How to Know God Through the Bible | Part 2

Can we truly know God listened closely to Gabriel Rogers. There is no knowledge of God without revelation and inspiration illumination and illumination is your part where you come to God and surrender. So to God and say all spirit of God allow mine on that I may behold wondrous things as I will. And when you come to God's word.

That way the Bible will burst the flame in your heart and in your mind and God will teach things out of his will to live with featuring profound truth. Simply stated by pastor, teacher and author Adrian Roger the way. Be blessed is to obey God, which requires our trusted and to trust him is to love him and in order to love him.

We must know God has done three mighty acts so that we can know him. If you have your Bible turnout of first Corinthians chapter 2 as Adrian Rogers concludes his powerful message. How to know God through the Bible chapter 2 and verse one). What I came here came up with the excellency of speech, nor wisdom declaring him to you the testimony of God. That is a set item, by day. I remember double PhD and a marvelous order for I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I was with you in weakness and fear and in much trembling.

And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.

Now when I think first of all about the deficiency of human wisdom. The first thing that comes to me is that this human wisdom, dear friend is so super efficient you see if you knew God just simply by human wisdom. If I just began to teach a course in systematic theology. I could tell you all the facts about God and you could get out your notebook and you could write them down and you could say God is omnipotent God is omniscient and God is this in God is that you can learn all the facts about God you would know God, you can know about God and yet not know God. Secondly, not only human wisdom so superficial. It is so transitory look again in verse six, howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the prints is this world.

Now the word princes it it stands for the intellectuals, those intellectual top orders of this world. These these people who have attained in their learning. He said we speak wisdom about the wisdom of this world, not what the princes of this world.

No, that will come not now when he says the princes of this world. He literally says the princes of this a that is for this time there certain people in this day in this age and supposed to be the great vaulted intellectual leaders and Paul says hey. All of that is just going up in smoke is going to come to not remember hearing Dr. RG Lee, who had the ability to express himself so eloquently talk about philosophy and he said that philosophy was a chunk of cloud bank buttered with the night wind. Now that's what the apostle Paul is talking about here is the wisdom of the princes of this world, folks, this is going to come to nothing is so superficial.

It is so transitory, and it is so limited. Look again if you will, in verse seven we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, not human wisdom is totally incapable of understanding are our probing into what Paul calls here the divine mystery we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom. What does he mean hereby mystery is talking here about a sacred secret that you can only know as God reveals himself to you. You see, human wisdom can never, never fathom God. I don't care how smart you are. You have a head start toward God. You see the finite can never probe the infinite. You can never fathom God. The natural man can never know the supernatural God. Wisdom is so superficial. The wisdom of this world, the wisdom of this world is so transitory is so passing away the wisdom of this world is so limited and then he goes on to speak of the wisdom of this world that is actually so dangerous and ungodly going in verse eight, and look he speaks of the wisdom of this world, which, as compared to the wisdom of God and then he speaks, he says which none of the princes of this world new for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. If these smart Alex in this world had no real wisdom, they never would have nailed Jesus Christ to the cross. Here the classic crew of the bankruptcy of human wisdom is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and who crucified Jesus Christ. I will remind you that Jesus Christ was crucified by the best minds of his day. It was not the rabble. It was the Jewish and Roman intelligentsia that nailed Jesus Christ up to the cross. I want a something else. They did not do it casually. They did it carefully after they applied their minds to it.

Not on not a few of them, but many of them and the Bible says they took counsel together.

That is, they pool their so-called wisdom, and they crucified the Lord of glory. Why is all of this.

Why is human wisdom so superficial. Why is human wisdom so transitory, why is human wisdom so limited.

Why is human wisdom so dangerous and why does our natural man, a man without Christ.

Why does he have such a difficulty understanding the things of God will look in verse nine but as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him and so we see the deficiency of human wisdom.

Human wisdom is so superficial. Human wisdom is so transitory human wisdom is so limited human wisdom is so dangerous you cannot know God through human wisdom. Now, God has done three mighty acts that you might know him. There are three things that God has done and because God has done these things you can know God, the first of these mighty acts is what we call Revelation. God simply reveals himself.

