The following recording is made available by Faith Community Bible Church. Information on how to obtain additional messages will be given at the end of the message. Well, it's been a while since... well, actually three weeks. It was the last time that I was speaking on the short series, What's in a Name? based on the name of our church, Faith Community Bible Church, and last time I looked at the Bible, and in particular, the authority of the Bible, and today we'll be looking at part two of that message on the Bible. But I wanna go back and just mention briefly, because it's been a little while, what we brought out in that first message on the authority of the Bible, I mentioned that the scripture is the only revelation from God. We believe that the scripture was God-breathed, or what we call inspired, and that's vital to the Christian faith. If we don't have a God-breathed book, then we cannot trust the Bible at all, especially given the fact that the Bible was written by 40 different authors over a time span of 1,400 plus years on three continents, Africa, Asia, and Europe. We saw also that the inspiration, the doctrine of inspiration, applies only to the original manuscripts of scripture. Now, we don't have any of those manuscripts, but we have a large collection of copies from which the original text can be deduced. I mentioned that, and we need to be very clear about this, that inspiration, the doctrine of inspiration, does not apply to any one translation as some teach. In the preface to the 1611 King James, the translators argued that all previous English translations could justifiably be called the Word of God, even though in their words they said they contain imperfections and blemishes. They wrote, just as the king's speech, which he utters in the parliament, is still the king's speech, though it would be imperfectly translated into French, Dutch, Italian, or Latin, so also is the case of the translation of the word of God. We affirm and avow that the very meanest, which that word meant worst, This is in the preface to 1611. The very worst translation of the Bible in English set forth by men of our profession, Bible translators, contains the Word of God. Nay, it is the Word of God. So they definitely wouldn't agree with the King James only position today. We looked also at the fact that the Bible is a revelation from God that supersedes all human authority. And the question then becomes, what happens when a human authority contradicts the Scripture? Whom are we to believe? And that is the case with, for instance, some of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, like the immaculate conception of Mary. That's the teaching that Mary was born without the stain of original sin. Apostolic succession. Transubstantiation. Justification by faith and works. We also find human authorities superseding Scripture in Mormonism. the Jehovah Witnesses, and all the other cults. The Bible also has many challengers to its authority. We see this every day. The media, the institutions of higher education. But let me say this to you this morning, that all challenges to the authority of Scripture, they have diabolical fingerprints over them. And at this church, we believe that God's Word is truth. Period. It is the truth. And we know that Satan has been a liar from the beginning, and his attacks upon the Word of God will only increase in the latter days, I should say, in the latter part of the last days. And that's because he hates God. He hates the truth of God. He hates people who submit to the truth of God. And then finally, going back a few weeks ago, I stated that we must submit to the authority of God's Word so that sin does not rule over us. Either God's Word will rule over us or sin will rule over us. And we know from the Scripture that sin can easily beset us. Now I want to proceed this morning on the second part of this message on the Bible and talk to you about the illumination of the Scripture and the sufficiency of the Scripture. The illumination of the Scripture is problematic. It's a debatable issue. The traditional view is that the illumination of the Holy Spirit is the process by which God's Holy Spirit enables us to understand His Word and apply it to our lives. The Reformers, and particularly John Calvin, stressed the way that the objective Word, the written Word, the Bible, and the inner supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit work together in unison, the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word of God to His people. Now, there are some problems with the traditional view of the illumination of the Holy Spirit. You see it in Bible study notes everywhere, and we're going to point some of them out today. Roy Zuck, former professor at Dallas, he wrote this. He says, the Holy Spirit's involvement in teaching believers and guiding them in the truth raises some thorny questions. Now, please understand, I'm not talking about the work of the Holy Spirit and the illumination of the Holy Spirit in salvation. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about it in respect to Bible study. If true learning comes by the Spirit's inner working, Does this mean that one's understanding of Scripture is ultimately a subjective matter? If a person senses the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart as he's studying the Bible, does he automatically know the correct view of a Bible verse? If the Spirit interprets the Word privately to individual believers, How can one determine the correct view among several conflicting interpretations? I would say multiple conflicting interpretations. If two people profess to be taught by the Spirit, the same Holy Spirit, and yet hold differing views on scriptural passages, which view is true? Which one is the Spirit illuminating? It is a thorny issue. So where did the view of the illumination of the Holy Spirit originate, or should I say, when did it originate? Well, some take it all the way back to Augustine's theory of knowledge, which was called epistemology. Douglas Kennard, writing in a Jetzartel, that's Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, he said, the contemporary evangelical views of illumination emerged through Lutheran pietism. That would be the late 17th and the 18th century. Philip Jacob Spiner, who was a Lutheran, replaced the concept of verbal inspiration of the Scripture with a personal inspiration of illumination of the believing interpreter. It was almost a mystical approach to the interpretation of Scripture. The forerunners of that were the Catholic mystics, many of the Desert Fathers. He also insists that the illumination view, and I believe he is correct about this, is unsupported by scholarly commentaries. This means if the Spirit did illumine so many gifted and well-informed commentators, and they didn't see it, then the doctrine of illumination is not a biblical teaching, because the majority of scholarly commentators don't believe the Bible teaches that. And yet, many Christians have held on to that for many years. Now, on your sermon outline, I listed some of the problems with the traditional view of the illumination of the scripture. Number one, and this is always the most important, is weak exegetical support. were to derive our doctrine from an exegesis of scriptures. And when examining closely in context, none of the passages given to support the traditional interpretation of divine illumination appear to substantiate the idea that it is the work of the Holy Spirit of God to give a personal understanding of scripture to every believer who studies God's word. John 14.26 is often cited. John 16.13 is often cited. But they apply only to the disciples who would be the ones to whom God would bring to their memory the Scriptures so that they can write the Scriptures down for us. And we have it. Luke 24, 45, the disciples on Emmaus Road, that's a particular situation. 1 Corinthians 2, 12-14, we'll get to that. And then one that is often cited, 1 John 2, 20 and verse 27, where John says, you have an anointing, a charisma from the Holy One, and you need not any man teach you. That has been so abused. That's like I can study the Bible on my own and come to the correct conclusions because I have an anointing from God and I don't need the church and I don't need people to teach me. That's not talking about illumination at all. John is really talking about, and we'll get into this more when we go back to that portion in our study in 1 John on Wednesday. It's debatable whether the anointing is the Holy Spirit. It could very well be. But the contest suggests that what John is talking about is the fact that they have the truth of the gospel and the knowledge of Christ which they received from God, from Him. And they don't need these Gnostic teachers who are denying the deity of Jesus Christ to teach them something that they know to be truth. to teach anything contrary to the truth to them. So none of these scriptures apply. Go to 1 Corinthians 2, verse 12. I've been off a week, so I get some extra time, right? Verse 12, 1 Corinthians 2, Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned, revealed. But he that is spiritual discerns or judges all things, yet he himself is judge of no man, for who hath known the mind of the Lord? that He may instruct him. But we have the mind of Christ." Now, I take this Scripture to teach a number of things. One, verse 12, the apostles received divine truth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Two, what they revealed in the Scripture was not the outcome of human reasoning. That's verse 13. And then in verse 14, the natural man does not have access to divine revelation. So he is left without. He is left only with human wisdom. And then getting into verse 15, the spiritual man can discern all things because he has Spirit-inspired truth in the Bible. The Holy Spirit indwelling him confirming that truth. And I believe that that is what constitutes the mind of Christ. that the writer mentions in verse 16. And I'll say a little bit more about that shortly. Problem number two has already been alluded to. The illumination view is very subjective in nature. Matter of fact, it's completely subjective. The mind of Christ that Paul mentions in verse 16 of chapter 2, 1 Corinthians, is what Christ has revealed in the Holy Scriptures. That is the mind of Christ. It's not some kind of subjective feeling or a thought that comes to a person giving them an understanding of Scripture. We would not know the mind of Christ had God not inspired the holy apostles to write the thoughts that He wanted them to communicate to us. Well, I'll put this one up, 1 Corinthians 