Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: PHP
Program Code: PHP000018
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:02 Please join us today on Pressing Into His Presence as we begin 00:05 a Bible study on ten different ways that the Lord 00:09 speaks to mankind. 00:34 Welcome to Pressing Into His Presence. 00:36 In this series on prayer we have been walking through 00:40 a particular praise pattern of prayer. 00:43 It's an acronym, PRAISE. 00:45 We've gone through praise, repentance, affirmation, 00:48 intercession, supplication, and now we are to the E of PRAISE, 00:54 and that is enter and be still. 00:58 What we're going to do today is talk about and consider, 01:03 Does God still speak to mankind? 01:06 Well, of course He does! 01:09 The Holy Scriptures are the word of God, 01:12 and it is through them that God speaks the loudest to anyone 01:16 who is willing to listen. 01:18 Allowing Scripture to be our guide, today we will briefly 01:22 look at the various ways God has communicated to people 01:26 throughout the ages. 01:28 Now we're also using this resource book that's also 01:31 titled Pressing Into His Presence. 01:34 And today we begin with Chapter 10. 01:37 First lets look at the symbolic significance this segment 01:42 of our prayer time has in connection with the earthly 01:47 Sanctuary's most holy place. 01:50 Because symbolically in our prayer process when we get 01:54 to the E, the enter and be still, we have pressed into 01:59 this most holy place. 02:01 On the earthly Sanctuary it was a perfectly squared fifteen foot 02:06 cube, and its length was the same as its width, 02:09 and its height. Now the second compartment, which is the most 02:14 holy place, was representative of the New Jerusalem, 02:19 the heavenly city foursquare. 02:21 And covering the interior walls and ceilings were magnificent 02:27 curtains of blue, purple, and scarlet colored yarn, 02:31 resplendent with artistic designs of cherubim embroidered 02:36 in gold and silver threads. 02:39 The most holy place was a type of heaven. 02:43 And the only piece of furniture within the most holy place was 02:47 the ark of the covenant. 02:49 It was exquisitely designed. 02:52 It was the most sacred of all of the Sanctuary objects. 02:58 And to demonstrate its preeminence the ark was the 03:03 very first article that God commanded Moses to make, 03:07 and it was the only thing taken from the original Sanctuary 03:12 into the temple built by Solomon. 03:15 The ark of the covenant was the throne of God on earth. 03:19 This sacred chest contained the two tables of stone upon which 03:25 God wrote His ten commandments with His own finger. 03:28 The two tablets of His commandments represent the twin 03:33 pillars that support the moral foundation upon which 03:37 God's government rests. 03:39 In contrast there was a book of the law, it's also called the 03:43 book of the covenant, this was the special covenant terms that 03:47 God made with Israel at Mount Sinai. 03:50 He spoke it and Moses wrote it. 03:52 That was on the outside of the ark in a pocket. 03:55 Its placement was symbolic of the temporary terms 04:00 of the old covenant. 04:02 Now as a memorial for God's supernatural provision, 04:07 inside the ark, beside the ten commandments, 04:10 was a pot of manna, and that was representative of God's word 04:16 as our spiritual nutrition. 04:18 Also included inside the ark was Aaron's rod that budded, 04:23 which was given as a sign to verify that Aaron had the right 04:28 to serve as high priest. 04:30 This rod represented Christ, our Branch, who was dead 04:35 and then was resurrected with new life to serve as our 04:40 only high priest in heaven. 04:42 The ark was covered by the mercy seat, which had two cherubim 04:48 on each of the opposite ends. 04:50 And the mercy seat and the cherubim were a single piece 04:54 fashioned of pure gold. 04:56 It was here that the visible presence, the Shekinah glory 05:01 of God, filled the space between the cherubim. 05:05 Here God communed with people and heard their prayers. 05:09 The holy of holies was consecrated by the presence 05:14 of God, the Shekinah glory, seen only by the high priest, 05:19 who alone could enter the sacred enclosure. 05:23 All others who heard God's voice from the tabernacle 05:26 stood before the golden altar of incense, and listened through 05:31 the veil that separated the most holy place 05:33 from the first compartment. 05:35 Hebrews 9:7 says this: But into the second part the high priest 05:55 Only on the day of atonement did the high priest gain entrance. 06:01 As he interceded for the peoples sins, committed in ignorance 06:08 it said, sprinkling the blood of the sacrifice on the 06:12 mercy seat, it was there that God extended mercy. 06:17 And the hanging door veil between the two compartments 06:21 was predominantly blue, symbolic of Christ entering heaven 06:26 through the blue skies. 06:28 As our high priest He entered once for all into the true 06:32 holy of holies in heaven. 