Address—Doug Buchanan
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Perhaps we can they'll open our meeting with him #4.
Ergod has built the mountains, or raised the fruitful hills before he filled the fountains that feed the running rills. And thee from everlasting the wonderful I am found pleasure never wasting, And wisdom is thy name.
And diverse UH-2.
He wrought by weight and measure, and thou wast with him then thyself the Father's pleasure, and thine the sons of men #4 Someone started please.
Their God has built.
All good, Moray, my friend from hell.
Me more in fill the clouds like me to run.
And they promise.
All uncirculated I am.
He's red as the sky and the broad.
That's why about the Twilight.
And my good life he cry by the way, and furniture. I don't know what's crazy by.
Look to the Lord in prayer.
Blessed God our Father, we thank Thee for the revelation of Thyself that Thou hast made to us since the beginning of creation, and more fully with Thy beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee, our God, that Thou didst choose mankind.
To be associated with them.
That the Lord Jesus Christ became.
Flesh dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
There is so much for us to lay hold of.
In the revelation that thou hast made known to us.
We asked Lord that in this meeting.
Our hearts and souls would be broadened.
The appreciation of thyself would be increased.
To know.
The only true God.
In Jesus Christ, whom thou ascent, we thank thee for giving us these Bible meetings to be together. We thank you for the word of God that we have.
And we are persuaded that it is thy word.
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We pray for each of us, Lord, especially for those who are in the straits of decision.
Deciding their own faith, what they believe in.
Help us, Lord, to be convinced, fully persuaded.
We thank you for this hour, ask help and give thanks in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
I would like to speak this afternoon.
About.
The subject of Has God spoken?
Do we have a revelation from God?
How has he made himself known to us?
And I trust that as we get into this subject, it won't be just theoretical.
Each one of us probably here has a Bible.
I have it here in digital format 2.
Is this the word of God?
Are you persuaded of that?
Or is this just something that you've been taught when you in the Christian home where you grew up?
And as sometimes I hear down in South America.
I believe in the religion of my father's.
Is that good enough for you?
Are you fully persuaded that God speaks to you individually in His Word?
You know, sometimes when we talk to the young people.
The question comes up.
Thank you.
Well, when should I ask for my place at the Lord's Table?
I have an answer to that that I like.
I believe young people.
Should take their place at the Lord's Table.
When they realized that First Corinthians 11/23/24 and 25.
Are written.
By God to them.
To you.
When you realize the Lord Jesus is saying to you, this do in remembrance of me, and you respond to that request by obeying it.
And appreciate it in your souls you are believing God.
You are acting on your own faith.
And it will become real to you.
If you walk in what you believe in, if you are fully persuaded of these things.
Let's in in Hebrews chapter one it says we don't. You don't need to turn to it. We're gonna go to Genesis 1 next. I'm gonna read several scriptures here, but in Genesis 1 verses one and two.
The simplest form of that statement is.
God has spoken.
There's some other clauses in there, but we're gonna leave them aside for right now.
God has spoken.
Now let's go back to the book of Genesis, chapter one, verse one.
And we're gonna reduce this verse down to a simple form.
In the beginning, God.
I'm gonna ask a question here.
Maybe someone up here near the front that I can see?
Who in this room knows what day of the week you were born on?
Let's have a show of hands, OK? We got one right here. Got any young people?
OK, what's what day of the week were you born on?
Friday, thank you. I was born on Lord's Day or Sunday.
How do you know you were born on that day of the week?
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I like your smile. I like your thinking process.
How do I? How do I know?
What day of the week I was born on. I didn't ask you what your birthday of the month is, I asked you the day of the week. It's not, as many people know that.
What do you say, Paul?
OK, that's not good enough for me. I gotta have a better one.
You wouldn't. No, I wouldn't either. Somebody had to tell me. Who do you think told me? Who told you what day of the week you were born on your mom? That's exactly the answer I wanted.
My mom told me to. You know what? I believe her. Anybody here not believe their mother told them when they were born?
Pretty good evidence, isn't it? About as good as you can get.
How did Noah? How did Moses?
Now to write this, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Was he there?
Wasn't there?
Somebody had to tell him.
God told him.
Wonderful thing to have a witness.
Something.
Firm to believe in.
Something to build your life on.
Like the wise man that build his house on the rock, and that rock is Christ. Young people, all of us, what are your convictions? What is your faith?
Are you just going to meeting? Because that's the way you brought up.
Are you breaking bread just because your parents and grandparents did it?
Or have you read in the scriptures verses that were the voice of God speaking to you?
