Last Wednesday night, I addressed the issue of false teachers, false prophets from 2 Peter chapter 2. And what we saw is that Peter lays the groundwork for dealing with false prophets in his very first chapter. OK, so in 2 Peter chapter 1, what Peter does is he lays the groundwork by saying There are two things that you have that are sufficient. One is the Word of God. The other is the Holy Spirit within you. And so that God has given you, if you are regenerate, born again Christian, God has given you these two things and they are by themselves sufficient for the life of godliness and the pursuit of holiness that is in front of you. You don't need more of the Holy Spirit. You may certainly need to find yourself relying upon him more, but he as a person indwells you. He's not a quantity or a thing or a power source. Furthermore, the word itself is sufficient. And it's those two things that false prophets will attack. Whenever a false teacher, false prophet, whatever term you wish to use, is going to try to establish their teaching, the first thing they're going to do is to undermine those two sufficiencies, or one of the two. And I want to focus in on the one dealing with the sufficiency of the Word. That the Word of God is sufficient. So here's what I'd like you to do as part of our interactive thinking tonight. Help me list, or for you, just list for me some ways in which the Word of God in its sufficiency or its perfection or its accuracy is undermined in our day and age. Joan, please. OK. So it's undermined in the way that it's handled. I have been concerned that the battle over inerrancy may actually be a moot issue in some circles because we fight for an inerrant word and then in our worship services turn around and ignore it. What's the sense of having an inerrant word if you're going to ignore it in your worship service? It's a good point. What are some teachings that undermine the sufficiency, the finality, the accuracy of God's Word? And implying that all interpretations are valid. Well, that's just your interpretation of, you know, John 336, there are many interpretations of that verse. Which says that if you believe in the sun, you have life, you do not believe in the sun, you do not have life, but the wrath of God abides upon you. Well, there are many interpretations of that verse, and all of them are equally valid, you understand. OK. That there are other books. Other than the canon, other books. Yeah. There are other books that actually should have been in the Bible, but some body or some group of people commandeered the whole thing plotted or maybe just by accident left them out. So now we've discovered some of these new books, haven't we? The Gospel of Judas, the Gospel of Thomas. Almost everybody's got a gospel. The gospel of Peter, the gospel of peace. All of these books, we're going to talk about those, by the way, in the summer afternoon sessions, at least for the first part of the summer, we'll see where it goes from there. OK, so lost books to the Bible. All right. impressions from the Spirit, which are additional revelations or means of speaking outside of or apart from the Word of God. There's a difference between the Spirit using the Word that you have meditated on and bringing that to your mind and using that to teach you versus God speaking to you directly apart from his word. And there's a very important difference that actually is the one we're going to focus on tonight. I can think of several others, there's the the word has become so corrupted and so lost that God had to give it all over again. That's the teaching of, for example, of Mormonism. that the actual scriptures as they were originally given were fine but they've become so twisted and so tangled and being passed down through the centuries that God gave another revelation to supplement what we have to kind of help straighten things out. Islam by the way believes that. Islam believes that the 12 disciples apostles were in fact Muslim. And that the original New Testament writings and the Old Testament writings, for that matter, were in strict accordance with the Koran. But that somehow through the ages they have become manipulated by Jews and Christians and twisted and turned and altered and changed. And so in order to straighten things out, God had to give the revelation all over again through his last prophet, Muhammad. An undermining of the sufficiency of scripture. Well, the one we're going to focus on deals more with the one that Adam raised, which is the concept that Scripture is either unnecessary or secondary because I can receive information directly from God. What term do we call those who take that teaching to its logical, systematic end? But what would be a good term to refer to such people as? OK, they they may think of themselves as prophets. There's another term called mystics. And every religion has them, by the way, and every form of Christianity has some form of mysticism. There are mystic Baptists. And no, I'm not talking about the church members that