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INTELLIGENCE IS A TRAP
Posted : 12 Jan, 2012 11:27 PM
INTELLIGENCE IS A TRAP 1/06/2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Just the title of this article has likely caused some to become agitated or upset. But I do want to speak with all of us about this very important topic for it truly goes to the heart of how many Christians believe and walk in their �faith�. If for any reason you are already upset, agitated, emotional, or even angry about this topic, I would ask you to stop, ask yourself WHY, and then become willing to be wrong and allow the Lord to speak to each of us.
1Co 2:1 AS FOR myself, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony and evidence or mystery and secret of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy and wisdom; 1Co 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified.
1Co 2:3 And I was in (passed into a state of) weakness and fear (dread) and great trembling [after I had come] among you.
1Co 2:4 And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them],
1Co 2:5 So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God. 1Co 2:6 Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away.
1Co 2:7 But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God--[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence].
1Co 2:8 None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9 But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. [Isa. 64:4; 65:17.]
1Co 2:10 Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny].
1Co 2:11 For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God.
1Co 2:13 And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit]. 1Co 2:14 But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.
1Co 2:15 But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].
1Co 2:16 For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. [Isa. 40:13.]
Friends, where is it that we stand? Where is it that we speak, preach, teach, believe, and live? Are we speaking and teaching in �lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy and wisdom� or �And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom,�? Is this how we go to the world? Is this what we do when we preach, teach, etc? What are we relying on?
Did any of us ever realize that the vast majority of Christians today are not as spiritually mature as the Corinthians? You doubt what I am saying? Go read I Corinthians 12-14 and it should give you great pause. How many Christians live in that realm of spiritual gifts even as much as the Corinthians did? Those who do believe the gifts today are no longer big promoters of those gifts. Oh, they will still talk about them, and occasionally practice them, but the gifts are not a major part of their lives as they used to be back 20-30 yrs ago. Then there are those who still claim the gifts are not for today. Well, I won�t even go there.
But how do the vast majority of preachers preach? What do they do before they get up there behind the �pulpit� and talk for anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours? (or longer in some cases) They study, and plan, and outline, and make notes, and look up words, and check things out in their favorite commentary, yeah, they may pray some too. What is that? Is that relying on the Lord or is that relying on ourselves? What kind of preaching is that? Is it, �proclaiming to you the testimony and evidence or mystery and secret of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy and wisdom;� or is it, �in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them], So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.�?
Please explain that to me for I cannot see how that kind of preaching is in the power of God and NOT in the power of human wisdom and knowledge. Once again I ask, who are we relying on? Is it our understanding or is it the Holy Spirit within us? What do the scriptures say?
Pro 3:5 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. [Prov. 8:13.]
Is that what we are doing when we do all that study, outlines, notes, reading etc? What about the following command from the Lord?
Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].
Mat 16:25 For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].
Mat 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life [his blessed life in the kingdom of God]? Or what would a man give as an exchange for his [blessed] life [in the kingdom of God]?
Mar 8:34 And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].
Mar 8:35 For whoever wants to save his [higher, spiritual, eternal] life, will lose it [the lower, natural, temporal life which is lived only on earth]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived only on earth] for My sake and the Gospel's will save it [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God].
Mar 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?
Mar 8:37 For what can a man give as an exchange (a compensation, a ransom, in return) for his [blessed] life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?
Mar 8:38 For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous (unfaithful) and [preeminently] sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory (splendor and majesty) of His Father with the holy angels.
Luk 9:23 And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].
Luk 9:24 For whoever would preserve his life and save it will lose and destroy it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he will preserve and save it [from the penalty of eternal death].
Luk 9:25 For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and ruins or forfeits (loses) himself?
Luk 9:26 Because whoever is ashamed of Me and of My teachings, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in the [threefold] glory (the splendor and majesty) of Himself and of the Father and of the holy angels.
And after Jesus told us to utterly deny ourselves, cease relying on ourselves in any way, Paul comes after and tells us that we are to have the same type of mindset Jesus had while HE lived on the earth.
Php 2:4 Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others.
