Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
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Please join us today on Pressing
Into His Presence as we begin
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a Bible study on ten
different ways that the Lord
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speaks to mankind.
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Welcome to
Pressing Into His Presence.
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In this series on prayer
we have been walking through
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a particular
praise pattern of prayer.
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It's an acronym, PRAISE.
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We've gone through
praise, repentance, affirmation,
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intercession, supplication, and
now we are to the E of PRAISE,
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and that is enter and be still.
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What we're going to do today
is talk about and consider,
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Does God still speak to mankind?
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Well, of course He does!
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The Holy Scriptures
are the word of God,
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and it is through them that
God speaks the loudest to anyone
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who is willing to listen.
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Allowing Scripture to be
our guide, today we will briefly
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look at the various ways
God has communicated to people
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throughout the ages.
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Now we're also using
this resource book that's also
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titled Pressing
Into His Presence.
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And today we
begin with Chapter 10.
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First lets look at the symbolic
significance this segment
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of our prayer time has in
connection with the earthly
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Sanctuary's most holy place.
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Because symbolically in
our prayer process when we get
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to the E, the enter and be
still, we have pressed into
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this most holy place.
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On the earthly Sanctuary it was
a perfectly squared fifteen foot
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cube, and its length
was the same as its width,
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and its height. Now the second
compartment, which is the most
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holy place, was representative
of the New Jerusalem,
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the heavenly city foursquare.
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And covering the interior walls
and ceilings were magnificent
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curtains of blue, purple,
and scarlet colored yarn,
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resplendent with artistic
designs of cherubim embroidered
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in gold and silver threads.
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The most holy place
was a type of heaven.
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And the only piece of furniture
within the most holy place was
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the ark of the covenant.
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It was exquisitely designed.
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It was the most sacred of
all of the Sanctuary objects.
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And to demonstrate its
preeminence the ark was the
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very first article that
God commanded Moses to make,
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and it was the only thing taken
from the original Sanctuary
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into the temple
built by Solomon.
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The ark of the covenant
was the throne of God on earth.
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This sacred chest contained the
two tables of stone upon which
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God wrote His ten commandments
with His own finger.
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The two tablets of His
commandments represent the twin
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pillars that support the
moral foundation upon which
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God's government rests.
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In contrast there was a book
of the law, it's also called the
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book of the covenant, this was
the special covenant terms that
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God made with
Israel at Mount Sinai.
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He spoke it and Moses wrote it.
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That was on the
outside of the ark in a pocket.
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Its placement was
symbolic of the temporary terms
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of the old covenant.
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Now as a memorial for
God's supernatural provision,
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inside the ark,
beside the ten commandments,
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was a pot of manna, and that
was representative of God's word
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as our spiritual nutrition.
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Also included inside the
ark was Aaron's rod that budded,
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which was given as a sign to
verify that Aaron had the right
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to serve as high priest.
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This rod represented
Christ, our Branch, who was dead
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and then was resurrected
with new life to serve as our
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only high priest in heaven.
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The ark was covered by the mercy
seat, which had two cherubim
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on each of the opposite ends.
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And the mercy seat and the
cherubim were a single piece
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fashioned of pure gold.
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It was here that the visible
presence, the Shekinah glory
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of God, filled the
space between the cherubim.
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Here God communed with
people and heard their prayers.
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The holy of holies was
consecrated by the presence
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of God, the Shekinah glory,
seen only by the high priest,
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who alone could
enter the sacred enclosure.
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All others who heard
God's voice from the tabernacle
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stood before the golden altar
of incense, and listened through
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the veil that
separated the most holy place
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from the first compartment.
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Hebrews 9:7 says this: But into
the second part the high priest
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Only on the day of atonement did
the high priest gain entrance.
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As he interceded for the peoples
sins, committed in ignorance
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it said, sprinkling the
blood of the sacrifice on the
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mercy seat, it was
there that God extended mercy.
