Loving Truth

This week's Good Word written by David McGrew ~ 

John 14:6 “ I am the way, THE TRUTH and the life. “

Growing up as a boy, in my time and place, I very typically had a somewhat fragile relationship with the truth.  I was used to bending it to my needs in the moment. 

Without making excuses or casting blame, in a world where you felt isolated and surrounded by ignorance, thugs, and bullies, it was a go-to tactic of self-preservation. 

The problem with having a tentative relationship with the truth is that it alters and hardens a person’s perception of reality.  Even a child’s. The great danger of course is that deception and lying are the core elements of virtually every other sin a man can commit. If you can’t lie well, if you don’t learn to lie to yourself, you won’t get very far into sin without it destroying everyone and everything around you. No one wants that, so you learn to cover, hide, alter and outright deny in an attempt to hold life together.  

Later on through, after deception and sin have brought us to our knees,  that harsh jolt of reality in meeting THE TRUTH; that jolt we now call being born again, begins a dramatic reset of our relationship with truth. All truth. 

Whether it’s a slow or a fast, or even a complete, reboot depends on many things, but it’s inevitably true that staying alive to Christ both costs, and pays, through whole new understandings of reality.  

Growing awareness to the depravity and deception around you, awakens understanding to the deception and depravity you might of once thought of as reality. That can have some unpleasant moments. 

Christ is THE TRUTH, and as we come to trust and believe this, we understand he’s worthy to be the lens we view the universe and its fulness through. 

With some fear and trepidation, we finally grasp that we can’t turn truth off and on. If we deny the realities that we don’t want to accept, we alter our ability to receive the truths we do want to accept. We are not the standard of truth. 

To stay alive, healthy, and growing requires us to see truth as more than data and facts.  It requires an approach that goes beyond the handling of cold information. An intimacy is required for both the person of Christ and the truths that He rules by.  An intimacy, that increasingly invites us to receive, “a love of the truth.”  It is that love of the truth that guarantees our ever-upward growth in His kingdom. 

Hear the word of the Lord

Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord…”

Ezekiel 37:4 ESV 

I’ve been writing these past weeks about the foundational need for the Word in our lives and the benefits it brings.  

All Life, from the Author of Life, comes to us through Jesus, the word made flesh. 

From F.F. Bruces’ Commentary on the Gospel of John, he writes about John 5:35 ~

“For Jesus is himself the gift of which he is the giver.  He has come to give himself that men and women may live by him.  To partake of the bread of life, they must come to him, they must believe in him.  This is total commitment to Christ, this appropriating him by faith, is the secret of eternal life and perpetual soul-refreshment’. 

When Ezekiel is carried in the Spirit to this valley of bones, he notes they were ‘very dry’.  The Lord asks Ezekiel if these bones can live and Ezekiel's response is much like ours would be, ‘only you know’ God.  It is in the midst of what looks impossible that we have God’s prophetic word decreed.  

We see, just as we learned in Genesis’ creation, the presence of God, the Spirit hovering, and the word spoken.  Again, we will note that Ezekiel is given the decree to declare by the Lord, ‘say to them’…..

⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath² (² Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10) to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 

Each declaration is met with the activity, ‘a sound, and a rattling as the bones come together and are covered.  Together, yet lifeless, he is then instructed to prophesy to the breath (spirit) to breathe upon the slain that they may live.  Breath enters, they live and stand, an exceedingly great army.

The Lord tells Ezekiel that the bones represent the whole house of Israel, who say about themselves ’Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost and we are indeed cut off.’ 

God’s power and word comes to a hopeless, dried-up, and defeated people.  

I’m using Ezekiels' vision to emphasize God’s heart and purpose for His church today.  We may feel hopeless, dried up, and defeated over many areas of our lives, yet God comes as the Author and Giver of life into these places. 

He decrees a word, he has decreed THE WORD, that brings all we need, and by the very breath of His spirit, He waters, refreshes, and strengthens us for all battles we must engage in… ‘they stood on their feet an exceedingly great army’.

Dry bones, lifeless, defeated people, are created by turning away from Him as their life’s source. These dry bones have ceased to ‘hear the word of the Lord’.  Where there is no hearing there ultimately is no believing. Hebrews tells us the evil heart of unbelief causes one to depart from the ‘living’ God’, chapter 3:12.   There can be no salvation without a returning.  God’s restoration of cleansing with a new heart, and a new spirit,  all come into us through our receptivity of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We bow to the declarations of His word.  We hear, we believe and we live.

The Lord Gives Wisdom

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 2:6 

God is described as Omniscient - all-knowing.  While the Bible doesn’t use this word, 1 John 3:20 tells us God does know everything.

We are all always looking for wisdom and understanding.  Knowledge is readily available to those who seek it, but wisdom, defined as the ability to understand and use knowledge correctly, is what we must have.  

Proverbs tells us wisdom is the principal thing.  Get wisdom and with the wisdom, get understanding.  Wisdom was with the Father in the beginning, beside Him like a master workman.  She was daily His delight rejoicing before him always.

The Bible contains three books that are commonly referred to as Wisdom literature: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.  Each book holds its own perspective and overview of the questions of life as well as the wisdom from God as their answers.  But beyond these three books, we read from 2 ™ 3:16-17,

 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

I also love the picture painted in Proverbs 8, showing wisdom as present every time a decision needs to be made. Wisdom holds the bird's-eye view, above all, looking down. She sees and knows and calls out. As a matter of fact, wisdom doesn’t just call; she cries aloud. She speaks and utters the truth. All the words of her mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.  