Php 2:5 Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]
Php 2:6 Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
Php 2:7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
Php 2:8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
Php 2:9 Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,
Php 2:10 That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Php 2:11 And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
How much did Jesus give up while on earth? Did He not give up everything? He laid down His majesty, His glory, His knowledge, His understanding, His power, His abilities, His will, etc, and never did ANYTHING that the Father did not tell Him to do and never said ANYTHING that the Father did not tell Him to say! This is what the scriptures say, but is this what we do?
Please bear with me as I get honest and speak of myself just a little. I am a very smart man. My IQ is around the genius level, about 140. I used to use �$50 words� and use them correctly. But then I had kids and found out, mostly from my wife, that no one understood what I said. So, I stopped using those words, but still I relied on my understanding and study. While still unsaved, I caused an uproar in a Church of Christ Sunday School one morning when I asked questions of the teacher (a former pastor) about the scripture he was teaching that he could not answer without contradicting what he had just said.
For a long time, I relied on what I knew, what I understood, what I studied, and thought I was doing good. Hey, I knew more than most Christians, as much as most pastors, in fact, I knew more than a lot of them. We found out while going to Bible school, that kind of knowledge does nothing for the Kingdom. In fact, we found out that the only type of knowledge that really did any good at all was the kind we cannot study for in the least.
The reason we found this out was because we had truly begun to do what Jesus had told us to do, deny ourselves; we had submitted to the Lord as He had submitted to God and were learning to say only those things we heard Him say and do only the things He told us to do. We were ceasing to rely on ourselves and had begun to really Trust the Lord in ALL things and not in the wisdom of man.
This utterly changed our walk with God.
He is real. He is alive. He teaches us daily. He speaks constantly. He tells us what to do and what to say, because as soon as we begin to think we know what to do or say, we are eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That is man�s wisdom; that is where man�s reliance is. That is what study, notes, outlines, degrees, Bible school, plans, programs, etc all have their foundation in. This does NOT mean we do not read the Bible or study it. But it does mean we only go where He tells us to go, study what He says study and rely on the Holy Spirit to tell us what it means. We do not rely on men and their concordances or their ideas to teach us. Yes, they CAN be helpful, ONCE the Lord has taught us; once the Holy Spirit school has begun in earnest in our lives. Then He can show us the people to read, the various authors who are safe, where to read in the Bible for what is coming ahead in our lives, and so many other things that it would take pages to explain. But look at what Paul gave up.
Php 3:3 For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances--
Php 3:4 Though for myself I have [at least grounds] to rely on the flesh. If any other man considers that he has or seems to have reason to rely on the flesh and his physical and outward advantages, I have still more!
Php 3:5 Circumcised when I was eight days old, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew [and the son] of Hebrews; as to the observance of the Law I was of [the party of] the Pharisees,
Php 3:6 As to my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church, and by the Law's standard of righteousness (supposed justice, uprightness, and right standing with God) I was proven to be blameless and no fault was found with me.
Php 3:7 But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ's sake.
Php 3:8 Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),
Php 3:9 And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law's demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.
Php 3:10 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
Php 3:11 That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].
Php 3:12 Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
Php 3:13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
Php 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
Php 3:15 So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.
What convictions is Paul talking about? He laid down everything he had been prior to meeting Christ Jesus. None of it was left; he treated it as refuse, trash, excrement! He wanted nothing to do with that previous way of life, the training he had, all of those false doctrines, and external observations that the Pharisees were meticulous about. After a short time of ministry, Paul was in the wilderness for several years until the Lord completely and utterly changed him and what he spoke of. Paul no longer lived or followed the Pharisaical way of life. In fact, what he proclaimed was contradictory to everything they believed. He no longer used man�s means of proclaiming the mysteries of God, as we are told in I Corinthians 2.
Look what happened with the Galatians>>>
Gal 3:1 O YOU poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom--right before your very eyes--Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified?
Gal 3:2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?]
Gal 3:3 Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh?
Gal 3:4 Have you suffered so many things and experienced so much all for nothing (to no purpose)--if it really is to no purpose and in vain?
