Why doesn't God speak out loud? Have you ever asked that question?
Why doesn't God Almighty speak from heaven to the people on
earth? Turn to 2 Peter, the book of
2 Peter chapter 1 with me if you want to know this answer. God has indeed spoken out loud
in the past, but not in the last nearly 2,000 years. In 2 Peter
1, the Apostle Peter writes in verses 16 and 17, he says, we
have not followed cunningly devised fables. That is, we haven't made
this up. This is not fiction. This is no fairy tale. But he
said, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty, for he received
from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a
voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased." And this voice, Peter writes, this
voice which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him
in the Holy Mount. Nearly 2,000 years ago, God Almighty, the Creator, spoke
from heaven out loud. Peter said, We heard him. Now,
God has only spoken out loud three times in the New Testament
Scripture, and two of those times are recorded in three of the
Gospels, and the other is recorded in John's Gospel. He only spoke
out loud three times in New Testament Scripture. In the Old Testament,
Over in Hebrews chapter 1, would you turn there with me? Hebrews
chapter 1. In the Old Testament, God never
spoke out loud to men in general, but only spoke to and through
certain men in particular, certain chosen men or prophets they were
called. Hebrews 1, I read verse 1, God
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets." So God only spoke to the fathers,
that is the Jewish fathers of the faith, to the fathers by
the prophets, or through men. And back there in 2 Peter that
I was reading to you, he went on to say that no prophecy of
the Scripture, that is, nothing recorded in Old Testament Scripture
written by the prophets, that is, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
and others. No prophecy of Scripture is of
any private, or that is, personal interpretation. That is, no man
merely wrote what he was thinking or what he decided to write. For the prophecy I read in 2
Peter One, the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved or spoken
to by the Holy Ghost. And what God said, and that's
the end of that quote in 2 Peter. One, what God said to these prophets
of old and through them, through these men, to these men and through
them is the same thing He spoke out loud in the New Testament
to all who heard him. God spoke of his Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, the Old Testament, of the
Old Testament scriptures, or that is the Word of God, the
written Word of God, Christ himself said of the Old Testament scripture,
he said, they are they which testify of me. And another place
says, to him, that is to Jesus Christ, give all the prophets
witness. Now through stories and types
and pictures and symbols, God Almighty said throughout the
Old Testament scriptures, through the prophets, God was saying,
someone is coming. Someone is coming. God was the
first to say it to Adam and Eve in the garden in Genesis 3.15.
The woman see, someone is coming. And he said that throughout the
Old Testament Scripture. The Christ is coming. The Holy One of God. The Righteous
One of God. The Son, or that is the bodily
manifestation of the image, only image, the express image of God
is coming. Yea, God will be manifest in
the flesh. And this is what he told the
prophets to tell all flesh. Malachi was the last prophet,
the last recorded Old Testament prophet, and he ended up by saying
in chapter 3, whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. The Lord Jesus Christ is who
he was speaking of. And so God spoke to those prophets
of old through them to the people in general to tell them someone
is coming. The whole Old Testament says
someone is coming. The Christ is coming. And then God did not speak again
for over 400 years after Malachi. God did not speak again for over
400 years. But finally, one day, a prophet,
the last of the Old Testament prophets, a man named John, John
the Baptist, he was baptizing one day in the River Jordan.
And as he was baptizing a man named Jesus of Nazareth, As he
was baptizing him, all of a sudden, God Almighty spoke out loud again. The first time in 400 years,
he spoke out loud again, and this is what he said, This is
my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. You see, All that
God has to say to human beings is this. This is my only begotten. This is the only bodily image
of God. This is the only God you'll ever
see. This is the only image of God
you'll ever see. This is the only God you'll ever
know. This is my only begotten well-beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. God said that of no other human
being, ever. Never did God say, I'm well pleased
with this one. Never. But He said this of Jesus
Christ. And through Isaiah, He said in
chapter 42, the Lord is well pleased for His righteousness
sake. That is it. God, the Lord, Jehovah,
is well pleased for Christ Jesus' righteousness sake, His holiness. This is the only, God is saying,
this is the only holy man, the only righteous man, the only
sinless man, the only well-pleasing man to me, the only acceptable
man ever. As he said in Psalm 24, verses
4 and 5 of Christ, he says, he had clean hands. Never committed
sin. He had a pure heart, a sinless
heart. Never thought sin. Never purposed sin. Could no sin. Could not sin.
