"You shall have honest scales ... therefore you shall observe all My statues and all My judgments, and perform them:" (Lev.19:36-37)
"But - obey the message; be doers of the Word, and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves (into deception by reasoning contrary to the truth)." (Jas.1:22 Amp.)
Many today love to hear the message of sonship, the message of the Kingdom, the message of reconciliation, yet they have no interest in the doing of the Word. They have no intent on ever applying a practical aspect of such messages into their lives. They simply want the thrill of hearing and not the struggle of doing. Many have formed doctrines to fit such a mind set. Such are those who are stony ground. (Mt.13:20-21) They receive the Word with great joy but when problems arise because of the Word they fall away. We have always thought of the problems being people coming against us, persecution, and certainly there is that aspect. Yet it is also true when the Word comes into our lives it begins to deal with areas in us. It stirs up things in us. It separates things in us. It begins a processing in us and it is at this point we find those who will fall away.
As God works a balance in our lives we will not be just hearers of
the Word but we will be doers of the Word. We also find God will also
deal with our hearing, how we hear. Jesus said, Therefore take heed
how you hear
(Lk.8:18). This statement follows the parable of the
sower. The parable of the sower ends with, But the ones that fell
on
the good ground are those who HAVING HEARD THE WORD WITH A NOBLE AND
GOOD HEART, KEEP IT and bear fruit with patience
(Lk.8:15).
We find that to be good ground we must be those who have the proper kind of heart. We need to have a noble and good heart. The parable of the sower is simply a parable about four kinds of people who have different kinds of hearts, different frames of mind. The first group of people have no heart for the things of God. They are a hard people. They have become hardened by everyday life. They have become insensitive to spiritual things. They have no reverence for the things of God and because of their lack of reverence, the seed, the Word, is unable to produce in their lives. Their lack of reverence, their lack of desire, for spiritual things robs them of the life contained within the seed.
The second group is those who receive the Word with joy. They love to have their sins forgiven. They rejoice in all God has done for them. They are mindful of God's benefit package. They look good on the surface but are very shallow. They have no depth. There is no room in them for the seed to develop roots. It sprouts quickly. They receive the early rain, that soft and gentle rain, which simply moistens the ground. It's not a hard rain, which would wash away the seed but rather a soft and gentle moving of God's Spirit, which allows life to begin to sprout forth. Oh, but when it comes time for God to deal with those hard areas which are buried under the surface of their lives, when the Spirit begins to go beyond the white walls of their exterior and begins to deal with the dead men's bones, they wither away. They want to hear of all the glories of the Kingdom of God. They want to be used in the gifts, in ministry. They love to feel the anointing for service but they don't want God to deal with those hidden areas, those hard areas.
The third type of ground is those who hear and receive the Word yet they bring in a mixture. They bring in the mixture of the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the pleasures of this life. (Lk.8:15) Some receive the Word and allow the Spirit to deal with certain areas within their lives. Yet they can't seem to get past the cares of this life. The house payment, the car payment, the light bill. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we put on? They busy themselves with meeting all the necessities of this life. The Kingdom falls behind the necessities of this life in order of importance to them. Their first priority is to take care of the needs of everyday life and soon the Word is choked. No fruit comes to perfection in such a life.
We also find those who are choked with the deceitfulness of riches. Many in this hour have formulated a gospel of prosperity and have been swallowed up by their love of material things until they bring no fruit to perfection.
Then we find those who mix the gospel with the pleasure of this life. They really have no quality time with God. Their involvement with spiritual things is at their convenience. They won't let the business of the Kingdom interfere with their plans to hunt or fish, to play golf or go to a ball game. After all God doesn't just expect us to go to church all the time now does He? And while we would agree we don't need to be in some building seven days a week, there is more to the Kingdom of God than having meetings to go to. Soon pleasures consume the most of their lives. It is what they think about, what they meditate on. Their conversation is filled with their particular pleasure and once again we may find sprouts appearing in their lives but there will be no harvest.
