Worldly wisdom

I want to talk a little about the wisdom of this world.

1 Corinthians 3:19-20 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

And again, The Lord knowest the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

All around us, people are talking up…..or talking down….something.

From toothpaste to the state of the Union…..people all want to tell people what is “best”.

Well, I too, am going to tell what is “best”……

…….and what is best is:

……whatever the Lord wants for me,…for you,…for us.

Praise God we are not left to ourselves to see to what is ahead….

…or what is “best”.

No, He gives us direction and peace…..He gives us light and grace for every task.

And that is the best we can ever have.

The examples I am going to give about worldly wisdom:

Goliath…..was a giant. He was nine feet tall. His armor was of brass….the best there was. And he had been a warrior all his life. His life was to kill and maim.

So when the Philistines came up against Israel…..after Israel had chosen a king (king Saul, who was head and shoulders taller than the normal Israelite)….

….Goliath thought himself very wise when he simply went out and challenged any Israelite to battle.

“If I win, Goliath said….you are our servants.

If you win (not going to happen)….we will be your servants.”

Brilliant, he thought!

Who could stand against such an enemy? King Saul did not try….and for forty days the challenge went unmet.

Enter David, a young man of God….who accepted that challenge in the Name of God.

……and all the worldly wisdom of Goliath was destroyed.

God’s power was shown that day…..against all worldly wisdom.

As the scripture said, “For He (God) taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” Yes, He did!

The second example:

In Jeremiah’s day, Nebuchadnezzar had come three times….twice taking the best, most educated and talented artisans and workers.

The third time, destroying Jerusalem’s walls and temple…….taking many as mere slaves.

But because he had heard of Jeremiah’s prophesy…..he brought Jeremiah out of the prison (where the king of Judah had put him)….and let him go free.

Jeremiah could have returned home….could have let the remnant of the people who were left to fend for themselves.

But when they came and asked for God’s Will concerning staying in the land, now that the temple was destroyed…..he sought God’s Word for them….hoping they would finally listen to God’s wisdom,….

…..and do what He said.

Here was the choice: Stay in the land as caretakers of it under Nebuchadnezzar….which was what God wanted for the last of the Israelites…

….or go down to Egypt….where they thought they would be safe from Nebuchadnezzar.

Worldly wisdom said, “Go, and you will live a life of safety.

But God said, “Stay and I will now take care of you here.”

Jeremiah 42:19 “The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.”

But they refused God’s Word…..and were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar who conquered Egypt. (Jeremiah 43:4-6)

“God knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain”……nothing.

The last example:

When Christ Jesus came to save us…..all the worldly wisdom said that they could kill Him….and be rid of His Words and authority….to save their “place” in the world. (John 11:48)

They paid a good price for betrayal….

….they took Him where He prayed….

….they brought Him to Rome’s Governor…..

….they chose Barabbas instead of Jesus….

….they cried crucify Him….

….they watched as He suffered and died on the cross…

….and they even set a watch of soldiers at the tomb.

But they could not keep God from raising Him up from the dead! And giving Him all authority and power as the Son of Man/Son of God for salvation.

Worldly wisdom tells you…..that you can do….without God.

But that is vain….nothing…

…and leads to all sorts of traps.

But God’s Word is our sure footing.

What He tells us to do is right…..even though it may seem impossible.

Let us believe His Word to us….and walk on.

Isaiah 43:2 “When thou passes through the waters, I will be with thee;

and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee;

when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;

neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

God’s Words

Isaiah 28:9-10 “Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breast.

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little.”

If we would grow up into Christ—go on to maturity—this is the path that we must walk.

We are never “zapped”, But the scriptures speak of “growing in grace”, “grow up in Christ”. And these take time and a little effort.

When we first learned to walk as children,….there were a few bumps.

So our Christian walk is a series of lessons, and experiences…..lessons, and experiences….toward the goal the Lord has for us.

Paul said, “I have learned…”

And that should tell us that we, too, must learn from Christ, through the Holy Spirit,…..how to, when to, and what to do.

Philippians 4:11-12 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”

I have never met any Christian that has not suffered defeat…..at least once.

I have never met any Christian that has not battled something….some with terrible battles……some mild….but they would not call it anything but what it is…..a battle.

But our Teacher is the Lord.

And He builds on the foundation of “Come unto Me”(John 6:35)…..our first command.

Then He says, “If any man will…” (Matthew 16:24)

And it is onward from there.

