I have been watching a vodcast over the Song of Solomon the past weeks and I have found the series very interesting…but I would not say that I have bought everything that has been said “hook, line, and sinker.” That is one of the good things about studying scripture and listening to different teachers; we are able to decide for ourselves where our beliefs line up with the speaker/teacher and where they do not. Now before you get all excited that I am saying that we can all create our own belief system, let me clarify what I mean.
John 14:26 (ESV)
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
As we hear scripture being taught, the Holy Spirit needs to be our main teacher. This is one of the primary reasons God has given us the Holy Spirit. We do not ever need to just take the word of the speaker as being the ultimate truth for us. We need to be asking if it coincides with the rest of the scripture. What do others think about what is being taught? I realize that pastors/teachers have been given the responsibility to teach their flocks the Word of God. I also realize that men are just that, men. All men are sinners with a sin nature. Their teachings as well as their interpretations of scripture can be affected by their sin nature just like anyone else’s. Therefore it is so important for each person to check in their own spirit what God is saying about the subject and not just take the word of the preacher.
Several years ago, Henry Blackaby along with Claude King wrote the Bible study Experiencing God. Dr. Blackaby shared the different ways that God speaks to us in that study. God speaks through:
- The Holy Spirit
- The Bible
- Prayer
- Our Circumstances
- The Church
God never contradicts Himself. We must be willing to be obedient to Him so that we know that we are hearing from Him properly. We cannot live a disobedient life and expect to hear God actually speak to us. When we are listening, we have to pay attention to each of the five ways in which God speaks…They will match up.
Just because a famous preacher says something, doesn’t necessarily make it true. Ask yourself, what does God say about this? Once you ask the question, listen to the “still, small voice” of the Holy Spirit within you to answer.
John 14:23-24 (ESV)
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
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