Dictations From The Spirit

Deuteronomy 16:3b: that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.

Today’s world is so full of busyness and commitments – work, school, family obligations, and countless more. Some of these things can cause us to challenge what we know or what we believe. Sometimes, that is not such a bad thing because it forces us to recall and remember facts and information to confirm what we believe to be true. These remembrances become reassuring truths that establish a foundation to stand. In today’s verse, Moses is speaking to the Nation of Israel and encouraging them to remember an important event – the Passover.

Briefly, God was seeking to bring the Nation of Israel out from their slave-labor existence in Egypt into The Promised Land. In order for this to happen, God had to inflict ten plagues against the Egyptians to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. The final and decisive plague was God sending the angel of death across Egypt to slay all the firstborn males – both human and animal. Out of His love for His chosen people, He instructed them to sacrifice a spotless lamb and sprinkle the blood over the doorposts of their homes. When the angel of death saw the blood, he would pass over those homes and spare them. That is exactly what happened, and that is why to this day this event is known as the Passover.

In Scripture, Egypt is a type of sin. All of us are “born in Egypt” – we are born with a sin nature, which separates us from God. Jesus Christ was the spotless Lamb of God who became our spiritual Passover sacrifice when He willingly gave up His human life on the cross. His shed blood was what God the Father required for those of us who choose to believe in Jesus to be forgiven of our sins. Leviticus 17:11 confirms for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

Because of your confession of Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the risen Lord brought you out of your Egypt – your life of sin. You are totally forgiven of all your past, present, and future sins by God, and He makes you into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) all the days of your life – this one and the next.

Again, Moses was encouraging God’s chosen children of God to remember the great and awesome act of love and mercy He had done for them. Amidst your busyness, the Holy Spirit is encouraging you to remember what Jesus has done for you on the cross – He liberated you from your slavery to your sins. Moreover, each and every day of your new life in Christ He’s always there, never leaving your side. He is shaping your heart and soul into the image of Jesus. As He does this, you will find the peace of His presence, and the rest of His love and power. Seems like that is something worth remembering, Amen?

 

Colossians 2:11: In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

One of the common misperceptions of the Bible is that the God of the Old Testament is different from the One in the New Testament. This is simply not true, and the Bible makes it pretty clear about this point. Malachi 3:6a clearly states, “For I am the LORD, I do not change.” Hebrews 13:8 claims, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Where people may come up with the notion that the Old and New Testament Gods are different is coming from how He requires one thing in the Old Testament but requires something else in the New Testament. Technically, this is true, but with a deeper inspection, we see the core purpose of the requirement remaining unchanged.  Let’s take a look at an example.

In Genesis 17, God makes a covenant, or promise, with Abram. He tells Abram that He will multiply him exceedingly, he’ll be a father of many nations, he’ll be exceedingly fruitful, and, He’ll give him the promised land to him and his descendants. As a symbol of this covenant, God commands that every male child who is eight days old must be circumcised. While circumcision was the symbol of the covenant between Abram and all his descendants, it was symbolic of a commitment to not walk in the flesh, or as the rest of the world would walk, but rather walk in denial of the flesh and go through life walking worthy as a child of God.

Moving ahead into the New Testament, we see with the advent of the early church that circumcision was no longer required for those who came to faith in Jesus (see Acts 21:21). A fair question at this point would be, ‘If this is the same God, why would He change His mind – He said He doesn’t change?’ That’s true, He doesn’t change, but because He is sovereign, He has the right to change the methodology of the symbolism of the promise between a loving God and His children.

In chapter 3 of Matthew, we learn of a new exercise known as baptism. John the Baptist is baptizing people who are choosing to follow him. He is bringing them into the Jordan River and immersing them in water as a symbol of their repentance from their sins. There in fact are several types of baptisms mentioned in the Scriptures. However, the water baptism has an underlying theme that will sound familiar: it is a symbol of putting to death a life led in the flesh and as we come out of the water, we are washed of our sins and our now walking in denial of the flesh and seeking to go through life living it as a child of God.  Romans 6:4 tells us, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

The underlying theme of circumcision and baptism is death of the flesh and life with God. Deuteronomy pointed to the core purpose of the act of circumcision in verse 30:6: “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”  A true change of heart can only begin with the confession of sin, repentance, and faith in the redemptive work of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. It is only upon that confession that someone can be saved. While baptism, by itself, cannot bring salvation, it is an act of obedience as a symbol of putting to death the life of walking according to the flesh and being raised to a new life for the child of God.