“Precept upon precept”:

Precept means appointed rules, or an authoritative command.

(precepts is used most in Psalm 119:

Psalm 119:4 “Thou has commanded us to keep Thy precepts diligently.”

It is used twenty times, in this psalm. [this is the psalm that every verse but one has a reference to the God’s Word in various forms: law, commands, precepts, etc])

We must realize, that what He says to do, we must do. He is not giving suggestions for our lives…..but He is giving us the authoritative rules to follow, so that we will know the way to go.

“Line upon line”

Line means a cord put together to connect things….and for measuring.

And it is used here to speak of the Voice which has been heard….connecting God’s purpose to His Word…..measuring our response to His Word.

(Psalm 19:4 “Their line is gone out to all the earth, and their words to the end of the world….”. Paul repeats this changing “line” for “sound”, in Romans 10:18)

When Christ was here, the Bible often tells of His “teaching” them. (Matthew 11:1, 26:55. Mark 4:1, 6:2, 6:34, Luke 13:22)

And so He continues to do, to us…..teaching us, through the experiences He leads us into.

Sometimes it corresponds to something in His Word,…..

…or something someone else has passed through as well.

Sometimes He leads us into new paths, which are to strengthen and encourage…..not only us…..but others who hear of it.

And I believe it is true, that no one experiences things, the same way….though they go through the same set of circumstances.

(Loss and grief, for instance. Some are delivered from the waves of emotion, which others pass through. Some are brought almost to the edge of an abyss by the loss of someone….yet saved from falling over.)

Each lesson is to bring us…..yes, that is “me” and “you”…..each of us, to a closer reliance on God…..and a firmer grasp on the reality of His presence and power for me.

That is to grow up into Christ.

Ephesians 4:20-21 “But ye have not so learned Christ;

If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:”

In the battles of life, we need to know what the Lord will do for “me”.

(And on occasion, it is good to make a spiritual inventory of our blessings.

It brings all we are going through into a new focus…..He is able,…..able for me, in this situation;…because He has done great things for me…before.)

Paul, writing Timothy:

2 Timothy 1:6-7 “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

(“Stir up” here, means to “rekindle” the love, joy, peace, etc of the Holy Spirit within us)

He goes on to say: “….for I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”

“Persuaded” here means “an inward certainty”.

Paul’s ministry was in the Lord’s hands,…..what he had done (even before being saved on the road to Damascus,…..and later, in the ministry with the Gentiles),…..what he was doing now (in a Roman prison, and before Caesar),….and what he would do (in the death God appointed for him).

Paul was certain His Lord would keep him in all the things he was to pass through; because “He is able”……and because He had.

2 Timothy 4:17-18 “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom: to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Paul had heard the precept the Lord had laid down for him, and been obedient. (Acts 9:15-16, 26:16-17)

He had gone to the Jews first…..and when they rejected Christ; gone to the Gentiles…..which was his calling.

He was a Jew of the Jews, a Pharisee of Pharisees,…..yet followed the Word of the Lord,…..and did the work the Lord had given him,…..faithfully, even to Caesar’s household (Philippians 4:22).

God’s Words to us,……what we read, and what we hear,…….should be the authoritative commands of a Lord to His servant…..leading us to connect His Word to His purpose for us…..measuring ourselves and our response, by it….

….that we too, may have confidence that…..”the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom…..

…to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Peter’s refusal, and quick acceptance.

It was the Passover time. Jesus had come into Jerusalem to celebrate with His disciples, and they were in the upper room.

Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him that night, and that He would be condemned and crucified. (Matthew 20:18-19)

That this night, everything would change.

Tonight Jesus would speak of many things to them, but before this; He washes their feet. (Yes, He even washed Judas feet. How this should have melted his heart, but it did not.)

John 13:4, 6 “He riseth from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself.

Then cometh He to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto Him, Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?”

It was Peter’s turn.

Frankly, I think Peter should have known that if Jesus did something, it was for a good reason. But Peter was always quick to say or do something!

“Lord, dost thou wash my feet?”

Peter was right. Jesus was Lord. And He was Peter’s Lord.

Because of this, Peter thought it was not right for Jesus to stoop to such a humble position!

(How much He humbled Himself when He came to earth to save us! Do we recognize His humility and love?)

John 13:7 “Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”

That should have settled it with Peter, but Peter thought he knew better!

(We are the same way, often. We think we know what God will do.)

John 13:8a “Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.”….