Gal 3:5 Then does He Who supplies you with His marvelous [Holy] Spirit and works powerfully and miraculously among you do so on [the grounds of your doing] what the Law demands, or because of your believing in and adhering to and trusting in and relying on the message that you heard?
Gal 3:6 Thus Abraham believed in and adhered to and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and placed to his account and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action). [Gen. 15:6.]
Gal 3:7 Know and understand that it is [really] the people [who live] by faith who are [the true] sons of Abraham.
Do you think Paul is speaking of just attempting to live under the law? He is speaking of any attempt to add to the salvation of Jesus Christ by trusting in ANYTHING that we can do. PERIOD! This means anything, including understand and use the scriptures. Dear Brethren, cannot we all see that any reliance on what we can do has its origins in eating the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? What happened with Adam and Eve when they did? They chose to decide for themselves what was good, what was evil, and that choice had nothing to do with what God had said!
So why do we even begin to think that if we are studying the Bible and looking up words and trying to figure out what the various scriptures are saying that we are any different than Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? Why are we relying on our own minds and understanding instead of laying down everything and allowing the Lord to define us the way HE desires? Why do we think we will know better than the Lord Himself in how to present the scriptures to anyone? Why do we think we know what the scriptures actually teach just because we can read them? Have we not learned the lesson that over 30,000 denominations have taught us? For the most part, they all believe they are teaching the truth. So why are there so many truths? They cannot all be true, for many of them are contradictory. What is the defining factor that causes these false doctrines and teachings?
Man assumes he knows better than God.
Or perhaps I should say that most Christians assume that when they read the Bible they are seeing and understanding the truth by the Holy Spirit and of course all others are wrong! The only trouble is, once more, there are contradictory teachings out there. Contradiction is NOT TAUGHT by the Holy Spirit! He will ONLY teach the truth! Therefore, the vast majority of these teachings do not come from the Holy Spirit.
How will we know when there is a true doctrine; that the Holy Spirit truly has been teaching an individual? What fruit are they eating? What are they relying on? Is it their own study of the scriptures, the schools they have attended, the classes they have been in or even taught? Is it the degrees behind their name, the ordination by man, the position they hold? Do they point people to other authors, the Greek and Hebrew of the Bible, this commentary, that study bible, another book that explains their ideas?
Friends, all of those things are eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I wish I could really explain this to everyone, but it actually takes a revelation from the Lord Himself to just begin to grasp this idea. As long as we are leaning on what these others have said, what our personal studies have taught us, we are the ones who are choosing what is Good and what is Evil! We are NOT relying on God and His Power!
Until we lay down everything and cease relying on anything except what comes to us directly from the Lord, we will continually be eating from the same tree Adam and Eve did and even those true teachings we happen to hold that have come to us by the Holy Spirit will be contaminated by our own understanding and the corrupt, carnal, fleshly nature of man! It will be full of leaven. The end result of these contaminated understandings will be exactly the same as the leaven of the Pharisees! Man cannot be made better, he can only have his life exchanged from the worldly, natural realm to that of the Lord Himself. As long as we think we know, as long as we do the studying, as long as we are figuring it all out, we are still contaminating even good and wholesome teaching from the Lord with the leaven of the flesh!
The end result of this will be just as destructive and possibly even as damning as the teaching of the Pharisees. There is nothing good in man. The Bible says this, so please explain why we change the Bible to say what we want instead of believing what it says?
Jer 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Rom 3:9 Well then, are we [Jews] superior and better off than they? No, not at all. We have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles), are under sin [held down by and subject to its power and control].
Rom 3:10 As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one. [Ps. 14:3.]
Rom 3:11 No one understands [no one intelligently discerns or comprehends]; no one seeks out God. [Ps. 14:2.]
Rom 3:12 All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one!
Rom 3:13 Their throat is a yawning grave; they use their tongues to deceive (to mislead and to deal treacherously). The venom of asps is beneath their lips. [Ps. 5:9; 140:3.]
Rom 3:14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. [Ps. 10:7.]
Rom 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood.
Rom 3:16 Destruction [as it dashes them to pieces] and misery mark their ways.
