Study through Obadiah, Thus saith the Lord God

Tonight I want us to continue through Obadiah. I had originally made a comment that we would be taking the time to deal with why God “hated Esau and loved Jacob”. However, I feel that we only have a few services to look into this book and I wanted us to see if we could find help in this book for our life.

The book opens with the words:

The vision of Obadiah

It is important to take note that only a few men in the Old Testament are said to have had a vision.

Balaam
Daniel
Isaiah
Obadiah
Nahum

We are certain that Balaam had a vision because he very clearly let us know that his eyes were open but he saw something different. We know that Daniel had a vision because we are clearly told that he saw these things. We are to assume because of this that Isaiah, Obadiah and Nahum also had a vision. I believe we could include the apostle John in this group as well. These visions were things that they were given a glimpse into what was coming and what would take place. We may touch on this a little bit this evening but I want us to focus on the next words:

Thus saith the Lord God

In this we find the most important aspect of our Bible. We read in Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,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 worlds;

And we read in the book of 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

From these two verses we can clearly see that the book we hold in our hand is a great and wonderful book. There is no other book like this on the planet. There has never been a book that has been so loved and yet so hated. The Soviets tried to strangle it out, the Chinese desire to destroy it. The Romans desired to destroy it. The organized church desired to hide it. Religion desired to chain it. Yet, through the power of God it was brought to you and me. Imagine gathering thirty plus different men. Each from different walks of life and different time periods. We are talking about over the time of 1,000’s of years and yet there is not one contradiction. Look at these truths.

Our Bible is perfect, Psalm 19:7, I Cor.13:10. This means that it contains no flaws or contradictions. If you find a contradiction then there is a problem with your interpretation.
Our Bible is pure and purified, Prov. 3:5, Psalm 12:6. This means that our Bible contains no moral failures, and has been purified over time. Praise the Lord, that we have a pure and purified book.
Our Bible is preserved, Psalm 119:89, Matt. 5:18. This means that it cannot be destroyed. Time cannot destroy it. Man cannot destroy it. Religion cannot destroy it. Satan cannot destroy it.
Our Bible is produced, Psalm 1:2-3. This book is one that is produced in our lives. It changes our lives. It improves our lives.
Our Bible is powerful, Hebrews 4:12, Rom. 1:16. The power of creation is wrapped up inside this book.
Our Bible is pullulating, Acts 12:24. This word means to sprout and grow. It is the greatest seed on this planet. It can grow like no other.
Our Bible is proved Psalm 18:3. Over all these years, there has not been one person who has taken the Bible as it is and not found it faithful. What a wonderful book.

What a wonderful truth this book is. In fact this book has much to say about itself:

Word of God 473 times
Word of the Lord 2,664 times
Thy Word 232 times
Thy Statutes 119 times
Words of the Lord 1205 times
Scripture 32 times
Thy law 169 times
Law of the Lord 769 times

However, I want us to stop and take a moment to consider something. Have you ever felt a nudge or thought enter your mind and you thought this must be from God. It is especially damaging to preachers. Many preachers, myself included, have found themselves the victim of the dinner the night before, or the emotional turmoil in their lives. They pounce on a supposed word and in that word they find that they were wrong. I have heard stories of individuals who have supposedly had a word from the Lord only to find that they were wrong. I can take you to two different individuals who thought the Lord had told them something only to find out they may have been wrong. One individual was convinced God wanted them in evangelism, and so because of this quit their job and ventured out without any scheduled meetings or any prospects, only to not be involved with that any longer. Then I can take you to an individual who thought God wanted them to go to a particular mission field, only to change it a few months later, only to change it once again. Have you ever sat there and thought, how do I know this is God? How can I be sure this isn’t me and this is God? I think that we must start in the very beginning and then I have five things that will prove God is speaking to you.

First, I think you should take note of this one and ultimate fact. This is the truth that the rest will swing on. God will never speak to you in any truth that goes contrary to scripture. Many people look for a sign in the sky. “If I see a cloud that looks like a country then I will know”. I was asking the Lord what he would have me do and I had a dream about a Chinese boy, and then the very next day I found a fortune cookie on my desk, so it must be a sign from God to be a missionary to China”. Look once again at the Book of Hebrews:

Here we are told how God spoke to those in the Old Testament and if you look we are told not that God is speaking to us through his Son, in a supernatural way, but rather has past tense spoken to us. That manner of speaking to us in the past tense is through the Bible. I found this advice to be clear in my own personal life. God will always direct you through his word. I am a firm believer that God uses his word as it says in Psalms.