Peter would in the next instance, change his mind, but Peter was looking at the moment, not at the lesson Jesus wanted to give.

Jesus wanted to show that they should take care of each other.

He would wash their feet: the job of a servant.

If He would do that for them, they should humble themselves in service for each other.

John 13:8-9 “Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.

Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”

Finally, Peter is listening. “…no part with” Jesus? No, no, that was not what Peter wanted.

If a part with Christ came with the cleansing,….Peter wanted a full bath! He wanted all the fellowship with Christ he could have.

But a full bath was not necessary.

John 13:10. “Jesus saith unto him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

Jesus didn’t say, If I don’t wash you, you will have no part “in” Me.

But He said, you will have no part “with” me.

Jesus told Peter he was clean “every whit”, except for the cleansing of his feet.

“In Christ”, speaks of our being born again.

“With Christ”, speaks of our fellowship with Him.

Jesus wanted His disciples, especially Peter, to know that fellowship with Him is maintained by our letting Him cleanse our “feet”, or our walk.

(That is why the feet were washed when coming into a house, because, having walked on the dirt roads, their feet would be dirty.)

John 13:12, 15 “So after He had washed their feet,…and was set down again, He said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”

Though Jesus would be taken, tried, and crucified….raised, and ascended…..yet we are to get that cleansing that is through Him everyday….and bring others to Him for cleansing, as brothers and sisters in Christ.

If we are to have fellowship with Christ, and the strength that comes from it, we must be cleansed, daily from our sins, and defilements….for we walk in a “dirty” world.

Christ cleanses us still…..

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And we are to help others to come to Christ for cleansing.

If we are born again, we do not need a full bath; but the cleansing of our daily walk.

So that we can walk with Him, and with our brothers and sisters in Christ…in righteousness.

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

The Creator/creature Relationship.

Psalm 139:1-3 “O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsittings, and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.”

Here, the All Powerful and All Seeing God is seen, in a personal sense.

You know me: how I am, how I act, what I think, and the way I like to go.

You know me when I have my fits against Your Providence. You see when I rebel, and seek my ways. You see my imaginations.

Psalm 139:5 “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.”

The psalmist sees that God has “hedged him in”,……so that he knows he is bare before a Holy God!

That all his plans, and schemes are all known to God.

And in what way do we react to this revelation of God, to our soul?

As we often do, the psalmist runs…just as hard and fast as he can. But….he finds he can not outrun God.

Psalm 139:7, 11 “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?

If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.”

Psalm 139:10 “Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.”

He ran, but he found…as we often have, that we can not run from God.

We can not escape the Holy Spirit’s conviction, or the fact that God is everywhere.

All circumstances are made by God; we can try a “climate change”, but God can make every climate as “hot” or as “cold”, as where we were before.

[A climate change is where you find yourself in trouble. You “know” that if circumstances were different, you would not have trouble. If you worked with different people, had a better house, had better neighbors, etc. But when you move, you find that the circumstances are different….but you are the same; so the results are the same.]

The right hand of God is the hand of power. The psalmist here acknowledges that God rules, even in the midst of His enemies: He draws to Himself, or pokes, or prods, and moves….till we are willing.

Psalm 110:2-3 “The Lord shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies.

Thy people will be willing in the day of Thy power,…”

When we begin to will, to yield as creature before the Creator, we can see ourselves as formed according to His plan.

Psalm 139:13, 16-17 “For Thou hast possessed my reins (our internal moral compass); Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!”

You have possessed; or they are Yours by Your creation,…..make them Yours by redemption.

We are a masterwork: one thing formed upon another, each in it’s place.

His eyes were upon us then.

His plan and power was there for me….that plan and power I have been fighting against.

How precious are Your thoughts of me! “O God!” or as in the Hebrew, “O Master”.

Here is where we begin to bow before God, the Creator; as God, our Lord and Master.

I am finally awakened to Your Purpose: and here, I join with You to fulfill the purpose You have for me.

For now we know the way of Victory: It is in seeking after the Lord’s Way.

For as He sought me for my good, so He will continue to do so.

Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

(This “lead” suggests all that God does: bestow, govern, guide.)

To the psalmist (and it can be to us) Creator God has become the One help and Refuge of his soul: for he sees Him as He is…..and not as he feared He was.

The tribes on the other side of Jordan

Background: Israel had finally come to the land on the other side of Jordon after their forty year wandering in the wilderness.

The kings of that land had come out and made war with them….even though Israel had asked to quietly go through their land, paying for water.