Rom 3:17 And they have no experience of the way of peace [they know nothing about peace, for a peaceful way they do not even recognize]. [Isa. 59:7, 8.]
Rom 3:18 There is no [reverential] fear of God before their eyes. [Ps. 36:1.]
1Co 2:14 But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.
There are many more verses that say similar things but it boils down to this>>>Without God in our lives; without Jesus Christ living His life through our own, we do not seek nor even desire the things of God. This is the natural man. Any time we believe we can go to the scriptures, read them and understand what they say because we have looked them up in the Greek and Hebrew, or have read the commentaries, or used the concordances, or the lexicons, or anything other tool to help us understand what it is that the Bible is saying, including, or maybe I should say, ESPECIALLY our favorite authors, then we are once again relying on that Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Please bear with me as I ask us to remember the following passage.
1Co 1:17 For Christ (the Messiah) sent me out not to baptize but [to evangelize by] preaching the glad tidings (the Gospel), and that not with verbal eloquence, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of force and emptied of its power and rendered vain (fruitless, void of value, and of no effect).
1Co 1:18 For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned and the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning; I will frustrate and nullify [them] and bring [them] to nothing. [Isa. 29:14.]
1Co 1:20 Where is the wise man (the philosopher)? Where is the scribe (the scholar)? Where is the investigator (the logician, the debater) of this present time and age? Has not God shown up the nonsense and the folly of this world's wisdom?
1Co 1:21 For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).
1Co 1:22 For while Jews [demandingly] ask for signs and miracles and Greeks pursue philosophy and wisdom,
1Co 1:23 We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense.
1Co 1:24 But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.
1Co 1:27 [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.
1Co 1:28 And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,
1Co 1:29 So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.
Before I comment on this, I ask all of us to consider this. Who will go to a person who has never left Texas to describe New York City? Which of you will go to a person who has never been married to counsel about the rearing of children and a proper, scriptural marriage relationship? How many of you will go to someone who has never tasted a lobster for a description of its flavor?
Then why would any of you go to someone who has never laid down their own abilities in the manner I speak of to understand this laying down of intellect and abilities? I know where of I speak, for I have lived it. I know what it is to study, search the scriptures, asking God to lead me while doing so, and come out with man�s ideas. I know what it means to have worldly wisdom beyond my own years and to have it all thrown down in an instant of time only to find I was truly relying on myself instead of the Lord. I also can see this reliance whenever it occurs so clearly that it hurts!
Yet I still ask you do not believe me. Do not believe you either. Do not believe Wesley, Finney, Clarke, Asbury, Wigglesworth, Murray, Chambers, Tozer, your pastor, teacher, or anyone else. Do not trust yourself. Do not trust what you think or understand. Listen to none of it. Put it down. Do what Jesus did. What did Jesus do?
Php 2:5 Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]
Php 2:6 Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
Php 2:7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
Php 2:8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
Php 2:9 Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,
Php 2:10 That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Php 2:11 And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What kind of humility is that? Jesus did not rely on any ability, knowledge, training, understanding, or any other thing that He Himself possessed. Jesus relied exclusively on His Father God to tell Him what to say and do EVERY SINGLE TIME! He did not go by what He thought were scriptural principles. He did not go by what other writers wrote, or teachers taught. He listened to none of it. He ONLY obeyed the Father; nothing more and nothing less! He went to the Father for every word He spoke, for every action He took, He did not go anyplace God did not send Him, He did not heal or deliver anyone God did not tell Him to deliver, He did not speak one word God did not tell Him to speak.
We are commanded right here in Philippians to do the very same thing! Are we willing to do this? Are we willing to trust the Lord so much that we will forever stop relying on what we think is right and good and bad and evil? Will we go to Him, the Holy Spirit to ask Him in every single circumstance what to say and what to do and ONLY do or say those things? That is what Paul tells us to do because that is what Jesus did.
This is exactly in line with what Romans 12 says.
Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
This is the attitude that Jesus held; the same attitude I have been speaking of; this same attitude that Jesus Himself spoke of that His disciples must possess. We can continue doing things the way we think they should be done or we can utterly submit ourselves to Him and continue to seek Him until we regularly hear His actual voice that we might KNOW everything we are to say and do. This includes waiting until we DO know for sure. We may have to wait some time. Jesus waited several days before He went to Lazarus. Jesus waited about 30 years before He even began to walk away from the life He was born into and even then He had to be baptized and tempted by the devil before He could actually minister. We truly need to come to the place where this is our way of life, for we do not know what is good or evil in every circumstance. In reality, we do not know what is good or evil in any circumstance. As soon as we decide we know what is good or evil is the time we begin eating from that same TREE that Adam and Eve ate from.
Go back to I Corinthians 1 and see what Paul is telling us. Look at it. Paul KNEW intimately these things. He had laid down his previous way of life and ALL that it relied on. He points us to the fact that very few wise, educated, powerful people (by the worlds standards) are even chosen to truly follow the Lord. He shows us how little the wisdom of this world has any meaning in Christ Jesus, in fact how much they are diametrically opposed. Man calls God and His ways foolish, yet HE is the One who devised the way we are to be. Adam and Eve made no moral choices until they rebelled against God for they had no knowledge of good and evil.. They talked daily with God and walked in intimate fellowship with Him at all times. The intellect they were given at creation was not intended to make choices of Good and Evil, but it was to make decisions where God had given them dominion, such as naming the various birds and animals as well as their �job� of caring for the garden. It is here we must return to and we can only do so by absolutely submitting our wills to Him in all things.
There is no way to convey the depth of what I am saying except by revelation knowledge directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. There may be those who are reading these words who will find exception to what I am saying. Before any who do have a difficulty with these words says anything be sure you know what I am saying and find out from God if that is what HE wants. It comes down to absolute and total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; saying and doing nothing unless we are told to say or do by the Holy Spirit; if we are unsure of what He is saying, then seeking Him until we KNOW for sure, do not go off on our own, thinking we know the correct way just because we are Christians too. Friends, that is one big reason we do have so many denominations; that is why there are Arabs today as well, for Abraham thought he knew what God wanted him to do and Abraham ended up being disobedient to God. Again, I am not asking you to accept what I am saying without checking it out with the Lord Himself. BUT, before you do discount what I am saying, treat your own convictions, teachings, doctrines, etc in the same manner; lay them down and be willing to be wrong even about them. Go to Jesus, to the Father and find out from HIM what HE says. Do not assume at all! Make sure you actually hear the Lord; that the Voice of Jesus is what you are obeying and not some mimic or even your own thought and understanding.
This type of life will not be found quickly nor easily. It is simple, but just because it is simple does not make it easy. We can make it as hard as we desire or as easy as possible. It truly depends on how quickly we are willing to lay down all the things we hold dear then seeking the Lord until we KNOW HIS VOICE as He said. Do any of us believe that the Lord will lead us astray? Do you believe that the Holy Spirit will teach you anything besides THE TRUTH and REALITY of the Lord? If you really believe that He will indeed teach you these things, then what is the harm in laying down what we currently believe and asking Him to teach us what HE says? Unless of course, we are not willing to be changed so that we are truly in agreement with Him or we�re �afraid� that He will tell us we are wrong.
I hope and pray that all who do read these words will take the time to go to the Lord after laying down absolutely everything we hold dear and being truly willing to allow Him to change any or all of those ideas and understandings. This is not an exercise in reinforcing our own ideas, futility, or in anything that man promotes. This is a very important way of life that we are commanded to live in, but few are truly willing to go to. May we all choose to cease relying on what we think is correct and good and begin to actually rely on the Lord Himself to tell us in each case what HE wants us to think, say, and do. This is how Jesus lived and it is how the scriptures have related that we are to live as well. Remember, we are supposed to have the very same life-giving sap running through our spiritual veins as the Lord has; the way He is, is how we are to be as well.
May our Father God reveal Himself to us all as HE truly is and may we be able to accept and receive that revelation so that it changes us to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. Please do not be offended but rather be willing to let it all go in order to truly apprehend Him.
A bondslave in Christ Jesus, Dirk
http://z12.invisionfree.com/Apostles_Den/index.php?showtopic=166
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