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And the hanging door veil
between the two compartments
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was predominantly blue, symbolic
of Christ entering heaven
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through the blue skies.
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As our high priest He entered
once for all into the true
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holy of holies in heaven.
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His own precious blood sprinkled
on the mercy seat of God
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is the only thing that
provides us forgiveness of sins.
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Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us:
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You know, at the moment that
Christ died on that cruel cross
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of Calvary, the veil in the
earthly temple was torn in two.
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It was torn from bottom to top,
and this was actually attesting
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to the fact that the mosaic
sacrificial system had ended.
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Jesus opened a new and
living way for us to enter the
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most holy place with
boldness, gaining direct access
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to our Father's throne of grace.
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Let us never take for
granted what manner of love has
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been lavished upon us.
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As children of God, we share in
the privilege of communicating
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with our Lord heart to
heart, before His very throne.
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As we enter, pressing into His
presence, as we enter into the
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holy of holies, the holiest
place of all, let us remove
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our casual shoes and enter with
reverence, for surely we are
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standing on holy ground.
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Prayer is an awe
inspiring privilege.
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God spoke in Psalms
46:10, and this is what He said:
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You know, Christ similarly
advises us in Revelation 2:17.
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He says, He who has an ear
let him hear what the Spirit
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says to the churches.
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To him who overcomes,
I will give some of the
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hidden manna to eat.
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God is our loving Abba Father.
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And when we cry out in
supplication He responds.
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As a truly perfect Father,
He desires for us to be still,
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and hear what the Spirit says.
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He desires to speak
words of encouragement,
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words of instruction, and
even discipline into our hearts.
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I pray we will learn to
train our ears to recognize
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His authentic voice,
and open them to listen.
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He will give us a taste
of His hidden manna to eat.
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Unveiling His will for
our lives will be His purpose
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as we press into His presence.
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In this program and the next,
we're going to do a condensed
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Bible study that will
focus on ten categories
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of communication from God.
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And what I'd like to do now is
just summarize the ways in which
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the Lord has
spoken to His people.
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And in our time remaining today
we're going to take a brief look
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at the first four on this list.
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First and foremost is Scripture.
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2 Timothy 3:16, 17 Paul says,
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Clearly the premier manner in
which God speaks to His people
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is through His written word.
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Through the ages the
scrolls and text of the original
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manuscripts, now carefully
translated into so many
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languages, have revealed
an unfolding of the character
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of God, His purposes for
mankind, and the plans that
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He has for our lives.
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The Bible remains today the
best selling book of all times.
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You know, Hebrews 4:12
tells us that the word of God
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is alive and active.
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And truly this holy
book was God breathed.
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It remains full
of power forever.
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In 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul
said, It is in truth the word
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of God which also effectively
works in you who believe.
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It contains words straight
from heaven, which have soul
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saving, transforming power
when implanted in our hearts.
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God speaks
through the Bible today.
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Each time we read His word,
allowing the Holy Spirit to aid
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our comprehension, His divine
counsel echoes in our hearts.
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Now understanding
doesn't come all at once.
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God leads us in baby
steps, giving us first the milk
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of the word, and then solid
food as we're able to digest it.
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But studying every word that
comes from the mouth of God,
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and putting His teaching into
practice feeds our spiritual
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lives, and it helps
us to grow in maturity.
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So that's our first category.
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Now our second category
of divine communication is
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God's prophets, and
His Son Christ Jesus.
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Hebrews 1:1, 2 says this:
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You know, much of the written
texts of the Bible are the
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recorded words of the
prophets, and of Christ Jesus.
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Some mistakenly think that
there is a variance between the
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portrayal of God's
personality in the Old
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Testament and the New.
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They presume that the
ancient prophets portrayed God
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as One that was full of wrath,
whereas Jesus portrayed Him
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as the essence of love.
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What they failed to understand
is that our God of love
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raised up these prophets
to warn a rebellious people
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of His coming justice if
they would not mend their ways.