But instead they came out with their armies to fight with Israel.

Israel had won the battles against them….

Numbers 32:1-5 “Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses…

Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.”

I have given a definition of temptation before…..but simply, it is something presented to us that holds sway…..whether in heart or mind….and makes us take our eyes off of God’s Will.

This land, on the wrong side of Jordan…..(for Canaan was across the Jordan River….and that was the land promised )….

….was a temptation.

It was a grand place for raising cattle…..and the tribes of Rueben and Gad had cattle.

These men were not of the rebellious generation which wanted to go back to Egypt…..but of the generation which wanted to go into the land promised Abraham….

….at least, until they saw this good cattle raising land.

But now, they were willing to settle for less than God’s best.

Notice, they were not rebellious, demanding this land.

No, they were just tempted to settle for second best.

Numbers 32:6 “And Moses said unto the children of Gad and….of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?”

This was Moses concern. All Israel had helped fight for the land they were now requesting be given them…..

…so…if they would sit down here….

….. and let the other tribes go over and fight for their inheritance….while they stayed here…….they would discourage Israel.

Numbers 32:16-18 “And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:

But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place:….

We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.”

Well, this sounds pretty good!

Everything that Moses was concerned about….seemed to be taken care of!

So Moses agreed:

Numbers 32:29 “And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the Lord, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:”

And they did exactly what they said they would do! They fought for Israel, till the land was being divided….

…then they went back across Jordan to the land they wanted.

Years pass…..and the Ruebenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh across Jordon, think of themselves as too far away from the place of worship….

……although they were not really any further, for Shiloh….and then Jerusalem was close enough.

Also the River Jordan was a larger barrier then they thought it would be…..they came to think of themselves as separate from Israel.

(The only time they were joined unto the other tribes was under Joshua and under king David.)

They “forgot” that they had a duty to stand with the rest of Israel.

And these tribes on the wrong side of Jordan, were always a snare.

They would be the first attacked,….and the last to come and help Israel.

Finally,….

1 Chronicles 5:25-26 “And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,….”

We often think God puts certain circumstances in front of us…..for our good….but we need to discern whether this set of circumstances is a blessing or a temptation.

It’s a blessing if it leads us closer to God.

Or,

It’s a temptation when it leads our hearts away from the Lord’s Will.

We are called to have all that God has purposed for us:

To inherit, if you will, the “good land” of joy and peace, of gentleness and patience.

All the graces and promises that God, by His Spirit, prepares for us…..we are to obtain.

This is to be like Caleb, when he came for his inheritance…which was one of the hardest:

“I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.

Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day…if so be the Lord will be with me, than I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.” (Joshua 14:11-12)

This is God’s best, Christian…….to use the faith we have, to get all that God has promised us.

2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;”.

Peter goes on to list….temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, love.

All beginning with our diligence and faith.

2 Peter. 1:8 “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

To settle for less than that…… is to lose God’s best.

2 Peter 1:9 “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

The “forgotten” here is “let be taken away”.

Though diligent at first to stand with the rest of Israel….these tribes on the other side of Jordan…….let time and circumstances draw them away from the worship of God, in His place…..

….and then with less diligence, came forgetfulness to the duty they said they would do.

Then their love of God was “forgotten”….let to be taken away….and later, they were taken away.

Let us see what hinders our diligence for the Will of God in our lives,…..let us have God’s best…..for ourselves.

We all have a “sin which so easily besets us”

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

What is weighing you down? What care? (2 Peter 5:7) What resentment? What grief?

“Lay aside” here means to roll it on to Jesus.

To really give it to Christ, means that you are not carrying it any more. It is gone….

And what is our besetting sin?

Our besetting sin is one which is so ingrained in our character….so intertwined in our personality….

….that it is like cutting off right hands and plucking out eyes….to deal with it.

Matthew 5:29-30 “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

(Matthew 18:8-9, Mark 9:43-48. This is worth noting, for three times Jesus says this)

Sin is rebellion against God.

It is the desire to rule ourselves.

It manifests itself in lots of ways…..

….but our besetting sin is our “pet”…..it is first in our thoughts….often. It so “easily besets us”….because it has power over us.

God gives us victory through our faith in Him…..but it is a battle we must fight….or we will lose out on the best God has for us.

(And there are many who settle for something other than God’s best….because of their besetting sin.

