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THE FINAL COURT OF APPEAL #4
LOOKING FOR A LOOPHOLE
Hello, everyone, and a big Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of
you. Ken and I always consider that this Thursday message probably reaches
a smaller but very precious audience. Maybe you’re out on those nearly
empty freeways, but still managed to find our radio program. Or you might
have a house full of relatives, with your tables groaning under all the
food, but you still found time to slip away and turn on your radio for
15 minutes. We certainly do appreciate it. And Ken, I know that these
radio stations are still being managed by the deejays and personnel who
don’t get this holiday off, and we want to give you our very warmest greetings
as well. We’re thankful for the good people who push the buttons and pop
in the cassettes and bring our message out your way.
All this week, which is National Bible Week, we’ve been sharing how the
Word of God is an especially precious gift because it’s the final court
of appeal. You can read back in the history books how even something as
almost sacred as Thanksgiving Day was first celebrated in 1621 in Plymouth
Colony. But it didn’t become a holiday until President Washington made
it one for November 26, 1789, almost exactly 214 years ago right now.
But then it was off again until President Lincoln revived it in 1863.
And then it kind of shifted around until the year 1941 when Congress said
that it should always, always, always be on the fourth Thursday in November,
which is where we are today. And so we see a patchwork quilt kind of progress:
on, then off, then on, then revised, and here we are. But friend, that
doesn’t happen with this old Book called the Bible. God set it up and
it’s just plain always been there. Oh, presidents from FDR right down
to Clinton have signed on to National Bible Week, but God’s Word was there
as the pillar of our faith long before they came on the scene, and it
will be there when they or any of us pass on. The Bible is a beautiful,
treasured constant in our lives, isn’t it? What a gift to be thankful
for here on this wonderful Thursday.
Today we really have just one quiet point to make, and then we can all
get back to our thanksgiving celebrations. You know, so often we treat
this unique Book like we would an unfavorable court ruling. We don’t like
it, we say, and so we don’t accept it. We look for a higher court, a more
friendly judge, a more ambitious lawyer who will take our case on appeal.
And we ignore the inescapable truth that the Word of God isn’t appeal-able;
it’s already the highest court there is.
We uncovered a marvelous little story while we were over in the Philippines
about seven-and-a-half years ago, the spring of 1996, as Christians there
were attempting to reach 50,000 people for Christ in just one calendar
year. I could tell you stories and miracle anecdotes for months right
here on the radio, but there was one man attending these meetings who
was actually already a pastor. Unfortunately, he was heading up a cult
group, ironically called “Born Again,” there in the town of Polomolok,
near General Santos City. And this entire church group was locked in the
grip of these cultic teachings, participating in dangerous, unbiblical
religious practices.
But still this man kept coming. My friend Pastor David Dobias, and his
wife Cynthia were doing a superb job of ministry, pouring their hearts
into clear Bible teaching and preaching night after night. I mean, they
were staying right with the Word of God, this “(quote) final court of
appeal.”
As they got right down to the end, they were hoping this man, who was
an influential leader, would make his decision to give his life back to
the real Jesus Christ and leave the cult system behind. But he just couldn’t
make the break. He’d been there every evening, he’d heard all the presentations,
and he’d underlined all the verses in the Bible. But he kept holding back,
and he always said the same thing. “I need more evidence.” Over and over:
“I need more evidence.”
One night the pastoral team there in Polomolok spent three hours just
with him, answering questions and taking him through the Bible. But he
said it again: “I need more evidence.” And then he added this: “I’m going
to pray that the Holy Spirit will show me what to do.”
And at this point, Pastor Dobias looked him right in the eye and said,
“You know, brother, I really think you’re praying the wrong prayer.”
And the man was surprised. “What do you mean?”
Well, David told him: “God has already given you the full evidence. Everything
is right here in the Bible — your own Bible. You’ve read it right along
with us.” In other words, how could the Holy Spirit — or any heavenly
spirit — come along later and give a different impression, a different
truth than what was already in this unimpeachable, highest source? This
man had already been to the Supreme Court, so to speak. How could he ask
for more than that? Even God’s own Holy Spirit wouldn’t contradict what
had already been given through the Scriptures.
