Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Profile of a Prophet │ Msg 2340 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Profile of a Prophet │ Msg 2340 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: In our study through the Bible book by book, we
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Speaker 1: have come upon the largest Old Testament grouping of books,
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Speaker 1: and that is the section called the Prophets or the
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Speaker 1: Writings of the Prophets. It occurred to me, since this
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Speaker 1: is the largest section of the Old Testament, that it
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Speaker 1: might be wise for us to take time out from
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Speaker 1: our book by book survey and look at the Prophets
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Speaker 1: as a body of people, as a group of men
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Speaker 1: who were voices in the wilderness, unique and at times
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Speaker 1: severe men of God, who spoke uniquely the word of
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Speaker 1: God to the people of the times. I was prompted
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Speaker 1: to do that partly because a lot of very strange
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Speaker 1: things are being said these days about prophets and about
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Speaker 1: prophecies in general. Those who claim to be profets and
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Speaker 1: those who follow such people often say and do some
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Speaker 1: rather unusual things. I have a minister friend who has
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Speaker 1: in the last half decade taken on a whole new
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Speaker 1: tone in his ministry. Life has become exceedingly more serious
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Speaker 1: to him. He's traveling a bit more, and he's speaking
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Speaker 1: all over the country, making rather strong and sweeping statements
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Speaker 1: about things. For sure, dogmatically and in a more determined manner,
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Speaker 1: than he has ever done in his ministry. He has
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Speaker 1: become more rigid, much more intolerant, not only of the times,
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Speaker 1: but of the people around him, so much so that
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Speaker 1: people have begun to see him as a severe person.
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Speaker 1: When he's asked about why he has changed, his answer
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Speaker 1: is simple. He says, I view myself as a prophet
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Speaker 1: our times, and he seems surprised that more ministers are
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Speaker 1: not more like that, making strong and bold, dogmatic statements
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Speaker 1: about our times, standing against the ills of our day.
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Speaker 1: People like Sidney Omar and Jen Dixon and Carol Ryder
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Speaker 1: would be the first to tell you that they have
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Speaker 1: the gift of prophecy. To validate that claim, Jen Dixon
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Speaker 1: would tell you that she is the one who predicted
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Speaker 1: the election of Truman in forty eight, the sudden death
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Speaker 1: of Franklin Roosevelt, the partitioning of India, the invasion of
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Speaker 1: China by the Communists, the rise and fall of Nikita Khrushchev,
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Speaker 1: the orbiting of the Russian Sputnik, the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
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Speaker 1: All of those were predictions of that woman. And she
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Speaker 1: claims to be a prophetess, a voice of God. Profits
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Speaker 1: are on the rise. There's an interest, is an amazing
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Speaker 1: curiosity about the future. You can see this just in
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Speaker 1: the hunger people have for the astrology column in the newspaper.
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Speaker 1: May surprise you to know that a little over twenty
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Speaker 1: years ago, under one hundred newspapers in America even covered
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Speaker 1: or even included in their columns an astrology column. Now,
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Speaker 1: out of the seventeen hundred and fifty newspapers, twelve hundred
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Speaker 1: and twenty of them include the column every day of
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Speaker 1: every week of the year. One woman called into a
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Speaker 1: newspaper that had forgotten the column that day and claimed
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Speaker 1: that she couldn't continue the day. If they kept doing that,
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Speaker 1: she would no longer take their paper. I suppose she
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Speaker 1: looked upon that column as the prophecy for her life
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Speaker 1: that day. I've read those crazy things, and I don't
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Speaker 1: see anything that specific that's there. I keep looking for hope,
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Speaker 1: but not a lot is there. Furthermore, if you watch
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Speaker 1: television and have seen the religious programs, you have many
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Speaker 1: people make strange, strange predictions about the future. Some write
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Speaker 1: down to the actual prediction of the end times. One
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Speaker 1: I heard recently gave us the dates for the next earthquakes.
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Speaker 1: I wrote them down on my calendar, by the way,
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Speaker 1: just to make note of that. Some are identifying the
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Speaker 1: anti Christ. Some are setting rather determined dates about the
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Speaker 1: end of time. Reverend Ike tells you how much money
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Speaker 1: you will gain if you join his blessing plan. He
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Speaker 1: will predict that for you as well. A lot of
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Speaker 1: amazing things and even scary things are said these days
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Speaker 1: in the words of alleged prophets. Seemed to me worthwhile
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Speaker 1: for us to take some time to see what God
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Speaker 1: says about it. Look with me at Matthew chapter twenty four,
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Speaker 1: Verses three, four, five, and some that follow that. When
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Speaker 1: you come to Matthew twenty four, you arrive at what
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Speaker 1: is commonly called the Olivet discourse. That means, it's the
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Speaker 1: teaching that Christ gave while was on the Mount of Olives,
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Speaker 1: not to be confused with the Sermon on the Mount.
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Speaker 1: This came at the end of his ministry, just before
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Speaker 1: the dramatic arrest, the Six Trials, and the ultimate crucifixion
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Speaker 1: of Jesus. He got alone with his men, and he
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Speaker 1: gave some rather remarkable statements regarding the future. It was
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Speaker 1: prompted by their question, which came in three parts twenty
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Speaker 1: four to three. As he was sitting on the Mount
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Speaker 1: of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us,
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Speaker 1: when will these things be? That's the first question. And
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Speaker 1: what will be the sign of your coming the second question?
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Speaker 1: And what will be the sign of the end of
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Speaker 1: the age? Tell us these things. Like many of us,
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Speaker 1: They were curious about the future. Jesus answered and said
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Speaker 1: to them, see to it that no one misleads you.
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Speaker 1: What an interesting answer to a series of objective questions.
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Speaker 1: He doesn't give them the answers that they're looking, but
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Speaker 1: he warns them about being misled, as we shall see
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Speaker 1: by false prophets verse five. Many will come in my
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Speaker 1: name saying I am the Christ, and will mislead many
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Speaker 1: verse eleven. And many false prophets will arise and will
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Speaker 1: mislead many verse twenty four. For false Christs and false
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Speaker 1: prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders,
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Speaker 1: so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Quite
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Speaker 1: a warning, isn't it, And so it is happening. Even
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Speaker 1: some of the elect are misled in these days, believing
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Speaker 1: the words of the alleged prophets of God. Is it
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Speaker 1: true that all prophets are false? No? Isn't it true
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Speaker 1: that some held the office and deserve the respect of
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Speaker 1: the people? Absolutely? Yes, Well, then how can you distinguish
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Speaker 1: between the true prophets and the false prophets? I'm glad
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Speaker 1: you asked that question. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, and
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Speaker 1: let's see what God says in answer to it. Deuteronomy eighteen.
