0:00:00 - 0:00:26 Revelation learning and discerning this talk is part two of two. If you haven't caught part one, please start there. OK, continue our discussion. So where does revelation come from? There are three sources, God Satan and self. Uh just to give a kind of a preview of each of these three. The key idea of 0:00:25 - 0:00:54 revelation from God is that it benefits the world. Second EPH 2624 says He meaning Jesus doeth nothing doeth not anything. Save it be for the benefit of the world. Uh There's a lot to that idea, but basically the benefit of the world means what improves given everything. So uh it's not just about what 0:00:54 - 0:01:16 you want or what helps you, it's what helps you in the context of everything else. And that's uh God's Modus Oper operandi. And, and that's what uh you can use to detect revelations that come from Him. So, what about Satan? Well, Satan, the key idea is he's a liar from the beginning and we'll talk more 0:01:16 - 0:01:36 about what that means. But that's sort of the, the flashing red light that something is from Satan and then there's self and the key idea to that is that the natural man is an enemy to God. So let's dig into that one first. So self, uh basically, the key idea here is what feels good. That's what the 0:01:36 - 0:01:55 natural man is going to go for. So in Mosiah 319, we read for the natural man as an enemy to God and has been from the fall of Adam and will be for ever and ever unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit and put, put off the natural man and become a saint through the atonement of Christ, the 0:01:54 - 0:02:18 Lord and become as a child, submissive meek, humble patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him even as a child doth submit to his father. So key key high notes here uh unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, you know words in the scriptures 0:02:17 - 0:02:38 , they're used intentionally. And when we look at this and we see the words yields and to the enticing of the Holy Spirit yields and enticing. Those are strong uh connotation words. And when you yield to something you think of, you know, driving onto a highway and you see a yield sign, what does this 0:02:38 - 0:02:56 mean? It, it means that there are a lot of cars coming, they're probably going at a different speed than you and in a slightly different direction. So to yield to the enticing of the Holy spirit means that by default, what you're doing is not going to be the same, right? It requires you to yield to something 0:02:56 - 0:03:22 else, something better. And as you put off the natural man or you don't do what your self tells you to do, then uh you're submitting to all things which the Lord sees fit to inflict. Inflict is another charged word and it's very intentional. So, um this isn't cotton candy and puppies, right? And so the 0:03:22 - 0:03:51 Lord is going to uh entice you to act differently than you would by nature or naturally or by default. So usually if it's anything different that's coming from self, right? So in Proverbs 37, we read be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil to be wise in your own eyes. It means 0:03:50 - 0:04:14 to see what you're doing as good, right? So when you fear the Lord or you defer to the Lord in all things, you depart from evil, you depart from what you would do. Otherwise. Proverbs 16 2, all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes. Human beings are highly skilled at justifying what they want to 0:04:14 - 0:04:34 do. It doesn't matter what you want to do. Chances are you can come up with a really good reason for why you're doing it. That is not the truth. The truth is probably because you feel like it, the truth is probably because it feels good. But those aren't good reasons to do things. So the way you yield 0:04:34 - 0:05:00 to the spirit as we read before in Mosiah 319 is you can ask if this reflects your understanding of God. So think about your, your best sincere understanding of God's character and overlay that on your situation. I mean, the, the trite way of thinking about this is asking what would Jesus do, but there's 0:04:59 - 0:05:21 , there's a lot of value in that. So think about that and yield to whatever you come up with now, maybe you're thinking. But what about the Pharisees? Because didn't they do that? And it kind of turned out badly for them? Well, not exactly. So the Pharisees, they, they didn't actually care about God 0:05:21 - 0:05:42 . They cared about their traditions, they cared about the security. They believed their positions gave them uh the prestige. They, they had the honors of men and their income and they cared more about that than what their sincere idea of God was. In fact, this uh this their, their beliefs, their traditions 0:05:41 - 0:06:02 had replaced uh their relationship with God. So they had an idea of God but not a relationship with Him. So your understanding of God is not the same as your tradition, right? So you might, so we, we use words, we throw around words like belief and tradition and it's dangerous because we should get really 0:06:02 - 0:06:27 specific and when we get really specific, we can learn a lot. So when we say belief. Um We could mean several things but what we probably mean is what we would like to believe that we believe. So, if you say, I believe in God, um what you actually believe is probably far less than what you've been exposed 0:06:26 - 0:06:49 to. So what I mean by that is if you told me, I believe in God and I pulled out the scriptures, I could probably read very many passages that conflicted with what, how you act and how you feel and what you think about certain things. And I'd pull it right from the scriptures. And I'd say if God said 0:06:48 - 0:07:05 this and you say you believe in God, but you believe this other thing, how do those things match up? So what, what you actually mean when you say you believe in God is that you believe in what you believe. And you'd like to think that that's also what God wants you to believe, but that's actually your 0:07:05 - 0:07:24 tradition. It's not your understanding of God because if I read to you a verse that you've heard before and you say, yeah, yeah. But you know, here's this reason why I don't actually do that thing or why I do that thing that actually conflicts with what God said about it. There's a difference between 0:07:24 - 0:07:43 our understanding of God and our tradition and it's important to reconcile these things. The Pharisees didn't do that. Um And this is the difference between self and God as Well, right. Anyway, um we could talk more about this, but I think that's, that's probably good enough. It's about the spirit of 0:07:43 - 0:08:07 the law. So, uh here it's probably appropriate to make a few points about more points about the Pharisees in terms of self. So the Pharisees thought they knew everything there was uh to know that everything they did know was everything there is to know they rejected. Um What Jesus was revealing to them 0:08:07 - 0:08:25 about the limitations of their understanding. And uh when you believe these things, when you think, you know everything there is to know. And when you're not open to replacing what you know, with something better than that, by definition is damnation, it means you will, you will grow no further in the 0:08:25 - 0:08:50 gospel. You will not grow closer to God. And in fact, as we talked about in part one, you'll uh you'll actually grow away from Him. OK? So now that self is out of the way, let's talk about God and Satan as sources of putative revelation. So um here's a dichotomy. So God, he teaches you to come unto Jesus 0:08:49 - 0:09:14 . Satan, he invites you to stay as you currently are. So if you find yourself uh inclined not to change, to stay, to remain the same that that may be from Satan, God shows you how great He is. Satan shows you how great you are. So if you find yourself uh invited to believe something different and you 0:09:14 - 0:09:35 reject that because if it implied you're not so great, that's probably from Satan. God uplifts you, but it's usually harrowing. He uplifts you by showing you how great He is not how great you are. And by doing that, he invites you to grow. Well, Satan wants to gratify