It says this, Canst thou by searching
find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is as high as heaven, what
canst thou do? Deeper than hell, what canst
thou know? The measure thereof is longer
than the earth, and broader than the sea. Now, this is my second
message on Bible doctrine. And I had the introduction to
it last week. And I want to, and I ask the
question tonight, how is God to be known? Can God be known? And if He is, how can He be known?
And in preaching and teaching the doctrine of the Bible, I
want to, by God's help, to go in some kind of a scriptural
order. And I think, you know, when we're
confronted with The Bible and God's blessed story of redemption,
and that's what it is. It's God's story of redemption.
It's what God has done for fallen man to restore him, to reconcile
him to himself. That's what this Bible's about,
from start to finish. God's purpose in Christ. And
if I miss that in any message that I bring, I've missed my
purpose. And I certainly have an honor to God. But we know
that the Bible starts with God. The first person we're confronted
with, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And
the second thing it says when they talk about flourish, they
say, let us make man. You're confronted with the triune
God. So if the Bible starts with God, the great question is this,
how is God to be known? Can he be known? And if he is,
how can he be known? Can God be known? Canst thou
by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? Can you find out all there is
to know about Him? Can you find Him out by searching
yourself? Oh my, it's as high as the heavens. What can you do? Can you get
up there and find out God? Deeper than hell, you ain't going
to go down there and find out, ain't you? And the measure there
is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. And that's
why over here in Job 23, let me show you one verse of Scripture
in Job 23. Here's where he's at. This is
where we're all at when God begins to do something for us. But he
said, Job 23 and 3 says this, Oh, that I might know where I
might find him. Oh, that I might know where I
might find him, that I might come even to his seat, might
come to his presence. Now, beloved, I do know this.
Religion is as natural to man as water is running downhill.
I mean, an atheist's religion is the fact that he doesn't believe
that there's a God. He makes a God out of the fact
that he doesn't believe there's a God. Now, ain't that right? He writes books about it. Brags
about it, glories in it. Religion is natural to man. He's
going to worship something. Every man and every child and
every woman that comes into this world is going to worship something
or someone. If it's only boiled down to his
own belief, his own opinion, his own thoughts, whether it's
about himself, whether it's about some supernatural power, or whether
it's about an idol. He is going to worship something.
You'll never find anybody who does not worship something. They
all do it. You've just got to listen to
him long enough, and you'll find out what he worships. You just
let him talk, and you'll find out what he worships. And the
natural man believes that he can find God by his own efforts.
I do know that. In fact, most preachers tell
people that they can find God by their own efforts. All you've
got to do is just exercise your will, exercise your power, exercise
what's natural to you, exercise that faith that God gives to
everybody on the face of the earth. But the natural man believes
that he can find God by his own efforts, and the reason preachers
tell him that is because they're unconverted, they're unregenerated,
and that's what they've done, so they tell everybody else to
do it, too. Some say that they find that, you know, they can
find out because they've got this inner light. People believe
they've got this inner light, and all you've got to do is follow
your intuition. You don't have to have any knowledge.
God's in you. God's just anywhere you can find
Him. And if you'll follow your intuition, you and God will join
forces together, and you can really find Him. You and Him
can be as one, because you've already got that inner light.
And other people believe that they can find God by their reason. Reason is man's reasoning powers. You know, cows don't have reasoning. Dogs don't have reasoning. Cats
don't have reasoning. The only people that's got, the
only animals on the face of the earth that's got reasoning power
is us, human beings. But man, by his reasoning, and
by his own wisdom and understanding, he thinks he can find out God.