And you believed it.
You obeyed it.
You walked in it.
And you found out it's real.
Now let's go down to verse 26 of this same chapter. I there's one other thought I wanna express before we go on and we're gonna talk about the revelation of God.
In verse 26 it says, and God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have the dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creep us upon the earth. So God created man in his own image and in the image of God created him, male and female.
And then God blesses them.
I call attention to this verse because it shows the counsel of God in His purpose of making man that was distinct from every other animal that God created when it came to the case of man's creation and how God took that play and formed it into a man and breathed in his nostrils, and man became a living soul.
God did that because he wanted to have a relationship with the human race, with mankind, with you, with me and all of his chosen ones. It's a wonderful thing to develop this relationship, to know God.
To accept his word.
Believe it, it is of God.
We're going to look at witnesses.
Different reasons, and I hope this is not just for an intellectual purpose.
To know it in your head, this verse here would teach us of the desire of God to have a relationship with mankind, with you and me. It's a wonderful thing that our Creator or him spoke about that the marvel.
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That the Creator of God made a special people to be in relationship with himself. You know, I travel a lot.
And one of the experiences that I found out in my travels was that when I go alone, it's never the same.
In spite of all the wonders of the creation and the and so on, the beauties that you can see.
Uh, we like to enjoy vacation time. We like to see the the creation you go up in the Andes Mountains. They're in the grandeur of them.
It comes home to you when you go to a restaurant to eat a meal and you sit down all by yourself. I.
Imagine most people here have had this experience going to a restaurant, you order a nice meal and you're all by yourself. It's not the same.
It's not the same.
Relationship. God wanted the people to share with, to react with, to speak with, to hear their response.
Their feedback.
Now let's go over to the end of the Bible. Genesis, I mean Revelation chapter 22.
I wanna call attention to a verse here.
A per partic purposely chose a verse at the end of the Bible to touch next.
In verse chapter 22 of the Book of Revelation, verse 18.
Where I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto.
These things.
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written thereof in this book, and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of life, and so on.
What we can conclude from this verse is that the Bible is perfect. You can't add to it and you can't take away from it. It is the complete revelation of God as He intended to speak it to us. It's so perfect that we dare not or ought not to add anything to it or take it away.
No human author has ever written a book like this.
We all need editing, changing and so on. God wrote a perfect book. We've been enjoying a similar thought in our chapter about God being All in all at the end. This book tells us the whole history and if God is God.
Who he says he is, He's perfect holy.
Never makes a mistake.
This book is perfect.
It's the revelation of God.
You can believe it.
Matthew, Chapter 26.
I want to pick out something out of the life of our Lord Jesus as a witness.
To this book.
Matthew 26.
And in verse 52.
The Lord Jesus rebukes Peter.
Who was about to interfere with something that Lord Jesus purpose to do?
He was taking out the spear. Verse 53 says, Thinkest thou?
That I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than 12 legions of angels. But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
This was not weakness.
This was perfect obedience.
Why did the Lord Jesus as a man obey the scriptures? Because when God prophesized a scripture, it must be fulfilled. It will be fulfilled.
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You can be sure, in obedience to the Word of God, if a scripture is being fulfilled by what you do, that you are in the right with God.
And I'd like to go back and look at the book of Job, chapter 33.
Now there are. I want to divide up what I'm gonna say into.
How God gave us this book into three parts.
There is an overlap in these three parts, and maybe it's not all clear, but I believe that in God giving us this book, His word.
It involves revelation.
Inspiration and communication or understanding it, writing it out, being able to convey it to others, the three parts of how God speaks to us through his work. Now this verse in Job here and verse 33 is interesting because.
It gives us something of who God is.
Job 3314.
For God speaketh once, he ate twice, yet man perceiveth it not in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed. Then he openeth the ears of men.
And with and seal us their instruction, that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and high pride from man.
This was particularly.
Applicable to job.
Because Job was reasoning with God.
Justifying himself.
God speaketh once, yet twice. Man perceiveth it not.
How many people read the Bible and don't get it?
God purposefully does it.
In a way, that man.
Cannot take credit for himself.
And what he understands of what God reveals to him.
You know, we we by nature like that.
We like to be in the know. We like to be the one that tells other people something we know. I see that in my heart through and through. Brethren, it probably is coming out even while I'm up here right now. Sorry.
But God, when he reveals himself to us.
He is so much greater, so far beyond our comprehension.
We need his help to understand that.
When you take your Bible and open it up.
Don't open up your Bible and say, what can I learn from this book? That may be all right in some SI situation, but there's a lot better way, there's a lot better attitude to take when you open up your Bible.
