O Taste and See

Psalm 34:8 “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”

When you taste things…you experience them…you know them….you have them.

You can know about the Lord….

But to really have the experience that the Lord is good….is to taste.

Our taste, is a very sensitive faculty (unless it has been compromised).

It lets us know things….salty, sweet, bitter, savory….

It brings to mind memories….my Grandma teaching me to slurp the vinegar in the pickles she made….”it’s good for you!”….and I have loved the sour vinegar taste ever since! And it reminds me of her, every time.

It lets us know whether things are “good” or “spoiled”.

Our taste was given to us so we can discriminate between one thing and another.

And we can only “taste”, for ourselves….not for another.

So David says…..”Taste and see that the Lord is good”.

David says….”I have tasted….but I can not even begin to explain or show you how good the Lord is.

I can tell you what He did for me…..but you must come and experience Him and His goodness, for yourself….so come and taste”

The Lord said to my husband once, that the people he was preaching to were getting a banquet….a feast of His Word…in the Bible study we were having (I certainly was!)…..

…..but though they were coming…and listening…..

…when it came to “tasting” the good…..they were settling for a sandwich….

….and going away….instead of the feast the Lord had for them.

There are some spiritual truths, that you can not truly know….without experiencing them for yourself.

Being born again is just such a doctrine….unless you come to Christ Jesus and receive Him into your heart….and know the forgiveness of your sins….you are not born again.

So is deliverance from our besetting sins (Hebrews 12:2), or self-sins…

The verses He showed me….might encourage you…..but not touch the soft spot of your heart’s rebellion….

….and so do nothing for you.

The Lord is “good”. The word here is “sweet”….like honey.

Yet the sweetness of the Lord is only for those who will come and experience it.

(The Song of Solomon is a book of experience: it tells of the believers desire to go further with the Lord. To know the sweetness of Him in personal fellowship and the walking together in our life.

Song of Solomon 1:2-4, all speak of this desire….

“Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth;”…

….and then compares that communion, with taste….

“for Thy love is better than wine.”)

We must make the blessings of His grace (the unmerited favor of power) our own.

We know His grace in salvation….”For by grace are ye saved….” (Ephesians 2:8)

But there are graces given us day by day….which we need to “taste and see”….and we will not “see” them in our lives, if we will not use them.

2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:”

“All grace”…..all the different graces we need….strength, peace, knowledge, joy, power to do…….all the enablement we should have….

….And these we need to use….day by day.

1 Peter 2:3 “If so be that ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”

O taste….(for yourself)….and see…(with eyes that are really opened to Him)…..that the Lord is good.

He is….do you know Him so?

For to will is present with me

Romans 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”
There is within each of us, the old nature. Exactly, what is the old nature? It is called by several names…the old man, the flesh, and as here, the old nature.It is that principle within us, that has been dominated by sin and rebellion against God’s right to rule our lives.
Our old nature rules us, when we are unsaved….but when we become born again, a new nature…Christ’s nature, comes within us, by the Holy Spirit…to lead us into the forming of Christ’s character within us.
(We often cry, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:24, for the old man harasses us often…demanding the old reign within us. But we can also cry, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord….For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 7:25, 8:2 )
Romans 7:22 “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:” Here is where I need to be strengthened…the inward man. I need to learn how to yield to that inner unction (1 John 2:20), or power; that is the workings of the Holy Spirit in my spirit. (For He is the new nature within us)
He has ample strength for us, if we learn to “quench not the Spirit”…but yield to Him.
Jude 1:20 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, “ This sounds like a exercise regimen, for good health….…..and in a way it is.If we want to have sound spiritual health….we must “build up”…which is to build on the foundation of faith…to strength the things that are already there….….but how?“Praying in the Holy Ghost.” is the first thing we need to exercise ourselves in. When we pray, we should listen for the leading of the Holy Spirit.
(That is to say, we are not to stop praying…and just wait. But we are to yield to the way the Holy Spirit would have us pray.Example: a man who had helped my husband, when he was first come into the ministry, had a controversy with the Lord…(though my husband did not know it)…..and came to my husband and asked him to pray for him. Well, as I said, he had been a help, so my husband started praying to encourage this man. Well, not too far into the prayer, my husband plainly received…”Pray My will done in that man’s life! He does not need to be encouraged, he needs to submit to My will.” And so my husband did. Later that man told my husband that the Lord really dealt with him about a change in his life….he wanted. But was not according to the Lord’s will.)
The next thing we need to exercise ourselves in is: Jude 1:21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
This is “keep yourselves”….how often we skip over the times of fellowship, or do not stop to thank the Lord for an answered prayer…(and how often our old nature pushes us, here).
And “keeping” requires holding on to what we have….standing on the promises of God…and guarding our hearts that we will not lose the knowledge, for ourselves, of : “the love of God”, no matter what comes to us. 2 John 8 “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”
Our old nature needs to be brought into subjection to Christ’s nature within us. It is never an easy thing….we must exercise our wills. It will take a lot of spiritual concentration on the Holy Spirit….and honesty….but the reward is great.
Luke 8:15 “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Good only because the heart is honest.And real honesty begins with turning to the Holy Spirit for help:
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.”
When God does this, we will know honesty….and if we bow, as creature before the Creator, we will become meek.Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The meek shall He guide in judgment. And the meek shall He teach His Way.
Not the self-assertive, or the self-demanding……but those ready to lose their self-life….their old man, that they might find their life under the rule and reign of the Holy Spirit.
This is to truly find…”how to perform that which is good” in our everyday lives.
“ Living for Jesus a life that is true…striving to please Him in all that I do.Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free, this is the pathway of blessing for me. O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne, My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.”