2.7. Paul says, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. What was that? His plan of redemption. That's what the mystery was. Paul later on will talk about the mystery in particular, Jews and Gentiles in one body in Ephesians. He says, "...which none of the princes of this world knew, none of the rulers of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as is written, eye has not seen, nor ear has heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them who love Him. But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit, For the Spirit searches all things, yea, even the deep things of God. Listen, the us were the apostles. It's not you and it's not me. God has not revealed the deep things to us. He revealed it to them so that through them we can have access to the mind of Christ and God's plan of redemption and everything that was involved with it. Walter Kaiser, great biblical scholar, said this, the Holy Spirit does not offer the believer a shortcut which avoids the perspiration, that's the hard labor of grammatical, syntactical, historical, cultural, and theological exegesis. That's true. He doesn't do that. It's hard work. That's why the Bible refers to laboring in word and doctrine. He says there is no royal road, no smooth path to interpreting the Scriptures. He does not infuse a meaning. or meanings beyond what He has already taught to the writers, that's the biblical authors, when they combine spiritual truths with the appropriately taught spiritual words. But on the other hand, the Holy Spirit does, and indeed He must, aid me in assessing, appraising, and evaluating the Word, appreciating and applying it, and the significance of that biblical truth with my need and my personal condition, my time, my family, my church, and my country. Which is to say that the word of God that God inspired so long ago is cross-cultural. It's cross-generational. There are portions of it that don't apply to us, there's a particular context, yet there are applications even from those things which do apply to us here today. Third problem, divisions over the meanings of scriptures. If the Holy Spirit illumines every believer, as is commonly taught when you go and sit alone with your Bible and do your Bible reading, Why are there so many disagreements between Christians? Why so many denominations? Why so many confessions? Why so many creeds? Why are people debating the mode and the meaning of baptism, the role of women in ministry, the gifts of the Spirit, divorce and remarriage, church government, tithing, Calvinism and Arminianism and everything in between, eternal security? Why isn't there a unity if the Holy Spirit is illuminating us all in our Bible study in a personal way? Listen, there has never been a time in church history when there were not contentions among Christians over doctrine and practice, except at its very inception for a very short time. It says when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they, the disciples, were all with one accord in one place. And that may have been the only time everybody has been in one accord. The Christian church has long since left the place of one accord when it comes to Bible interpretation. It's more like a place of discord. And some of the debates that people have over the meaning of scripture do not evidence the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It's really easy to do that, right? To get in the flesh when you're arguing scripture. I've done it so many times. We gotta be charitable, right? Even with the people who disagree with us. Problem number four is Peter's... I think I put Paul's on your notes. Peter's statement in 2 Peter 3.16. If the Holy Spirit grants illumination of Scripture, here's how I wrote this. I want to quote it right. Why did Peter say that some of what Paul taught was hard to understand when he knew Jesus, the ancient languages, and the cultural so well? All of those are prerequisites for Bible study, right? Listen, here's a guy who walked with Jesus, who knew Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. and lived the culture, and still had some difficulties understanding what Paul wrote. 2 Peter 3.13, he says, Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot and blemish, and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him has written unto you." So he's authenticating that the writings of Paul were scripture. And he says, "...as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of things in which some things are hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable rest, as they do also other scriptures to their own destruction." And here we are, 2,000 years later, And the Christian church is still debating the doctrines of Paul. Many of them. I want to quote from William R. on this matter of illumination. We try to take this point by point. He says this, some think illumination is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in enlightening the believer, enabling the believer to understand the Word of God. And that's the majority view. That's what I've been talking about. And then he says, secondly, some think illumination means that the Holy Spirit assists the believer in applying the textual meaning In other words, he opens the reader's minds and hearts so that the words can produce all of the intended effects, but