"Having heard the Word with a noble and good heart, keep it." "Therefore take heed how you hear." Ah, what is our mind set, our frame of mind, when we hear the Word? When we gather with the saints for fellowship, are we there to receive more knowledge? More deep things with which we can impress those around us? Do we just want to hear something, which will excite our emotions? Give us a thrill? Do we gather just because that is the religious thing to do? It is what is required and so we do our time. Do we read the scriptures out of duty? Do we read the volumes of newsletters and booklets that fill our mailboxes because we want to be kept "in the know" on spiritual things? We certainly don't want to fall behind on the current teachings. We don't want to be uninformed.
We find it interesting that the Hebrew word for balance is mozen and it simply means, a pair of scales. But it comes from azan, which means, to weigh, to ponder. It carries the idea of listening with both ears. Also it speaks of broadening out the ear with the hand, to expand. It is translated, to listen, give ear, and take heed.
To listen with both ears. The implication is we don't lean in one
direction or the other. How many times have we searched the scriptures
to "prove" our point? To find a basis for our
particular doctrine? How many times have we twisted the scriptures to
justify our present experience? To excuse our sin? To listen with both
ears, to approach the Word with an honest and open heart, is the great
need of this hour. But we all, with unveiled face...
(2Cor.3:18). We
don't come into the presence of the Lord with a veil over our face
trying to hide something from God. Do we really think we will get one
over on God? Do we really think He can't see beyond our smoke screen?
Do we mouth words of praise and adoration thinking some how we can
blind God's eyes to our real heart condition? We may fool others and we
may even deceive ourselves but be assured God sees through all such
attempts.
We must realize we hinder no one but ourselves as we attempt to
behold His glory with a veil over our face. David declared, As for
me,
I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I
awake in Your likeness
(Ps.17:15). No more lying about our
spiritual
condition. No more vain confessions. No more trying to confess away
those problem areas in our lives. We will only be changed as we behold
with an open face. As long as we veil our face we will not experience
the change into His glory.
Could this be the reason we have seen so little change in our lives
over the years? We refuse to stand in the light of His glory, exposed
to who we really are. We are like David after his sin with Bathsheba.
David tried to cover his sin so no one would know. He spent his time
planning and plotting how to cover his tracks. This is a veiled face
and is such a condition David found no change in his life. It was only
when Nathan came and exposed David to himself. Nathan let David know
that he was not hiding from God. It took a ministry to expose David to
himself before David said, For I acknowledge my transgressions
(Ps.51:3). One translates this as, I made up my mind that I would
acknowledge my transgressions.
No more running. No more hiding. No
more blaming someone else for our problems. David had a change of mind.
He repented of his sin. He stood in the light of God's glory,
acknowledged his sin and allowed God to wash him from it. David had
been living with a veiled face and was cut off from the presence of
God.
"Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (Jas.1:21)
"Ridding yourselves therefore of all that is vile and of the evil influences which prevail around you, welcome in a humble spirit the message implanted within you which is able to save your souls." (Wey.)
Lay aside. Ridding yourselves. These are terms, which the church does not want to hear. Those who are not willing to take the responsibility for their actions fight against such notions. Yet, this is the removing of the veil over our face, over our minds. We are not talking about doing this in our own strength but rather because we have His life within, the life of Christ, we can lay aside those things in us, which keep us from beholding His glory in even greater measures.
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you." (Isa.59:2)
"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2Cor.4:6)
Our sins have hidden God's face from us. It is only as we come face to face with Jesus that we can begin to behold the glory of God. It is only as we behold His glory that we are transformed into the same image. Just getting rid of sin is not transformation. It is a step to being transformed. We could be free from every trace of sin and still not necessarily be transformed into His image. We must behold His glory and to be able to behold His glory we must lay aside sin, the veil that covers our face and separates us from God.
