"God told me..."
"God spoke to me in this dream..."
"I heard God say to me..."
"The Spirit spoke to my heart..."
Do these words and phrases cause your hair to bristle? Does your radar start to go off when you hear words like this? If not, then please allow me to give you something to chew on. Words and phrases like this should cause alarms to sound in your mind.
People who want a "special revelation" from God are likely to take almost any happening and turn it into "a word or sign from God" because that is what they so desperately and badly want. But, how would a person know, beyond a doubt, that this "word or sign" is definitely from God? Satan is more than happy to give people what they want. 2nd Corinthians 11:14 says, "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." In context, this passage is talking about false teachers who lead their listeners astray. But, Paul says it is no wonder that these false teachers are able to disguise themselves because even Satan is able to do this. Satan is able to perform false miracles and give out information with the sole purpose of deceiving the one who receives this miracle or information. Does not our Lord tell us in Matthew 24:24, "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." Where do these false prophets get the power to perform these great signs and wonders? The obvious answer is Satan himself. The hard truth is this: People are not able to definitively tell you if the word or sign they receive is from God. How could they know? They have nothing firm upon which to base their conclusion. They must rely upon subjective feelings and experience, which is never a good barometer for truth.
What about objective truth? Something to hang your hat on? OK, well, let's go to the source of truth, God's word and someone who had an objective, hang your hat on this experience. Peter says this:
"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased", we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place." (2 Peter 1:16-19 ESV)
Peter, James and John had an experience...a wonderful experience...a verifiable, documented encounter with God. But notice what Peter said. He said that we have something MORE SURE, the prophetic word, referring to the O.T. prophets. The implications could not be any clearer. Peter, who saw Jesus transfigured before his very eyes, who heard the voice of God the Father on that mountain of transfiguration, who saw all of the miracles that Jesus performed, said that the word given through the prophets was more reliable than his own eyewitness account. Let that sink in for a minute.
The writer to the Hebrews said, right out of the gate, chapter 1, verse 1, "Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets." Notice the verb tense here..."spoke to our fathers". He uses past tense. But he goes on, verse 2, "but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son." Again, notice the tense..."has spoken to us by his Son". He uses past tense again. He is saying that God has already spoken. He has said what needed to be said, through the O.T. prophets and then, ultimately, in his Son, who is the Living Word. No further revelation is needed.
There is only one reliable source for truth. That is God's word. Jesus, in his prayer in the garden in John 17:17 says, "Sanctify them in your truth; your word is truth." We must hold onto the scripture because "All scripture is breathed out by God." (2 Timothy 3:16) That is why we must study and stick to the scripture. It is our only source of objective truth. It is breathed out by God. It is authoritative. It is binding. It is inerrant and infallible. And, if we do not know what it says, Satan will come, disguised as an angel of light, and deceive us. Peter told us Satan is a roaring lion, prowling around, seeking someone to devour. When we place our hope, faith and trust in voices in our head, dreams we have had or subjective promptings, we open ourselves up to be deceived. Satan can easily use those experiences to deceive. He wants you to trust in those fleeting things because, as soon as you look to subjective experience over God's objective word, you are primed for deception on a grand scale. Place your hope, faith and trust in God's objective word. It is your only solid foundation upon which to rest.