that would also depend upon the meaning of the scripture, right? I mean, you can't obey what you don't know. And then he says there are still other interpreters who think that the role of the spirit interpretation is to enable them to accept or welcome the meaning expressed in the text once they understand what that meaning is. J.B. Hickson says the doctrine of illumination involves neither revelation, that's the divine self unveiling of new truth, it absolutely does not, nor interpretation, ascertaining the original meaning of Scripture. Rather, it relates to the concept of application, welcoming, and responding to Scriptural truth." Well, that's just some ideas. There are more than that. This much is certain. I can say this with certainty. The Holy Spirit was given to empower the Church in advancing the process of sanctification in a believer's life, and the spread of the gospel worldwide. The Holy Spirit is not anyone's personal interpreter of Scripture. He's not anyone's personal interpreter of Scripture. So that you can sit down and read your Bible, and you have an aha moment that the Spirit shows you, this is what this Scripture means. Even though so many other people say, no, that's not what it means. And I've had many people come to me and tell me, oh, did you see what God showed me? And it's just completely off the mark. And you know, charitably, I can say, I don't believe God showed you that. Now, I'll say this. The Christian church, By the way, next week when we talk about the church, I'll try to define a genuine Christian church. It's not just this one. It's not just a Presbyterian church or a Lutheran church. We'll come down to the basics of what constitutes a Christian church. But the Christian church collectively has been illumined and united as to the meaning of the body of essential doctrines once delivered to the saints, Jude 3. what we call the common faith. The church collectively, not individual believers, the church collectively is the pillar and the ground of truth and the guardian of truth. Now in the early church, very early, centuries of the church, the common faith was called the regula fidei. Those are Latin words which mean rule of faith. And it was a baptismal confession that was required of every baptismal candidate, and it centered around a confession of the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And a very short form of that would be the Apostles' Creed, which was not written by the apostles. Irenaeus is credited in his work against heresies as one man who wrote a more extensive rule of faith that all Christians believed. Irenaeus is an interesting man. I mean, we don't agree with everything the Church Fathers wrote, but Irenaeus was born in 130 AD, 30 years after the death of the Apostle John. Irenaeus knew Polycarp. who knew John. And Irenaeus writes letters to friends saying, I spoke with Polycarp and he told me the stories of the miracles that Jesus did and the things that Jesus taught. So we can't discount these people completely. We should never do that. He wrote a longer rule of faith, and I'm just gonna read it to you because it's historical theology, and I know this is not a college class, but you should at least be familiar that your things you believe go way back. He said, The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith, in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and the sea, and everything in them. And in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation. And in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations, the advents, the birth from a virgin, the suffering and resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus our Lord, and His appearance from heaven in the glory of the Father, to gather all things into one, and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race, talking about a general resurrection, in order that every knee would bow of things in heaven, things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess him, and that he, that of course is coming from where, Philippians, and that he should execute just judgments toward everyone, that he may send spiritual wickednesses, that's wickedly people, and the angels who transgressed and became apostate, together with the ungodly, unrighteous, wicked, and profane among men, into everlasting fire, but He may, in the exercise of His grace, confer immortality on the righteous, holy, and those who have kept His commandments and persevered in His love, some from the beginning of their course, others from repentance, and may surround them with everlasting glory." And then he says this, As I have already observed, the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, this regula fidei, this rule of faith, although scattered throughout the world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it." The Church. She also believes these points just as if she had but one soul and one of the same heart. She proclaims them, teaches them, and hands them down with perfect harmony, as if she possessed only one mouth. In other words, concerning the essentials of the faith, the Church was speaking with one voice. concerning the Trinity, the Incarnation, and all that's involved in that. For although the languages of the world are dissimilar, yet the understanding of tradition, and I want to explain