When the fullness of the time was come

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

“But…”. This is a connective term, which changes the direction of the narrative……having to do with what is before:

Galatians 4:3 “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:”

Paul is explaining that when we “were children in bondage”……this goes back to the traditions of Rome.

A man may have many children….his, or those he chooses…..but they are just children….till….

….the adoption of sons. He would go before the court of Rome….and openly declare that this child….was his son….his heir.

God has done this to us…..He has adopted us….and legally declared us to be His sons.

We were in bondage to the elements of the world….

What elements? The world’s attitudes, sins, anger and jealousy,….the world’s greed and self-exaltation…..the world’s lust for self-seeking pleasures.

We were under their control…..living and moving with the crowd to destruction…..

“But….”. Blessed change! But when the fullness of God’s time was finally come…..He did something so wonderful….

….so magnificent….

so different than expected….

….He sent forth on the greatest errand of mercy and hope….

……His Son, Christ Jesus, well beloved and holy….to redeem us….that we might be openly adopted and known as His sons.

Amen….Hallelujah….amen.

When we believe, then we are adopted and given HIs Spirit….as the certification of His salvation….and given an inheritance:

Romans 8:15, 17 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; But ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.”

Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Which is the earnest (down payment) of our inheritance…”

And now we will talk of the “fullness of the times”….now….in this time.

And God waited…..till the fullness of the time came for me,…for you….for us.

They saw our birth, and the gospel given…..how many times?

They saw our call…and our twists and turns in the way.

They saw our spiritual steps till now…..some small, some large….

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy 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.”

The body is the instrument of the spirit….so that if it be held for Christ, then the practical life is His.

The feet for walking at His bidding.

The hands to work His Way.

The tongue to speak for Him.

The ear to hear His Words….promise and command.

The eye to look at everything as under His control.

body is the Temple of God, for it holds the Spirit of God within—and we are to bring our body to the Holy Spirit, and deny ourselves.

Romans 11:36 “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

This is how the body….the whole life, finds itself under the government of the Kingdom of Christ.

Now the fullness of the time has come for me, for you…..for us…..now.

As joint-heirs of Christ will we take our place in His kingdom, now….and be found faithful in that which He has called us to do?

Deborah and Barak

Judges 5:1-2 “Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.”

The story here is:

Israel is in the promised land, but they were often lazy, in conquering their inheritance. They often let the people of the land live among them…..this became a snare to them, for they began to follow the worship of the gods of these people.

Each time they did, God would send nations against them; stealing their harvests, and taking anything they wanted…..to wake them up to their disobedience. This was one such time…

Judges 4:2-3 “And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera…

And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.”

But, when Israel began to cry, the Lord began to move toward them with deliverance…

Judges 4:4, 6 “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

And she sent and called Barak……, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?”

Here a judge of Israel….Deborah (also a prophetess), calls Barak to do his duty.

It seems God has already spoken to him about it…..but he has not gone.

So Deborah rebukes him (to correct with words to get the person back into God’s Way)……and tells him that it was time to go.

She also tells him what God has told her will happen;….if he does what he is told:

Judges 4:7 “And I (the Lord) will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.”

Barak had hesitated when he had heard from God to do this…..it was an impossible task.

But now, when Deborah had called him, and given him a promise…..he should have shaken off the fear, and believed God.

(How often we are called to do the same….to cast off our fear [His grace is always ready to help us] and to believe God, and be obedient to His commands to us.

Yet we hesitate…..and the impossible, grows more impossible by the day.

What should we do?

Paul wrote the Corinth Church, which was to deal with a situation in the church which was ruining their witness; telling them to do it….and adding this:

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

And in every situation, we should do the same….especially, if we have hesitated before.)

But Barak wanted a guarantee, of sorts….

Judges 4:8 “And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.”

Deborah agrees…..but tells Barak: because you have obeyed in this way….the honor will not be yours….but a woman will have the honor.

(I must say here, that this is pretty childish and petty of Barak. Israel will suffer because he would not have his guarantee?

I believe this is the reason that God removed the honor from him.)

But he obeys. And he and the ten thousand men, and Deborah go up to mount Tabor.

