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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Well, we are continuing on with our series and going back to the basics. And so within that series, we're going to start talking about church, all things related to church for the next few weeks. And the title of the sermon today is The Oracles of God, The Oracles of God. And really what this is about is what actually makes church, church, okay? You've heard me say this a thousand times, the word church means congregation. Well, people congregate all over the place, right? We've talked about this. People congregate in a building without windows, right? Called a kingdom hall, okay? Is that a church? Absolutely not. People congregate in this giant tabernacle down the street here with the little gold moron statue up there, right? And he's playing the flute, okay? Is that a church? Absolutely not, okay? People congregate in this Catholic. And I could go on down the line. We've talked about this. Jesus Christ looked down and said, that is a church. That is a biblical, local, New Testament church. That is what we're going to be talking about this morning. So you're there in Matthew chapter number 16. Look at verse number 15. So we just read the chapter here. And you know that Jesus had asked the disciples, hey, you know, who are people saying that I am? You know, who do men say that I am? They're given different answers and so on and so forth. So let's pick it up here in verse number 15. Jesus says this, he saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? Right? That's a great question. I mean, that question, that verse right there could preach by itself, right? I mean, that is the question of our day. That's the question of everyone's day. Who say ye that I am, okay? Anytime someone tells you that they go to a church, that's the question that you need to have at the tip of your tongue. Okay, great. Who say ye that he is? Okay, because a lot of people have a different Jesus, right? They have the Jesus that's coexist. He doesn't judge. He doesn't blame anyone for anything. He doesn't hold anyone accountable. It's just anything goes. Doesn't matter what religion you are. Oh, you're Islam? Cool. You're going to make it to heaven anyways, right? Isn't that what Billy Balaam taught? That's what Billy Balaam taught, isn't it? It doesn't matter what persuasion you are, right? You're going to get your ticket into heaven. And Jesus is trying to teach them a concept here. It's the most important concept that we talk about as believers. And he says, verse 15 rather, He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? So, okay, all these people are saying all this. Well, he's this, he's that, he's this. But I'm concerned with what you say because you guys are saved. Do you understand this? Verse 16, And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Okay? And that answer right there is so important for us as believers because it begs the question, where did he get that information from? Okay? Where did he get that information from? Look at verse 17, And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Okay? So, how did Peter have the right answer? Was it because of some stupid scholar? Was it because of some high speed hero principal at some Bible college on the East Coast? No, it wasn't. It's from the mouth of God, from the word of God. Another way to put that is the oracle of God. Okay? That's what made them special. That's what makes us special. That is what separates this church from any other church out there. That's what separates us from the congregation at BSU or at the stupid college in Utah you know that the Mormons go to. Okay? It's the oracles of God. This is what Jesus is trying to teach the disciples. Look at verse 18, And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Keep your place there in Matthew 16, but go to 2 Samuel chapter number 16. Keep your place there in Matthew 16 and go to 2 Samuel chapter number 16. We're going to talk about this here in a moment, but there's a couple different varying opinions if you will about Matthew 16, 18. And again, we'll talk about that. And no matter which one you fall under, they both point back to the rock, the chief cornerstone. They both point back to Jesus Christ. Okay? And so again, we're going to come right back and talk about that. But we need to define what an oracle is and why it's so important for us as believers to understand that. Now the word oracle appears 17 times throughout the Bible. And the word oracle, so the plural version of oracle, appears four times and it's all in the New Testament. But let's go back here and take a look at something here and get some definitions going here. Look at 2 Samuel chapter number 16 and verse number 23. Okay, so this is during David's trial. He's running from home. You know, Absalom is out to get him, his counselor, and many people have turned on David. Look at what it says in verse 23. It says this. It says, in the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God. So it was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom. Now you can leave your place there and go to 1 Kings chapter number 6. 1 Kings chapter number 6. So, in the Bible, the word oracle is either, you're going to see this here in a moment, it's either the words of God, the prophecy of God, or it's a place where people received the prophecy of God. That is what it is. Now, this word means different things to different people. If you go ask a witch or some pagan heathen what an oracle is, they're going to say, well, that's where we get our revelation from the gods. That's what they're going to tell you. But that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says that an oracle, again, is either a place or it is the actual prophecy that God has given to man. Very, very interesting to understand this. I mean, think about the word oration or orator. Well, what's that? What's an oration? Well, it's kind of like what I'm doing now. It's giving a formal speech or a form of communication. Remember, turtle-less and ax, right? He was the great orator, the little suck-up, right? We've talked about him several months ago, okay? The Bible says that he was a great orator, okay? There are a lot of great orators out there. Unfortunately, many of them are false prophets today, okay? That's the bad thing. The devil likes to seek out those types of people because he wants as many people as possible to be able to clearly communicate a false gospel. Makes sense, okay? So let's take a look at this here in 1 Kings 6. So this is describing Solomon building the house of the Lord. So look at verse number 17, and let's see what we can learn about the oracle here and why it's important. So verse 17, it says this. It says, in the house that is the temple before it was 40 cubits long. Look at verse 18. And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers. All was cedar. There was no stone seen. Now look at verse 19. And the oracle he prepared in the house within to set there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. That