a little bit about that, is one and the same. For the churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe or hand down anything different from those in Spain, or Gaul, or the East, or Egypt, or Libya, nor those which have been established in central regions, he was referring to the Middle East, But as the Son, that creation of God, is one and the same throughout the world, so also is the preaching of the truth that shines everywhere and enlightens all men that are willing to come to the knowledge of the truth. Nor will any of the leaders in the churches, however highly gifted he may be in reference to eloquence, teach doctrines different from these, for no one is greater than his master." Referring to Christ, his teacher. Now, when Irenaeus spoke about tradition, He was not talking about a second stream of revelation, like the Roman Catholic Church teaches. When he wrote about tradition, when Basil wrote about tradition, when Cyril of Jerusalem wrote about tradition, all of these men, they were talking about the oral teachings that were communicated to believers which were in conformity to the scripture, not in addition to the scripture. So there is one revelation from God. Before all the Scripture was written down and circulated, the apostles taught it orally, 2 Thessalonians 1. But it was the Scripture. It was not some secret tradition that contradicted the Scriptures. Alright, now I want to talk on the sufficiency of the Bible. In 2 Timothy 3.14, That's the passage we refer to. And by the way, what we read this morning, Psalm 19, is a tremendous testimony to the sufficiency of the Holy Scripture. Was it not? I mean, were you paying attention when that was read, what the Word of God, you know, does for us? But you know this Scripture, continue in the things which you have learned, Timothy, which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ. So here it's clear that the Scripture is able to make someone wise concerning salvation. Where did Timothy learn the Holy Scriptures? He learned them from his grandmother, what? Was it Lois? And his mother Eunice. Now we don't know when his parents, or his dad was a Greek, but when Lois and Eunice came to the Lord, but they did. And subsequently they taught Timothy the Scriptures, which led to his faith in Christ. And according to scripture, the sole requirement for salvation is that a sinner exercises faith in the provision for sin that God has provided. And that provision was the sacrificial death of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So I say to you this morning, parents, your children can be saved and must be saved the same way Timothy was saved. And you have the tremendous responsibility to teach them the scriptures and the true way of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is your greatest responsibility because they have an eternal soul. You didn't just bring them into the world and at the end of their life, that's it. They will live forever with God or separated from God. We also know that the Holy Spirit of God convicts sinners of their lost condition. And He brings them to the knowledge, the saving knowledge of Christ. And He does it through the proclamation of the Gospel. People who proclaim the Gospel. If people wait for a Damascus Road salvation experience like Paul's in order to be saved, it will never come. The Spirit, when He convicts people of sin, He points them to the cross. Always to the cross. Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How will they call upon Him whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach except they be sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. God uses people to share His Word, to people in need of that Word. And that God would use ordinary people like us as instruments in His hand to bring people to the knowledge of salvation when He could use angels is incredible, is it not? It's the wonderful privilege and blessing that we have as believers. One of the great unused blessings in the lives of many Christians. Someone composed a list of ordinary people that God has used for His glory. And I think it gives hope for you and me. Abraham was old. Anybody here old? God can still use you, right? Elijah was suicidal or severely depressed. Joseph was abused. Job went bankrupt. Moses had a speech problem, Gideon was afraid, Samson was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, the Samaritan woman was divorced several times, Noah got drunk, Jeremiah was young, Jacob was a deceiver, David was a murderer, Jonah ran from God, Naomi was a widow, Peter denied Christ three times, Martha worried about everything, Zacchaeus was small and money hungry, the disciples fell asleep while praying, and Paul was a Pharisee who persecuted Christians before becoming one. Peter, the one who denied Christ three times, out of fear, preached that incredible sermon on the day of Pentecost. And he said, therefore, let all the house of Israel, this is Acts 2.36, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made the same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. And it says, when they heard this, they were pricked, which means they were pierced in their heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? And that is the cry of a desperate heart. What shall we do? That word pricked, one meaning it means