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Eduardo Elizondo—April 25, 2020
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We're going to be studying a topic that's important, and I have to give a disclaimer: I'm probably the least qualified person in terms of building an actual house, to actually talk about this topic. There are many others that make a living of building homes or constructing buildings.
The good thing is that we're going to talk about the spiritual house that we all have to be building, as Jesus Christ has instructed us. This subject is very broad.
Matt. 7 is basically the end of the of the Sermon on the Mount, and it's very interesting what Jesus Christ instructs us to do as He is closing the central message of His Gospel and instruction, His official instruction in Matt. 5-7. Here's giving a summary at the end of the things that He has said.
Matthew 7:20: Therefore, you shall assuredly know them by their fruits."
This is how He's concluding things after He talks about all the things that we are to do, and how He's magnifying the Law to a greater degree.
Verse 21: Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name? And did we not cast out demons through Your name? And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?' And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness.' Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine… [not just the words that we just read, but all the words beginning in Matt. 5] …and practices them, I will compare him to a wise man, who built his house upon the Rock" (v s 21-24)—Jesus Christ!
Verse 25: "And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; but it did not fall, for it was founded upon the Rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not practice them shall be compared to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand… [not on the Rock, not on Jesus Christ] …and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it" (vs 25-26).
That's what we're going to talk about, this house and how we build this house, what it means. We understand in a general sense what He's saying, 'Practice these words.' It's not rocket science; not that complicated.
Understanding the commandments in the spirit of the Law, and understanding the level that He has now raised the Law of loving our enemies, of turning the other cheek, of doing all of these things He has instructed us to do.
He's talking about building a house, but we're going to get little bit more into the details, because the Bible is so interconnected. The Word of God tells us so much about all of these things, sometimes in places where we least expect it. But the instruction is how to build a house is what we're going to concentrate on today.
1-Cor. 3:9—the Apostle Paul is talking about the building and expounding upon what Jesus Christ said about building our house upon the Rock, that sure Foundation!
Christ was addressing where we build, because He's comparing the person that builds to a wise man who builds his house upon the Rock. He's comparing that man who practices His words, but there's a way to practice those words; there's a message, an approach as to how God wants to change our lives though this process of conversion,
But to elaborate building upon the foundation, because He talked about that and how solid that house is going to be if we build it upon the Rock it's going to stand. Paul elaborates on that:
1-Corinthians 3:9: "For we are God's fellow workers; and you are God's husbandry, even God's building. As a wise architect… [how you design and plan for this] …according to the grace of God that was given to me, I have laid the foundation, and another is building upon it…." (vs 9-10).
He's not foundation but he has laid the foundation. We know that the foundation is Jesus Christ, the Rock!
"…But let each one take heed how he builds upon it" (v 10)—that's us, the ones who have been called! We must take heed how we are building upon it.
Verse 11: "For no one is able to lay any other foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Paul is recognizing and tying it together with what we read about the house on the Rock, and no one else is able to lay any other foundation. As we saw before, all the other houses are going to be torn down. The bad time and tempest is going to come and take them away. So, in the end there's no other foundation! We're either on the Rock or we're not going to have a house. That's what Paul says, '
Verse 11: "For no one is able to lay any other foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds upon this foundation…" (vs 11-12).
This is the key on how you build, so what are we going to lay on the foundation? If we build upon this foundation:
"…gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble" (v 12)—we have choices!
We're not going to change the foundation; the foundation is Jesus Christ! That's the only foundation that's going to last! But once we start building there are choices: "…gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble," and there's a combination of those things, as well.
Even in New Jerusalem there are pearls for the gates, streets of gold, so it's a combination of all great things. Our house could be with some of these things.This is why the Apostle Paul tells us that's the key as to how we're building:
Verse 13: "The work of each one shall be manifested; for the day of trial will declare it…"
That's timed perfectly with what Jesus Christ said about the tempest. The day of trial is going to come: the wind is going to blow and the tempest is going to come.
"…because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall prove what kind of work each one's is" (v 13).
Christ was talking about the tempest based on the foundation. What foundation do we have? Now Paul is talking about what's on top of that foundation and how that gets tested. That's by fire, obviously to the gold, silver and precious stone. They last and stand! Sometimes wood, hay or stubble, which can burn. That's what Paul is saying that it will "…be revealed by fire…" what kind of house we are building. What are we doing?
Verse 14: "If the work that anyone has built endures, he shall receive a reward." It's going to be put to the test!
But if that work endures, the person that built this house with this good quality materials is going to stand and receive a reward.
Verse 15: "If the work of anyone is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet, as through fire"—through trials and purification the person is going to be saved, but is going to suffer loss of the things that this person has built!
That doesn't mean that a person might not be saved; maybe, maybe not. What Paul is talk about is really he might suffer loss, but himself shall be saved, but through fires, difficulties, trials and challenges.
Let's go to one of the Scriptures in the Bible that tells us more about building the house. How do we build that house? Let's let the Bible interpret itself! How do we build this house? We have seen that the foundation has to be there on the Rock, Christ, there is no other foundation. We have seen that we have to build, and there are choices of how we build. There's different materials, and it's going to be tested.
Proverbs 24:3: "Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (vs 3-4).