is very important to understand. So just by reading this, hopefully you can see that the oracle in this context is a place. But what's special about this place here? Well, it's where the Ark of the Covenant was. Well, what was inside the Ark? What's one of the things that was inside of the Ark? The Ten Commandments, which are what? The Word of God, which are what? The oracles, okay? You see that? The oracles in the Bible are basically the words of God. So where do we go? Where is the place that we go to get the oracles today? It's the Word of God, right? That's where it's at. You have the oracles with you. Hopefully you do. If you don't have a Bible, you can always go back to that maroon cabinet back there and take one, okay? We don't charge anybody for anything here. It's important that you have the oracles of God. So let's keep reading here. Look at verse number 20. It says, and the oracle in the forepart was 20 cubits in length, 20 cubits in breadth, and 20 cubits in the height thereof. And he overlaid it with pure gold and so covered the altar which was of cedar. So notice the respect and notice the intensity that's going into this place being described as the oracle, which is what? It's centered around the Word of God, okay? Now, could you apply that to modern Christianity today? No, absolutely not, okay? If you were to say, hey, I'd like you to build a place where the oracles are, they'd be like, okay, great, no problem. We're gonna have our staff get into the ripped skinny jeans. We're gonna get tank tops. We're gonna get electric guitars. We're gonna have the Pac-Man background, and we're just gonna really get some spectacles going here today, okay? We don't need no flashy stuff. We're just gonna dim the lights, and we're gonna really make sure that you get an emotional experience. That's not what I'm reading in this passage here, okay? They're taking the oracle, they're taking the Word of God extremely serious, okay? They're setting this thing up to be looked at as a place that is decent and in order, right? Look at verse 21. It says, so Solomon overlaid the house with pure gold and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle, and he overlaid it with gold. Verse 22, and the whole house he overlaid with gold until he had finished all the house, also the whole altar that was by the oracle, he overlaid it with gold. Well, what's that a picture of there? What's the altar a picture of? A decision, a choice, okay? Now we don't have altar calls because that violates the Word of God. I don't have time to get into it, right? But every time you read the Bible, every time you hear a sermon, there should be a choice that you have to make inside of your heart, whether or not you're going to recognize that it's calling you out and make the adjustments, or whether or not you need to change your view on a certain doctrine or something like that, okay? That's why this is in here. Look at verse 23. It says, and within the oracle, he made two cherubims of olive tree, each 10 cubits high. Now, for sake of time, let's skip down to verse 31. It says this. And for the entering of the oracle, he made doors of olive tree. The lintel and the side post were a fifth part of the wall. And then, of course, it just goes on. You can keep reading the detail that goes into this place called the oracle, which housed what? The oracles, i.e., the Word of God. So if you would, go over to 1 Kings 8 now, 1 Kings 8. 1 Kings 8, let's look at verse 5. It says this. It says, and King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. Look at verse 6. It says, and the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. So you see how the Bible's telling us that even back in the Old Testament, when they heard that word, oracle, and I'm sure it sounded different because they spoke a different language, but notice that it's tied to the most holy place, right? So for us today as Bible-believing Christians in 2022, your most holy place is within this book here. You're indwelled by the Holy Spirit. You are the temple of God, and you need to make sure that there's always place for this oracle in your life. Look at verse number 7. It says, for the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark, and the staves there of above. Now you can leave your place there and go back to Matthew chapter number 16. Matthew chapter number 16. And so what is verse 7 there a picture of? Well, obviously it's a picture of the care and the help that comes to believers from resting upon the oracles of God, i.e. the word of God, okay? That's what oracle is. It's simply the word of God. But notice that throughout the entire Old Testament, we didn't look at every passage because we don't have time. You'll have to look that up on your own time, but you can definitely see from what we've covered today that it is special. It is most holy. It's what separates us from other congregations, okay? So all that to say this, that God's church is centered around what? It's centered around his words. His words are not like man's words. His words are special. His words are preserved. His words are life. His words never, ever, ever change. So again, I said we're gonna come back and talk about this. Let's look at Matthew chapter 16 in verse number 18. Look what it says. So Jesus says, And I say also unto thee, the thou art Peter, and upon this rock I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So if you would go to 1 John, not 1 John, I'm sorry, the Gospel of John, go to John chapter number 1. John chapter number 1. Let's take a look at something here. So some people read Matthew 16, 18, and they say, well, what Jesus was doing is he was talking to Peter and said, upon this rock, and was pointing to himself, and said, I will build my church. Well, that's obviously what he meant. I believe that he was talking to Peter and said, hey, upon this rock, meaning upon you, Peter, upon the apostles, upon the disciples, I will build my church. His church is what? It's the kingdom of God. We are just a local congregation made up of believers. We call ourselves a church, and we are a church, and we are what? We are the kingdom of God. Every believer in the world makes up the kingdom of God. Another word that you could use for that today is church. That is one way to look at it. But going back to what we're talking about here, John chapter one, look at verse number 42. Let me just show you why I have that interpretation. So it says this in verse 42. And he brought him to Jesus, talking about Peter, and when Jesus beheld him, he said, thou art Simon, the son of Jonah, thou shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone. Okay, go over to Ephesians chapter number two. So Peter's name means stone. I'm sorry, his nickname, if you will, means stone. And Jesus said, upon this what? Upon this rock, I will build my church. So Ephesians chapter number two, look at verse number 19, the Bible says this. It says, now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and the household of God. Okay, verse 20. And are built upon the foundation of what? The apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So Jesus is the chief cornerstone, and he's saying, hey, Peter, upon you, right, upon the apostles, if you will, will I build my church? How is this church built? How do we grow? How do we grow spiritually? How do we grow in number? Well, it's by following the oracles of God, by following the word of God. Okay, that is what he's talking about here. Now, I got a bottom line for you this morning, and it's this. A church is either centered around the oracles or the spectacles, right? A church is either centered around the oracles or the spectacles. You say, what's a spectacle? Well, it's a striking or a stimulating dramatic display, basically. That's what it is, okay? A performance. Hey, you want to see a spectacle? Go to Rock Harbor. You want to see a spectacle? Go to Andy Stanley's church. You want to see a spectacle? You want to see a spectacle? Go to The Journey. Go to, I don't know, Eagle Life Church. You're definitely going to see a spectacle over there. Go to Treasure Valley Baptist Church, and you'll see a spectacle, okay? Again, a church is either centered around the oracles or the spectacles. It goes one of two ways. It is what it is. We need to understand this. So if you would, go back to Matthew chapter 16, and let's keep going forward here. Matthew chapter 16, look at verse number 19. So after Jesus says that he is going to build his church, and hopefully you can see that no matter what view or interpretation you take of verse number 18, it all points back to Christ, the chief cornerstone, okay? Verse 19, he says this, and, notice this, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. So very interesting here. After he says, I will build my church upon this rock, which obviously is in reference to what he said in verse 17. What happened in verse 17? Well, Jesus is basically letting him know, like, hey, you didn't just come up with this truth on your own. It came from what? It came from the oracles of God. It came from the word of God. That is what our church is centered around, okay? But what else does that mean for us in verse 19? Well, that means that the oracles, or the word of God, is the key, right? They are the keys of the kingdom of heaven. How, I mean, think about what is a key used for? Well, it's for entry, right? I have keys to open up these doors. Half the time I can't get in that first door because my key doesn't want to work. One day, you know, we're all going to be locked out, but that's a separate issue for another day. It just bothered me this morning because I was about to break it. But anyways, anyways, going back to this here. The keys of the kingdom of heaven. How does a person get into the kingdom of heaven? How does a person get saved, if you want? The word of God, right? So you can see that the word of God, or the oracles of God, are required for entry into the kingdom, right? You say, why are you talking about this? Because this is so grossly misunderstood or not even taught in most churches today. You have to understand that. No keys, no entry. It's that simple, right? Because there are still people who even call themselves Baptists. They're like, we shouldn't be so stuck on just, oh, you know, if you don't have a Bible verse, you can't get saved. Look, there are people out there that are saved teaching that kind of stuff, saying, you know, God could still come down and give you a word of knowledge in your ear. Sounds to me like you're a Pentecostal. That's what that sounds like, okay? Look, this church doesn't support that attitude. No words, no entry. No keys, no entry. No oracles, no entry. Okay? So, again, let's ask this question. What does that mean about the New Testament? Is it just the Old Testament that are the oracles? Or is it the whole thing? Right, it's the whole thing. It's the whole thing. Has anybody in here ever gotten someone saved out of just the Old Testament? That's difficult. I mean, Philip did it. Philip started in the Old Testament. Right? I use Old Testament verses, but the whole book, right, from Genesis to Revelation is special. From Genesis to Revelation are the oracles of God. We need the whole thing. Because you have some churches that say, oh, we're centered around the Bible, we're centered around the oracles, but they only focus on one or the other. Okay, they'll say, well, the Old Testament is, you know, it's got some good application, but it's not really for today. I use Old Testament verses in my gospel presentation sometimes. Right? I mean, there's tons of stuff there. People have questions. People want to know what's going on. People want to know why people did certain things in the Old Testament. Right? It's our job to be able to explain, hey, even though those things go against culture today, they are still the oracles of God. Okay? The oracles of God are not like the oracles of man or of a witch or of some kind of a pagan. Go to Acts chapter number seven. So, again, the keys of the kingdom of heaven are the oracles of God. This is what separates us from any other group, any other church in the world today, is that we have the lively oracles here. Look at Acts seven, verse number 38. This is Stephen preaching his sermon here. And he says this. He says, this is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spoke to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers who received the lively oracles given to us. Now, go to Romans chapter number three. So you can see there that the Hebrews or the Jews, at least they understood that the oracles of God were their responsibility, that they had the oracles, they had the word of God. Okay? Romans chapter three, look at verse number one. So Paul tells the Romans this. He says, what advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Right? Now, that's the question that we have today, okay? Because it's taught in a lot of, quote, unquote, Christian churches. Look, it's taught in Baptist churches where there's a saved pastor and they have the right gospel and they have the right Bible, that the Jews are something special, like they're just above the rest of the world, right? Everybody in here has probably heard of that here. But Paul says, what advantage then hath the Jew or what profit is there of circumcision? Look at verse number two. He says, much every way chiefly because that unto them, don't miss this word here, this is very important for us, that unto them were committed the oracles of God. Go to Matthew 21. He says, were committed the oracles of God. Okay? What does the word were, W-E-R-E, what does that mean? It's past tense. It's past tense of the verb are. Okay? Meaning they no longer had the oracles of God. Okay? The Jews today do not have the oracles of God. And people will be like, you don't know what you're talking about, brother, because they believe in the Old Testament. No, they don't. Have you never gone soul winning a day in your life? You know? Do you not know that Jews mock the Old Testament? If you don't believe me, look, there's a synagogue down, like almost downtown. We'll take you soul winning in that