The Problem Isn't The Message; The Problem Is Our Heart

We live in an age when words rule. We all like to talk, whether verbally or written. The Church is filled with words; people talking, debating, arguing, disagreeing, and there are a lot of books being written. There is a huge war of words as the philosophers of the Church argue with each other in front of the whole world. We are hearing "false prophet", "false teacher" being thrown around far too easily. It is like we have forgotten the Word that tells us:

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. (1 Corinthians 4:19-21)

But it is difficult to understand this when we have allowed the Church to be lead by the academia and we know how teachers love words. Where is the gospel that comes with power?

If we follow this thought it leads us to the realization of how many of those words are empty. The Word of God is never empty, filled with power to convict and change the hearts of the receivers. The empty words come from those who would rather debate the word instead of submit to it. Those words lack any good. So what we should be looking for is the fruit that is produced. That is how we know the true content of the heart, by the fruit it produces.

There are many passages of Scripture that teach on this but I appreciate a certain passage in Isaiah 32:

For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. (Isaiah 32:6)

Case study number 1: The Fool. Look at what such a heart produces; ungodliness, uttering error, keeping the hungry hungry, spoiling the drink of the thirsty. The heart of the fool produces emptiness. Those who are seeking Jesus will not discover him in the words of a fool.

Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice. (v. 7)

Case study number 2: The Schemer. Look at what this heart produces; wicked plans, destruction through lying words, denying justice. Pity the seeker who is looking for Jesus in the words of a schemer.

But a generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand. (v. 8)

Case study number 3: The Generous. It is obvious what such a heart produces; generous things. This is the heart of love as defined by Jesus in Luke 6, giving recklessly, without thought of personal cost, to the benefit of friend or foe. In these words we will discover the power of the Kingdom.

So many of the words spoken and debated today are spoken from selfish, puffed up hearts that think nothing of the consequences of their speaking. The fruit that is produced is confusion and division. No one is growing into spiritual maturity from these things. They are destructive to the Body of Christ. We should pay attention to the wisdom of Proverbs:

Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

That should give us something to ponder as we ask the Spirit to examine our hearts, but let us not stop at this familiar verse but let us put it in context of what follows:

Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil. (vv. 24-27)

The only way we are going to see the power of the Kingdom return is when we stop the foolishness, examine our hearts and walk the walk we have been given. Fix your eyes on Jesus and stop trying to make a name for yourself by tearing down other servants. If they are in error the Spirit is not impotent; he will correct. But you, you keep your eyes on the prize, understanding your tasks and allowing the power of the resurrection to flow through you. The world needs to see Jesus in us, the Church, the Body of Christ. Let your heart be true and may they discover Christ through the fruit that is produced by his reckless love in you.

Knowledge, Wisdom, Gifting (2)

So you are a person filled with knowledge. You have studied hard, filled your brain, impressed a lot of people; now what? Now what are you going to do with all that knowledge? What is it good for? How are you going to apply it? There are a lot of smart people in the world. There are a lot of people who love to read. There are a lot of information junkies but very few do anything with it. It's like they think it's just about them so they keep that knowledge to themselves, nullifying its purpose.

Gaining knowledge, kept in the context of our relationship with Yahweh is excellent, but it is useless without the wisdom to know how to apply it. But wisdom is not something that can be learned as it's source is Yahweh. Wisdom is only found in our LORD.

Here is the thing about wisdom: You need to know you need it. Second, you need to desire it, to seek for it. Third, you need to ask for it.

Solomon, in his instructions to his son, emphasized the great importance of wisdom and described it as honey:

My son, eat honey because it is good,
And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul;
If you have found it, there is a prospect,
And your hope will not be cut off. (Proverbs 14:13-14)

Wisdom is a sustaining thing of life and he describes the lack of it like death:

The lips of the righteous feed many,
But fools die for lack of wisdom. (Proverbs 10:21)

We need to know that we need wisdom in order to honour God and fulfil our purpose.

In knowing that we need it we will begin to desire it, to seek for it. But we don't seek as the world does, because we seek only in the LORD who is the source of all wisdom:

For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
8 He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints. (Proverbs 2:6-8)

But we must seek it. It doesn't just happen. It's like Solomon told his son, he has to "get" wisdom:

Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. (Proverbs 4:7-8)

The world tells us that wisdom comes from years of experience but that is wisdom as measured by the world. The wisdom of value is a gift from our LORD.

We know we need it, it is something we desire, so how do we obtain wisdom. James told us simply to ask:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6)

Of course when we ask of our LORD the things he desires for us to have, they are ours. We act in faith that we have them and it is amazing what the LORD is able to accomplish through us. Don't expect it to look like it does in the world and don't expect the world to agree with you. The wisdom of the LORD is not based upon the principles of this world but upon Yahweh himself. It is amazing though the difference it makes when the LORD's wisdom is used to apply our knowledge.

You know you need it, you desire it, you have asked for it, now walk in it. Tomorrow we look at the third element of success: God's Gifting.