We are admonished, when we lack wisdom, to ask God, James 1 and told he gives it to us liberally and doesn’t scold us about our lack ~ BUT (don’t you love these, BUTS there is always a condition to meet with the promise of God.  He does his part and we have ours) BUT, let him ask in faith, (he who comes to God must believe he is and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him) without doubting.  What is the doubting?  Is it doubting God will speak, or doubting what we hear?  Either way, the doubting individual ends up double-minded, driven, and tossed back and forth.  We’ve all been there and know that experience.    

Here’s the deal—the Bible is God's mind and wisdom, and only in and through it do we first find knowledge. The new birth brings entrance with the working of His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into His truth. He brings forth wisdom and understanding. His Spirit takes from His word and reveals this to us. He shows us the right word and the right way. Revelation is our ah-ha moment of awareness. 

Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are all identified in Isaiah 11 as parts of the whole Spirit of God. The seven Spirits that stand in the book of Revelation before the throne of God are described as ‘burning lamps and seeing eyes’ (Revelation 4:5; 5:6).  

How do I know when I have found the wisdom of God?  James 3:13-17 gives us some guidelines of wisdom when it comes to relationships.  The word delineates wisdom that comes from God and wisdom that is just earthly, not spiritual, and occasionally even demonic. 

God's wisdom is first pure ~ free from selfish motives and jealousy. Then it is peaceable (as opposed to anxious and fearful), gentle (non-aggressive, pushy), open to reason (a willing and hearing ear), full of mercy (extended forgiveness)  and good fruits, impartial (thy will be done) and sincere, providing a harvest of righteousness.  

What to do? What to do? We begin with the fear of the Lord, which opens wisdom and understanding. We listen and watch daily at the gates and wait beside His doors until we know His heart and mind.  Then, we step out in bold confidence, acting on His wisdom to achieve His will.

The word of truth

He chose to give us birth through the ‘word of truth’  that we would be a kind of first fruits of His creation. 

 James 1:18 

For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me….John 17:8 

Sanctify them in Truth, Your word is truth ~ John 17: 17

Faith all begins here, through believing and receiving the bible as the infallible word of truth.  Without this, we have no foundation for our belief system.  Isn’t it interesting our scripture today paints a picture for us of first fruits being birthed through the word of truth?  

F. F. Bosworth writes in Christ the Healer, “ It is only by knowing that God promises what you are seeking that all uncertainty can be removed and a steadfast faith is made possible.”  I want to add believing to the knowing.   It is not only what we know, but what we believe and hold as truth.  It is this word of truth, this gospel, that makes faith possible, unlocking the power of God unto salvation.  

How do we know the truth?  Can we prove it?  It comes solely from our own personal faith’s choices and experiences. This is why when something doesn’t happen like we think it should we are tempted to change our belief system.  Yet we need to know on a spiritual level that our belief system, this trust we have in his word being the ultimate truth,  is constantly challenged. 

We are faced with two dynamics ~ God’s truth or Satan’s lies, “Has God really said, or God said it, and I believe it. 

With life and death set before us each day, the bible encourages us to choose life, Deut. 30:19-20, knowing our choice will either lead us into the blessing of the Lord or bring a curse (the disasters that occur when we choose wrongly).  The Message bible from verse 20 admonishes us to Love our God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. 

This begins with the choice we make to firmly embrace God’s word.  Jesus revealed in John 8:44 the devil is a liar and the father of all lies.  He does not stand in truth because there is no truth in Him.   Our ability to hold a knowledge of the word gives us the ability to rightly discern truth from a lie, Hebrews 4:12.  Our believing of His words, gives us victory over every wile and strategy of the evil one. 

The bible assures us that God is not like man.  He does not lie. Numbers 23:19   In fact the bible says it is impossible for God to lie. Hebrews 6:18   God has decreed, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Ps. 89:34.

It is the truth you know and believe that brings freedom to our lives. This reality creates the foundation of all we stand upon.  “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”.John 8:31.  Jesus’ own testimony was,      “I am …. Truth. John 14:6.

It is in Jesus, the word made flesh, that we continue our way into life through His truth.  As we read Jesus’ prayer from John 17, He declared in verse seventeen, ‘Your word is truth’.  Jesus and the Word are a divine union of absolute agreement. 

When we choose to believe God is not a liar and His word is truth we can find wisdom to lead us into and through our daily experiences.  

We were never created to live apart from Him, His Spirit, or His Word, but like Jesus, we are destined to find our union in Him in perfect harmony through the receptivity of the word of truth.  

The Spoken Word

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us….” 

John 1: 14 

We have seen how all things began in Genesis and John. I don’t want to be tedious, but as the NT admonishes, saying something again is never a bad thing; it is actually beneficial for our edification and growth. 

The word that came out of the mouth of God became Jesus Christ, the son of God, the son of man and this has become the principle of the power of the spoken word.  Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that this word is alive and powerful.  The word that goes forth from the mouth of God, God's word, when spoken, is powerful and will not return to him empty, but will accomplish what He desires and succeed in its purpose. Isaiah 55:1.

There is a principle of confession, but this does not give us the freedom to pick and choose the word we want established.  God is the creator of all things. He is the author of His creation.  He has written the story.  Now, we’re simply privileged to participate in the verbal expression of that story.  As Jesus was the express image of the Father, we have been left here on this earth to continue this work.  Everything is to flow from Him. 

Let’s consider what Jesus said from the following verses in John's Gospel ~

• Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me.  John 8:28

• For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.  John 12:49

Note from these two verses that Jesus expressed unity with the Father.  Throughout the gospels we can read the very heart and mind of God as it is expressed through His vessel.  The demand for the ‘son of man’ to be fully submitted, in perfect harmony, oneness that ‘if, like Jesus, you see me, you see the Father’ has set the standard for every believer.  