So we see that while circumcision and baptism are two entirely different acts of obedience, they are both symbolic of the same objective. The same God with the same purpose – He doesn’t change, but He wants you to. Will you?

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

To either someone who is considering giving his/her life to the Lord or to a brand new believer, today’s verse words can sound exciting – but a little confusing.  It is very reasonable to ask the question, “What does that mean to me?”

Any time there’s a question regarding something that we don’t understand in the Bible, the first place, or person, we should go to is the Lord.  Makes sense, right?  It’s His Word!   He will give us wisdom if we ask for it.  Remember what He tells us in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.   For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

He once again lives up to His promise in this situation.  In the 20^th chapter of John’s gospel, the resurrected Lord is appearing to the disciples for the first time.  Picking up in the 19^th verse it is written, “Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.   Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Let’s take these verses line-by-line and see how they help us understand 2 Corinthians 5:17.  The first thing Jesus does is make His presence known by immediately offering them “Peace”.  For people who haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are living their lives in rebellion of, or war with, God.  The moment we acknowledge Jesus for who He is and invite Him into our lives, we become immediately at peace with God.  We cannot overestimate this fact, and Jesus recognizes this as he makes the proclamation twice.

The next thing the Lord says is, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  If you’re going to believe in and follow Jesus, you better be prepared for change.  That should make sense.  Most people come to faith in Christ because they’ve come to a point in their lives where they recognize that the way they were living it was getting them nowhere – they wanted a change.  Jesus is telling the disciples that He’s sending them on to a new way of living.  What’s really important for people to remember when becoming a Christian is that the Lord is not going to ask us to do something that He already hasn’t already done already.  It’s highly likely some of the changes are going to be difficult and require significant sacrifice.  There is no greater sacrifice than what Jesus did on the cross, so we are trusting in a God that knows what we’re dealing with.

Jesus then breathes on the disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit.  Jesus knows He’s going to be leaving soon, and He knows that the only way the disciples (and all future believers) can accomplish His plan is by giving the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”).

Notice the first thing Jesus tells the disciples to do with the Holy Spirit in them – forgive.  For some things that happen in life, we may be able to offer forgiveness.  However, there are some things that just seem impossible to forgive.  It is only by the presence of the Holy Spirit that we can offer true forgiveness – that was the whole purpose of Christ crucified – 1 John 2:2: “he is the propitiation (atoning sacrifice resulting in forgiveness) for our sins”.  Jesus knows the daily prison cells we live in by not forgiving.  Without extending forgiveness, there is bitterness, anger, hurt, shame, fear, and countless other crippling emotions that make living a truly changed life impossible.  Furthermore, forgiveness is clear evidence of Christ in us, and we become a light unto Him who forgave us to others who don’t know the Lord.

When we come to faith in Christ, Jesus promises us a changed life by offering us peace with God.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are “a new creation.”  By offering true forgiveness to the things that have bound us, we allow old things to pass away, and we are then sent out, at peace with God, on to a new life.  It’s a life filled with purpose, secure in the love of Christ, and with the true reality of the hope of being with God in heaven.

Isaiah 30:20a: And though the Lord gives you
 the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,

Do you remember being in school? Maybe you’re in school now. At the beginning of a semester in school, you attend your first class and commence with listening to the teacher or professor offer up his/her instruction on the topic of the course. Over the next several weeks, you continue attending the class, listening to the teacher, and probably making notes or doing some homework. Then one day when you arrive to class, you find out the teacher is not there to teach. He/she has something else in mind – a test is given! To the typical student, the purpose of a test is to demonstrate to the teacher whether or not you are getting the proper grasp on the coursework – whether or not you truly understand what the teacher is teaching.

There is a second purpose of a test, though – for you to gauge how much of the material you understand. Moreover, the tougher the test, the more likely your understanding and grasp of the coursework will be revealed. We all may want a simpler test because it is easy, but it isn’t really helping us or the teacher know much about where we are in our learning curve.

Jesus is called “Teacher” almost 50 times in the four Gospels. His designation of teacher implies that those who are following Him are students and, therefore, are expected to learn from Him. Just as your school teacher will occasionally administer a test to determine the depth of your understanding of what is being taught, so Jesus will do the same.