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In speaking to God
Nehemiah said, in Nehemiah 9:30,
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Yet for many years you
had patience with them,
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and You testified against them
by Your Spirit in Your Prophets,
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yet they would not listen.
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God is
long-suffering with mankind.
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The desire of His
heart is for all to be saved.
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He takes no pleasure in
the death of the wicked.
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The Old Testament is filled
with warnings of impending wrath
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if the people did not turn
back to their heavenly Father.
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Like a patient parent who
gets little joy from punishing
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a child, God's message
is through His prophets,
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often implied. I'm going
to tell you one more time.
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Don't make me spank you!
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Now concerning
prophecy, we should consider
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2 Peter 1:20, 21 that says:
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You know, prophetic
interpretation seems to confuse
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some who pluck meanings
from outside sources to explain
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symbols of Scripture.
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The apostle Peter warns against
this private interpretation.
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All symbolic
language found in the Bible is
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explained in the Bible.
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God doesn't leave
interpretation to guess work.
00:15:38.63\00:15:41.79
He moved His
prophets by the Holy Spirit.
00:15:41.82\00:15:44.95
They didn't write
thoughts on their own.
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And God's promise to the
New Testament church is found in
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Joel 2:28 and again in
Acts 2:17, 18. He says:
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Jesus instituted a
five fold ministry for the
00:16:06.03\00:16:10.00
equipping of the Saints,
giving some to be apostles,
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some prophets, some evangelists,
some pastors, and some teachers.
00:16:13.23\00:16:18.02
The gift of prophecy is a gift
of the Spirit, which continued
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beyond the days
of the early church,
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because the Lord
declares in Amos 3:7, He says,
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Surely the Lord
God does nothing unless
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He reveals His secret to
His servants the prophets.
00:16:35.51\00:16:39.23
But beware of
the false prophets.
00:16:39.26\00:16:42.47
Jesus warns they'll
rise up in the end times.
00:16:42.50\00:16:45.47
Don't be fooled.
Test the Spirits.
00:16:45.50\00:16:49.02
Does their message line up
in agreement with Scripture?
00:16:49.05\00:16:53.19
You must know the word of God
and the character of the person
00:16:53.22\00:16:57.51
who claims to be a prophet.
00:16:57.54\00:16:59.47
Do they meet
Bible qualifications?
00:16:59.50\00:17:01.73
Paul warns us in 1
Thessalonians 5:20, 21.
00:17:01.76\00:17:07.44
He warns us not to
spurn the gifts and utterances
00:17:07.47\00:17:11.34
of the prophets, not to
despise inspired instruction,
00:17:11.37\00:17:16.13
but to test and
prove all things,
00:17:16.16\00:17:19.73
and hold fast to what is good.
00:17:19.76\00:17:22.68
No prophetic message from
God will contradict what He
00:17:22.71\00:17:26.29
has said in His word.
00:17:26.32\00:17:27.43
In fact, in Jeremiah 23:29-32
God says this: Is not my word
00:17:27.46\00:17:37.01
like a fire, and like a hammer
that breaks a rock in pieces?
00:17:37.04\00:17:41.04
Therefore He says, I am against
the prophets who steal from
00:17:41.07\00:17:45.71
another words
supposedly from Me.
00:17:45.74\00:17:50.38
Those false prophets
who wag their own tongues,
00:17:50.41\00:17:53.59
and yet declare, The Lord
declares, and who prophesy
00:17:53.62\00:17:57.67
false dreams, and lead my people
astray with their reckless lies,
00:17:57.70\00:18:01.16
yet I did not
send or appoint them.
00:18:01.19\00:18:04.49
You see, speaking on
behalf of God carries a fearful
00:18:04.52\00:18:09.83
and awesome responsibility.
00:18:09.86\00:18:12.48
He will not let man put
man's words in His mouth,
00:18:12.51\00:18:18.04
darkening the
counsel of God with words
00:18:18.07\00:18:21.97
that lack His knowledge.
