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This is a long and unedifying sermon, containing an astounding 10,650 words. It would have taken upwards of an hour and a half to speak, or longer. We have edited it to eliminate distraction.
Mr. Peters makes some astoundingly false claims. We seriously doubt his ability as a teacher of the Bible.
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Now as we begin, I want to define a couple of terms, because these are widely misunderstood. Revelation. Revelation refers to God revealing new information that has been previously hidden. So God revealing new information that up until this point has previously been hidden.
Revelation is not happening anymore today. You hear people say this all the time: “Well, God gave me revelation on this.” Well, no He didn’t, because God is not revealing anything new that has not already been revealed in Scripture. (Notice how Mr. Peters manipulates us by citing the Greek word meaning of "revelation," then impugns someone for the colloquial use of the word.)
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Now as we begin, I want to define a couple of terms, because these are widely misunderstood. Revelation. Revelation refers to God revealing new information that has been previously hidden. So God revealing new information that up until this point has previously been hidden.
Revelation is not happening anymore today. You hear people say this all the time: “Well, God gave me revelation on this.” Well, no He didn’t, because God is not revealing anything new that has not already been revealed in Scripture. (Notice how Mr. Peters manipulates us by citing the Greek word meaning of "revelation," then impugns someone for the colloquial use of the word.)
Now what may have happened to you is illumination. (Mr. Peters walks it back immediately.)
Illumination refers to the enabling work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers in order to understand and appropriate the truths of Scripture. (Mr. Peters immediately pivots to a misdirection, giving us a definition unmoored from any Bible reference. "Illumination" is phótizó; to shine, give light... I bring to light, make evident, reveal. The word is used 11 times in the NT, never referring to Scripture. So Mr. Peters makes a distinction without a difference.)
Revelation is not happening anymore today; illumination, however, is. Illumination should be a regular part, in fact, of the Christian’s life, as the Holy Spirit helps us to understand and appropriate the written Word of God. (Mr. Peters does not make a distinction between revelation and prophecy.
So you’ve got to listen for this little still small voice. And where does this still small voice come from? It comes from 1 Kings chapter 19, let’s look at it, 1 Kings 19; this is the King James Version. “And He said, ‘Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind which rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” Literally in the Hebrew, “The sound of a quiet whisper.”
“And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’” This is where the still small voice comes from. Dear friends, the still small voice was not some inner impression inside Elijah’s head. It was not internal to him, it was external to him. Notice it says that he went out of the cave to the entrance, and there he clearly heard the voice of God. (Mr. Peters rejects the idea of receiving impressions from the Holy Spirit, but he never demonstrates why this is wrong. Indeed, there are several examples of people receiving impressions in the Bible:
So it’s not something internal, it’s not some notion inside of his head; it was an external voice. So can we please do away with this whole still small voice thing? It was never intended to be some inside impression; it was external, not internal. But this is something that has worked its way into our evangelical lingo, and few people understand what this really is. It’s a terrible misuse of it. (Remember Mr. Peters was going to refute the idea that prayer is a two way street? When is that going to get discussed?)
Jesus says, “But you do not believe,” – why? – “because you’re not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” We see right there that the voice of the shepherd is connected to believing in the shepherd. And look at verse 28: “And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
Dear friends, this is not talking about God telling you where to go to have lunch one day or where to go buy your Thanksgiving Day turkey. This is salvation; this is regeneration; this is the effectual call. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give eternal life to them.”
Before you and I came to Christ, we were lost sheep, lost sheep wandering around out in the pasture of life, grazing, minding in our own business. But all of a sudden we hear a voice, and we lift our heads up, and we see the shepherd, and we go to Him. What a terrible trivialization of such a majestic, beautiful passage of Scripture of the Good Shepherd giving life to His sheep, not telling them where to go have lunch one day. This is a terrible trivialization of such a beautiful, deep, majestic passage of Scripture.
“I give eternal life to them; they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of My hand.” The Shepherd holds His sheep in His hand. If you’ve ever wondered about eternal security, dear friends, if you are His sheep, He is holding you in His hand, and you’re not getting out of that.
“I feel like the Lord might have said to me to tell you,” said nobody in the Bible ever. That is not something that you’ll find anywhere in the Scriptures. (Ac. 15:28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements...)
