God led you I love Naomi song today with the ladies

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God's been faithful so far and he will be and if you want to see God's faithful leading you look backwards and see how he

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Providentially works it out, but you are not given a glimpse into the sovereign plan of God in the future

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What do you have for the future The revealed will of God scriptures. So the only way you approach with faith in the future is by doing what

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God says and so when people say God led me and They look backwards. I say amen.

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How was I led to Bethlehem Bible Church 11 years ago? I can see it But when I was in the middle of it all

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I couldn't say it's gonna be for sure and all this and God Please tell me and I'm not too sure and and you know

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I need a sign and driving down the street and maybe see, you know, Bethlehem Avenue or something God, that's it

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I I know that's right You laugh I want to show you a man who was led

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The wrong way and he made a future decision based on his leading Of course we see providential leading past tense

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Forward -looking we have only the Bible do the Bible and trust God enough to make an informed godly decision but a man named

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Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property and kept back some of the price for himself with his

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Wife's full knowledge and bringing a portion of it. He laid it at the Apostles feet First three, but Peter said

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Ananias Why has Satan filled your heart? To lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land while it remained unsold did not

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Remain your own did it not remain your own and after it was sold was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your where?

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heart You have not lied to men but to God Friends if you let your heart lead you you can make a tragic mistake.

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I believe Ananias was led by himself And paid the ultimate price We talked about it last week.

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Let me give you another one. I have a piece about it I mean all week long, you know, whatever dinner party I've been to this week, you know

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Everybody's been laughing about I've had a piece about it. I've had a piece about it. We don't want to somehow Maximize our feelings at the expense of the

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Bible. We should have feelings. We should have emotions Jesus had them But while Jesus was perfect, we aren't perfect and we cannot trust our feelings.

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We have to have other counselors We have been given a plurality of elders we have been given a spouse because we make wrong decisions and if you say

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I have a piece about it and make a Decision I would say this instead Study the Word of God about the topic study the

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Word of God about God himself Make sure you have short accounts with the Lord with your sin And make sure you're involved in a local church and then make the decision that seems best to you

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Go for it make it you can't have a piece about everything.

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How can you have a piece about church discipline? How can you have a piece about? Rebuking a brother, how can you have a piece about preaching all kinds of things?

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We don't have a piece about but we do it The Bible says instead All right, what about if someone says

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God said these are all running into each other What I want to do here is you want to resist with full stiff -armed force?

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Anything that begins to look like new revelation from God in these last days

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Hebrews says God has spoken to us in his son and his apostolic messengers The Canon is closed and it has been for a long time.

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Don't let any guidance move in the direction of new revelation from God God says things in his

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Word God talks to us in his Word We talk to God in prayer. God does not talk to you in prayer

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God does not talk to you in circumstances. You might observe some providential hand of God But God talks and only talks according to his scripture in the scriptures

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Did you know there's not a command in all the Bible to listen to God outside his Word? Not one not a hint

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Nothing Never to tune into the inner voice. It's always to study and meditate upon scripture

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It's always told us to cultivate wisdom and understanding in the scripture to seek wisdom in the

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Proverbs Phil Johnson said to whatever degree you seek private messages outside his

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Word you abandon sola scriptura and Once you do that Anything can happen to the best people

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Beth Moore Thank you for your inquiry about my stand on women teaching men as you may know the ministry to which

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God has called me As geared to women my conference and weekly Bible studies are entirely focused upon women

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The only exception to an entirely female audience is my Sunday school class Men continue to come and sit in the back

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We never sought them, but they did not know how and but we did not know how to deal with them Would Christ have thrown them out?

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I? Just didn't know I handed over the problem to my pastor and under his authority He said to allow anyone to come who chooses

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You know if you want to disobey and your pastor says okay you can but that's not my point. Here's the point quote

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This is she's not some heretic. She's not some word -faith teacher But if you're not careful better people than ourselves have fallen into this trouble

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I wrestled with the Lord she said and he finally said to me I Tell you what

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Beth He doesn't talk that way But I tell you what Beth you worry about what

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I tell you to say and I'll worry about who listens Friends you don't have to hear that if God says

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I do not allow a woman to exercise authority over a man and teach then You don't like it. You don't know how to deal with it your pastors

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Don't know how to deal with it, then God told you God did not tell her anything of the sort And what does it take when you say here's an obvious command of God and now it's no longer a command of God If God tells you to do something then

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God can tell you you know you just don't need to preach anymore You have to be very very careful.