(I must also add here, that the eagerness of the those that came with him is seen! In the song of Victory it is called “willingly offered themselves.”)

Sisera hears of this march, and eager to put down any who challenge them….goes out to battle.

The Battle:

Barak and the ten thousand are on the mount.

Sisera and nine hundred chariots….and thousands of men came up toward the mount.

To get there they had to cross the river Kishon.

Deborah tells Barak…….Now is the time: “Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: Is not the Lord gone out before thee?”

So while Barak and his ten thousand men come running down the mount…..God is slowing the chariots in the river….clogging up the advance toward the mount and in the confusion and ensuing fear…..

Barak and his men gain the victory.

Barak then goes after the chariots and the men in them…..for they begin to turn around and run….along with the army of Sisera.

Barak and his men chase them….destroying Sisera’s army as they go.

Sisera, who had been in one of the lead chariots, which had been clogged in the river….jumps out and runs away.

An interesting side-note is put right in the middle of this narrative (Judges 4:11):

“Heber the Kenite,…had severed himself from the Kenites,”……..evidently rejecting the Kenite religion and choosing to believe in the Living God of Israel.(2 Corinthians 6:17 “Come out from among them”.)

And as a shepherd….he pitched his tent at Kadesh….which was close to the coming battle.

And here we meet Jael….the wife of the Heber the Kenite, the shepherd. Sisera, who was running away….saw her tent, as a place to hide.

She saw Sisera coming, and as he came to her tent….and he hid under a rug.

And when he fell asleep, she slew him.

Later Barak came and she showed him the mighty Sisera…..dead, by the hand of a woman.

The enemy was slain, but not by Barak; who refused the honor…..but by a woman, converted to God, and who He could use.

Then sang Deborah and Barak, saying:

Judges 5:2-3, 21, 24, 31 “Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.

Hear, O ye kings, give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praises to the Lord God of Israel.

The river of Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, Thou (Lord) hast trodden down strength.

Blessed above women shall Jael the wife Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be of women in the tent.

So let all Thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.

And the land had rest forty years.”

We are called, as the Lord’s servants, to be obedient…..and by faith to overcome…….overcome anything which stands in the way of us doing God’s Will.

Whether that be fear, weakness, doubt, or anything…..He will honor us, if we will honor Him….and obey.

To “willingly offer” ourselves to stand with Him in the battles of our life….this is what He asks.

Will we?

The two trees

Genesis 2:8-9 “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

In the garden of Eden there were many trees….but two were placed in the middle of the garden…..next to each other….but very separate.

One, Adam and Eve could eat of: the tree of life.

One, Adam and Eve were commanded to not eat of….in fact, it was the only tree they could not eat of.

It was the only restriction on their life in Paradise….to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Let us look at these trees….

The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were both beautiful…and good for food.

God had not put crab apples on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil….both trees were equally attractive.

We could ask….Why did not God make it so Adam and Eve would refuse the tree….from simply the outward look?

Because God’s Authority in our lives, is built upon faith….upon believing and obeying God, because He is our God…

….not on whether we see the danger God warns us of.

Genesis 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Adam and Eve understood the command….yet they chose to refuse to obey it….in the time of temptation.

Let us consider “temptation”. Temptation is a test…a putting to proof.

It can come in adversity, in trial, in desire…..”but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” (James 1:13)

Genesis 3:4-5 “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

[There were several tricks here:

1st…minimizing the Word of God…don’t worry about what God said. (And how many times are we tricked the same way?)

2nd….the devil stressing that their eyes should really look at “this” tree….forget the others. (And what we look to,…is important.)

3rd….suggesting a illusion of greatness….for them, now. (Self first…my feelings, my plans, my needs…..is always a temptation)

4th….placing before them the unknown…think about it!….the “evil” that they could know….for they knew good. (And how much the devil tricks us into seeking “something”, which we do not know.)]

What the basic temptation for every child of God is…..

…..will we believe…..trust….and obey God,….

…or will we believe the Adversary, the devil.

Right next to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…..was a tree of life…..which when they sinned, they were shut out from (Genesis 3:24)….

…but we are brought back to, when we are born again.

Now let us look this other “tree”.