In the four Gospels, we have the record of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. In the book of Acts, we have a record of the early church in the spread of the gospel. In the pastoral epistles, we have loads of instructions about doctrine, about theology, about church polity, about the qualifications for elders, about how to resolve conflict amongst believers. We have loads of instructions about this. We have lots of information about eschatology in the future events in the end times, all these things. But there is nothing in the New Testament about how to hear the voice of God, nothing. If this was such a vitally important part of the life of the believer, don’t you think there would be something in the New Testament telling us how to actually hear the voice of God?
It’s not in there. Why isn’t it in there? Because it’s not necessary. It’s not necessary. Number one, God is only speaking to us today in the Bible. Number two, when God did speak in the biblical days, everybody knew exactly what He said; no need for instructions on how to hear the voice of God.
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So how does God speak to us today? Let’s go to the text. Hebrews 1:1 and 2, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days He has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” The writer of Hebrews says that in the old days, in the days of the prophets, in the Old Testament, God spoke in a lot of different ways. Indeed, He did. God spoke to Moses up on the mountain through a storm and thunder. God spoke to Elijah through that still small voice, which was an external voice – audible, external voice. In Numbers chapter 22, God even made a donkey talk. So God did indeed speak in many different portions and in many different ways.
“But in these last days,” – says the writer of Hebrews – “He has spoken to us in His Son.” Friends, Jesus is the final speaking of God, the final speaking of God. Everything that God has to say He has said to us in His Son Jesus Christ; and we have a perfect, inerrant, infallible, all-sufficient record of that in His Word. Jesus is the final speaking of God. (Indeed, Jesus. No mention of the Bible here. We discuss this verse in detail here.)
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1Co. 14:6 Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?
The two words are different.
Further, it is incorrect to say that God is not revealing anything new. For example,
Ro. 8:19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
This is the same word, apokalupsis. God is still revealing these sons of God.
It concerns us that Mr. Peters does not document his assertions with the Bible.)
This notion of God speaking today outside of the confines of Scripture can be traced back to a movement known as pietism – (Actually, the notion of God speaking today is traced back to Scripture.)
and there’s a lot that could be said about this. But pietism was a reaction to what was at least perceived to be a highly intellectualized, almost cold orthodoxy coming out of the Protestant Reformation. It was anything but. But some people perceived it to be rather too intellectualized. And so in the late 1600s, early to mid 1700s, this movement became known as pietism. Philip Spener was the father of pietism, and he was no heretic, but he began to deviate just a little bit from the sufficiency of God’s Word. (We always quibble with the the application of the word "sufficiency" as grossly misused by cessationists like Mr. Peters. We discuss "sufficiency" here.)
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You say, “Lord, this is what I’m facing; I’m not sure what to do. Lord, speak to me, I’m listening,” and you get real still and you listen real hard. (Mr. Peters thinks that God would remain silent, but he never demonstrates this with any Bible verse.)
And then after just a few seconds, what happens? A thought, right, just kind of flashes through our minds, and we think, “Oh, was that You, Lord, or was that me? Was that God or was that the pizza I ate tonight? How do you know when it’s God speaking to you? How do you know that that still small voice is really of God if God is supposed to be speaking back to us when we pray?”
You remember what the disciples asked Jesus in Luke chapter 11? “Lord, teach us to pray.” The ball is sitting on the proverbial tee waiting for Jesus to knock it out of the park and affirm what Robert Morris and the vast majority of evangelicals believe today, that prayer is a two-way street.
“Lord, teach us to pray.” (The disciples did not ask, "Lord, teach us to listen to God." It's this kind of misdirection and sloppy thinking that galls us.)
You remember what the disciples asked Jesus in Luke chapter 11? “Lord, teach us to pray.” The ball is sitting on the proverbial tee waiting for Jesus to knock it out of the park and affirm what Robert Morris and the vast majority of evangelicals believe today, that prayer is a two-way street.
“Lord, teach us to pray.” (The disciples did not ask, "Lord, teach us to listen to God." It's this kind of misdirection and sloppy thinking that galls us.)
