God Has Spoken to Us

Years ago someone wrote a book,
the entire book, on the silence of God. I think many of us could certainly
write a chapter in that book or perhaps introduce it, the
silence of God. David was concerned about that. Turn to the book of Psalms, chapter
28. Let me show you a couple of verses
from the pen of David. Psalm 28, verse 1. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord,
my rock, be not silent to me. Lest if thou be silent to me,
I become like them that go down into the pit. Be not silent to
me. Silence of God. Look at Psalm
35. Psalm 35, 22. We hear a lot of voices. I was
sitting there a moment ago thinking about all the Sunday school classes,
all of the religious services that are going on today, the
voices that are being heard. I'm troubled. Are we hearing
from God? Is anybody hearing God speak? David was concerned about that.
Lord, don't be silent to me, lest I be like those that go
down to the pit. I want to hear a word from God. In Psalm 35, verse 22, This thou hast seen, O Lord,
keep not silence, O Lord, be not far from me." Our text in Hebrews chapter 1
tells us that God has spoken. I think the trouble is not, the
problem is not that God has not spoken or is not speaking. I
think our problem is this, we're not listening. We're not listening. We don't have ears to hear. How
many times did Christ say, he that hath ears to hear, let him
hear? He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. God, give me a sanctified ear,
an ear that's tuned not to the people, an ear that's tuned to
the throne. An ear that's not tuned to flattery,
an ear that's tuned to thy words. Give me ears to hear. Our Lord
said, I teach the multitude in parables. His disciples said,
why do you teach these people in parables? He said, because
they have ears, but they don't hear. They have eyes, but they
don't see, and hearts have they, but they don't understand. Blessed
are your ears, they hear. Have you got blessed ears today?
Blessed are your eyes, they see. Have you got blessed eyes? Anointed
ears anointed eyes as God opened your ears. Have you heard God
speak? I Don't mean if you read his
word this morning and got the right meaning and the right doctrine
and the right implication and the right application But have
you heard God speak? He says here in Hebrews 1 he
did speak and It says in many separate revelations, in many
different ways, God spake to our fathers by the prophets. Who were these prophets? Moses,
Isaiah, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zechariah. God spake
to our fathers by the prophets. What was the message? The message
was redemption in Christ. Turn, if you will, to the book
of Luke. Now here's a verse of scripture, two verses I want
you to underline. There's no problem with underlining
your Bible, writing in your Bible, go right ahead, but underline
this. There's some verses I'm going
to give you right now. There are a lot of people who
say, I don't understand the Old Testament. You're not looking
at the Old Testament with the right kind of eye. You're not
reading it. with the right goal, or purpose,
or object. You want to understand the Old
Testament? Read these two verses of Scripture
I'm about to give you. Now listen to it. In Luke 24,
verse 27. Now this is the Master speaking.
He's talking to two disciples. And beginning at Moses, and all
the prophets. Now when you begin at Moses,
where do you start? Genesis. That's where you start.
Genesis. and all the prophets, he expounded
unto them in all the scriptures. Now let me pause here a moment.
The only scriptures there were at that time was the Old Testament. The New Testament wasn't even
written. It wasn't even written. Christ had died and been buried
and risen again, and he was walking with his disciples. Matthew,
Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, these
books had not even been written. There was a fatalistic fellow
that came here to church a time or two. He wanted to hear me
preach on election all the time, or particular addiction, or effectual
call. He believed that men could be
saved without hearing the gospel. Well, he quit coming, naturally,
because he wouldn't be comfortable here. I don't believe anybody
can be saved without hearing the gospel, because the gospel's
Christ. You can't be saved without Christ. But he made this observation. He said, The Apostle Paul was
saved, and he never did hear the gospel. He met God on the
road to Damascus, and God saved him. Now, you wait a minute.