We must come to realize freedom from sin is not the ultimate in God. If we would wake up we would soon realize Jesus has already freed us from the power and dominion of sin, even though we don't walk in that freedom. We have been taught we would always sin till we get to heaven. We have been taught Jesus died so we could be forgiven. Oh, precious few have ever caught a glimpse of the fact that Jesus has freed us from sins power. Sin no longer has dominion over us and when we will stand against it in our lives, when we will quit making excuses for it in our lives, we will find freedom from its control. This is laying aside all filthiness. This is ridding ourselves of all that is vile, that we can receive the message, which is within, which will transform our souls. This is removing the veil that we can behold the glory, which is within.
Being balanced means we listen with both ears, not influenced by those stony areas in our lives. We push aside those hard areas and receive the message, which is implanted within us. We are moved from just focusing on problem areas in our own lives and we begin to be dispensers of His life to creation. The life of God within us begins to reach out and remove the inner turmoil's from others lives. His life flows out of us as a river and wherever that river flows it brings life. His life within us produces fruit, which can be eaten by the nations and give life to them. His life within produces leaves in us that will bring healing to the nations. The focus has now changed from us to God's purpose for His creation. We have become lop-sided with a message of just overcoming our own problems. We need to overcome our own problems but with a view that the life of the Christ can only be seen as we rise above our own sin. His life can only be seen when we have died to the self-life, soulish life, our will, our emotions, our ideas, etc.
We no longer allow the cares of this life to lean us to one side. We are no longer focused on just our everyday needs. How we have let the everyday affairs of life influence what we hear. We try and muster up enough faith so we can have our daily needs met and then we feel we can relax a little. How much time do we spend begging God to deliver us from the weight and the sin which so easily besets us? How much of our religious activity is spent trying to acquire material blessings? Trying to fill our lives with the pleasures of this life? And in the end we will find we were only listening to God with one ear. Our heads have been turned by something other than the Kingdom of God.
"Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2Tim.2:15)
Oh, how we need to be diligent to get God's approval of our lives, not mans. We need to get past finding messages which we think will please people, open doors of ministry, bring in bigger offerings. We need to rightly divide the Word of truth. The word rightly comes from orthos, which means, in a straight manner. Correct, right as rising erect, level, and honest. It comes from oros, which means, to rise, a mountain (as lifting itself above the plain). When we rightly divide the Word of truth it causes us to become erect and level. We become like a mountain, which towers above the valley. We rise out of the lowlands and into the heights of God's glory. No longer tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine but now standing in the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
"This Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him ... And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month ... On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. FOR EZRA HAD PREPARED HIS HEART TO SEEK THE LAW OF THE LORD, AND TO DO IT, AND TO TEACH STATUTES AND ORDINANCES IN ISRAEL." (Ezra 7:6-10)
"FOR EZRA HAD PREPARED HIS HEART TO SEEK THE LAW OF THE LORD." "HAVING HEARD THE WORD WITH A NOBLE AND GOOD HEART." "THEREFORE TAKE HEED HOW YOU HEAR." The importance of having prepared our hearts so that we may properly hear what God is saying to us cannot be over emphasized. How we have failed to realize that those areas in us, which were undealt with, influence our view of the scriptures. How tainted is our gospel because of those areas we refuse to let go of? We hold on to our little petty attitudes and feelings and fail to understand what God is saying. We hear the Voice yet without understanding.
"He who loves his life (psuche) will lose it, and he who hates his life (psuche) in this world (kosmos) will keep it for eternal life (zoe). "Father, glorify Your name." Then came a voice from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." (Jn.12:25, 28-29)
The people who "stood by" didn't have a prepared heart. Their frame
of mind was wrong when it came to their relationship with Jesus. Their
view of Jesus was He had come to bring a boatload of blessings into
their lives. Sure, He could forgive their sins, even free them from
Roman oppression, but they weren't looking for changed lives. Jesus had
been talking about a grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying
so that it would bring forth much fruit. He even made it very plain;
unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains
alone.
One translation says, It remains what it was.
No
change.
These people who just "stood by" had no concept of change. They wanted
to be delivered but not changed.