never show up. There are mystic Muslims, they're called Sufi. There are mystics in all forms of religion. Some forms of religion are inherently mystic. When we use the term mystic, we're referring to the idea that the person becomes in some way or another in contact with the divine. And that is the religious experience. That is spirituality. Spirituality is measured in terms of being in contact with God through some means, directly or indirectly. and hence they are mystic. Open your Bibles, if you will, to Job chapter 32. Now, while you're turning there, I hope a thought is going through your mind. I hope that thought is, what in the world does mysticism have to do with the book of Job? What do you normally think of when you think of the Book of Job? Suffering. Thank you, Stevie Ray. Suffering. And why do good people suffer? Right? Well, that is the message of the Book of Job. But behind that is a much more important pressing issue. It's not just why do good people suffer. In fact, if you start addressing that issue, you have to address a more primary basic issue, which is. Who is God that this kind of suffering takes place? What is God like that this kind of suffering can happen? All right, now, most of you know that when Job's sufferings begin, he has three friends who come to help him out. Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad. And yes, I'm cheating. I had to check and look. Bildad I remember just because of a stupid joke when I was a kid. No, I'm not going to tell you now. Eliphaz and Zophar are the other two. And these three friends, apparently aged men, known for their wisdom, known for their compassion, travel a great distance to be with their friend Job and his suffering. And when they see him, it's like they don't even recognize him. And they sit down in the ash heap with him and they mourn with him for days. And then finally, after a long, like seven days is over I think or something, one of them, I think Eliphaz is the first one, opens his mouth to speak. And his purpose is to help Job. But now, how does he try to help Job? What's Eliphaz's idea of helping Job? Job, we love you, brother. But we've got to talk to you. We've been crying and mourning with you here for all of this time. But we're not really going to help you unless we address the problem. Which is right. Give him that much. The man is right. But he sees the problem this way. Obviously, you have sinned or you wouldn't have all this suffering. Now, it's more than just, Job, you must have sinned to cause all this. When Eliphaz is done talking, and for that matter, throw in Zophar and Bildad as well. Their whole point is not just, Job, you must have done something to deserve this. It's, Job, you have to understand how God works. And God is perfectly just, and He punishes every evil thing that happens. And so, if you do A, God is going to do B. If you do A, something wrong, God is going to punish you, B. Therefore, if God is punishing you, B, you must have done something wrong, A. If A always leads to B, and you're at B, then you must have got there by going through A. And so if you sin and God always punishes you for your sin and you're being punished, then you must have sinned. Now, fess up, Job. What is it? And part of the reason the book of Job is so hard to understand is because a lot of the things these three men say sound good. I even heard preachers quote from Job for a positive statement about God, and they're actually quoting one of the three friends who don't have a good theology of God. So what these three guys basically are saying is that God is predictable. God is almost mechanical, Job. And so if here you are and God always acts this way, then the only conclusion is you must have sinned. Confess the sin and be done with it and you'll be fine. OK, that's their way of thinking. Job works through it with these three guys, and there's kind of a structure of the book of Job. The first friend speaks up and he gives his little speech about why Job is in this situation. And then Job answers. The first friend answers back a second time. Job answers him a second time. Then he speaks a third time. Job says something a third time, and then the guy shuts up. Move to friend number two. Same thing. He speaks once. Job answers once. He speaks twice. Job answers twice. He speaks a third time. Job dances a third time. The second guy shuts up. Third guy. Same thing. One, two, three. You got it. For all three of them. And that takes us through chapter 31. Chapter 32, we get introduced to a fourth person. He's not mentioned before in the book of Job. He's a young man. By young, we don't know what that means. Is he a teenager? Early 20s? Mid 20s? Late 20s? We don't know. All we know is that he classifies himself as a young man and that he's been hesitant to speak before now because of his youth. His name is Elihu. And Elihu doesn't go on a give and take with Job. Elihu just goes on a tear. And you can almost sense the youthful intensity. Because for the next six