Such as?
Lord, teach me what you want me to know right now.
We don't discern the right and wrong of this book. This book discerns us. It searches us out.
It searched out Job and job in the Inn, humbled himself, and repented in dust and ashes.
He thought he knew.
But when he really got into the presence of God, it changed his whole outlook. This is the God that speaks to us.
But he wants to convey his thoughts to us, and it is a blessing.
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To learn and appreciate it is a blessing.
To walking in faith.
So God can reveal himself to his people.
When Moses penned those first five books of the Bible.
God revealed that to him.
First beaters chapter one.
Verse 10.
Peter's writing here.
Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, Who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow?
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us.
Did they minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into?
Interesting how angels are brought in here as desiring to look into.
Brethren, we are a very favored race.
God has chosen to reveal Himself to us.
Let us answer to that desire of God. Let us respond to that.
So it says it was revealed.
This is the first.
Part of how I've put together this subject. Revelation.
I know in the Book of Revelation it starts out the revelation of Jesus Christ and I that is also perhaps applicable.
Uh, but since it refers more to the person of the Lord Jesus, I didn't use that as a verse even though I believe it is true.
God revealed himself to the writers of this book. They were divinely inspired as the next thing that if God doesn't reveal himself to us, we cannot know him.
No, man.
Has seen God.
The only Begotten which dwelleth in the bosom of the Father reveals Him.
So Peter here speaks about the profits that wrote and he tells us that they.
Didn't necessarily understand what they wrote.
By that I don't mean they didn't understand the words, they understand stood the words, but the import, the significance of it, they didn't understand it fully. This is a proof of inspiration that God revealed these things to them, a source outside of themselves.
That made these things known. It even says they search their own their own writings.
They didn't understand the fullness of it.
God is revealing himself. God is so large, he can do so many things all at once.
And he has. And that's why many prophecies in the Bible have more than one fulfillment.
Because God gave what was the present circumstances to cause the prophets and the writers to write scriptures. But it has a future meaning, a proof that God has spoken. No one else can do that such a thing.
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Second Peter.
Chapter One.
Verse 19.
We have also a more sure word of prophecy now. This is Peter has been speaking about the amount of transfiguration and what was revealed to him there and how he heard that voice from the excellent glory and so on. It was very real with Peter because he was there.
I kind of think of that about that in connection with the chapter that we're studying in First Corinthians 15 about someone telling Paul that there's no resurrection.
And Paul was the one who saw the Lord Jesus after he was risen from the dead, and somebody tries to tell him there is no resurrection.
Didn't set too well with him. He couldn't accept that testimony, could he?
The whole foundation of the Christian faith depended on it. He saw the Lord Jesus, he knew it was real, and he was the one who was an opposer to the gospel. He hated it. He put people to death for that very thing. And then God turns him around and says, now I want you to testify of me of a risen Christ.
Who can do that with a man?
And so Peter here, he says we have a more sure word of prophecy.
Where until you do well to take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the daystar arise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved.
By the Holy Ghost.
No prophecy is of private interpretation.
We can't dissect the scriptures and make it say what we want it to say.
If you wanna understand the Bible.
Go to the man that wrote it. Go to the Holy Spirit.
That inspired it and asked him to help you.
Maybe I should tell a little story right here.
Of a young lady.
That was in her teenage years.
And.
Had had a Christian upbringing, but.
Came to the point of.
Trying to decide.
What she really believed in.
The world was out there.
A good life.
What is life really about?
Why do people do the things they do?
And in frustration.
Tried to read the Bible.
She had been taught that I go.
From our use app.
But wanted to be sure.
She wasn't sure.
So in frustration.
She threw the Bible on the floor.
And said God.
If you're real, show yourself to me.
Now, I'm not suggesting this is a pattern.
But I am saying God answers prayer.
This young lady picked up the Bible.
Opened it up.
And the first verse that her eyes laid on hold on were like a dart into her soul that made her realize that God was speaking to her at that moment.
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The one who wrote this book?
Is also the one who works in our hearts.
To prepare us and to make us understand. You can't understand the Bible without the Spirit of God.
It takes obedience, it takes willingness to submit. We can't go to God under conditions and say God, If this and this, then yes.
That's not faith and obedience.
So the prophets.
What they wrote was not the will of man.
This faith that we believe in was not invented by people.
It's not just a denomination that people organize.
Of people who are of like persuasions.
It's God speaking to us.
Be firm, get this decided in your life.
I would shudder to think of a young person going off to college without having settled this in their mind.