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

1 Peter 2:24 “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.”

Of this tree’s fruit we are bidden to draw near….and eat. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8)

Just as Adam lost his spiritual life by eating of the first tree…..so we have spiritual and eternal life by “eating” of this “tree”.

John 6:53-54 “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

On this tree,…the cross of Christ,….we are bidden to look in faith….and eat of the fruit of Christ’s sacrifice…..and be made whole:

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.”

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

And as the devil used every trick to get Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden tree….

….so he uses every trick on mankind now….to keep them from eating of the “tree” which would give them life….in Christ Jesus,…and return them to God.

Ephesians 4:18 “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:”

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them.”

Notice the terms “darkened” and “blindness”.

In most of the places where spiritual blindness is spoke of….darkness is also present.

The devil still works to make the Word of God a lie…..what darkness that makes!

The devil will suggest to look everywhere but to Christ…..for the world is full of baubles.

The devil will puff up our self-life…..and say we should not submit and yield to Christ….but rule ourselves….what darkness that is.

1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Praise God! Christ will give us light! A light that shines into our hearts….

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

The light to see….”the face of Jesus Christ”. As the song says…..”there is light for a look at the Savior…” (Turn your eyes upon Jesus)

And this light continues…..grows brighter….till we stand in heaven, where there is no need for the sun…..for He is the light.

Let us eat and drink freely from this “tree” of life….and receive all the fruits, within us.

“O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in HIs wonderful face;

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of His glory and grace.

Thro’ death into life everlasting, He passed, and we follow HIs there;

Over us sin no more hath dominion, For more than conquerors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!”

The Patience of God: Come, let us Reason Together

Isaiah 1:18 “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.”

How patient the Lord is with us.
Talking to us, again and again.

Sometimes, He deals with an individual for a long time before there is the rebuke or the chastening.

Hebrews 12:5 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him:”

And it is all to get us into the way of peace.
It is very dangerous to be out of fellowship with our Lord.
This world is under the influence of our Adversary, the devil. Our only safe refuge, here, is next to Jesus.

Sometimes, He sends messages, or people to say what we are refusing to listen to,….from Him.

( I knew a lady, who had asked for some tracts from me. My ministry led me down that way, at that time. And she was interested in reading some of them.
So I brought several and gave them to her.
I had not noticed, but on the top was one on gossiping. I did not know she had this problem, and paid no attention to her reaction when I gave them to her.
Latter, she came up to me and asked me if I had given that tract to her on purpose.
I told her, No, I just brought some for you to read.
Well, she then told me that she was a gossip. And that the Lord had been dealing with her about it—but she had been trying to ignore it.
I told her I did not know that and if I had offended her, I was sorry; but if the Lord had spoken to her, that was between her and Him.
Then she smiled, and said, Yes, she would need to get it set right with Him.)

Sometimes, He makes us feel the darkness of our turning from Him; giving little hints of His light, if we would just return to Him.

However He deals with us; He does it out of love for us.
“Come, let us…”

Isaiah 1:18 “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.”

This is not one-sided; it is the believer and their Lord sitting down and reasoning together.

This is a reality that must be of the Holy Spirit sinking deep within your soul.

It requires honesty, to sit still, and tell the Lord why you do not want to do what He tells you;……
…….or to tell Him of that thing that has become more important in your life than Him.

What is more important then His Will?

And as we are honest with Him, He will show us the truth about the whole thing.
(Isn’t wonderful that He is always saving us from all that would hurt us!)

We are totally dependent upon Him: His light, power, grace, mercy, peace, and joy.

But He is Almighty. The Creator and Sustainer of everything. He is able to help us in all that we come into.

He says,
“Come, let us reason together…”

Will we?

Faith: what it is and what it does.

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

Substance is Reality. It makes real the things of God, to us.

We have so many virtual things offered us today. Things which speak to our imagination or feelings.

But faith is not virtual, but real.

It is the attribute of God which is imparted to us by the Holy Spirit, when we are born again.

The substance which is faith, is Reality. It is actual. It makes a difference within us, and for us.

And our lives should “evidence” that substance, if we have faith.

“Evidence” shows forth the change that is happening to us.

As Jesus said: John 3:7-8 ” Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Simply, you see the effects of the wind, or what it moves; but not the wind itself.