The Apostle Paul knew more Scripture than all of us put together here
this morning, than all of us put together. The Apostle Paul
was a student of the Old Testament Scriptures. And the Old Testament
Scriptures are concerning whom? Look at it. And he opened unto
them, beginning at Moses, all the prophets. He expounded unto
them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. That's what it's all about. That's
what it's all about. It's concerning himself. Look,
if you will, at verse 40, verse 44. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake
unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets,
in the Psalms, underline this, concerning me. Concerning me. He said, I am the bread from
heaven. Christ is our Passover. Christ is that rock. Christ is
the blazing serpent. When the Holy Spirit took Philip
to join that Ethiopian eunuch in his chariot on his way from
Jerusalem back to his home country, that Ethiopian eunuch was sitting
there reading the scriptures. He was reading Isaiah 63. That's what he was reading. He
was reading the scriptures. And Philip listened, I suppose,
as he read them, Isaiah 53, and Philip said, Do you understand
what you're reading? He said, How can I except some
man show me? And Philip got up in the chariot
and sat down, and the man read. He was wounded for our transgressions,
Isaiah 53 verse 4. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, by his stripes we're healed. He said, who is
the prophet talking about there? Is he talking about himself or
is he talking about somebody else? And the scripture says
in Acts 8.35, and Philip began at that same scripture, Acts
8.35, Philip began at that same scripture and preached unto him
Jesus. Jesus. God has spoken to our
fathers by the prophets. Sometimes it was a prophecy.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive. The Lord himself shall give you
a sign. A virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name Immanuel, which is God with us. Isaiah
speaking. Or, unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. His name
shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of
Peace, the Everlasting Father. The government shall be upon
his shoulders. Or Moses saying, Out of the midst of you, from
among the brethren, will God raise up a prophet? Him shall
you hear. Or the scepter shall not depart
from Judah till Shiloh comes, the prince of peace. Or Micah,
Bethlehem, thou art the smallest of all, but out of thee shall
he come. Sometimes it was a sacrifice, such as the Passover lamb on
the door in Egypt, or the Day of Atonement, or the high priest
taking the sacrifice into the holy place, or the scapegoat.
Sometimes it was a type as the city of refuge, or the brazen
serpent, or the valley of dry bones. Sometimes it was a promise,
and their sins will I remember no more. But God spake to our
fathers by the prophets. Some of them heard and some of
them didn't hear. Those that had ears to hear heard God speak. In Genesis, he's the woman saved. He's the sacrifice of Abel. Can
you see Christ in Abel's sacrifice when he brings the blood and
puts it on the altar? Can you see Christ? Can you see
him in Abraham's sacrifice in Genesis 22? Can you see him in
the ark? In Exodus, the Passover lamb,
can you see Christ? In Leviticus, the great atonement,
the high priest, the tabernacle. In Numbers, the serpent lifted
up. In Deuteronomy, the city of refuge. In Joshua, Rahab's
scarlet line, that thread. Can you see Christ? In Judges, the angel of the Lord.
In Ruth, the kinsman redeemer. In Psalms, God's shepherd. In
Job, my Redeemer living. In Proverbs, the wisdom of God.
In the Song of Solomon, who's the bridegroom? Christ. In Hosea,
the forgiver. In Amos, the judge of all nations.
