STUDY OUTLINE
I. What would you say are the dominant themes/lessons from Saul’s life? David’s? Solomon’s?
II. WAYS TO HEAR FROM GOD (General-creation & conscience); Special, living Word-Jesus; written Word-Bible)
C. OTHER FORMS (may fit under the above)
1. Dreams, visions (Mt 1:20-24)
2. Miracles, signs (Mt 12:38-40)
3. Prophecies (modern, spiritual gift I Cor 14:3; Dt 18:14-22)
4. People (Heb 3:12-14)
5. Open doors (Col 4:3)
6. Israel (Dt 7:7-8)
7. Current events (Jn 5:17-20)
8. Object lessons (sacrificial system, Noah’s ark, Holy Days-holidays)
9. Redemptive analogies (peace child, scapegoat, Lev 16:10)
10. Holy Spirit’s impressions on our heart (Rom 8:16)
III. What way(s) is God speaking to you? What is He saying? How are you responding?
I. But…how about all the ways we hear from God? They might fit into these four main ones (Theology 101). There’s GENERAL REVELATION (Creation--Rom 1:18-20 & Conscience--Rom 2:14-16) & SPECIAL REVELATION (The Living Word--Jesus, Jn 1:1 & The Written Word--Bible, 2 Tim 3:16-17).
A. There are also miracles/signs. As Jonah descended into the belly of the whale…so shall the Son of man descend into the earth…and rise…” (Mt 12:38-40). This is God speaking through His loving acts of power and miraculous healing. But don’t forget the miraculous immune system He’s created in us.
B. Open doors. Opportunities that are clearly from Him.
C. Others (people). Does God speak through others? How about when you’re hurting and you come to church and someone gives you a big hug, in the form of Sandy Pittenger. Is God speaking to you (I Cor 12:26; I Chr 12:32)? You are also the arms of Christ. Terry Wahl and Bob Runion (many of you guys) with their fix it skills, are the hands of Christ. I’m the mouth. When that person in class or open worship shares exactly the word you need, they are God speaking to you.
D. How about Israel as an object lesson that speaks to us of God’s love (Dt 7:7-8).
E. There are current events, like Haiti. Some say it’s a sign of God’s judgment. Others have said it’s a sign of God’s compassion as people, ESP. Christians, are hustling to respond to the crisis there. [It’s impossible unless you’re a biblical prophet to say some disaster is a sign of God’s judgment. And if you’re a prophet you have to be tested as a prophet. That means what you predict MUST come true (Dt 18:14-22). If it doesn’t, you’re stoned. It tended to discourage people from impersonating the prophets.] I don’t see much evidence in the Bible where God pours out his judgment on people already suffering and broken like Haiti. Usually it’s the arrogant rich who say they don’t need God.
F. Prophecies. This is not controversial as long as we’re talking about the biblical prophets. But once we start talking about modern prophets, that’s when the theological fur starts to fly.
1. Many good students of the Bible believe prophecies ceased when the NT canon was closed sometime around 400 AD. They will quote (I Cor 13:8).
2. But Paul also talks about the spiritual gift of prophecy that nowhere is indicated died when the NT canon was closed. God still speaks thru people (I Chr 12:32).
3. So do we have people in the church who can predict the future? Yes.
4. But remember if you line up all the prophecies in the Bible, only a small % of them were about predicting the future (foretelling). The vast majority were simply preaching or forth-telling what God was saying to that particular people at that time. The biblical prophecies/sermons also have relevance for us today as we study their timeless lessons and principles.
5. So when a modern gift of prophecy appears, what will they say? Usually it simply is a re-statement of what God has already said in His Word. Test the prophets.
6. There is no new Scripture being written!
7. Occasionally it might have to do with your personal future or in rarer cases, the future of a people or nation.
8. They usually gave a prophecy that would come true soon if they gave one that was distant and too far away to test in this way.