Think of Demas, who after years of helping Paul….left the work, for love of this present world. 2 Timothy 4:9-10)

This “sin which so easily beset us” is a picture of being surrounded….

…..every way you turn….it is there.

You have to work harder to accomplish anything…….for it is always harassing you.

Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

This sin fights hard for preeminence in our lives…..but the Holy Spirit within us fights back….

Romans 8:13-14 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

So there is hope against this formidable enemy……for we have the Almighty God in the person of the Holy Spirit within us, if we are born again…..

….which will give us the victory in Christ….

…and that victory is faith.

1 John 5:4 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

I have said this often,….Faith is a gift to us from God when we are born again….

….but God gives it to us,……intending for us to use it, to live in this wicked world….unspotted by it.

It is real, making God and His Word real to us, as His Word tells us [Hebrews 11:1].

Real means…..all things are what He says….whether I see it or not.

He will do what He says….whether anyone else believes it or not.

Faith weans us from our sin….pointing us to Christ….

….wooing us to leave all and follow Him….and enabling us to believe.

I knew a woman, who after years of defeat, told about her besetting sin:

She was a little girl, when she heard her parents talking….they did not want her….

…..a feeling of desertion and fierce anger came over her…..and she became determined to never feel alone again.

This led her down a path of self-exaltation….to make her “worthy” of being loved….she would not be “alone” again.

All her relationships suffered because of this….which led to back-and-forth emotions of self-pity and anger.

She was born again, and though she would try and deal with this besetting sin…..trying to commit it to the Lord; yet it always came back….bringing her into failure, again.

Finally,….the Lord dealt with her about the beginning sin of hurt and anger….lead her to reject the self-pity….and brought her….to take her place at His feet….alone! So that He could be her life.

Since then, she has had stronger relationships….she being in her place before the Lord in each of them.

Our besetting sin attacks each of us differently…..though it could be the same sin.

We are to “lay it aside”…..which means that the warfare with it, is personal……God does not do it alone…..nor can we do it alone….

….it is a combined effort of God and us.

Truly, faith….which always sees God….is the Victory…..God is real, He is Able and willing for me.

His Word is Truth. All the promises and threatenings in His Word is true.

That also brings the Victory, for we hang on to the Truth, when we believe and trust His Word….and deal with the root of the matter….which clears our way….back to Him.

We each have a besetting sin…..but there is victory in Christ.

Will we come and have it of Him?

In this 15th chapter of Luke we find the Trinity in their offices….and a picture of four kinds of Christians

God the Son, as the Shepherd….

Luke 15:4 “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if He lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until He find it?”

Christ Jesus never permanently loses a sheep…..He always goes out to find those that have….”gotten side-tracked”….or chosen another path than the Shepherd chooses….or fallen in a pit.

This the Son of God did when He came to earth “to seek and to save” us……and He keeps doing for all His sheep.

God the Holy Spirit, in the Woman who sweeps diligently….

Luke 15:8 “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?”

This coin is in the House (church)…..but it is lost, in the sense that it is out of place.

Some believe the Greek to suggest a coin set, ten silver coins, all in their due order,…..

….all but one, who is out of their place.

This Christian wants to sing in the choir, when they should be praying. Or they want to preach, when they should be witnessing. Or they want to just listen as a by-stander, when they should be teaching. They are not in their place in God’s House.

But the Holy Spirit “sweeps diligently”…..brushing away from our hearts and minds the reasons or fears we have…..and puts us back where God would have us.

God the Father is the certain man who had two sons….

Luke 15:11-12 “And He said, A certain man had two sons:

And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.”

This was a legal transaction….the younger got his one-third, and the elder got two-thirds of the estate (in every family the eldest got two portions, while the rest got one.)

From that time on, the elder brother was completely in charge of the estate….for the Father had given them both their “portion”….what would they do with it?

Well, the younger leaves….

….but the elder does nothing different….nothing changes for him….even though everything had changed. His Father was now to be, willingly, an honored guest in his house….with him owner of all.

This sets up the history of the younger (Prodigal) Son and the Elder Brother….

…..and their important relationship to their Father.

But first, let us ask:….What is the “portion of goods that falleth to me?”

The younger son wanted his, outright, so he could go out into the world and seek satisfaction….

The elder brother never used his aright.

So what is it? It is our wills.

Even as Christians, our wills are our own…..though the Holy Spirit is within us to incline our hearts toward God’s Will….yet…

We can “take” our wills and seek our own plans…..as the younger son.