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Speaker 1: We'll look at verse eighteen and following. It's interesting, by
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Speaker 1: the way, as you find Deuteronomy to discover that over
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Speaker 1: three hundred times in the Old Testament the word prophet
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Speaker 1: or its synonym appears, and over one hundred times in
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Speaker 1: the New Testament, well over four hundred times in the Bible,
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Speaker 1: God says something about prophets. It is certainly not an
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Speaker 1: insignificant part of his truth. One of the early references
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Speaker 1: is in eighteen eighteen of Deuteronomy. I will raise up
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Speaker 1: a prophet from among their countrymen like you. Their countryman
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Speaker 1: is a reference to the Jewish people, and I will
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Speaker 1: put my words in his mouth. That's a characteristic of
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Speaker 1: the prophet. He has God's word in his mouth, and
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Speaker 1: he shall speak to them all that I command him,
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Speaker 1: and it shall come about that whoever will not listen
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Speaker 1: to my words. Look at that, quite a statement. I
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Speaker 1: will put my words in his mouth, and whoever will
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Speaker 1: not listen to my voice. God sees his words in
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Speaker 1: the mouth of his prophet as his very voice. Whoever
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Speaker 1: will not listen to my words which he shall speak
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Speaker 1: in my name? Another characteristic of the prophet. He speaks
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Speaker 1: the name of the Lord, I myself will require it
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Speaker 1: of him, an old Testament colloquialism, For he will suffer
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Speaker 1: the consequences. He'll pay the price for not listening to
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Speaker 1: my voice. But the prophet who shall speak a word
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Speaker 1: presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him
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Speaker 1: to speak, or which he shall speak in the name
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Speaker 1: of other gods, that prophet shall die. And you may
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Speaker 1: say in your heart, how shall we know the word
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Speaker 1: which the Lord has not spoken? That's exactly what we're asking.
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Speaker 1: People ask it in the days of Moses. How can
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Speaker 1: we know when one prophet is of God but another
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Speaker 1: one is not of God? How can we distinguish between
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Speaker 1: the two Verse twenty two. When a prophet speaks in
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Speaker 1: the name of the Lord, if the thing does not
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Speaker 1: come about or come true, that is the thing which
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Speaker 1: the Lord has it has not spoken. The prophet has
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Speaker 1: spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.
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Speaker 1: The thought is you shall not respect him. You shall
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Speaker 1: not stand in awe of that false spokesman. There's one
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Speaker 1: other verse in Deuteronomy that is worth observation, and that
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Speaker 1: is Chapter twenty nine, verse twenty nine. Look at the
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Speaker 1: last verse of Deuteronomy twenty nine. It ties in with
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Speaker 1: this whole series of thoughts by way of introduction, The
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Speaker 1: secret things belong to the Lord, our God. Let me
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Speaker 1: let me help you understand what that means. There is
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Speaker 1: a whole body of truth that belongs to the knowledge
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Speaker 1: of God. If you knew it, you would be God.
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Speaker 1: But in the Triune God, this magnificent body of truth,
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Speaker 1: the secret things, according to this twenty ninth verse, known
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Speaker 1: only to God, are kept in his own mind. Now,
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Speaker 1: every once in a while he taps the secret things,
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Speaker 1: and he bleeds out some of that information into the
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Speaker 1: minds of certain people. Prophets Verse twenty nine continues, the
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Speaker 1: things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever
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Speaker 1: that we may observe all the words of this law.
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Speaker 1: When God taps his mind and gives his prophets certain truths.
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Speaker 1: Then those truths that are revealed belong to us. But
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Speaker 1: those truths, when they come from God invariably cause us
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Speaker 1: to obey his word. Another helpful directive is a man
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Speaker 1: or a woman speaks of God. When that individual number
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Speaker 1: one speaks the truth, it is that which comes to pass.
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Speaker 1: And second, it causes greater obedience to occur toward the
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Speaker 1: word of God. God never reveals truth and calls it
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Speaker 1: his message if it contradicts his word. Remember that God
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Speaker 1: never contradicts himself. By the way, it's helpful to hear.
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Speaker 1: Also the other side of Gene Dixon. In case some
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Speaker 1: of you are caught up with her writings, and I
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Speaker 1: hope you were not, some of the things that she
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Speaker 1: missed are clear. She predicted World War III would begin
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Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty eight. It did not. She predicted Red
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Speaker 1: China would be admitted into the United Nations in nineteen
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Speaker 1: fifty eight. It was not. She predicted the Vietnam War
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Speaker 1: would last ninety days starting with May seven, nineteen sixty six.
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Speaker 1: It certainly didn't, she said. On the nineteenth of October
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Speaker 1: nineteen sixty eight, Jackie Kennedy was not even thinking of marriage.
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Speaker 1: The next day she married the Greek Onassis. She missed
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Speaker 1: that rather boldly. No, when you miss your prophecy, you
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Speaker 1: no longer are allowed to call yourself a prophet in
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Speaker 1: the strict sense of the word prophet. A prophet is
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Speaker 1: validated by the fact that his every prediction comes true. Now,
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Speaker 1: God is not in the business of playing games with
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Speaker 1: his people. I find in my study of this subject,
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Speaker 1: and I discover how vast it is when I dig
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Speaker 1: into it, that it's fairly clear how he delineates this
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Speaker 1: information about prophets and about prophecies. I've done some study
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Speaker 1: in the original, and I find that there are three
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Speaker 1: words which I've sort of transliterated for you on your chart,
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Speaker 1: your diagram. These words that are found in the Hebrew Bible.
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Speaker 1: First of all, there's the word that comes from the
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Speaker 1: verb ra a a ah ra means to see, to behold.
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Speaker 1: This term appears eleven times in the Old Testament, and
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Speaker 1: it is invariably translated sr SWR sir one who sees
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Speaker 1: God's direction. Samuel calls himself a seer in First Samuel nine,
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Speaker 1: verse nine. He says they were once called seers, and
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Speaker 1: they later came to be called prophets. So for eleven
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Speaker 1: times in the Old Testament God speaks of those who
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Speaker 1: saw his mind or saw his truth. The next word
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Speaker 1: is kosek. It's used twenty two times, and its root
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Speaker 1: word means to behold, to gaze, to perceive. Now this
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Speaker 1: person is able not only to see the plan of God,
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Speaker 1: but is able to interpret it so that he perceives
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Speaker 1: from this vision God's direction. But by far the most
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Speaker 1: familiar word of all the Old Testament terms, in fact,
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Speaker 1: it's used about three hundred times, is the word navi.