So is everyone that is born again. You see the effects of the new birth; not the birth itself.

We naturally fight against God; as our King.

Romans 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

You might say: “No, I don’t. I go to Church, and I am active in the ministries for charity, etc.”

But those “good” works are as the Pharisees of old–unless you love God in the doing of them.

(Doing to be seen or approved of men, does not count with God.

Matthew 6:5 “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogue and in the corners of the street, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.”)

Only works done out of love to Christ, count with God. (1 Corinthians 13)

Which brings us back to “enmity to God”. If you have a fit every time the

command of God speaks to your heart, then your “natural” self is showing.

You can “tithe all that you have” (Luke 18:12); but if you do it, to get something from God: you won’t.

Faith, on the other hand, brings all things down from God, to you.

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 them that diligently seek him.”

“That seek….Him.”

True faith makes real every promise given, except those for a future date. And even these we may taste of right now, though we can not experience them fully.

Faith pleases God, because 1) it is from God.

2)Because it makes the heart love Him, and the mind trust Him.

Remember, faith given us by the Holy Spirit at new birth, makes real the things of God.

Once we are born again, we receive a new nature.

Our “flesh”, or old nature is not eradicated; but it is instead, brought into subjection to God, and His Word, by the Holy Spirit….using faith.

Faith is the most powerful of the graces God gives us; for it gives sight to our spiritual eyes, so we can see the truth.

It gives understanding to our ears, so we can hear what is truly being said, both by God and men.

And it moves or influences our hearts to love and obey Christ.

By faith we, as His children, walk from here to heaven, with Him.

Faith is not: “I hope so, or I think so, or I wish so”; but faith knows, in the only way true knowledge comes: Personally by the Holy Spirit from God directly to you (1 John 2:20, 27).

It makes His Presence real to us, His commands powerful in our lives, and His Will the best way to go.

And His Holy Spirit our blessed companion, who guides us into more faith as we go along.

By faith Abel, Noah, Abraham, etc. did exploits, which manifested God, to the generation in which they lived.

For it is promised in Daniel: “…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” (Daniel 11:32).

Faith makes us know our God, Who He is, and what He will do for us.

What exploits should we do, in the generation in which we live?

Hebrews 11:33-34 “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, and wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.

Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

Through faith in God, ordinary believers, by their obedience, did great things.

Again, what great things are we called to do by faith, through the power of the Holy Spirit?

“Subdue Kingdoms, Obtain Promises, and Stop the mouths of Lions.”

Subdue Kingdoms: That is, we are to bring, by exercising our faith in obedience, all other domineering influences in our lives, under the control of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Whether this is our besetting sin, our habits, or other people’s influence; we are to subdue them all, to Christ and His Word.

Obtain Promises: To “obtain”, is to get the promise into your practical life.

(You may have a promise for your ministry, your personal health, or your work; but if you are not experiencing those promises, you have not obtained them)

It is not “claim them” only, but to have them really for what they were given for.

You might have the assurance they will come,(blessed assurance-a foretaste of the reality); but until they do come, they are not obtained.

(I have obtained promises by prayer–some prayed for a long time. Other promises, I have had to do the obedience commanded. For as I did, the power was given.)

Stop the mouths of Lions: These lions are not the ones Daniel was saved from; but the roaring lion of the Adversary, the Devil.

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

A roaring lion will seek to frighten you from following the Lord Jesus.

Walking about, seeking whom he may devour. In other words, seeking those who are not walking in God’s Light.

Our means of doing this is:

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.”

1 Peter 5:9 ” Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

We cast ourselves, by faith, on God’s Care;

And we resist by faith the fear, and stay in God’s Way for us.

“Have faith in God.” Jesus said, when He was here. (Mark 11:22). And so we should. He is our all in all. He gives us His Holy Spirit to guide, and comfort us; and His faith to bring us into all He has for us.

Do you have the reality, which is the true faith of God, in your life?

If you are not truly born again, the invitation to come to Christ is still going out.

John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name.”

Receive Him: “God be merciful to me as sinner, and save me for Jesus sake; and come into my life and reign there. In Jesus Name Amen.”