Today’s verse clearly states that the Lord will give the bread of adversity and the water of affliction. For many Christians, this verse is hard to stomach. “Why would God want to give adversity and affliction?” God administers adversity and affliction for the same reason the teacher administers a test. He wants to reveal to us how deep our trust is in Him – how strong is our faith. Being omniscient, the Lord already knows where we are in our faith, so the purpose of His tests is to show us where we are in our walk with Him. Are we as strong as we think/hope we are, or are we overestimating our faith?

The Apostle Paul understood the importance of our faith being tested. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” In chapter 3 of his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul spoke of the kind of tests we should expect when it comes to our faith, “each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.” God will turn up the heat in our lives to help us to find out if we’re walking with Him to glorify Him – our principal purpose in life, or if our relationship with Him is less than pure and holy.

Unlike the test given the student, our faith is not graded by the Lord. However, the level, or grade, of our relationship with Him only gets better when we pass the tests of adversity and affliction. How do we know if we pass a test by God? Paul revealed the purpose of his tests to the Corinthians – whether they were obedient in all things (2 Corinthians 2:9). The degree of your obedience to God’s will and commandments perfectly correlates with the depth of your faith – or your grade.

If we accept that God is love and God is good, then we can better accept the motivations behind the tests of adversity and affliction – to deepen our relationship with Him. He created us, and He knows nothing in life is more satisfying than a close and intimate relationship with Him. That is why Jesus died for us – that’s how important a relationship with you is to Him. He wants you to know where you are in that relationship with Him. God’s tests are often painful, but passing them leads to greater joy – they don’t produce a grade – they produce results.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10: And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Have you ever been deprived of something? Being deprived means you are prevented from the enjoyment of possessing something or doing something you want to do. Most of us have been deprived of at least one thing in our lives. What did that feel like to you? Frustrated? Did you think to yourself, ‘If I hadn’t been deprived of that something or situation, imagine what I could have done with it?’ Now hold onto that while we explore today’s verse.

Prior to his conversion to faith in Christ, the Apostle Paul was known as Saul. He was a highly esteemed religious leader of a group called the Pharisees. Paul details the level of his adherence to the Law and his status in the third chapter of Philippians. He had every reason to be prideful and confident in who he was and how he was choosing to live. In today’s world, he was “feeling it”.

When you come to faith in Jesus, there should be a visible change in who you are and how you live. There may be no greater example of this truth in Scripture than the Apostle Paul. Given what we just described of him in the previous paragraph as Saul, it is only by the presence of the Holy Spirit could he write what he wrote in today’s verse. Paul had a “thorn in his side” – an infirmity (believed by many to be poor vision) – that he had asked the Lord to take away. He cites the Lord’s response to this request that His grace was sufficient for him. Simply – the Lord said “No” to his request to remove some suffering from Paul. To those who don’t understand how God works, that response may seem “un-God-like” – or even mean.

The key to the Lord’s response is what He says next, “for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” When we are “feeling it” – feeling prideful and confident in our capabilities – we are in essence exerting our wills. We’re so sure of how to respond because we are so sure of our understanding of the situation. Before writing the balance of today’s verse, Paul, being a student of Scripture, must have remembered Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.” He also must have recalled what Jesus said to the Father just before His betrayal and crucifixion – “not My will but Your will be done.”

Paul had taken to heart what God said in Isaiah. Whatever pride and confidence he had in his own abilities is overwhelmed by the truth that God’s thoughts and ways were higher than his. By the power of the Holy Spirit living in him, he recognized that when he was walking in his own confidence, he was forcing his strength and will over the Lord’s. In today’s verse he comes to the conclusion that when he did this, he was depriving the Lord of invoking His thoughts and ways on Paul’s life – preventing the Lord from doing what He wanted to do with Paul and through Paul.

Remember how we described what it feels like to be deprived of something? Don’t frustrate the Lord by thinking you’ve got everything figured out. He knows you better than you do, so He knows how to bless you in a manner that will far exceed what benefits you think you can receive by living life your way. If you will come to the conclusion the Apostle Paul did – boasting in your infirmities – knowing when you are weak, you are strong because you have yielded to God’s exceeding power, imagine what He will do with your life.

 

1 Peter 3:15: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Have you ever read a book that you really liked and told all your friends how good it was? Then you found out it was made into a movie, and encouraged your friends to see the movie? More often than not, after seeing the movie, you’re disappointed because the “live” version of the book just doesn’t live up to the way the story was described in the book. There’s a let down, isn’t there?