00:18:22.00\00:18:23.27
Pastors, evangelists,
teachers, and those who counsel
00:18:23.30\00:18:27.45
in His name are entrusted
with a divine privilege,
00:18:27.48\00:18:31.41
and held accountable before the
Almighty for what they speak.
00:18:31.44\00:18:35.95
Most especially is this
true for the prophet who
00:18:35.98\00:18:40.09
when representing a
declaration from the Lord,
00:18:40.12\00:18:43.24
must speak only as the
Spirit gives utterance.
00:18:43.27\00:18:47.08
Does this mean that
every word the prophet
00:18:47.11\00:18:49.67
speaks is infallible?
00:18:49.70\00:18:51.10
No, they're human
beings like you and me.
00:18:51.13\00:18:54.10
They may speak their own sincere
opinion from time to time,
00:18:54.13\00:18:57.67
and be sincerely wrong.
00:18:57.70\00:18:59.81
A case in point is the
story of Nathan the prophet when
00:18:59.84\00:19:04.17
King David expressed his
desire to build a house for God,
00:19:04.20\00:19:07.86
Nathan said to him in 2
Samuel 7:3, Oh go, do all that's
00:19:07.89\00:19:13.25
in your heart for
the Lord is with you.
00:19:13.28\00:19:15.41
Nathan was a
true prophet of God.
00:19:15.44\00:19:18.81
He hadn't sought God here.
00:19:18.84\00:19:20.53
He was just
speaking his own reasoning.
00:19:20.56\00:19:22.43
It had been proven to
him that God was with David.
00:19:22.46\00:19:25.89
Surely it seemed like a
good idea to build God a
00:19:25.92\00:19:28.92
permanent home on earth.
00:19:28.95\00:19:30.54
But the word of the Lord came
to the prophet Nathan that night
00:19:30.57\00:19:35.21
to alert him that
he'd spoken in error.
00:19:35.24\00:19:38.22
It wouldn't be David
who built God's temple,
00:19:38.25\00:19:41.22
but rather his son Solomon.
00:19:41.25\00:19:43.28
So Nathan was definitely
a prophet chosen by God,
00:19:43.32\00:19:47.56
but not every word
he uttered represented a
00:19:47.60\00:19:50.48
declaration from the Lord.
00:19:50.51\00:19:52.11
It is the implication of
thus saith the Lord that must be
00:19:52.15\00:19:58.00
exactly on target.
00:19:58.04\00:20:01.21
Any message delivered as though
it were directly issued from
00:20:01.25\00:20:06.77
the throne of God
must be put to the test.
00:20:06.81\00:20:12.27
God sums it up in
Deuteronomy 18:20, 22.
00:20:12.30\00:20:17.73
Here's what He says.
00:20:17.76\00:20:19.56
And Isaiah 8:20 says, To
the law and the testimony;
00:20:52.75\00:20:57.57
if they do not speak according
to this word, it is because
00:20:57.61\00:21:01.40
there is no light in them.
00:21:01.43\00:21:04.45
The law refers to
the revealed will of God.
00:21:04.49\00:21:08.46
And Revelation 19:10 says
that the testimony of Jesus
00:21:08.49\00:21:12.74
is the Spirit of Prophecy.
00:21:12.77\00:21:14.66
The true prophet of God will
never speak a word representing
00:21:14.69\00:21:19.21
it as God's word that is not
in harmony with the will of God
00:21:19.25\00:21:23.74
as revealed in the Bible, or
that does not honor His living
00:21:23.78\00:21:28.24
Word, Jesus Christ.
00:21:28.28\00:21:29.73
You know, Christ, even Himself,
He relied totally on the Spirit
00:21:29.76\00:21:37.76
to give Him words
straight from the throne of God.
00:21:37.80\00:21:41.31
He said that the words
He spoke were the perfect
00:21:41.34\00:21:44.82
reflection of His Father's will.