What did Jesus say? “Okay, here’s how you do it. You talk to God, and then you get real quiet and you listen for that still small voice.” Is that what He said? No, He didn’t say that at all. He said, “When you pray, say this: ‘Lord, hallowed by Thy name,’” nothing about listening for some still small voice, nothing about listening for God to speak back to you. So this whole notion of prayer being a two-way street, that is foreign to the Word of God. There’s nothing in the Bible about that at all. (Mr. Peters argues his point from what is NOT in the Bible? Based solely on the Lord's prayer? What?
More to the point, does God gives specific answers to specific prayers? Can we receive information from God about our life issues and the decisions we are faced with? We believe the answer is yes:
Lk. 11:9-10 So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Ja. 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Mt. 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Mt. 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
Ac. 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.
Ja. 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
There are many instances in the Bible where people prayed and received answers. This is so simple that we wonder which Bible Mr. Peters reads.)
So what of this still small voice? We hear this all the time: “God speaks to us in quiet whispers and still small voices.” One example of this: this is a tweet from Beth Moore. Beth Moore says, “There’s a time to give up and a time to keep trying. Sometimes the time to keep trying feels a whole lot like the time to give up. The only difference is the still small voice of the Holy Spirit within you saying, ‘Try again.’ It’s not the same old Monday if they’re brand new mercies.”
So you’ve got to listen for this little still small voice. And where does this still small voice come from? It comes from 1 Kings chapter 19, let’s look at it, 1 Kings 19; this is the King James Version. “And He said, ‘Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind which rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” Literally in the Hebrew, “The sound of a quiet whisper.”
“And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’” This is where the still small voice comes from. Dear friends, the still small voice was not some inner impression inside Elijah’s head. It was not internal to him, it was external to him. Notice it says that he went out of the cave to the entrance, and there he clearly heard the voice of God. (Mr. Peters rejects the idea of receiving impressions from the Holy Spirit, but he never demonstrates why this is wrong. Indeed, there are several examples of people receiving impressions in the Bible:
1Ch. 13:1-2 David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our brothers...
Ac. 13:1-2 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'
Ac. 15:28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements..."
Ac. 20:23 "I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me."
Ro. 9:1 "I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit..."
2Th. 3:5 "May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance."
1Jn. 3:19-22 "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him."
Note that we have provided biblical citations to demonstrate our point, contrary to Mr. Peters, who has yet to use the Bible in any substantial way.)
So it’s not something internal, it’s not some notion inside of his head; it was an external voice. So can we please do away with this whole still small voice thing? It was never intended to be some inside impression; it was external, not internal. But this is something that has worked its way into our evangelical lingo, and few people understand what this really is. It’s a terrible misuse of it. (Remember Mr. Peters was going to refute the idea that prayer is a two way street? When is that going to get discussed?)
Speaking of terrible misuses, “My sheep hear My voice.” Watch this from Robert Morris. [Video starts] “So John chapter 10, look at verse 1. We’re talking about we’re sheep and we can hear God. ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens,’ – now watch this carefully – ‘and the sheep’ – watch – ‘hear his voice.’ Can you just say those three words? ‘Hear his voice.’”
“So John 10:27 to me is the most concise and comprehensive verse in Scripture about hearing God. It is when Jesus says, ‘My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me.’”
Practically every single book, every sermon that is out there about how to hear the voice of God cites John 10:27. This is the go-to text for God speaking to you somehow inside your head in some inner impression, “My sheep hear My voice.” Well, let’s look at this.
John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” This is universally used as the proof text that God speaks to us today outside of the confines of Scripture: “My sheep hear My voice.” But let’s look at it in context, beginning in verse 26. (No, the context does not begin at 10:26, it begins at 10:1. We discuss the passage in detail here.)
“So John 10:27 to me is the most concise and comprehensive verse in Scripture about hearing God. It is when Jesus says, ‘My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me.’”
Practically every single book, every sermon that is out there about how to hear the voice of God cites John 10:27. This is the go-to text for God speaking to you somehow inside your head in some inner impression, “My sheep hear My voice.” Well, let’s look at this.
John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” This is universally used as the proof text that God speaks to us today outside of the confines of Scripture: “My sheep hear My voice.” But let’s look at it in context, beginning in verse 26. (No, the context does not begin at 10:26, it begins at 10:1. We discuss the passage in detail here.)