They really do. They start with nature. Creation? And old reason says to himself,
he says, you know, there's a God. There's a God, and I believe
we can find Him. I believe we can find Him in nature. I believe
we can find Him in creation. I believe we can find Him in
the trees. I believe we can find Him in the mountains. I believe
we can find Him in the rivers. I believe we can find Him in
the lakes. That's why you've got these people who worship
trees, save the whales, Don't kill no minx and make no minx
stove out of them. Trying to protect chickens and
hogs so they won't be mistreated when you get ready to eat one
of them. That's the kind of story, that's your reasoning takes you
to when you're like that. And that's why Paul says, you
know, when the world by wisdom knew not God. Man at his best
estate, when he seeks to find God, he always ends up with an
idol on his head. Always does. And the fact is,
beloved, man cannot come to a knowledge of God this way. With his reasoning,
he can't come to it by his own efforts, by any inner light,
by searching, by grasping, by nature, by creation, he can't
do it. And the reason, two reasons, was first of all because of the
nature of God. Man can't find God because of
the very nature of God. He's infinite. Canst thou find
him out that he is as high as the heaven? Can thou go to heaven?
Huh? He's eternal. And what about
his holiness? What about his character? What
about his nature? The very nature of God tells
us that the natural man can't find him. And oh, the second reason is,
is he can't come to a knowledge of God is because of the character
and nature of man. Man is in a state of sin. And you know, this is what people
don't understand. They don't understand the effects
of the fall on man. His mind's been affected. His
understanding's been affected. His will's affected. His emotions
affected. He's got a natural enmity against
God. He's in a state of sin, and God
is great, great, and way too vast to be grasped by a fallen
man, fallen son of Adam. If you think I'm making it up,
you just ask anybody what they think about God. Describe God
to me. Describe God to me. First thing
they'll say, my God's a God of love. That's the first thing they'll
say. I won't never say He's a God of love. I mean a God of hatred
or a God of wrath. No, no. A knowledge of God by
human effort. I don't care how great that effort
is. I don't care how sincere that effort is. I don't care
how earnest that effort is. I don't care how powerful that
effort is. A knowledge of God by human effort
is a complete impossibility apart from the Holy Ghost. That's just
all it is. The only hope of knowing God, and that's what we're talking
about, The only hope of knowing God is that God in grace would
reveal Himself, make Himself known. I cannot know God by my
own efforts without aid from God Himself. I and every other
human being is dependent upon Him revealing Himself. And the
question is, has He done it? Yes, He has. The Bible tells
us that He's revealed Himself. And that's really the subject
tonight, revelation. Revelation. Can God be known?
If He is, it has to be by revelation. Has to be by revelation. And
what is revelation? What is revelation? Biblical
revelation. It is God communicating to man
the truth concerning Himself. That's what it is. God making
Himself the truth known about Himself. The truth known about
Himself. concerning himself. He said,
all thy children shall be taught of God. You thought I was all
together, one like unto yourself. And he communicates his truth
about his own nature. God does not, when he reveals
himself to somebody, he reveals himself to them as he is. Not
like they think he is, not like they thought he was, not like
they hoped he would be, but as he really is. His nature, his
works, His will, His purpose. It's God unveiling Himself, taking
the veil off of Himself. He said, here I am in my glory,
in my power, in my will, in my wisdom, in my purpose. This is
God as He's known. And I'll make myself known. And
God revealed Himself in this revelation in two ways. There's
general revelation, and then there's special revelation. And
general revelation, let me see if I can say a few things about
that. This general revelation comes through creation, comes
through nature. Let me show you what I mean over
in Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. General revelation
comes through nature and creation. You know, Paul talked to the Athenians
that day on Mars Hill and says, you know this unknown God whom
you don't know. There's a God that's unknown.
And God left himself not without witness. God's never left himself
without a witness. And as he gave us good things
from heaven, rain, good things rain, and seasons, and food,
and all the things that he gave us. He never left himself without
a witness. That's the creation. Look what it says here in verse
19. Because that which may be known
of God is manifested in them, For God hath showed it unto them."
Well, where did He show it to them at? For the invisible things
from the creation. Invisible things from the creation
of the world are clearly seen. How in the world did this world
come into being? Being understood by the things
that are made. Even His eternal power and Godhead.
You can't look anywhere and say, now, who in the world made this?
Where did this come from? So that they're without excuse.
