by David Brenneman
"But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." Matthew 13:16-17.
"And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear." Matthew 13:10-16.
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21.
To know...
To know begins with listening and seeing. The input devices that our Creator gave us. These are the beginning of understanding when we process what they see and hear. But what must come next, MUST come next, to a Believer is to learn to use their spiritual eyes and spiritual ears.
"for we walk by faith, not by sight—" 2 Corinthians 5:7.
"Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 2 Kings 6:15-17.
"but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.
My Dear Reader...we are indeed infants learning how to crawl, to walk, and maybe even perhaps run in the faith.
We're not born in this life for our own bidding. We're not here to accomplish great things for ourselves. We're not here to build empires unto our own.
In Christ we're to grow with respect to our salvation. We came to Christ at His behest. We were sealed in the Spirit. We became the adopted children of God.
And now we grow, we learn. We learn how to eat true spiritual food, to drink true spiritual drink. We learn how to exercise the new spiritual bodies we've been given.
We are to walk by faith and not by sight. Seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness. That is what's to motivate us through this life.
We waste time, energy and effort trying to build a kingdom of our own. We're to live lives in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. We can only do this if our lives reflect lives that are lived in obedience to Jesus Christ.
We easily can be exemplary models of both Christianity and the world...all within seconds of each other. Doing great in life and getting caught broadside by an event or person and the old sin nature shows up instead.
A life in Christ is one of learning.
You must realize there's no room for slacking off. There's no time to take vacations from learning from the Spirit of God.
We are reborn in Christ and are immediately found to be under the gun. Scripture says that through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom of God.
But enter it we will because Jesus is with us. We are never alone in this life. The Spirit takes no teacher in service days. The Spirit is always ready to share something new with those who's hearts are set on Jesus.
But are we looking to learn?
Are we trying to hear with our new spiritual ears? Are we trying to see with our new spiritual eyes?
We are given at least one spiritual gift upon coming to Christ for salvation. We're going to give an account of how we used that gift to God's glory.
I look back over my life from where it is right now...and even I can see that much of my life will be burned up when I stand before Jesus to give an account of my life. Of what I did in my body for Him or not for Him. I cannot change the past, but I can do something about the present and the future.
My Dear Reader so can you.
"Commit your works to the Lord And your plans will be established." Proverbs 16:3.
"Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it." Psalms 37:5.
"For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6.
If we're living life in light of the Word of God...that we are not our own, that we were bought with a price, the shed blood of Jesus Christ...should not our lives reflect that?
Or is our lives a reflection of something or someone else?
Praying for eyes that see and ears that hear the things of God will never steer you wrong.
Praying for understanding before you read your Bible will get your attention where your spiritual eyes are looking.
Praying to have a life well pleasing in His sight rather than our own will never disappoint.
To seek first His kingdom and His righteousness starts with prayer that does not lack sincerity.
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul?
What are you possibly going to get for living a life for you and not for Jesus?
We cannot afford to waste the precious seconds and minutes we're given. Paul's life exuded a life way more concerned about others than himself.
There's many things that I could have pursued in my life that maybe for a moment could have brought joy and comfort. But it wouldn't have lasted. The problem with the pursuit of worldly happiness is its really unachievable. We got a high from something and try again to get that feeling again and it's no longer potent enough.
In Christ, a life lived will never cease to experience joys and peace that we cannot really describe because they're so good.
Pray for yourself that your life, your ways, align with what God called for you to be doing, saying and thinking. Pray that you are glorifying God in your body. Pray that when the Spirit says something for you to be doing or saying, that you just obey.
Don't expect everyone to understand or to get it. Obedience is a process and we're all in different places from each other with regards to this.
Isaiah had his eyes opened and he knew how dirty he was before Jesus. Jesus took away his sins and cleansed him. Isaiah was more than happy to obey in everything that Jesus wanted of him.
Pray for your growing in Christ.
Nothing else we do in life is remotely as important.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment