Ephesians 6:18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. He could have said at that moment to the Spirit, but he does not, which is very important. June 20, but you, beloved, building yourselves up, that means getting better. On your most holy faith, Praying in the Holy Spirit. Again, another opportunity he could have taken if he wanted us to pray to the Holy Spirit.
We find No New Testament direct. Dialogue with the Holy Spirit. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastorik is currently teaching through a topical series.
Please stay tuned with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now here's Pastor Rick with the conclusion of his message called Dialogue with God. The Holy Spirit is portrayed as the one who empowers us and inspires us in prayers and service. Rather than the one We address in prayer. And I think for good reason, I'll come to that in a little bit.
But each member of the triune Godhead maintains their dominant and distinct role in our sight.
Now, what God does with it beyond this life remains to be revealed, but in this life we have. protocols to follow. For our benefit. The Father is glorified. The Son is the Savior.
These are dominant features when we see them. Emerge. In the language of Christ, only Christ died for us. The Holy Spirit did not die for us, the Father did not die for us. We have to follow that pattern.
that is set for us. The Holy Spirit inspires us. The Holy Spirit is not referred to as Lord.
Okay. That does not mean that there's a division. They just have defined their dominant roles to us. And it is for us to function within the revelation of the Godhead. Jesus alone intercedes for our salvation, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us once we're saved, when we pray.
That's 1 Timothy 2.5. in Romans 8, 26 and 27. I won't read them now because we've got More to go.
So the role of the Holy Spirit as enabler And A participant. Very much a participant. As God in our lives. John 15, 26, but when he Now let me read this one. But when the helper comes whom I shall send to you from the Father, The Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me.
How much Trinity is built into that? When the helper, the comforter, the Greek word paraclete, The one who comes beside us, the Holy Spirit. Whom I shall send. Wow, that's a lot of power. Who gets to send the Holy Spirit?
From the Father.
So the Holy Spirit's coming from the Father. Just as Christ is begotten from the Father, well, not identical. The Holy Spirit flows from the Father, Christ is begotten from the Father, they still originate from the Godhead. as when they come into human contact. Then he says the spirit of truth.
Whom proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me.
So the role of the Holy Spirit is not to draw attention to himself.
So, if you go to a prayer meeting and you say, Boy, the Holy Spirit this and the Holy Spirit that, you missed Christ. He is the star. That's how God wants it. The Holy Spirit's not offended by that. It's like, oh, I can't believe it.
After all, I poured into you, and you credit him? Gonna happen? As I mentioned, he can be lied to. This is an attribute of a person. You can't lie to your desk.
You can lie on your desk. But you can't lie to your desk. and technically be lying unless you lied about lying to it. Acts chapter 5, Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? and to keep back part of the price of the land for yourself.
You make a pledge to give to God. You better give it. Or else Don't write checks your mouth can't cash. We pray in the spirit. Not to the Spirit.
Ephesians 6:18. This is doctrine. Ephesians 6:18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. He could have said at that moment to the Spirit, but he does not, which is very important. June 20, but you beloved, building yourselves up, that means getting better.
On your most holy faith. Praying in the Holy Spirit. Again, another opportunity he could have taken if he wanted us to pray to the Holy Spirit. We find No New Testament direct. Dialogue With the Holy Spirit.
So, the Trinity is not, again, three distinct gods, but three distinct coexisting persons. You say, that's a lot for me to get my head around. Welcome to the club. God has sealed it. True faith from going down the paranormal trail by doing this.
If people could pray to the Holy Spirit. Christ would eventually be left out because he brings to the table what? Our guilt, our sin. Direct prayer to the Holy Spirit would distract us. From Jesus' sacrificial death, which is a doctrinal essential.
The doctrine of salvation is not. negotiable The Calvinists and and the non-Calvinists We may not agree on. How God goes about it, but we agree. That the doctrine of salvation teaches that it's through the cross of Christ, the blood of Christ, and no other way.
So you take for example Roman Catholicism's praying to Mary.
Well, see, they've shifted from the Savior to a created being. You take the American or the Native American religions, and I've worked with a lot of those Mohawk Indians and some from other tribes too. And they emphasize the great spirit.
Some of them will say, they'll put them on, you know, yeah, we have the great spirit too. No, you don't, you don't have the Holy Spirit. Yours is a great fraud. That you have no record of where it came from, how it got to be, who says so, it's not the same.
So, by redirecting prayer to the Father and the Son. stabilizes us from drifting into The paranormal Well, as long as I'm praying into the spirit, it must be okay. No, there's a protocol and there's a reason why there's a protocol. You know, a lot of things in history have a purpose, and when you start finding out The purpose the meaning becomes more rich.
So wow, I I didn't know that's why they You know, cowboy boots have that long big heel. They keep it from slipping through the stirrup and getting dragged. Why do cowboy boots have that pointy toe? Roach is in the corner. To easily slip through the stirrups.
Oh, you say, okay, there's purpose in the world. And when it's done right, it makes sense, and it's to my benefit also.
So question number three. What is your understanding of direct revelation slash hearing God's voice? Wait a second.
Okay. Well, Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. You say, okay, that's so simple. But then you have these. Do you know?
Academic pastors or collegiate, or whatever, these formally educated, according to them. Who comes along and say, God doesn't speak to us anymore. See, that's the kind of stuff they get away with, that irritates me. And it shouldn't irritate me, but I kinda like it. Yeah, so Anyway.
So What is my understanding on direct revelation? What is direct revelation?
Well, it refers to God's clear Immediate Voicing of his will. to an individual. Singling out that person. Do I believe that God does that? I absolutely do.
Do I believe that Satan does it too? I absolutely do. Do I believe that the flesh does it? Oh, yeah, the flesh does. When the flesh says one more cookie.
This is You know, we know the devil on one shoulder, the angel on the other kind of thing.
Well, there's truth to that. But there are also a lot of problems here that we should kick around a little bit.
So direct is distinct from general revelation. He was a colonel, but he got promoted. General revelation is: I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. It's God in creation. You look at something, you say, Look, I might not know any more about God, but I know there's a God who made this.
That is general revelation. It requires more, but it exists, and there are people that come to that knowledge. Distinct from Special revelation, which is the giving of the scripture that we have from God. That's a very special revelation of God. All the Bible is special revelation.
Then there is direct revelation, a personal Telling of something from God. to the individual. Could be conviction. It could be God saying in your ear in an audible voice, You're guilty. But there's a caveat, and it's a big one.
If whatever voice you hear telling you something, and you think it's God, and it contradicts The scripture, it is Satan. It is Satan playing you maybe like a ventriloquist or a puppet or something. But if it contra anything that contradicts God's word is not God, it is Satan. and your flesh helping it along. Prophecy Is the movement of spiritual information.
That is just the general definition of. Prophecy is very not general, not trivial. It's very important. You get that wrong, and you get tripped up.
So in a larger sense, prophecy is telling forth God's Word. Like I'm attempting to do every time I step up in the pulpit, I'm attempting to bring forth God's Word. In a lesser sense, Imperfect prophecy is foretelling. One is telling fourth. The other is telling The future, predictive.
four, telling before before it happens. That one is not As common, the prophets certainly exercise it. We'll get to a couple of those. And then there is a direct prophecy which is personal. For example, Ananias Minding his own business in Damascus, Syria.
And the Lord calls him. Wants him to go and minister to Saul of Tarsus. And there's this dialogue, it's a direct conversation. to Ananias and nobody else. That also included Predictive prophecy or foretelling.
And fourth telling, it all bundled together because when he got to Paul, he's explaining to him what's going on. God said, You gotta, and God even told Ananias, I will show Paul the things he has to suffer.
So you got a little information about what Paul was going to have to endure. And that validated because he went and did it, and just like he said, it all happened. That validates. That it was God speaking directly to Ananias.
So, what happens is you get this academia Christianity comes along and says, Well, we can't do that anymore. That's a reactionary response. I'll come back to the, let me get back to the Isaiah.
So here's an example. of direct prophecy. King Hezekiah is on his deathbed. Isaiah told him, Get your house in order, you're going to die. Just like that.