Or we can never willingly will after God’s Will….but just go along, because it is our duty….as the elder brother.

Both are mistakes, by the way…..for neither will bring you closer to the Father in a love relationship.

Well, time passes….and the younger spends all.

He had his fill of the world, and the “friends” it gives…..

….then there is a famine….a real hunger for what is real….in his heart and life.

So he goes and hires himself out,…..he tries to stay in the working world, but he is barely getting by….realizing this world, without God, is a pig pen….

….his mind is troubled, his emotions spent….what to do?

Luke 15:17 “And when he came unto himself…”

This is probably the most important statement about this younger son! He remembers he is a Christian…..belonging to God.

He remembers God’s mercy, and the many servants of God who are living peaceful and joyful lives!

Luke 15:18-19 “I will arise and go to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee,

And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”

(Now here is a great use of his will…..”I will arise and to to my Father!”)

We know he was welcomed home! All his will was concentrated to honor his Father, and his Father showed him love, peace, joy…..again, in His house.

But the elder? What has he done with his will? Well, he has done his duty….but sadly, only to gain something!

Luke 15:28-29 “And he (the elder brother) was angry, and would not go in (to celebrate the younger’s repentance):

therefore came his Father out, and intreated him.

And he answering said to his Father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:”

How much bitterness comes from just doing our duty, with no love for our Heavenly Father!

Obedience is essential…..but is it obedience when you are doing it to merit something from God? Or is it just self-righteousness?

But the Father came out to him, as well…..for he wanted him to come in and enjoy the blessing of love.

This rich/poor elder brother possessed everything from His Father……he had his will, and all the blessing of obedience…..if….

….he had really believed and known his Father’s love…what fellowship they could have had every day!

The elder brother could have had a party with his friends anytime! He could have had the fatted calf…..not just a goat!

But he kept plugging away in drudgery……unhappy with everything…..never willingly doing the Heavenly Father’s Will out of love.

If he had, he would have seen the blessing God had….for him…..ready to be used and enjoyed.

He would have gone into his Father the day the estate was divided, and said…..

“Father, I know you have given me all this…..and I willingly honor you in it.”

Then he could have gone out and had a party with his friends, with his Father as the honored guest!

Living the life the Father wanted him to have.

But rich/poor elder brother was owner of all,…..possessor of nothing.

Do we see ourselves in any of these examples?

Faith, so we may Obtain the Promises.

Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

For by it the elders obtained a good report.”

The apostle was writing a record of those in the Old Testament, whose faith in God and His Word had led them into lives of productivity, and peace.

Always opposition, but lives which pleased God, because of their faith in Him.

He is writing it to encourage these failing believers to hang on, by faith, and to obtain all that the Lord had for them.

It is by faith we receive all things from God.

These believers were the very first to believe. They had been through a lot. But time had passed and they had not grown in the grace given them; on the contrary, they had remained children in the faith. (They were “Tossed about” Ephesians 4:14-15)

(Paul rebukes them for this, but encourages the faith that they have, for anywhere along the way, we may wake up, and get back into the Way….going forward in the faith.)

Hebrews 5:12 “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.”

Hebrews 10:35, 38-39 “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of Him that diligently seek Him.”

So he reminds these of the faith of their fathers; and the reward God had for them.

At the end of the faith chapter—Hebrews 11, there is a little verse which states plainly the stages of faith, for ourselves.

And all “through faith”.

Hebrews 11:33 “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,”

“Subdued kingdoms”. There are three kingdoms here on earth we are to subdue: the kingdom of man’s soul, the kingdom of the world’s influence, and the kingdom of the devil’s influence.

Each, by Christ’s atonement, have been defeated.

But each, by our faith, needs to be overcome, in our practical living of today.

How?

The blood of Christ was shed to save us from our sin and self (old nature: which is the inclinations of our minds, emotions, and wills, apart from God)

He paid the penalty of death for us. And He opened an access into His life within us. A life of faith.

His life is given us by His Holy Spirit within us, Who gives us love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, etc.

Faith enables us to “see God”.

Many in the Old Testament had a vision of the Angel of the Lord. But we do not need such a vision.

We have much better than a vision, for we have the Blessed Spirit of God indwelling us, and His voice is heard within us.

By faith we can subdue ourselves, our sin, and much of the influence of the world when we “see” that is God with us, in authority and power.

When we see God, then plainly, we are here in this situation, by His appointment.

In other words, He wants to show me something, here.

Either He will show me how He can empower me.