Today’s verse prompts us to be prepared to defend our faith should we be asked by or challenged of it. Memorizing key Scriptures that speak to the truths of who God is and what hope we have because of our receiving the gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ is the right place to start to prepare ourselves for when we’re requested to support what we believe. You can never go wrong quoting Scriptures in a challenge. That’s what Jesus did when He was tempted by Satan. Jesus tells us to follow Him, so if He recites the Word of God when challenged, so should we.

I have to ask myself, though, is quoting Bible verses enough for someone to accept my defense of what I believe? Now I’m not questioning the power of God’s Word – it is the sword of the Spirit. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Clearly, God’s Word is powerful enough to bring repentance to anyone.

For some people, though, they want to see the hope we proclaim. In other words, they want to see the ‘movie version’ of our statements of belief to be in line with the story that we’re offering as we defend our faith. Again, Scripture quotes are never a bad thing, but they become so much more powerful when the fruit that they can and should produce are evidenced by how we’re living. In other words, are we walking our witness?

If we’re proclaiming the truths and privileges of being a child of God, but we’re living unchanged lives – still slaves to our former selves, then the ‘visible’ evidence of our faith is lacking. For example, we quote 1 John 4:18, which says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” When the person or persons who look at how we live and see we are living in fear, then the credibility of the verse is damaged.

Galatians 5:22-23 offers the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and, self-control. If we’re not exhibiting these characteristics to those who are asking about our faith, then what is the draw or attraction to coming into a faith that yields no fruit – or change? Are we a disappointing movie version of a really good book?

This message is not meant to make you feel guilty or be condemned for not living a perfect life – it doesn’t exist – unless you’re Jesus. This message is also not to discourage you from defending your faith whenever you have the chance – God forbid! This message is a reminder for us to not just memorize the Scriptures that offer all the defenses of our faith but to bring a renewed focus on living the promises and the hope of the Scriptures we’re presenting. If you do this, people will see the difference in you, and they will be more inclined to ask what makes you different. You’re response should start with it’s not what makes you different, it’s Who makes you different. They’ll see the proof of the Good Book version.

Ask God to help you live out the truths of the promises of His Word. Everyone needs hope, and for those of us who claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can offer to an unbelieving world – both in word and in action – what great truth Romans 5:5 proclaims – hope does not disappoint. Amen.

 

Romans 8:24-25: “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

The word “hope” can be used either as a noun – a person or thing in which expectations are centered; or as a verb – to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence; to trust or rely.  Regardless of the use of the word, there is a presupposition to the concept of hope – a firm perception that there is a deficit or lack of completeness or fullness found in something or someone that causes us to seriously entertain the possibility, or maybe the necessity, that there may be something better – or hope.

For example, you live in a home that is located in a safe area that is clean and comfortable.  You get invited to a party at a friend’s house, and when you get there, you notice the house is in a nicer part of town, it’s bigger, and is customized with many new amenities and features.  You find yourself now feeling that your home is inferior.  The point is that until you were presented with irrefutable evidence that there was something superior to your current status, you didn’t have a cause or a clear sense that there might be something better.

Of all the subtle lies that pervade our existence today, one of the more effective ones is the sense that what the world has to offer is the best we can hope for.  If we come to believe this, then we prevent ourselves from considering the possibility that there is something beyond our physical existence that could be a superior way to live.  This is admittedly a difficult place for people to visit for two primary reasons: 1) it is hard to imagine something outside the limitations of our physical being; and, 2) Satan makes every effort to keep us chained to his world and prevent us from exploring something that could be better.  In other words – hope.

The Apostle Paul recognizes the challenge of imagining or hoping of something beyond our physical capabilities in today’s verses.  Paul has come to the conclusion that the hope offered by the world (“hope that is seen”), is not at all hope.  He has recognized the utter futility of the earthly driven pursuits of this world, and the lie that they provide for something truly better – or hope.

Paul then makes the logical counterstatement that if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.  Notably, Paul is claiming there is true hope.  His words “eagerly wait” provide us insight into the depth of Paul’s conviction.  Those words tell us of a certainty – the expectation of a promise to be fulfilled.  In other words – true hope.

Where did Paul come up with such a conviction of the lies of an earthly hope and the sureness of an unseen hope?  The Scriptures are where we learn of true hope.  Elementary journalism tells us that when you begin a report on a topic, you first need to cover the “5 Ws”: Who, What, When, Where, and Why.  The Bible provides us numerous examples of the 5 Ws of hope.