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I Don't like some of the things in the Bible But I I'm under it aren't

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I I am to submit to it This is not for me to critique Who am

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I I'm a sinful rotten dirty wretched gross

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Sick sinner who God has said you know what out of my glorious purposes and Christ Jesus my prince

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I will rescue you and change you and you will be an eternal trophy of my goodness and grace

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And since I've done that to you and since you are were those things I want you to follow my word and you stick close to my word and you follow the great saints of Scripture They've always stuck close to the word you follow the great saints in church history.

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They've always been men of God who are in the word You're gonna look back in this century, and you're gonna go you know what?

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People going around following their own gizzard and their own feelings and their own impressions were never the great saints of God in church history

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What made William Carey great What made? Mary Slessor great

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God made them great and gave them a taste and a hankering for the Word of God How about this one?

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Let's go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 when you say God opened the door or closed the door I want to show you a case in Scripture where God opened the door

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For Paul, and he didn't go through it because sometimes open door means don't go I'm giving you a good trial to see if you'll just have some discernment or not sometimes a closed door means keep knocking

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I mean obviously if you have a death in a family that is a pretty shut door wouldn't you say?

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There are times when there's a door that shut if you get married the door is shut for all future marriages kind of thing

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Because we don't believe in polygamy But just generally speaking. I think I'd like to I think

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I'd like to get a new job God opens door I'll go through now it may be true if God does give you a new job

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You might be able to do it, but that's not a sign. That's not God talking That's not God saying Mike listen to my word

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No He's already told me what he needs to do what I need to do and that is work hard for my employer and trust that God will take care of me, and if he loves me more than I love myself

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He has a righteous wonderful love for me Then I don't have to worry about it, and so if you look at 2nd

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Corinthians chapter 2 Here's just an illustration that this open door closed door talk that Christians have today just needs to be pushed down It needs to be disregarded it needs to be

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Seen as a diviner's rod and nothing more. I don't respect people that to go get tarot cards read

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Why did they do that because the Word of God for them isn't true, and it isn't enough And I don't want to do that I don't you the congregation to do that Peter didn't want his readers to do it

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And when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was open for me in the Lord I had no rest of my spirit not finding

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Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them. I went on to Macedonia I didn't go the door was open.

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I didn't go didn't think it was the right thing to do It's fine. We don't have to walk through every door

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Because we know we're not trying to be sign readers We cannot take the account of Gideon and say what was good for Gideon would be good for us

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You know Gideon with the fleece I think Gideon's a great example of how merciful and kind and gracious and great

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God was to a person who was a diviner Fortune -teller at least he was acting like it.

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These are your marching orders Church Proverbs 3 5 and 6 if you have a decision to make

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Please don't put anything on par with God's Word Trust in the

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Lord Yahweh his personal name trust in the personal character and nature of God as he has revealed himself in Scripture with all your heart lean not on your own understanding lean not on signs and Impressions and what about this and what about that just disregard it.

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I'm gonna trust in God I'm not gonna care about what I think feel say or do in all your ways acknowledge him.

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I'm in the word. I'm in prayer I'm serving a local church. I'm giving in a local church. I'm obeying my employer and serving him even if he's perverse

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I'm acknowledging you God in every step and I think you're sovereign enough that if you won't tell me exactly what to do then you will lead me as I personally make decisions and He shall what's the text say direct your paths

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Phil Johnson when asked this question if God doesn't speak to you directly How does he lead you to do anything?

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How did you know Darlene was the right person to marry? How did you know you were called to ministry?