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Speaker 1: In a Bhi, this is the most popular of all.
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Speaker 1: Doctor Kyle yeates for many years, a scholar at Baylor University,
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Speaker 1: writes this from his World of the Semitic Language about
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Speaker 1: the term nave. This term lays stress upon the utterance
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Speaker 1: of the message, not on the vision. We cannot be
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Speaker 1: dogmatic about its origin, but it is most probably an
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Speaker 1: active noun from the Old Semitic root nava, meaning to utter,
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Speaker 1: to proclaim, to speak. The cognate verb is found in
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Speaker 1: Assyrian and Arabic, with something of the same meaning. In
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Speaker 1: Arabic it seems to mean the utterance of a special
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Speaker 1: message on behalf of one who has commissioned him to
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Speaker 1: say it. That's very insightful. It's the thought of being
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Speaker 1: commissioned by one to carry out a message, not just
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Speaker 1: to get a vision, not just to interpret a vision,
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Speaker 1: as Joseph or Daniel, but to declare that vision for
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Speaker 1: other people to hear and to be informed. And then
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Speaker 1: he adds the idea of prediction is present in this word.
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Speaker 1: Throughout the Old Testament, however, the prophets were primarily preachers
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Speaker 1: to their own age witnesses, as well as predictors. Then
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Speaker 1: there are various designations of prophets in the Old Testament.
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Speaker 1: I made a list of them in my own notes.
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Speaker 1: They are called watchman, man of God, Sir of Jehovah, interpreter,
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Speaker 1: man of the spirit, dreamer of dreams. There is even
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Speaker 1: in the days of Samuel, a school of the prophets,
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Speaker 1: translated in the New American Standard Bible as the Company
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Speaker 1: of the Prophets. I was intrigued by that. It seems
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Speaker 1: as though this is the earliest reference in scripture for
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Speaker 1: some kind of formal theological training, maybe the beginning of
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Speaker 1: some thought of a seminary. Samuel had men who traveled
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Speaker 1: with him and he with them, and they were taught
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Speaker 1: in the Word of God, and they become they became
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Speaker 1: a body of prophets who were respected by even the
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Speaker 1: kings of the land, at least for a while. On
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Speaker 1: the back of the outline you were given is a
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Speaker 1: sort of a layout of the Bible horizontally. You take
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Speaker 1: a moment, I'd like you to look at that before
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Speaker 1: we turned to two Peter Chapter one. Look at the
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Speaker 1: Old Testament books that we've covered in our studies so far.
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Speaker 1: We've looked at the legal section of the Bible, which
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Speaker 1: is Genesis through Deuteronomy, five books written by Moses. We've
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Speaker 1: also covered Joshua all the way through Esther the twelve
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Speaker 1: historical books, and then we've traced the poetical books Job
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Speaker 1: through Song of Solomon five books in all job and Psalms,
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Speaker 1: and then the three books of Solomon Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and
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Speaker 1: Song of Solomon. And then there's room for you to
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Speaker 1: write in the word prophetical. That's where we are now.
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Speaker 1: This begins from Isaiah and takes us all the way
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Speaker 1: to Malachi, the last seventeen books written by sixteen men.
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Speaker 1: One is of course the work of Jeremiah, that's the
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Speaker 1: book of lamentations. And aside from that dual writing of
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Speaker 1: Jeremiah his prophecy and Lamentations, each book is written by
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Speaker 1: a different prophet. They are an interesting bunch. I don't
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Speaker 1: know that the land could hold them today if there
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Speaker 1: were many of them in America. Remarkable men who were,
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Speaker 1: as we shall see, individualists. I remember the words of
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Speaker 1: Vernon McGee. He says, one of the reasons the lions
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Speaker 1: did not eat Daniel is that he was three fourths
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Speaker 1: backbone and one fourth gristle. They couldn't need him if
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Speaker 1: they had tried. That's the kind of profits those men were.
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Speaker 1: Strong will, stubborn, determined, men of dogmatism and conviction. Absolutely
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Speaker 1: unmoved by the majority opinion against them. Some went to
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Speaker 1: the stake for the very things they proclaimed and predicted.
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Speaker 1: They stood fast. Now in tewod Peter chapter one, there
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Speaker 1: is something very helpful revealed about prophecies. And because of
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Speaker 1: the scary and weird things I'm hearing in our day
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Speaker 1: about prophecy, I think it needs to be repeated. Specifically,
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Speaker 1: what is the difference between revelation, inspiration and illumination. I'll
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Speaker 1: find a basis for that in two Peter, Chapter one,
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Speaker 1: verse nineteen to the end of the chapter. And so
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Speaker 1: we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which
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Speaker 1: you do well to pay attention, as to a lamp
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Speaker 1: shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and
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Speaker 1: the morning star arises in your hearts. Very beautiful description
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Speaker 1: of the last day, the time of the morning star's arrival,
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Speaker 1: the coming of Christ. But verse twenty. Know this first
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Speaker 1: of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter
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Speaker 1: of one's own interpretation, For no prophecy was ever made
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Speaker 1: by an act of human will. But men now mark
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Speaker 1: this well, moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
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Speaker 1: What does that mean? Men, moved by the Holy Spirit
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Speaker 1: spoke from God. Maybe this will help. Before there was
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Speaker 1: a completed Bible, bound and printed and put into the
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Speaker 1: tongue of the people, the people of God waited upon
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Speaker 1: certain choice servants to speak the message of God. And
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Speaker 1: if these men did not speak God's message, the people
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Speaker 1: of God waited in ignorance, for there was no written word.
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Speaker 1: We can't imagine life without a Bible. You and I
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Speaker 1: take that for granted. There's a Bible in every church
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Speaker 1: and chapel, and it seems tabernacle and temple around the
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Speaker 1: land in the language of the people, big print, little print,
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Speaker 1: read letter, editions, leather, plastic, vinyl of whatever you've got
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Speaker 1: it available. But think of your life without a shred
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Speaker 1: of scripture or maybe a few confusing scrolls in a
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Speaker 1: language you didn't even speak. For God to speak to
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Speaker 1: us today, we would need men who supernaturally would be
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Speaker 1: moved by the Holy Spirit to tell us God's truth.
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Speaker 1: The key to verse twenty one is an understanding of
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Speaker 1: the term moved. Moved. The Greek word is a nautical term,
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Speaker 1: and it's used to describe a ship at sea without
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Speaker 1: a sail in extra biblical littery. And this vessel at
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Speaker 1: sea was at the mercy of the waves and the
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Speaker 1: currents and the winds about them. And as the ship
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Speaker 1: was moved along without saale, it was literally carried along
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Speaker 1: out of its own power. That's the meaning of this word.
