Have you ever said, "God told me....."

This blog was originally posted on June 19th on our family website http://thebeshorefamily.blogspot.com .



For anyone who believes God still speaks to them whether audibly, the "still small voice", through modern prophets, peace in your heart, or anything besides Scripture, you MUST listen to this sermon. It's called "God Told Me" by Trevor Hammack. I used to think this way and now I have come to realize that Scripture ALONE (Sola Scriptura) is our ONLY source of hearing God today. Otherwise, when you abandon Scripture as the ONLY source of God speaking today you end up with chaos and people EVERYWHERE claiming God spoke to them and they all differ! That's how so many different religions got started. How can God say so many conflicting things today and stuff that also contradicts His written Word? It doesn't make any sense.

When we want answers to where we should live, who we should marry, what job to have, etc., we should look to God's Word for principles that will show us what to do. For example, the Bible doesn't explicitly say that doing drugs, smoking, watching unGodly movies, listening to unGodly music is wrong, but when you read the principles laid out in Scripture, it's obvious that these things are wrong. Our bodies are the temple of God. How can we abuse and not take care of it? I Corinthians 3:16-17 says, "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are." How can we put vile things before our eyes and listen to things that are contrary to God's Word? Psalms 101:3 says, "I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me." Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

How do you know who to marry? In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 we have the following principles and it says, "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty." So, if you want to marry someone who is an unbeliever, it's pretty obvious they're not the one to marry.

The following principle would help you figure out if you should accept a certain job, live in a certain place, or just about any other decision you would have to make in life. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 says, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved." (emphasis mine) So, if we take that principle that EVERYTHING we do should be to the glory of God, not for OUR profit, but that many might be saved, then things are much simpler.

We need to ask ourselves, is watching this TV show going to glorify God? What is the content? Does your job glorify God? Does your lifestyle glorify God or yourself? Do you use your possessions to glorify God and bless others, or do you use them for selfish reasons? Do you watch what comes out of your mouth or how you act, so you don't cause others to stumble or curse God? Does how you spend your money glorify God? How do you spend your time? Is it studying God's Word, learning how to be a blessing to others, and how to glorify God? Or, do you spend your time in selfish pursuits that will have no affect on the eternal, that won't last? Are you concerned more with your own happiness rather than using your life to sacrificially glorify God in all you do? Our life is a life of service. As Christians, we have been bought with the blood of Christ, and we are no longer our own to do with our life as we wish. (1 Corinithians 6:20)

How do you know which church to attend? Do you just pick whatever is closest to you, has the nicest music, and has the most social events and entertainment? Should you look for a church with all the bells and whistles and has a funny, charming pastor? Matthew 7:15-23 says, "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'"

Now you may say, my pastor's not a false prophet. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." So many pastors instead of preaching the hard truth of the gospel would rather "tickle" the ears of their congregation by having uplifting, self-help sermons that only encourage people to stay in their wicked states rather than doing what 2 Corinthians 13:5 says which is, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?" Does your pastor EVER encourage you to test yourself to see if you're in the faith or does he take it for granted that most everyone there is already saved? Do they have pathetic altar calls at the end of the service asking those to come to the front who want to have a better life or to have God fix all their problems to come forward? God does not promise a bed of roses, but rather the opposite. Look at the fate of the disciples that followed him.

Does your pastor systematically teach you the doctrines of the Bible and how to apply it to your life or does he just give topical "relevant" sermons. Does he teach what has been historically preached throughout history, or what is new, relevant, and modern to society? God's Word is for today, even if most seem to think it's outdated. It's sufficient. Like I said before, "Sola Scriptura." What is your reasons for going to the church you go to? Do you go because you know you are going to be challenged and exhorted by God's Word and convicted of sin? Or do you go so you can check off your list that you went to church and appease your conscience, knowing that you will not be convicted at all by going?

Examine your motives for all that you do in life. Be honest, you're only fooling yourself. God knows your heart and your intentions. If you're not saved, your heart is evil and radically depraved and unless you seek God's mercy and fall on your face before Him, acknowledge your sins, turn from them, and rely on God's mercy, not your works, you are destined for hell. Going to church, being a "good" person (this is impossible by the way), saying a prayer, giving money to the poor, etc., etc., will do NOTHING to save you. Read the Bible and see what it says for yourself. Don't take it for granted that your pastor, us, you, or anyone else for that matter is telling the truth. If what you, or anyone else says is contrary to Scripture, Scripture is your ultimate authority. It doesn't matter if it "feels" like the truth. If it contradicts the Word, it's not true.

When you learn the PRINCIPLES in God's Word, you have the answers to EVERYTHING in life. Scripture alone is sufficient. Please, please listen to this and let us know what you think. God bless!

Melissa Beshore