Dear friends, this is not talking about God telling you where to go to have lunch one day or where to go buy your Thanksgiving Day turkey. This is salvation; this is regeneration; this is the effectual call. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give eternal life to them.”
Before you and I came to Christ, we were lost sheep, lost sheep wandering around out in the pasture of life, grazing, minding in our own business. But all of a sudden we hear a voice, and we lift our heads up, and we see the shepherd, and we go to Him. What a terrible trivialization of such a majestic, beautiful passage of Scripture of the Good Shepherd giving life to His sheep, not telling them where to go have lunch one day. This is a terrible trivialization of such a beautiful, deep, majestic passage of Scripture.
“I give eternal life to them; they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of My hand.” The Shepherd holds His sheep in His hand. If you’ve ever wondered about eternal security, dear friends, if you are His sheep, He is holding you in His hand, and you’re not getting out of that.
And as if that were not enough – and it is – but as if it were not enough, look at what Jesus says in verse 29. He says, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” As if His hand was not enough – and it is – but as if it wasn’t, He wraps, as it were, the Father’s hand around that of His own. What a beautiful passage, and what a terrible trivialization to reduce this text to something like God telling you where to go to get your Thanksgiving Day turkey.
(So the author claims the passage is solely about salvation. Apparently we can hear His voice at the moment of salvation but no other time. This is either ignorance or deliberate deceit. Let's quote the relevant parts of the passage:
Jn. 10:1-6 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
So we discover that the sheep are already sheep. They are "his own." They follow Him because they know the sound of His voice as He leads them about. Thus they are already His and are following His voice. And, because they know the voice of the shepherd they will never follow a stranger's voice.
Ironically, Jesus' hearers did not understand His figure of speech, not unlike the author.
The next excerpt:
7-16 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
Previously the Shepherd led them out [vs. 3]. But now He is the gate, and those who come in will be saved. Then the saved will come in and go out! So they come in [get saved], then come in and out under the watchful eye of the Shepherd, harkening to His voice. The Shepherd keeps his sheep safe because he is the Good Shepherd.
Then the Shepherd speaks of His other sheep whom He will also bring. They also will hear His voice and be part of the flock.
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After a brief detour in the narrative we arrive at the subject passage:
22-28 Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews gathered round him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand.
Given what John previously wrote, the meaning of Jesus' teaching is clear. Those who belong to Him are His sheep. The ones who are questioning Jesus are not. They do not believe Jesus, and thus are not his sheep. Then we find that those who did believe are His sheep, and they listen to His voice, they follow Him.
Mr. Peters deceives us.)
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Anytime I hear somebody say, “Well, yeah, I know God speaks in the Bible and I know that’s His Word, but I need something more,” here’s my question, here’s my question: “Have you mastered this Book? From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, you have completely mastered it; there is nothing else that you can glean from this Book, no more drops of truth you could possibly squeeze out of its pages; you have mastered it from cover to cover?” If the answer to that question is no – and it is – then please don’t tell me the Bible’s not enough. You don’t even understand what you have in black and white right in front of you. Please don’t tell me the Bible’s not enough. (We doubt any Christian has said the Bible is not enough. We also find Mr. Peter's argument about knowing every detail of the Bible to be puerile. There is no either/or here. Full knowledge of the Bible is not a scriptural precondition for the operation of the prophetic, or any other aspect of the Christian life for that matter.)
But it wasn’t enough for Sarah Young, and sadly, it is not enough for the vast majority of professing believers today. Sarah Young says this: “I decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I believed He was saying.” Houston, we have a problem. Just like the ladies who wrote God Calling, and they wrote down what He said, Sarah Young tuned into just the right frequency; and when she hit just the right frequency, Jesus started calling her and she began to write down what He said.