In Jonah, the sovereign savior. In Haggai, the desire of all
nations. In Zechariah, the foundation
stone. In Malachi, the messenger of
the covenant. But God has spoken. And God has
spoken concerning His Son. If you want to understand the
Old Testament, get your eye on Christ. Get your eye on redemption
through Christ. Get your eye on substitution
in Christ. Get your eye on God's justification
in Christ. Get your eye on God's righteousness
in Christ. And this Old Testament will open
up, not all of it, the secret things belong to God, the revealed
things belong to us, but enough of it will open up. It'll thrill
your heart every time you read it and you'll start looking for
the master in these in these in these blessed books All right
back to the text God in in different different ways At sundry times
spake in times past to our fathers by the prophets hath in these
last days That's Paul's right there just a moment In more than
one place I have found men of God dividing time, as we know
it, into three parts. The 2,000 years from Adam to
Moses, the 2,000 years from Moses to the Incarnation, and the 2,000
years, the days of the Messiah, which would bring us up to the
year approximately 2000. Dr. John Gill wrote in 1750,
listen to this, the tradition of Elias says the world shall
be 6,000 years. 2,000 years void of the law,
2,000 years the law, 2,000 years the days of the Messiah. And
here's where they get that, 2 Peter 3. You want to turn over there? 2 Peter chapter 3. We'll begin
reading with verse 3, 2 Peter 3. Knowing this first,
you with me? 2 Peter 3, verse 3, that there
shall come in the last days stoppers walking after their own lust
and saying, where's the promise of his coming? Since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning
of creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the
word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing
out of the water in the water, whereby the world that then was
being overflowed with water perished. But the heavens and the earth
which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved under
fire against the day of judgment, perdition of ungodly men. Talking
to the believer now, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day
is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
one day. Dr. Gill says this is where they
get it. They suppose that the six days
of creation were expressive of the six thousand
years in which the world shall stand. And the seventh day, the
day of rest, prefigures the last millennium, a thousand years,
in which will be the judgment and the world to come. For the
six days of creation is a sign of these things, and on the seventh
day his work was finished and he rested. Now whether this be
so, I do not know. It is emphasized by some of the
most outstanding of writers, men who were right on their gospel.
And that's where you want to check a fellow, whatever he preaches. If he preaches the gospel, you
can listen to him on other things, but if he doesn't preach the
gospel, you don't want to listen to him on anything. But these men, faithful
men of the past, not in the last hundred years when so much emphasis
is placed on prophecy in the last days, the second coming,
but these are men who wrote in the 18th century, in the 16th
century, and back in there, and they believed that at the end
of 2,000 years after Calvary that Christ would come back.
For they based it on 2 Peter 3 there, which I read, that a
day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years is
a day, and he has a reference there to creation. Six days he
created this earth, on the seventh he rested, and they believe there's
6,000 years. And there was 2,000 years between
the beginning and the law, and then from the law to Christ,
and we've almost completed the third 2,000, which I say it may
be. It may not be. But we do know
this. We do know that we are in the
last days. Paul called these the last days.
Even Paul did. The days of the Messiah since
Christ came are the last days. And God has spoken to our fathers
in the past by the prophets, hath in these last days given
us the greatest gift of all, the greatest revelation of all.
He has spoken to us by whom? His Son. Who is He? Look at verse 8 of Hebrews 1.
He says he's God. That's who he is. This one by
whom the Father has spoken to you and to me is the Son. He's God. He's God. And not only that, but it says
here he's God, he's the Son, and verse 2 says he's the owner
of all things. He's the owner of all things.
And by whom God created all things. Turn to Colossians 1, verse 16. This is Christ he's talking about
here. For by him are all things created that are in heaven, that
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. All things were created by him
and for him. He's the creator of all things.
And more than that, verse 3, he is the sole expression of
the glory of God. Show me thy glory, he'll show
you Christ, who is the sum of his attributes. He is the perfection
of God in a body. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. You want to see the glory of
God? Study Christ. You want to preach the glory
of God? Preach Christ. You want to exalt the glory of
God? Exalt Christ. Christ is his glory. That's what
it says in verse 3. He is the brightness of God's
glory. The glory of the church is Christ. And over most church doors you
could write Ichabod because the glory has departed. Christ has
departed. And more than that, he's not
only God, he's the Son, he's the owner of all things, by whom
he created the world, he's the brightness of God's glory, and
he's the exact image, the expressed image of his person. Philip said,
show us the Father. I've never seen God. Show me
God. And Christ said, Philip, now
get this, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. I've seen
God with hours of faith. I see him in Christ. God has
spoken to us. Our problem is we're not listening.
