Steve Teachings
Incline Your Ear
Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips. Proverbs 22:17-18
“And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matt 6:28-29
Jesus says that Solomon was arrayed in glory, he was the richest man that ever lived as well as being the wisest so you cannot dispute the fact that Solomon was truly inspired by God in his youth.
So we see in these scriptures that Solomon is calling us to do two things that require an act on our part:
1. Incline our ears :
The very first step in anything we do in life requires that we receive instruction first to become successful at whatever we set our minds to do. Most of that instruction comes from listening to those we surround ourselves with that can help us. It doesn't matter if it is a chosen occupation or relationships in our home, we must want to be successful in whatever it is we apply ourselves to.
We must always listen to instruction first even if we don't agree with it, especially if it is right.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
We have to make a conscience decision to listen to what the scriptures, our teachers, or those with true knowledge that God is using in your life to impart wisdom for your edification in the body of Christ. We have to pay attention to what is being taught or instructed because we don't misunderstand what God is doing in our lives and what we are committing ourselves to.
You have heard the term that “a mind is a terrible thing to waste”? You can preach to somebody until your blue in the face, but if they don't hear you then all your words are just empty blowing air.
Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
Mark 8:18
Unless we incline our ears to instruction and hear what is really being said, and not what we want it to say to agree with us; then we cannot know the mind of Christ or remember what it is we read. We have to be willing to take what we hear and then make an action to bring that teaching into being a reality in our lives. Hearing is the first step and then we must move to the next step if we want to mature. We have to move that teaching from our minds and embed it into our hearts. So the next conscious act we have to do is apply it into our hearts…
2. Apply our hearts :
Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12
We have to take these scriptures and move them into our hearts to enact a change in the way we think, the way we act, and way we respond to other people in our lives. We consciously have to decide that we are willing to allow what we learn to take hold and develop our thinking to be in line with the mind of God
And be not fashioned according to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2
It is one thing to say we belong to God but unless the knowledge that we have heard is embedded into our hearts and applied our lives then we won't reflect that renewing process because our lives will continue as it always has.
When we are transformed by the Holy Spirit we are compelled to be different in every aspect of our lives, the Holy Spirit makes us change; we can't help but change; change is inevitable.
So what does it mean to change ?
Change means that we are no longer the people we used to be plain and simple. We accept our responsibilities gladly because we don't do them for ourselves but for God. We become better fathers, better mothers and better people in general. We help the people around us more, we go out of our way more and we try to make peace with everyone we are associated with. We quit being selfish and place other peoples feeling ahead of our own. We Grow up !!! f there is no change then we have to question our commitment to God as well as our salvation. Change is a by product of the renewal process that is taking place within us. It comes as an added bonus to us.
Do you know the song Amazing grace how sweet the sound that changed a wrench like me? If ever there was a man that the definition applied to then you would have to agree that John Newton was that man.
John Newton was born in London July 24, 1725, the son of a commander of a merchant ship which sailed the Mediterranean. He led an adventure-filled life as a master of a slave ship. He was hard man who had often mocked God,
John was considered impious even by his godless shipmates. It was said that John Newton would try to corrupt who ever he came in contact with from the moment he was around them. He was a mean, vile, dangerous, and disliked by everyone who knew him.
He captained a ship called the Greyhound which was not very well kept and needed a lot of repair work which he ignored. One day while in the Atlantic he was overtaken by a huge storm which battered the ship to the point of sinking. After thrashing around for a week in the storm the canvas sails were ripped, and the wood on one side of the ship had been torn away and splintered. The sailors had little hope of survival, but they mechanically worked the pumps, trying to keep the vessel afloat. On the eleventh day of the storm, John Newton was too exhausted to pump, so he was tied to the helm and tried to hold the ship to its course. From one o'clock until midnight he was at the helm.
With the storm raging fiercely, Newton had time to think. His life seemed as ruined and wrecked as the battered ship he was trying to steer through the storm. Since the age of eleven he had lived a life at sea. Sailors were not noted for the refinement of their manners, but Newton had a reputation for profanity, coarseness, and debauchery which even shocked many a sailor. He was known as "The Great Blasphemer." He sank so low at one point that he was even a servant to slaves in Africa for a brief period.
His mother had prayed he would become a minister and had early taught him the Scriptures and Isaac Watts' Divine Songs for Children. Some of those early childhood teachings came to his mind while he was strapped to that helm. He remembered Proverbs 1:24-31, and in the midst of that storm, those verses seemed to confirm Newton in his despair:
Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded; But ye have set at naught all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: I also will laugh in the day of your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you. Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel; They despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. Prov. 1:24-31
This is probably not something you want to come to mind when you're in the middle of a storm and about to sink and you chance of survival is very slim. But that day at the helm, March 21, 1748, was a day Newton remembered for the rest of his life, for "On that day the Lord sent from on high and delivered me out of deep waters." Many years later, as an old man, Newton wrote in his diary of March 21,1805: "Not well able to write; but I endeavor to observe the return of this day with humiliation, prayer, and praise." Only God's amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God. Newton never ceased to stand in awe of God's work in his life. He went on to abhor slave trading and fought hard for the abolition of slavery in his time and dedicated himself to the ministry for the rest of his life writing numerous sermons and songs that accompanied them.
He heard God's calling on his life, he acted on what he heard, he put what he heard into his heart, and what went into his heart he allowed to renew his mind into a Holy Spirit filled warrior of God which now leads us into the third step we must do…
3. Trust in God :
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Prov. 3:5-6
In all ways acknowledge Him.