And if you have a copy of this book, I should say – well, I started to say read it. Don’t read it. But if you happen to have one, you might notice that all of the devotionals in there, 365 of them, all of them are written in the first person for Jesus Christ: “I Jesus am such and such. I will do this, I will do that.” They’re all written in the first person for Jesus. If Jesus really is calling Sarah Young and she is writing down what He is saying, you know what she’s doing? She’s writing Scripture. That’s what she’s doing, she’s writing Scripture, because God cannot speak less authoritatively on one occasion than He does on another. (Emphasis added.) Friends, if God is speaking, God is speaking, and whatever He says carries the exact same authority as does John 3:16 or Romans 10:9 and 10. (This preposterous claim is simply plopped down as if it was self-evident. But Mr. Peters points to no Scripture or Scriptural principle that says prophetic expression is the same as the Bible. Because there isn't a single verse that says so. We discuss this here.)
And it’s not just Jesus Calling, but every time someone says, “God spoke to me and said, quote, ‘Da-da-da-da-da,’” then whatever’s inside those quotation marks, that has just as much authority theoretically as any verse in Scripture. (Again, nothing in the Bible tells us this.)
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Anytime I hear somebody say, “Well, yeah, I know God speaks in the Bible and I know that’s His Word, but I need something more,” here’s my question, here’s my question: “Have you mastered this Book? From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, you have completely mastered it; there is nothing else that you can glean from this Book, no more drops of truth you could possibly squeeze out of its pages; you have mastered it from cover to cover?” If the answer to that question is no – and it is – then please don’t tell me the Bible’s not enough. You don’t even understand what you have in black and white right in front of you. Please don’t tell me the Bible’s not enough. (We doubt any Christian has said the Bible is not enough. We also find Mr. Peter's argument about knowing every detail of the Bible to be puerile. There is no either/or here. Full knowledge of the Bible is not a scriptural precondition for the operation of the prophetic, or any other aspect of the Christian life for that matter.)
But it wasn’t enough for Sarah Young, and sadly, it is not enough for the vast majority of professing believers today. Sarah Young says this: “I decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I believed He was saying.” Houston, we have a problem. Just like the ladies who wrote God Calling, and they wrote down what He said, Sarah Young tuned into just the right frequency; and when she hit just the right frequency, Jesus started calling her and she began to write down what He said.
And if you have a copy of this book, I should say – well, I started to say read it. Don’t read it. But if you happen to have one, you might notice that all of the devotionals in there, 365 of them, all of them are written in the first person for Jesus Christ: “I Jesus am such and such. I will do this, I will do that.” They’re all written in the first person for Jesus. If Jesus really is calling Sarah Young and she is writing down what He is saying, you know what she’s doing? She’s writing Scripture. That’s what she’s doing, she’s writing Scripture, because God cannot speak less authoritatively on one occasion than He does on another. (Emphasis added.) Friends, if God is speaking, God is speaking, and whatever He says carries the exact same authority as does John 3:16 or Romans 10:9 and 10. (This preposterous claim is simply plopped down as if it was self-evident. But Mr. Peters points to no Scripture or Scriptural principle that says prophetic expression is the same as the Bible. Because there isn't a single verse that says so. We discuss this here.)
And it’s not just Jesus Calling, but every time someone says, “God spoke to me and said, quote, ‘Da-da-da-da-da,’” then whatever’s inside those quotation marks, that has just as much authority theoretically as any verse in Scripture. (Again, nothing in the Bible tells us this.)
And so, you know what we ought to do? We ought to add that to this Book, because it should have the same authority. (Why? Again, nothing in the Bible tells us this.)
We should add it to this Book. There’s just one problem with that: this Book says, “Do not add to this Book.”
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Now watch this clip from Matt Chandler. [Video starts] “So let’s talk about what prophecy is and what prophecy isn’t. The ‘thus sayeth the Lord’ – look right at me – is over. Look at me. When this text is talking about prophecy, it’s not talking about the way Jeremiah prophesied or Isaiah prophesied. No, no, no. That’s closed, that’s canonized, so you will never prophesy in a way that’s on par, equal to, anywhere near the inerrant, infallible Word of God. That’s closed, shut. And so the best you’ve got, the best you’ve got is the humility to say, ‘I think the Lord would have me lay this before you.’” [Video ends]
A couple points to be made in this passage. Now I will say, this sermon, this particular sermon as I watched it, Matt Chandler, to his credit, did begin by saying, “I don’t want you to rely on me for your church. If you’d don’t go to this church,” he said, “I want you to go to your local church, and that’s important. And basically, don’t just rely on TV preachers for your church.” And that is commendable in and of itself. But this is full of error.