When you are born again, yield to the Holy Spirit, and walk in the Light of His love.

The Sieve of Preconceived Ideas

We all know what a sieve is. It lets somethings through, while blocking others.

Well, the sieve of preconceived ideas, is where we let some of what God is telling us through; but blocking other things, because of an idea we had about what He was going to say.

How many of our children, turn us, as parents, off?

Because they know what we are going to say, and they just do not want to hear it again?

This is the sieve of preconceived ideas.

We think we know what God is talking to us about, so we just sort of,…..stop listening along the way.

Well, we can overcome this by the power of the Holy Spirit’s honesty.

He will enable us to see what is truth, but we have to will to see it.

There was a Pastor I knew once, who used to say to his wife, when they would disagree, “I will accept the correction.”

Sounds good, but it still places the parties at distance points; not together.

Acceptance is not yielding; but simply acknowledging another’s viewpoint.

No reconciliation there.

But “I will submit to the correction.” ; as we should do to God, brings us into the reconciliation to Him, that we need.

When we are reconciled to God, we are placed in that position to receive full power from Him. We are again sitting next to Him, holding hands.

Reconciliation makes us “partners” again. (That is what it means in the Greek)

If we are simply accepting His word, we can still be far from Him, and not receive the power He wants to give us.

Ok, fine, whatever; is really what it sounds like to God.

There must be an absolute surrender to Christ Jesus as Lord.

Then, there can be many reconciliations to His Word. And when we are, there will be more power in my life now.

We will know His will and be enabled to do His Will, that we might be blessed in His Will.

Matthew 16:5 “And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.”

This sets up an example of preconceived ideas getting in the way of our hearing what Jesus really is saying to us.

Matthew 16:6-7 “And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.”

They were afraid Jesus was correcting them because they forgot to bring food for the trip across the sea.

But Jesus was not concerned about food. Had He not fed five thousand with a few loaves of bread and a few fishes?

Matthew 16:8,11-12. “Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, Oh ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have no bread?

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees?

Then understood they how that he bade them not beware the leaven of the bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”

Leaven was always in a bad connotation in the scriptures. It took substance and filled it with holes full of air.

(Now I love leavened bread, but when it comes to the Bible, leaven was making flour and water look larger than it was, bigger than it was. In other words it was a picture of hypocrisy.)

The disciples were not really listening, because as soon as Jesus started to speak about leaven…they thought of their mistake in not bringing bread.

How often we are the same. The Lord try’s to speak to us in a message or Bible teaching, and we are worried about this,……or thinking ahead to that.

Jesus wants us to understand all that He has for us, to come as close as we can.

Christ Jesus will lift us up, enlighten our path, give us courage, and so much more; But we must draw near, and hear Him.

Giving up our preconceived ideas; and really hear what He is saying to us.

There is so much He wants to give us, so much we need to receive; let us come close by yielding to Him, and hear.

Hezekiah and the Sun Dial

Isaiah 38:1 “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.”

Hezekiah had just had a victory over one of the greatest armies of that time; the Assyrians.

God had interfered with Sennacherib, Assyria’s king, from destroying Jerusalem,….and from the enemy’s boast of “defeating God”.

(Of course, God could not be defeated, but Sennacherib had boasted of doing so; foolish man!)

But now Hezekiah is taken with a disease, which will be fatal if God does not help.

Isaiah is sent for; and in the middle of a life of usefulness, Hezekiah is told to prepare for his death.

2 Kings 20:1 “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live.”

Why was this happening to Hezekiah?

Perhaps a little pride had entered his heart, after such a victory; and God was trying to show it to him.

How often we take the praise for ourselves.

Hezekiah was approximately thirty-nine years of age, and he had no son to be heir to the throne. God had promised that David’s line would have a man on the throne, and yet there was none to take over after his death.

These were many of the things he thought of as he lay dying.

What could he do?

He was a very good king and had done many things that had glorified God to the people in both Judah and Israel (this was a the time of the two kingdoms).

He had “removed the high places, and brake the images” (idols) that people had worshipped.

He “trusted in the Lord God of Israel;”

2 Kings 18:6 “For he clave (gave his whole heart) to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.”

Hezekiah sees himself as dead. What could he do?