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Speaker 1: Men of God were carried along out of their own
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Speaker 1: power as the Holy Spirit spoke through them. So, in
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Speaker 1: a technical sense, we do not have profits today. We
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Speaker 1: have a book of the prophets, We have a book
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Speaker 1: filled with prophecies. But in the sense of supernatural prophets
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Speaker 1: who are moved by the Holy Spirit to give us
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Speaker 1: new revelation. No no longer needed, no longer necessary. We
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Speaker 1: have a book of the prophets, a reliable document in
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Speaker 1: our own tongue. Now, let me explain the difference between
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Speaker 1: these three doctrines. First, there is revelation that the verse.
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Speaker 1: That's the doctrine behind the verse that we've just read,
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Speaker 1: Verse twenty one. Revelation is God giving his word to man.
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Speaker 1: Let's let this book represent God's message or God's voice.
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Speaker 1: God brought his message and gave it to certain choice spokesmen.
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Speaker 1: They received supernatural truth. It was truth which man otherwise
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Speaker 1: could not and would not know. In that sense, he
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Speaker 1: revealed his message. That's revelation, as not the same as inspiration.
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Speaker 1: When man took that revealed word from God and recorded
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Speaker 1: it and preserved it through time, supernaturally and miraculously free
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Speaker 1: from error, that was inspiration. God breathed out his word
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Speaker 1: on to the printed page through the pen of certain prophets, writers, apostles,
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Speaker 1: men of God, and the revealed word of God went
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Speaker 1: into writing. That is inspiration, God giving his word. That's revelation,
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Speaker 1: God causing his word to be recorded without error, right
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Speaker 1: down to the very words of scripture. That's inspiration. There
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Speaker 1: is a third doctrine, and that is the doctrine of illumination.
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Speaker 1: Illumination is the understanding of the revealed Word of God, inspired, guarded,
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Speaker 1: protected for our learning. You and I aren't experiencing tonight illumination.
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Speaker 1: We are gathering information about God and about his will,
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Speaker 1: about his word, about his direction for our life. And
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Speaker 1: we are being illumined by the Spirit of God as
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Speaker 1: we understand. For example, this verse verse twenty one, Peter
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Speaker 1: perceive the word which was revealed. Peter wrote the word
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Speaker 1: which is inspired. Now we centuries removed from when it
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Speaker 1: was first written, are beginning to be illumined by the word.
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Speaker 1: What does it mean to be moved by the Holy Spirit?
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Speaker 1: Verse twenty one one. Very reputable authority explains it better
26:40
Speaker 1: than I, and so I quote from him. Listen carefully.
26:44
Speaker 1: Their mental processes were stimulated and guided by the Spirit,
26:50
Speaker 1: who clothed them with power. Now imagine this imagination, memory
26:57
Speaker 1: and reason were heightened, as well as intuition and spiritual insight.
27:04
Speaker 1: The Spirit of God chose men for this purpose and
27:07
Speaker 1: then turned to account all their powers. The mind of
27:11
Speaker 1: the prophet perhaps varied from extreme trance and ecstasy all
27:18
Speaker 1: the way to quiet thoughtfulness over which the Holy Spirit presided.
27:26
Speaker 1: The prophets of Jehovah had little in common with dancing
27:30
Speaker 1: and howling dervishes. One of the best evidences of the
27:35
Speaker 1: true prophet is that he was able to keep his
27:38
Speaker 1: consciousness and self control while receiving and delivering the message.
27:47
Speaker 1: Think of it. Put yourself in the place of the
27:54
Speaker 1: church at Ephesus first century church, a church in in
28:00
Speaker 1: westernmost Turkey, the land today we know is Turkey. In
28:04
Speaker 1: that day Asia Minor. They had not a shred of
28:07
Speaker 1: New Testament truth, not a shred. And yet they met
28:14
Speaker 1: for assembly worship like we meet, and they met regularly
28:18
Speaker 1: like we meet. And you know who ministered to them?
28:24
Speaker 1: Why prophets minister Itinerant ministers came visiting the church and
28:32
Speaker 1: giving the church new truth and direction for their life,
28:37
Speaker 1: for their future. I say again, at the risk of
28:42
Speaker 1: being repetitive here, that we have taken for granted this
28:46
Speaker 1: marvelous privilege of a Bible in our own language, resting
28:51
Speaker 1: on a coffee table, sitting on a shelf from week
28:54
Speaker 1: to week, hardly open in many a life when you
29:00
Speaker 1: stop and think that just nineteen centuries ago they had
29:03
Speaker 1: not a bit of it, never heard of a book bound,
29:08
Speaker 1: never heard of it written in their own tongue. Today
29:11
Speaker 1: we have all of it put together, beautifully set forth
29:17
Speaker 1: waiting to be believed and heard. Now we need sort
29:23
Speaker 1: of a roll call of the prophets. It occurred to
29:25
Speaker 1: me as we look at this long list of seventeen books,
29:29
Speaker 1: maybe would be best to turn to a table of contents.
29:32
Speaker 1: Now the Bible is inspired, but the table of Contents isn't.
29:36
Speaker 1: So I can't rest a lot of things here. But
29:39
Speaker 1: we do have a listing of your books for the Bible,
29:43
Speaker 1: one after another. There. I wonder how many of you
29:45
Speaker 1: have looked at the table of contents in a long
29:47
Speaker 1: long time. I tell new Christians that that is the
29:50
Speaker 1: one thing they need to become familiar with. We who
29:53
Speaker 1: have been in the Lord's family a long time tend
29:56
Speaker 1: to forget that. A major problem the new Christians. He
30:01
Speaker 1: doesn't even know where to find the books of the Bible.
30:04
Speaker 1: So encourage those disciples that you work with to become
30:07
Speaker 1: familiar with the Table of Contents so that they can
30:12
Speaker 1: see the order of the books. Now the prophets of
30:15
Speaker 1: old were in various groups, as you will see on
30:18
Speaker 1: your outline tonight. There was an early group. Then there
30:22
Speaker 1: was a group that prophesied in the days of a
30:24
Speaker 1: civil war, which we're calling the Kingdom group. And then
30:28
Speaker 1: there were those that prophesied during the days of captivity
30:31
Speaker 1: and even beyond it. So I'm assuming that you remember
30:35
Speaker 1: our studies through kings and chronicles to call to mind
30:38
Speaker 1: this survey of history. First of all, the early group,
30:42
Speaker 1: you might want to make a note of them somewhere
30:44
Speaker 1: along the margin of the contents here. First of all,
30:47
Speaker 1: there was Moses. You can write his name along Genesis
30:50
Speaker 1: through Deuteronomy. He was the first of the prophets, Moses.