Jesus said, whatever you ask the Father in my name, that will I do.  This divine alignment, so that we can truly say our words are Jesus’ desire, is required for our words to be effective. Since Jesus is the spoken word of God made flesh, we know the place of our personal submission begins the creative processes of God within us. 

Not only do we see the miraculous occurring through the spoken word but we find the very purposes of God articulated as Jesus instructs (the sermon on the mount, parables, corrections, rebukes) and declares the ultimate end of His existence as the son of man. As the author and finisher, there is a beginning and an end to every purpose.  There is a time for everything under the sun.  There are boundaries set.  These words were all seeds sown by the Father, through Jesus, so that we might know the things that have been freely given to us, so we might see, learn, and receive and do. 

The demand to see, hear, and understand holds no shortcuts.  Another individual's revelation only becomes ours through the same processing that the first received it. Faith is never about what we know (head knowledge) but what we have seen, learned, and received from Him. That’s what shapes us and, in turn, shapes our world.  

The diligence required to practice this level of spiritual discipline can be a challenge in our daily lives, but we can never lose sight of God’s desire to speak and create through us. He does this so the word He speaks to us can be spoken through us and become abundant life for not just ourselves but others as well. 

Another Beginning

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and voice, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said…..

Genesis 1:1-3

We saw last week another beginning from the Gospel of John 1:1-2, which read ~ 

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  

Our Scriptures today, found in Genesis, show us how all things created by God are created when God is present, His Spirit is hovering, and the word is spoken.  From John's gospel, we see the word is personified as ‘He’ with verse fourteen expounding that His word was made flesh.  We now see Jesus personified as the word of God. 

Jesus declares through his ministry, 

• I only do what I see my Father doing. John 5:19 

• For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. John 12:49

This is the beginning of all creative work.  It is the way our Father-God works.  It is the way Jesus worked, and it is the way we are given to work.  

• Jesus did say, ‘I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it’. Matthew 16:18,

• Psalm 127:1 reminds us that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain.  

• Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of all things,  Hebrews 3:4.   

I wonder why we often seem to lose sight of this as we put our hands to the work assigned.  We work with Him.  He is the master architect.  He holds the blueprint we work from.  And all creative work begins with God, the Spirit, and the Word being spoken.  The agreement between these three must always be present before creation can occur. 

Jesus engaged in ministry under the authority of the Father, full of the Holy Spirit.  From John 16:13-14 Jesus tells us the Holy Spirit does not speak on his own authority either, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

In our lives, we don’t get to say ‘Holy Spirit’ without our words finding agreement with the written word.

Once again, as we see from the two beginnings recorded in Genesis and John, this place of absolute unity within the Godhead.  All things by Him, through Him, for Him, with the Spirit hovering, His word spoken, is the beginning of all His creative works. 

Whatever we have put our hands and voices towards, must find its origins in the same unity.  

It’s always an honest spiritual and mental exercise to look at the works of our hands, making sure our works and words are being done with him, holding His plan, with His spirit breathing upon them, standing on a solid foundation of His word confident that it withstands the gates of hell and the storms of life.

In the beginning

John 1:1...

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men...
..14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.' 

In the following weeks, I want to once again lay the foundation for the necessity of the word of God being built within us.  

Using the first chapter of John's Gospel as our primary foundation, I will endeavour to present the viability and reliability of embracing the time-honored discipline of Bible reading. One which I trust you are already practicing and holding fast.  It is the preparatory way of God for our tomorrow. 

“Get a word, design it, capture everyone's attention so that he who reads may run with it,” encouraged me to begin this Good Word in 2004. Like all beginnings, clarity, and refinement came over the years.  This prophetic word, given to me in 1978, was built from Habakkuk 2:4.

I realize the foundation for ministry that I’ve built off of has always been on bringing forth His word and truth in a way that strengthens and encourages another’s personal development in God, an intentional conforming to the image of His dear son, Romans 8:29.  

My instruction to ‘Get a word’ was with the understanding that my Good Word was to be discovered and expounded from His, “without him was not anything made that was made”.   As a preacher and teacher, my life verse has been built on 2 Timothy 4:2 AMPC, both in practice, preaching and paper. 

Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as a preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.. 

This word, of course, heightens an awareness of cultural issues the church is continually addressing.  Since culture tends to trump values, a generation that does not value the word within the church can only produce impotence.  As new and filled believers, the last instruction Jesus gave to his disciples was to proclaim the gospel. The challenge of remaining faithful to the words of God in the face of those who do not readily receive them does not excuse or eliminate the need for this word to be preached.  We are simply unable to grow up into Him in all things without feeding upon this bread of life.  His word must be preached.

This book, the Bible, contains God's whole counsel. Whether we understand or hold revelation about every piece it reveals is only a matter of personal growth in our understanding of God's nature and character. As a new believer, I was taught that good always looks good. Yet God's definition of good is not always mine. Where I do not understand his workings, where I hold no revelation regarding the specific word, I am not able to communicate His word accurately.  

I was taught to take my bible and read it until revelation came, then pray it until it was established within my heart, and then attend to it on a daily basis so it would define and shape my heart, mind, and choices!  ‘The word, still, becomes flesh.’

Holding a foundation of the word is essential to the life we are promised.  Psalm 119 rehearses over and over the value and necessity of holding fast to the word of God.  The book of Proverbs highlights the wisdom in keeping the word.  The building we do must be founded upon His instruction and revelation to sustain us from beginning to end. 

Selah.  

Revelation waits….

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” 

Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)

I like the way the NIV uses the word revelation.  Contextually, our verse speaks of something that has been made known.  Habakkuk prophesies this revelation ‘speaks of the end.’ 

Hopefully, we’ve all started our journey with God with a word that has defined our purpose.  We hold a revelation, wisdom from the heart and mind of our Father.  I heard this word described one time as the ‘preview’ of life.  A snapshot of the beginning and the end,  with very little known about the in-between because there are a lot of choices to be made there. 

Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, Heb. 12:2.  He who began a good work shall complete it. Phil 1:6.  He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, Rev. 1:8. These are just a few verses to help establish our understanding of the processes of God.  The middle is obscure because choice, free will, is the one gift we have been given by God that we do rule over. The exercise of that gift influences both our life’s times and the Word’s fulfillment. 

I want to focus on the word ‘revelation’ in relation to our need to know and understand everything in the middle of our journey. 

We all have our own timetable.  It is the preferred structure of our lives and the nature of our society.   Yet the biblical principle for us as children of God is to be content in the time (the 24-hour portion of it) that we are in.  Could delay be the timing of the Lord?  He does not tarry.  He has a day for everything He has planned. He does watch over His word to perform it.  

As the author and creator of all things, created by him, and for Him that He might have preeminence in all things, He desires to be first in our lives as well.   Proverbs tells us wisdom was with Him at the beginning. Wisdom builds the house. Wisdom fills the rooms. It is from His mouth that wisdom flows. 

Revelation comes to those who seek and inquire and it comes when needed, but it comes on God’s timetable.  In His wisdom and goodness, He works to keep us from all harm.

Jesus said to his disciples, I have many things to say, but you can’t bear them now, John 16:12.   There must be a preparation and a strength of heart to carry certain revelation.  Things entered into and possessed out of God’s time can be hurtful to us.  

Jesus preached, ‘Be anxious for nothing,’ Sufficient is the day’s trouble.’  Trying to resolve tomorrow creates its own anxiety. Every day has its own issues to resolve, so seek His kingdom first, his righteousness (amplified classic adds; his way of doing and being right), and everything else is added to you….in the timing of God. 

Does personality excuse the negative aspects of behaviour?

 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 
1Cor 15:10 ESV

Often we neglect the entirety of this verse, where Paul emphasized, as the Amplified bible highlights, “his grace toward me was not found to be for nothing (fruitless and without effect).”

Today, we find a cultural norm saying, “That’s just who I am; deal with it.” A common catch phrase is, “Don’t judge me.”  Does personality excuse negative behaviour, or more perfectly, how do we righteously bring personality into the Kingdom of God?

The following information on personality has been taken from www.verywellmind.com by Kendra Cherry, MSED:

‘“Personality describes the unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that distinguish a person from others. A product of both biology and environment, it remains fairly consistent throughout life.

Examples of personality can be found in how we describe other people's traits. For instance, "She is generous, caring, and a bit of a perfectionist," or "They are loyal and protective of their friends.”

The word "personality" stems from the Latin word persona, which refers to a theatrical mask worn by performers to play roles or disguise their identities.

 Although there are many definitions of personality, most focus on the pattern of behaviours and characteristics that can help predict and explain a person's behaviour.

Explanations for personality can focus on a variety of influences, ranging from genetic effects to the role of the environment and experience in shaping an individual's personality.

Some theories describe how personalities are expressed, and others focus more on how personality develops.”’

Does the existence of personality remove me from a personal need to conform to His image? If, and I am, created by the grace of God, ‘fearfully and wonderfully made,’ Psalm 139:14-16; shouldn’t His workmanship (Eph. 2:10) then reflect His personality?  Paul went on to say that this grace was not to Him in vain.  The place where we believe and receive the grace of God is the place of growth and transformation into the image of His son. Growth is a process, and we never, ever diminish it, but growth requires a personal willingness to engage in change. 

“This is just who I am, deal with it,” can be a dangerous belief to hold.  There can, and should, be a recognition of who you are naturally, ‘try me o God. Search my heart and if ……lead me into right’, Ps 139:23-24 but our destiny is to be conformed into the image of His son, Romans 8:29.

Change is never possible without the recognition of a need to change, which requires our willing cooperation. He works, I yield. Knowing the Holy Spirit is given as a comfort and help to produce His fruit not only within but through us.  Gal 5:22  

This is the work of God. This is the working of grace, and like Paul, we work hard and cooperate with God, knowing it’s not me (self-effort) but the grace of God in me.  He is able.  He is willing.  I must believe and receive to bring forth a character and nature pleasing to Him.  

It is a daily desire, and one that aligns us to him to be able to say, like Jesus, He who has seen me, has seen the Father.  

Grace and peace to us all. 

Does rejection free you from responsibility?

Does rejection free you from responsibility? 

God is my witness how I yearn for you (all) with the affection of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:8 

The short answer is, ‘no.’  We want to think that once someone has hurt us in some way, the solution is to distance ourselves from that individual. While this may be necessary, if even for a short time, God is always looking at our heart, and with that in mind, our hearts can never ‘hate’ those who have wronged us, cp Jesus’ instructions from Matthew 5:43-48. 

We’ve all heard that ‘hurt people, hurt people.’  The pain they contain is the pain they pour out on others, and until those wounds are healed, the sore spots respond when touched. Any pain I don’t allow to righteously transform me, I transfer to others.’

We must always be careful about aligning ourselves to cultural norms and not holding Kingdom values.  God has a way to abundant life which can only be found as we submit to His divine order and obey His words. 

We come into the kingdom from varying experiences, requiring degrees of change and growth, but all with the one intent of growing up into Him, so that we may be found perfect, whole, with nothing broken, nothing missing.  Only by this can we accurately and righteously display His nature.  

The Spirit is willing, Jesus said, but the flesh is weak; pray so you don’t enter into temptation.  Temptation comes to every individual.  How easy it is to hold expectations of others that may or may not be righteous in the sight of God, but when they are not fulfilled, we consider duties failed.  Our responsibility is to align in agreement with Our Father's perception and understanding in the matter.  Prayer strengthens the heart and will.  