He turns his face to the the wall, probably toward the Temple; and prays:

First: he tells the Lord that when he dies, he will leave many things undone. “The residue of my years.”(Isaiah 38:10)

Second : he thinks on the wasting of his body. In weakness, he contemplates more weakness, till death.

Third: he prays that God will “undertake for me”. (Isaiah 38:14). For there is nothing he can do. He is a king, a good king, yet nothing exempts him from death. So God is his only hope.

Forth: He begins to feel that God will act, and in fact; God is acting. He prays, “but Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.” (Isaiah 38:17)

It is good to remember our sins, when we are praying to the Lord. That we may be sure they are confessed up to date.

This word “love” here is a very affectionate love.

(And certainly by looking forward to the merits of Christ, all Hezekiah’s sins were purged.)

Isaiah has given his message, and is leaving the palace, when God speaks to him:

2 Kings 20:4-6 “And it came to pass afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of My people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the House of the Lord.

And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for Mine own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.”

God has heard Hezekiah’s prayer, and answered it with peace, and healing.

Even in this miraculous message, there is a use of means: a way for the disease to be healed.

Hezekiah would have three more days of illness; then health.

Isaiah 38:21 “For Isaiah had said, Get them a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.”

Hezekiah is grateful and praises the Lord, asking for a sign:

2 Kings 20:8 “And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the House of the Lord the third day?”

Now we might think this was a bad thing; but it actually was often the way God affirmed His Word in the Old Testament, by signs.

2 Kings 20:9-11 “ And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, the Lord will do the thing that He hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or back ten degrees?

And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees, nay, but let the shadow turn backward ten degrees.

And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord; and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.”

Hezekiah asked that the sun might go back ten degrees; symbolizing that God gave him more life.

Isaiah prays for it; and it is accomplished.

Ten degrees the sun went backward.

Most believe that the sun dial of Ahaz was outside the sick chamber of Hezekiah; and that he could see the shadow cast by the dial actually go back.

Fifteen years were added to Hezekiah’s life. Fifteen more years, to do good for God and His people.

Our lives are in the Lord’s hand.

But no matter how long we have here; what He calls us to do with them is:

1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whither therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Ask and Ye shall Receive

Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For everyone that asketh recieveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

For what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”

First, let me ask you: do you want what God has for you?

Then ask for it—you will receive an answer.

But sometimes it is an answer that has a fulfillment, later.

So what do you do? You seek for the means of getting the fulfillment. And use it—that is seeking.

(Perhaps it is a promise that needs to be accomplished: for overcoming sin, for spiritual growth, for healing, for meeting your needs [yes, God is interested in every part of you; your wellbeing, safety, and finances])

What can the means be? Prayer is a great means. It is not reminding the Lord of what He said, but showing the Lord that you expect Him to do it.

This is the knocking: you keep after this promise.

Ezekiel 36:36-37 “Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.

(Here is the promise, but what did Israel do with it? It saddened the Lord that they did not seek for it enough to inquire after it.)

Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them;…”

Belief is a great means:

It strengthens you against the whispers of the Adversary, when he says that God is not going to do this for you. (“Sure,” he whispers, “God might do it for others, but not for you.”)

Belief, on the other hand says: I am staying with the Lord. I know He knows my circumstance….I also know He will help me in it, bring me through it, and be with me in it. We “knock” by believing. Even to the point of telling the Lord: “I believe, help my unbelief.” He will.

(Mark 9:23-24 “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.”)

Obedience is another means: Sometimes we just have to get up and do what is next, and next; leaving the final outcome to God. The “knocking” is the obedience.

Mark 11:12-15 “And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, He was hungry:

And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if haply He might find anything thereon: and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.

(If a fig tree had leaves, it ought to have fruit; since the fruit comes on the tree before the leaves. But it did not.)

And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And His disciples heard it.

And they came to Jerusalem…..”

They did not hang around and see if it was going to happen; they went into Jerusalem where the Lord cleansed the Temple the last time. They had a day of work to do. And did it.

Mark 11:19-22 “When even was come, He went out of the city.

And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto Him, Master, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst is withered away.

And Jesus answering said unto them, Have faith in God.”