to agitate violently, to shake violently. And you know the Word of God, the Gospel can really shake people up, can't it? They can tremble under the preaching of God's Word. It's sufficient to bring a sinner to salvation, and it's necessary, because nothing else can produce saving faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And nothing about that and this message has changed since the day of Pentecost, when 3,000 souls were saved by the foolishness of preaching. Not gimmicks. Not media. Not clever presentations. Not any kind of adornments to the Gospel. They're saved by the foolishness of preaching. Paul says in Romans 1, Now the Holy Spirit also uses the Word of God to sanctify those who are saved. In that passage in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, it says, "...all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God, the woman of God, may be perfect." That means complete, whole, lacking nothing. Thoroughly furnished or equipped for every good work. It's amazing we can get that right from the Bible, right? We don't need seminars, we don't need books, we don't need tapes, we don't need anything to live a life of faith and godliness, except God's Word. Sola Scriptura, you know that, right? Scripture alone. I hope you believe that. Sola Scriptura means that the Scripture contains all spiritual truth necessary for our sanctification, either explicitly or implicitly. God's Word is sufficient, listen to me, I want to qualify this, for everything it was intended to produce. 2 Peter 2.2, Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God in our Lord Jesus, according as His divine power has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue. All things means all that is necessary to live an obedient and productive Christian life. It's sufficient for all things that God intended. The Bible doesn't tell us everything we need to know about health matters. It doesn't tell us everything we need to know in the field of science. It doesn't tell us whom to marry, how to build a house, what to study in college. Its revelation pertains to our spiritual life and godliness. Now, this is really important. At the time that I have left, I want to focus on this. The sufficiency of Scripture means we have no other revelation from God. And this is where many people go astray. Every claim to extra-biblical revelation in any form is a denial of the sufficiency of Scripture and the fact that the revelation from God has ceased with the completion of the canon of Scripture, Genesis through Revelation. It's ceased. It's closed. God is not communicating anymore in the ways He did in times past. If you claim that God speaks or has spoken to you in some way apart from the Bible, I need to ask you, how has He done that? Because so many Christians will say, well, you know, God told me. How has He told you that? You stop people in their tracks with that question when they use this so casually. Was it an audible voice? Was it a dream or a vision? Was it an inner impression or some kind of spiritual nudge by the Holy Spirit? Was it a flutter in your heart or a quiver in your liver? How has He spoken to you? And my follow-up question would be this, how could you test that? How could you know with certainty that it really was God who was speaking to you? Answer, you can't. You cannot possibly test that. Well, you say, well, it would agree with Scripture. That doesn't work. Now, you say, okay, What about in the area of guidance? What about in the area of guidance? Can God speak to me in the area of guidance and finding God's will, which, by the way, has never been lost? Graham Goldsworthy says this, every case of special guidance given to individuals in the Bible has to do with that person's place in the outworking of God's saving purposes. There are no instances in the Bible in which God gives special and specific guidance to the ordinary believing Israelite or Christian in the details of their personal existence. Find one. Listen, I got these, you know, I save things when I read them and they catch my attention. Oh, this was months ago. It was by Jonathan Cahn. Some of you may know him. And he quotes Jeremiah 33, 3. And I saved this because this is so typical. Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you, and then he has in parenthesis, even show you, great and mighty things, things which have been confined and hidden, which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish. And he tries to personalize this. In other words, you call to God and He's going to show you these great and mighty things and these hidden things. That's not what Jeremiah was talking about. It was not for you. He says this, have you talked to someone's answering machine? And in the middle of your conversation with their machine, they suddenly pick up and say hello. Sometimes leaving a message feels easier than actually engaging in a conversation because it doesn't require much of your heart. It's the same with God. Some people would rather talk to God's voicemail than to God. To a lot of people, prayer is kind of a routine or ritual. You just say words and it counts. What if you're leaving your prayer message and God actually interrupted and started speaking with you? Many believers would be shocked, because it's easier to leave your message than actually engage