There are a lot of preachers who preach in pulpits every Sunday but they know no Bible. They preach to people who hear the words they are taught but they learn no Bible.
Why?
Because no one is studying the Bible. They’re studying AROUND the Bible, they’re studying ABOUT the Bible, but no one understand the book, so they can’t teach it. No one knows the book, so they can’t learn it.
If you want wisdom–real Bible wisdom–it doesn’t come through osmosis.
There’s a Chinese idea that says if you sleep with a book under your pillow, the knowledge of that book will seep into your brain and you can learn without learning. Well theres a word for that, and it’s not osmosis.
Its bologniosis.
If you want wisdom you have to GAIN it. So what is wisdom? It is knowledge + application.
It’s knowing what to do AND THEN doing it. if you know to do it, but you choose not to, you’re not dumb. “Dumb” would imply that you don’t know. No you know, but you choose not to “do.” That doesn’t make you dumb, it makes you unwise.
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
Proverbs 12:15
A fool thinks he’s always right. And he is…in his own eyes. But everyone around him sees him for what he is: a fool. He of course is too foolish to see it himself.
What does he need to do? He needs to PAY ATTENTION.
If I give you instructions and you don’t pay attention, if you think you know better, then most often you’re going to end up looking foolish, and it’ll be your own fault.
A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
Proverbs 13:1
Teenagers. Amirite?
I’m almost 30 years old, which means It’s almost been a decade since I’ve been a teenager. I may not know much about fashion or music or how to be popular. I didn’t know then and I don’t know now.
Random picture to illustrate my point.
Nevertheless, I do remember being a teenager, and I’ll just tell you: I remember thinking my dad was wrong all of the time and I was right just as often.
And to be honest, a few times I was right, but I thought I always knew better. And I can look back now and see how foolish I was. I would have a problem but I wouldn’t talk to my parents about it, and my parents could tell I had a problem so they’d ask me what was wrong but I wouldn’t tell. So they’d try to guess, and then help me based on their guess, and I’d get mad that they were helping me with a problem I didn’t have.
Well dummy, you’re the one who didn’t tell them what the problem was!
I’m was the fool who didn’t hear his father’s instruction
And look at what God says:
He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.Proverbs 15;32-33
If you want to be wise you have to pay attention. That starts with being humble. Because a humble person listens…AND obeys.
To illustrate that, let’s consider four events (two in the Old Testament and two in the New Testament) where people were given specific instructions, and because they didn’t follow them (because they weren’t wise) they suffered.
THE TREE
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.Genesis 2:15-17
I know it seems like we’ve talked a lot about the Tree or Eden or the first sin, etc, in the past several weeks, but go with it: I’m writing these devos like 20 at a time. Some things are bound to overlap.
Man and woman, of course, are fully grown when they are in the Garden. That’s never been argued against; they were made from dust (or in the case of Eve, from Adam’s side) into adults. But even though we’re not dealing with teenagers, and even though man is fully developed, he’s still brand new.
Adam and Eve haven’t had the opportunity to grow and learn and experience. Such things are what hone our senses to what is right and wrong. If I’m reading my Bible right, Adam and Eve had no concept of right and wrong. That’s what the forbidden fruit gave them
Two things can be understood from that:
1: All they had to go on, and all they had in their innocent minds to rely on to live was God’s word. And that should have been enough for them.
2: They are – again, if I read my Bible correctly – not saved, but safe.
You see a person’s soul is in one of three states:
He’s either lost – separated from God
He’s saved – restored to God from being lost
He’s safe – he has not yet sinned and therefore is not lost and does not need to be saved
Like a small child whose not developed yet, or a person with a mental handicap that can’t develop, such ones are safe because they have no developed-concept of sin.
What the forbidden fruit did to Adam and Eve was it took away their innocence and their safety. There was nothing magical about the fruit; there’s not some special juice in the fruit that makes you a sinner. Why did Adam and Eve become sinners? Because they disobeyed God: They did what He said not to do.
In other words, they did not PAY ATTENTION to the command given to them. Had they simply followed God and rejected Satan they never would have listened to the devil and they never would have eaten from the tree.
Again, Adam and Eve had all they needed in the beginning. They had the Word of God to guide them. But though they heard the Word, they didn’t apply it: They weren’t wise, but fools.
Imagine that: they ate the fruit of knowledge, but the reason they did was because they were foolish. Lesson: PAY ATTENTION.
The lesson for us to learn: Pay attention to when God gives a command and do not give Satan an inch in your life. If you do he will start driving a wedge between you and God. Pay attention to the Father and trust Him.
THE ROCK
Look at something Paul said:
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.1 Corinthians 10:1-4
The Apostle describes the Exodus from Egypt and wilderness wandering that followed. T
he people led by Moses, pass through the red sea, get manna from heaven and get water…from a rock. Clearly they are provided for by a Divine Being. But then Paul says two interesting things:
1: The rock followed them.
2: The rock was Christ.
Now keep that in the back of your mind when you read this text from Exodus:
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.Exodus 17:1-6
What was the command given to Moses? “Take your stick and strike the rock.”