30:56
Speaker 1: And then there was Samuel. You could make a check
30:59
Speaker 1: mark by the first and second Samuel books. He was
31:01
Speaker 1: a prophet. And then there were two prophets who didn't write,
31:05
Speaker 1: and so you'll not find their books here, but you
31:07
Speaker 1: will remember their names, Elijah and Elisha. They didn't write scripture,
31:13
Speaker 1: but they certainly spoke the message of God to their times.
31:17
Speaker 1: Elijah and Elisha are among the early group of the prophets. Now,
31:25
Speaker 1: if you want to look, you can either make a
31:27
Speaker 1: list on your goal sheet, or you can make a
31:29
Speaker 1: marking in your Bible alongside, either putting J for Judah
31:34
Speaker 1: or I for Israel, and you'll notice the difference in
31:37
Speaker 1: where these prophets spoke. I'll give them to you one
31:40
Speaker 1: after another. We'll move right along. Those prophets that spoke
31:44
Speaker 1: in the days of Judah and the days of Israel
31:49
Speaker 1: are as follows. If you are looking at your table
31:52
Speaker 1: of contents, you will see first Isaiah, he prophesied to Judah,
31:57
Speaker 1: so a little J by his name Jeremiah. He prophesied
32:02
Speaker 1: to Judah, so a little J by his name. As well.
32:08
Speaker 1: Ezekiel prophesied in the days of Captivity, so put his
32:12
Speaker 1: a little sea there by his name Daniel the same.
32:18
Speaker 1: He is one of the Captivity prophets. These were men
32:20
Speaker 1: who spoke for God in Babylon, when the people of
32:24
Speaker 1: Israel were eight hundred miles from home. These prophets spoke
32:27
Speaker 1: for God. Now watch carefully. Joseiah spoke in Israel, little
32:35
Speaker 1: initial eye Joel, Judah Amos Israel, Obadiah, Judah, Jonah Israel. Jonah.
32:51
Speaker 1: What a character Jonah was Micah, Judah, Nahem, Judah, habakuk
33:00
Speaker 1: Yah Sephaniah, the same, Judah, Hagia, Zacharai, Malachi. They're all
33:11
Speaker 1: post captivity prophets. They proclaimed God's word after the days
33:16
Speaker 1: of captivity. There were some prophets that spoke in the
33:20
Speaker 1: Northern Kingdom until the kingdom fell into the hands of Assyria.
33:23
Speaker 1: And then there were some that spoke in the Southern Kingdom,
33:26
Speaker 1: and they preached for oh, altogether, over three hundred and
33:29
Speaker 1: forty years they proclaimed God's word. I have a friend
33:33
Speaker 1: who just got back from Dallas, and he said, while
33:36
Speaker 1: he was there, he was at a Christian bookstore and
33:38
Speaker 1: he saw a very unusual motto hanging on the wall
33:41
Speaker 1: of this Dallas Christian bookstore. It read Shalom y'all. And
33:46
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's what they said, if they
33:48
Speaker 1: were Southern prophets, but whatever, you could tell that they
33:51
Speaker 1: were from the South. One you can always tell that,
33:53
Speaker 1: can't you? Enough of that foolishness, get over to Isaiah
33:57
Speaker 1: chapter one. Now, let's sort of survey the eight characteristics
34:01
Speaker 1: of the prophets, eight characteristics that I want to pass
34:05
Speaker 1: on to you before we close our service in this study.
34:09
Speaker 1: In the prophecies in general, we'll have to move right along. Now,
34:13
Speaker 1: I'll give you these eight characteristics that will be in
34:15
Speaker 1: just one or two word form. First of all, there
34:18
Speaker 1: was uncompromising individualism. Uncompromising individualism Isaiah one, the vision of Isaiah,
34:29
Speaker 1: the son of Amos. Verse two. Listen o heavens, and
34:33
Speaker 1: here o earth, for the Lord speaks. Now Isaiah is
34:37
Speaker 1: standing alone. He is speaking as an uncompromising individualist. He says,
34:43
Speaker 1: for the Lord speaks, sons I have reared and brought up,
34:47
Speaker 1: but they have revolted against me. And Ox knows its owner,
34:51
Speaker 1: and a donkey its master's manger. But Israel does not know.
34:56
Speaker 1: My people do not understand a last sin full nation.
35:01
Speaker 1: People weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers. It sounds
35:07
Speaker 1: like a prophet of doom. And so he was uncompromising
35:12
Speaker 1: to the core. So were all the prophets. Turn to
35:16
Speaker 1: Jeremiah chapter one, you'll read not words like that, but
35:21
Speaker 1: words of helpful information regarding the prophets in general. The
35:27
Speaker 1: second characteristic is that they were men who stood alone.
35:32
Speaker 1: The third is that they were God's mouthpiece. You see
35:36
Speaker 1: both of those characteristics coming out of Jeremiah one. They
35:39
Speaker 1: stood alone and they were God's mouthpiece. Verse four. Now
35:43
Speaker 1: the word of the Lord came to me, saying, hang on,
35:46
Speaker 1: this will help your theology. This will really throw you
35:49
Speaker 1: a curve if you don't believe in the sovereignty of God.
35:53
Speaker 1: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you,
35:57
Speaker 1: and before you were born, I consecrate wow, before you
36:05
Speaker 1: were born, before you were in the womb. While you
36:09
Speaker 1: were there, he says, I appointed you a prophet to
36:12
Speaker 1: the nation. I said, this is Jeremiah, responding, alas, Lord God,
36:18
Speaker 1: I do not know how to speak, because I am
36:21
Speaker 1: a youth. But the Lord said to me, do not
36:25
Speaker 1: say I am a youth, because everywhere I send you
36:29
Speaker 1: you shall go, and all that I command you you
36:32
Speaker 1: shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I
36:36
Speaker 1: am with you to deliver you. Then the Lord stretched
36:41
Speaker 1: out his hand, Now watch this, and touched my mouth.