So I ask again, does rejection free us from responsibility?

We all have been taught to love ‘even as’ we have been loved’.  Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Forgive us as we forgive those who have sinned against us.’ Weymouth’s translation highlights forgiveness as ‘failed in duty’. 

Romans tells us to ‘owe no man anything but to love.’ Our duty then becomes keeping ourselves in the love of God towards one another.  The Apostle Paul gave us his example when he wrote, ‘The more I love, the less I am loved,’ 2 Cor. 12:15.  Though his love was not reciprocated, he was still willing to spend and be spent for another’s well-being.  

His motivation for prayer from Philippians 1 vs 8: “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you (all) with the affection of Christ Jesus” shows the strong foundation of his prayers for others.  

The ‘yearn’ looks and longs for restoration and reconciliation.  Not one of us can separate ourselves from a God-ordained relationship without first separation from God.  

Rejection in life comes to all of us.  We’ve all experienced the pain rejection brings, but as Christians, we keep our hope in God, refusing to allow others' actions to dictate our responses.  As we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of our flesh.  Our words will not divide or dishonour but the love we hold will cover a multitude of sins.  

How else could Jesus face the multitudes who cried ‘crucify him’ and offer so willingly his life for our redemption?  Only by holding a love that surpasses knowledge and being filled with the fullness of God.  

Help us Jesus!

More Hope

Through him  (our Lord Jesus Christ) we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:2 

Lest we think higher of ourselves than we should, we must hold one undeniable truth; I need God.  It is by Him and through Him that we claim our existence, acknowledging without Him, we can do nothing.  Thus, we come to this profound truth found in Romans chapter five of three intertwined absolutes - faith, grace, and hope.  

Let me remind you of the Discovery Bible Word Study Notes summary on the definition of hope ~ 

Hope (1680/elpís) is active, confident waiting as God's Word in us matures (consummates) "through love" (Gal 5:6).  Hope is the "interim" period that extends from the time faith is inbirthed by God to its expression through divine love.

Biblical hope (1680/elpís) carries  God-inwrought confidence that goes with His work of faith (Heb 11:1).  Obeying faith, in the process of hope, consummates into the active expression of God's love (cf. 1 Cor 13:13).

Hope runs on God's timetable, not ours.  God first births the persuasion of His will (desire) in the believer by His work of faith (Heb 11:1; cf. 1 Jn 5:4; cf. 2307/thélēma).  This may find immediate temporal fulfillment, but this active waiting can extend into the distant future (even heaven, Heb 11:39).

In these absolutes, we begin with faith.  Faith is our trust in God that brings us into His presence in a posture of agreement and receptivity.  

We find hope that rejoices in the glory of God and rests upon our ability to access His grace by faith.  You will notice Romans makes clear it is the grace we stand in.  

Faith takes us to grace. Hebrews 4:16 is our invitation to come boldly; Gr. 3954 paresis ~ freedom, openness especially in speech, boldness, denoting a freedom to speak openly and without fear. Strongs Lexicon. 

  It is His grace we are to stand in.  Again, Hebrews 4:16 tells us we are to find grace (discover, after searching) the grace to help in the time of need that God abundantly supplies. 

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work, 2 Cor 9:8.

  Grace is sufficient for anything and everything we find ourselves facing BECAUSE it is the enabling power of God to, and for, us.  There can be no true faith operating in me if we are not moving into grace.  I might be operating in control, but faith takes me into all that God has provided in Christ Jesus. There is a God, and it is not me. I am not capable of controlling my life. You and I must have our dependency upon God. It is faith that draws us in.  There, we look for and find His power and ability; we stand in that.  

 Rejoicing in hope in the glory of God gives us assurance that we have moved by faith into grace.  My confidence is not in myself but in the grace that enables me.  

The glory of God is seen not only by God’s character manifested on my behalf but also by my reflection of His character as I stand in His grace. 

Faith, grace, and hope ~ all in and from Him.  

Good Hope

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts your hearts in every good work and word.”

2 Thessalonians 2:16,17 NASB

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that there are three foundations on which we build our life in Christ: faith, hope, and love.  The writer of Hebrews tells us faith is the substance of things hoped for.  The danger of not holding an active and living hope is the drifting that occurs, ultimately leading to a shipwreck.  So, our admonition is to continually guard this hope through the assurance of the Word God has promised.    

Paul wrote above that this good hope by grace gives us eternal comfort, that is, to comfort and strengthen our hearts unto every good work and word.  In other words, hope keeps us actively engaged in serving God and His purpose for our lives.  We know Proverbs 29:18: ‘Without a vision, the people cast off restraint.’  As we saw last week, hope is the anchor of our soul.  So, hope is also a restraint.   

The Discovery Bible Word Study Notes summarize the definition of hope ~

hope (1680/elpís) is active, confident waiting as God's Word in us matures (consummates) "through love" (Gal 5:6).  Hope is the "interim" period that extends from the time faith is inbirthed by God to its expression through divine love.

Biblical hope (1680/elpís) carries  God-inwrought confidence that goes with His work of faith (Heb 11:1).  Obeying faith, in the process of hope, consummates into the active expression of God's love (cf. 1 Cor 13:13).

Hope runs on God's timetable, not ours.  God first births the persuasion of His will (desire) in the believer by His work of faith (Heb 11:1; cf. 1 Jn 5:4; cf. 2307/thélēma).  This may find immediate temporal fulfillment, but this active waiting can extend into the distant future (even heaven, Heb 11:39).

Every generation faces its own pressure, its own cultural tribulation designed to discourage (dis.courage) and give its hope up.   Hope relinquished is work undone.