F. We’ve already talked about how God reveals Himself, has spoken through the sacrificial system. It was a detailed object lesson, like the Ark was a giant object lesson, to tell us of God’s love; that He will make a way back to Him. But that way is costly. It’s because of our sin that the shedding of blood is necessary (Heb 9:22).
The holy days like Pentecost and Passover, Tabernacles and Trumpets, were object lessons to speak to His people, us included, of His love, His provision, His protection, THE way back to relationship w/ Him that we broke by our sin = salvation = GOSPEL.
G. Then there are redemptive analogies, Israel, dreams/visions, and impressions of the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts. I’ll save for another time.
III. I would like to show you one story in Scripture that illustrates how God is always speaking to us. The real question is: will we listen?
A. The story is found in your reading from this past week (I Chr 13; also 2 Sam 6). It’s one of those troubling stories. We’re finding many.
1. I can’t tell you how many guys have asked me about Elisha and the story of the bears and the kids that made fun of his bald head (they usually had something distinguishing about their heads…2 Kgs 2:23).
2. Suffice it to say we must ponder & pray longer to understand the holiness and justice of God, ALONGSIDE His love, to understand stories like that one, and to understand stories like this one, where God struck the priest Uzzah simply for touching the ark of the covenant.
B. Remember the ark stood for the physical (power & love) presence of God in the midst of His people. People were blessed when they treated the ark right (2 Sam 6:9-12), and dealt with otherwise when they treated the ark wrong. We see how the Philistines were dealt with for not treating the ark as holy, being inflicted with hemorrhoids and rats [a combo I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I don’t want to think about this very long].
1. The ark hasn’t been in Jerusalem since it had been captured by Israel’s arch-enemies, the Philistines, years ago under the priest Eli (I Sam 1-4). David wants this symbol of God in the holy city, in the tabernacle where it belonged. He made plans to transport it just 9 miles to Jerusalem. He provided a new cart. But the cart was the way the Philistines had transported it, one of the things that got them into trouble.
2. There was a way of inquiring of the ark (13:3). There may have been a way to get a “yes” or “no” answer that was directly related to the ark, similar to the Ummim and Thummim that many of you have asked about; similar to casting lots that perplexes many. Q: can’t God direct the toss of a coin (Pr 16:33 LB; 18:18; Ac 1:26, Nom Comm ill)?
3. But the major truth I want you to see here is God had told them way before clearly how to carry the ark. It was with poles passed through rings on the sides and carried by the priests. And they didn’t do it right (15:15; Ex 25:10-14; Num 4:15).
C. It’s back to the old “I’ll do it my way, God, not yours.” There’s the right/God’s way; then there’s your way.
D. So is the problem that God doesn’t speak to us? Or is it because we’re not listening? We have His truth and we suppress it (Rom 1:18). We have His truth and we justify/deceive ourselves (Jas 1:22, 26). We have His truth and we disobey it (Dt 30:11-18).
IV. That’s the bad news. The good news is God is always speaking to us. He delights in speaking to us. Look at all the methods He uses, because He loves us.
A. There was a way of inquiring of the ark (13:3). This may’ve been simply praying to God via the ark. This may show how we in (Heb 4:14-16) “have confidence to come boldly directly to God’s throne room.” Do you?
B. A boy in Haiti thought he heard a voice from the rubble of a bank building. They found her singing. Over a week after a quake leveled much of Port-au-Prince, this woman was still alive. When she wasn't singing, they said she was praying, "Jesus, help me! Jesus, help me!" And when they brought out this miracle lady, she just kept on singing hymns. Loudly, the rescuers said. Another Haitian rescued from a collapsed school was asked what he was saying to himself in those long hours when he didn't know if he would live or die. He said, "As a Christian, I'm saying, 'Jesus, my life is in Your hands.'" (R Hutchraft, A Word With You). What confidence and bold access-- that you can go to Him and get answers.
C. So the question becomes: how is He speaking to you right now? Will you hear and heed? |
