Rev. David Holwick O
First Baptist Church (well-received)
Ledgewood, New Jersey
April 25, 2004
Genesis 22:1-3
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I. A modern Abraham?
Deanna Laney saw her 14-month-old son playing with a toy spear.
She knew it was a sign - God was telling her to kill her three boys
on Mother's Day weekend.
She resisted at first, but the signs kept coming.
The baby came to her with a rock, and later in the day squeezed a
frog.
Deanna believed God was suggesting that she should either stab,
stone or strangle her children.
She settled on stoning.
It was a way to prove her faith to God.
At her murder trial she said, "I was telling him no, and each time
it was getting worse and worse, the way that it would have to
be done."
I thought it was the Lord saying to me, 'You're just going to have
to step out in faith.
This is faith.
You can't see why.
You just got to."'
Deanna homeschooled her children in the tiny town of New Chapel
Hill, Texas.
She was found innocent by reason of insanity in the deaths of her
sons, aged 8, 6 and 14 months.
#27411
A. Many people believe God wants them to do weird things.
The Lord warned a preacher in Texas that the Devil was after
him and his family.
But God advised him not to panic.
The voice from Heaven instructed the preacher and his kin to
give the Devil the slip by getting naked and driving to
Louisiana.
The fellow put his trust in the Lord and his clothes in the
trunk.
Police apprehended a speeding 1990 Pontiac near Vinton filled
with fifteen naked adults and five nude children.
#19572
1) Are all religious people like this?
2) You would probably say they are nut-cases and you are not.
B. But most of us believe that God can speak to us.
1) How do we hear God?
2) How do we decide if it is him, or just us?
II. Religious experience are not always easy to explain.
A. God DOES sometimes tell people to do weird things.
1) Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac. Gen 22
a) This was quite a test - Abraham was very old,
and had waited a long time for this son.
b) Why would God promise him a son, only to take him away?
2) Consider Jesus' calling his disciples.
a) He expected them to drop everything and follow him.
b) Mom - I'm going to quit my job and wander around the
desert with a single guy and learn how to perform
miracles!
And by the way, he says I can't go to your funeral...
c) Jesus himself was considered nuts by his own family.
3) In each case, these were legitimate messages from God.
B. Sometimes it is not God.
1) Religious delusions in Bible.
a) False prophets. (Micaiah's confrontation) 1 Kings 22
b) Even false messiahs (ie, Simon) exist in Bible.
2) Advice from Apostle Paul - test everything. 1 Thess 5:21
a) Not every message, or messenger, is really from God.
III. Biblical ways God speaks.
A. Theophany - direct encounter.
1) The God of the Bible is a God who reveals himself.
a) If he doesn't, we cannot know him.
2) Moses and burning bush. Exod 3:4f
a) Moses hidden in cleft of rock. Exod 33:22
3) "Face to face" is ultimate experience. Num 12:8
a) This side of heaven, it is normally impossible. 1Jn 4:12
b) Any direct encounter is also rare in Bible.
B. Direct vision/voice/dreams.
1) Young Samuel in tabernacle and God's voice. 1 Sam 3:1f
a) Audible voice.
b) Obedient response.
2) Paul on road to Damascus.
a) Others heard sound, saw light, but no more.
b) Given messages on several different occasions.
C. Through religious feelings.
1) "Still, small voice." 1 Kings 19:12
a) Most revelation is subtle, not dramatic.
b) Old Testament uses "hear" and "listen" metaphorically.
1> Pay attention to Bible.
2> "Listen" when you come to church. Eccl 5:1
2) Reading the Bible.
a) Jesus speaks of "hearing" God's Word.
b) To hear it, is to do it.
3) Our conscience. Acts 15:28
a) What "seems right," as long as it is biblical.
IV. How to know if it is really from God.
A. It agrees with past revelation.
1) Abraham didn't have this luxury - little had been revealed!
a) We know now that God doesn't want us to sacrifice
our kids.
2) We have the whole Bible. 1 Cor 10:11
a) We also have the accumulated wisdom of church history.
b) Most weirdness has happened before - learn from it.
B. It promotes love rather than hate.
1) If you think God wants you to kill someone, think again.
a) Notice what happened to Abraham - a divine solution.
b) The only exceptions have national dimension (holy war).
2) God's voice seeks to build people up and unify them.
C. It is confirmed by Christians you trust.
1) Compare your experience with that of others.
a) What was their outcome?
b) How do they assess it now?
2) Don't think your situation is unique.
a) People often think there are few REAL believers around.
b) A Kentucky man's bizarre criminal defense:
In February, Patrick Hutchinson killed his wife.
He explained that she had been taken over by aliens
and that he (as one of only 735 "true humans" left
in Lexington, out of 260,000 population) had to
stop her.
He used a weapon supplied by a cobra that was speaking
on behalf of God.
#26635
D. God's message may be capable of different interpretations.
1) Veggie Tales:
Kenny Carter of Baltimore, Maryland, used to be a drug
dealer.
But then he found God.
God had some unusual words for Carter.
In church one day, Carter says, "Suddenly I heard an audible
male voice that said: 'You will be a vegetable.'"
Um... huh? "I looked around, thought I was going crazy!"
But he heard it again. "You will be a vegetable."
So Carter now has a new career: he dresses in a bell pepper
costume as "Peppy the Pepper" and attracts shoppers to
the produce section of a local supermarket.
2) God's voice can be interpreted in different ways.
a) Perhaps God was warning Kenny that he was going to
be in a bad accident and end up in a comma.
God wanted him to live his life to the fullest right
now. #19192
b) Discernment is always necessary.
1> Unusual voices require extraordinary support.
V. Faith vs. putting God to a test.
A. God wants you to step out in faith.
B. God doesn't want you to turn it into a test of him.
1) Paul's emergency snake-handling vs. Kentucky version.
2) Don't manipulate God for your own purposes!
VI. The one unmistakable message from God. Revelation 3:20
A. God speaks to each human.
1) He calls us to repent and believe.
2) Jesus - if you search the Bible, you will find it points
to him.
B. Hear Christ's voice and open the door.
1) Accept him as your personal Savior.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#19192 "You Will Be A Vegetable," by Randy Cassingham, This Is True,
May 26, 2001.
#19572 "God Speaks Directly To Southerners," Gail Gilchriest, "Bubbas &
Beaus" (New York: Hyperion, 1995), p. 20; quoted in Dynamic
Preaching illustrations, Oct-Dec 1999.
#26635 "The Serpent Made Me Do It" Chuck Shepherd, News of the Weird,
http://www.lakesidebrewers.net/weird_news_829.htm, 4/25/04.
#27411 "Mother Says She Stoned Sons To Prove Faith," Lisa Falkenberg,
America Online / Associated Press, April 1, 2004.
These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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