He says that when God – he affirms that God speaks to us today, but he says, “It’s not as inspired as Scripture is. It’s not like what God said to Jeremiah. It’s not like what God said to Isaiah. That’s canonized, that’s closed. But God still speaks to us today.” That is a false dichotomy. That makes no sense. As I said, dear friends, if God is speaking, God is speaking; and whatever He says should be just as authoritative as any verse in the Book. (Yet again Mr. Peters repeats his false assertion. But he will never offers any evidence at all this is true.)
God cannot speak less authoritatively on one occasion than He does another. (Another pithy saying divorced of context and completely undocumented. Mr. Peters seems to think that authoritative means "included in the Bible." Yes, all God's utterances are true, powerful, and majestic. But God has spoken many things that are not contained in Scripture. Many prophecies have been spoken without them being included in the Bible.
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Now watch this clip from Matt Chandler. [Video starts] “So let’s talk about what prophecy is and what prophecy isn’t. The ‘thus sayeth the Lord’ – look right at me – is over. Look at me. When this text is talking about prophecy, it’s not talking about the way Jeremiah prophesied or Isaiah prophesied. No, no, no. That’s closed, that’s canonized, so you will never prophesy in a way that’s on par, equal to, anywhere near the inerrant, infallible Word of God. That’s closed, shut. And so the best you’ve got, the best you’ve got is the humility to say, ‘I think the Lord would have me lay this before you.’” [Video ends]
A couple points to be made in this passage. Now I will say, this sermon, this particular sermon as I watched it, Matt Chandler, to his credit, did begin by saying, “I don’t want you to rely on me for your church. If you’d don’t go to this church,” he said, “I want you to go to your local church, and that’s important. And basically, don’t just rely on TV preachers for your church.” And that is commendable in and of itself. But this is full of error.
He says that when God – he affirms that God speaks to us today, but he says, “It’s not as inspired as Scripture is. It’s not like what God said to Jeremiah. It’s not like what God said to Isaiah. That’s canonized, that’s closed. But God still speaks to us today.” That is a false dichotomy. That makes no sense. As I said, dear friends, if God is speaking, God is speaking; and whatever He says should be just as authoritative as any verse in the Book. (Yet again Mr. Peters repeats his false assertion. But he will never offers any evidence at all this is true.)
God cannot speak less authoritatively on one occasion than He does another. (Another pithy saying divorced of context and completely undocumented. Mr. Peters seems to think that authoritative means "included in the Bible." Yes, all God's utterances are true, powerful, and majestic. But God has spoken many things that are not contained in Scripture. Many prophecies have been spoken without them being included in the Bible.
There is no biblical evidence at all that God is unable to speak things apart from the Bible.)
God cannot speak in the Bible and really, really, really mean it. But when He speaks to us today outside of the Bible, He still means it, but He doesn’t mean it quite as much as He meant it here. How does that work? If God is speaking, God is speaking. This is a degradation of the authority, and especially the sufficiency of Scripture. (Again and again Mr. Peters makes pronouncements without a shred of Scripture cited.)
Sam Storms, his book entitled Practicing the Power, the foreword, interesting, was written by Matt Chandler. But notice how Matt Chandler says, “The best we can do today is say, ‘I feel like the Lord is saying such and such.’” Sam Storms picks up on this. He says, “Dramatic pronouncement aren’t helpful. Avoid saying things like, ‘Thus sayeth the Lord,’ or, ‘This is the word of the Lord for your life.’” He says, “Avoid those things; they aren’t helpful. We have found that it is better to introduce prophetic utterances with statements such as, ‘I have a strong inner impression that I believe is from the Lord. I had a sense from the Holy Spirit,’ or, I had a dream which involved several of you.’ So we shouldn’t say things like, ‘Thus sayeth the Lord, we should say instead, ‘Well, I feel like the Lord is saying such and such.’”
This whole premise rests on a fatally flawed assumption that somehow prophecy in the New Testament is a degraded version of prophecy in the Old Testament. (Actually, NT prophecy is simply different than OT prophecy. Any Bible student casually acquainted with Scripture would see this.