Who is our hope in? “We have hope in Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:19); “Your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:21); and, “God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.” (1 Tim 1:1)

What is our hope? “The hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8); “The hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2); and, “The hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7)

When will see our hope? “Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19); “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)

Where is our hope? “The hope which is laid up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:5)

Why should we hope? “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

True hope is in God.  Romans 5:13 says, “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.”  Where is your hope?  Is that hope filled with joy and peace?  If it doesn’t, then it really isn’t hope, is it?

Romans 5:17: For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will in the life through the One, Jesus Christ.

I’ve always had a gift for numbers – they’ve always made sense to me. When I was in college, I learned three things about numbers:

1. They tell a story
2. Numbers can be manipulated to alter the story
3. Because of these first 2 truths, I learned I needed to know what was behind the numbers.

I wanted to share with you the main lesson that the Lord taught me about numbers from the Scriptures – it came from the Book of Judges and the story of Gideon. Israel is under the oppression of the Midianites as well as the Amalekites and the people of the East – this is due to their doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord. The children of Israel cried out for help, and God responded by sending the Angel of the Lord to give a calling to Gideon to lead his men in gaining victory over the oppressors.

Now the numbers come into play. Gideon’s army, at the beginning of the story, numbered 32,000. We will learn that “the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.” Later in the story these metaphorical descriptions are partially quantified – there was 135,000 of just the people of the East.

Gideon is undoubtedly startled by God’s statement regarding the size of his army – at 32,000 – is too many for Him to the give the Midianites into Gideon’s armies’ hands, because they would take the credit for the victory. So in two steps, the army of 32,000 is pared down to 300. The numbers geek in me did the math – this makes the ratio of just the people of the East to Gideon’s lean mean fighting machine of 450 to 1!  Well, we know the end of the story – God got the victory for His chosen people.

The point that I learned in college is the same as the one when I understood the story of Gideon – it’s not about the numbers. The basis of the lesson, though, was very different. In college, I learned I needed to know what was behind the numbers. In the Bible, I need to know Who is behind the numbers.

I’d like to think God is a “numbers guy” as well – but for very different reasons than I am. I believe He uses numbers to reveal Himself to us – to help us get some perspective on His greatness. Allow me to offer a couple more notable Bible stories tying the link of God’s power and personality to numbers:

1. How many days did it take to finish creation? The number 7, by itself, doesn’t mean anything. However, in light of what was accomplished in just 7 days, we are forced to reckon with the majesty, creativity, and power of God
2. How many people did Jesus feed? Feeding 5,000 people is no small task, but the fact that God wanted to point out that He did it with just 5 barley loaves and two fish makes us once again marvel at what God can do with so little.

The most profound numerical-based Scripture, for me, is found in today’s verse. One man – one very special God man – made a difference and changed the lives of millions.

Brothers and sisters – God doesn’t change and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Numbers don’t overwhelm God – He overwhelms them. It’s not about the numbers – it’s about Who is behind the numbers. It’s very easy to get caught up in the numbers. But it’s not the numbers we should be getting caught up in, it is the One behind the numbers to whom we should be getting caught up. We can always count on Him. Amen.

 

How many times have you formulated an opinion about someone after only knowing a little bit about him/her?  How many of those times were you using information that wasn’t obtained directly from the person you’re evaluating?  If you think you’ve never done this, then you can stop reading. For the rest who are honest with yourself, consider one of the three servants in Jesus’ Parable of the Talents noted in Matthew 25:14-30.

In this Parable, a man gives five talents to one of his servants, two talents to a second one, and one talent to the third. The first two servants understand that the man has given them something of value, and he is hoping that they would not only take care of this value but also add to it.  The man goes away for a long time and then returns to see how they did.  The first two double what was given them, and they are justly commended and rewarded for obeying their master’s intentions.

Now we have the third servant – what does he do?  He takes the one talent, digs a hole in the ground, and hides it.  When his master realizes this, he is not at all happy.  He takes the talent away from the servant and banishes him to the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus’ primary objective of this Parable was to teach the apostles the concept that with all the gifts that God gives to us, He expects us to use them to build His Kingdom which ultimately glorifies Him.  Jesus emphasizes this in verse 29, “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

Now is what the third servant did all that bad? He did take care of the talent, and He didn’t lose it.  And what does this have to do with what the first two questions I asked above?  Take a look at what the third servant tells his master in verses 24 and 25 when asked how he did with the talent he had given him, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid.”  There is much to be learned from this response, and it speaks directly to the cost of drawing the wrong conclusion about someone – notably God.