your pride. He wants to tell you 0:09:35 - 0:09:55 , look, you're already great. You don't have to change. Just stay the way you are. You're good enough, et cetera. God encourages you while He's chastening you. He appears by your side and as you stumble and he says, get up, you have this bright future ahead. Let's get moving, but it's always, let's get 0:09:55 - 0:10:19 moving. Let's keep growing, let's move forward. Satan makes you feel good about how you are right now. God reveals things how they really are and how, what you currently believe is incomplete or incorrect. Satan will rationalize the contradictions between reality and what you currently believe. He'll 0:10:19 - 0:10:43 give you AAA long list of excuses for why you don't literally do what God tells you to do. Uh God will teach you that you can only get what you want through becoming better. Satan teaches you that you can have anything you want without changing who you are. Those last two are fundamental. OK. So this 0:10:43 - 0:11:04 feeds into why Satan is a liar from the beginning in Alma five. Uh during this long sermon, Alma is given, giving, he says, or otherwise, can you imagine? Can you imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse. Having a remembrance of all your guilt 0:11:03 - 0:11:22 . Yeah, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness. Yeah. Your remembrance that ye have set at defiance, the commandments of God. I say unto you, can you look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up having the image of God engraven upon your countenances 0:11:21 - 0:11:40 ? Behold my brethren. Do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the Kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob and also all the holy prophets whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white. I say unto you nay, except you make our creator a liar from the 0:11:40 - 0:11:59 beginning. Or suppose that He is a liar from the beginning. You cannot suppose that such can have place in the Kingdom of Heaven, but they shall be cast out for they are the Children of the kingdom of the devil. So Satan is a liar from the beginning. Why? Because He teaches that there is another way 0:11:58 - 0:12:25 to obtain the image of God engraven upon your countenance without obeying the commandments of God. The spirit teaches uh things as they really are in DNC 93. We read truth is knowledge of things as they are and as they were and as they are to come and whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit 0:12:25 - 0:12:52 of that wicked one who is a liar from the beginning. So God knows all things and He gives us commandments to help us prepare to learn all things. Uh His commandments are a pathway to obtain the knowledge that he has. Satan offers us an alternative. He says, you don't actually have to uh reconcile to 0:12:52 - 0:13:18 reality in order to obtain a knowledge of all things. And this is very important. Almost every temptation from Satan can clearly be defined as a deviation from reality in some way or another and conquering it and overcoming all things requires knowledge because we learn how things really are. And this 0:13:18 - 0:13:41 clarifies the actions we should take and the character we should obtain so we can plug this in and, and use it to detect when putative revelation is actually from Satan because you'll notice that when, when he hands you something, it's always going to, to um deviate from what God said in some way and 0:13:41 - 0:14:00 try to convince you that there's some other way to obtain what you want. So in Moses, one, it says the presence of God withdrew from Moses and it came to pass that Satan came tempting him saying Moses son of man worship me. So here we should expect where's, where's the liar from the beginning going to 0:14:00 - 0:14:17 come out? And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said, who art thou for behold, I am a Son of God and the similitude of His only begotten. And where is thy glory that I should worship thee? For? Behold, I could not look upon God except His glory should come upon me and I were transfigured 0:14:17 - 0:14:36 before Him, but I can look upon thee. And the natural man is it not so surely blessed be the name of my God for his spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me or else where is thy glory? For? It is darkness unto me. And I can judge between thee and God for God said unto me, worship God for Him only 0:14:35 - 0:15:02 shall thou serve. Get thee hence Satan to see me. Not. So Moses was able to discern that the putative revelation was from Satan. That this information from Satan was from Satan. It wasn't from God. Why? Because he had experience with God because he had experience with God. He was able to discern between 0:15:01 - 0:15:27 good and evil. He was able to discern reality from the alternative that Satan was offering. So in Hebrews 514, Paul wrote, but strong meat belonged to them that are of full age. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So as we experience putative revelation 0:15:26 - 0:15:47 , we have to learn to discern between the sources between the putative revelations that come from self, the ones that come from Satan and the ones that come from God. It's not going to be a piece of cake. It's, it's going to take practice and it's going to take a sophisticated approach. It's not something 0:15:47 - 0:16:08 you can do with a childish mind. You have to actually use the, the senses that God has given you and learn to detect these things and you have to acquire experiences with God so that you have a baseline to compare these things to so that you have a better understanding of reality and you can detect when 0:16:08 - 0:16:33 Satan is trying to sell you something that conflicts with things as they really are and as they will be. So, um when it comes from God, it improves. So how do you know if something improves? Well, it's 100% dependent on your level of awareness. So think about this, if your child, um let's say you're 0:16:33 - 0:16:51 an eight year old child and you want to watch a movie and your parents say no, you probably think that watching that movie is a good thing, right? But your parents know that actually you should go spend time reading a book or cleaning your room first or whatever it is or maybe the movie itself isn't 0:16:51 - 0:17:10 a great movie to watch, but you don't know any of that because you're an eight year old kid. Well, over time, your awareness is going to change your understanding of what's good and what's bad is going to change your understanding of what improves is going to change. So in Maroni seven, there's a long 0:17:09 - 0:17:26 sermon about good and evil and here's just a part of it, it says for behold my brethren, it is given unto you to judge that ye may know good from evil. And the way to judge is as plain that ye may know with the perfect knowledge as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the spirit of Christ 0:17:25 - 0:17:47 is given to every man that ye may know good from evil. So it's interesting here because when we talk about knowing the difference between good and evil, it seems like it's a complicated, difficult thing to do, right? If we're the one of the purposes of this life, um, is to learn to discern the difference 0:17:46 - 0:18:08 between good and evil. And as Paul said, if we read just recently that it's something that takes, use to practice and get good at. But here in Maroni seven, we read that the way to judge is as plain as the difference between daylight and dark night. So the question is, how do we cross that gap? Because 0:18:08 - 0:18:31 uh these two things don't seem alike. Well, it turns out it turns out that we aren't born with the recognition of a difference between daylight and dark night. A baby doesn't know the difference between those two things. So how did you come to learn the difference? Well, through your experience, right 0:18:30 - 0:18:50 ? Someone said, hey, this is daylight, this is dark night. You start to notice that there's a difference between bright light and lack of light and so on. And if you think of the number of times you've had to practice this difference, it's an awful lot. Right? Well, it's no different with revelation 0:18:50 - 0:19:18 . So we learn good and evil through our experience and our experience increases. Uh And so does our discernment. So Matthew seven, the Lord gives an interesting parable and this is about the, the foundation in the house and it illustrates how we can learn what improves. So uh he said, therefore, whosoever 0:19:18 - 0:19:37 heareth these things, these sayings of mine and do with them. I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock 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 and every one that heareth these sayings 0:19:37 - 0:19:55 of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. This parable ties together all the things we've been talking about. Uh in 0:19:55 - 0:20:19 part one and in this part two, what's the difference between the, the house built on the rock and the house built on sand? Well, there is no difference until and unless the floods come and the winds blow, right. It's, it's not until that happens, that a difference is manifest. So, when you're talking 0:20:19 - 0:20:42 about putative truth or truth that you believe right now, that's good enough for now. What's the difference and how are you going to tell the difference between what's, what's true? Uh What was good in the past? What's good for the future? What's good but not best and so on. Well, you wait until the 0:20:42 - 0:21:06 storms come and like it or not, they will come in life. A lot of the challenges we have in life are to manifest what is better. Uh There is a handicapped man that the Lord healed. And the Pharisees said, who is the sinner? Him or his parents? And Jesus said neither, but this was done to manifest the 0:21:06 - 0:21:26 power of God. And so it is with truth, we're hit with afflictions left and right throughout life. And one of the purposes of this, a main purpose is to manifest the weaknesses of what we currently believe. So we have reason to believe that there's something better and so we can recognize what is better 0:21:26 - 0:21:49 . So what improves is a function of our experience, our awareness. And it's also a function of what we're going through. Sometimes in the most troubling times, we can grow the most because we will be able to see better than we otherwise would. What's most valuable in terms of putative truth. We'll be 0:21:49 - 0:22:15 able to identify that what we currently believe is insufficient and we'll know how and what specific ways and then we'll be able to retain that um necessity as we investigate putative truth, that might be better than what we had before. So how will you know whether something is true or not? So, the point 0:22:15 - 0:22:35 I want to make here is that what is right, is not what makes me feel good? Those are independent ideas. They may be the same, but in all likelihood, they will not be DNC eight reads. Behold, I say unto you that you must study it out in your mind, then you must ask me if it be right and if it is right 0:22:35 - 0:00:00 , I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you. Therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right, you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong. Therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred. 0:00:00 - 0:23:22 Save it be given you for me. This scripture has been quoted many times and I'm not sure that the actual meaning is uh always captured. So this burning of the bosom is the feeling that the idea is right. It's not the feeling that you feel good, it's not the feeling that it is fun or exciting or good or 0:23:22 - 0:23:46 any of these things. It's a feeling that it is right many times. What is right hurts many times what is right causes cognitive dissonance as the spirit reveals to us the limits of what we currently believed or that what we believed before was wrong. Those things do not feel good as we talked about. In 0:23:46 - 0:24:08 part one. Aye did not feel good to see these people he cared about burned at the stake. He did not feel good to lose everything he owned. To be disowned by his father and his Kindred and his friends and to be cast out of the place he had lived his whole life that didn't feel good, but he did feel that 0:24:07 - 0:24:38 it was right. So what's a stupor of thought? Well, is it just this sort of blankness in the mind or I can't focus or it certainly isn't cognitive dissonance. It isn't feeling bad. So, what is it? Well, it's all about information, right? Um So a stupor of thought is a lack of information. There's a difference 0:24:37 - 0:25:04 between uh what you know is true. So it is right in the, in the previously cited scripture and what you wish was true. Wishing is not the same as revelation. Wishing is not the same as faith. Wishing is not the same as belief and information is not the same as desire. You can desire anything you want 0:25:03 - 0:25:31 , but you can't have faith in anything you want. If you have faith, it means you have a reason to believe that what you have faith in is God's will you have information to suggest that what you have faith in squares with God? So Mormon 928 says, ask not that you may consume it on your lusts, but ask 0:25:31 - 0:25:57 with the firmness unshaken that you will yield to no temptation, but that you will serve the true and living God. So let me ask you a question if you're praying about something and you have doubt and you're not absolutely sure that what you're asking, God, God will give you uh is that asking with firmness 0:25:56 - 0:26:19 unshaken? Do you have a reason to believe that what you're asking is God's will. And in fact, do you have any reason to believe that it's not because if you do, if you have any reason to believe that it's not, then you are asking what you wish was true. What you desire to be true, but not what you have 0:26:19 - 0:26:39 a reason to believe is true, not what you know is true, et cetera. You see the difference. So you can ask yourself, are you sure because you want this so sure is in quotes? Are you sure because you want this or because you have a reason to believe God wants it? So that's a very important distinction 0:26:38 - 0:27:02 . All right. So when you're asking questions, that's the best way to obtain revelation, I think. And uh yet when we ask questions, we sort of downgrade this to the cheapest experience possible by making those questions. Yes, or no questions. So in information science, the idea of a bit, you know, in 0:27:02 - 0:27:26 , in computer speak a bit, uh a bit is defined as the amount of information required to store a yes or no answer. It mathematically, it's the least possible amount of information. And that's, you know, that says a lot. If this is the channel of revelation, the maximum flow of revelation that you admit 0:27:26 - 0:27:47 into your life, you're living far below your privileges. Uh And in fact, you might be incurring the displeasure of God in doctrine and covenants 97. He said to Oliver cry, behold, you have not understood you have supposed that I would give it unto you when you took no thought. Save it was to ask me if 0:27:46 - 0:28:10 you're only asking yes or no questions, then you don't understand revelation. You don't understand the privileges you have as a child of God, you don't understand what he's willing to give you. And uh you, there's more much more to have. So it turns out that whether or not something is right, that's 0:28:09 - 0:28:34 a yes or no question whether or not something is right, is much less valuable than knowing why it is right or why it isn't right. There are many scriptures where God invites us to reason with Him, for example, let us reason together that ye may understand. Let us reason even as a man reason one with 0:28:34 - 0:28:58 another face to face. Now, when a man readeth he is understood of man because he reason as a man even so will I the Lord reason with you that you may understand through DNC 50? He says several times at the purpose of reasoning with him is for him to help you understand, right? It's for you to understand 0:28:57 - 0:29:24 why not just what but why. Uh in first Peter 315, Peter says that we should always be ready to give an answer to every man that ask us a reason of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear. So if we're expected to have a reason for what we believe, shouldn't