Christ is the Good, the Great, and the Chief Shepherd….

….and He calls us….yet we must will to follow where He leads….

We choose where we are in His flock….following close to Him, or at a distance….where distractions can lead us astray.

John 10:11, 14, 27 “I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.

I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me:”

The Good Shepherd came to lay down His life for the sheep….to save them……to give them life.

He knows His sheep, He calls to them and they answer Him.

He leads them, and they follow Him.

Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting covenant,

Make you perfect in every good work to do His Will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

The Great Shepherd makes us complete (perfect) in His Will…….molding us by HIs Spirit……that they might live the life He has for them.

He covers us with the protection of His blood. Entering into an Everlasting covenant of peace with us…..and making, and molding us into “that which is well pleasing in His sight.”

1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

The Chief Shepherd has all authority over His sheep, and watches from heaven for any slight done His flock.

When He comes again…..He will reward all who seek the good of HIs people.(Acts 20:28-29, 32, John 13:35)

As our Shepherd, Christ Jesus has and will come to find us….

Frankly, I think, that we sometimes put these verses just for children….but if we are born again, we are His sheep….following Him…..or having wandered away….. lost to His fellowship, guidance and protection.

Luke 15:4-5 “What man of you, having a 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, till He find it?

And when He hath found it, He layeth it on His shoulders, rejoicing.”

Our Shepherd first found us….and brought us into His flock by salvation

….then He leads us into HIs pastures and HIs paths,…..guiding and forming us into obedient children of the King….finding us again and again, when we have gone astray….saving us from all sorts of danger…

….then, when He comes again…..He will find and reward all who have worked for the good of HIs flock….with a crown of glory.

Christ is our Shepherd…..why should we be wandering?

What has claimed our attention?

What can’t we give up, or talk over with Him?

Problems, grief, pain, hurt?

Maybe we are not even aware of what has come between us….He will show it to us, if we come back to closeness to Him.

This is the Way….Walk ye in it

Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ear shall hear a word behind thee saying, This is the Way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, or when ye turn to the left.”

Have you heard that Word?

Do you know this is the Way, Walk ye in it?

[Paul and Silas had come to a cross road….and been led to Philippi….someplace new…..they had not gone into Europe before…

There….they end up in prison.

“this is the way, walk ye in it.”

Beaten, and in stocks….they began to pray.

Did we do what You wanted? Or had we overstepped ourselves in dealing with the demon-possessed fortune teller? Acts 16:16-18, 22-23

And when they heard that they had done the Lord’s Will…than….Praise the Lord….this beating is for the greater glory of Jesus!

And they got to feeling so good about it,…that they broke out into song.

After the beating they had….their backs open and sore,…bleeding and stinging…..they were leaning on the strength of the Lord, and praising Him for the opportunity of suffering for His Sake.

They were in His Way….

….and being in the Lord’s Way….they were given opportunity to deal with someone….the Jailer.

Yes, there were others there that heard their prayers, singing,….and the Word to the Jailer….but it was with the Jailer….tough, efficient, seemingly uncaring….that the Spirit deals most.

Acts 16:30-32 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

And they spake unto him all the Word of the Lord….”

[they did not just tell him what to do…..but informed him of God’s Word, so he would know…..Who Jesus was….what He had done…and why he needed to believe on Him]

Paul and Silas heard the Word and walked right into Jail….and led a Jailer and his household to Christ.)

How many people who would gladly hear about salvation…..do we come into contact with?

If we wait for “great days”….they may never come.