And that's what he means, that they're without excuse. God's
hand is seen in creation everywhere you look. But creation does not
make you see Christ. It doesn't make you see redemption.
It doesn't make you see sin. The heavens declare the glory
of God. And the firmament shows His handiwork. And when you look
at the stars, and in the sun and the moon, you've got to say
someone made those things. And your conscience says somebody
made those things. All these things that's visible
are one time invisible and how in the world we may see who made
these things. Where did they come from? So
we're left without excuse. Everything that has been made
in itself a revelation of God. Everything there is is a revelation.
The ocean is a revelation of God. Volcanoes is a revelation of
God. Man is a revelation of God. The
creation, he says, every morning just gets up and runs a race
and has a voice that utters from morning to morning, a voice.
What does that voice say? Creation! Creation! God-made! God-made! Look and see! What
does man do? He takes this God, turns Him
into a man, a corruptible man, and into a four-footed beast
and creeping things. It says that man evolved and
still was created. And, oh, beloved, he reveals
himself in providence. This is so obvious. You know, all things in this
world are ordered by God. Do you know, you just think about
this world being sustained since it's been made. Life continuing
on and on, one generation after generation after generation.
How in the world do the animals, the deer and the squirrels and
the birds and all the animals, how do they live? How do they
exist? How do they succeed? How does all the ocean, after
all the food's been taken out of it, how does he go back in
the ocean and still catch a whole bunch of food and feed the world
out of the ocean for all the times it's been done? He gives us grass, He gives us
all these things. He sustains all that's in this
world. And life, and all the seasons. Of course, He says there's
always going to be a seed time and a harvest. A summer and a winter, as long
as time exists. Do you know what it would be
like if somebody didn't order and create and sustain this world?
How chaos, all it takes is just move a hair's breadth and the
whole world's in chaos. Man's in chaos, but God's not
in chaos. Man's like a drunken man tagging
around, but God's not in chaos. And everything, look at all the
order that's in this world. Huh? Ain't that amazing? So we see Him. How do you explain
all these things without God? And then He reveals Himself in
history. You go back through history. You go back just through
your own history. But you go back all the way through
history and look how God has revealed himself in history.
He revealed himself in Martin Luther, John Calvin, Augustine. And you go through times and
periods in history when God manifests himself in a miraculous way,
in different ways. But the history, you know what
history is? It's his story. Whether we can read it or not,
it's still his story. But let me tell you something
about this general revelation. It's not sufficient. It's not
sufficient to make God known. All it does is leave man without
excuse. That's all it does. That's all
it does. Evidence is everywhere. Everywhere
you look, you see the evidence of God's hand. You see it in
history. You see it in providence. You
see it in creation. You see it in everything. He
left Himself not without a witness in that He gave us all these
good things from heaven. But they can't see it. You know
why you can't see it? You know why you can't find God
in these things? Look what he says here. Are you still in Romans
1 with me? Look here at Romans 1. Let me
show you something. This is what men do. It says, You see His
eternal power and Godhead in the things that are clearly seen.
They're clearly seen. Now watch this, because when
they knew God, seeing God in creation, seeing that there is
a creation, that God they see and eternal power and a Godhead,
what did they do? They didn't glorify Him as God.
They weren't thankful. And all you've got to do is go
through the New Testament, find that idol of Mars healed. There
they was, worshiping every god under the sun. There's people here in America
still offering blood sacrifices. And look what it says. Neither
were thankful, but once they became vain in their imaginations,
their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools. And they changed the glory of
the incorruptible God into an image like a corruptible man.