with God. But God doesn't want you to leave messages in heaven. He wants you to have Him, quote, live. Live. He wants you to be open to hear from Him, His voice, at any moment. relate to Him, answer Him, engage Him, converse with Him. Stop leaving messages on the heavenly voicemail. Start relating to Him. God is alive and He doesn't want to deal with recordings. And Christians read that and go, wow, I can talk to God live. I read that and I asked myself, where is that taught in the Bible? If we're Bible people, where is that taught in the Bible? Where are the instructions in the Bible on how to hear from God? You can go online and find all kind of people how to hear from God. Four steps, eight steps, ten steps. How does a person talk to God live? I would think that God would have provided clear instructions in His word on how to do that if He wanted us to do that. He's given us everything necessary for a life of faith and godliness in His word. Listen to me. That is Christian mysticism. And the Christian world is full of it. Christian mysticism departs from the solid foundation of the Scriptures, and it begins to rely on one's feelings, impressions, intuitions, interpretations of signs. Now, who hasn't done that? God, show me a sign. Open doors, Lord. Watch out that it's not an elevator shaft. People do this all the time. I call it Christian tea leaves, reading tea leaves. They rely on personal experiences. We've all had them, right? You know what Spurgeon said a long time ago? The Holy Spirit glorifying Christ? You understand what Christ has taught through the Spirit's teaching. That's the mind of Christ. But anything beyond the teaching of Christ and his apostles must not be of God, but of man. This is the most important principle to be held fast by all godly people. For the day will come when false prophets will arise and delude people. And by this shall we be able to discover them. If they claim things beyond what Christ has revealed, put them aside, for they are false prophets. They are wolves in sheep's clothing. Strong words. Spirit only teaches us that which Christ has taught us before, either by himself or by the inspired apostles. That is the mind of Christ. It's not some subjective thing that you ascertain by maybe meditating on the scripture or emptying your mind as some people teach after you've read the scripture. R. Fowler White wrote, does God speak to us today apart from the Bible? Bear with me just a little bit more. He says it's extremely important that we understand this additional proposition and the effect it is having on present evangelical thought and practice. A crisis is on the horizon, a crisis. and those who are unaware of it are being caught off guard. The new proposition states that God speaks to His people apart from the Bible, though He never speaks in contradiction to it. As qualified as that statement seems to be, few evangelicals today would question whether it's true. After all, if nothing that God may say today apart from the Scriptures contradicts what He has already said in the Scriptures, what's the big deal? If God speaks to me and it's not contradicting the Scriptures, then what's the big deal? Simply put, the big deal is whether or not it is actually true that God does speak to His people apart from the Bible. That's the big issue. In this new affirmation, is this new affirmation itself a contradiction of the Scriptures? Has God, in fact, told His people in the Bible that they should hear His voice in both spoken and written words? No. Does not this new view threaten to set aside the historic doctrine of the sufficiency and finality of Scripture? Yes! The Bible gives us no reason to expect that God will speak to His children apart from Holy Scripture. Those who teach otherwise need to explain to God's children how these words, which they quote, misquote from Hebrews, freshly spoken from heaven, can be so necessary and strategic to God's higher purposes for their life, when the Father does nothing to ensure that they will ever actually hear those words. Words spoken from heaven. Indeed, they must explain why this is not quenching the Spirit. And you know what they say? We are quenching the Spirit. Right? How would you test the Spirit? By the written Word of God. Moreover, the promise of such guidance inevitably diverts tension from the Scriptures, particularly in the practical and pressing concerns of life. So it takes the people away from the Bible. Experience will always do that. It will drive you away from the Bible. And it will lead you into error. It will lead you into your own delusion, self-delusion, or into the delusions of others. Let us never underestimate just how serious this diversion really is. In the Bible, the church hears God's true voice in the Scriptures. We know that He is speaking His words to us. Advocates of words, quote, freshly spoken from heaven should beware. By diverting attention from the Scriptures, they are actually quenching the Spirit who speaks through His word. I want to close with this. I'm surprised I got through this this quickly. I mean, we can go in great detail on all of these things. And my task is not to fully inform you, but to just do what I can with the little time that I have to say, take your study of the scripture seriously. Learn from historical theology. Learn from the