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

From this truth we can find five facts about God speaking to us.

First, when God speaks to us, it will never allow or excuse sin (Psalm 119:111). The verse is clear that it is through the Word of God that we are allowed the power to escape and avoid sin in our lives. An individual who is actively involved in reading, and keeping the word of God, will have great difficulty in living in sin. However, I have heard people say things like, I prayed about it and God allows me to smoke. They say, “I have prayed about it and I have peace in listening to a particular carnal music”. They say, “I have prayed about it and I have peace laying out of church”. What they are saying is, God has given me the liberty to live in sin. Can I remind you that we are told in the book of Galatians to not use our liberty as an excuse to live in sin. When God speaks to you it will not lead you into any sin. That is a sin of commission, omission, or admission. God does not allow it.

Second, when God speaks to us it will always exalt Jesus not us (Acts 8:35). Notice what Philipp does when the word is opened. He preaches Jesus. Now we could sit here all day and speak on the fact that too many individuals who open the word do not use it to promote or exalt Jesus but rather to promote or exalt a political view, or a personal bias, or to wage a “spiritual war against another individual. However, I want you to understand that when God speaks to you it is never to exalt you. It is never to lift you up above him. Remember it is his son that was highly exalted. Remember it is his son that every knee will bow to. The preachers, teachers, and singers in our churches need to remember that we are not the focus of attention but rather he is the focus. In fact we need to remember that when God speaks he advises us to prefer our brother over ourselves.

Thirdly, when God speaks to us it will always divide truth from our emotions (Hebrews 4:12). This one may be difficult for us. I think there are a few truths we should recognize. First, we should recognize that we are emotional by nature. I think we were created in this way. Emotions are healthy. There are times when laughter is healthy. There are times when crying is healthy. There are times to be excited and times to be somber. We are emotional beings. However, I think we should take note that our salvation is not based upon our emotions. Too many Christians have found themselves with doubts because they base their salvation on how they feel instead of what the Bible says. I believe that emotions play a critical role in our lives and even in our salvation. Jude writes that some are brought in by fear, I know I was. I was fearful of hell. However, I was not saved because I was afraid. I was saved because of the facts found in God’s word. When I was in college I had a preacher tell me, never make a decision in the full control of your emotions. He advised me to pray about it and seek God’s word. When God speaks to you it sets aside your emotions. Now sometimes it will line up with your emotions, and sometimes will go against your emotions. When God speaks it is consumed with truth. Remember in John 17 he said that the words of God were truth.

Fourthly, when God speaks to us it will not lead to carnal divisions (I Cor. 2:13-3:4). There must be a disclaimer here on what I said. Do not twist what I said, I stated it correctly. When God speaks it does not lead to carnal divisions. I did not say it does not lead to a division. In truth there will be times that God will speak and there will be a division. Many pastors have found themselves right here. They have the Word of God, they have the Bible to back it up and yet those in the congregation would fight and war against it. There are times when God speaks that it will cause you and force you to divide from others. However, it does not cause carnal divisions. Too many people have gotten a word from God and used it as a holy bombing from God. I have experienced this in my own life. I have had people take scripture and use it like Jihadist would a bomb. This is not accurate and this is not right. God will never cause you to act in a manner that would be wrong and especially God would never cause you to use this book as an unholy weapon in a holy war.

Fifthly, when God speaks to us it will not always lead to the strengthening of your faith, not the diminishing of it (Rom. 10:17). Here is one I have always found interesting. The book of Romans tells us it is through this book that we find faith. This is saving faith, serving faith, sacrificing faith, sanctifying faith, and separating faith. It is faith that you will need throughout your life here on this earth as a believer. God has never told an individual to do something that would ultimately lead to the diminishing of their faith. I have been approached by church members in the past. The conversation goes something like this. Preacher, I have been praying and God has told us to head on down the road. I think he wants us to go somewhere else. I am not sure where yet, but he is leading that way. The next thing I find is this family is either not in church, or in a church where they are finding no spiritual help at all. God has never told a person to leave a church where they are getting spiritual help and attend a church where they are getting no spiritual help at all. I had an individual tell me one time, I think God wants me to work in youth ministry. I was taken aback because this individual had great difficulty even arriving at church to get spiritual help. God will never send you word and into something that will result in the diminishing or the harming of your faith.

The next time you think God is speaking to you, stop and first go to the scripture. Make sure what he says does not contradict the Bible.

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