What of us?

Have we listened for His Voice to guide?

Have we heard the Word….yet not used it?

[ Pilgrims Progress:

Christian and Hopeful had just come from the Shepherds in the Delectable Mountains….a place of rest and security…about in the middle of their way to the Celestial City.

As they left, the Shepherds gave them three things:

A warning….beware of the Flatterer.

A map….if they came to a place that was confusing.

A Word….Godspeed. (This is a old English word meaning….Go with God…at His time and speed.)

As they went on, rejoicing in such a beautiful place that the Lord had made for the wayfarers….they came to a place of turning…

….but the turning was in a “Y” shape.

Which way to go?

(Now I want to say….they had a map….which they should have used….but it was nicely tucked away in their pocket….)

As they looked at this turn….a man…covered from head to toe in a bright garment came up….and asked, “Where are you going?”

They said to the Celestial City….trying not to look too confused about the turn….

…..he said….”I am too, follow me”….

…so they did,…..

…..without asking him who he was….or seeking to know how he knew…..they just followed…because it was easier….and this man did seem quite confident in what he knew!

Soon, they seemed to be twisting around….the way seemed to go from straight…to curved backward….but they kept following, thinking it would probably straighten back out….

….when suddenly they were caught in a net! And the man threw off his bright cloak….to reveal an enemy of the right Way!

This man left them there, stuck in the net……and there they continued, for several hours when….

…….a “shiny one”….one of God’s messengers came by….asking them why they were in the net…..

……they told him about following the brightly clothed man….

….and the messenger said, “He was the Flatterer”……and rescued them out of the net.

God’s messenger then took them back to the Way….the same place of turning….and then chastened them for listening and following the Flatterer.

Didn’t you get a warning and a map? He asked.

Yes, they said….their heads down, realizing they had been given all they needed….but did not use it.

The messenger warned them, from now on, to use what they had….and let them go on…in the Way.)

We often think of special enlightenment, when He has already told us.

Perhaps through a message, a Bible study,….a verse the Holy Spirit brings to mind….

….there is in our everyday paths the means of the fulfillment of God’s Way for us…..

….and we need to be faithful there…..in what we have in hand….

…and faithful to God in those we come into contact with.

1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

When He is Lord, there should be no problem with your answer to any.

They may be able to find a way around what we say…..but they cannot get around what He says through us!

I know the first time I lead someone to the Lord, I was full of trembling and fear….(I had “not passed this way before”)…

…I was confident in the Lord….and His salvation….

…but fearful that I might make a mistake….and I told Him so…..

…He told me to follow in His Word, verse by verse, that she might be founded on what God’s Word said…..

…..and I followed His leading……and she became a child of God.

Joshua 3:3-4 “And they commanded the people saying, When we see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God,….then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

…..that ye may know the way by which you must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.”

There are many “side roads” which we come to, on our way to heaven…..and they must be seen for what they are. How?

Plainly we need to keep our eyes on our God…..and use the map of His Word….

….heeding every warning….and using every promise.

If we wait only on the Lord, in our everyday lives and walk….then…thine ear shall hear a word behind thee, this is the Way, Walk ye in it.

Song of Solomon 2:14 “O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs,  let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice,  and thy countenance is comely.”

Here is a call to one on One fellowship.  

    He is that Rock, that was cleft, and He would have us spend these precious times with Him…that we become so like Him, that we show Him forth.

   For we manifest Jesus most by what we are in our lives….not just what we say.

It is a demanding thing, for it requires that you set aside time for this fellowship…and that you allow nothing to interfere with it.

(When I was first born again, the pastor challenged each of us in the church to pray at least ½ hour a day.   

    Well,  I thought that would be easy….but I realized that beyond my confessions, and my  requests for people….there was still time.   So I began to just tell the Lord about my days….about how I felt about this thing that had happened and so on. 

    It became a way for the Lord and I….and He showed me that I could do this all through the day.    It might seem elementary, to take a minute and say,  “show me, Lord, about this”….or “help me say the right thing”….or “forgive me for my anger”…..but it opened up, and expanded my view of God’s Presence…and I became a lot more grateful for His grace.)

This is a time of honesty…where we come before Him, and talk to Him about our day….our life,  our plans,  our thoughts….

…for though He knows everything….it is in the sharing of these things, that fellowship becomes real.

Sometimes it is harder to be honest with ourselves, then with God….and this helps here, as well.  Sometimes, we just can not believe we could feel that way,  or act this way….but talking to the Lord shows us,….as us.   And then there is grace to change, or correct our attitude.

(But do we have this desire?