Now we left off in verses nine and let's take about verse nine and 10 must go back and read it again verse nine but as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. The only way that you can know God is for God to disclose himself to you. First Corinthians chapter 12 verse three Paul said wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed.

Well, I think we would all agree to that but most of us perhaps would not realize the rest of that statement and no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. What he means is this, that no man can have Christ as Lord in his life can know Jesus Christ as Lord says to make a proper confession of faith that Christ is Lord until the spirit of God gives him that God supernaturally reveals himself to us. Revelation is the communication of God's truth.

The man by God himself. Now the second thing the second thing that God has done. Not only has God given a supernatural revelation, but God is also given us supernatural inspiration continue to read now in verses 12 and following. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Now when Paul uses the word we he's talking here about the apostle and he saying that we have received this message and he says we give you this message. Now what is the difference between Revelation and inspiration Revelation is God disclosing himself inspiration is no taking what God has given and recording it in such a way that it is absolutely without error is a very word of God. Notice in verse 13 which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches that is the Holy Ghost gave the words we believe in verbal inspiration.

The word nonverbal means word by word inspiration. God did not just inspire the thoughts of the Bible, God inspired the words of the Bible because you cannot have thoughts without words anymore than you could have mathematics without numbers matter. Some people laugh at the idea of a verbal inspiration that if you laugh at the idea of verbal inspiration. I want to tell you that you're laughing at Jesus Christ. For Jesus said in Matthew chapter 4 verse four man shall not live by bread alone, but by every one where that proceeded out of the mouth of God. Now, dear friend. God disclosed himself. That is what we call supernatural revelation man can receive anything except to be given him from above, from heaven, but not only is there that revelation there is that inspiration as these words inspired are written down and we have them in what we call the word of God, the Bible and I want to remind you that God gave the very words of the Bible.

Now the third mighty act. Here's where it comes to you now. First of all, there is that revelation then there's that supernatural inspiration and finally, there must be a supernatural illumination now continue to read now in verse 14 but the natural man receive is not the things of the spirit of God for their foolishness on him, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually deserve. But he that is spiritual judges discerns all things, yet he himself is judged of no man for who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him, but we had hallelujah the mind of Christ.

Now that is illumination. Now listen the same Holy Spirit of Revelation and the same Holy Spirit of inspiration is now the spirit illumination. He is the one who illuminates the Christian he is the one who turns the spiritual light on so that you can understand the things of God. We have a divinely inspired Bible in our hands but we cannot understand. Apart from spiritual supernatural illumination. I can never know the Bible as I want to know the Bible on till I have the mind of Christ funeral prayer that would be a good prayer for you pray when you began to study the word of God is Psalm 119 verse 18, open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous thing in thy law, God, you see. Open my eyes that I might understand when you pray that prayer and when you are filled with the Holy Spirit been a part of you will know that never knew before, and a part of you will see that never saw before, and a man who is a it is living by divine illumination is going to be a mystery to those around him, look in verses 15 and 16. The Bible says. But he that is spiritual judges all things, that is, he has a penetrating insight into the way things work. He has a supernatural wisdom about him, yet he himself is judged of no man that Linda means he's not understood by any man. The word is earn is a better word here. He he himself is discern no man the world is not going understand us to you. We are going to know some things that they won't know and they're really going to think where the crazy one they going to think where few brick short of a full load and they're going to say there's something wrong with FL but is not something wrong with us. There's something wrong with him.

You see we where two men were he's not tuned in.

We are marching to the beat of a different drummer. Now they cannot understand us, but we understand them. The reason they can understand us is that we have the mind of Christ and they can't understand Christ.

Now this is what we call illumination. Now I want to give her some lessons about illumination very quickly and I'll be finished. I want to give you some warnings as we talk about illumination and illumination is really right now where the rubber meets the road and knowing God. Now remember we said to know God is to love God, to love God is to trust God to trust God is to obey God and obey God is to be blessed and we said that you cannot know God with the natural mind. You must know God in the spirit supernaturally and the way you can know God is because God has divinely revealed himself and God has divinely inspired that revelation, we have a Bible and now we have the Bible in our hands.