God has spoken. He spoke to the fathers in times
past by the prophets. Some of them heard, some of them
didn't hear, but he spoke to them. The gospel didn't profit
them not in being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
But God has, in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son. I'm glad I didn't live in the
days of Abraham. I hear people say, well, I wish
I'd have lived back in the days of David. Not me. I wouldn't
want to live in the days of such limited revelation. Some people
say, well, I wish I'd have lived in the days of Christ. I don't,
really. Honestly, I don't. I'm afraid I'd have been with
that gang out there hollering crucify him. Because of the limited
revelation. I'm glad I live right now because
God hath in these last days actually spoken to us by his son, the
owner of all things. He says I speak what I know about. I'm the owner of all things.
I'm the heir of all things, by whom he made the world, for whom
he made the world. He's the brightness of God's
glory. He's the exact image of God's
person. You think about that. Show us
the Father. He that has seen me has seen
the Father. Well, what did he do? Look at the next line. When
he had by himself, alone, unaided, when he had by himself purged
our sins. The Amplified reads this way,
when he had by offering himself accomplished our cleansing of
sin and our riddance of guilt by himself. By himself, unaided,
alone, Christ has accomplished our cleansing. He has cleansed
us. He has redeemed us. We are rid
of our sin by the sacrifice of himself. I want you to turn to
Hebrews chapter 9. Here's a verse of scripture that
ought to be committed to your heart, to your memory, to your
soul, to your conscience. The last line of Hebrews 9, verse
26. But now once, Hebrews 9, 26,
B, the last part. Once in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin. How? Come on now. By baptism? by church membership. I don't care what Acts 2.38 says.
It doesn't mean that sins are put away by water. It means something
else because this says he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. And our text says he, when he
had by himself purged our sins. Brethren, this is why I don't
believe in purgatory. I have people tell me and I'm
tired of hearing voices. I want to hear God speak. I'm
tired of hearing people preach what they think, and what old
Baptists believe, or old Methodists believe, or old anything else
believes. A thing's not sold because it's old, it's sold because
God says it. God must speak. He has spoken
to us by His Son. And He said His Son purged our
sins. I hear people tell me that a
person dies and then they go to a place called purgatory and
people back here on the earth burn candles for them, pay the
priest to pray for them and do all these things to get them
out of purgatory. Purgatory is Calvary. There God
purged our sins by the blood of His Son. And there's no candle
that can outshine the Son in His glory. And there's no silver
and gold that can purchase what His blood can't purchase. When he had purged our sins,
what did he do? He sat down on the right hand
of the majesty on high. Why did he sit down? His work
was finished. You go back through the Old Testament
and you read those Old Testament priests never sat down. The tabernacle
had seven pieces of furniture in it, not one chair. And the
reason those priests never sat down, they never assumed a position
of rest. They never took a position of
completion of their tasks. They were always on their feet
because their work was never done, because these sacrifices
could never put away sin. They were just pictures and types
and figures. But when Christ had once offered
his blood, himself, his atonement, his offering, he went to the
right hand, which is the hand of love. Where does the queen
sit? The right hand. Which is a position of acceptance.
Which is a position of glory. What do the disciples say? Grant
that I might sit on thy right hand. Which is a position of
honor. And he sat down because he had
finished what he came to do. He put away our sins. If you
don't know that, you've missed the gospel. That sounds mean,
but that's so. God spake to our fathers by the
prophets, and he spake concerning Christ, concerning substitution,
concerning redemption. All of those Old Testament pictures
and types were Christ. Christ went back there and showed
his disciples all those things concerning himself. He said,
concerning me. But we have a greater revelation,
we have a fuller revelation, we have a finished revelation,
we have a complete revelation, because God hath been pleased
to speak to us by his Son, whom he called God, whom he said is
the owner of all things, by whom he created the world, who is
the brightness of his glory, who's the exact image of his
person. You couldn't get closer to the
throne than that. The greatest evidence of truth
is the truth itself. And that's what Christ said.