06:34 His own precious blood sprinkled on the mercy seat of God 06:39 is the only thing that provides us forgiveness of sins. 06:45 Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us: 07:11 You know, at the moment that Christ died on that cruel cross 07:16 of Calvary, the veil in the earthly temple was torn in two. 07:22 It was torn from bottom to top, and this was actually attesting 07:29 to the fact that the mosaic sacrificial system had ended. 07:34 Jesus opened a new and living way for us to enter the 07:38 most holy place with boldness, gaining direct access 07:42 to our Father's throne of grace. 07:45 Let us never take for granted what manner of love has 07:51 been lavished upon us. 07:52 As children of God, we share in the privilege of communicating 07:56 with our Lord heart to heart, before His very throne. 08:01 As we enter, pressing into His presence, as we enter into the 08:08 holy of holies, the holiest place of all, let us remove 08:13 our casual shoes and enter with reverence, for surely we are 08:20 standing on holy ground. 08:21 Prayer is an awe inspiring privilege. 08:26 God spoke in Psalms 46:10, and this is what He said: 08:40 You know, Christ similarly advises us in Revelation 2:17. 08:46 He says, He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit 08:51 says to the churches. 08:52 To him who overcomes, I will give some of the 08:56 hidden manna to eat. 08:58 God is our loving Abba Father. 09:03 And when we cry out in supplication He responds. 09:08 As a truly perfect Father, He desires for us to be still, 09:13 and hear what the Spirit says. 09:16 He desires to speak words of encouragement, 09:19 words of instruction, and even discipline into our hearts. 09:23 I pray we will learn to train our ears to recognize 09:27 His authentic voice, and open them to listen. 09:30 He will give us a taste of His hidden manna to eat. 09:34 Unveiling His will for our lives will be His purpose 09:40 as we press into His presence. 09:42 In this program and the next, we're going to do a condensed 09:47 Bible study that will focus on ten categories 09:52 of communication from God. 09:53 And what I'd like to do now is just summarize the ways in which 09:58 the Lord has spoken to His people. 10:23 And in our time remaining today we're going to take a brief look 10:27 at the first four on this list. 10:29 First and foremost is Scripture. 10:32 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 Paul says, 10:56 Clearly the premier manner in which God speaks to His people 11:00 is through His written word. 11:02 Through the ages the scrolls and text of the original 11:06 manuscripts, now carefully translated into so many 11:10 languages, have revealed an unfolding of the character 11:14 of God, His purposes for mankind, and the plans that 11:18 He has for our lives. 11:20 The Bible remains today the best selling book of all times. 11:26 You know, Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word of God 11:30 is alive and active. 11:32 And truly this holy book was God breathed. 11:36 It remains full of power forever. 11:40 In 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul said, It is in truth the word 11:45 of God which also effectively works in you who believe. 11:51 It contains words straight from heaven, which have soul 11:57 saving, transforming power when implanted in our hearts. 12:02 God speaks through the Bible today. 12:05 Each time we read His word, allowing the Holy Spirit to aid 12:10 our comprehension, His divine counsel echoes in our hearts. 12:15 Now understanding doesn't come all at once. 12:19 God leads us in baby steps, giving us first the milk 12:23 of the word, and then solid food as we're able to digest it. 12:28 But studying every word that comes from the mouth of God, 12:33 and putting His teaching into practice feeds our spiritual 12:39 lives, and it helps us to grow in maturity. 12:43 So that's our first category. 12:46 Now our second category of divine communication is 12:50 God's prophets, and His Son Christ Jesus. 12:54 Hebrews 1:1, 2 says this: 13:15 You know, much of the written texts of the Bible are the 13:19 recorded words of the prophets, and of Christ Jesus. 13:23 Some mistakenly think that there is a variance between the 13:27 portrayal of God's personality in the Old 13:31 Testament and the New. 13:32 They presume that the ancient prophets portrayed God 13:37 as One that was full of wrath, whereas Jesus portrayed Him 13:41 as the essence of love. 13:43 What they failed to understand is that our God of love 13:48 raised up these prophets to warn a rebellious people 13:53 of His coming justice if they would not mend their ways. 13:57 In speaking to God Nehemiah said, in Nehemiah 9:30, 14:03 Yet for many years you had patience with them, 14:07 and You testified against them by Your Spirit in Your Prophets, 14:13 yet they would not listen. 14:16 God is long-suffering with mankind. 14:20 The desire of His heart is for all to be saved. 14:25 He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. 14:28 The Old Testament is filled with warnings of impending wrath 14:32 if the people did not turn back to their heavenly Father. 