But in order to understand the Bible, there must be divine illumination that supernatural illumination now quotes it's all headed down right to this. This is the important thing is I want you to understand is what does illumination mean number one, it does not mean that you can know everything about God, no one knows everything about God and were not supposed to know everything about God. Deuteronomy chapter 29 verse 29 says the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that is, a person who has illumination doesn't know everything you can go down to the ocean and dip out of the bucket of ocean water, and everything in that bucket will be ocean, but all the ocean will be in that bucket in different when you come to God's word and you dip into God's word you come up with a bucket full of truth. But there's so much that you still will not know and are things perhaps you will never know. And still you can have illumination.

I want to say that illumination does not extend to areas beyond the word of God. After example, when you go to a math test is not going to get the value ahead and say spirit of God illumine me if you have studied for two going to flock listen folks, you can pray for wisdom, but you study for knowledge study from that illumination does not mean that you won't study the word of God either listen second Timothy chapter 2 verse 15 says we do study to show ourselves approved under God, a workman that is not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If I want God illumine me I will study and I study the Bible the Bible but when I study it and for what I so God illumine me time and time again when I'm studying I'll stop put it aside. Lift my hands to heaven as a God, teach me God.

I want to go back and I will study and exegete and try to find out what it is saying, but I know now that the Holy Spirit of God is helping me because the Bible says I'm to study to show myself approved under God workman that needed not to be ashamed and and and that the word here literally means, rightly dividing means to cut it straight now. I want to say something else.

Illumination does not mean that there are no spiritual requirements. You cannot just come to God and say, God, illumine me, if you are not walking a clean and a pure life.

Listen to what Peter says in first Peter chapter 2 verses one into he says wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypotheses and envies an evil speaking as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. You want God's word to be real to you. Get the trash out of your life aside and hunger after the word of God and he will illumine you how to what it does mean, however it does mean that the average man the average woman the average boy the average girl in the pew is obedient and diligent can understand the word of God go back to chapter 1 verse 26 for ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called the God of chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God's chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and base things of the world, and things which are despised at God chosen the alien things which are not to bring to naught things that are what is that mean it means dear friend that God takes ordinary people, and God does extraordinary things through those people. It means that you, John Doe Lehman didn't get your Bible and you can pray over and you can get your heart right with God, and you can say spirit of God illumine me, and then you can study to show yourself approved to God and God will reveal himself to you supernaturally out of the Bible. Now it does mean something else to dear friend that you can have a personal communion with God. I think of those two disciples as they were walking down the road to Emmaus after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Jesus came and walked along beside them and hear some precious verses.

Luke 24 verse 45 then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures in that wonderful, I mean, here's the son of God is walking along.

He's talking with them, you can have a better teacher than I about 7 miles.

They walked together, and the Bible says he showed them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. How would you like to have a tape recording of that well evidently got divorce because we don't have buddy Jesse just of the Bible to show them all those Old Testament prophecies concerning himself, but the point of the matter is, even with that kind of a teacher very son of God. They didn't understand until he opened their understanding you think that when he their understanding, you see, this is the illumination friend. It is so supernatural.

You know, until God gives you knowledge of himself. That's the reason we must come so Rev. so prayerfully to the word of God. In Luke 24 verse 32 they said one to another, did not heart burn within us while he talked to us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures. All would to God that he would open to you the Scriptures folks on finished but you listen to me. Everybody wants to be blessed. Don't there is no blessing without obedience. There is no obedience without trust there is no trust without love.

There is no love without knowledge there is no knowledge of God without Revelation inspiration, illumination and illumination is your part where you come to God and surrender. So to God and say all spirit of God open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things and I law and when you come to God's word.

That way the Bible burst of flame in your heart and in your mind and God will teach you things out of his word reason many of us don't know God is folks were just playing around Bible study and you can do it that way. God help us to get into his work. Ellis bow together where father I pray now that you speak to a harm about this wonderful helpless Lord began to search out in the Scriptures. Those things concerning our lovely Lord Jesus and apply them. If you have questions regarding your faith in Jesus Christ.

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