I don't care if they put him on a cross and hang him around
their neck. Put him on a picture. I don't
care if they got him on the dash of their car. I don't care if
they got him in a graveyard with his arms stretched out like this
over somebody's grave. It's an idol. It's a fool that
made that isle. It's a fool that worships that
isle. It's a vain man that does that. And made it to birds and
four-footed bees and creeping things. Oh, my. And when men
stand before God, early and the distant, we see in this world,
that you and I can clearly see. I didn't see it. I didn't see
it. After years and years, I didn't see it. Did you see it? No. I didn't see it. I didn't
see it at all. But now I see it. But I didn't
see it before. But that's why the creation's
not... And I enjoyed being out. I enjoyed hunting. But I didn't see God in any of
those things. See, in all wisdom, that when
men stand before God, the creation itself, and history, and providence,
every single one of them, We'll leave man without excuse. Because
there's a sun that gets up every morning, whether you see it or
not, whether it's behind the cloud. Every time there's a full
moon, every time you look in the heavens and see the stars,
that'll make you without excuse. Make everybody without excuse.
Yeah? That's why it's not sufficient.
And then there's this past general revelation. Let me tell you about
the special revelation. This is what God does for us. His
people. It's special. This revelation has a definite
object. And what it is, is to reveal
the nature and character of God as they're revealed in His saving
grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's His special revelation.
And let me tell you something. This blessed book right here,
it claims that it alone gives us this blessed knowledge of
God. This book right here is the only one that says we can
get a knowledge of God from this Bible right here. I'd go through
all those books. I don't get no knowledge of God
from any of the books. I enjoy reading them. But this, if I
want to know God, this is where it's going to come to me. Break
thou the bed of life. Let me in by blessed words see. And all this in this book right
here. And that's why it claims to be the record of God's special
revelation. of His gracious saving purpose
to man. And that's why we look at this
Bible, that's why we cherish this blessed book, because it
says that this is the only place God makes Himself known. Savingly
known. This is where grace is seen.
This is where redemption is seen. This is where the record of God's
revelation is seen. And remember this, when you study
the Scriptures, you're as dependent upon revelation in studying it
as you are to know God from the beginning. We're still dependent
on revelation. We talked about that Sunday on
the way out. You know, it's amazing. You'd be reading something and
all of a sudden the thing comes alive to you. I'll be preaching
sometimes and things come to me that I didn't even, I never
even thought of before right while I'm preaching. That's that
revelation that I didn't see and I didn't know. And it comes
from the blessed book and the Holy Spirit. And so when we're
studying, we're dependent still, it's by revelation. If we see
or know anything. Now let me give you several ways
that God revealed himself in this special revelation. First
of all, they're called theophanies. That means appearances of God.
Show your word. Theophanies. Oh boy. That means God just shows
himself. Manifests himself. And you know,
let me give you one instance of that. When God says, Moses
said to God, Lord, show me your glory. I want to see your glory.
And God says, oh Moses, no man can see my glory and live, but
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to put you in
the cleft of this rock, put my hand over you, and I'll let my
hand depart you. But the fact is that he saw God. He saw the glory of God. He heard
the voice of God. And he had the hand of God over
him. And all these were just terms that God used to describe
himself there. But he saw the glory of God. That's God making himself known.
And you know what God would be like if he just manifested himself
to a human being without any covering at all? He'd consume
us just like that. Just like that. He always has
to, he even had, he veiled himself in flesh so that man could see
him. Man could behold him. And oh,
then he made his manifest himself as the angel of the covenant.
And we know who that angel of the covenant is. That's the Lord
Jesus Christ. You know how many times did he
manifest himself in the Old Testament as the Angel of the Covenant?
It was the Angel of the Covenant that Abraham saw coming before
he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. It was the Angel that Joshua
fell down before when Hagar stole that golden wedge and he fell
down before him. That was the Angel of the Covenant.
He fell down and worshipped him. It was the Angel of the Covenant.
that Jethaniah and his wife says, oh my, he said, we've seen God,
now we're going to die about that time of fire. And he was
up in that fire. He said, no, you're not going
to die. And oh, and he talks about the angel of the covenant,
Malachi, he shall come suddenly to his temple. And I'll tell
you another way that he's revealed himself, this special revelation.
Sometimes he made himself known by speaking, direct speaking
to somebody. Can you imagine what it's like
for somebody to hear the voice of God in this world? Adam heard it. Neve heard it.