14:36 Like a patient parent who gets little joy from punishing 14:41 a child, God's message is through His prophets, 14:45 often implied. I'm going to tell you one more time. 14:49 Don't make me spank you! 14:51 Now concerning prophecy, we should consider 14:57 2 Peter 1:20, 21 that says: 15:19 You know, prophetic interpretation seems to confuse 15:23 some who pluck meanings from outside sources to explain 15:28 symbols of Scripture. 15:29 The apostle Peter warns against this private interpretation. 15:34 All symbolic language found in the Bible is 15:37 explained in the Bible. 15:38 God doesn't leave interpretation to guess work. 15:41 He moved His prophets by the Holy Spirit. 15:44 They didn't write thoughts on their own. 15:47 And God's promise to the New Testament church is found in 15:50 Joel 2:28 and again in Acts 2:17, 18. He says: 16:06 Jesus instituted a five fold ministry for the 16:10 equipping of the Saints, giving some to be apostles, 16:13 some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and some teachers. 16:18 The gift of prophecy is a gift of the Spirit, which continued 16:23 beyond the days of the early church, 16:26 because the Lord declares in Amos 3:7, He says, 16:31 Surely the Lord God does nothing unless 16:35 He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. 16:39 But beware of the false prophets. 16:42 Jesus warns they'll rise up in the end times. 16:45 Don't be fooled. Test the Spirits. 16:49 Does their message line up in agreement with Scripture? 16:53 You must know the word of God and the character of the person 16:57 who claims to be a prophet. 16:59 Do they meet Bible qualifications? 17:01 Paul warns us in 1 Thessalonians 5:20, 21. 17:07 He warns us not to spurn the gifts and utterances 17:11 of the prophets, not to despise inspired instruction, 17:16 but to test and prove all things, 17:19 and hold fast to what is good. 17:22 No prophetic message from God will contradict what He 17:26 has said in His word. 17:27 In fact, in Jeremiah 23:29-32 God says this: Is not my word 17:37 like a fire, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 17:41 Therefore He says, I am against the prophets who steal from 17:45 another words supposedly from Me. 17:50 Those false prophets who wag their own tongues, 17:53 and yet declare, The Lord declares, and who prophesy 17:57 false dreams, and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, 18:01 yet I did not send or appoint them. 18:04 You see, speaking on behalf of God carries a fearful 18:09 and awesome responsibility. 18:12 He will not let man put man's words in His mouth, 18:18 darkening the counsel of God with words 18:22 that lack His knowledge. 18:23 Pastors, evangelists, teachers, and those who counsel 18:27 in His name are entrusted with a divine privilege, 18:31 and held accountable before the Almighty for what they speak. 18:35 Most especially is this true for the prophet who 18:40 when representing a declaration from the Lord, 18:43 must speak only as the Spirit gives utterance. 18:47 Does this mean that every word the prophet 18:49 speaks is infallible? 18:51 No, they're human beings like you and me. 18:54 They may speak their own sincere opinion from time to time, 18:57 and be sincerely wrong. 18:59 A case in point is the story of Nathan the prophet when 19:04 King David expressed his desire to build a house for God, 19:07 Nathan said to him in 2 Samuel 7:3, Oh go, do all that's 19:13 in your heart for the Lord is with you. 19:15 Nathan was a true prophet of God. 19:18 He hadn't sought God here. 19:20 He was just speaking his own reasoning. 19:22 It had been proven to him that God was with David. 19:25 Surely it seemed like a good idea to build God a 19:28 permanent home on earth. 19:30 But the word of the Lord came to the prophet Nathan that night 19:35 to alert him that he'd spoken in error. 19:38 It wouldn't be David who built God's temple, 19:41 but rather his son Solomon. 19:43 So Nathan was definitely a prophet chosen by God, 19:47 but not every word he uttered represented a 19:50 declaration from the Lord. 19:52 It is the implication of thus saith the Lord that must be 19:58 exactly on target. 20:01 Any message delivered as though it were directly issued from 20:06 the throne of God must be put to the test. 20:12 God sums it up in Deuteronomy 18:20, 22. 20:17 Here's what He says. 20:52 And Isaiah 8:20 says, To the law and the testimony; 20:57 if they do not speak according to this word, it is because 21:01 there is no light in them. 21:04 The law refers to the revealed will of God. 21:08 And Revelation 19:10 says that the testimony of Jesus 21:12 is the Spirit of Prophecy. 21:14 The true prophet of God will never speak a word representing 21:19 it as God's word that is not in harmony with the will of God 21:23 as revealed in the Bible, or that does not honor His living 21:28 Word, Jesus Christ. 21:29 You know, Christ, even Himself, He relied totally on the Spirit 21:37 to give Him words straight from the throne of God. 21:41 He said that the words He spoke were the perfect 21:44 reflection of His Father's will. 21:47 Now this takes us to our third category: Appearance of Angels. 