Sam Storms, his book entitled Practicing the Power, the foreword, interesting, was written by Matt Chandler. But notice how Matt Chandler says, “The best we can do today is say, ‘I feel like the Lord is saying such and such.’” Sam Storms picks up on this. He says, “Dramatic pronouncement aren’t helpful. Avoid saying things like, ‘Thus sayeth the Lord,’ or, ‘This is the word of the Lord for your life.’” He says, “Avoid those things; they aren’t helpful. We have found that it is better to introduce prophetic utterances with statements such as, ‘I have a strong inner impression that I believe is from the Lord. I had a sense from the Holy Spirit,’ or, I had a dream which involved several of you.’ So we shouldn’t say things like, ‘Thus sayeth the Lord, we should say instead, ‘Well, I feel like the Lord is saying such and such.’”
This whole premise rests on a fatally flawed assumption that somehow prophecy in the New Testament is a degraded version of prophecy in the Old Testament. (Actually, NT prophecy is simply different than OT prophecy. Any Bible student casually acquainted with Scripture would see this.
We discuss this in great detail here.)
They all have to affirm that Old Testament prophets were held to a standard of 100 percent perfection in what they spoke. And if any prophet, so-called prophet spoke something that was not from the Lord, well, we all know what was called upon to do to that so-called prophet; he was to be put to death. (So why doesn't Mr. Peters administer the clear prescription of Scripture regarding false prophets?)
And so, they’ve got to somehow degrade New Testament prophecy, and they say, “It’s just not the same. We’re not held to the same standard.” But there’s nothing in Scripture to indicate that that is the case. (This is spectacularly false. Mr. Peters appeals to Scripture that he refuses to quote.
Again we refer the reader to our explanation.)
New Testament prophets were held to the same standard as Old Testament prophets. (Another undocumented pronouncement. We long for a biblical exposition from the author, but none will be forthcoming.)
There’s no degradation in the gift of prophecy from Old Testament to New Testament.
But what of this whole notion that, “I feel like the Lord said to me, I feel like the Lord said this to me”? Well, let’s look in Scripture. “The word of the Lord came to Abram. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel. The word of the Lord came to Elijah.” Even in the New Testament, when the Holy Spirit spoke, He spoke very clearly, very precisely: “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Again Mr. Peters misdirects. Let's quote the verses:
But what of this whole notion that, “I feel like the Lord said to me, I feel like the Lord said this to me”? Well, let’s look in Scripture. “The word of the Lord came to Abram. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel. The word of the Lord came to Elijah.” Even in the New Testament, when the Holy Spirit spoke, He spoke very clearly, very precisely: “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Again Mr. Peters misdirects. Let's quote the verses:
Ac. 13:1-3 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Perhaps Mr. Peters could explain how this has any similarity at all to OT prophets?
- Did the Holy Spirit speak here with an audible voice?
- Did all the prophets heard these words or just one?
- If it was one, which prophet heard it?
- Which, if any, prophet spoke it?
- Was there a "thus saith the Lord?"
We would ask Mr. Peters where the idea of a prophetic word by committee has ever been delivered prior to that moment.)
“I feel like the Lord might have said to me to tell you,” said nobody in the Bible ever. That is not something that you’ll find anywhere in the Scriptures. (Ac. 15:28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements...)
Dear friends, if you have to wonder whether or not God spoke to you, He didn’t. (Mr. Peters makes pronouncement after pronouncement without a single bit of documentation.)
If you have to wonder whether or not God spoke to you, He didn’t. When God spoke in the Bible – and it wasn’t nearly as often as what a lot of people think. Some people had this idea that God was just speaking all the time, everywhere, and all throughout the Bible to everyone. He really wasn’t. There were major characters in the Bible who went their entire lives, never heard God say anything. Nehemiah never heard God say anything. (This is problematic. Nehemiah wrote a book of the Bible, which makes him a prophet by definition.
Indeed, one of his prophecies is included in his book:
Ne. 5:13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied!”
This is a prophecy. Again the author thinks that because there was no specific indication in the Bible that God spoke to Nehemiah that God never spoke to Nehemiah. This is faulty logic.)