errors of people who have gone before us and the people who are around us. The Bible does not give us God's specific directions for our individual lives. It doesn't do it. It hasn't promised that to us. It gives us moral guidelines. It reveals some things about the sovereign will of God, but not all things. It gives us the moral will of God. It gives us wisdom principles. It encourages us to seek godly counsel from other people, not signs, not open doors, You cannot appeal to the Bible for an answer as to which car you should buy. Where should you go on vacation? Lord, where should I go on vacation? Anywhere you want to go, as long as it's not sinful. What house should I buy, Lord? Any house you want to buy, as long as you can afford it and live within your means. Who should I marry, Lord? Who should I marry? A godly Christian woman, a godly Christian man. Don't marry an unbeliever. It doesn't give us that kind of a guidance. What job should I do, Lord? One that you can do well, that you're trained for. Where should I go to college? Make sure it's a good school, where you're not gonna be turned away from the faith. Listen, the Bible does not address your private life in that way. And Christians have to stop lifting verses out of the Bible to prove what those verses were never intended to prove. Let me give you an example, all right? You know this one, so I don't even have to ask you to turn there. Great, one of the great passages of Scripture. Isaiah's vision of the thrice holy God in Isaiah 6. How many of us have read that and were moved? Well, Isaiah was moved, was he not? One of the seraphims, he cried out, woe is me, for I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. And his vision is quite different than a lot of the visions of people supposedly had who've seen the Lord. And then one of the seraphims took a live coal from the altar, put it upon his mouth. Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. And I heard the verse of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I, send me. And how many men have stood and preached this in mission conferences? Who will go? And they've gotten decisions out of people. I'll go, send me. And he said, go. And tell this people, hear ye indeed but understand not, see ye indeed but perceive not. So here's your mission ministry. You wanna answer that call. Here's your mission ministry. Go and make the heart of the people fat, make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? I mean, how long do you want me to do this? And he said, until the cities are wasted without inhabitants and the houses without men and the land is utterly desolate. That's your ministry. Why do we cut off reading the scripture at certain verses and then apply it in a way that it was never intended to apply to us? It was meant for Isaiah. And you can find verses like this all throughout the scriptures that are lifted out of their context. Go be a missionary and preach to the desolation of the cities and the ruin of the inhabitants and the people thereof. We need to be more careful with how we handle the word of God. We really do. Don't jump on the bandwagon. The wheels might be broken. Be a Berean. And I'm thankful for men who sharpen me. If they disagree with me or if I disagree with them, what does it do? It just drives us back to the scripture, right? We shouldn't dig in our heels deeper and deeper and deeper. We should always go back to the scripture. Always. Look, this is nothing new, right? You ever hear The Great Awakening? Do you know how much, how many things went out of control at that time? Lots, because of emotion and experience. And when the flames of the great awakening were being dampened, do you know there were people who were not accepting it? They were thinking that people were dampening the Holy Spirit, grieving the Holy Spirit. They wanted to maintain the excitement and enthusiasm because enthusiasm is contagious. And that's good if it's the right kind of enthusiasm. It's bad if it isn't. But there was a pastor, Benjamin Doolittle of Northfield, at that time, and he wrote this, An Inquiry into Enthusiasm. And he defined enthusiasm as strong fancy, imagination, conceit, stemming from communications with deity. And I close with this. He said it produced the following results. This misguided enthusiasm. Contempt for all reason and argument. Try to talk to people who are caught up in these things. They don't want to hear reasonable arguments. Faith without foundation. Blind obedience to impulses and imaginations. Great and sudden joy. Remember that one charismatic guy who talked about the, what did he call that? The joy, something in the heart bubble. The joy bubble in your heart. contempt of anyone who is not in sympathy with your position. A spirit of persecution against those who differ to the limit of their power, yet they will cry out persecution as loud as they can roar if the least restraints are put upon them. That's the opposition. that you can expect if you say, no, I'm content with what God has spoken in His Word. I believe it's sufficient for everything that I need in this life to live a life that will honor Jesus Christ. Oh, but you're limiting the Holy Spirit. So forth and so on. Close with this, truly closing with this. Isaiah 20. to the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.