21:53 This is our next category in divine communication. 21:57 Hebrews 1:14 speaks of angels saying, Are they not all 22:01 ministering Spirits sent forth to minister to those who will 22:06 inherit salvation? 22:07 One of the many ways in which angels minister to mankind 22:13 during Bible days was to deliver a message from God. 22:17 The prophet Daniel was made to understand visions by the angel 22:21 Gabriel, who also appeared to Zacharias with news of John 22:27 the Baptist's birth. 22:28 And then he appeared to Mary announcing that she would 22:32 give birth to the Messiah. 22:35 Also unnamed angels appeared to the women at the tomb, 22:39 the disciples at Christ's ascension, and the apostle 22:43 Peter in his release from prison. 22:46 This is just to mention a few. 22:48 Does God still speak through angels today? 22:51 Well, I have no personal experience with this, 22:53 at least none of which I am aware. 22:56 But the Bible advises us in Hebrews 13:2 to extend 23:02 hospitalities to strangers, for we might be entertaining 23:06 angels without knowing it. 23:08 My lack of known angelic encounters does not invalidate 23:13 the source of ongoing heavenly communication. 23:17 Now, the next means of divine communication we will consider 23:22 is creation and creatures. 23:26 The Bible tells us in Psalms 19: 1-4, The heavens declare the 23:31 glory of God and the firmament shows and proclaims 23:36 His handiwork. Day after day pours forth speech, 23:40 and night after night shows forth knowledge. 23:43 There's no speech nor spoken word from the stars. 23:47 Their voice is not heard. 23:48 Yet their voice and evidence goes out through all the earth, 23:52 their sayings to the end of the world. 23:55 Many an atheist heart has been turned to God through the study 24:01 of astronomy and nature. 24:03 God is such an artistic Creator. 24:07 He is such a genius at organizational systems 24:13 that His works speak for Him. 24:16 I don't understand how anyone can study God's creation 24:20 and not recognize the eternal power and glory of the Lord. 24:26 Paul said, in Romans 1:19, 20 that the basic reality of God is 24:32 plain enough; open your eyes and there it is. 24:35 By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, 24:39 He says that people have always been able to see with the 24:43 spiritual eyes what their physical eyes can't see. 24:46 They see eternal power for instance, and the mystery 24:50 of His divine being. 24:51 So Paul concludes that nobody has a good excuse. 24:55 That God speaks through the glory of His creation 24:59 testifying to an intelligent Creator. 25:04 Now in regard to creatures, there's one incredible 25:11 Bible account to the Lord giving a literal voice to a creature. 25:18 And you probably remember this from when you were young, 25:21 and going to Sabbath School. 25:22 Balaam, a false prophet for hire was employed by the king of Moab 25:28 to curse the Israelites against the revealed will of God. 25:33 Balaam went forth to carry out the deed, and the Lord opened 25:39 the mouth of this false prophet's donkey to speak 25:43 with the voice of a human to gain his attention. 25:47 Now I personally, I can't think of anymore unusual manner 25:51 on record in which God has delivered a message 25:55 of warning to man. 25:56 This would be something that if a donkey were to start talking 26:02 to me, I know that I would be probably frightened to death. 26:08 But, our time now, I don't have time to go into anything else, 26:14 so we've considered the first three categories which is that 26:20 the word of God is His number one way of 26:24 communicating with us. 26:25 And I pray for you that God will give to you an inexhaustible 26:32 desire for His word. 26:34 And then we also have looked at how God speaks. 26:40 He spoke, He still speaks through His prophets, 26:43 and through His Son Jesus Christ. 26:46 And then finally, how God speaks through the 26:50 glory of His creation. 26:53 What an amazing Creator God we have. 26:56 And through creatures, at least once we know through a creature. 27:01 We're going to, next time, be considering the remaining six 27:06 in our category, and that is answered prayers, 27:12 signs and circumstances, visions, dreams, 27:16 the audible voice, and the still small voice. 27:20 I hope that you will join us next time, 27:23 because this is a Bible study that we need to know where to 27:27 find these Scriptures. 27:29 We need to know how to tell people. 27:30 There are so many people who are being misled by voices that are 27:36 claiming to be God's voices and they're not. 27:38 So we need to know what God, how He has spoken to man, 27:45 the type of people He talks to, and we need to know what 27:49 He wants us to hear. 27:50 And that's something that we're going to be discussing 27:54 in coming up programs, so please join us next time. 27:58 Our prayer for you is that the grace of our Lord and Savior 28:01 Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of 28:05 the Holy Spirit will be with you today and always. |
Revised 2015-02-04