chapters, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, and 37, Elihu is going to tear Job up one side and down the other. But Elihu is not going to do it on the same basis as the first three friends. The first three friends say, God is predictable. He always punishes evil. You are being punished. Therefore, you must have done something evil. Elihu comes along and he's not only angry at Job, he's angry at the three friends. And basically what he's saying to these four guys is you're all wrong. You've all got it messed up. Let me straighten you out. Now, I know I'm just a young man, but I know what you guys don't know. And I'm here to save the day and to straighten you guys out. This is Elihu. Real quick, some people have doubted whether the speeches of Elihu are, in fact, even a part of the original thing, because he's not mentioned at the beginning of the book. And at the end of the book, when Job prays for his three friends, Elihu is not mentioned there. And he's kind of crammed into the middle in these six chapters, 32 through 37. Some people have said, yeah, somebody came along later on and added Elihu into the middle of this whole thing. Well, anybody clever enough to invent these six chapters, when you read chapter 32, verse two, you'll see that he invents for Elihu an entire genealogy. Elihu, the son of Barakel, the Buzite of the family of Ram. Well, anybody smart enough to do that is smart enough to go back to chapter two and add and Elihu. If that's what he wanted to do. I don't think this is a an addition. I think it is what it really is supposed to be that this guy Eli who was a young guy who's been sitting around watching keeping quiet. Getting a little bit madder a little bit madder a little bit madder. And when Job has put the other three wise men to shame and to silence Elihu just erupts and he erupts for six chapters. They say, well, he's not mentioned at the end of the book either. I disagree. Chapter 37 is the end of Elihu's speech. Look at Chapter 38. Chapter 38, verse 1, Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? I don't think God is talking about Job in that verse. I think He's talking about Elihu. Now, to put it in just nice English, Who is this who muddies the waters without knowing what he's talking about? Who is this self-taught idiot? See, if I say to you, who is this? I'm not talking to you, I'm talking about someone else, right? If I use the word this, if I'm talking to you, say, Mike. OK, I say, well, who are you? I use the word you. I use the second person. And I don't use a demonstrative pronoun to point to something outside of us. I use the personal pronoun you. When God says, who is this? To Job, he's not talking about Job, he's talking, I believe he's talking about Elihu. And God in verse two of chapter 38 basically says Elihu is an idiot. What was it that Elihu says in those last six chapters that make him such an idiot? Well, let's look at some of those, if you will. First and foremost, we need to look at Elihu's personality. Get a little bit of a feeling for this young man. Turn back to chapter 32. We're going to kind of be working our way through 32 through 37. OK. Chapter 32, I want you to notice something in the first five verses. See if you don't find a word that describes Elihu's character that comes up over and over again. Jerry's with me already. 32-1. So these three men ceased answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barakel, the buzzard of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job. His wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. Also, against his three friends, his wrath was aroused because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job. Now, because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused. What kind of personality does this guy have? Or why? What is his motivation for answering? He's angry. He apparently in this particular case, he's got a temper. He's got a temper. He is angry about something. You ever met somebody when it comes to religious discussions who gets angry? Of sinful anger, yeah. Even if we think you're in the right, how many of you know, just be honest, how many of you in debating God's sovereignty with somebody have ever gotten angry? Oh, man, I got a shouting match with one guy one time because he was just so. You know, occluded in his thinking. And anyway. This is Eli who he's angry, not only is he angry, Verses 21 and 22 of the same chapter, chapter 32, verses 21 through 22. Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone, nor let me flatter any man, for I do not know how to flatter. Else, my maker would soon take me away. What does that tell you about Elihu? I'm not I'm not here to show partiality. I don't even know how to show partiality. OK, hang on a second. Chapter 33 and verse 33. Let's start with verse 31. Remember, he's talking to an older man here. Give ear, Job, listen to me, hold your peace and I will speak. Do you have anything to say? Answer me. Speak, for I desire to justify you. If not, you listen to me. Hold your peace and I will teach you wisdom. What does that tell you about Elihu? He's got a high opinion of himself. There's a reason why. Chapter 34 and verse 34. Men of understanding say to me, wise man, listen to me or who listen to me. And then they say Job speaks without knowledge. His words are without wisdom. In chapter thirty four and verse thirty four, he's claiming that wise men listen to him. OK, let's see. Chapter thirty three and verse six. You'll like this one. Truly, I am as your spokesman before God. This is Elihu talking to Job. Chapter 36 and verse 2. Elihu also proceeded and said, verse 1 and 2, Bear with me a little, and I will show you that there are yet words to speak on God's behalf. This guy is confident. Perhaps confidence is giving him the benefit of the doubt he's confident that he is speaking on God's behalf. He is absolutely sure that what he's got to say is right. Chapter 36 in verse 4, just a few verses down. For truly, my words are not false. One who is perfect in knowledge is with you. Now, a lot of us, a lot of interpreters will say that he says that the one who is perfect in knowledge is that he's talking about God. But Hebrew parallels, parallelism, Hebrew poetry, is that whatever you say in the first line is in essence repeated or defined in the second line. So in the first line, truly, my words are not false. Who's the subject? Who's he talking about? Himself. So in the second line, one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. He is probably referring to himself. At the very best, if he if in the second line he's referring to God, then at the very best, what Elihu is saying is that God is with you. And oh, by the way, I know what God is trying to tell you. So at the very best, he's claiming a certain knowledge of God's will. At the worst, he's claiming to be perfect in knowledge. Elihu is an angry young man. He is in some ways arrogant. He's not afraid to rebuke older people, older men, and he is quite confident that what he has to say is exactly the words of God. Now, how did Elihu come by this knowledge from God? And this is where we're going to tie it together with where we started. I know it's kind of a big loop, but we're coming back to where we began. Where does Elihu get this idea from? Well, first of all, it starts with Elihu's understanding of who God is. Chapter 33 and verse 12. Look, he's talking to Job, but he's also talking to the three friends. Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you for God is greater than man. You say, well, what's wrong with that? Well, as we go through these next several chapters, what we're going to see is that Elihu's concept of God being greater than man is not the same thing that you think of. In fact, to Elihu, God is so far off, so transcendent, so majestic that you cannot know anything about Him. At least not through the means of logic, reason, or words. You can't describe God. You can't put Him into words. He just doesn't get boxed up that way in these nice, neat little theological statements. How dare you try to confine God with your theological doctrine? You've heard that before? God is so magnificent and so far out there, He's beyond words. He can't be described. He can only be experienced. And by implication, what Elihu is saying is, I have experienced God. And Job, you poor, pitiful, small-brained human, you are missing it. You are missing it. This whole sickness thing is meant to be a means by which you too can experience God. And you're missing it. You three friends over here, you're just talking about God being in a box. And you know, if you do A, then God does B. God, you can't talk about God like that. You can understand why Elihu's mad at these three guys. And a joke. Well, let me see if I can kind of bring this out to you. One of the things that Elihu teaches, and I don't, well, I'll tell you what, I'll skip that. Chapter 30, I've only got so much time here, guys. Chapter 34 is a great discussion of Elihu's concept of God's justice, and I'm going to skip over this, but I challenge you to read chapter 34. Here's his understanding of justice. That God is right because he's God. And anything God chooses to do is right. He doesn't put men on trial, he just does what he wants to. God knows everything. God is all powerful and everything is right because God says it's right or whatever is right is right because God said it's right. Period. God is in control because he's in control. Might makes right. And so if God says go kill somebody. Then that's right, because God's the one who said it and God can do anything. That's that's Eli whose concept of justice and we're going to go. Kind of skip over that a little bit, if you will. Tell you what one verse chapter 33 in verse 13. Remember at verse 12, he says God is greater than man will look at verse 13. Why do you contend with him? He does not give an accounting of any of his words. For God may speak in one way or in another. You get Elihu's idea of God? God's greater than you. He doesn't have to give an account. He doesn't explain anything he does. He can say one thing or another. And you can't possibly understand it. You can't perceive it. You can't say anything back to God. This is Elihu's understanding of God. That God is transcendent and cannot be comprehended. God is like the brightness of the sun. Chapter 37 verses 21 through 23. So bright that a man can't even look at it. Chapter 37 verse 5 Elihu in his concluding chapter says God cannot be comprehended. He cannot be understood. Well, what about revelation, then, if God is so far off and a man cannot package God. Man cannot understand God. Man cannot comprehend God. Then how do we get information from God? Well, look at chapter 33 verses 15 through 18. Chapter 33 33 verse 15. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction. I said through verse 18, I'm going to stop right there. What is Job saying? When is it that God reveals His will to men? In dreams. When you are asleep on your bed That's when God will come and you will experience Him in the deep visions of the night. OK, 33 verse 19. Man is also chastened with pain on his bed and with strong pain in many of his bones so that his life abhors bread and his soul abhors succulent food. His flesh lace away from sight and his bones stick out, which once were not seen. Yes, his soul draws near the pit and his life to the executioners. Elihu here is more than just describing Job's situation. He's saying that Job's situation is intended for God to teach him something. OK, the three friends, Job, you're being punished because you sinned. Elihu, stupid nonsense. You're sick, Job, because God is trying to use your sickness to tell you something. You heard that one before. God's trying to communicate to you. He's trying to teach you something through this sickness. And what you need to do is you just need to listen. To God. Alright, this is my favorite one. Chapter 37, verse 1. There's one other way that God speaks. At this also, this is Elihu, at this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place. Hear attentively the thunder of His voice. The rumbling that comes from His mouth. He sends it forth under the whole heaven. His lightning to the ends of the earth. After it, a voice roars, he thunders with his majestic voice and he does not restrain them when his voice is heard. God thunders marvelously with his voice. He does great things which we cannot comprehend. Now, that sounds good at first until you realize what Elihu was saying. He's not saying that the thunder is something that God caused. Or the lightning is something that God caused. or that the storm is a reflection of God's glory. Elihu is saying is that when you hear the storm, the lightning and the thunder, that is God speaking. That is His voice. You say, I don't hear any words. That's the whole point. He speaks in a way, what does He say, which we cannot comprehend. You're not supposed to listen for words. You're not supposed to listen for doctrinal, theological propositions and sentences. You're just supposed to experience it. And through the experience, you're just supposed to know. This is Elihu. One of the commentators Then I read called Elihu, the first charismatic. In the Bible. To see if I can get another quote here, there was there was a good one that I wanted to bring out, and I'm not finding it now. Oh, to Elihu, this is Job's failing. Job does not properly understand what it is that God is doing in bringing upon him sickness and pain. Job should properly interpret these events and see in them God speaking to him. So here's how you know God. There are events that take place all around you. Sickness and death. Storms and the wind. Sleep. visions and dreams. And God isn't known through logic or reason or words or doctrine. God is known through the experiences of your life. And you experience God. And through those, you interpret God from your experiences. You say, what about wisdom? Chapter 32 in verse 8. Elihu knows. He is in the company of men who are very old. The start of verse 6. So Elihu, the son of Barakal, the Buzite, answered and said, I am young in years and you are very old. Therefore, I was afraid and dared not declare my opinion to you. I said age should speak. and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice." Where does Elihu claim to get his wisdom? A Spirit that's in all of us that the Almighty has given. And the Almighty has given us a Spirit inside of us to give us understanding. And sometimes old men forget about this Spirit that's inside of us. He's not talking about the Holy Spirit. He's speaking more of what I would call the divine spark. There is inside every one of us the Spirit. the divine spark. And if we just learn to listen to that voice inside of us, it will interpret our experiences for us. And when it interprets our experiences for us, we will have experienced God. And that's where wisdom comes from. It's listening to that voice, that spark inside of you as it gets in contact with the experiences and the events of your