II Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. II Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
We are going to take a short break from our study of I Peter to answer a question concerning visions and dreams. We are going to begin this study by laying a right foundation. I trust that those reading this will be able to “endure sound doctrine.” That is a key factor in life.
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
I Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
I Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
Acts 17:21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
Adam was created by God with a mind that could think and reason. He could name all the animals without the help of a computer, or a committee of men. Whatever he named them, God accepted that. Adam knew what he was doing. However, Adam chose to set that wisdom that he had received from God, aside. He chose to listen to a lie and that lie cancelled out the truth in his life for that time. Accepting that lie, plunged Adam into sin. He could never go back to where he was before that. He could be forgiven, but he could never go back to where he was before. He now had died spiritually and he would begin dying physically.
When we look at visions and dreams, and we look at some of the influential religions, we see that they were developed by men and women who were thinkers. The problem is that they were thinkers who were working in a vacuum.
Nimrod was a thinker. The Bible describes him as a mighty hunter before the LORD. He chose to fight against the LORD and the result was that he was able to lead other “sheep” who were not as bold as he was, but they were willing followers of his. He promoted the frame work of the world’s false religions. He encouraged the people to help him to build a tower that would reach to heaven. He wanted a works salvation that would bring all people together in self-effort. They would have bragging rights and they could feel good about their efforts.
Catholicism was developed out of a vision by an ungodly Roman leader named Constantine. The apostle Paul wrote about some of the false doctrines of Catholicism in I Timothy 4:3. Out of the vision of Constantine came a religion that sought to dominate the world. Out of that false religion came the Lutherans, Mennonites, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and a host of other religions.
The ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ is a false religion that was heavily influenced by a man named Taze Russell. He claimed to know the Greek Alphabet and he was instrumental in developing the “New World Translation.” In court it was proven that he did not know the Greek Alphabet. He was a fraud, but he imagined a religion that was appealing to far too many people.
Joseph Smith had visions and he developed Mormonism. The angel Moroni was supposedly a great ‘inspiration’ in his writings for his false religion. You notice that the root word of Moroni is moron. Joseph Smith should have thought about that a little bit.
Islam is another false religion that was developed by visions and dreams. A man called Mohammed supposedly had visions and dreams where he was guided to write down some things. There is a man named Robert Spencer who has done some research on Islam and on Mohammed, and he suggests that there never was a prophet named Mohammed. According to his research, Islam is a religion that is a very disjointed religion, but it too has many followers.
Seventh Day Adventism is another false religion that was developed by a Baptist preacher named William Miller. They became known as Millerites. Out of that rose up a woman named Ellen G. White. That religion also was developed by man’s imaginations. Ellen G. White claimed that as she read the Bible, the fourth commandment appeared to her as much bigger than the other nine. Far too many people follow that false religion as well.
The important fact that most people never stop to realize is that we MUST have a RIGHT FOUNDATION. It is also imperative to BUILD only on that right foundation. If we are too “intelligent” to submit to the Word of God, we will develop or accept one of the many brands of false religion that are spread across the world. God gave man the ability to think. Man can also imagine things and invent things. Some of the things man has invented are helpful, and many are not.
We will look further into these verses and others in the days to come. We will answer the question of the validity of visions and dreams in our time.
Pastor Bartel
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