He said, I am the truth. The greatest evidence of the
truth is the truth himself. Everybody's searching for the
truth, but they're not searching for Christ. They find Christ,
they find the truth. It's exactly right. And the reason
sometimes people are so religious and yet so wrong in their attitudes People are so religious and they're
so wrong in their dealings with others. They're so religious
and righteous and moral, and yet they're so wrong in their,
out of their heart the mouth speaketh. It's because they miss the person.
He's the truth. There's a multiplied millions
of religious people who exact in their orthodoxy, exact in
their Morality exact in their theology who've missed the person Person You've got to feed on
the person Christ said you eat my flesh and drink my blood This
is we haven't heard the son. We've heard the denominational
experts. We've heard the theologians We've
heard the old writers. We've heard the renowned respected
recognized man We haven't heard the son and that's our problem You're talking to God, but he
hasn't talked to you yet. Somebody's always bragging about
how much they pray. Fully on that. You need to shut
your mouth and listen to God. Quit telling God how good you
are and what you need. He knows what you need. You need
to hear God speak. And we haven't hushed long enough
to hear God speak. We just always talking, talking,
talking, talking. We've got an opinion on everything
and on everybody. We just talk, talk, talk, talk.
We need to shut our mouths and hear God speak. If it's just
one word, if he just say one word a year, one word, God has spoken. I want to hear God speak. I'm
tired of hearing people. I want to hear God speak. And
that's where we've missed it. That's where we've missed it. He has spoken to us by his Son.
And here's what's going to happen. Look at verse 1 of chapter 2.
Therefore, therefore, we better give some heed to the things
we've heard. You don't get but one shot at
this, maybe. That's the truth. Therefore, we ought to give them more earnest
heed to the things which we've heard, lest at any time we let
them slip. For I'm telling you this, he
said, if the words spoken by angels or Moses or Jeremiah or
David were steadfast, every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense or reward. How are we going to escape if
we neglect So great salvation. What's great about it? Well,
the greatness of the preacher, the son. The greatness of the
price paid. He gave himself. He himself purged
our sins. The greatness of the gift. Forgiveness.
Oh, what a gift. Unspeakable treasure of all treasure. Forgiveness of sin. Happy is
the man to whom God will not charge sin. the greatness of
the danger if I miss it, if I miss Christ, if I miss Christ, if I miss Christ, if I miss hearing
him speak, hearing him speak. Our Father in heaven, here we are talking again. Like the Pharisee in the temple,
I thank you, I'm not like other men. I've come to your house and I've
given my tithes, and I've opened the word, read the scripture,
checked on my orthodoxy, checked on my theology, taught what I
claim to know. But have we heard these speeches? Have we heard from heaven, have
we heard the Son, O the Son, who is thine exact image, the
brightness of thy glory, the owner of all things, the truth
himself, have we heard him speak? O Lord, let us be like Job, who
said, Once have I spoken, yea, twice, but I won't speak again. I've heard of you by the hearing
of the ear, but now, man, I seeth thee. Wherefore, I hate myself. I repent, genuinely repent, in
sackcloth and ashes. Lord, reveal Christ to us. Let
us see him in everything. Let us embrace him, love him,
hold to him. Let him become our lives. Let
our attitude be the humility and grace of Christ our Lord. We can't have life by knowing
his teachings. We've got to know him. We can't have eternal life by
knowing about him. We've got to have Christ dwelling
within us. Grant, O Lord, that we shall not miss the Savior. Make it the pursuit of our lives
and the goal of our very hearts that I may win Christ and be
found in him, that I may know him. and the power of his resurrection
be made conformable to his death. Reveal thyself unto us, we pray
in Christ's name. Amen. Don, you come latest in
a closing hymn. Let's turn to number 329. Stand, please. Sitting at the feet of Jesus
Oh, what words I hear him say Happy place, so near, so gracious
May it find me there each day Sitting at the feet of Jesus
I would look upon the past For His love has been so gracious
It has won my heart at last

God Has Spoken to Us

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