8/1
 |
| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
We are continuing with matters of the restored heart; i.e., what is the result of our preparing the way of the Lord? Now let us consider Exodus 19:3-6.
Another way to say that is "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."
The word translated as servants is the Greek word diakonos and indicates those servants who have become servants of their own free will. Only the true servants of the Lord can respond to hearing and doing the will of the Lord. Verse 5 contains Mary's most significant words that are recorded in Scripture.
Jesus said,
In order to do whatsoever He saith unto us, we must first of all hear what He is saying. In early Bible times Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and many others heard the voice of the Lord for themselves. They did not have the benefit of a Bible, Bible commentaries, good Christian books and tapes, or wonderful teachers to help to guide them. They had to depend upon that which the Lord told them. The Bible does not state HOW they heard or in what form His voice was communicated.
Many long years ago, I taught electronics in the Air Force. One of the courses that I taught was called "basic radio." I taught, in great detail, all of the circuits required to make up a radio. For a radio to be effective, there must be two major components ... a transmitter and a receiver. One without the other is of little value. You may have the best transmitter in the world, but if there is no adequate receiver, then that which is transmitted produces no fruit. The same is true if you have a great receiver but no transmitter. There must be communication between the two components.
The Lord Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, is the greatest transmitter ever known. There is no lack to His ability to communicate with men. He speaks to us in ways that we do not realize. I once knew a man who said that he had heard the Lord speaking to him through dining room table place mats, a man's hat, a man's pants, window blinds, and a dog, to name a few. He also heard the voice of the Lord sovereignly, through reading Scripture, through other believers, and through heathens.
I am thoroughly convinced that the Lord wants to speak to us more than we want to hear. We need to sharpen our desire to hear His voice and then sharpen our spiritual ears to hear Him in any of the many ways that He speaks to us.
The only question is, how good is our receiver? Have we had our ears circumcised to hear all the truth of God? or just the part that we want to hear? Are the traditional teachings of men, even mature believers, so stuffed in our ears that we cannot hear His word?
The senses in the above verse does not refer to our natural senses, but to our spiritual senses, such as having eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand. Note that the above verse says "both" good and evil. The verse does NOT say "between" good and evil; neither can that Greek word be translated as "between." What the verse says is that we need to have our spiritual senses exercised (through use, or practice) to discern the difference between the will of God on one hand and good and evil on the other hand. Remember that God forbade Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Why has hearing the voice of the Lord become almost a lost art? For a variety of reasons: lack of understanding the ways of the Lord and self-centeredness are certainly two such reasons.
Laziness and impatience are two more reasons. We live in an age when people demand instant gratification. It takes time and effort to sit and wait on the voice of the Lord to speak to us. It is much easier to just read a good Christian book, listen to a tape, watch a video, or hear what the pastor says. We also have hardened our hearts.
Is the Church teaching believers to hear the voice of the Lord for themselves? Are Christian parents teaching their children to hear the voice of the Lord for themselves? It appears that the answer in both cases is "No." The greatest service any minister can perform for others is to help younger believers to hear the voice of the Lord for themselves, to have an understanding heart to know His ways, not just His acts, and to cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean (Ezekiel 44:23). Please pause a few seconds and reflect on that word, "cause." Ezekiel 44:23 does NOT say that the priests, the sons of Zadok, will teach about discerning between the unclean and the clean. That is not good enough. That will not get the job done. For any believer to cause another to discern between the unclean and the clean is quite a strong statement.
But hearing is not sufficient. We must also obey. "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."
Obedience is NOT a natural quality! We are certainly NOT born with a tendency toward obedience ... quite the contrary! All you have to do is look at little children. They will pout, cry, and do ANYTHING to get their own way. And when two little children want the same toy ... LOOK OUT!
Whenever we come to know the saving grace of our Lord, we do not automatically take on the nature of obedience. Obedience is a characteristic of both the natural and the spiritual man that must be learned. When a mother tells her young child, "No, no, don't touch the fire or hot oven," the child at first cannot comprehend, because he or she has never experienced the sensation of burning. The child, unfortunately, must usually learn from a painful experience (or two) to obey the mother. Consider Jesus.
How could it be that Jesus had to learn obedience? because He came to earth as a man. He had to experientially learn obedience as a man. Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered. God has chosen suffering as a major avenue whereby we may learn obedience and become an overcomer. If that were true of Jesus, how much more true that is for us! Peter has much to say about the suffering which we as Christians are called upon to endure. However,
Continuing with matters of the restored heart, let us consider being led by the Holy Spirit.
Probably the most important aspect of the proper functioning of a local church is for each member to be led by the Holy Spirit, both individually and corporately.
A number of years ago, we heard several believers in a certain charismatic local church say, during the service, that their church was certainly "led by the Spirit." We are sure that those believers were well intentioned and sincerely believed what they had said. However, from our observation over a period of time, we are not sure that those believers knew what they were saying. Further, that attitude hints at the subtlety of pride.
We believe there is a difference between an individual believer being led by the Spirit and a local church being led by the Spirit. Each individual believer obviously has numerous times and events when he or she must make a personal decision of some importance.
Led by the Spirit as an Individual Believer
Living by the promptings and power of the Holy Spirit is the key to conquering sinful desires.
God is the Father of us all in the sense that He created us all and His love and providential care are extended to all. But not all are His children. Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews of His day, "Ye are of your father the devil" (John 8:44). People become children of God through faith in God's beloved Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13). Being led by God's Spirit is the evidence of this relationship.
No one would argue that Jesus is our pattern. No one would argue that Jesus was always led by the Spirit. He always did the will of God. As a man, He had a will, but He always subjected His will to the will of the Father.
The wilderness is the proving ground. It is in the wilderness that the Lord sees whether we will follow Him or not. We find this same principle at work when the Israelites came out of Egypt.
The Lord tells us in Luke 18:1 not to lose heart. The Lord is faithful! The sufferings and travail to fulfill the purposes of the Lord cannot be compared with the glory that is to be revealed within us.
Now how do I know, or even can I know, that I am being led by the Holy Spirit? The answer to that question is the same as the answer to almost every question. Let us look at the example of Jesus when He walked the face of the earth as a man.
Everyone would agree that Jesus was always led by the Spirit. Why? because He always put the will of the Father above His own will. His heart was always tuned to the mind and heart of the Father.
For us, how we know that we are being led by the Spirit is the same as hearing the voice of the Lord. First of all, it is by faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God. That means we must take a step of faith, trusting the Lord to show us if we are going down a wrong path. From Romans 8:14, if we are led by the Spirit of God then we are mature sons of God. Another sign is whether or not our actions bring forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness. From Romans 8:15, if anything leads to the spirit of bondage to fear, then we are not being led by the Spirit.
We should always remember that the more we mature in Christ the more we will be led by the Spirit. We must exercise our spiritual senses to discern the difference between the will of God on one hand as compared to good and evil on the other hand.
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Another way to say that is "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."
1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:2 And both Jesus was called and His disciples, to the marriage.3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine.4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.John 2:1-5
The word translated as servants is the Greek word diakonos and indicates those servants who have become servants of their own free will. Only the true servants of the Lord can respond to hearing and doing the will of the Lord. Verse 5 contains Mary's most significant words that are recorded in Scripture.
Jesus said,
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.John 10:1-4, 27
In order to do whatsoever He saith unto us, we must first of all hear what He is saying. In early Bible times Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and many others heard the voice of the Lord for themselves. They did not have the benefit of a Bible, Bible commentaries, good Christian books and tapes, or wonderful teachers to help to guide them. They had to depend upon that which the Lord told them. The Bible does not state HOW they heard or in what form His voice was communicated.
Many long years ago, I taught electronics in the Air Force. One of the courses that I taught was called "basic radio." I taught, in great detail, all of the circuits required to make up a radio. For a radio to be effective, there must be two major components ... a transmitter and a receiver. One without the other is of little value. You may have the best transmitter in the world, but if there is no adequate receiver, then that which is transmitted produces no fruit. The same is true if you have a great receiver but no transmitter. There must be communication between the two components.
The Lord Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, is the greatest transmitter ever known. There is no lack to His ability to communicate with men. He speaks to us in ways that we do not realize. I once knew a man who said that he had heard the Lord speaking to him through dining room table place mats, a man's hat, a man's pants, window blinds, and a dog, to name a few. He also heard the voice of the Lord sovereignly, through reading Scripture, through other believers, and through heathens.
I am thoroughly convinced that the Lord wants to speak to us more than we want to hear. We need to sharpen our desire to hear His voice and then sharpen our spiritual ears to hear Him in any of the many ways that He speaks to us.
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24
The only question is, how good is our receiver? Have we had our ears circumcised to hear all the truth of God? or just the part that we want to hear? Are the traditional teachings of men, even mature believers, so stuffed in our ears that we cannot hear His word?
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:14
The senses in the above verse does not refer to our natural senses, but to our spiritual senses, such as having eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand. Note that the above verse says "both" good and evil. The verse does NOT say "between" good and evil; neither can that Greek word be translated as "between." What the verse says is that we need to have our spiritual senses exercised (through use, or practice) to discern the difference between the will of God on one hand and good and evil on the other hand. Remember that God forbade Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Why has hearing the voice of the Lord become almost a lost art? For a variety of reasons: lack of understanding the ways of the Lord and self-centeredness are certainly two such reasons.
Laziness and impatience are two more reasons. We live in an age when people demand instant gratification. It takes time and effort to sit and wait on the voice of the Lord to speak to us. It is much easier to just read a good Christian book, listen to a tape, watch a video, or hear what the pastor says. We also have hardened our hearts.