And when he did out came water.
Now jump forward in time (and in your Bibles) to Numbers:
Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.Numbers 20:1-11
Now what was the command: “Speak to the rock.”
What did moses do? He struck the rock.
Yes, water came out anyway, because the power wasn’t in moses or his staff, it was in God.
Specifically, the power was in Christ, because paul said the rock WAS Christ. Now obviously Christ is not nor was ever a rock. It’s a metaphor; Paul was explaining that God was the provider. But it’s interesting that He says “Christ” in 1 Corinthians 10.
Jesus describes Himself as a fountain of living water (John 4).
But what had to happen to Jesus in order for Him to make His living water accessible? Obviously, He had to die.
And how many times did He die? ONCE.
The Rock is Christ, and the rock gives living water. So when God told Moses in Exodus to strike the rock, God was setting up a parallel to Christ. The rock will be struck and from it will flow water. Christ will also be struck (crucified) but from Him will flow saving water. Moses struck the Rock in Exodus and the parallel was established.
Later God said: “NOW PAY ATTENTION MOSES…DON’T MESS THIS UP…Just SPEAK to the Rock.”
Instead he strikes the rock (“twice” it says in Numbers 20; twice is once in Exodus and once here) and he ruins the parallel God had set up.
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
Numbers 20:12
Moses heard God; he was listening, but he didn’t apply. He wasn’t wise, and because he didn’t obey – he was punished.
The lesson for us to learn: Do no treat God’s commands lightly. Even if you think you know what He “means” when He says something, do not presume. Just obey His commands as He gives them, or you will be punished.
THE TEMPTATION
My Lord has had His last supper. He’s about to be arrested, tried, beaten and killed.
But first, He takes some close friends and goes to a quiet place to pray:
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.Matthew 26:38-41
As the text says, He takes Peter James and John and He tells them: “you wait here and watch.”
Then He prays the agonizing prayer and returns to find them sleeping. So He says: “You can’t stay awake for one hour (that’s how long hed been praying)?”
Then he says: “Watch and pray that you don’t enter temptation.”
Incidentally, the reference to their spirit being willing but their flesh weak is a reference to their tiredness. Though their hearts desire to obey, they are tired and falling asleep.
So what is it that they might be tempted to do, that Jesus tells them to pray?
Nothing right now. Right now it is Jesus Who is having the hard time. It is Jesus Who has the weight of the world on His shoulders. His disciples are so calm they’re sleeping. But they WILL be tempted and because they don’t follow Jesus’ instruction…because they aren’t wise…they mess up.
Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.
But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.Matthew 26:48-56
When the time came they ran. They ran like cowards. In fact the word “fled” means “vanished” (that’s how fast they got out of there). The ran so fast a cloud of dust was all they left behind. But had they listened, had they applied what they heard, they might not have slept. They might have prayed and gained the strength to fight the temptation to flee.
The lesson for us to learn: Pay attention to God when He’s giving us advice. He knows what we need, not only more than we do, but before we do. So when He says “Do this…” we need to listen and do it. We don’t want to face a challenge from the Devil unprepared and ill equipped.
THE JEWS
These are the ones who listened to Jesus teach, but they hated Him. They saw His miracles, but they rejected Him. The heard His invitation, and they scoffed at Him.
They grew so bitter and hostile toward Him that they became obsessed with being rid of Him. Their obsession turned to blood lust and they drove Him to Pilate and had Him killed.
Yet, even as Jesus knew their hearts will filled with desires for murder, He still tried to reason with them and appeal to them. He tried and constantly He told them “PAY ATTENTION!”
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.John 5:39-40
If they had they would have known who He was; they would have cared who He was. But they didn’t, so they didn’t.
They answered and said unto Him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
John 7:52
Was Jesus “from” Galilee. In a manner of speaking. He was also “from” Nazareth. He was also “from” Bethlehem. They didn’t want to dig and study and learn about Him. They found the first reason to reject Him and they took it.
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?Matthew 13:54-55
They all listened, but no one was applying (no wisdom). They looked at Him and said “He’s just a carpenter’s son. He’s not worth our trouble.”
And that’s why on the cross, Jesus’ first words while dying was: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).
They didn’t “know” what they were doing becuase htey had not applied all the information they’d been given. Had they, they would have realized this was the Son of God. They wouldn’t realize their mistake, and they wouldn’t “know” what they had done until they heard Peter preach to them on the following Pentecost (Acts 2).
THEN they wised up and 3,000 of them obeyed the Gospel (Acts 2:37-41).
How many were gathered in Jerusalem on that day however? Probably close to a million.
3,000 souls being saved in one day in an incredible event. But it’s still only 3,000 out of 1,000,000. That’s a lot of people who heard the message, but did not apply their hearing to a positive action.
They remained unwise and lost.
The lesson for us to learn: Pay attention to the Word of God. It will point you to Jesus, it will point you to His spiritual body of saved people, and it will point you to the commands you need to obey to be saved.
The facts are right there in front of you.
PAY ATTENTION and see them, learn them, and then DO them.
Have a great day!
Leave A Comment