Being sure.
The word of God.
Is what he says.
It's a foundation. It will keep you. It will direct you. So men didn't.
De decide what to write. Peter didn't decide what he was gonna write. He was in one of those divinely inspired ones. It says they were holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. I understand the they were that worse.
Moved.
Uh, the word escape me now they were born along, but it's, uh, it's not in. Uh, they were B uh, God breathed. They were the scriptures are God breathed the same word that when God took Adam and breathed in his nostrils, the breath of life.
And so God breathes into by the Holy Spirit.
Those who wrote and so that's inspiration receiving.
Into your being the authors, those who wrote the book, they were inspired. God inspired them. And that is.
Proof of the scriptures.
Now we'll go on to a couple more verses. First Timothy, Second Timothy, chapter 3.
Another.
Another part of inspiration here Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good work.
The inspiration of God.
Into those who wrote this.
And it has its purpose, not just to be inspired.
How many of us have have taken our Bibles and been in a situation and when we've tried out to the Lord, the Lord has answered with verses or thoughts that prove.
And give us something to be stable in our Christian life.
And so it's for, for the various reasons here God wants us, He's made every provision for us in our Christian pathway. And this book is is the source. Now I want to go on to 1St Corinthians chapter 2.
First Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 14.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that we may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
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Now we come to the third part here.
Of taking in or understanding the scriptures.
They are the natural man does not have apart from this, the work of the Spirit of God, we.
By our own intellect, By our own human natural capacities.
California are not sufficient within ourselves to totally understand now I know.
Anybody can read the Bible.
And they can get a history lesson, they can understand the words and they can understand many of the thoughts, but the fullness of what God wants to communicate to us, we must have the Spirit of God. That's why the first step in the in the in the Christian life is to accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ.
As your savior, if you haven't been born again, if you're not sealed with this Holy Spirit.
That's the step you need to take. Then you can get into what God would speak and reveal to us.
But when we're.
When we have that new nature.
The Spirit communicates with our Spirit that we are the sons of God.
We have that divine nature.
That the Spirit can work with, and we read our Bibles, we can really glean the fullness of what God would have to say to us.
And so it's a very important thing not just to study the book as a human resource for our intellect.
My brother spoke of Stephen Hawking's The Other the other Night yesterday and.
It is, uh, it's interesting how that a man with that kind of intellect can.
Miss in life one of the most fundamental things of life.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
I'm going to conclude with a verse from Acts 27. Here we have the Apostle Paul on the journey.
Jerome and the shipwreck.
And God spoke to him.
In verse 23 X 27, verse 23, he says, Well, let, let me go back to verse 22. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.
For there stood by me this night the Angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul.
Thou must be brought before Caesar, and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Now here's the verse. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God that it shall be, even as it was told to me.
Want to leave you with these words?
I believe God.
Can you say that?
Are you fully persuaded of this?
If so, you have a foundation.
Upon which to build your life.
To walk through the situations.
Paul could say that as to his own self.
He was fully persuaded.
That God was with him and would sustain and preserve him through those circumstances.
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And he says it for the rest.
I wonder how many souls might have gotten converted that day by witnessing this faith, Paul.
It's a wonderful thing to be assured of what you believe in.
Let's pray bless the God our Father.
We thank thee.
For the revelation that thus made known to us.
We here in this room this afternoon are a very privileged people.
We have the complete Bible, the whole word of God.
Sometimes we have treated it as just another book.
Sometimes we haven't always walked according to the instructions of this book.
And we have proved.
The vanity of such.
And as we look out on this world, Lord, where we see blindness.
Mint taken up with present things.
Unaware.
Are uncharied about the coming Day of Judgment.
Or even Christians postponing.
The coming of the Lord.
We ask Lord.
To keep our souls.
We asked Lord to impress these things upon us.
That we can say with Paul.
I believe God.
We thank you for this time together. We thank you for thy patience with us and teaching us these things as we grow. Help us, Lord, to honor Thee.
By obedience to thy word, and help us lower to glorify the Lord Jesus, to respond to Thy overtures to us.
As a God of love, As a God who wants to take us home to glory with Christ.
These things are beyond our human ability to.
Grasp, let alone to.
Have come up with a a design so great and wonderful.
And yet Thou has revealed this to us.
We think of many Christians that.
Have been not taught these things like we have.
We feel responsible, Lord, for certainly every privilege bears with its corresponding responsibility.
But this is great. This is wonderful, Lord.
We thank You for Thy choice to call us to these things, and so we ask Thy blessing now.
Through the rest of this day, too, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.