      Before in the Song,  the believer has said,  “Draw me,”  to the Lord.  How she longs for that personal relationship….and that relationship with the king,…her king!

Song of Solomon 1:4 “Draw me, we will run after Thee:  the king hath brought me into His chambers:  we will be glad and rejoice in Thee, we will remember Thy love more than wine:  the upright love Thee.”

The lack of desire is the ill of all ills

Many thousands, through it, the dark pathway have trod.

      The Balsams, the wine of predestinate wills;

      Is the jubilant pining and longing for God.

God loves to be longed for, He loves to be sought.

For He sought us Himself, with such longing and love;

      He died for desire of us, marvelous thought

,     And He longs for us now to be with Him above.)

Song of Solomon 2:15 “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.”

It is not big foxes,….for they are kept out, by fences.  But little foxes, which creep in unawares, and nip off the “tender grapes”…or the grapes which have not completely matured.

     The fruit is coming on….but if the little foxes nip them off…the whole cluster of fruit, that could have been,  will be ruined.

These little foxes are little self-sins…between us and the Lord.

A certain way we do things….our way, not what the Lord wants now.

Some of these things are unimportant….they mean nothing at all….yet, if we will not let go of them….the influence of the Adversary, the devil, can “spring up”….just at the right time to exert influence in our actions or conversation.

Hebrews 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God;  lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;”

     All through the book of Hebrews, the writer is exhorting the Hebrew Christians to let go of the past traditions….for the veil was rent….the way to come to God was opened in Christ [Hebrews 10:19-20]. 

    But, because at this time the Temple was still there, and because of the persecution they were going through….many were looking backward.   This caused much distress, and unneeded worry.

   But faith and grace was there for them….Christ Jesus was standing before God for them….

…and the writer exhorts them to “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering: (for He is faithful that promised;)” Hebrews 10:23

   The answer was keep looking to Christ, and grow in grace.   They were “failing in grace”, because they were not using the grace….but letting the little foxes of troubles, destroy the fruit they could have had.

“..lest any root of bitterness spinging up trouble you….”

Here is a little fox that turned into a roaring lion, if not attended to.   Every root of bitterness needs to be “rooted out”….so it can be clearly seen.

    And then cast aside….to go on with Christ!   

It is “take us the little foxes”…..Christ and you, together.

And as we deal with all the things that come between the Lord and us….we get to know Him better….we grow in the grace to do….we diligently learn to rely wholly upon Christ Jesus…

…and that gives us great help in all our times of need, trouble, or distress.

The call is, “Come, let us fellowship together…..for together, we can meet all the obstacles that come up.

Song of Solomon 2:14 “O my dove, that art in  the cleft of the Rock, in the secret places of the staris,  let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and they countenance is comely.”

The Lord calls, will we anwer?

Fear of God and fear of man

In Moses final address to Israel,  Moses spoke of the fear of man….and the fear of God

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of a good courage,  fear not, nor be afraid of them:  for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee;  He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

With the nations they were going to fight….naturally, there was much to fear.   They were warlike people….who had been fighting among themselves for years.   They had chariots and armies…

…whereas Israel, though they had fought a few battles….was not equipped or taught as they were.

But they had their God.

Later in this address, Moses talks of Who they should fear….

Deuteronomy 31:12-13 “Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the word of this law:

      And that their children, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.”

Fear of man is natural.   When we look at their intelligence, or learning, or ability.                        When we think of how often we have failed the Lord…..this type of fear, brings torment.

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love;  but perfect love casteth out fear:  because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

We know that the fear of the Lord….which is reverence and awe of HIs person and works….is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10)

We begin to understand and become wise when we see everything in it’s right place before God.    Him first,  and everything else in our lives….only in relation to Him.

(When I was first born again,  I lived mostly in my emotions.   Good days and bad days.   But when I was given the way to stability in my Christian life…..by denying myself, picking up my cross and following (not my emotions) but Christ…

…then, during good days, my focus was not on how I felt….but the Lord’s Will.

And on my bad days,  my focus was not on how I felt….but maintaining and doing the Lord’s Will, no matter what was going on.)

When you live in fear of man, you become ashamed of Christ….or HIs Word, and become tormented because you are not living the life of Christ as you should.

     Isaiah 51:7 “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law;  fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.”

     Matthew 10:25, 28 “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord.  If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of His household?

     And fear not them which kill the body,  but are not able to kill the soul:  but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

But when you learn the fear of the Lord, and when you are bowed before Him…

….then you are not bowed before the emotions and actions of others.

Proverbs 10:27 “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days:….”