We learn from the church in Sardis in chapter three of Revelation the danger of incomplete works in the sight of God.  Their admonition was to wake up and strengthen what remained so that it did not die.  They were exhorted to remember what they had received and heard and to keep it. {(“keep intact") emphasizes the end-outcome ("preserving to the end"), successfully presenting at the end what was guarded.  5083 (tēreō) involves "active and strenuous care to preserve, not merely watching over" (WS, 565) which ensures the final state of safe-keeping.}

This good hope is to be a living Hope.  To be good and living demands feeding upon the promises of God and resting confidently in His love to keep hope alive.  A living hope is always about the Father's business.

Hope, an anchor of the soul

“…God, desiring, even more, to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil…”

Hebrews 6:17-19

A common phenomenon occurs in our culture at the beginning of every new year.  Goals are set with great hope and determination to achieve. 

 Listening to a recent podcast, the speaker quoted stats from a recent article by Forbes Health, which stated less than 2% of resolutions would have any semblance of real change by the following year.  Most gave up within less than forty-five days.  The article went on to say the greatest deterrent to fulfilling any goal is a refusal to yield to any system, form, or pattern of accountability. 

We love this idea of change, but do we love it when it comes to the process required to achieve the change?  The children of Israel, in bondage in Egypt, cried continually to God to be delivered.  Yet the wilderness experience found them looking to go back.  The followers of Jesus loved what He promised and enjoyed what he provided, but when it came to the place of sanctification and surrender, the majority walked away, cp. John 6:67. 

Hebrews 6:19 reminds us that our hope is sure and steadfast like an anchor for our soul.  The metaphor used of an anchor stands for what holds our soul steady in our tides and storms.  It is firm, weighty, and steadfast.  It does not move.  So, for a hope that has the stability to anchor our soul, it must be found in, and on, the one who is faithful to perform what He has promised. He alone is the stability of our times. He is the rock our hope anchors onto.  Hebrews chapter six declares two immutable truths: God promises, and God does not lie.  We take refuge in this.  This is our anchor.  This is our hope, like the anchor, sure and steadfast.  When the anchor hasn’t dropped, we drift, hopeless. 

Proverbs 13:12 tells us hope deferred makes the heart sick.  How many times have my ambitions been unfulfilled, leaving me in a weak and vulnerable place? Unbelief assails my mind, and without an anchored soul, I am pulled away, listening to a lie that asks, Has God really said? When we spend and are spent engaging in our own pursuits, we build on sandy foundations subject to the winds of adversity that ultimately destroy the work. 

Jesus declared I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail.  Our work will always be met with opposition because Kingdom work always suffers violence, but the violent are continually pressing their way into the Kingdom. 

We all have things we want to achieve in life, but as we grow up into Him, we find our desires becoming more entwined with His purposes, so these goals, plans, and pursuits we hold should align more perfectly with His. Our efforts and energy should be seen as Jesus declared, I must be about my Father’s business.

God's Hope

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27 ESV 

Have you ever stopped to think about God’s hope? We saw last week that He is the God of all hope, Romans 15:13 and that from the beginning of time, His desire was to be with man in the fullest expression of His Glory. While every created thing holds its own God-given glory, when we speak of the glory of God, we are speaking of His manifested presence.  

 Moses sought to see the glory of God, Exodus 33:18, but I would be remiss not to point out that first, He wanted to know the ways of God, Exodus 33:13.  In response to Moses' prayer, God reveals His glory and manifests and proclaims His very character ~ The Lord, The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will be no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.   

On a side note…this ‘unrepented iniquity’ visited by God upon following generations is rooted in the propensity found in every life to hold “practices” passed on, within or from a family construct.  The father/mother, caregiver, peers, partners, spouses, mindsets and practices taught, are assumed by the learner to be normal and right.  However innocently it may come, iniquity directly opposes the will and the word of God.

 God’s desire to be ‘with’ man was seen in all the covenants and promises that He established throughout the Old Testament and on into the New.  With the appearance of Jesus, God’s word became flesh so we are now able to physically behold His glory, as the only begotten of God full of grace and truth, John 1:14.

Now, we are left to discover the riches of His glory in this mystery, Christ dwelling within us being the hope of His glory.  To continually demonstrate this very nature and character of God requires a vital, intimate, and yielded connection with Him. 

The very one who has made us His temple dwells among us in great mercy and long-suffering displayed as He continues to dwell within imperfect people made acceptable only by the blood of His crucified son, Jesus Christ.  Yet, in our imperfection, we are still His Hope.  Hope for a love that was displayed in His Son by the willing offering of His sacrificed life in submission to His Father’s will.  

As admonished by the Apostle Paul, we who have been sanctified, are continually being sanctified …..

For we are the temple of the living God as God said, 

I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, 

and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

Therefore go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord,

 and touch no unclean thing, 

then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, 

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

 says the Lord Almighty. 

2 Corinthians 6:16-18

Thus, He has this hope for us, to us, our sanctification freely offered, that His glory would be displayed in and through our union with Christ. 

A New Year

Now may the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 15:13

This is not only a good NEW YEAR’S desire, but one that we should hold every day of every year, as we open our eyes and celebrate the Author and Giver of Life. 

Jeremiah wrote, in a moment of great despair, Lamentations 3:22-24 ~ 

This is I call to mind and therefore I have hope. 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, 

His mercies never come to an end, 

They are new every morning, 

Great is your faithfulness. 

The Lord is my portion, says my soul. 

Therefore I will hope in him. 

The Psalmist wrote,  “I would have lost heart, had I not believed I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”  Psalm 27:13-14.


Life, throughout this year, will continually demand of us to remain steadfast in our confidence in our God.  We must remember to be mindful daily of His love and care, the working of His Holy Spirit that enables us, with His great grace, to walk in obedience- to fulfill all He has assigned.  

