1-13-2024 Do we really know what we see or hear?
Matt.
13:11-23 (what it really says). Then,
Jesus explains to His disciples how this applies to us spiritually. Where there is no solid foundation and/or no
proper nurturing, our spiritual seed fades off into the sunset. But, as we are nurtured (reading God’s Word
and receiving input from other resources which declare God’s love, we grow and
become the person God has intended.
1 Corinth.
2:1-16 (power of knowing)
When we read
a passage in the bible, do we read only the words presented in the text, or in
a specific passage then go with what ‘our’ own understanding of what that word
means?
We,
generally gain our knowledge of the bible by what our pastor says, what tele-evangelists
or other noted preachers say or maybe even from people around us. Yet, if you haven’t discovered it, there is a
fourth source we should consider. The Holy Ghost! The Holy Ghost will lead us into all truth
(John 14:16-17 and understanding (1 Corinth. 2:7-16).
When we hear
a word from or by another person, do we accept it as gospel without question?
Even Satan,
or his emissaries, can appear as an angel of light, thus they may be ministers
who can be deceiving (2 Corinth. 11:14-15).
It can look good, sound good but does it stop halfway through the
truth? We need to weigh what we hear
against the Word of God as led by the Holy Ghost. Is it in agreement with God’s being –
love? Satan tried to deceive even Jesus
in the wilderness. Turn stones into
bread, jump, the angels will catch you and ‘I’ll give you all this, just bow
down and worship me (Mat. 4:1-11). Jesus
put Satan in his place by presenting the full and complete truth of God – man
does not live by bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,
don’t tempt God and worship God and serve only Him.
I use
Strong’s ‘Exhaustive Concordance’ to look up the meaning of words used in both
the old and new testaments. I find this
a huge help in understanding the bible.
With Strong’s, I can not only look up what a word ‘means’ but can then
check out associated root word to discover the deeper understanding of what
that word involves. Then I ask the Holy
Ghost to help me understand what I need to know. I’ve also discovered that the NIV version of
a particular reference may not be the same reference numbers as the King
James. However, if one checks it out,
the reference numbers may differ but the word and meaning are the same.
What am I
talking about? Let’s take a look at
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
Paul came to
the Corinthians in humility proclaiming only Jesus (1 Corinth. 2:1-3).
He didn’t
come to impress people with big, flowery words but to show the power of the
Spirit of God so that their faith would be rooted in the power of God (1
Corinth. 2:4-5).
Paul
declares that he doesn’t speak with the wisdom of this world or of men of
authority which comes to nothing, but the wisdom of God which is a mystery
which God has hidden from before the world (was made) (1 Corinth. 2:6-7). And God’s word lasts forever (Matt,
24:34-35).
Had the
authorities known and recognized the truth, they wouldn’t have crucified the
Lord of Glory (1 Corinth. 2:8).
It is
written ‘eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of
man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinth. 2:9).
But God has
revealed these things to us by His Spirit, because the Spirit searches all
things, even the deep things of God (1 Corinth. 2:10).
The only way
we know the things concerning man is because we have the spirit of man which
resides in us. Likewise, no man knows
the things of God except by the Spirit of God (1 Corinth. 2:11). And yet, man keeps trying to explain God
using man’s own wisdom.
Now, we have
not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes from God that
we may freely know the things given to us by God (1 Corinth. 2:12).
So we don’t
speak the words which the wisdom of man teaches but that which the Holy Ghost
teaches for He compares spiritual things with Spiritual things (1 Corinth. 2:13). In other words, the Holy Ghost (as Jesus)
teaches by sharing with us what Father has given Him (John 12:49-50) and He
then has passed on to us.
The natural
man cannot receive the things from the Spirit of God because they are
foolishness to him nor can he understand them for they are Spiritually
discerned (1 Corinth. 2:14). Restated,
because we don’t understand what God says, we have the tendency to dismiss it
and wind up leaning on our own understanding.