       Stress is going,…gone,  when our awe of God is covering us in all our days.   Work, trials,  sickness, and troubles…all are seen as the Way of the Lord….and He will see us through.  (Isaiah 41:10)

Proverbs 14:26 “In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence:  and His children shall have a place of refuge.”

       A sure knowledge that the Lord is there to help you, wherever you are, and with whomever you are with…..gives confidence to your speech and peace like a garrison to your heart.   This comes as we reverence our Lord in everything.

Proverbs 14:27 “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,  to depart from the snares  of death”

       “Satisfaction” in life….is a thing the world is always tempting us with.   

You need more…more….more.

Whereas,  the awe of God….brings things into focus.   When we can come to Christ, and not only know HIs peace,….but also HIs joy in things…as they are….

…this is true contentment.    For our satisfaction is not in things or events  or even people….but in the Lord and HIs Will for me.   I see Jesus…and know, He sees me.

Paul said, when thinking of the things he suffered for Christ and His gospel’s sake:

     2 Timothy 1:11-12 “Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

     For the which cause I also suffer these things:…

…nevertheless I am not ashamed:   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.”

Proverbs 22:4 “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor, and life.”

     Not that you will be rich in this world’s goods, necessarily….

….but as Jesus said:

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness;  and all these things shall be added unto you.”   

     (What things?   Matthew 6:31-32 “Therefore take no thought, saying,  What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink?  Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?….for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”)

But why is it that, as Christians, we are not fearing the Lord as we should?

Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said,  Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor Me,  but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men:”

      (Jesus quoted this in Matthew 15:7-9)

The fear of the Lord is something of the heart.  

       It comes from the personal knowledge that God knows me…..me, personal, intimate, every thought and every wish…me;…and yet loves me.

Definitions give us what the fear of the Lord means….

….but the deep horror that God knows every bit of me…my sin, anger, resentment, or plans……followed by the deep joy that God loves me (amazing!)….is the beginning of wisdom.  And true wisdom leads to Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,  Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and  righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

     That, according as it is written,   He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

God’s Way  is first to lead us to awe of Himself….which takes our eyes off of others and ourselves…and onto Him.

Then God’s Way is to lead us to reverence…a loving humbling of ourselves before Him….a holy fear lest we hurt Him….a joyful placing of ourselves in the hand of His Almightiness and Love,  wherever they take us.

Let us fear the Lord.

Psalm 34:9 “O fear the Lord, ye HIs saints:  for there is no want to them that fear Him.”

For He becomes all in all to us.

Paul’s Practical Preaching

Paul had begun this last bit of Romans, not with more doctrine, but with the practical.

How we are to live in this world, as Christians; belonging to Christ.

In Romans 12:1-2, Paul shows that presenting your bodies to God, and refusing to be conformed to the world, will strengthen you to find and do the will of God in your life.

Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

Paul was saying that God has given every man, by His Holy Spirit, a “measure” of faith and grace.

(We can, as Peter said in 2 Peter 1:5 “…add to your faith…”. This will increase our measure, so we “grow in grace”. We learn to use what we have, by the Holy Spirit’s instruction, and are given more.)

Our “measure” is given to us; so we should not be proud that we know something, but instead, we should use that measure of faith to:

Romans 12:6-18: “…according to the grace that is given…” we are to do the work God has given us to do.

Let love be true, and not phony:….turn away from evil……love the good.

Be kind to one another,…..preferring the fellowship of believers.

Working hard to do our job, because we serve the Lord in it.

Yield to the joy of the Spirit, and be steadfast in the trials of the day.

Pray always.

Minister to the needs of others, as you are told: both spiritual and temporal.

Bless those who seek our hurt. Do not seek revenge.

Be honest. And try and live at peace with all men.

How can we do these things?

They seem impossible!

And in our own strength, they are.

But God has given, with the measure of our faith….a Leader to show us how and when to do….but also to give us the grace and inclination to do….He has given us His Holy Spirit.

We must go back to:

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

You see, it all starts with giving ourselves to God. It says “bodies”, here; to illustrate how we need to yield to the Holy Spirit, completely.

The Lord Jesus was given a body to come to earth and suffer and die, and be raised again…..in His body.

But the Holy Ghost, the Comforter,…..has come to earth, without a body….but instead to indwell and empower our bodies (which include our spirit, soul, and body).

Paul is saying here, that we are to “present”…..which in the Greek means to “stand by, to be at hand, to offer something intangible (our friendship, ourselves)” to God the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will then take our offering, and work with us to perform the will of God, and to mold us into the likeness of Christ’s character.

