Scripture Hebrews 1:1-3a
Hebrews 1:1-3a
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many
times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his
Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the
universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation
of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
DRAMA: (maybe) Entrance from right side through doors, trip and
shout to get attention. Walking across the front and pausing every time a new
form of communication from God comes to me.
The Bible records a variety of ways God has revealed Himself
to humanity-primarily through words and deeds. The Bible lists the following
ways in which God has made Himself known.
1. God Directly Communicated
to Humanity with an Audible Voice
Gen 2:18 The Lord God said . . .Let there be light. But
there was no one to hear it.
But in Genesis 15:18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with
Abram and said, "To your descendants I give
this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates…”
Ex 3:4-6 When the Lord saw that he had gone
over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are
standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac and the God of Jacob."
Acts 9:4-6 (Paul, formerly Saul) fell to the
ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me?"
"Who are you,
Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting, now get up and go
into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
2. The Lot Was Used to
Determine God's Will
One of the ways that God made himself known was in the
casting of lots. Prov 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every
decision is from the Lord. Acts 1:24-26 Then
they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart.
Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic
ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast
lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
3. Once God Wrote with
A Huge Hand On a Wall
Dan 5:1-6 King
Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that had been
taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that his wives and his concubines might
drink from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and
silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster
of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand
as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees
knocked together and his legs gave way.
Dan 5:25-31 "This
is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
"This is what
these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it
to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres:
Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." That very
night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took
over the kingdom.
4. The Urim and
Thummim Helped Determine God's Will
An object(s) worn in the
breastplate of the high priest to determine guilt (Urim) or innocence
(Thummin).
This
would imply that the purpose of the Urim and Thummim was an ordeal to
confirm or deny suspected guilt; if the Urim was selected it meant guilt, while
selection of the Thummim would mean innocence.
Exodus 28:30 Also
put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's
heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear
the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the
Lord.
5. God Revealed Himself Through Dreams
While
dreams are a common experience of humanity, God used them in a special way to
reveal His truth. God said to Moses: Num 12:6 "Listen to my words: When a prophet of
the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in
dreams.”
Does God communicate with Non-believers? YES! The Bible
says that nonbelievers, as well as believers, have experienced God-given
dreams. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "You are
about to die because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a married
woman." (Genesis 20:3).
Joseph learned about Mary’s pregnancy in a dream and the
wise men were warned in a dream not to return through Jerusalem.
6. God Gave Visions to
A Number of People
There is some distinction between dreams and visions. Dreams
happen, of course, while we are asleep. A vision can occur while the person is
awake. Furthermore, in a dream the emphasis seems to be more on what is seen,
while in a vision the emphasis seems to be on what is heard. The Bible records
that God spoke to certain people through visions. Isaiah records.
Isa 1:1 The vision
concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of
Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Ezek 1:1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month
on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens
were opened and I saw visions of God.
7. Paul Was
Transported into The Spirit World
2 Cor 12:1-5 I
must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to
visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen
years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out
of the body I do not know — God knows. And I know that this man — whether in
the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to
paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to
tell.
8. At Times God
Dictated His Truth
On a few occasions God directly
dictated what the biblical author would write.
Revelation 2:1-2 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus
write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand
and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work
and your perseverance.”
9. Sometimes God Appeared
in A Human Body (Theophanies)
A theophany is the temporary
appearance of God in a human body in order to reveal something specific to His
people.
Gen 17:1-4 When
Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I
will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your
numbers." Abram fell facedown, and God said to him… Ex 6:2-3
God also said to Moses, "I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to
Jacob as God Almighty… Num 12:4-6
At once the Lord said to Moses,
Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of
Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. Then the
Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and
summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, "Listen to my words:…”
10. God Used Angels to Bring His Message
Luke 2:8-14 And
there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their
flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the
Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of
great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior
has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You
will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly
a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and
saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
11. Miracles Were
Performed to Reveal God's Power
John 14:11-12 Believe
me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least
believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
Acts
2:1-6 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled
the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of
fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation
under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
12. God Sometimes
Gave Object Lessons
Jer 19:1-2 This
is what the Lord says: "Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along
some of the elders of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of
Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Jer 19:10-11
"Then break the jar while
those who go with you are watching, and say to them, 'This is what the Lord
Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar
is smashed and cannot be repaired.
Ezek 4:1-8 "Now,
son of man, take a clay tablet, put it in front of you and draw the city of
Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a
ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then
take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn
your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This
will be a sign to the house of Israel. "Then lie on your left side and put
the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the
number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of
days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the
house of Israel. "After you have finished this, lie down again, this time
on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you
40 days, a day for each year. Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and
with bared arm prophesy against her. I will tie you up with ropes so that you
cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your
siege.
13. God Directly
Intervened in History
Ezek 25:6-7 For
this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Because you
have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of
your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out my hand
against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the
nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you
will know that I am the Lord."
14. The Prophets Were
Used to Reveal God's Truth
2 Sam 23:2 "The
Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.”
The prophet spoke the Word of the Lord as God gave it to
them. Today, a preacher’s job is not the same as a prophet. I give you what God
already spoke through the prophets and apostles and therefore, the authority of
my words exist because they are based on what God has already communicated. I
am simply a vessel of communication to a new generation in a another location.
Therefore, what I speak is a communication from God, by His Spirit, for you who
have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
15. Jesus Christ Was
God's Final Word to Humanity
God's ultimate word to humanity was
through His Son, Jesus Christ. The coming of Jesus both explained and revealed
who God is.
John 1:1-4 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the
light of men. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from
the Father, full of grace and truth.
18 No one has ever seen God, but
God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
16. The Bible Records
All These Different Means of Special Revelation
The record of God's direct
communication, the theophanies, His miracles, His message to the prophets, and
the coming of Jesus Christ are found in the Bible. However, the Bible is not
merely the record of the revelations from God. The Scripture also contains
truth not revealed by these other sources. The Bible therefore, is the record
of different aspects of special revelation as well as special revelation
itself.
Summary
Special revelation is God
communicating with humanity concerning all aspects of His Social Network – How
God relates to us and how we are to relate to one another and the world we live
in. The Bible records God revealing Himself in the following ways. Direct
communication, casting the lot, the Urim and the Thummin, hand writing on the
wall, transportation into the spirit world, dreams, visions, dictation,
theophanies, angels, miracles, object lessons, direct events, prophets, Jesus
Christ, and the Bible.
Augustine said, “When the Scriptures speak, God speaks.”
LIV BIB 1
Corinthians 2:9-16
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