Blunt said, Bye. And they're supposed to be friends. That's probably not how it happened, but it's how it was recorded. In other words, they left out nicer stuff. Isaiah 38.
And the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying, Go tell Hezekiah. Just when he got down to the courtyard, God speaks to him, direct prophecy. Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father. I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears.
Surely I will add. to your day is fifteen years.
Now in those days God did speak mostly through the prophets to the kings. And now we have more direct word, but every now and then God will send somebody your way with a direct word. In confirmation of what you knew already.
So, the second part of the question.
So, the first part, yes, I do believe in God speaking direct revelation, also part of direct prophecy, because prophecy is, again, the movement of spiritual information. Direct revelation, God speaking directly to you. I believe that. I have a lot of that. Have had a lot of it.
But the second part is why so many professing Christians believe they are being spoken to.
Well, maybe because they are. But it's not that simple, is it? John, 1 John 4:1, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone into the world. What's a false prophet?
Well, somebody who says, I spoke to God, God spoke to me, and it's false. I will say, if Jesus is silent, then. We're all on our own.
Now, you have a lot that will say, well, we have the scripture, well, we do, but there are so many nuances and applications to that. How many men have been called to the mission field with a direct word from God? that otherwise would not have gone.
So, the ones that believe in the gifts have ceased, there's the sign gifts, as tongues, for example. I'll get to that when we get to those questions, because someone's asked about tongues too. And that's always our favorite topic. The question is not annoying, and I respect the question. We'll answer it.
The annoying part is that it's less than 0.00% of the Bible, and it's like 90% of Bible arguments sometimes. But anyway, John 14, 18, Jesus said, Question again. Does God speak to us directly? Jesus, John 14, 18, I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. I don't know of anywhere in the scripture where he Rescinds those words, where he says, Okay, never mind. I've changed my mind. And Those who don't believe this They say things like Well, we deny direct revelation. But we affirm the Holy Spirit works in believers.
Lives to illuminate Scripture. Convict of sin. And guide in decision making. I agree with that too. They go on to say this guidance, however, is subjective.
and must be tested against. The objective truth of the Bible. I know you said, I don't know what you just said.
Well They're saying That God speaks to us, but not with a voice. He uses the scripture. He helps us in decision making and convicts us of sin. You mean he talks to us? No, we don't believe that.
What do you believe?
Well, we believe he convicts us of sin. He illuminates scripture to us. You're saying the same thing. But you're so afraid, you're such a reactionary. You've seen this abuse so much, you have written it off.
You've seen Pentecostals abuse the gifts of the Spirit, and you will have none of it. And in so doing, you miss out. And this used to be one of the great distinctions between the Calvary Chapel movement. The Pentecostals the Reformed theology and the Baptists and all the other ones. Is that we said we believe in all of the gifts of the Spirit.
But we believe in testing the Spirit. And they say You usually overemphasize one or the other. Many Calvinists deny ongoing revelation but affirm that the Holy Spirit. Works in believers. And it gets to be semantics after a while.
I don't know if that helps you. But you should know about these things. 'Cause they will pop up. If you move around in Christian circles. I think they're reactionaries who are missing out.
And I know that they're very subjective. How do you change God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son? You take the word world, you say, No, that just means the elect. See, that's subjective, and if you did it with the Trinity, you'd be a heretic. But they do that thing.
God speaks to me. far more in regard to ministry than my private life. Way more. There are times I said, Lord, should I buy this refrigerator? Nothing.
By going to the church door shall we get a frigate? Thou shalt get the refrigerator. I mean, he just speaks to me, not that stuff like, but ministry. I can't tell you how many times in a fellowship, Paul, God will tell me. Go speak to that person.
or don't speak to that person, and it proves to be him. I said he speaks to me more, not only in ministry. And I think this is a big part of what we're talking about. When people say God is speaking to them all the time, and almost reducing God to a chatterbox. I think he answers ministry questions and issues.
Not so much private. Faith carries us through the private. He opens doors. He moves. He does speak.
My personal experience is he speaks to me more. As a pastor in study time, what books should we go in next? Should I do question and answer boxes?