Our hands need to be His; not doing things which they should not.

Our feet need to be His; not going places we should stay out of.

Our mouths need to be His; not saying unkind things or lying.

We could go on,……but you see the reason Paul said this.

We need to give ourselves, inside and out, to the Holy Spirit; so we are no longer under our own management….but fully yielded to Him.

But thankfully when we do: we are “transformed” (changed) in motive ,…..in the inner most thoughts and attitudes of my being.

And then given power to “prove” His Will…..by doing it, in the circumstances of my life, day by day.

How good and acceptable it is in our lives!

He wants us to get “our measure” of all we need,…..to live the life He has for us.

A life of goodness and power.

Will we present our bodies to Him?

Thorns and thistles

Luke 8:14 “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard go forth, and are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.”

“The Sower went out to sow his seed…”.

The seed is the Word of God…but it is the ground which it falls into we are talking about.

This Word falls in a heart full of thorns. Thorns represent the curse of the fall….or our “old man”…the old nature which is always present.

Jesus said, that these thorns were:

“cares”…..burdens of grief, fear, protection, supply.

“Riches”….a supply of money, houses, or lands….to make us independent of God….or so we think.

“Pleasure of this life”….we think of food, sex, drink, or drugs….but there is also putting our “fun times”, first.

I believe Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost,…. all who will come to Him. (Hebrews 7:25)

Therefore these thorns represent that which keeps us from completely giving ourselves to the Lord Jesus.

Something that claims this part of our life,…first.

Jeremiah 4:3 “For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.”

We are to prepare our hearts to hear His Word, when we read it….when we hear it….when it is preached.

And when it is heard….because our hearts are prepared…it will bring forth fruit….not thorns.

But where did the thorns originally come from?

There were no thorns and thistles in the garden of Eden.

But when Adam and Eve fell…

Genesis 3:17-18 “And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:

cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field:”

Thorns are actually aborted branches. Both are prickly and injurious. Both can cause infections….

…..both can only be put away…..by effort.

But thorns and thistles shall it “bring forth” unto us. They just pop up….with no effort….for they are of this world….they are of the curse of sin.

We are in a world of sin….and thorns and thistles abound…..in us, by habit or temptation…

….and around us.

They often spring up before the good seed…and if we are not careful to remove or cut them down…..they will choke the new good plant.

Hebrews 6:7-8 “For the earth which drinketh in the rain which cometh oft upon if, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, recieveth blessing from God:

But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned.”

We are to keep our hearts and lives for God….and use every blessing from God (the rain) to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But if we are careless….then thorns and thistles (the things under the curse…sin)….will definitely spring up in our life…and they are not so easy to deal with then.

Numbers 33:55 “But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.”

We must deal with all the things of our old man….of cares, riches, and pleasures of this life……because if we leave them, as the Israelites did the cursed inhabitants…they will be thorns in our side….giving us trouble, till we do.

(My brother bought a small plot of land….about fifteen acres…from a neighbor.

Now the neighbor told him to watch for Canadian thistles.

They have a very strong root….so cutting them down will not do any good….they will just spring back up…you have to keep at it.

He told my brother that he had had trouble with them, and if you let them flower….you have let them go too long….for the flowers will dry and spread them all over.

My brother used the ground for pasture for some special cows….so he did not want to spray it.

You guessed it,…..my brother saw them coming up….and was busy….and the next thing you know it they were grown and flowering.

Let me tell you how hard it was to deal with something that was almost as tall as I was…

Chopping them out, without getting “bit” by the prickly nettles….was a very hard job.)

So it is with us….if we are careless…

Proverbs 22:5 “Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.”

Froward means twisted, perverted, crooked. And how many crooked paths are put before us everyday….to lead us astray?

A little twist of the way…..what will it hurt?

But the thorns come up and the thistles grow large….before you know it.

Watch ye….is not just good advice for times of trouble….but times of prosperity….and…any time. We need Christ’s guiding hand to lead us away from thorns…..and to lead us in to His fruit of the Spirit.

Isaiah 32:11,13 “Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones…..gird sackcloth upon your loins.

Upon the land of My people shall come up thorns and briers;….”

To be careless….. is to put our desire for now….what ever it is over the will of the Lord….as though it was not that important.

The answer? To continue to receive the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 32:15-17 “Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high….

Then judgement shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.”

Some believe this is a prophesy concerning the giving of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost….but…

……whenever the Spirit is manifested….there is righteousness and peace…

…not thorns of self will.

Matthew 7:16 “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”

Nothing we can do, without the Holy Spirit’s blessing will yield any good fruit.