36:47
Speaker 1: And the Lord said to me, I have put my
36:49
Speaker 1: words in your mouth. For the layman today who is
36:56
Speaker 1: not involved in vocational Christian service, I'm sure that a
36:59
Speaker 1: shroud of mystery surrounds those who are involved in the
37:03
Speaker 1: gospel ministry because we often toss out terms like the
37:08
Speaker 1: call of God or at some time in our past
37:14
Speaker 1: we heard the voice of God, and we gave ourselves
37:18
Speaker 1: to the work of the ministry. I don't know if
37:21
Speaker 1: it will help you or confuse you further, but I
37:23
Speaker 1: have never heard a voice from God. I have never
37:28
Speaker 1: known of God's reaching out and touching my lips in
37:32
Speaker 1: the sense that Jeremiah speaks of it here. Never. But
37:37
Speaker 1: there was a definite change in my direction as a
37:40
Speaker 1: man when I was well. It was back in the
37:44
Speaker 1: late nineteen fifties. I was overseas, I was involved in
37:48
Speaker 1: the military. I was doing a hitch in the Marine Corps.
37:51
Speaker 1: I was doing a Bible study with a group of fellas.
37:54
Speaker 1: I was used uniquely to assist in their growth. And
37:58
Speaker 1: it began to dawn on me and from an inner
38:01
Speaker 1: compulsion that I know now was from God, that my
38:05
Speaker 1: direction to go towards the whole realm of engineering and
38:10
Speaker 1: all of that career that was awaiting me, that would
38:13
Speaker 1: not be God's plan for me. And through a series
38:17
Speaker 1: of events, and I can't even describe them as mysterious,
38:21
Speaker 1: just quietly assuring, I pieced together enough of the particles
38:29
Speaker 1: to say God's direction for me is ministry. And you
38:34
Speaker 1: can't imagine what a job that was for me to
38:37
Speaker 1: ferret that out, because I had fought that half my life.
38:40
Speaker 1: My wife will tell you when she testifies when I've
38:43
Speaker 1: yelled at her. One of the times I've yelled at
38:45
Speaker 1: her is when she was saying to me years ago,
38:47
Speaker 1: I really think that God has his hand on you
38:50
Speaker 1: for the ministry. Don't say that. I remember you going
38:54
Speaker 1: all around the house, and don't ever say that again.
38:57
Speaker 1: I do a lot of strange things around the house.
38:59
Speaker 1: That was one of those days. He let it all out,
39:02
Speaker 1: and she and I laugh about it today. But she
39:04
Speaker 1: knew before I knew. Other people were telling me. Before
39:08
Speaker 1: I would accept it. I rejected it for various reasons,
39:12
Speaker 1: but finally I had to say, Yes, his hand is
39:15
Speaker 1: on my life. It'll mean four more years of schooling.
39:18
Speaker 1: I'm ready for it. I remember being asked by the
39:21
Speaker 1: registrar at Dallas Seminary when I applied in the spring
39:24
Speaker 1: of nineteen fifty nine. Don Campbell looked at me and
39:27
Speaker 1: he said to me, a chuck, do you think you
39:29
Speaker 1: would be happy doing anything else? And I stopped and
39:34
Speaker 1: blinked and thought and looked away, and I looked back
39:37
Speaker 1: into his face and I said, no, I really don't.
39:41
Speaker 1: He told me later that if I had had any
39:43
Speaker 1: other answer, they would never have accepted me. If I'd
39:46
Speaker 1: have known that, I'd have said no. For whatever reason.
39:49
Speaker 1: At that time, he was an honest no. I honestly
39:52
Speaker 1: believe I could not be happy in any sense of
39:55
Speaker 1: fulfillment as I know it today unless I would be
39:58
Speaker 1: involved in ministry. So in that sense, his hands stretched
40:01
Speaker 1: out and touched my mouth, and I became, as it were,
40:05
Speaker 1: in a general sense of the word, a quasi prophet,
40:09
Speaker 1: in the sense of sweeping declarations and truths for our times, yes,
40:14
Speaker 1: but not in the sense of supernatural revelations received from God.
40:20
Speaker 1: Fourth characteristic from Ezekiel is that they were men of
40:24
Speaker 1: ruggedness and determination. Let's just put it rugged determination. This
40:31
Speaker 1: is quite a statement that God gives Ezekiel and Ezekiel's
40:36
Speaker 1: dull stuff. But there's some part of it that is very,
40:38
Speaker 1: very exciting. This is one of them. Ezekiel too. He
40:42
Speaker 1: said to me, that's God, son of Man, stand on
40:44
Speaker 1: your feet, that I may speak with you. And as
40:47
Speaker 1: he spoke to me, the spirit entered me and set
40:48
Speaker 1: me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
40:51
Speaker 1: Ezekiel two verse three, He said to me, son of Man,
40:54
Speaker 1: I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to
40:56
Speaker 1: a rebellious people who have rebelled against me. They and
41:00
Speaker 1: their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.
41:04
Speaker 1: If you think you're discouraged, look at Ezekiel's calling. I'm
41:07
Speaker 1: sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children.
41:11
Speaker 1: And you shall say to them, thus says the Lord.
41:13
Speaker 1: As for them, whether they listen or not, for their
41:16
Speaker 1: rebellious house, they will know that a prophet has been
41:19
Speaker 1: among them about the time it began to feel kind of,
41:22
Speaker 1: said the son of Man. Neither fear them, nor fear
41:25
Speaker 1: their words. Though thistles and thorns will be with you,
41:29
Speaker 1: and you will sit on scorpions. Hello, that'll wake you
41:33
Speaker 1: up right there. Neither fear their words, nor be dismayed
41:36
Speaker 1: at their presence. For their rebellious house, I'm going to
41:38
Speaker 1: tell you the prophets had to be rugged people to
41:42
Speaker 1: go through that scorpion like experience. They stood, they spoke,
41:47
Speaker 1: they declared in the street, in the synagogue, in the temple,
41:50
Speaker 1: and they were turned off by the people. And they
41:53
Speaker 1: kept declaring it, kept declaring it. They were told to
41:56
Speaker 1: shut up. They were told to leave, they were told
41:58
Speaker 1: that they didn't leave, they'd be killed. They stood firm
42:01
Speaker 1: because they were rugged men of determination. May their tribe increase.
42:07
Speaker 1: There are not many of them today. People are being
42:11
Speaker 1: told what they want to hear. They're having their ears tickled,
42:15
Speaker 1: their backscratched, they're having their hands shaken. And there's nothing
42:20
Speaker 1: wrong with common courtesy. There's everything right about it. But
42:24
Speaker 1: a man of God who will not speak the word
42:26
Speaker 1: of God loses the respect of the people of God
42:31
Speaker 1: and the people in the days of the Prophets. But
42:34
Speaker 1: a beautiful illustration of rugged determination. We'll learn some things
42:40
Speaker 1: about standing alone from studying the prophets. We need it.
42:44
Speaker 1: They were also men of prayer and communion. Daniel chapter six.