He heard an audible voice. Adam, where art thou? He heard an actual voice. You
know God's voice has been heard in this world? Moses heard it. He was up there
on that mountainside. Probably had some sheep lost
and all of a sudden the bush caught on fire and his presence
near, and a voice out of that bush said, Take off your feet,
take off your shoes and stand before me because you're standing
on holy ground. Out of that bush a voice spoke,
the voice of God. And when God spoke on that mountain
later when He went up to get the log, they heard a voice of
thunder. And they said, Oh Moses, you
go and let God speak to you. We don't want to hear it. It
scares us. Oh my, Samuel as a little boy
heard it. And finally he says, speak Lord. Saul heard it on the Damascus
road. Saul, Saul! Oh my, but I tell you what, you
won't hear it that way now. Very few ever heard it that way.
And then God revealed Himself in miracles and signs and wonders. All the miracles and things that
he did. Like all the plagues in Egypt.
Turning a staff into a stick into a snake. Picking it back up and turning
it back into a stick. Telling Moses to stick his hand
into his garment. Pull it out and it's full of
leprosy. Put it back in there and take it out and it's clean
again. Oh my. And what a miracle. And he just said, the Red Sea
parts. What a miracle when they laid, not only the Red Sea, but
Jordan parted when they went across Jordan. And oh my, all
the miracles that Elijah did. Elijah prayed and it didn't rain
for three years. Prayed and it rained again after
three years. And you know Elijah, he was the
one who told that widow woman, says, you know, Fixed me a cake. I ain't got but one lump cake
for me and my boy. We're going to eat it. Got just
enough meal for him and just enough oil for me and him. We're
going to die. He said, you fix this for me. And from then on,
until that famine was over, that meal barrel and that crucible,
every time she went to it, she got something to eat out of it. And Elijah, he raised Young man
from the dead. And Elisha, oh, the miracles.
Elisha made an ax head to swim. Now, if he said he made it to
float, that would be one thing. But it said he made it swim.
You know, an ax head, to make an ax head just come to the top
of the water, that would be a miracle. But to make it swim and come
over to the bank so the guy could pick it up, now that's a miracle. And another time, you know, he
went to this widow woman, told him, says, you know, said, my
husband died. He left us in debt. He said,
they're going to take everything I got. And all I got is this
little pot of oil here. He said, I tell you what, you
get every pot, gold bar, every pot, every vessel you can get
off of all your neighbors. And he says, you take that oil
you got and you just start pouring. In a little while, She started
pouring, and every one of those vessels was full. She said, now
take and sell that and pay all your debt off. Oh, this woman made him a place.
Made her a place, you know, for everybody's journey to stop there.
Had him a bed, had him a candle, had him a place, and she'd fix
him something deep. And he told her, he says, you're
going to have a child. Oh, don't do me that way. She said, I don't.
Sure enough, the next year she had a child. That child got to
be about 12 years old and he's out there one day in the field
with his daddy and he just dropped dead like that. She runs as fast
as she could to find that man of God and said, you know what? You didn't have to tell me I
had a child. If I'd never had it, he wouldn't have died on
me. Now what are you going to do now? He said, went home with
her, had boys laid out up there. He got on top of him, laid on
top of him, breathed into him. Put his mouth on his mouth, hands
on his hands, laid on him, got up, laid back down. Put his mouth
on his mouth, hands on his hands, face on his face, eyes on his
eyes, nose on his nose. Got up, got him by the hands
and said, here's your son. I tell you, miracles. Miracles. You know our whole, our religions
are supernatural. Everything about Christianity
is supernatural. The fact that God reveals Himself,
that's supernatural. The fact that we have faith,
that's a supernatural act of God. And people say, I don't
know how I believe in miracles. The greatest miracle ever performed
was when God took your stony heart out and put in a heart
of flesh. When God took your darkened mind out and put in
a heart with enlightenment in it. When God took you and gave
you eyes to see Him, that's a miracle. They was in a battle one day,
and they needed so much time so they could finish the battle
that day and win. And he said, well, what do you
want that I do? He said, I can turn it forward
or turn it back. And he says, turn the sundial
back 10 degrees. And he turned it back 10 degrees.