The best that human nature can produce for God….is thorns.

Only when we continue to receive the Holy Spirit’s fullness, will we bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)

And, of course, I would be remiss, if I did not mention the worst day for the manifesting of man’s the attitude toward God….

….. when our blessed Lord had a crown of thorns pushed into HIs head….when they mocked Him as a king…

….totally unaware that He is the King of kings.

John 19:2-3 “And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe,

And said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote Him with their hands.”

He bore all the curse for us.

Thorns and briers, thorns and thistles…..all are under the curse.

They spring up, unless you cut them out.

They spread out, and interfere with the good plants.

They are strong….not easily removed….unless you get them early.

But by watching,…..and receiving all the Holy Spirit has for us, we can cut out all that is “thorns”,….or of our old man……and bring forth fruit to Christ Jesus our Lord, in blessing.

Lydia

It is hard for us to realize how openly evil, the old heathen world was.

Idols….and the demons behind such worship….ruled the minds and hearts of these….they were captives of great and powerful darkness.

And jealousy for their idols….was rampant. The Romans were especially afraid of the Gospel….for it taught that the gods made by hands, were not real…

Riots, beatings, and imprisonment awaited those who came to give the good news of everlasting life through Christ.

Ephesians 2:2-3 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

The gospel message was not just a change….of one God for another….

….but the good news of Christ Jesus’ salvation to the world….which brought a remedy to the source of their sin…..the separation of the person from the True and Living God…

….and gave them opportunity for the establishment of an abiding and loving relationship, between Him and those who, in faith, received this word of reconciliation:

2 Corinthians 5:19-20 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

I mention all of this, because though a few believers are named in the scriptures….yet there are many who, in the midst of persecution, were courageous in standing with Christ Jesus…and with His servants.

Acts 16:6-7 “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia (Asia Minor…or where Turkey is now),

After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.”

Paul had gone out on his second missionary journey….with the goal of visiting the churches that had been started on the last journey.

Once they had done that, they felt they should branch out into some new territory….and since they had preached in part of Asia Minor by the Sea, they wanted to go up north and preach there. But they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit.

(Now, Acts is a book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit in the Believers.

If you will look, the Holy Ghost is mentioned forty-four times in the book. His power, and guidance…..His peace and joy….

…..was the reason that the Gospel was spread from the one hundred and twenty gathered to be filled with the Spirit, in Jerusalem…..to thousands later….all the way to Rome…the center of the known world.)

Paul then thought that they should go to another area….but the Holy Spirit had other plans:

Acts 16:8-9 “And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”

Once they received the instruction…..they went immediately to Macedonia.

(Notice how many different ways the Holy Spirit was leading: from the “forbidden”…to “suffered them not”….to a vision….all to lead them on in the work.

And the Holy Spirit speaks to each of us in various ways: by the inner Voice, by the Word, by a message,….and even by circumstances we have been put into.

When He is in charge….He will let us know….and we will know.)

There was no synagogue in Philippi….and several days pass while they walk around the city, waiting for guidance and opportunity…

But when the Sabbath day comes….they go out of the city to a river….

….there Jewish women would gather for prayer.

Paul and his companions wait till they are asked to speak….

….and then they preach Christ Jesus.

This is a small door of opportunity….yet Paul does not snub it because it is small….but uses it to speak of Christ.

Acts 16:14-15 “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of by Paul.

And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us,”

At Philippi, a woman named Lydia “attends to what Paul says.”

In other words….she really listened to the scriptures Paul quoted….and what he said about Christ.

She becomes born again….and is baptized, right there at the river….

….quite a testimony before the others gathered.

Lydia is a merchant woman.

She is a seller of purple….whether the color in dye, or the fabric already dyed….

…this would have given her a good living.

And though she has a house in Philippi, she is from Thyatira, which is in Asia….the very place they could not go!

So the very first convert in Europe, is from Asia!

And the Lord moves her heart to open her house to Paul and his companions.

They opened the way of salvation to her….and she opens her doors to them.

(remember they had been in the city several days….moving in and out of the crowds…waiting for the leading of the Spirit)

She gave them a place to pray, and a place for the new believers to meet.

(We know in Philippi, that Paul and Silas are dragged before magistrates, beaten with rods (one of three times for Paul), and placed in prison….

The reason? They would have no alliance with evil.

A demon-possessed girl is a slave of fortune tellers….she gives predictions and they are often correct.

She starts to follow Paul and his companions…and say, “These are servants of the Most High God, which show the way of salvation”

If Paul would do nothing….he would be accepting her…and the devil’s “help”.