Remaining resolute in our confidence that God is not a man that He should lie, Numbers 23:19.   He has decreed. He will fulfill.  Our times rest in His hand, and this is the work Jesus said we must do ~ believe.  Psalm 31:15; John 6:29. 

That’s a tall order and one we must wrestle with daily as we are surrounded by the negativity in the world, the doubts within us, and pressures from others.   I’m encouraged by the reality that Jesus, tempted to doubt, as we are, never allowed doubt to drive Him to disobedience. He remains mindful that we are living in a world filled with tribulation, but assures us that our peace is found in Him, and so encourages us to take heart because He has overcome the world.  Since He has, we can too. John 16:33.

We move into 2025, purposeful to walk out all we have learned in this prior season.  To enter into what He has, by His Spirit, prepared.  The words He has given will be our bread of life in the days ahead. The presence we are mindful to maintain will keep- us vitally united with Him. United, we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. Philippians 4:13. Without Him, we can do nothing. John 15:5.

This will be a year filled with many opportunities for us, the church, to shine brighter than ever, as every member joins and is held together with and by Him. As each part works properly, we see her growing and building herself up in love, able to express Jesus, the head, in every way. (Ephesians 4:16).
 

Let us purpose to be those who do not give way to the pressures of life but continue a vibrant pursuit of willing obedience to Him, for it is Christ in us that is the hope of glory being fulfilled in all the earth. 

May your New Year be Filled with the fullness of His Blessings. 

Good News

“..Behold I bring you good news of great joy.. For unto you is born this day a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.”

Luke 2:10-11

 Each day brings us closer to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  

 The angel's declaration above described a new way for all of mankind to satisfy the eternity that God has set in the hearts of men, Ecclesiastes 3:11.  God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us, Acts 17:26.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12 NIV

Coming to him believing, Romans 10:9-10, we find entrance into His Kingdom where He rules as King, Colossians 1:13.  It is a Kingdom, as he said, within us, Luke 17:21.   It is a Kingdom established in Righteousness that brings us into peace with God and consequently ourselves and others (as much as lies within us) and this results in joy unspeakable and full of glory.  Romans 14:17; 1 Peter 7:8.  There will never be peace and joy until righteousness is established within.  Jesus tells us our pursuit is to be this Kingdom and His righteousness, Matthew 6:33. 

As we live in this Kingdom, our expression is led and directed by the working of His Holy Spirit, who enables us to manifest Kingdom life (Galatians 5).

“And the Angel said to them, Fear not…”

As we celebrate this Christmas Season, we are to be mindful that we are not of this world.  We are not to be governed or held in bondage to any fear that the things of this world present, Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 4:18. 

 We are celebrating a King of glory, looking for His return, to establish in a tangible physical reality what is now within us.  

“Glory to God in the highest and on and on earth peace, goodwill to men.”  

This government rests upon you and I, members of His church who now rule through Him in righteousness, bringing this message of great joy to all!    Every spiritual blessing in Christ is to be remembered and celebrated through Advent and we call to mind not only God’s great gift but the culmination of all things with His return. 

While we wait, we proclaim.  

While we wait, we demonstrate.

While we wait, we celebrate.  

Looking for and hastening His return. 

A Very Present Help

It takes spiritual discipline to consider Jesus.  To be mindful of Him at all times is a practice of presence.  However, human nature finds us much like the psalmist expresses in Psalm 107,  'they cried to Him in their troubles (again and again.) He delivered them from their distresses because of His steadfast love.’ This passage reminds us that God’s deliverance comes because of HIS faithfulness and steadfast love.

We find the one who is a very present help in time of need.  I like the phrase, very present help, meaning help that is right here, right now.  The fact that we may not perceive it does not invalidate the truth of this declaration.

What we find throughout the Old Testament examples is its full and eternal work established in Christ Jesus. Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession on behalf of those who come to God.

Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25 NIV

We have Jesus, our high priest, who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  We find grace to help in the time of our need at the Throne of Grace, Hebrews 4:16.   

Hebrews, chapter two declares some of the greatest truths about the redemptive work and deliverance He has provided us.

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might test death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by who all things exist in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering…. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help though who are being tempted.  Verses 9-10;18.

In our times of trouble,  we are encouraged to consider Jesus,  this Son of Man, touched by the feeling of our infirmities. Because He himself has suffered when tempted, he is not only able but willing, as we see from the other verses above.  His very purpose was to destroy the works of the devil and bring us back into this wonderful relationship with God as our Father.

The Bible tells us Jesus “learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8),  and as the source of eternal salvation, He faithfully completed God's plan of redemption.  We learn and grow as we consider and obey Jesus in the midst of trouble.  There is a what must I obey in this moment that leads me into life.   If Jesus learned obedience through the things he suffered, there is something in our troubles that we are to learn.  I submit to you it is simply the discipline to do the things we know we are to do, i.e., consider it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds because you know….James 1:2-4 it is a growth opportunity that develops character as we learn obedience by the things we suffer.   

Jesus encouraged his disciples in John’s gospel ~ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Mindful that there is no temptation taken us that is not common to man, including Jesus ~ But God is Faithful who will, with the temptation, make a way of escape that we may bear it.  1 Cor. 10:13

He is our very present help in time of need.

True Grace

“I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!”

1 Peter 5:12 NASB 

The Apostle Peter writes his first epistle, perhaps from Rome, during a time of tremendous persecution for believers. His purpose was to strengthen them by reminding them of who they were and what they had been given, enabling them to stand firm.  The words he wrote are still filled with enabling power to the one who believes. 

I wrote last week that grace is defined as God’s enabling power at work in us, but I neglected to mention that it is also his undeserved favour.  