we expect that God can give us a reason 0:29:23 - 0:29:47 for what we believe. Job 13? He says, surely I would speak to the Almighty and I desire to reason with God. He wasn't just making this up. He wasn't just making up the idea that you could reason with God. In Isaiah 4121 uh The Lord says, produce your cause, bring forth your strong reasons. And in Isaiah 0:29:47 - 0:30:16 118, he says, this isn't just one sided. He says, come now and let us reason together saith the Lord. You've got an open invitation. Are you using it? So uh discerning is limited by awareness. So in several places, we see the word language used in the scriptures. For example, Nephi talks about being 0:30:16 - 0:30:39 taught in the language of his parents DNC 124 the Lord says, uh these commandments are of me and were given unto my servants in their weakness after the manner of their language that they might come to understanding. So that last phrase come to understanding, that's an overlap with what we were talking 0:30:38 - 0:31:02 about with understanding why language doesn't mean English or Spanish. In this case, what it means is our awareness, our understanding of the word world, our perception of things as they really are. The Lord starts with where we are when He teaches us. And he brings us to where He is. And that's important 0:31:02 - 0:31:30 to understand. Uh because your present awareness, it actually constrains what he can say to you and how he can say it. So the more open minded you are and the greater the awareness you have, the more God can teach you both in breadth and depth. So uh as I mentioned before, questions invoke revelation 0:31:29 - 0:31:48 , we read this Luke 11. The Lord says, ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for every one that asth receives and He that seeketh find and to him that knock, it shall be open. But these questions like we've already made the case. They shouldn't be 0:31:48 - 0:32:06 limited to yes or no questions and they shouldn't be limited to one way questions. God wants to have a conversation with you. He wants you to talk about complicated things and He wants to teach you with sophistication. And that's required, that's necessary for you to overcome all things and for you to 0:32:06 - 0:32:31 , to understand more of what he understands. Bad questions lead to bad answers. Vague questions make for vague answers. I'll give you a very simple example of this. If you were to ask me is college good. How could I answer that question? That's a yes or no question, which is not good. And it's also a 0:32:31 - 0:32:53 very simply phrased question. It's a low information question. So let's suppose. I say yes, I only have two options, right? Yes or no. Let's suppose. I say yes, you could take that answer and assume that under every circumstance, college is good. So if you uh are brain dead, you could waste all your 0:32:53 - 0:33:11 money on college and never learn anything. Or even if you have a functioning brain, you could go and study something that's not gonna help you at all. You know, the, the the options are unlimited in this case. But the question is incredibly limited. But what if I say no? Because I want to avoid all those 0:33:11 - 0:33:32 situations, specific situations in which it would be a bad idea. Well, then I preclude anyone from ever going, right? And even in the situations where it's a good idea, the answer is no. So this is a specific example of why yes or no questions are a bad idea. For the most part, you should make your questions 0:33:31 - 0:33:53 as detailed as you can, you should think about it. You should be intentional about the words you use what they mean, what the implications are. And you should also be open to anything God might say. If you're not open to whatever God might say, don't even bother asking because you don't really wanna 0:33:52 - 0:34:17 know and you'll just mock God if that doesn't turn out very well. So when we say anything God might say, we don't just mean anything. you think he might say? It really means no holds barred. Ok. Ok. So what if you don't want to ask any questions of God? Well, it turns out that's not a great idea. John 0:34:16 - 0:34:36 chapter three. Jesus says this is the condemnation that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil for every one that doeth evil, hate the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth excuse me. He that 0:34:36 - 0:00:00 doth trust he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God. So this is one of my favorite passages from the scriptures and uh un peeling it a little just for this, just for this purpose. If you don't want to ask God questions, what does that mean? 0:00:00 - 0:00:00 It means you don't want light. There's only one reason why you wouldn't want light. It's because you don't trust God and you don't want to come to the light because you know that it will reveal evil inside of you and, and maybe that seems strong. But remember we're all condemned. We start condemned. 0:00:00 - 0:35:48 The default state of man is condemnation and Jesus came to save us. The only way he can do that is to, to give us light and we can turn that light off by refusing to come to it. And that's what it says here. Uh This is the condemnation that light has come into the world. And men love darkness rather 0:35:48 - 0:36:08 than light because their deeds were evil. So DNC 10 is even more specific in this context. It says verily, verily, I say unto you that Satan has great hold upon their hearts. He stirred them up to iniquity against that which is good and their hearts are corrupt and full of wickedness and abominations 0:36:07 - 0:36:29 . And they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Here's the key part therefore, or because of this, they will not ask of me. If you don't want to ask God questions or you limit the questions you're willing to ask Him or you limit them to yes or no, or you limit what he might answer 0:36:28 - 0:36:52 you. Then the reason you do that is because your deeds are evil, your heart is evil. Your desire is evil. You love darkness rather than light and you don't want more light. You don't trust God and you don't love him. It's that simple. So one specific example from the scriptures of this is Isaiah is preaching 0:36:51 - 0:37:15 to Ahaz who is a wicked king and um Ahaz isn't listening to him. So Isaiah says, ask thee assign of the Lord thy God, ask it either in the depth or in the height above. So he's saying whatever, ask whatever so that God can prove to you that he's really teaching you these things. And Ahaz says, I will 0:37:15 - 0:37:36 not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. In other words, he's saying, he's acting as if he's righteous and uh under this pretense of piety. He's saying, I don't want to ask, I don't want to tempt God by asking a sign. But really what he's saying is I don't want additional reason to believe that I'm wrong 0:37:36 - 0:37:59 . And so he's falling into the category that we've described in these, these other two passages. And uh Isaiah says here, you know, oh, house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men? But will ye weary my God. Also, in other words, he's saying nice, try. That's a thinly veiled uh pretense and 0:37:59 - 0:38:19 it's not going to work. And so it is with us when we say, oh, you know, I don't want to ask God because I don't wanna tempt him or I shouldn't have questions. I should just assume that what I believe is true and not push the envelope on anything. No. Look, unless you're dwelling in heaven at this very 0:38:18 - 0:38:37 moment like uh enoch did while he was still on this earth and several other people in the scriptures. Um Unless that's your situation, you have something to learn and maybe you should spend your time asking more questions of God and understand that whatever it is that you currently believe is either 0:38:37 - 0:38:57 incomplete and in some cases it will be incorrect. Well, I hope you enjoyed this two part talk and I invite you to check out these books. Seek ye this Jesus seeing, hearing and dwelling with God and the glory of God is intelligence, acquiring and disseminated, light and truth. They're both on Amazon 0:00:00 - 0:00:26 Revelation learning and discerning