We ask, because we need. He answers many different ways: with further instructions, with promises,…and with power at the moment.

(How wonderful are His ways! How many lessons I have learned by them.)

We seek, because the need is still there, and we need to know the means God wants us to use to see it brought to pass.

And we knock, because we know God has heard, and encouraged us to keep going to get the blessing. And when He opens, He will give it.

He does not give “look alike” blessings, which are the stone for bread, the snake for the fish (eel).

But He knows how to give “good gifts” to those of His children which ask Him.

Ask

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

We have spoken of these verses before…..but I wish to point out the personal pronoun….”you”. It shall be given “you”…..it shall be opened unto “you”.

So, if you would have what the Lord has for you…..”ask”

We think of “ask” as…..beceeching the Lord for something….and sometimes that is true…

….but here it means….”to petition for something due us”.

Luke 11:9-11 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?”

This is why we can “ask”….petition for something that is due us…..because we have a Heavenly Father that gives us the Holy Spirit.

Luke 11:13 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”

The Holy Spirit was given Christ Jesus without measure……His capacity was limitless.

Our capacity to “hold” the Holy Spirit is limited……but it is limited by our subjection and obedience.

In other words, we have more of Him…..and all that He gives,….as we trust and obey.

This is to ask aright.

We often petition the Lord for things……I do this, too.

We have a need…..so we begin there….instead of asking for more of the Holy Spirit….which gives us all the things of Christ to our soul.

For myself and others, I have been asking for contentment of late. And the Lord has showed me a great lesson:

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

When we think of riches…..money comes to mind.

Some might think of family first. Or the love of someone or something.

(And we should be thankful for all of the things God gives us.)

But God says:

A right relationship with me…..and contentment with what I give…..is riches indeed.

These riches,….if you would be rich in God….come through the Holy Spirit. He is within us, always giving us things…..always bestowing all we have in Christ….into us.

And contentment is one of these things.

Contentment means: “I have enough, and so I am satisfied”……it is a personal thing. A thing between you and the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation (your walk through life) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Now we are to ask for what is “due us”…..as God’s children.

And that is more of the Holy Spirit within.

What can He not do?

Guide us? He does.

Strengthen us? He does.

Give us Light to brighten our minds and hearts? He does.

Give us peace….that peace that Christ won for us on the Cross? He does.

Give us ability? Yes, He does.

Shall He withhold contentment…..or satisfaction with His Way? No, but He will surely give….surely fill us up….to our capacity.

But do we want more of Him?

Do we want His many and manifold gifts to “me”? For it is personal.

“Ask”…..and….”how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”

Spiritual Maturity: Or how do I grow up into Christ

Ephesians 4:15 “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”

We are called to grow up unto Christ. When we are born again, we are spiritual babes:

1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

But we are not to stay babes, we are to grow in grace, and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

We are to become spiritually mature Christians; able to stand in the evil day, and able to help others.

Sometimes when Christians are called to a work (and we are all called as witnesses; Acts 1:8);

or we receive spiritual gifts, we feel we have grown up.

But it is not gifts which make you grow in grace,….it is only by denying our self-life and yielding to Christ’s life by the Holy Spirit within, which makes us grow.

The Corinthian Church shows this:

1 Corinthians 1:4-7 “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which was given you by Jesus Christ;

That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:”

They were behind in no gift; But they were carnal….born again, but selfish.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 ” And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as to spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

The gifts and knowledge they had, they misused.

They had them…..

But they used them to make themselves seem “better” than others,…….and so caused divisions and strife.

They caused bitterness, and were tearing the Church apart.

To cause it to depart from the very foundation on which it was laid….which was Christ as Lord and Savior.

They sought their own fame, and not the encouragement and building up of the Church into Christ.

And so they had to be spoken to like spoiled children.

It is not what is given to us by God; but it is what we use,…….and how much we let the Holy Spirit change us by the experiences we pass through.

Paul said, years after his conversion:

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

We, too, are to learn of Christ:

Ephesians 4:21-24 ” If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

That ye put off concerning the former conversation (way of life) the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Are you ready to learn of Christ?

He is more than ready to teach you His way of doing things; and give you more of His abundant life, in your life, today.