Or He will show me how He can remove any hinderance.

Or He will show me how I must navigate through this trial, lighting my path, and leading me through, for His sake.

The life of faith is a life where we always look to God in the situation. Where does He want me to be, here? And when we “see”; we “walk by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Faith is unique, in that it is a gift of God to us: and it gives access into all the other graces, which God by His Spirit implant within us.

Romans 8:31-32 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Paul goes on to say we cannot be separated from the love of God, and lists the things that might try to separate us…and there are a lot.

But in the process of this life of faith, we may obtain the reality of the promise of what God will do for us.

We begin to stop arguing about the way to do things, and deny ourselves: and do them as God directs.

There is the influence of the world and the devil: we need extra help here, so the Lord has given us the armor, and the protection of His blood.

(Revelation 5:6, When we plead the blood, He covers us in a effectual way when we are being attacked)

Ephesians 6:10-18 shows us the armor:

The truth: we need to establish the truth of the situation, by the Holy Spirit’s discernment, and that will strengthen our wills.

We need to put on the righteousness of Christ: all that we do, is accepted by His merits, not ours, and our hearts are strengthen.

We need to walk in His paths of peace, keeping our peace, and seeking it for others.

Holding on to faith [seeing God in this] when the Adversary attacks with whispers of doubt, or brings up past failures or successes to distract us. And how much our faith saves us here.

Thinking saved: I am God’s child, and servant, and I do this for Him.

Knowing and using the Word of God, as we need against the words of the devil.

When we do this, we are working righteousness; His righteousness through us to a hungry world.

Then we are obtaining those promises He has given us….actually getting them into our possession. We have faith, grace, hope, and love.

God has given them to us, but now we have them in our experience, as well. They are real to us.

And then we will stop the mouths of lions: the roaring to frighten us away from doing God’s Will. It is all under Christ’s protection, not our own strength.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

Faith is a gift from God to us, by the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is to be used and grown. We are to overcome with it.

1 John 5:4 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

We are to live by it. And by it we will “see God” and obtain HIs promises to us.

Continue, continue.

John 8:31-32 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed;

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

To continue….to stay, be present, abide.

Here Jesus was in the treasury of the Temple,….He had forgiven the woman taken in adultery….and said that He was the Light of the world….and spoken of His Father, as HIs witness, always with Him….and that He was doing those things that please the Father.

John 8:30 “As He spake these words, many believed on Him.”

Wonderful….but Jesus would lead them on with Him….so He said….

“If ye continue in My word….”

Belief is the putting of my self, onto Christ….but it is only the beginning.

There is so much more to following Christ. We must come under subjection to His Word…then we will know the truth of things in our lives….and be free from the world and the constraints of sin!

Example:

The potter and the clay. (The Lord and us)

First, the potter chooses the clay….there are various kinds of clay, for various uses….so a clay is chosen….and placed in a bowl with water.

For next, the clay has to be made pliable in the water…..worked, so that there are no hard lumps…..no unyielding places.

Then, the clay is placed on the wheel…..finally we are going to be made into a useable vessel for the Master!

And the potter pushes and shapes…..letting the wheel turn….some places need more water applied…..some need a rougher hand to form…..

Then….we are done, right?

No….now we need to be fired…..the soft and pliable clay needs to be hardened to stand, or continue. We could never hold water, or things without being fired just right.

Then, for some vessels….the work is done….they are used. For others there is the painting and glazing….and firing; and glazing and firing again.

All, so that we may be a useable vessel, meet for the Master’s use.

Will we continue?

Our Lord Jesus says: “Continue in My word…then you will know the truth…and the truth shall make you free.”

Truth is of primary importance…..it leads us out of darkness into God’s light, for God is Truth. He keeps us from evil and error….and shows the way we should go. It frees us from all other ways, attitudes, and the opinion of the times….for it anchors us in God.

So Jesus says in….John 15:9 “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love.”

This was spoken to His disciples….those who had stayed with Him for three years…they had continued in His word….now, for the trials ahead….continue in My love. Know it,…hold on to the truth of it,…shelter under it.

In Acts, Paul encourages those Jewish believers, to continue in the grace of God…..not in the traditions of the Law.(Acts 13:43)

In Colossians, Paul stresses that true reconciliation is in Christ.

(In Colossians, Christ is set before us as the object of our hearts. The Spirit of God is only mentioned once.)

It is His work in the cross, in a double sense: atonement for our sin….and the power of grace conquering the heart!