And you know, that powerful argument finally won the day. The man was
baptized as a full-fledged Christian, and now he’s working to reclaim
his former parishioners in that cult.
Well, the Thanksgiving lesson for us here back home is very clear, I think.
When the Word of God already has spoken, friend, that’s the last word.
We can’t wait for a dream or a vision to come along and give us an updated
word to supersede the original. Even the Holy Spirit isn’t going to do
that.
We noticed in the September 1997 copy of Charisma magazine, which is a
very thoughtful Christian journal, an interesting ad for a Bible conference
to be held in Atlanta. “Prophets and Apostles,” it says in the headline.
And one of the photos of a featured speaker listed this person as “Prophet
So-and-So.” Well, do you know something? I think that’s all right. The
Bible teaches that the gift of prophecy will exist in the church in these
last days. Here at the Voice of PROPHECY we accept that as truth.
However, here’s a vital point for those who attend that workshop, or for
anyone who encounters a prophetic gift in their own church. Any message
coming from a prophet is subject to the Word of God . . . and not the
other way around.
In my own Adventist denomination, which has existed for about 150 years
now, we’ve always treasured that prophetic gift. The great majority of
our members are fully convinced that one of the early founders, a young
Christian woman named Ellen Harmon, had been given special prophetic visions
by God. Those visions gave encouragement and guidance to this new Christian
movement during those tough early years when some faction tried to push
things over to the right or to the left. And even today, here in 2003,
we love those books she wrote; sometimes we even share them right here
on the radio. Books like the great classic, Steps to Christ or The Desire
of Ages, a marvelous bestseller translated and read all around the world.
And you see that name — the married name by then — Ellen G. White on the
cover.
But now here’s the point, and I hope everyone in my own church takes this
fully to heart. That prophetic gift, whether you accept it as being valid
or not, absolutely must be subjected to the Bible as the ultimate and
final court of appeal. The Bible contains some clear tests as to whether
a person is sharing true prophecy or false . . . and it says with ironclad
finality that prophetic words today have to agree fully with the original
Bible and not the other way around.
The beautiful thing is this. Even that godly Christian woman, an outstanding
Bible student and leader, insisted on that principle right up until she
died. “The Bible and the Bible only” as the rule of faith. In fact, the
things she wrote were often described as “(quote) a lesser light to lead
to the greater light.” I love an old story that comes from the year 1909,
just a few years before her death. Many Christians knew the end was near,
and a lot of them were present for one of her final talks, which were
always so Christ-centered and practical. It was at the Church’s General
Conference session in Washington, D.C. She stood up there in the front,
and held out an old worn Bible in her trembling hands. Not one of her
own best-sellers, not an autographed copy of something she’d written.
No, it was the Bible. And she said to that great throng of worshipers:
“Brethren and sisters, I commend to you . . . the Book.” That was the
final court of appeal. And so it should always be.
Sometimes we thrash around looking for a loophole, a kind of new light,
when the Bible’s already clearly spoken on that topic. Friend, when the
Word of God has already spoken, you don’t have to scan the horizon for
an angel or a dream or a cassette in your mailbox. Here’s a marvelous
paragraph from Pastor Don Matzat’s book, The Lord Told Me . . . I Think.
“The Bible provides an abundance of clear direction for our Christian
lives. Should we join a Christian congregation, get involved in the study
of God’s Word, worship the Lord regularly, support the work of the kingdom
with our finances, use our gifts and abilities for God’s glory, and forgive
people who have wronged us?” Then he adds this: “These are not debatable
issues. God’s will concerning those matters is clearly revealed in Scripture.”
That’s beautiful truth, isn’t it? And I guess as we
close here on the fourth Thursday in November, we could note that the
Bible clearly tells us to do one thing more. First Thessalonians 5:18:
“In everything . . . give thanks.”
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