neighborhood there. And you're going to run into some Jews. And they're going to tell you over and over again, we don't believe that. We just use it. Huge difference. You know what? That's New Evangelical Christianity today. Right? We don't really believe the Bible. We just use it. They just don't say it in that way. I want to be clear. I want to be clear. Hey, that's what they believe. Okay? That is what they believe. So, again, much every way chiefly because that unto them were the oracles, right? Were oracles committed to the Jews. Okay? So why is that important? Because, well, think about it. What made the Hebrew nation, what made the children of Israel special from any other nation on the planet during their time? Is that they had the oracles of God, that they had the word of God. Okay? So if you're there in Matthew 21, look at verse number 43. Jesus says this, therefore, say I unto you the kingdom of God. Now, let's stop right there. Matthew 21, 43. Therefore, I say unto you the kingdom of God. Let's stop right there. Hey, what is required to get into the kingdom of God? The word of God. The word of God. Right? So what are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? The word of God. The oracles. Right? I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Okay? Does everybody see where I'm going with this? What was taken from them? The oracles. The word of God. The responsibility to communicate God's truth. God's entry into heaven was taken from them because they abused it for so long. They killed the prophets. They didn't want anything to do with the word of God. They wanted things their way, not God's way. And so God says, hey, I'm going to make a spiritual nation, which is going to love my word, which will believe my word and therefore go out and communicate my word, which are the oracles. So if it was taken from them and given to a spiritual nation, which is us believers, okay, what does that mean about the Bible today? What does that mean from Matthew to Revelation? What does that mean from Genesis to Malachi? It means that it's all divine. It is all God-breathed. It is all inspired. It is different than any other book in the world. Go back to Romans chapter number three. So again, verse two, Paul says, much every way, chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. So the Jews had the oracles of God. They were committed unto them. God took that away and Jesus told them that. In fact, you don't have to turn there, but what does Jesus tell the woman at the well? He told them, he told her what? Hey, you know not what you worship, but salvation is of the Jews. Because at that present time, right, the Samaritans were like, why do you guys say that we have to go down to Jerusalem to worship? This is crazy. And Jesus is like, you don't even need to worry about that because you don't have any idea what you worship, right? You're still plagued by the two golden calves that Jeroboam set up in this region, okay? That ideology has still plagued your mind, if you will. And he says, salvation is of the Jews, right? And because people today don't like to rightly divide the word of truth, they'll still say that, well, salvation is of the Jews. So if you don't love a Jew, then guess what? There's no room in heaven for you, right? That's pretty much what they'll say. That's what they imply, isn't it? But why was salvation of the Jews for that time? Because they had the word of God. They had the keys. They had the oracles. And Jesus is trying to make sure that the apostles know, hey, you need to let go of this whole being Jewish thing, okay? Because it's going away, okay? It's going away. And you, i.e. believers, whether they were born in this land or born halfway across the world, doesn't matter. When they get saved, when they get born again, they are in the family. They are in the kingdom of God and they have the keys. They have the oracles. And so therefore, if we have the oracles of God today, what does that mean about this book? Well, it means it's not like any other book in the world. It means it's inspired. It is powerful. It changes lives. It causes people to become saved, to become born again, right? We talk about this all the time. Look at verse number three. He says, for what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? Verse four, God forbid, okay? And this is something we need to understand as a church because sometimes it can be real heartbreaking when you're out there just over and over again preaching the gospel, right? And people just, I don't believe it. It doesn't mean, it doesn't make the word of God in that effect. It doesn't affect you. It affects them. Yesterday, I was giving a gospel to this kid. I went through the full thing, even the prayer, even though he was just a space cadet. This guy was the commandant space commander, okay? But he kept saying he was interested and like I always say, I'll go through the whole thing with him, okay? And you know, I just asked him one question after that. I was like, so if I see you in five years from now and I say, hey, are you 100% sure you're on your way to heaven? You know, what are you going to say? Like, I don't know because I don't know how good of a job I'm going to do. You know, I was just like, yeah. There's a video on the front there, you know, just go watch that. You know, it didn't even bite me because, you know, I just knew that that's just how a lot of people are, you know? And by the way, that's something that we need to understand that just because somebody's interested or says they're interested doesn't really mean they are, okay? It doesn't really mean that they're interested in the oracles of God. He didn't really understand that these words have power or there was a little devil that was standing there while I was talking to him, just plucking that word right out of his heart, just chugging them in the bag. Boom, boom, boom. I mean, that's kind of what it seemed like to me. So verse four, God forbid, yea, let God be true, but every man a liar, do you see that? Let God be true, but every man a liar. What does that mean for us? Well, it means that we trust and we rely on the oracles of God, the word of God, right? Because they came from him and his word is true. He is true, but every man a liar. So look, here's the deal. You open up the NIV and say, oh, I'm going to read the Bible, okay? Guess what? You're not reading the oracles of God. You're reading the oracles of man, okay? And what is said about man in general? He's a liar, right? Look at what Paul does next. What does he do? Quotes the oracles. He says, as it is written, my favorite phrase in the Bible, as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged. Look, when you have the oracles and you understand these things, you realize, you know what? You were declared not guilty, okay? And someone comes at you and I know what you did. And what about all this other stuff you did? And you said this, blah, blah, blah. Hey, I'm justified. Get over it. I'm free, okay? I'm no longer a slave to any of that. Jesus paid my sin debt. I've accepted the free gift. I'm marching on. I'm not worried about what other people are thinking. I'm not worried about them bringing up my past because it doesn't matter, right? That's what Paul is saying, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged, right? We don't let other people judge us, do we? No, we let the Lord do that. We let the word of God do that. Nothing wrong with judgment. The Bible says that the spiritual judgeth all things. We love that. We trust that. We rely on that. But one thing that we will not tolerate or rely on is other people judging us, right? People want to judge us all the time. Oh, I can't believe you came around here saying that the King James Bible is the only one to use. How many times have we gotten that text message on the church phone? Some people came to my door and they said that you can only use the King James Bible. I want to talk to someone. Why don't you go talk to a wall? Because you're probably not profitable. You know what I mean? It's stupid. It's ridiculous. Matthew chapter number 17, I just say, hey, let God be true, but every man a liar. You want to read a book of lies? Go ahead and open up your stupid ESV, your Limus, the sorcerer version of the Bible. You go ahead and open up the NIV, the NASB and all that garbage because you know what's going to happen? You're going to become a walking, talking lie. That's what's going to happen. You go to any church today that uses any of that crap and what is coming out of the mouth of the individual speaking in front of their congregation? Lies. That's what's happening. Lies. It's all lies. Why is that? Because let God be true, but every man a liar. This book here doesn't discriminate. It's not a respecter of persons. No matter who reads it, it's going to cut you to the heart. It's going to let you know that man is down here and God is up there and that's what the world has a problem with. That is what they do not like. So let's move on here and answer this question today. So again, some people will say, well, I get that the, you know, in the Old Testament, they actually heard from God. They actually got like, you know, out of the visions and all this crazy stuff. So does that mean that the New Testament is really just a guideline? Is that really just, you know, the best that we have or is it actually divinely inspired? Is it the same type Oracle as in the Old Testament? And so let's answer that question today. Matthew chapter number 17, look at verse number one. So very next chapter after where we started, verse number one, again, is going to go right back to the word of God. Look at what it says in verse one. After six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James and John, his brother, and bringeth him up into a high mountain apart. Verse two, and was transfigured before them and his face did shine as the sun and his raiment was white as the light. Verse three, and behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Now who in the world wouldn't think that would be just the greatest thing ever? To actually see one of the Old Testament saints, you know, to have this experience, to see with your own eyes that, I mean, just the transfiguration and to be able to go through this process here. Now notice the human response here in verse number four, it says this, then answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses and one for Elias. Okay. And you know, if you read the parallel account in Luke chapter nine, it says that he basically didn't know what he said. You know, he's just going through this experience here and it's just like, let's make these tabernacles like right here so that we can remember this and he has no idea why he even said that. Okay. Look at verse number five, while he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Now don't miss these next three words. Hear ye him, hear ye him. What did Jesus tell Peter a chapter prior, upon this rock, I will build my church. What did he say in verse 19 about the keys of the kingdom of heaven? They're committed unto you. They're going to be committed unto every believer. This is what separates us from any other group is that we are centered around the oracles of God, around the word of God. And is that not what you see here in verse number five, what is God telling the apostles? Hey, hear ye him. What's the new Testament theme? It's Jesus Christ. Okay. It's centered around his teachings and around what he said. Look at verse six. And we'll come back to that thought here in a moment. Look at verse six says, when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid. Verse seven, and Jesus came and touched them and said, arise and be not afraid. You can leave your place there. Go to second Peter chapter number one, second Peter chapter number one, because after Peter finally gets converted unto the truth, meaning that, well, it's not the physical kingdom that's coming. It's the spiritual one. He reflects on this event that any one of us would just love to have been a part of, to love to have seen, right? I mean, who wouldn't want to see Jesus Christ? Who wouldn't want to talk to Moses or Elijah or Abraham or any of the guys? I mean, there's a million questions I'd have for him, especially a lot. Second Peter chapter one, look at verse number 16. Remember these words though, hear ye him. Verse 16 says this, for we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. You know, it's funny, there's so many of these like parachurch organizations that are out there like crossexamine.org. I forgot what that guy's name is. Another one that everybody knows, Ray Comfort's ministries, right? You know, what are they centered around? They're not centered around the word of God, okay? They're centered around a spectacle on a formula of words to actually say to someone to get them to realize somehow internally that there's a creator, okay? They bypass the oracles, so to speak. That's their whole goal. And Peter's saying here, hey, we haven't followed these cunningly devised fables. If you want an example of what a cunningly devised fable is, go look up Ray Comfort. Go look up Andy Stanley. Go look up Stephen Furtick. Go look up Joel Osteen, okay? Go look up crossexamined.org and listen to that guy say, we don't need the Bible to prove Jesus Christ because we have enough evidence. What does that mean? You know what that means? He's got no faith because he's only trusting in what he can see with his own two eyes. That's what that means. And that's what Peter's trying to sway people away from. Look at verse 17, for he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. So watch, you're going to see Peter's reaction to those events that he was a part of in Matthew chapter number 17. Look at verse 18. It says, in this voice which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the holy mount, verse 19, we have also, now don't miss this here, okay? This is so important. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, where unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. Look at verse 20, knowing this, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. So what is Peter saying there? Well, he's saying a lot there. But the first thing that you need to understand that he's saying is, hey, I actually heard the verbal oracle of God the Father from heaven. And he says, and there's something that's more sure than what I heard with my two eardrums. And that is the written word of God. That is what is written down. Because look at verse 19, we have, what does that mean? We obtain, okay? We have obtained. We have also a more sure word of prophecy. Now you see that word prophecy there. Sometimes the word prophecy in the Bible is just used to describe the words or the oracles that come from God. There's many different terms and words that are used for that, okay? It's not just talking about revelation. He's not like, hey, we've got the book of revelation and the rest of this stuff's just kind of suggestive and just do whatever you want to with it, okay? No, that's not what he's saying. He's saying now we have a more sure word of prophecy, where unto ye do well that ye take heed, okay? So we're supposed to take heed, pay special attention, treat this like Solomon treated the oracle or the place in the temple in the Old Testament, okay? That is how our attitude should be towards the word of God. It says, where unto we also are a more sure word of prophecy, where unto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. So he's just reminding you like, hey, when you're saved, when a person gets born again and that day star arises in your hearts and you're sealed until the day of redemption, you have the capability to learn from the Bible, right? You now have the ability to go to the place of the oracle and read the oracles and to adopt these teachings and these principles in your life and make a difference and make change. And he's saying you can take these oracles and you can shine them in the dark places. And our world today is full of nothing more than dark places, right? I mean, there's darkness coming from everywhere. If you don't believe me, just turn on the next press conference that Jen Psaki does. And you know what it's going to be? It's going to be darkness pouring from her mouth. That's all it is. I heard her say something the other day, this is a little clip, and she's like, I know that a lot of Americans are just really frustrated with inflation and all these prices and the things that are going on in the world today. She's like, but all you got to do is just take a kickboxing class and drink a margarita and just have a good weekend. Everything about that is wrong. There's nothing wrong with taking kickboxing, except for the type she's talking about. There's some weak sauce stuff. She's not talking about real kickboxing, right? She ain't talking about that. Right? But what is she doing? Hey, drink your sorrows. Chug your sorrows. Okay? Look, that's darkness. What do we say about that? Hey, we've got the oracles of God and we're going to call you out. You wicked person. We're going to call you out. We're going to shine the oracles that we have that have been committed unto us, that we love, that we respect, that we cherish, and we're going to call out your garbage. And if people leave and get offended, oh well, you could cry me a river. Why don't you go get a sippy cup? I'll put some powdered milk in it for you. I'll even give you powdered soy milk. I don't really care. All I know is that you are weak and disgusting if that's your attitude, if you're offended over this stuff. Garbage. Look at verse 21, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. So how do we get the word of God? Well, it's 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 21. Peter's reminding us, hey, all this stuff in the Old Testament, and this is where people will sometimes twist this verse, they'll say, well, okay, that's true about the Old Testament, okay, but that doesn't mean the New Testament. Well, think about it. He just got done talking about his experience with the Lord Jesus Christ, which I get took place prior to his death on the cross, but it's still considered New Testament, okay? He's basically saying, hey, now that Christ has risen, I mean, he's actually, you know, in 2 Peter, this was written post-resurrection, so we can clearly see that. We can clearly come to the conclusion here that, you know what, all of the stuff that he's saying, all of the stuff that he's writing, all the stuff that happened after that in Acts chapter 1, Acts chapter 2, all of that stuff is New Testament. All of that stuff is prophecy. All that stuff is scripture. It's the word of God. That's what he's saying. He's saying we need these things in order to shine the light into the darkness of the world, but he's saying, hey, remember, the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, right? And he's saying, hey, it's the same thing right now, okay? This prophecy that he's giving didn't come by the will of man. Who taught him that? Go back to Matthew chapter 16 real quick. Go back to Matthew chapter 16 where we first started. Who taught him that? How was Peter able to say, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man? Well, look at verse number 15, again, where we first started. Well, let's back up. Verse 13, when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do men say that I, the son of man, am? And he said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some say Elias, others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Verse 15, he saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Verse 17, and Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Okay? So Peter remembered that teaching, and why did he remember that? Because when you're reading through the Gospel of John, what did Jesus say that he was going to do when he sent the comforter? He said, hey, I'm going to send the comforter, and he's going to bring to remembrance all of these things that I've taught you. I'm paraphrasing, but that's what he told them. And so obviously now he's writing down oracles of God. Peter is writing down scripture. He's messaging the churches, if you will, and he makes this statement in 2 Peter 1 21, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man. Okay? So obviously the prophecy of God never comes by the will of man. And he says, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Well was Peter moved by the Holy Ghost? Absolutely. Okay? Was the sons of Zebedee or were the sons of Zebedee, were they moved by the Holy Ghost? Was Paul? Was Thaddeus? I mean, let's go down the line here. Okay? What did Jesus say he was going to build? He's going to build his church. Okay? What are the keys that he gave to the apostles, really to all of us, so that people could have entry into the church, into the kingdom of God, the oracles, the word of God. Okay? So that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that when it says holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, that everything that we have today that is written down in our Bibles, and if you speak English, the King James Bible are the oracles of God. They are divinely inspired. They