Message of the Week: God's voice is His word

In Luke, chapter 7:24-30, Jesus has a question and answer sermon about John the Baptist and his commission from God.

It is said in verse 29 that all the people and the publicans justified (acknowledged) God because they had been baptized by John. How did they justify God in this? Justified means to make right; God did what he said he would do. He tells through the prophets Isaiah and Malachi of the messenger he would send before Jesus, preparing the way of the Lord. The people proved God right by their faith in his word that John was this messenger. But look at the experts of the law, who preached and taught the people. In verse 30 it is written that they rejected the counsel of God against themselves because they were not baptized by John.

We are told in Matthew 4:4 and Deuteronomy 8:3 that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word out of the mouth of God. These experts of the law, knowing the word of God, were showing what it means by hearing the word only, but not by being doers of the word. It is said in James 4:17 "therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

So many claim to be experts of the Scriptures. The knowledge of the word of God is opening up to many. Many claim they hear the voice of God. But they act and show that they think that God's voice and his word are not the same thing. This is not so, God never speaks to a man contrary to his own word.

The word of God says we are to love one another, but so many use that tool in their mouth and will rip apart someone they are angry with faster than anything. It is said in James 1:20 that the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. Jealousy and strife is so rampant in the churches that the ones who have this problem are the first ones to say God speaks to them and that they understand the Scriptures. Yet the Scriptures, James 3:14-16, tell us these habits are not of God. Understand that when you do these things, you reject the counsel of God against yourself.

Then there are the church hoppers who say they hear the voice of God and say they understand the Scriptures. They need to hear the Word of God in Psalms 92: 13 and 14 which says those planted in the house of God shall flourish in the courts of God and they shall bear fruit into their old age.

A fruit tree does not and is unable to bear a good fruit if it is uprooted and moved from space to space and will not bear a good crop of fruit until it is planted.

There is one fruit of the Spirit I want to address related to the church hoppers, the fruit of faith — trustworthiness, faithfulness, steadiness and belief. How can a church hopper show this fruit, when they cannot be depended upon to be in service to a church. These fruits of the Spirit are found in Galatians 5:22 and 23. We are told in John 15: 1-5 that without Jesus, we cannot bear these fruits, and the Father is the one who tends to this gospel vine of Jesus and its branches. These Scriptures are the counsel of God, for they proceed from God.