this talk is part two of two. If you haven't caught part one, please start there. OK, continue our discussion. So where does revelation come from? There are three sources, God Satan and self. Uh just to give a kind of a preview of each of these three. The key idea of 0:00:25 - 0:00:54 revelation from God is that it benefits the world. Second EPH 2624 says He meaning Jesus doeth nothing doeth not anything. Save it be for the benefit of the world. Uh There's a lot to that idea, but basically the benefit of the world means what improves given everything. So uh it's not just about what 0:00:54 - 0:01:16 you want or what helps you, it's what helps you in the context of everything else. And that's uh God's Modus Oper operandi. And, and that's what uh you can use to detect revelations that come from Him. So, what about Satan? Well, Satan, the key idea is he's a liar from the beginning and we'll talk more 0:01:16 - 0:01:36 about what that means. But that's sort of the, the flashing red light that something is from Satan and then there's self and the key idea to that is that the natural man is an enemy to God. So let's dig into that one first. So self, uh basically, the key idea here is what feels good. That's what the 0:01:36 - 0:01:55 natural man is going to go for. So in Mosiah 319, we read for the natural man as an enemy to God and has been from the fall of Adam and will be for ever and ever unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit and put, put off the natural man and become a saint through the atonement of Christ, the 0:01:54 - 0:02:18 Lord and become as a child, submissive meek, humble patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him even as a child doth submit to his father. So key key high notes here uh unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, you know words in the scriptures 0:02:17 - 0:02:38 , they're used intentionally. And when we look at this and we see the words yields and to the enticing of the Holy Spirit yields and enticing. Those are strong uh connotation words. And when you yield to something you think of, you know, driving onto a highway and you see a yield sign, what does this 0:02:38 - 0:02:56 mean? It, it means that there are a lot of cars coming, they're probably going at a different speed than you and in a slightly different direction. So to yield to the enticing of the Holy spirit means that by default, what you're doing is not going to be the same, right? It requires you to yield to something 0:02:56 - 0:03:22 else, something better. And as you put off the natural man or you don't do what your self tells you to do, then uh you're submitting to all things which the Lord sees fit to inflict. Inflict is another charged word and it's very intentional. So, um this isn't cotton candy and puppies, right? And so the 0:03:22 - 0:03:51 Lord is going to uh entice you to act differently than you would by nature or naturally or by default. So usually if it's anything different that's coming from self, right? So in Proverbs 37, we read be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil to be wise in your own eyes. It means 0:03:50 - 0:04:14 to see what you're doing as good, right? So when you fear the Lord or you defer to the Lord in all things, you depart from evil, you depart from what you would do. Otherwise. Proverbs 16 2, all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes. Human beings are highly skilled at justifying what they want to 0:04:14 - 0:04:34 do. It doesn't matter what you want to do. Chances are you can come up with a really good reason for why you're doing it. That is not the truth. The truth is probably because you feel like it, the truth is probably because it feels good. But those aren't good reasons to do things. So the way you yield 0:04:34 - 0:05:00 to the spirit as we read before in Mosiah 319 is you can ask if this reflects your understanding of God. So think about your, your best sincere understanding of God's character and overlay that on your situation. I mean, the, the trite way of thinking about this is asking what would Jesus do, but there's 0:04:59 - 0:05:21 , there's a lot of value in that. So think about that and yield to whatever you come up with now, maybe you're thinking. But what about the Pharisees? Because didn't they do that? And it kind of turned out badly for them? Well, not exactly. So the Pharisees, they, they didn't actually care about God 0:05:21 - 0:05:42 . They cared about their traditions, they cared about the security. They believed their positions gave them uh the prestige. They, they had the honors of men and their income and they cared more about that than what their sincere idea of God was. In fact, this uh this their, their beliefs, their traditions 0:05:41 - 0:06:02 had replaced uh their relationship with God. So they had an idea of God but not a relationship with Him. So your understanding of God is not the same as your tradition, right? So you might, so we, we use words, we throw around words like belief and tradition and it's dangerous because we should get really 0:06:02 - 0:06:27 specific and when we get really specific, we can learn a lot. So when we say belief. Um We could mean several things but what we probably mean is what we would like to believe that we believe. So, if you say, I believe in God, um what you actually believe is probably far less than what you've been exposed 0:06:26 - 0:06:49 to. So what I mean by that is if you told me, I believe in God and I pulled out the scriptures, I could probably read very many passages that conflicted with what, how you act and how you feel and what you think about certain things. And I'd pull it right from the scriptures. And I'd say if God said 0:06:48 - 0:07:05 this and you say you believe in God, but you believe this other thing, how do those things match up? So what, what you actually mean when you say you believe in God is that you believe in what you believe. And you'd like to think that that's also what God wants you to believe, but that's actually your 0:07:05 - 0:07:24 tradition. It's not your understanding of God because if I read to you a verse that you've heard before and you say, yeah, yeah. But you know, here's this reason why I don't actually do that thing or why I do that thing that actually conflicts with what God said about it. There's a difference between 0:07:24 - 0:07:43 our understanding of God and our tradition and it's important to reconcile these things. The Pharisees didn't do that. Um And this is the difference between self and God as Well, right. Anyway, um we could talk more about this, but I think that's, that's probably good enough. It's about the spirit of 0:07:43 - 0:08:07 the law. So, uh here it's probably appropriate to make a few points about more points about the Pharisees in terms of self. So the Pharisees thought they knew everything there was uh to know that everything they did know was everything there is to know they rejected. Um What Jesus was revealing to them 0:08:07 - 0:08:25 about the limitations of their understanding. And uh when you believe these things, when you think, you know everything there is to know. And when you're not open to replacing what you know, with something better than that, by definition is damnation, it means you will, you will grow no further in the 0:08:25 - 0:08:50 gospel. You will not grow closer to God. And in fact, as we talked about in part one, you'll uh you'll actually grow away from Him. OK? So now that self is out of the way, let's talk about God and Satan as sources of putative revelation. So um here's a dichotomy. So God, he teaches you to come unto Jesus 0:08:49 - 0:09:14 . Satan, he invites you to stay as you currently are. So if you find yourself uh inclined not to change, to stay, to remain the same that that may be from Satan, God shows you how great He is. Satan shows you how great you are. So if you find yourself uh invited to believe something different and you 0:09:14 - 0:09:35 reject that because if it implied you're not so great, that's probably from Satan. God uplifts you, but it's usually harrowing. He uplifts you by showing you how great He is not how great you are. And by doing that, he invites you to grow. Well, Satan wants to gratify your pride. He wants to tell you 0:09:35 - 0:09:55 , look, you're already great. You don't have to change. Just stay the way you are. You're good enough, et cetera. God encourages you while He's chastening you. He appears by your side and as you stumble and he says, get up, you have this bright future ahead. Let's get moving, but it's always, let's get 0:09:55 - 0:10:19 moving. Let's keep growing, let's move forward. Satan makes you feel good about how you are right now. God reveals things how they really are and how, what you currently believe is incomplete or incorrect. Satan will rationalize the contradictions between reality and what you currently believe. He'll 0:10:19 - 0:10:43 give you AAA long list of excuses for why you don't literally do what God tells you to do. Uh God will teach you that you can only get what you want through becoming better. Satan teaches you that you can have anything you want without changing who you are. Those last two are fundamental. OK. So this 0:10:43 - 0:11:04 feeds into why Satan is a liar from the beginning in Alma five. Uh during this long sermon, Alma is given, giving, he says, or otherwise, can you imagine? Can you imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse. Having a remembrance of all your guilt 0:11:03 - 0:11:22 . Yeah, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness. Yeah. Your remembrance that ye have set at defiance, the commandments of God. I say unto you, can you look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up having the image of God engraven upon your countenances 0:11:21 - 0:11:40 ? Behold my brethren. Do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the Kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob and also all the holy prophets whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white. I say unto you nay, except you make our creator a liar from the 0:11:40 - 0:11:59 beginning. Or suppose that He is a liar from the beginning. You cannot suppose that such can have place in the Kingdom of Heaven, but they shall be cast out for they are the Children of the kingdom of the devil. So Satan is a liar from the beginning. Why? Because He teaches that there is another way 0:11:58 - 0:12:25 to obtain the image of God engraven upon your countenance without obeying the commandments of God. The spirit teaches uh things as they really are in DNC 93. We read truth is knowledge of things as they are and as they were and as they are to come and whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit 0:12:25 - 0:12:52 of that wicked one who is a liar from the beginning. So God knows all things and He gives us commandments to help us prepare to learn all things. Uh His commandments are a pathway to obtain the knowledge that he has. Satan offers us an alternative. He says, you don't actually have to uh reconcile to 0:12:52 - 0:13:18 reality in order to obtain a knowledge of all things. And this is very important. Almost every temptation from Satan can clearly be defined as a deviation from reality in some way or another and conquering it and overcoming all things requires knowledge because we learn how things really are. And this 0:13:18 - 0:13:41 clarifies the actions we should take and the character we should obtain so we can plug this in and, and use it to detect when putative revelation is actually from Satan because you'll notice that when, when he hands you something, it's always going to, to um deviate from what God said in some way and 0:13:41 - 0:14:00 try to convince you that there's some other way to obtain what you want. So in Moses, one, it says the presence of God withdrew from Moses and it came to pass that Satan came tempting him saying Moses son of man worship me. So here we should expect where's, where's the liar from the beginning going to 0:14:00 - 0:14:17 come out? And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said, who art thou for behold, I am a Son of God and the similitude of His only begotten. And where is thy glory that I should worship thee? For? Behold, I could not look upon God except His glory should come upon me and I were transfigured 0:14:17 - 0:14:36 before Him, but I can look upon thee. And the natural man is it not so surely blessed be the name of my God for his spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me or else where is thy glory? For? It is darkness unto me. And I can judge between thee and God for God said unto me, worship God for Him only 0:14:35 - 0:15:02 shall thou serve. Get thee hence Satan to see me. Not. So Moses was able to discern that the putative revelation was from Satan. That this information from Satan was from Satan. It wasn't from God. Why? Because he had experience with God because he had experience with God. He was able to discern between 0:15:01 - 0:15:27 good and evil. He was able to discern reality from the alternative that Satan was offering. So in Hebrews 514, Paul wrote, but strong meat belonged to them that are of full age. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So as we experience putative revelation 0:15:26 - 0:15:47 , we have to learn to discern between the sources between the putative revelations that come from self, the ones that come from Satan and the ones that come from God. It's not going to be a piece of cake. It's, it's going to take practice and it's going to take a sophisticated approach. It's not something 0:15:47 - 0:16:08 you can do with a childish mind. You have to actually use the, the senses that God has given you and learn to detect these things and you have to acquire experiences with God so that you have a baseline to compare these things to so that you have a better understanding of reality and you can detect when 0:16:08 - 0:16:33 Satan is trying to sell you something that conflicts with things as they really are and as they will be. So, um when it comes from God, it improves. So how do you know if something improves? Well, it's 100% dependent on your level of awareness. So think about this, if your child, um let's say you're 0:16:33 - 0:16:51 an eight year old child and you want to watch a movie and your parents say no, you probably think that watching that movie is a good thing, right? But your parents know that actually you should go spend time reading a book or cleaning your room first or whatever it is or maybe the movie itself isn't 0:16:51 - 0:17:10 a great movie to watch, but you don't know any of that because you're an eight year old kid. Well, over time, your awareness is going to change your understanding of what's good and what's bad is going to change your understanding of what improves is going to change. So in Maroni seven, there's a long 0:17:09 - 0:17:26 sermon about good and evil and here's just a part of it, it says for behold my brethren, it is given unto you to judge that ye may know good from evil. And the way to judge is as plain that ye may know with the perfect knowledge as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the spirit of Christ 0:17:25 - 0:17:47 is given to every man that ye may know good from evil. So it's interesting here because when we talk about knowing the difference between good and evil, it seems like it's a complicated, difficult thing to do, right? If we're the one of the purposes of this life, um, is to learn to discern the difference 0:17:46 - 0:18:08 between good and evil. And as Paul said, if we read just recently that it's something that takes, use to practice and get good at. But here in Maroni seven, we read that the way to judge is as plain as the difference between daylight and dark night. So the question is, how do we cross that gap? Because 0:18:08 - 0:18:31 uh these two things don't seem alike. Well, it turns out it turns out that we aren't born with the recognition of a difference between daylight and dark night. A baby doesn't know the difference between those two things. So how did you come to learn the difference? Well, through your experience, right 0:18:30 - 0:18:50 ? Someone said, hey, this is daylight, this is dark night. You start to notice that there's a difference between bright light and lack of light and so on. And if you think of the number of times you've had to practice this difference, it's an awful lot. Right? Well, it's no different with revelation 0:18:50 - 0:19:18 . So we learn good and evil through our