life. Alright, now, if I'm right about Elihu, what is your response about him? What do you think of him real quick? What's coming to your mind? I know you've reacted to this. I've seen it in your faces the whole evening. What were you thinking as we were going through this? Oh, very good. He said it sounds like a modern day extreme charismatic or maybe even a Gnostic. Good. We're going to talk about the Gnostics. Gnostics are mystics who teach that everyone can be in contact with divine based on that inner spark that's in all of us. I think we have set up a marker in charge admittance. I'm sorry. Was it claimed as sort of a divine. knowledge or a knowledge of the experiential experience God rather than know God. OK, that's part of Elihu, but Elihu's confidence doesn't come from the fact that he's got a Ph.D. from some university or that he's just got it all together up here, gray matter. His confidence stems from the fact that he thinks he has been in contact with God through his experiences. Furthermore, Elihu thinks that he can rightly interpret those experiences for you. You don't see what's going on in your life. Let me give you a modern-day Elihu, okay? I'm going to pick on the Hodgson's. I'm sorry. I'm just going to pick on you. If you don't know it, the Hodgson's have been through some rough times lately. They just moved and while they were out on vacation, a water pipe broke. All right. In their house. And it wasn't discovered until the water had done its damage. If I were Elihu, I would say to the Hodgson's, don't you realize what God is trying to teach you through this? You're supposed to experience God through this. You're supposed to come in contact with the divine. It's not that you've done something wrong and God is punishing you. No, no, no. God doesn't work that way. Rather, this is an experience through which you're supposed to, through that inner spirit, realize what God is trying to tell you. And you're supposed to experience the divine through this. And if you don't get it, you're just not spiritual. OK, I'm through picking on you. Are you going to pick back on me? Yeah, but how does God do it? From chapter 38 on, God comes to Job and he teaches Job in words. Now, in essence, what he says is Job Where were you when I planned the world? Did I ask your advice on how to set this whole thing up? Job says, well, no, you really didn't. OK, then what makes you think I have to answer to you now? But it's information. I'm sovereign. I'm the one who's got the plan together. I'm the infinitely wise one. And if I didn't need your advice back then, then I don't have to answer to you now. But that is doctrine. That is teaching. Elihu is saying that what God wants you to learn is not doctrinal. It's not content. It's not information. It's an experience by which you become more spiritual. Somebody else have their hand up, Todd, or are you just scratching? Don't do that, man. I'll call on you every time. Yeah. Later on, from chapter 38 forward, God audibly speaks to Job. So, there are actual words. Oh yes. Yes, He hears. Yes. Oh yes, much different. No, this is God actually speaking. Look at Chapter 42 in verse 7. Chapter 42 in verse 7. And so it was after the Lord had spoken these things to Job. That the Lord said to Eliphaz the demonite, that's the one of the three friends. My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken to me. What is right is my servant Job has now, therefore, take for yourself seven bulls and seven rams. Go to my servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him lest I deal with you according to your folly. Verse 9, So Elias the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Namathite went and did as the Lord commanded them. This is God speaking audibly, giving very specific commands, very specific instructions, not only to Job, but the other three friends, and apparently Elihu, can hear it as well. So this is not an inner impression. This is not an inner vision. This is the storm comes and God speaks out loud. Just like he does on Mount Sinai. It's objective. It's audible. It has content. It has doctrine and theology. And it is recordable. It's recorded here. It is the exact opposite of what Elihu is saying. And that's the whole point. Joan. Yeah, God speaks it out loud. Job remembers it, writes it down. And as he is writing, he, of course, is an inspired author of Scripture so that God works through him to write infallibly what God said out loud. Again, much the same way that God speaks out loud at Mount Sinai, the first giving of the Ten Commandments, God speaks it, but Moses writes down. And the Lord said all these words, I'm the Lord, your God, which brought you out of the land. And so when Moses writes it, it then becomes recorded infallibly for us. That's what happens here. The point is, is that Job just doesn't experience God or he doesn't just have an impression of what God wants to tell him. God says it out loud, word for word. And later on, Job writes it down. Inspired by scripture. so that Job doesn't