As long as our hearts are not prepared to receive the Word, the proceeding Word, that Word which is proceeding from the mouth of God, it will only sound like thunder to us. They had not prepared their hearts with an attitude, which said, "Whatsoever He sayeth, we will do." They were not prepared to lay down their lives. They were not ready to say, "Not our will, but Yours be done Lord." They came looking to get happy and be blessed. They had come to a feast time. (Jn.12:20) They had heard about this Jesus that could heal the sick, raise the dead, open the blind eyes, feed a multitude with a few fish and a couple of loaves of bread. They wanted to see first hand. They had come to "party with Jesus." They heard about the last party Jesus was at. He turned the water into wine just so that the party would keep going. Jesus was a party animal.
Is such your attitude? Do you have this idea that Jesus' only purpose is to bless you so you don't have to live uncomfortably in this life? Do you think you have some business agreement with God, which requires God to meet your every demand, fulfill your every desire, and grant your every wish? Then you are about to hear thunder. Your life is about to go on "stand by." You will not be able to understand what God is now speaking to those Ezra's who have prepared their hearts to seek the Lord. Those who have laid aside every weight and the sin, which so easily besets them. (Heb.12:1) Those who have rid themselves of all that is vile and of the evil influences which prevailed around them. (Jas.1:21) Now they have taken on a humble attitude, a low-lying attitude, with which they can receive the engrafted Word, which saves their souls.
"This Ezra ... was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given." (Ezra 7:6)
A skilled scribe. The word skilled comes from maheyr, which means, to hurry, prompt, to be liquid or flow easily. Ezra was quick, prompt, in his response to the Lord. The definition we would emphasize is he was like liquid and he flowed easily with the Lord. A prepared heart is one, which flows easily with the Lord. It is not busy trying to get its own way. It can be turned by the Lord easily.
We have all seen and been around those who have to have their way. If a group decides to go out and eat it has to be at the restaurant of their choice. Everything has to be done their way or it is not right. Their opinion is the only one that matters. When it comes to deciding what to do it must be what they decide. If it's not, they get offended, they pout, and they get depressed and begin to belittle themselves. They will respond the same way when God doesn't flow with them.
Oh, the need of this hour is for us to push aside our will, our emotions, our feelings, our desires, etc. and flow easily with the Lord. Abraham rose early in the morning after God had told him to sacrifice Isaac. (Gen.22:3) Abraham was quick, prompt to respond to the Lord even when it meant death to the very promise of God in his life. We are quick to respond when we think God is going to give us some material blessing. Just let a so-called prophet come to town and promise, "If you will sow into this ministry, God will bless you. Who will give a thousand? Who will pledge five hundred?" The stories of those who gave and the next day, a week, or a month later, the Lord blessed them with thousands of dollars, or a big fancy car, a new house. Oh, how the altars are flooded with those who will give so they can be flooded with material blessings. The so-called prophet will pour out flowery promises to those who have come to give. Yet for those who refuse to respond, threats of disaster, poverty, destruction, hell fire and damnation, are all that is ahead.
Now just let someone come along and tell them to sacrifice their
Isaac and you can be sure it will turn into a deliverance service. They
will lay hands on such a one and cast out that devil. "God didn't give
us Isaac so we could kill him," is their cry. Abraham rose early in the
morning. "Yes, Lord," was his quick reply. He hurried off to his
appointment with death. Ah, but we find this attitude in Abraham, Accounting
that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; FROM WHENCE ALSO
HE RECEIVED HIM IN A FIGURE
(Heb.11:19).
Abraham knew if God wanted Isaac offered as a sacrifice He would also raise him out of death. Abraham would now have a promise in resurrection form. Isaac would be the out resurrection from among those who are dead. The promise is eternal life, zoe life. This is a quality of life and not just an endurance of life. It is not the length but the quality God is after. We cannot have zoe life until we first die to the psuche, soulish life. Our heart must be prepared with an attitude that we will die to psuche and be raised in zoe.