00:21:44.85\00:21:47.43
Now this takes us to our third
category: Appearance of Angels.
00:21:47.47\00:21:53.11
This is our next category
in divine communication.
00:21:53.14\00:21:57.23
Hebrews 1:14 speaks of
angels saying, Are they not all
00:21:57.26\00:22:01.28
ministering Spirits sent forth
to minister to those who will
00:22:01.32\00:22:06.04
inherit salvation?
00:22:06.07\00:22:07.81
One of the many ways in
which angels minister to mankind
00:22:07.85\00:22:12.97
during Bible days was to
deliver a message from God.
00:22:13.00\00:22:17.11
The prophet Daniel was made to
understand visions by the angel
00:22:17.15\00:22:21.66
Gabriel, who also appeared
to Zacharias with news of John
00:22:21.70\00:22:27.38
the Baptist's birth.
00:22:27.41\00:22:28.91
And then he appeared to
Mary announcing that she would
00:22:28.94\00:22:32.77
give birth to the Messiah.
00:22:32.80\00:22:35.10
Also unnamed angels appeared
to the women at the tomb,
00:22:35.13\00:22:39.31
the disciples at Christ's
ascension, and the apostle
00:22:39.35\00:22:43.49
Peter in his
release from prison.
00:22:43.53\00:22:46.03
This is just to mention a few.
00:22:46.07\00:22:48.54
Does God still speak
through angels today?
00:22:48.57\00:22:51.25
Well, I have no
personal experience with this,
00:22:51.28\00:22:53.96
at least none of
which I am aware.
00:22:53.99\00:22:56.22
But the Bible advises us
in Hebrews 13:2 to extend
00:22:56.26\00:23:02.47
hospitalities to strangers,
for we might be entertaining
00:23:02.50\00:23:06.72
angels without knowing it.
00:23:06.76\00:23:08.70
My lack of known angelic
encounters does not invalidate
00:23:08.74\00:23:13.40
the source of ongoing
heavenly communication.
00:23:13.44\00:23:17.14
Now, the next means of divine
communication we will consider
00:23:17.18\00:23:22.83
is creation and creatures.
00:23:22.86\00:23:26.27
The Bible tells us in Psalms
19: 1-4, The heavens declare the
00:23:26.30\00:23:31.95
glory of God and the
firmament shows and proclaims
00:23:31.99\00:23:36.47
His handiwork. Day
after day pours forth speech,
00:23:36.50\00:23:40.17
and night after night
shows forth knowledge.
00:23:40.20\00:23:43.80
There's no speech nor
spoken word from the stars.
00:23:43.84\00:23:47.14
Their voice is not heard.
00:23:47.18\00:23:48.64
Yet their voice and evidence
goes out through all the earth,
00:23:48.68\00:23:52.71
their sayings to
the end of the world.
00:23:52.74\00:23:55.56
Many an atheist heart has been
turned to God through the study
00:23:55.59\00:24:01.90
of astronomy and nature.
00:24:01.93\00:24:03.82
God is such an artistic Creator.
00:24:03.86\00:24:07.68
He is such a genius
at organizational systems
00:24:07.71\00:24:12.97
that His works speak for Him.
00:24:13.01\00:24:16.39
I don't understand how
anyone can study God's creation
00:24:16.43\00:24:20.96
and not recognize the eternal
power and glory of the Lord.
00:24:20.99\00:24:26.68
Paul said, in Romans 1:19, 20
that the basic reality of God is
00:24:26.72\00:24:32.37
plain enough; open
your eyes and there it is.
00:24:32.41\00:24:35.50
By taking a long and thoughtful
look at what God has created,
00:24:35.53\00:24:39.22
He says that people have
always been able to see with the
00:24:39.25\00:24:43.01
spiritual eyes what
their physical eyes can't see.
00:24:43.04\00:24:46.59
They see eternal power
for instance, and the mystery
00:24:46.62\00:24:50.13
of His divine being.