In Him is no sin. He hath not lifted up his soul
and demanded it, but only sought the glory of God and the things
above, nor sworn deceitfully. Never spoken that which is deceitful,
but always the truth. And he goes on to say, he shall
receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the
God of his salvation. And in him, in Jesus Christ,
are found, God said, in him are hid and found if revealed. All the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge to him are given all things, all power over all flesh. So God said to human beings,
and this is all he has to say to human beings, hear ye him."
You see, when Jesus Christ spoke, it was God speaking. Well, that's
what Hebrews 1 says. It goes on to say, God, who at
sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, God hath in these last days spoken unto us
by His son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also
he made the world, whose the brightness of his glory and express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power." Jesus Christ was God, is God. And when he spoke, it
was God speaking. And Christ said in John 14.10,
the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but I
speak but the Father that dwelleth in me." Well, what did he say? What did God manifest in the
flesh say? Now, God said, hear my son. This
is him. Hear him. What did he say? He
said, I am the wedding, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. What further witnesses do we
need, people? Whom should we consult from here
on out? What further need have we of
any other word? He has spoken. Men and women
looking for answers, looking to know God and to be spoken
to by God. Well, God spoke. His name was
Jesus Christ. And He said, I am the way, the
truth, the life. What way? The way. The truth.
The life. God cannot be known. God cannot
be approached. That is, Christ is the truth. The truth of who God is what
he's like and how we can get to God is only known in Jesus
Christ. God cannot be approached, God
cannot be spoken to, nor will God speak to or deal with or
accept or save anyone except through Jesus Christ. Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. And so God spoke out loud. Through the prophets of old,
told them to tell the people there's someone coming, the coming
one, to whom you will answer, to whom you will go, to whom
you must appeal, the coming Christ, that prophet. Moses said, that
prophet, like unto me, him, he'll tell you. And to men in the New
Testament, twice he spoke out loud when Christ came and he
said, this is he. And through Christ to men. And
then God hasn't spoken out loud again. It has been nearly 2,000
years. He has not spoken out loud again.
No matter what any man says, whoever says he has spoken to
them is a liar. And God has not spoken out loud
again, nor will He speak again until the day when He comes to
destroy this world. Why doesn't He speak out loud
again? Let me give you a few reasons and I'll close. Why doesn't
He speak out loud again? Number one, because he doesn't. That's good enough, isn't it?
Because he isn't pleased to. He's not trying to get human
beings to believe him. God is not speaking out loud
because he's not trying to get anyone to believe him. But he's
revealing himself to his people through his written word. And
number two, why doesn't God speak out loud anymore? Because he
doesn't need to. Because he said all that needs
to be said, folks. There is no new word or revelation
needed now. The whole counsel of God has
been written. The whole counsel of God is this.
Hear my son. Believe him. Come to him. He
is it. In him is everything. He is all.
You don't need a new revelation. Why doesn't God speak out loud?
Number three, because Peter said we have a more sure word of prophecy. God's word is forever settled.
It is written. It cannot be changed. taken away
from or added to the master copies in heaven. They've tried to destroy
it down through the years and couldn't because God has the
master copy. Why doesn't God speak out loud?
Because in His wisdom, all people have the same word. They don't
hear a different word from God. We all have the same word. It
is written. And it can be heard at all times. We have merely
to look at it, and ask him to speak to us through it. And lastly,
because it honors God. God doesn't speak out loud because
his written word honors God. Faith takes God at his word.
It's easy to believe what you see, but truly it honors God
to take him at his word. And there are other reasons,
but our time is up.