are not like other books. Okay? But again, most people today, they don't want to talk about this. They don't like this because it's divisive. You know, it sends money out the door or whatever. Go to Hebrews chapter one. And we're told, hey, God told the sons of Zebedee and Peter, and this message applied to all the apostles, hey, hear ye him. This is my beloved son. Hear ye him. Okay? Well, guess what? You read the New Testament, you're hearing him. You read Romans, you're hearing him. You reading Revelation, you're hearing him. You read Jude, you're hearing him. You read James, you're hearing him. Okay? It's a very simple concept. These men were moved by the Holy Ghost. God spake to them and they wrote those things down, and they are our oracles. Okay? Hebrews chapter one, look at verse one, it says this, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. So the writer of Hebrews is very clear and says, hey, yes, in Old Testament times, God had different or diverse ways of talking to people. Sometimes it was direct. Sometimes he would take this prophet, tell him a message and say, hey, go tell Elijah this, or go tell David this, and then they would go and they would prophesy the word of God, so on and so forth. They would have visions and all of this stuff. But look at verse number two, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son. Okay? Spoken past tense, meaning everything that he has to say to mankind right now has already been said. It's already been recorded. It has already been preserved. It is here for us, which means when someone gets up and says, hey, the Lord told me this, they are lying to you. Okay? You don't believe them. You don't trust them. If it didn't come from the pages of this book here, then it didn't come from God. It came from man. Verse two, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the world. So the Bible is very clear that the New Testament in and of itself is the word of God. They are also the oracles. They are different than other books on this planet here. Verse three, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person end up holding all things by the what? The word of his power. How is this planet still able to exist today? How is it that we are able even right now with all the trouble going on, how are we able to have joy? How are we still able to go and even get food or even get gas though it's expensive and even get all these things? How is that still possible? Because of his word, because his word is still alive. Jesus said, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. We have the lively oracles today. If we don't, then we're not a church. If we don't, then we're not getting people into the kingdom of heaven. That means that the entire New Testament is divinely inspired. It is from the mouth of God, every word, every jot, every single tittle. Who being the brightness of his glory, verse three, and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sin, sat down on the right hand of majesty on high. Okay, go if you would to John chapter 14. John chapter number 14, getting close to being done. John chapter number 14. So again, Hebrews, very clear that God, that Jesus Christ has spoken unto us in these last days by his son. We were told in Matthew chapter 17, by God the father, what? Hear ye him, okay? Very clear. Well, how do we hear him today? The word. God says, hey, hear ye him. It's what he told the apostles, right? We read in Hebrews, what? That God hath spoken, past tense, right? That he hath spoken unto us in these last days by his son. We're told to hear him. John chapter 14, look at verse 25, it says this, Jesus says, these things have I spoken unto you being yet present with you, look at verse 26, but the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. So when someone asks you, hey, okay, is it just the Old Testament that are the oracles or is it also the New Testament? What's your answer? It's the whole thing because he hath spoken to us in these last days by his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is telling us here, hey, but the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. And that's what the New Testament is. The New Testament is this verse right here. The New Testament, you start reading in Matthew and you go all the way to the end of Revelation. You know what that is? That is John 14, 26 in place, taking action. That's what that is. These are the oracles of God. This is what a church is supposed to be centered around. And again, a church is either centered around the oracles of God or the spectacles of man. And it's that simple. It's that simple. That's what it all boils down to. Go to 1 Peter chapter number one, 1 Peter chapter number one, and we will be done after this passage. Go to 1 Peter chapter number one. So when someone comes up and says, you know, the Bible's been written a thousand different times, translated this many different times, blah, blah, blah, you know, but I go to church, I teach Sunday school, I go to Stonehenge, I go to Rock Harbor, I love God. I'm a Jesus fan. I'm a Jesus follower. That's what they'll tell you. I'm a Jesus follower. They'll say that. You say, do you believe that the whole Bible is perfect without error? Of course not. That's what they'll say. That is exactly what they'll tell you. Of course not. You know what they're saying? They're saying that the apostles were not holy men of God. That is a blasphemous thing to say. It is blasphemy. Because Peter reminds us, hey, holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Jesus told the apostles, hey, guess what? I'm going to send a comforter and he's going to teach you all things. He's going to bring to remembrance all things and you're going to go out and you're going to help build these churches upon what? Upon the oracles, upon the foundation of God. First Peter chapter one, look at verse 19. So again, Peter says this, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, verse 20, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. Well, look, what do we say about the Bible in regards to eternity? It starts in eternity past and goes to eternity future, right? Well, that covers all the New Testament. That means that the New Testament are also the oracles of God. They are also divinely inspired, right? That's what he's saying here. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. How do we look at this manifestation? How do we even know about it? Because of the Bible, because of the oracles. You know, we should write that on the front, you know, people, well, the word Bible is not even in the Bible. Okay, fine then. Write oracles on it then, if that makes you feel better. Okay. I mean, come on. Verse 21 says this, who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God. Verse 22, seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. Unfortunately, today most people who call themselves Jesus followers hate our guts. You don't even have to say anything to them. All you have to do is, hi, I'm from Shield of Faith Baptist Church. Yeah, we're a Christian church. Get out. Boom. Shut the door, right? They don't have the oracles of God. That is why they act that way towards us. Okay. Verse 23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Be careful of people who might come up before their congregations and say, that's not talking about the Bible. That's not talking about the word of God. Okay. And when someone says that they are in the spirit of error is what they are because there's no way to gain entrance into the kingdom of God without the keys, which are what? The oracles. I have proven that today. There's no way around it. It's not up for debate. If somebody says, well, no, no, no, the seed, it's just Jesus, okay, great. How do people hear about Jesus? How do people get saved? How do people place trust on him? Do you just go up to him and say, hey, believe on Jesus? Does that work? No, because if you just say that and there are people out there that do it, I've seen it with my own eyes. I've heard it. I'm just going to go tell them that Jesus loves them and they're going to feel so overwhelmed and so overshadowed with love. They're just going to get saved. There are people that show up to so many times with that attitude. So when someone says, hey, well, that's just talking about Jesus, not the Bible. You know what they're doing? They're trying to separate Jesus from the word of God, which violates everything that John the Baptist or not John the Baptist, but the first John teaches. You cannot separate the two. These words are Jesus Christ. They came from him. They are his oracles. They are his commands, right? So being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. You see that? What does that mean? That means that these oracles live and abide forever. Man can try to change them. They can try to twist them. It doesn't matter. It doesn't work because he is stronger than man. Let God be true, but every man a liar. Verse 24, for all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away. Verse 25, but the word of the Lord endureth forever. So again, people will say stuff like this, you know, and I've got one preacher in mind right now who recently said this. He said that, you know, verse 23 is not just talking about the Bible. It's just Jesus. That makes no sense. You got to read everything. You got to read everything. Verse 25, but what? The what? The word. What are we talking about here? The word of the Lord endureth forever. You can't separate John 1, 1 from Jesus Christ. He is the word. But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And what is it? What comes next? And this is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you. Where do you obtain the gospel, the death, the burial and the resurrection? From the word of God, which comes from what we call the New Testament. Okay. Do you understand what's being said here? And this is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you, okay? That means that we take these oracles and we go out and we communicate them to other people. And if they receive them, you read verse 23, being born again, not of corruptible seed. Look, do I have to go to all the verses and talk about the word of God being the seed? Do we have to do that this morning? No, because you guys know this. You're smart. You understand this. But why are Baptists getting up and saying that's not what it's talking about? Does somebody want to come up here and tell me that? You don't want to talk to me about that. You know you don't. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Then he goes on and starts talking about the written word, right? Verse 25, but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And then it says, and this is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you. Why say that? Why is that important? What does that mean for us? That means that this entire book is inspired, all of it. There's no way around it. There's no debating. There's no, but this, but no, I proved it. These are the oracles of God. And just like how Solomon treated the oracle, the place, right? Which housed the arc of the covenant, which had what inside of it? The 10 commandments, which are what? The words of God, the oracles, okay? We need to have that same reverence and that same respect for the word of God. You say, I don't have time to read it. You don't have time not to read it. You absolutely have to read it. A church is either centered around the oracles or the spectacles. Sadly today, most people who call themselves Christians, and to be honest, most people that are Christians want to live their lives regarding spectacles instead of the oracles. Okay? So we're going to stop right there. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, again, for your word. We just pray that you would always to always keep teaching us, Lord, and help us to reverence this as the most necessary food, Lord, and that we would never lose our zeal to preach it and to learn from it, even though sometimes it hurts. We just thank you for that, Lord. And we just pray that you bless the fellowship after the service, Lord, the soul-winning and bring us back safely tonight. Thank you for all that you do for us in Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. All right, let's grab our hymn books one final time this morning, and we'll turn to song number 65, Just Over in the Glory Land. Number 65, Just Over in the Glory Land. On the first night, the home prepared, where the saints applied, just over in the glory land, and I long to be by my Savior's side, just over in the glory land, just over in the glory land, I'll join the happy angel band, just over in the glory land, just over in the glory land, there with the mighty hosts I'll stand, just over in the glory land. I am on my way to those mansions, they're just over in the glory land, there to sing God's praise and His glory share, just over in the glory land, just over in the glory land, I'll join the happy angel band, just over in the glory land, just over in the glory land, there with the mighty hosts I'll stand, just over in the glory land. What a joyful thought that my Lord I'll see, just over in the glory land, and with kindred saved there forever be, just over in the glory land, just over in the glory land, I'll join the happy angel band, just over in the glory land, just over in the glory land, there with the mighty hosts I'll stand, just over in the glory land. On the last, with the blood washed throng, I will shout and sing, just over in the glory land, loud zenas to Christ the Lord, and just over in the glory land, just over in the glory land, I'll join the happy angel band, just over in the glory land, just over in the glory land, there with the mighty hosts I'll stand, just over in the glory land. And brother Kevin, we're going to close with a word prayer. We're going to close with a word prayer. We're going to close with a word prayer. We're going to close with a word prayer. We're going to close with a word prayer. We're going to close with a word prayer. We're going to close with a word prayer. We're going to close with a word prayer. We're going to close with a word prayer.