just get an impression about God. God tells him word for word, Job, this is what you need to know. And he instructs him with the words of God. That's a crucial difference. Let's think about it here. When we come to worship, Are we here just to experience God? Or are we here to get doctrinal, theological information from God's Word? Big difference. Some churches, their idea of worship is to just come and experience God. Or, do we come to hear the very words of God Himself? Hmm. What is spirituality? This question was raised for me by Pastor Larry earlier on. What is spirituality? Is spirituality experiencing some phenomenal event? Some great earth-shattering event? Where you just feel God. You just feel spiritual. Oh, that was so marvelous. Why? I can't put it into words. It just felt so spiritual. Please. Or is spirituality knowing God's Word and following it? There's a difference. You don't measure spirituality in terms of your feelings. You measure spirituality in terms of obedience and adherence to God's Word. even if you don't feel spiritual doing it. What about mystics like Elihu? Well, I hope you notice that mystics are inherently arrogant. I have knowledge. I have experienced the divine. You haven't. So let me instruct you about what's really spiritual. I know the secret. Let me tell you about it. Mystics are inherently judgmental. Oh, you don't get it, do you? We tell you a story, I won't tell you who's involved, won't give you the name. Fairly renowned speaker. Was up in, I think it was Vancouver. And a group of pastors had called in the area for a prayer meeting before a series of meetings that was to take place. And they invited this speaker that I'm talking about to join with them. So he got into the group before the prayer meeting started, he kind of started a little discussion. Why are you praying for Vancouver? Oh, well, we're getting ready to have a series of meetings that we've sponsored. We have a good You know, doctrinally sound speaker coming in. We're praying that God will do a work here. His response was, you don't get it, do you? And they said, get what? He said, God has passed over Vancouver. God is bringing judgment upon Vancouver. He's never going to bless Vancouver again. Well, how do you know that? Well, God told me. And you don't get it, do you? Well, go ahead, pray. But your prayers are useless. Do you realize the kind of judgmentalism that's involved with that sort of a statement? And if I've got my details wrong and someone else knows, please let me know. If I'm remembering the event incorrectly and you know what I'm talking about, then feel free to correct me. I need to be corrected in that situation. But let's just assume that I'm that I'm right and I've got the details more or less correct. What kind of judgmentalism does it take to stare at a bunch of other men in the ministry and say, oh, you don't get it, do you? Well, God spoke to me. You guys obviously aren't in touch with God. In mysticism, spirituality is measured in terms of how well you conform to the ideas of the enlightened ones. God talks to me, so let me tell you what you should do. You ever had somebody try to give you advice on that basis, you're considering maybe, yeah, who to marry, what job to take, what city to move to or whether to move or not or whatever, what car to buy. And they come to you and say, well, you know, I think God wants you to do this. Well, how do you know what God wants me to do? Well, you know, he told me. Like the letter I got from a Southwestern student. God wants you. God told me that you were to invite me to preach in your pulpit. It was a young female student. Didn't happen, did it? So I'm obviously not spiritual because I'm not in touch with God. In mysticism, spirituality sometimes is measured in terms of either brute obedience to what I tell you is right, since I'm the enlightened one, or sometimes it's measured in terms of, well, just do what you think God wants you to do. I have a decision to make. Well, what do you think God wants you to do? What do you feel God telling you to do? Well, just do that. And obviously, you'll be just fine. I was raised with that stuff, and it's dangerous. Because people use it to justify all kinds of sin. There's one thing that Satan hates. Well, several things he hates. One thing in particular is he hates the infallible, inspired, sufficient Word of God. And He will do anything to draw your attention away from it. He will tell you some other book is better. He will tell you it's inaccurate. He will tell you it's been mangled, tangled and twisted. He will try to convince you that it's wrong, that it's not inspired. He will try to convince you that there's something out there that's better. He will try to convince you that you don't need it. All you need to do is get in touch with your experiences and you will know God. But bottom line, all of those threads have one focus. The evil one hates the written word. Spirituality is knowing the written word and embracing it, keeping it and following it.