Sometimes it's not a voice in my head that confirms it.
Sometimes it's just a re-occurring dominant sensation. That I know this is, you do it long enough, you say, oh, this is the Lord. You think about somebody a lot that you usually don't think about, you start praying for them. You start praying for them, the next thing you know, you're calling them. Is everything all right?
How are you doing? Yeah, God speaks to his people. But Outside of ministry, just because you know, God walking up to you, hey, how's your day going? That I don't think is. legit too much.
The problems occur When they claim it's God and events prove them wrong. And then they continue to claim it's God.
So the question is: why do they do this? Because they're not held accountable. If you could taser them every time you busted them wrong, they'd stop it. But they don't get tasered.
So Or when it's always about you and your private life, and you're not living for the king, it's just for you. Why would you expect God to invest in you and you're not investing in the kingdom. Our Father in heaven. Deuteronomy 18, 20. We're almost done, only a thousand words left.
But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. How many false prophecies does a person have to make to become a false prophet. According to the scripture, one false prophecy is capital crime. And if we held people accountable to this, we'd have less chatter about this. Jeremiah 23:32.
This creates a reverence in us before we go, you know, God said to me, and. We'd be a little bit more careful. Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams, says Yahweh, and tell them. and cause my people to err By their lies and by their recklessness, yet I did not send them or command them, therefore they shall not profit this people at all, says Yahweh. Later on there he says they ran and I didn't send them.
Many New Testament verses. Promise that we will hear his voice. And I'll read a few and we'll be almost done. To him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Where if you don't hear the voice, how can you be called by name and be let out?
You'd be like you're deaf. Acts thirteen, two, and they ministered to the Lord and fasted, and the Holy Spirit said.
Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them. Why didn't Luke give us more information? Because the Holy Spirit likely prompted him by saying, don't put any more, because they will abuse it. Chuck Smith used to have an afterglow. For believers, a believer service where The gifts of the Spirit were invited because you can't do them during the teaching session.
So after the teaching session, you'd come in.
Well, why did it continue? Because in time, they abused it. And that's not tongues, and that's not a prophecy, and it's just abuse that hasn't stopped.
So, Hebrews 3:7. This is for those who say God does not speak direct anymore. Therefore, the Holy Spirit says today, if you hear his voice, it's New Testament application of an Old Testament word. John 10, 27, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, they follow me. John 10, 16, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold, that's the Gentiles.
Them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Well, for how long will they hear your voice?
Well, until the New Testament is complete. They'll have nothing that says that.
Somebody made that up. and got away with it. And now this lockstep, and it's a sacred cow. You better not challenge it. John 18:37, Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king?
Jesus answered, You rightly say I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world. That I should bear Witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth Here's my voice He doesn't say everyone who's living right now Until the book of Revelation is done. Here's my voice.
So again To the person that asked the question, I do believe God speaks to us. I do believe it is abused. I do believe John, when he says, test the spirits to see if these things are of God. I do believe when a person makes a false prophecy or statement about God telling them something and it does not happen or happens opposite of what they said, that's a false prophecy and they are now disqualified. Acts 20, we have two more verses and we're done.
Where are we?
Okay. Acts 22, verses 7, 9, and 14. Paul talking about his conversion. I fell on the ground and heard a voice saying to me, verse 9, the voice of him who spoke to me, verse 14. Then he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will and see the just one and hear the voice of his mouth.
With all of these verses talking about the voice of the Lord, why would I doubt? That the one that is known to us as the Word of God in John 1. would not speak the word of God. To every one of the seven churches. This is what the Lord said seven times in Revelation 2 and 3: He who has an ear, let him hear.
What the Spirit says. To the seven churches. And it would be sh narrow-minded to say, oh, he's talking to the church. Yeah, he's outside talking to the steeple. Makes no sense.
He's talking to the people, not the steeple. I like that one. I'm going to write that down.
Okay. So, you know, this is this combat, this. It exists on every level. You have people that. or you know blue collar versus white collar.
And that's that's life. And in the church you have the academia and then you have more of a grassroot. You have your fishermen. Can you have your fishy men? I'm on the fisherman's side.
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