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How do you explain it when a thought pops in your head and prompts you to pray for someone? Phil Johnson said quote the short answer is

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I trust the providence of God We don't want to be the kind of people that says

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God told me and really what we mean is I decided to do it And I want God's stamp of approval

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How much better is to say God you've given me all these paths before me and Based on what

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I know and how I understand them and how I've asked for counsel and how I've prayed about them I think I should probably take this one

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Would you please God give me grace? mercy Thank you for being long -suffering, and I'm gonna make this decision knowing that most of time in my life

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I'm a complete idiot and a moron, and I'm stupid and I mess everything up, but God just like Naomi said

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You've always been faithful Every decision I've made you've turned the stupid ones into good and for your glory

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You've turned the sinful ones into your good into my good and your glory I don't want to be presumptuous and make some idiotic sinful choice but I've analyzed everything and I need to make a decision and I know you've been faithful and I know even if it's a hard decision you're working on my heart and life making me like Christ If I'm gonna step off the cliff and have a complete dead train wreck in my life

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It would be good God if you could interrupt that But I know

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I even learn when I make wrong decisions And I learned for myself and I learned to tell other people about don't do what

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I do And so God I know you're with me. I know you're called Emmanuel for a reason God with us

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God I am a sinner have mercy on me Wouldn't that be a good way to make a decision?

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He hasn't told us to do anything, but that he has purposely not told us through a still small voice or some kind of impression

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How did Paul make decisions in the New Testament? I'll let you look these up on your own 2nd

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Corinthians 9 7 they gave based on what they thought they should give How in 1st

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Corinthians 16 verses 5 and 7 and in Acts 20 verse 16, did they know whether to travel to another country or not?

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No audible thing left up to the individual to decide How did they know in Romans 14 in 1st

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Corinthians 8 what to eat and what not to eat so as not to offend people Left up to the conviction of those eating

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What do we know about serving on holy days and personal decisions back then regarding that we're exactly that personal decisions

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Marriage some people in this room even have been Assigned a marriage partner.

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It's been arranged for us Obey the biblical commands of commands of marriage.

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It's left up to your own choice James chapter 4 verse 13 through 17.

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If you're in business, just make sure you know God's sovereign will can come and check anything he wants.

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God does not give us a specific will for our life. There's a great book by Bruce Waltke and it's called finding

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God's will a pagan notion pagans have to say I've got to know exactly what to do next with the imprimatur of God's Stamp of approval on it before I move forward

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That's not how Christians do it Christians aren't pagans Christians aren't heathens Christians have been told you obey what you've been told and you walk in the spirit and I will lead you and guide you and Check you and even turn your bad decisions into good

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We don't need to find God's will for the situation because we can't Backwards in time.

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I see God's sovereign will Forward in time. I have nothing but the Word of God and is revealed will and I ought to do it

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And that's when I'll be blessed Sometime read

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Psalm 19 and you'll see the sufficiency of Scripture We have only one reliable sure guide and there's power in the

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Scriptures Listen to what Jesus said mark 12 verse 24. Is this not the reason you are mistaken? You do not understand the

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Scriptures or the power of God There's power of God in the Scriptures if we knew how much resident power as it were was in the

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Scriptures We wouldn't dabble over here and God led me and God guided me and all that stuff We'd be in the

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Word of God and our lives would show it Isaac Watt says the heavens declare thy glory

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Lord and every star thy wisdom shines But when our eyes behold thy word we read thy name in fairer line.

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Please don't seek after signs We're fallen and we can't do that if we seek after signs one man said it is fallen

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Seeking after a sign fallen man is actually setting his own sinful and corrupted reasoning up as the judge and jury fallen man due to his sinful nature would make an idol

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God of himself as the highest Court of Appeals and the Ultimate authority through which all information from the outside world is processed

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This massive logical failure is a direct contravention to God's commands for submission and Obedience to his ultimate authority

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You want to be mature? It's in the word you want to Honor God it's in the word you want to not be caught up with false teachers either yourself or someone else

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Then you do well to pay attention to the Word of God. It's simple yet.

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It's difficult And so let's ask God's help as we try to do this bow with me, please

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Our Heavenly Father if we are in fact, right? It's only because of your goodness and of your mercy

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We would all probably agree even though some of us might have differences as we approach the passage in the topic that your word is sure

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Reliable firm and trustworthy so Lord I pray for all of us that you'd help us to be better Bible students that you'd help us to be not just hearers of the word but doers only

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That you would help us to trust in your providential good hand as we try to make decisions that affect our families and ourselves and our church

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We don't know what to do. You haven't told us. You've just told us to trust you and obey and it is in a sense very simple and so Lord help us to trust and obey your word and we will look to you as you check and Check mate and do other things with our decisions, but Lord, please wean us off of our own impressions and Help us to latch on to your faithful word for your glory.