But, he who
is spiritual judges all things but is judged by no man (1 Corinth. 2:15).
For who has
known the mind of God that we may teach Him?
Yet, we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinth. 2:16)! Through Jesus, we can know what God thinks
about things. But then, we have to know
God.
And as in
the gospel of John, the mind of Christ is submission to the Father.
So what does
this actually mean? If we truly want to
get to know God, we have to meet Him on His terms, not our own. And to understand God’s terms, we need to
read material reflecting God’s love as we ask Father to give us
understanding. As I said earlier, the
Holy Ghost will teach us. We just have
to ask, then listen. When we are on the
right track, the Holy Ghost will confirm what we have learned within our own
heart. OR, He may show us the reality of
what He’s teaching us in the things around us.
As an example: in Sept. 2014, Father
gave me what He called the ‘Prophecy of the Watchman’. I thought about and eventually I asked “Is
this really for me?” Father spent the
next three months exposing me to what various preachers were saying. I even went to a prophetic conference in
which there were not one but three prophetic preachers. Occasionally I felt the ‘urge’ to turn on one
(any) of the tele-evangelists. And even
my pastor. I suffered through three
months waiting for God to have someone say me “Buck, Father told me to tell you
…” That didn’t happen so in January 2015
I approached Father again “Lord, I thought you were going to confirm what you
told me last Sept.?” Father’s response
“All these people I’ve set before you, what were they talking about?” I sat and thought for a minute “Uh, what you
told me in the Watchman?” I could almost
feel Father looking down at me, I could almost feel a subtle little smile
parting His lips, the He said “How much confirmation do you need?!” Between my pastor, the conference I attended
and maybe a half dozen or so preachers on TV and otherwise, Father was
confirming what He had told me. We have to seek Father, listen to Him. Then do what He says! Amen?
Did I learn
my lesson? Not completely. For the last several years, the blog Father
had me start in 2015, has been very pointed on what Father wants said – getting
His church back on the right track. So,
what have I been saying since then? “Father,
I understand what we are doing with the blog, but You have said that there is
more to come.” At first, Father said
“Later” but more recently, He has changed that to “soon”. I’m waiting to see when what He has shown me
unfolds.
Father is
God Almighty, I AM that I AM, whose essence and being is love. Father manifested that love to us 2000 years
ago when Jesus became that manifestation of that love and walked among us,
giving us the example Father desires us to follow. Jesus sanctifies us through God’s truth that
we may be one with Him as He is with Father and that we all may be one (John
17:19-23). Get the picture?
Do we want
to know the truth about what we see and hear?
The truth flows out from God. We
have to know who God is before we can hear Him.
The bible is our initial source for learning who God is, but then we
need to listen to God for confirmation of that truth. Samuel learned to hear from God through
instruction form his mentor Eli. Samuel
heard a voice, thinking it must have been Eli, he ran to his mentor. Three times Eli sent the boy back to his bed,
but finally Eli got the message and told Samuel how to respond. The fourth time Samuel heard the voice he
said “Speak, your servant hears” 1 Sam. 3:3-10).
Father will
also use things around us to speak to us.
One morning in my prayer session with the Lord, He drew my attention so
some black birds in the yard across the street.
The ground had not yet completely thawed and the birds were pecking to
get what they could find. Father said
“My children are searching for food, feed them.”
Our
relationship with Father grows through reading the bible and our prayer time
with Him (not to exclude other viable resources). He uses nature and the things around us to
get our attention and hen explains why He has done this. Are we listening?
So, when we
receive input into our lives (from any media), do we weigh it with God’s
love? Or do we just accept it as said?
To know
God’s voice we have to first know Him.
Then we need to weigh whatever we see or hear against His love and the
Holy Spirit will confirm in our heart what is right.
Hopefully,
we have learned how to recognize what Father is saying to us.
Amen