00:24:50.17\00:24:51.47
So Paul concludes that
nobody has a good excuse.
00:24:51.51\00:24:55.69
That God speaks through
the glory of His creation
00:24:55.73\00:24:59.88
testifying to an
intelligent Creator.
00:24:59.91\00:25:04.31
Now in regard to creatures,
there's one incredible
00:25:04.34\00:25:11.55
Bible account to the Lord giving
a literal voice to a creature.
00:25:11.59\00:25:18.23
And you probably remember
this from when you were young,
00:25:18.26\00:25:21.21
and going to Sabbath School.
00:25:21.24\00:25:22.63
Balaam, a false prophet for hire
was employed by the king of Moab
00:25:22.66\00:25:28.87
to curse the Israelites against
the revealed will of God.
00:25:28.90\00:25:33.15
Balaam went forth to carry out
the deed, and the Lord opened
00:25:33.18\00:25:39.50
the mouth of this false
prophet's donkey to speak
00:25:39.53\00:25:43.50
with the voice of a
human to gain his attention.
00:25:43.54\00:25:47.44
Now I personally, I can't
think of anymore unusual manner
00:25:47.47\00:25:51.90
on record in which God
has delivered a message
00:25:51.93\00:25:55.35
of warning to man.
00:25:55.38\00:25:56.47
This would be something that if
a donkey were to start talking
00:25:56.50\00:26:02.55
to me, I know that I would
be probably frightened to death.
00:26:02.58\00:26:08.66
But, our time now, I don't have
time to go into anything else,
00:26:08.70\00:26:14.48
so we've considered the first
three categories which is that
00:26:14.52\00:26:20.26
the word of God is
His number one way of
00:26:20.30\00:26:24.16
communicating with us.
00:26:24.20\00:26:25.57
And I pray for you that God will
give to you an inexhaustible
00:26:25.61\00:26:32.45
desire for His word.
00:26:32.48\00:26:34.19
And then we also have
looked at how God speaks.
00:26:34.23\00:26:40.11
He spoke, He still
speaks through His prophets,
00:26:40.14\00:26:43.30
and through His
Son Jesus Christ.
00:26:43.33\00:26:46.44
And then finally, how
God speaks through the
00:26:46.47\00:26:50.06
glory of His creation.
00:26:50.10\00:26:52.98
What an amazing
Creator God we have.
00:26:53.02\00:26:56.44
And through creatures, at least
once we know through a creature.
00:26:56.47\00:27:01.10
We're going to, next time,
be considering the remaining six
00:27:01.13\00:27:06.74
in our category, and
that is answered prayers,
00:27:06.78\00:27:12.30
signs and
circumstances, visions, dreams,
00:27:12.34\00:27:16.30
the audible voice,
and the still small voice.
00:27:16.34\00:27:20.27
I hope that you
will join us next time,
00:27:20.31\00:27:23.86
because this is a Bible study
that we need to know where to
00:27:23.90\00:27:27.79
find these Scriptures.
00:27:27.82\00:27:29.00
We need to know
how to tell people.
00:27:29.04\00:27:30.67
There are so many people who are
being misled by voices that are
00:27:30.71\00:27:36.09
claiming to be God's
voices and they're not.
00:27:36.12\00:27:38.96
So we need to know what
God, how He has spoken to man,
00:27:38.99\00:27:45.54
the type of people He talks
to, and we need to know what
00:27:45.58\00:27:49.21
He wants us to hear.
00:27:49.24\00:27:50.47
And that's something that
we're going to be discussing
00:27:50.50\00:27:54.30
in coming up programs,
so please join us next time.
00:27:54.34\00:27:58.06
Our prayer for you is that
the grace of our Lord and Savior
00:27:58.10\00:28:01.60
Jesus Christ, the love of the
Father, and the fellowship of
00:28:01.64\00:28:05.11
the Holy Spirit will be
with you today and always.
00:28:05.15\00:28:09.65