But when God did speak, it was crystal clear. (This is getting tiring. Will Mr. Peters EVER quote the Bible or make a biblical defense?
He again argues from silence. "All the things God spoke in the Bible" is a subset of "all the things God ever spoke.")
There was no ambiguity about what God said. There was none of this, “Was that You, Lord, or was that me?” (Um, no.
There was no ambiguity about what God said. There was none of this, “Was that You, Lord, or was that me?” (Um, no.
1Sa. 3:4-5 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Jn. 12:28-29 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Ac. 9:4-7 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.
Again we question Mr. Peter's competence.)
You won’t find that modeled anywhere in Scripture. Whenever God spoke, people knew exactly what He said, and they knew exactly who was who said it. The only exception to that was the boy Samuel when he heard God calling him by name three times. (Ah, so Mr. Peters did know about at least one exception, and concedes. But he immediately parses the example and proclaims it to be not applicable.)
But even at that, Samuel still knew exactly what God said, he just was a little unclear first who it was who said it. (Lame objection. The issue has been, "who's voice" not "what did he say?" Mr. Peters is trying to change the subject.)
But he knew exactly what he said. But he was just a boy. Nowhere in the Bible will you find anyone saying something like, “I think the Lord might be trying to tell us such and such.” That is a concept that is absolutely foreign to the Word of God. (We have already cited verses demonstrating this is false.)
Now, have you ever thought about this? All of these books on how to hear the voice of God – The Power of a Whisper, Robert Morris’ book Frequency, Priscilla Shirer’s book Knowing the Voice of God – all of these books, I mean, bookshelves in Christian bookstores practically sag under the weight of books telling you seven easy steps to know the voice of God. Have you ever wondered if hearing the voice of God was so vitally important for us as New Testament believers, why are there absolutely no instructions anywhere in the New Testament about how to actually hear the voice of God? You ever wondered that? (Mr. Peters seems to have forgotten his premise, that the prophetic word of God is unmistakable and unmistaken. Now he wonders why there is no instruction regarding something that is unmistakable and unmistaken. Hmm.
Now, have you ever thought about this? All of these books on how to hear the voice of God – The Power of a Whisper, Robert Morris’ book Frequency, Priscilla Shirer’s book Knowing the Voice of God – all of these books, I mean, bookshelves in Christian bookstores practically sag under the weight of books telling you seven easy steps to know the voice of God. Have you ever wondered if hearing the voice of God was so vitally important for us as New Testament believers, why are there absolutely no instructions anywhere in the New Testament about how to actually hear the voice of God? You ever wondered that? (Mr. Peters seems to have forgotten his premise, that the prophetic word of God is unmistakable and unmistaken. Now he wonders why there is no instruction regarding something that is unmistakable and unmistaken. Hmm.
It then requires a gargantuan effort to ignore the testimony of Scripture. If Mr. Peters were to become acquainted with the biblical testimony he would withdraw his question:
Ep. 1:17-18 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened...
1Co. 14:32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.
1Co. 2:12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
Ep. 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Ro. 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
It’s not in there. Why isn’t it in there? Because it’s not necessary. It’s not necessary. Number one, God is only speaking to us today in the Bible. Number two, when God did speak in the biblical days, everybody knew exactly what He said; no need for instructions on how to hear the voice of God.
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So how does God speak to us today? Let’s go to the text. Hebrews 1:1 and 2, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days He has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” The writer of Hebrews says that in the old days, in the days of the prophets, in the Old Testament, God spoke in a lot of different ways. Indeed, He did. God spoke to Moses up on the mountain through a storm and thunder. God spoke to Elijah through that still small voice, which was an external voice – audible, external voice. In Numbers chapter 22, God even made a donkey talk. So God did indeed speak in many different portions and in many different ways.
“But in these last days,” – says the writer of Hebrews – “He has spoken to us in His Son.” Friends, Jesus is the final speaking of God, the final speaking of God. Everything that God has to say He has said to us in His Son Jesus Christ; and we have a perfect, inerrant, infallible, all-sufficient record of that in His Word. Jesus is the final speaking of God. (Indeed, Jesus. No mention of the Bible here. We discuss this verse in detail here.)
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It's time to end this. Mr. Peters has amply demonstrated his simple ignorance.
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