42:51
Speaker 1: By the way, there's a remarkable verse which I think
42:54
Speaker 1: stands out as an amazing, unique statement said of any
42:58
Speaker 1: person who's ever lived. And Daniel six'. Four daniel was
43:03
Speaker 1: a man in high official capacity in the days Of,
43:11
Speaker 1: babylon and he had peers that were jealous of, him
43:16
Speaker 1: and so they began to search his life to find.
43:19
Speaker 1: Corruption think of, This they set out on a pursuit
43:24
Speaker 1: to find fault and a breakdown in his integrity six.'
43:28
Speaker 1: four the commissioners and the sat traps began trying to
43:32
Speaker 1: find a ground of Accusation against daniel in regard to.
43:37
Speaker 1: Government affairs it's a good thing that happened then and.
43:43
Speaker 1: Not today they could not find a ground. Of accusation
43:49
Speaker 1: they could not find a shred of evidence of Corruption
43:53
Speaker 1: in daniel's life that blew. Him away he, was faithful
43:59
Speaker 1: and there was no negligence or corruption to be found in.
44:02
Speaker 1: That man they watched, him alone they watched him. With
44:05
Speaker 1: people they've covered, his books his. Financial affairs they checked,
44:10
Speaker 1: His orders they looked at, his efficiency they checked, his
44:13
Speaker 1: charts the way he dealt. With people they could not
44:15
Speaker 1: find one Flaw in. Daniel's life and we wonder why
44:20
Speaker 1: he had the respect of. The people look at. Verse
44:23
Speaker 1: ten his life is. In danger now a document has
44:27
Speaker 1: been signed that will lead to. His demise daniel knew
44:30
Speaker 1: the document. Was signed he. Didn't panic he entered. His
44:33
Speaker 1: house after, the parenthesis he continued kneeling on his knees
44:38
Speaker 1: three times, a day praying giving thanks Before, his god
44:43
Speaker 1: as he had been. Doing previously even in the panic
44:48
Speaker 1: of the loss of. His life he prays consistently men
44:53
Speaker 1: of prayer. And communion let me search out, one more
44:57
Speaker 1: And then i'll give you the last two without looking for.
44:59
Speaker 1: The reference for the sake, of time Look at amos.
45:03
Speaker 1: Chapter seven one of my all time favorite characters among
45:08
Speaker 1: the Obscure, is Amos and i'll show. You why amos
45:14
Speaker 1: seven is an illustration of absolute of being an outspoken
45:21
Speaker 1: critic of. His times let's put it, that way an
45:23
Speaker 1: outspoken critic of. His times amos. Really was chapter seven
45:30
Speaker 1: is a unique Experience, because amos, this prophet he looks like,
45:36
Speaker 1: a hillbilly as you'll see in just, a moment is
45:38
Speaker 1: at the chapel or the Sanctuary, at bethel this, stained
45:44
Speaker 1: glass beautiful. Ornate building amos is standing out in the
45:48
Speaker 1: street shouting against the king inside. This building and so
45:53
Speaker 1: the priest comes and looks out his window and he
45:55
Speaker 1: sees this creature standing, out there and he goes back
45:59
Speaker 1: and he tells The king amos has conspired. Against us
46:02
Speaker 1: he's telling all these things. About us And so amos
46:06
Speaker 1: is Met with amaziah, verse twelve, seven Twelve and amazia Says,
46:11
Speaker 1: to amos go you see your flee away to the Land.
46:15
Speaker 1: Of judah and there eat bread and there do. Your thing,
46:20
Speaker 1: get out don't hang around. The sanctuary you. Look terrible
46:26
Speaker 1: even smell bead, No Longer. Prophesiah bethel it is a
46:30
Speaker 1: sanctuary of the king and a. Royal residence amos answered
46:35
Speaker 1: and Said, to, amaziah listen. High pockets that's kind of,
46:40
Speaker 1: a paraphrase but that's. THE idea i am not, A
46:42
Speaker 1: prophet i am not the son of. A prophet i
46:46
Speaker 1: am a herdsman and a grower of. Sycamore figs you
46:51
Speaker 1: Know what, Amos was he was a. Fig picker he
46:55
Speaker 1: was a fig Picker. From tacoa and here he Is
46:58
Speaker 1: in overall's barefoot instead of in front of the palace of,
47:01
Speaker 1: the king shouting all these things against. The King and,
47:04
Speaker 1: amazia says get him out, of here get him out,
47:08
Speaker 1: of Here and, AMOS says i am. Not leaving and
47:12
Speaker 1: the very, next word, he says the wife of the
47:15
Speaker 1: king will become a harlot and the king will die
47:18
Speaker 1: in his. Own corruption how's that for winning friends and. Influencing,
47:23
Speaker 1: People well i'll tell you prophets lived today as they
47:28
Speaker 1: lived in, those days they would make, us uncomfortable just
47:32
Speaker 1: like our conscience at times makes. US uncomfortable i was
47:35
Speaker 1: looking at the comic strip character Recently Called. Moon mulleins
47:38
Speaker 1: Ever Read. Moon mulleins one of my favorite Guys. Is
47:41
Speaker 1: willy willy is slumped in a chair in front of
47:43
Speaker 1: a television and he's got a cup of coffee resting
47:46
Speaker 1: on his, pot belly and he's flicking the cigar ashes
47:49
Speaker 1: into the pot in the end of this cup as
47:52
Speaker 1: he says to, His, wife mamy you're aful quiet, This.
47:55
Speaker 1: Morning mami, Next frame, Mamy says i've to let your
48:01
Speaker 1: conscience be your guide on your, Day. Off willie, Next
48:06
Speaker 1: frame willy is outside surrounded, by, lawnmower hoe rake edger
48:13
Speaker 1: and he's frantically cleaning, the WINDOWS and willi, is saying
48:18
Speaker 1: EVERY time i listen to that, DUMB thing i end
48:21
Speaker 1: up ruining. My relaxing EVERY time i listen to, my
48:25
Speaker 1: conscience my relaxing praise. The price that's the way it
48:28
Speaker 1: was with. The prophets every time people listen to, the
48:32
Speaker 1: prophets it ruined. Their relaxing they were, all comfortable easy
48:39
Speaker 1: going until a prophet came to town who stood against
48:45
Speaker 1: the evils of. Their times the last two characteristics just
48:50
Speaker 1: mark them down absolute obedience and a revealer of. Future
48:56
Speaker 1: events they were men of. Absolute obedience Illustration, is hoseiah
49:04
Speaker 1: who married a harlot to Illustrate to israel what it,
49:07
Speaker 1: was like what it was Like for god to live
49:11
Speaker 1: with a harlot Nation, like Israel and joseiah lived, with
49:16
Speaker 1: her took.