Therefore, Paul says to “Continue in the faith…grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel….”. “To present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight:”. (Colossians 1:22-23)

In the practical part of Colossians, where home life, and job life are discussed…..we are told to:

Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”

Continue to pray for the work…..ours, and our church and pastor….and watch….expecting His answer….both in His Word, and in the lives of others.

(I have come to see the value of the family altar. Having prayers at the start of the day with family members, for the things going on today….a song and prayers.)

Paul, at the end of his life, writing Timothy, who was a young man when Paul took him as a helper…..yet had grown into a Pastor and godly man….so Paul says to him…

….I am going to die, I have finished my course…..now you continue yours and follow the Word….continue to grow, and finish the work you have to do.

2 Timothy 3:14-15 “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Continue in the Word…..you have grown from it…..continue in it.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

The Lord Jesus comforted by His Word,

…..and rebuked the “little faith” of His disciples….and the hard-hearted of the Pharisees….

…..and instructed and led His own…..even to restoring Peter after the resurrection….

…..telling them and us:

“…All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Let us continue in His Word, His love, His faith and grace, till we too, finish our course.

Come now, let us reason together

Isaiah 1:18-19 “Come now,  and let us reason together, saith the Lord:  though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;  though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

     If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:”

Come, let us reason together.   Even when I hear this….there is such a tenderness in it….God would reason with His creatures…with me….how it expresses His great love and mercy!

     The term “reason” here means to convince.   

In other words,  God will listen as we try and convince Him we are right…..but then, as we listen… He will convince us,  He is right.   

    (As He always is.   It is as we understand His Words…and we bow in submission….that He can go to work in and for us.)

And why does He use the term reason?  

Isaiah 1:5 “….the whole head is sick (anxious),   and the whole heart faint (troubled).”

     And so the Lord says…

“Come now”….not later…but now.  

     “..though our sins be as scarlet….they shall be as white as snow;   though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

If we are willing and obedient, we shall eat the good of the land.

Notice, willing is first.  Obedience is a act of the will.  

     (My husband used to preach this so often, that one man got tired of hearing it.

      Later, when circumstances changed for him, and his spiritual life was suffering under the pressure of these worries…..he realized that to will after God,  even when we do not “feel” good….or happy;  is a sign of God’s work within.    That spirituality,  is not knowing things…..but following Christ…willing with Him,  no matter what.)

If we are willing and obedient, we shall eat the good of the land.

    The sweetest fruits are those budded and ripened within us, by the Holy Spirit.  (Galatians 5:22-23)   

Peter and John had been imprisoned for preaching Christ Jesus.   Yet the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and told them to go and preach in the temple…”all the words of this life.” (I love this phrase, for what a life Christ gives us!)

When the counsel, who had them arrested, brings them before them….they say,  “Did not we command you that ye should not teach in this name?”

What enmity is shown the name of Jesus!…then, and now.

Yet…

     Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other:  for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Peter declares to them, that we ought to obey God rather than men.  

     And then again he preaches to these men….

Acts 5:30-31 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

     Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

Here is the gospel message….again being given to these men.   Repentance and forgiveness of sins, through Christ Jesus.    

They had but to “be willing and obedient”.

And then Peter says….to encourage them to reach out in faith and believe….

Acts 5:32 “And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.”

             To those who fast and tarry for Him?

                  To those who pray through to Him?

             No, but to those that obey Him.      

(I believe in all of these things….but simple obedience, after hearing and knowing God’s Will….is what God wants.   For that is what honors Him.   

      Simple obedience gives God the honor,  and praise.   And that is what God wants)

And were these men willing and obedient,  who had heard the gospel message again?

       For the Word says,  “…they were cut to the heart,…”   

The Word was understood….and it tore open their heart to God’s call to them….

…but,….”and they took counsel to slay them.”  

God intervened to save Peter and John….though they were beaten.   

But listen to what “willing and obedient” did in the hearts and minds of these disciples…

“And they departed….rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name.

     And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”   (Acts 5:41-42)

Hallelujah!  What a Savior…what a life He gives! 

In these days,  there is one mark of one that is Spirit-filled,  and that is obedience. 

We must, if we are to be what we ought in these end days….be in full subjection to God’s principle of obedience.

       When we are born again,  it is not the passing of the years that matures a Christian….but the willing obedience of our hearts and minds to His Word and Way.

So the Lord calls this day as well….”Come, now, and let us reason together.”