Sermon No. 3 – Did God Really Say?

  Principles to consider:

1) God can use extraordinary means.                               

There are many examples in the Bible of God speaking to people though dreams, visions and visits of angels.  

2) Extraordinary means are the other times we can say, “God told me...”

Apart from what is clearly revealed in the Bible, unless we have had communication from God via extraordinary means we should not use phrases like, “God told me to...” or ‘God said ..”                                                                                               

3) The extraordinary means tend to be:

               a. unusual events in biblical times

They were the exception rather than the norm for guidance.

               b. related to salvation history

They were nearly always connected to the history of the Gospel in one way or another and not about every day type of events.

  4) The extraordinary means were not looked for.

People didn’t look to dreams, visions or angels as a means of guidance, they happened unexpectedly. Therefore, we should not look for them.

  5) Claims to the extraordinary should be tested.

1 Cor 14:29 & 1 John 4:1 set the principle of testing claims to extraordinary revelations. Experience shows us that those who regularly claim the extraordinary have unorthodox theology.

  6) We are not taught to look for the extraordinary, we are taught to study the Scriptures!

Deut 29:29, Joshua 1:8, Ps 119:105