I really want to say something positive here and not just negative.

In fact, most of what I have to say is positive and the first and main thing is to say, God really has spoken.

And this word is living and active. It's not a dead word.

He really speaks today through the inspired scriptures. He really, really does, Rylan.

He really does. Not just with information, but with himself by his spirit.

For Samuel 321, the Lord appeared at Shiloh for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the Word of the Lord.

That really happens. God stands forth from his inspired Word as we read it prayerfully and dependently.

And I would add this, that word in the Bible is more sure than anything you can hear outside the Bible.

I base that on 1 Corinthians 14, 37. If anyone thinks he's a prophet or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.

If anyone does not recognize this, he's not recognized. That's amazing. Paul is saying, you can call yourself a prophet and get messages from God.

You can call yourself spiritual and be tuned into God. But if anything you say doesn't accord with what I say, you're not recognized.

Which means that outside the Bible, we have fallible, uncertain impressions and messages inside the Bible.

Inside the Bible, we have rock, solid, dependable messages. So there are treasures and wonders and glories and dimensions of God to be seen in the Bible that we have scarcely seen.

It seems to me to be folly, to crave the lesser authority and the lesser riches outside the Bible than the riches and the greater authority that we've barely tasted, let alone digested inside the Bible.

Now, having said that positive thing about the Bible, that I love, I just love the Bible so much and I know that after what 60 years of reading my Bible, I've barely scratched the surface of glories.

I kind of get ticked, frankly, at myself and others who are craving stuff outside the Bible as though there's something better to be had out there.

Having said all that, I don't see anything in the Bible that would say God can't communicate with us in extraordinary ways outside the Bible.

And if he does, we should test it by his infinitely authoritative written word and we should commend it to those whose lives show a deep, long wisdom in Christ.

There's this community dimension to testing all things like Paul said, don't despise prophecies, test all things, hold fast to what is good.

That's just not a private thing. That's something we do with others as well.

Now, but I'll close with this, beware, Ryland, beware of craving the sensations of a voice, Jesus warned against those who seek a sign.

So here he is, he's standing there in front of the Pharisees and scribes, speaking and they say, give us a sign.

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