experience and our experience increases. Uh And so does our discernment. So Matthew seven, the Lord gives an interesting parable and this is about the, the foundation in the house and it illustrates how we can learn what improves. So uh he said, therefore, whosoever 0:19:18 - 0:19:37 heareth these things, these sayings of mine and do with them. I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock 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 and every one that heareth these sayings 0:19:37 - 0:19:55 of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. This parable ties together all the things we've been talking about. Uh in 0:19:55 - 0:20:19 part one and in this part two, what's the difference between the, the house built on the rock and the house built on sand? Well, there is no difference until and unless the floods come and the winds blow, right. It's, it's not until that happens, that a difference is manifest. So, when you're talking 0:20:19 - 0:20:42 about putative truth or truth that you believe right now, that's good enough for now. What's the difference and how are you going to tell the difference between what's, what's true? Uh What was good in the past? What's good for the future? What's good but not best and so on. Well, you wait until the 0:20:42 - 0:21:06 storms come and like it or not, they will come in life. A lot of the challenges we have in life are to manifest what is better. Uh There is a handicapped man that the Lord healed. And the Pharisees said, who is the sinner? Him or his parents? And Jesus said neither, but this was done to manifest the 0:21:06 - 0:21:26 power of God. And so it is with truth, we're hit with afflictions left and right throughout life. And one of the purposes of this, a main purpose is to manifest the weaknesses of what we currently believe. So we have reason to believe that there's something better and so we can recognize what is better 0:21:26 - 0:21:49 . So what improves is a function of our experience, our awareness. And it's also a function of what we're going through. Sometimes in the most troubling times, we can grow the most because we will be able to see better than we otherwise would. What's most valuable in terms of putative truth. We'll be 0:21:49 - 0:22:15 able to identify that what we currently believe is insufficient and we'll know how and what specific ways and then we'll be able to retain that um necessity as we investigate putative truth, that might be better than what we had before. So how will you know whether something is true or not? So, the point 0:22:15 - 0:22:35 I want to make here is that what is right, is not what makes me feel good? Those are independent ideas. They may be the same, but in all likelihood, they will not be DNC eight reads. Behold, I say unto you that you must study it out in your mind, then you must ask me if it be right and if it is right 0:22:35 - 0:00:00 , I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you. Therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right, you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong. Therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred. 0:00:00 - 0:23:22 Save it be given you for me. This scripture has been quoted many times and I'm not sure that the actual meaning is uh always captured. So this burning of the bosom is the feeling that the idea is right. It's not the feeling that you feel good, it's not the feeling that it is fun or exciting or good or 0:23:22 - 0:23:46 any of these things. It's a feeling that it is right many times. What is right hurts many times what is right causes cognitive dissonance as the spirit reveals to us the limits of what we currently believed or that what we believed before was wrong. Those things do not feel good as we talked about. In 0:23:46 - 0:24:08 part one. Aye did not feel good to see these people he cared about burned at the stake. He did not feel good to lose everything he owned. To be disowned by his father and his Kindred and his friends and to be cast out of the place he had lived his whole life that didn't feel good, but he did feel that 0:24:07 - 0:24:38 it was right. So what's a stupor of thought? Well, is it just this sort of blankness in the mind or I can't focus or it certainly isn't cognitive dissonance. It isn't feeling bad. So, what is it? Well, it's all about information, right? Um So a stupor of thought is a lack of information. There's a difference 0:24:37 - 0:25:04 between uh what you know is true. So it is right in the, in the previously cited scripture and what you wish was true. Wishing is not the same as revelation. Wishing is not the same as faith. Wishing is not the same as belief and information is not the same as desire. You can desire anything you want 0:25:03 - 0:25:31 , but you can't have faith in anything you want. If you have faith, it means you have a reason to believe that what you have faith in is God's will you have information to suggest that what you have faith in squares with God? So Mormon 928 says, ask not that you may consume it on your lusts, but ask 0:25:31 - 0:25:57 with the firmness unshaken that you will yield to no temptation, but that you will serve the true and living God. So let me ask you a question if you're praying about something and you have doubt and you're not absolutely sure that what you're asking, God, God will give you uh is that asking with firmness 0:25:56 - 0:26:19 unshaken? Do you have a reason to believe that what you're asking is God's will. And in fact, do you have any reason to believe that it's not because if you do, if you have any reason to believe that it's not, then you are asking what you wish was true. What you desire to be true, but not what you have 0:26:19 - 0:26:39 a reason to believe is true, not what you know is true, et cetera. You see the difference. So you can ask yourself, are you sure because you want this so sure is in quotes? Are you sure because you want this or because you have a reason to believe God wants it? So that's a very important distinction 0:26:38 - 0:27:02 . All right. So when you're asking questions, that's the best way to obtain revelation, I think. And uh yet when we ask questions, we sort of downgrade this to the cheapest experience possible by making those questions. Yes, or no questions. So in information science, the idea of a bit, you know, in 0:27:02 - 0:27:26 , in computer speak a bit, uh a bit is defined as the amount of information required to store a yes or no answer. It mathematically, it's the least possible amount of information. And that's, you know, that says a lot. If this is the channel of revelation, the maximum flow of revelation that you admit 0:27:26 - 0:27:47 into your life, you're living far below your privileges. Uh And in fact, you might be incurring the displeasure of God in doctrine and covenants 97. He said to Oliver cry, behold, you have not understood you have supposed that I would give it unto you when you took no thought. Save it was to ask me if 0:27:46 - 0:28:10 you're only asking yes or no questions, then you don't understand revelation. You don't understand the privileges you have as a child of God, you don't understand what he's willing to give you. And uh you, there's more much more to have. So it turns out that whether or not something is right, that's 0:28:09 - 0:28:34 a yes or no question whether or not something is right, is much less valuable than knowing why it is right or why it isn't right. There are many scriptures where God invites us to reason with Him, for example, let us reason together that ye may understand. Let us reason even as a man reason one with 0:28:34 - 0:28:58 another face to face. Now, when a man readeth he is understood of man because he reason as a man even so will I the Lord reason with you that you may understand through DNC 50? He says several times at the purpose of reasoning with him is for him to help you understand, right? It's for you to understand 0:28:57 - 0:29:24 why not just what but why. Uh in first Peter 315, Peter says that we should always be ready to give an answer to every man that ask us a reason of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear. So if we're expected to have a reason for what we believe, shouldn't we expect that God can give us a reason 0:29:23 - 0:29:47 for what we believe. Job 13? He says, surely I would speak to the Almighty and I desire to reason with God. He wasn't just making this up. He wasn't just making up the idea that you could reason with God. In Isaiah 4121 uh The Lord says, produce your cause, bring forth your strong reasons. And in Isaiah 0:29:47 - 0:30:16 118, he says, this isn't just one sided. He says, come now and let us reason together saith the Lord. You've got an open invitation. Are you using it? So uh discerning is limited by awareness. So in several places, we see the word language used in the scriptures. For example, Nephi talks about being 0:30:16 - 0:30:39 taught in the language of his parents DNC 124 the Lord says, uh these commandments are of me and were given unto my servants in their weakness after the manner of their language that they might come to understanding. So that last phrase come to understanding, that's an overlap with what we were talking 0:30:38 - 0:31:02 about with understanding why language doesn't mean English or Spanish. In this case, what it means is our awareness, our understanding of the word world, our perception of things as they really are. The Lord starts with where we are when He teaches us. And he brings us to where He is. And that's important 0:31:02 - 0:31:30 to understand. Uh because your present awareness, it actually constrains what he can say to you and how he can say it. So the more open minded you are and the greater the awareness you have, the more God can teach you both in breadth and depth. So uh as I mentioned before, questions invoke revelation 0:31:29 - 0:31:48 , we read this Luke 11. The Lord says, ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for every one that asth receives and He that seeketh find and to him that knock, it shall be open. But these questions like we've already made the case. They shouldn't be 0:31:48 - 0:32:06 limited to yes or no questions and they shouldn't be limited to one way questions. God wants to have a conversation with you. He wants you to talk about complicated things and He wants to teach you with sophistication. And that's required, that's necessary for you to overcome all things and for you to 0:32:06 - 0:32:31 , to understand more of what he understands. Bad questions lead to bad answers. Vague questions make for vague answers. I'll give you a very simple example of this. If you were to ask me is college good. How could I answer that question? That's a yes or no question, which is not good. And it's also a 0:32:31 - 0:32:53 very simply phrased question. It's a low information question. So let's suppose. I say yes, I only have two options, right? Yes or no. Let's suppose. I say yes, you could take that answer and assume that under every circumstance, college is good. So if you uh are brain dead, you could waste all your 0:32:53 - 0:33:11 money on college and never learn anything. Or even if you have a functioning brain, you could go and study something that's not gonna help you at all. You know, the, the the options are unlimited in this case. But the question is incredibly limited. But what if I say no? Because I want to avoid all those 0:33:11 - 0:33:32 situations, specific situations in which it would be a bad idea. Well, then I preclude anyone from ever going, right? And even in the situations where it's a good idea, the answer is no. So this is a specific example of why yes or no questions are a bad idea. For the most part, you should make your questions 0:33:31 - 0:33:53 as detailed as you can, you should think about it. You should be intentional about the words you use what they mean, what the implications are. And you should also be open to anything God might say. If you're not open to whatever God might say, don't even bother asking because you don't really wanna 0:33:52 - 0:34:17 know and you'll just mock God if that doesn't turn out very well. So when we say anything God might say, we don't just mean anything. you think he might say? It really means no holds barred. Ok. Ok. So what if you don't want to ask any questions of God? Well, it turns out that's not a great idea. John 0:34:16 - 0:34:36 chapter three. Jesus says this is the condemnation that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil for every one that doeth evil, hate the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth excuse me. He that 0:34:36 - 0:00:00 doth trust he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God. So this is one of my favorite passages from the scriptures and uh un peeling it a little just for this, just for this purpose. If you don't want to ask God questions, what does that mean? 0:00:00 - 0:00:00 It means you don't want light. There's only one reason why you wouldn't want light. It's because you don't trust God and you don't want to come to the light because you know that it will reveal evil inside of you and, and maybe that seems strong. But remember we're all condemned. We start condemned. 0:00:00 - 0:35:48 The default state of man is condemnation and Jesus came to save us. The only way he can do that is to, to give us light and we can turn that light off by refusing to come to it. And that's what it says here. Uh This is the condemnation that light has come into the world. And men love darkness rather 0:35:48 - 0:36:08 than light because their deeds were evil. So DNC 10 is even more specific in this context. It says verily, verily, I say unto you that Satan has great hold upon their hearts. He stirred them up to iniquity against that which is good and their hearts are corrupt and full of wickedness and abominations 0:36:07 - 0:36:29 . And they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Here's the key part therefore, or because of this, they will not ask of me. If you don't want to ask God questions or you limit the questions you're willing to ask Him or you limit them to yes or no, or you limit what he might answer 0:36:28 - 0:36:52 you. Then the reason you do that is because your deeds are evil, your heart is evil. Your desire is evil. You love darkness rather than light and you don't want more light. You don't trust God and you don't love him. It's that simple. So one specific example from the scriptures of this is Isaiah is preaching 0:36:51 - 0:37:15 to Ahaz who is a wicked king and um Ahaz isn't listening to him. So Isaiah says, ask thee assign of the Lord thy God, ask it either in the depth or in the height above. So he's saying whatever, ask whatever so that God can prove to you that he's really teaching you these things. And Ahaz says, I will 0:37:15 - 0:37:36 not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. In other words, he's saying, he's acting as if he's righteous and uh under this pretense of piety. He's saying, I don't want to ask, I don't want to tempt God by asking a sign. But really what he's saying is I don't want additional reason to believe that I'm wrong 0:37:36 - 0:37:59 . And so he's falling into the category that we've described in these, these other two passages. And uh Isaiah says here, you know, oh, house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men? But will ye weary my God. Also, in other words, he's saying nice, try. That's a thinly veiled uh pretense and 0:37:59 - 0:38:19 it's not going to work. And so it is with us when we say, oh, you know, I don't want to ask God because I don't wanna tempt him or I shouldn't have questions. I should just assume that what I believe is true and not push the envelope on anything. No. Look, unless you're dwelling in heaven at this very 0:38:18 - 0:38:37 moment like uh enoch did while he was still on this earth and several other people in the scriptures. Um Unless that's your situation, you have something to learn and maybe you should spend your time asking more questions of God and understand that whatever it is that you currently believe is either 0:38:37 - 0:38:57 incomplete and in some cases it will be incorrect. Well, I hope you enjoyed this two part talk and I invite you to check out these books. Seek ye this Jesus seeing, hearing and dwelling with God and the glory of God is intelligence, acquiring and disseminated, light and truth. They're both on Amazon 0:38:56 - 0:39:04 and print and you can get free copies and PDF from upward thought.blogspot.com. Thanks.