Peter writes to the dispersed believers building their communities throughout Northern Asia Minor. His epistle is meant to be read by both Jews and Gentiles, reinforcing the truth, ‘exhorting and testifying’ that the message that has brought them to this place is the same grace that enables them to stand in the face of all opposition, persecution, and suffering for the name of Christ.  

 Peter emphasizes grace, again and again, in his letter as a tangible reality of their day-to-day help.  Peter reminds them that this grace was prophesied ~ 

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.”

1 Peter 1:10-11 

Because this grace has been declared and given, we must choose to believe and receive it in order for it to help us. The Apostle Paul reminds us that whatever ‘momentary light afflictions’ we may experience, there is a far ‘greater weight of glory working, 2 Corinthians. 4:17.  We must, according to Peter, keep it all in proper perspective to receive the outcome of our faith, that is, the salvation of our souls, 

Exhorted to be sober-minded, they were encouraged to set their hope fully on the grace to be brought to them at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Peter wrote in his second epistle that grace and peace are multiplied through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 2 Peter 1:3, with the exhortation from 2 Peter 3:18, to  ‘grow in that grace and knowledge.’ 

In the midst of an adverse culture, holy conduct is necessary for the chosen generation.  As His own possession,  believers were and are called to show forth His praises by their holy conduct as an offering to the one who called them out of darkness. 

Peter wrote about the grace received, to ‘stand firm in it.’  Paul writes the same message in Romans 5:1-5 ~ 

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us…..

              Thus, we come boldly to the throne of grace.

A last thought from 1 Peter 5:10-11,

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

By the grace of God....

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 

Hebrews 2:9

A remarkable truth jumped out at me as I read this…… Jesus’ ability to suffer and taste death for everyone was accomplished through his access of the grace of God. “So that by the grace of God, he might taste death.” 

You might think this isn’t significant, but this says to me that the ability we have to do the will of God in the most difficult moments can only be achieved by accessing the grace God gives.  

Jesus, the Son of Man, has experienced every temptation we will ever be touched with so that he can be the perfect Help.  

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16. 

And, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”  2 Timothy 2:1. reminding us,  ‘we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us’. Philippians 4:13. (I define grace as Gods enabling power at work in us.)

Our life was not given to live independently from a need for God.  

Jesus endured the cross, having worked through His own will with loud cries and supplications.  In an agony, He prayed more earnestly, so that through experience, he could become the author of salvation made perfect through that prayerfully endured suffering.  And Hebrew’s exhortation, we “have not yet resisted to the shedding of blood,” makes this a powerful reminder that where trouble abounds grace does much more abound. We have been given immeasurable riches of grace in Christ Jesus. We learn as the Apostle Paul discovered, God's grace is sufficient in these moments. 

When we examine our own lives, do we fall short of accessing this power that is to us, who believe?  This strengthening of might in our inner man by His Spirit, the Spirit of Grace, is unto love.  A love that compels.  A love that values.  A love that willingly denies self for the greater good.   Do we frustrate His workings, quench His endeavours simply by denying the grace that has made us? Grace given to enable us to do the very works ordained for us.  

Our days ahead will demand that we be Spirit-filled believers, not in name or theory but in vital practicalities. Jesus’ last instructions to his disciples were to stay in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from above. 

A ''be being filled', from Ephesians 5:18-20, shows us the very present working of our Father in the church today.  This place of worship and presence, along with the emphasis of feeding daily upon His word, is the very life that enables us to obey.

Once again, a reminder: Jesus had to access the grace to taste death, endure the cross, and bend His will tells us there are no shortcuts for us.  He has left us an example that we are to follow with the assurance that grace is always sufficient so we can endure momentary light afflictions for the greater weight of glory promised.  

Hearing and Doing

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine, and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against the house, and it fell and great was the fall of it. “

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teachings .....’

Matthew 7: 24-28

This week we find ourselves at the conclusion of Jesus’s sermon. We find in our portion of scripture today our need to not simply hear his word but to do what he has said. This is our assurance during times of rain, floods, and winds of adversity that will beat on our house. I don’t know if this is just one storm of life or various kinds of storms, but either way the provision for remaining firm through any and all is the hearing of his word and the obedience of walking it out.

Jesus has finished realigning hearts and priorities for the individual who will choose the way He has laid out. Having now heard the words of Jesus, the people will surely be given opportunity to obey them.

We would be remiss not to encourage you to read Luke’s rendering in chapter 6:46-49 where he begins with Jesus’ question ~

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

I heard a man preaching the other day who made the comment that the difficulty with most Church adults today was the fact that they were adults in every sense of the word, proud, self reliant, skeptical, and the majority of the time not like children at all. Yet Jesus said we must become like children to enter His Kingdom. This child is humble, trusting and obedient.

Let us never confuse the reality of what Lordship truly is. Jesus said you call me ‘teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and rightly so, For so I am. John 13:13 Whether, he is our Lord and master can only be revealed in our obedience to him.

From Jesus, the parable of the soil, the sowing of the word, we learn the word sown on the hard ground is snatched immediately away by Satan. We understand that the soil conditions are representations of heart conditions. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 18 reminds us a darkened understanding brings separation from the life of God. Ignorance is simply due to the hardening of hearts. Hard hearts are the fruit of long term disobedience.

Hebrews 3:15 reminds us “today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts...”

Jesus concludes his sermon on the mount telling us. It is the foolish man who hears the word and does not obey. This man is destined for ruin. Obedience becomes the bedrock to our lives, foundational to all we build.

The Bible has so many words that reveal to us God the Father, Jesus the word made flesh and the Holy Spirit - everything poured out for our well-being and equipping.

It begins right here with a heart that desires to please him with a hearing ear and the willing yes.

... But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:31

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.....”

John 14:15