First, the servant was afraid of his master.  More often than not, when it comes to relationships, fear can be largely eliminated once you get to really know someone.  Secondly, he made claims about his master that don’t appear to be true – I draw that conclusion based on the actions of the first two servants.  Even if what the third servant accused him of was true, it didn’t prevent the first two from obeying their master. Finally, the third servant used his fear and lack of knowledge of his master to blame his lack of obedience on the master.

Put yourself in the place of the third servant – are you afraid of God?  Why?  What is the basis of your fear?  Where did you get your information? Is it based on something someone has told you? Yes, the Bible tells us to “fear the Lord”, but this kind of fear truthfully means to have reverence for Him.  The truth is, throughout the Bible, God tells us to “fear not”, “do not fear”, and “do not be afraid” as an introduction to His being in someone’s presence.  To get beyond the wrong type of fear of God, is to get to know Him.  Did you know He wants you to know Him? If He didn’t, there would be no Bible.

We are all wired to have a relationship with God – that is how He created us.  However, He wants a genuine relationship, so He threw in the option for us to make a choice as to whether or not we wanted to pursue such a relationship. He gave us His Word to allow us to get to know Him.  Unless we don’t read His Word, how can we expect to come to know Him?  The result of not knowing the truth is you end up like the third servant with an uninformed impression about God, living in the wrong kind of fear of Him, living a life of disobedience, and ultimately blaming God for your unwillingness to know the truth.  The price of the servant’s wrong impression of his master was being banished to the outer darkness. Are you willing to pay the same price?

Psalm 25:4, 9: Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.

One of Jesus’ titles in Scripture is Teacher. In Matthew 11:29, He implores us to learn from Him. Since Jesus is God, and God is infinite and all knowing, He clearly has a lot to offer us. What do you think is the most important thing Jesus wants to teach us? How to make money? How to gain power? How to have more friends? Nope. The most important lesson we have to learn from Jesus is coming to know the true character of God. We were designed in a way that the central component of our lives – the ultimate way to live life – is to have a close, intimate, and personal relationship with God. With that as our foundation, the quality of our lives and the quality of our contribution to humanity is maximized.

Today’s verses have King David asking God to show him His ways and teach him His paths. David came to the conclusion that living life God’s way was better than the way he was living it. This is a critical moment every human is challenged. ‘Am I going to do things my way, or God’s way?’ The underlying issue behind this question is the condition of our heart. The prideful and self-sufficient person will come to the conclusion that he/she is doing just fine, so there’s no need for God’s teaching and guidance. This person is not teachable. David confirms this truth in verse 9 – it is the humble that He guides in justice and teach His way.

A humble heart is one that acknowledges it doesn’t have all the answers and is incapable of finding all the answers on its own. The heart, however, is a delicate thing. It’s a good thing when we arrive at the conclusion we don’t have all the answers and need help; however, whom do we trust to give us those answers and guidance? Shouldn’t we want the best and most reliable teacher? Of course! And this is why Jesus’ central “subject” of His teaching is coming to know the true character of the Father. Jesus knows better than anyone the damage that Satan’s lies have done to our hearts. The “fruit” of our belief in those lies is our sin. Our sin is why Jesus went to the Cross, so He is ultimately qualified to understand the implications and consequences of our sin.

C.S. Lewis calls pride the “great” sin. Pride is simply defined as a false conception of self-assurance. A prideful person is not walking with God because to walk with God is to acknowledge God’s superiority in all things. The humble heart gets this – the prideful one does not. If the prideful heart is so self-assured, then it is not teachable. The prideful heart is certain its ways are the best ways. The problem with this condition is the prideful heart may think it knows where it’s going, but it doesn’t have a clue what it’s like when it gets there. The humble heart recognizes the path that it was on when it was being led by pride is heading towards a bad ending. The humble heart understands it needs a new direction and is willing to find a Guide Who will take it to a better place.

Interestingly, Jesus tells us what kind of teacher He is in Matthew 11:29 – He is gentle and lowly in heart. The best teacher is one who lives in the manner in which He professes others to live. Jesus is the ultimate example of humbleness. He is a co-equal member of the triune Godhead, yet He fully submits Himself to God the Father. He does this because He fully trusts the character of His Father. He has total confidence that if the Father is asking Him to do something, it will be unquestionably beneficial for Jesus. The confidence He has in the Father’s character is what He wants to teach each of us. However, we will never come to such a conclusion if our hearts contain any pride whatsoever. The humble heart knows this. Does ours?