49:17
Speaker 2: Her out of.
49:17
Speaker 1: The street even after she bore. Him children she went
49:20
Speaker 1: back to the street and lived. With men joseiah brought,
49:23
Speaker 1: her back paid a price to win, her back and
49:26
Speaker 1: lived with her out of, absolute obedience and of course the,
49:30
Speaker 1: final characteristic a revealer of. The future these prophets were
49:34
Speaker 1: men of. Incredible prediction they told things that seemed phenomenal
49:38
Speaker 1: to the people of, their times Such, as micah out
49:41
Speaker 1: of a little Place, Like, bethlehem judah there will come
49:44
Speaker 1: forth a man like we've never seen in. Our nation
49:48
Speaker 1: and so it was When The christ child, was born
49:50
Speaker 1: Verifying that micah was in fact a Prophet. Of god
49:56
Speaker 1: in the technical sense of. The word there are not
49:58
Speaker 1: prophets today and the. Technical sense in a, Broader sense
50:03
Speaker 1: god is still raising up a body of men who
50:05
Speaker 1: are willing to stand alone and speak, his message declaring
50:10
Speaker 1: the evils of our times and they are not usually.
50:14
Speaker 1: Popular men they frequently have a limited ministry because of
50:20
Speaker 1: the severity of. Their, style nevertheless they are men who
50:25
Speaker 1: have the gift of exhortation and speak of the evils of.
50:29
Speaker 1: The day you're never comfortable around prophets. Very long they
50:36
Speaker 1: make life kind. Of miserable but there's something of cleaning
50:42
Speaker 1: and purging about being around. A prophet you really want
50:46
Speaker 1: to get your, Act together so in, that sense there's a.
50:50
Speaker 1: Compelling winsomeness the LAST thing i would say that of all,
50:54
Speaker 1: the prophets one stands out as the, supreme prophet and
50:57
Speaker 1: that is the one of whom we, sing around whom
51:02
Speaker 1: we meet, and worship and That Is jesus. Christ himself
51:12
Speaker 1: it's good to be, Here together it's good. To meet
51:15
Speaker 1: it's cold and, dark outside and it's so warm and fine.
51:20
Speaker 1: In here some of you come from areas where you
51:24
Speaker 1: are not taught the Word, of god and you come to,
51:28
Speaker 1: be FED and i admire the time you spend. In
51:31
Speaker 1: that we take very Seriously. Our bible We believe god
51:38
Speaker 1: has spoken it in our last days on. This earth
51:40
Speaker 1: it is very vital that we Hear from him and
51:43
Speaker 1: pattern our lives. AFTER him I believe god would raise
51:47
Speaker 1: up from this very group of people a few specially
51:51
Speaker 1: anointed prophets for, our times people who were willing to stand,
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Speaker 1: ruggedly alone willing To speak. God's mind if you are
52:07
Speaker 1: one of those, few people take. Heart tonight it will
52:13
Speaker 1: get worse before it. Gets better he's. Coming soon he
52:20
Speaker 1: may come before our. Next meeting that is a, terrific thought.
52:24
Speaker 1: ISN'T it i was rebuked By the lord recently when
52:28
Speaker 1: he began to say some very personal things to me
52:31
Speaker 1: about HOW little i think of. His coming it may
52:36
Speaker 1: be before, tomorrow morning and then there'll be a feast
52:43
Speaker 1: day together. With him we'll sit down with. The prophets
52:53
Speaker 1: have a feeling they'll wear the. Crowns, too now may
53:02
Speaker 1: we join our hearts together for a time. Of prayer
53:06
Speaker 1: let's just sit quietly before. Him, together father times and
53:12
Speaker 1: your word are. Always enriching and as we thought a
53:17
Speaker 1: great deal for the last few minutes about the profile of,
53:20
Speaker 1: a prophet we realize that your hand continues to be on.
53:25
Speaker 1: Certain lives you've anointed special people for special needs in,
53:32
Speaker 1: special times and that is. Not ended even though we
53:38
Speaker 1: live centuries after the days in which these truths were.
53:42
Speaker 1: FIRST written i pray that you will place your hand
53:46
Speaker 1: on certain individuals and give them that willingness to stand
53:51
Speaker 1: ruggedly alone and to speak your mind to those who
53:57
Speaker 1: need to. HEAR it i pray that you would continue
54:00
Speaker 1: to give me that kind of courage to give little
54:04
Speaker 1: attention to what others may think, or say and a
54:08
Speaker 1: great deal of attention to what would. PLEASE you I,
54:13
Speaker 1: pray lord that as a result of this kind, of
54:15
Speaker 1: courage this world will begin to hear truth to, live
54:19
Speaker 1: by rather than the confusing messages of. Our times so,
54:26
Speaker 1: many voices all of them. SO persuasive i pray that
54:31
Speaker 1: you will cut through that like a hot knife, through
54:35
Speaker 1: butter and bring to the surface those who, represent you
54:40
Speaker 1: those who are your men. AND women i pray for
54:43
Speaker 1: those teachers who stand, and deliver for those preachers around
54:49
Speaker 1: the world who have the audacity, to marity to represent
54:54
Speaker 1: the name Of The living god and the truth Of
54:58
Speaker 1: the Word, of god to peace people who have lost.
55:01
Speaker 1: THEIR way i pray that you will give all, of us,
55:04
Speaker 1: our father an awareness that you are still speaking through
55:10
Speaker 1: your spokesmen. And women thank you for your word that
55:14
Speaker 1: continues to give light and life in the midst. Of darkness.
55:19
Speaker 1: And death and as a result of all of this
55:23
Speaker 1: time we've, spent together may we have a deepened respect
55:28
Speaker 1: for you and for what you have to say to.
55:31
Speaker 1: Our times set apart these moments in a special way
55:35
Speaker 1: in all, our lives and cause those who have never
55:39
Speaker 1: trusted In your son to reach the end of their
55:42
Speaker 1: rope and to realize that you. Are there you're there
55:46
Speaker 1: for them as they Turn to Christ and christ alone for.
55:50
Speaker 1: ETERNAL life i asked this in. His. Name amen.
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Speaker 2: The, Preceding message profile Of, a prophet was copyrighted in nineteen,
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Speaker 2: seventy nine and the sound recording was copyrighted in twenty
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Speaker 2: Eleven BY.
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Speaker 1: Charles, R.
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Speaker 2: Swindall inc all rights are. Reserved worldwide