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear His voice,8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:) Hebrews 3:7-8
Is the Church teaching believers to hear the voice of the Lord for themselves? Are Christian parents teaching their children to hear the voice of the Lord for themselves? It appears that the answer in both cases is "No." The greatest service any minister can perform for others is to help younger believers to hear the voice of the Lord for themselves, to have an understanding heart to know His ways, not just His acts, and to cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean (Ezekiel 44:23). Please pause a few seconds and reflect on that word, "cause." Ezekiel 44:23 does NOT say that the priests, the sons of Zadok, will teach about discerning between the unclean and the clean. That is not good enough. That will not get the job done. For any believer to cause another to discern between the unclean and the clean is quite a strong statement.
But hearing is not sufficient. We must also obey. "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."
And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken that the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22
Obedience is NOT a natural quality! We are certainly NOT born with a tendency toward obedience ... quite the contrary! All you have to do is look at little children. They will pout, cry, and do ANYTHING to get their own way. And when two little children want the same toy ... LOOK OUT!
Whenever we come to know the saving grace of our Lord, we do not automatically take on the nature of obedience. Obedience is a characteristic of both the natural and the spiritual man that must be learned. When a mother tells her young child, "No, no, don't touch the fire or hot oven," the child at first cannot comprehend, because he or she has never experienced the sensation of burning. The child, unfortunately, must usually learn from a painful experience (or two) to obey the mother. Consider Jesus.
Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.Hebrews 5:8
How could it be that Jesus had to learn obedience? because He came to earth as a man. He had to experientially learn obedience as a man. Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered. God has chosen suffering as a major avenue whereby we may learn obedience and become an overcomer. If that were true of Jesus, how much more true that is for us! Peter has much to say about the suffering which we as Christians are called upon to endure. However,
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18
Continuing with matters of the restored heart, let us consider being led by the Holy Spirit.
Probably the most important aspect of the proper functioning of a local church is for each member to be led by the Holy Spirit, both individually and corporately.
A number of years ago, we heard several believers in a certain charismatic local church say, during the service, that their church was certainly "led by the Spirit." We are sure that those believers were well intentioned and sincerely believed what they had said. However, from our observation over a period of time, we are not sure that those believers knew what they were saying. Further, that attitude hints at the subtlety of pride.
We believe there is a difference between an individual believer being led by the Spirit and a local church being led by the Spirit. Each individual believer obviously has numerous times and events when he or she must make a personal decision of some importance.
Led by the Spirit as an Individual Believer
Living by the promptings and power of the Holy Spirit is the key to conquering sinful desires.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.Romans 8:14
God is the Father of us all in the sense that He created us all and His love and providential care are extended to all. But not all are His children. Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews of His day, "Ye are of your father the devil" (John 8:44). People become children of God through faith in God's beloved Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13). Being led by God's Spirit is the evidence of this relationship.
No one would argue that Jesus is our pattern. No one would argue that Jesus was always led by the Spirit. He always did the will of God. As a man, He had a will, but He always subjected His will to the will of the Father.
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.Matthew 4:1
The wilderness is the proving ground. It is in the wilderness that the Lord sees whether we will follow Him or not. We find this same principle at work when the Israelites came out of Egypt.
17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.Exodus 13:17-1816 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so ye cannot do the things that ye would.18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Galatians 5:16-18
24 And they who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:24-25
The Lord tells us in Luke 18:1 not to lose heart. The Lord is faithful! The sufferings and travail to fulfill the purposes of the Lord cannot be compared with the glory that is to be revealed within us.
Now how do I know, or even can I know, that I am being led by the Holy Spirit? The answer to that question is the same as the answer to almost every question. Let us look at the example of Jesus when He walked the face of the earth as a man.
Luke 4:1, "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Everyone would agree that Jesus was always led by the Spirit. Why? because He always put the will of the Father above His own will. His heart was always tuned to the mind and heart of the Father.
Romans 8:13-1613 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.15 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.16 The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
For us, how we know that we are being led by the Spirit is the same as hearing the voice of the Lord. First of all, it is by faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God. That means we must take a step of faith, trusting the Lord to show us if we are going down a wrong path. From Romans 8:14, if we are led by the Spirit of God then we are mature sons of God. Another sign is whether or not our actions bring forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness. From Romans 8:15, if anything leads to the spirit of bondage to fear, then we are not being led by the Spirit.
We should always remember that the more we mature in Christ the more we will be led by the Spirit. We must exercise our spiritual senses to discern the difference between the will of God on one hand as compared to good and evil on the other hand.
Hebrews 5:14, "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
Remember, throughout our journey in Christ the Lord is patient, gracious, and merciful with us as long as we sincerely desire to be led by His Spirit. What a wonderful Lord we serve!
No comments:
Post a Comment