(Remember, when evil spirits declare Jesus to be the Son of God, when He was here….He silenced them, and cast them out. Light and darkness can not abide together.)

So Paul accepts the fact of the battle with evil….for he would not let this continue…and grieve the Holy Spirit.

He commands, in Jesus name for the demon to come out….knowing full well there would be consequences.

Dragged, hurriedly judged, beaten, imprisoned….those were the consequences.

I also want to mention….Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They could have skipped this treatment….if they had just spoken up.

But they did not refuse the persecution others might be subject to,….for Jesus sake. They identified with the believers….then, and to come….rather than Rome.

I want to mention here, that all the prisoners and the guard, after they are put in prison, would have heard Paul and Silas prayers to an invisible God….One, who they said, was with them!

Then these men sang praises!…to this God, for His Will, and Presence!

What kind of a God is this?

What a testimony!

And we know that God answered their prayers of subjection, by an earthquake….again what a testimony….

…and at the very least the guard and his family were born again.

Only when the magistrates were going to sneak them out, because they knew the mob judgement was wrong….did Paul speak up about their citizenship.

And this was to make them consider their actions for future time.)

I mention all this,…..for all this time Lydia is faithful….taking care of the other companions of Paul….for Jesus sake….even in the midst of anger and persecution.

She did not know what was going on…..or how her house would fare in all this….

….yet she remained faithful to the Lord…..and his servants.

She was from Thyatira, and she could have easily have left, to go back….away from any persecution…..but she didn’t.

She stayed and made a place for the believers.

And when Paul and Silas are released….they go to her house….and encourage the believers….for now there was a church in Lydia’s house. The Philippian church.

Acts 16:40 “And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed.”

Years later Paul writes this church:

Philippians 1:1-6 “Paul…to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are a Philippi….

Grace to unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.

For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Christ Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, will not leave any saint….or stop working with or in any saint….till He has performed….or finished the work He started.

(If you count the named believers, from Acts through the rest of the Bible….there are slightly over one hundred, which the Holy Spirit has put in the sacred record.

Over one third of those are women…..helpers of the gospel….in the midst of persecution and trial…..Lydia was one of these.

But there were thousands more….who were faithful to Christ Jesus….that were not named here.

Yet there is a record….where every name….every deed….every faithful help is written before God.

Let us all strive to hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant….you have been faithful in a few things….enter into the joy of thy Lord.”)

And I, if I be lifted up

John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.”

Jesus is speaking about His coming death on the cross….lifted up, between earth and heaven….for whosoever will, to see and believe:

His suffering and agony, His blood, the title above His head (written in several languages) “the King of the Jews”, and His death.

In apparent defeat,…..He would come into a position to draw all men unto Him by the power of His sacrifice, and resurrection.

He was the Son of God, who died to take away the sins of the world.

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

John 3:14-15 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

“Life” is what is promised to those who turn, believing, to Christ Jesus.

John 10:10 “…..: I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly.”

As “Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness”…..this is when the children of Israel, which were bitten by the “fiery servants”;…..and were cured and “lived” by looking up to the brass serpent, Moses stuck on a pole in the middle of the camp of Israel.

(The story: Israel was nearing their journey’s end….but discouragement led them to murmur and complain.

Now to complain about the hardness of the journey, was one thing….but they said, “…our soul loatheth this light bread.”

They brought the manna, into their arguement with God’s Ways.

Manna was that heavenly bread (it was small grain which tasted of wafers made with honey Exodus 16:31)…..sent day by day for their needs.

But they complained of the Way…..then loathed the goodness of God; a very serious thing.

So God sent fiery serpents to bite the people and many of them died.

[How many times have I complained to God about something….then…things got a lot worse;……and I realized how blessed I had been, before.

How many times have I had to confess this murmuring spirit of mine.]

They confessed their sin….but there was no cure for the bites….until God told Moses:

Numbers 21:8-9 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

It required them to believe God, and look up to the provision He made. When they did, they were healed.

[It was a serpent of brass….taking on the form of the curse….but having no poison, no sting….which represents Christ. He took our sin on Him, though He knew no sin, that we might be the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21])

And if we believe God, and look up to Christ Jesus, we are healed from sin and it’s destructive power upon us…..and are saved.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Eternal Life is a condition of life, began when we were born again…..and going on through this life, and all eternity, with God.

And every time we murmur or complain….and are chastened for it….we can look up and believe our blessed Lord again…..for He will heal our hearts, and minds….if we look again to Him.

Christ Jesus came to save all who will come to Him…..and believing is coming.

Will you look up to Christ, and live?