Well that sounds east don't it ?
There are a lot of people who are going to churches who think that going to church fulfills all their Godly requirements. But when they are confronted with situations, or things that come up and shake them to the foundations of their beings, they fold up like a pup tent. God calls us to do a number of things that build up our character as well as the body of Christ, but the one thing that every Christian is called to do is Go and win souls for Jesus. It is our great commission from God.
But how many Christians are willing to do that ?
There are too many Christians who won't even invest the time into their growth by reading their bibles, memorizing scriptures, serving in some kind of ministry at the church, or just telling their friends about Jesus because they don't want to impose on them or get embarrassed, or be pushy. Well I've got some news that might come as a shock to you , Satan has already imposed on them and pushing them right into hell to suffer for an eternity if you don't get off your comfortable butt and say something to them before it's too late.
Just as we make up our minds to go out and witness then Satan starts shooting his flaming darts at our minds and we start making excuses and all that evangelistic desire seems to drown in a sea of reasoning: I just don't know what to say…God says…Just Do it ! I'll tell you what to say. I'm afraid I'll make a fool out of myself …God says… Just Do It ! We are fools for Christ. They know me from before I was saved…God says…Just Do it ! Let them see me working in you. I just don't feel that's my ministry…God says…Just Do It…It's my ministry not yours. I just don't feel led…God says…Just Do It ! I'll be a lamp unto your feet. God has called people with more knowledge than me…God says…Just Do It…I have chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, remember Peter ?
Quit trying to fit God into the little box you call your life and start trusting him to lead you where he wants you to go. If you can't do that then God has no use for you and you probably don't even have the Spirit of God in you because we are compelled to change into following the will of God if the Holy Spirit is in us. We have to do what God wants us to do if we are really partakers of his cup. We are called to bring the lost sheep into his fold and feed them, care for them, and raise them up to go out and find more sheep. We disciple them, that is our job if we have implanted his word in our hearts. We have to trust him in everything we do in order for him to accomplish his will in our lives.
Well I just don't get an opportunity to witness…God says…Just do it…there is always someone some where that needs me no matter where you are. You just have to take that leap of faith if you want God to work miracles in your life. If you're worried about what people are going to think about you then you need to surrender your life to the will of God because
pride is a thief, it robs you of the joy you get when you are the instrument that God uses to transform a wretched man into a Warrior of the Kingdom of God.
So the question these days is, What is in it for me ?
There has to be rewards for your hard labor right ?
There has to be Perks that come with it to motivate us while we are busy about the Lords work right ?
I personally love doing it, but if you have to have a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow then consider this:
PERK 1
Eternal Life
in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Eph. 1:7
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is working in the sons of disobedience. Among them to formerly lived indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:1-4
What we need to always understand is that God loves us right now, not when we get well, not when we improve our lives later on, or do some great deed that merits attention. He wants us as we are now. If we think we can do something to please God, or get him to accept us, then we have missed the boat. What we say then is that His grace isn't good enough for me. It's only because I know Christ is in my life that I know that God's grace is sufficient for me, I don't have to earn it. I have taken what I've heard with my ears and have implanted it into my heart and I know that no one can take it away from me, only I can once it is there rooted.
PERK 2
Receive the Holy Spirit
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to his purpose who works all things after then counsel of his will to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. In him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of his glory. Eph. 1: 11-14
Wow does that say a lot !! After we have listened to the truth - and after we believed - then we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. You are not sealed until you believe God's word in your heart first because the Spirit compels us to change, to become renewed, and if we don't change then we are not filled with the Spirit of God.
Do we still sin ? Yes
What is the difference between sin and rebellion ?
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on his own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and he will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for he will take of Mine and disclose it to you. John 16:13-14
The Holy Spirit's job is to lead us into all truth and show us what is to come in our lives and direct us to our promise of salvation. If we refuse to allow the Spirit to work in our lives we have to question if we are truly saved and serving God. If we can see that we aren't then we need to make a new covenant with God, not like the one we really didn't mean before, but a recommitment where we surrender fully to his will and not ours. Until we take what we hear and put it into our hearts then we can't be led by the Holy Spirit. Why ? Because rebellion and sin renders us limited and ineffective.
PERK 3.
Wedding Feast :
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' "And he added, "These are the true words of God." Rev.19:7-9
The church, which consists of true believers living for Jesus, is the Bride of Christ (John 3:25-27), and when we overcome this world and the tribulation and all prophecy has been fulfilled, then we will sit at the Wedding feast of the Lamb and be apart of his kingdom forever.
PERK 4.
Mansion for Us
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14:3-4
A lot of people have owned their own homes in this life and a lot of people have never owned a home. So for those that do own a home they know the joy of having a place to ground their lives and the security that comes with it. But for those that have never had a home life is always filled with uncertainty and the desire to one day own their home is paramount until they become frustrated and give up that dream. But Jesus said that he went to prepare a place for us, all of us, so that in his kingdom no one lacks anything.
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Rev. 21:5
So you've always wanted your own home ? Guess what ?
It's not just any home, it's a new home and it's a mansion. He'll give you one made from pure gold that is clear as glass. Much nicer than any home you could ever have here.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev. 21:3-4
How great is that going to be ?
PERK 5.
Rein with Him Forever
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Rev. 22: 3-5
The curse of our sin is gone and we don't have to hide ourselves anymore from the face of God like Adam and Eve did in the Garden once their eyes were opened, from our Lord Jesus Christ, because we have been sealed on our foreheads with his name and brought into the family of God to rein with him forever and ever.