The sun went back. I mean, the sun's 10 degrees. You know what that is? That's
where we get that leap year. We get an extra day every four
years. Want to count that right there. So has God changed? Time for one man in a battle. Now, and oh beloved, there is
a God and we can find Him. There is a God and we can find
Him. And this special revelation of
God Himself. And let me tell you this quickly.
I don't know how much time I've took. Take thirty minutes so
far. Give me another two minutes.
But look over here in Hebrews chapter one. Hebrews chapter
one. You know, visions and dreams.
He not only made himself known in miracles and wonders and signs and appearances and angel of
covenant and made himself known by speaking. But he gave visions
and dreams. Isaiah saw the Lord. Where at?
He saw Him in a vision. High and lifted up. Look at Hebrews
1. 1. God, who at sundry times, in
all different times, all through Old Testament history, and in
divers manners, all so many different ways, spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken
unto us by sun. By sun. You know, he speaks in
visions and dreams. That's one of the ways, in diverse
ways, he's done it. How many men? Ezekiel had visions. Isaiah had a vision. Jeremiah
had visions. Joseph was called the dreamer.
Remember the dreams he had, you know, when those twelve were
going to bow down to him? Then the sun and moon was going
to bow down to him, and his brothers hated him for it. He was called
the dreamer. And you remember that Joseph
was going to put away Mary privately. God appeared to him in a dream
and said, don't you dare do that. Don't you do that. Told him what
was happening. Told him everything that was
happening. So God appears to men in visions and in dreams.
And then there's a special revelation that He gives to His own people.
Oh, but Noah didn't like Noah either. God revealed Himself to him.
and revealed how to be saved in that flood. Saved eight people. That's a special revelation.
He only revealed himself to that man and his family, and how to
be saved in that. He didn't reveal himself to anybody
else in that world. That's why Noah condemned the
world by that very act. What about the call of Abraham?
He's an idolater, and God called him. That's a special revelation.
And not only that, but God entered into covenant with him. He said,
I will, I will. And promised him a seed, which
would be the Messiah. Oh, what a special revelation.
And Moses in that burning bush. You go say, I am that I am. I
am that I was, that I am, and that that I will be. That's all
a self-existent God. But the greatest revelation,
you all know what this is. You know who this is. The greatest
revelation that God gave to mankind And to human beings is His own
Son. That's the greatest... No man
has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is
in the bosom of the Father hath declared Him. Our Lord says no
man knows God. No man knows the Father save
the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. And
God in the fullness of time was God. sent forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law, and this is the reason He sent
Him, to redeem us from aftermath of that law, and to make us sons,
no longer servants, but sons. And the revelation of God in
Christ, and oh beloved, before He spake in many ways and to
many different prophets, but now it says there in verse 2
of Hebrews 1, hath in these last days, you know what, the last
days are since Christ came into this world. And He's spoken unto
us by His Son. And that's the last. But now,
I'll tell you, you know, in the special revelation He gave, that's
the greatest revelation. But then the Holy Ghost came
on the day of Pentecost. Christ in glory. Here comes the
Holy Ghost. As a rushing mighty wind. And
tons of fire set on those people. And Peter began to preach. And
he started preaching. And three thousand souls. seeing the Lord Jesus Christ,
God revealed Himself to him by the Holy Ghost at one time. And God still reveals Himself
through His Word, through the preaching of the gospel of Christ.
And all the Old Testament is the unfolding of this one glorious
truth, God coming in the person of Christ redeeming and reconciling
his people to himself. No wonder Abraham, our Lord said,
Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and he was glad. If he revealed himself to you,
that's what it takes. It takes a revelation. That's
why we just preach and preach and Because this is the record
of God's revelation to mankind in His blessed Son.