It's giving us more instruction as to how this house is built, the house that Jesus Christ was referring to in the example, and the same house that Paul was elaborating upon. Here it says that "Through wisdom a house is built…"
So, we have to have wisdom to build this house. That's the first thing we're going to look at today. It's sort of the architecture, the planning, the vision that we have for this house. It's really understanding the structure, the layout and all how all the different things are going to work together. How all the different rooms work together.
The wisdom that architects have and develop through experience. For us in our Christian lives in what we're building we have to think about this wisdom. We're going to see something very interesting, and this is how God Himself builds:
Jeremiah 51:15: "He [God] has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His understanding."
Jeremiah is telling us the exact same thing that we just read in Proverbs; "Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established…" That is very telling of what God is wants us to have: wisdom and understanding!
Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever."
The way that we obtain wisdom, the way that we gain wisdom to start planning the house, to start doing this work is to fear God! The fear of the Lord is the very, very beginning of wisdom.
We're going to see how this entire house is not really about the things that we do, and not only about the character and the things that we become, but it really about the relationship that we are able to have with our Creator and our Lord and Master Jesus Christ!
If we have this fear of the Lord that's the beginning of wisdom, because to come to God we have to fear Him. This fear starts to give us understanding of who we really are before God; that's why it's the beginning of wisdom. Basically putting us in our place in reality, and our place in all directions. Not only of a humbling one—which is certainly a humbling experience to think about the greatness of God and come before Him and everything that He has done for us—but also the great potential.
- we are to inherit His Kingdom
- it is His pleasure to give us the Kingdom
- it is rejoicing to Him that He's going have us all in His Kingdom
IF we endure to the end, and if we love Him with our heart! That's what He wants!
When we have this fear of the Lord, it puts us in our proper place to not only understand how great and awesome He is, but what a blessing that we have to have this calling and be a part of this literal transformation on earth, a continual transformation of a person into the image of His Son Jesus Christ.
Psalm 37:30: The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom…" That fear of the Lord and righteousness go together! That righteousness is where we started with the Sermon on the Mount, keeping, obeying and practicing those words.
"…and his tongue talks of justice" (v 30). We know that Jesus Christ said, 'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.' That's why it says:
Verse 31: "The Law of his God is in his heart… [why his tongue talks of justice] …none of his steps shall slide."
If we are going to have wisdom we first have to fear the Lord, and we have to have this Law of God in our heart! That's why when He was talking about the Law in the Sermon on the Mount, expounding and magnifying that Law, that's exactly what He said in 'building your house upon the Rock.' The Law of God is the foundation of this house that we're building.
- there is no other Rock except Christ
- there is no other Rock except His Law, precepts, judgments and commandments
That's the foundation that He wants us to have! He will write His commandments in the tablet of your heart!That's why 'I will give you a heart of flesh,' where I'm going to write these commandments. That's where wisdom begins.
It's not our plan, it is God's plan. It is His house and He is building it. But it is for us to understand how to build this house! Not just with one material, not just on His foundation—which is very important—but how to do it. This is part of it, to have that Law in our heart, and our tongue talks of justice. We know that all of His commandments are justice and righteousness.
Prov. 24:13 really reveals a part of the heart of God the Father and Jesus Christ. The Father is telling us:
Proverbs 24:13: "My son, eat honey because it is good; and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate; so shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; when you have found it, then there shall be a reward, and your hope shall not be cut off" (vs 13-14).
It's very interesting how He thinks and is instructing us, because this is what He wants for us. He wants us to eat of this wisdom, to have this wisdom and enjoy it like one enjoys honey.
Proverbs 23:15: "My son, if your heart is wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine."
These are the thoughts of God the Father Himself! We know this is Solomon (writing the Proverbs) and a lot of the things that Solomon wrote came from his father David. I'm sure that David probably told him these words. This is exactly why Solomon asked for wisdom, at least the understanding part.
Verse 16: "Yea, my heart shall rejoice when your lips speak right things"—which we saw they were!
- his lips talk of justice
- the heart of the wise
- meditating in the Law of God day and night
That's what gives us this joy! That actually rejoices our Father, as well!
We read about the reward that Paul talked about, if our house stands the test of fire. There's a reward and we can read a little bit about this:
Revelation 22:12—Jesus Christ says: "And behold, I am coming quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to each one according as his work shall be." In this building of this house:
- What are we dedicating our time to?
- Do we focus on building this house?
- Do we obtain wisdom?
- Do we ask God for that wisdom?
We cannot generate wisdom, and God, our Father, wants us to have it! We just read that it will sweet to our souls! That's how good and how fulfilling this wisdom will be, just as honey. That's wisdom, the very first step, and there's so much more that can be said and we can read about wisdom. These Scriptures are how we build this house, the how to.
Proverbs 24:3: "Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established."
What is understanding? It's not just any understanding! It often goes together with wisdom. It's wisdom and understanding together. This is the way that God the Father, through Jesus Christ, made the Earth and how They built it together.
Deuteronomy 4:5—Moses is speaking: "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you should do so in the land where you go to possess it. And you shall keep and do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'" (vs 5-6).
Wisdom and understanding together! Just like we saw in Proverbs, our recipe or instructions on how to build this house with all these wonderful materials. But we have to know how!
God is telling us here, through Moses, these judgments and statutes are our wisdom and understanding. This was obviously on a national scale. This is not just wisdom and understanding, but there's a whole Spirit behind having that wisdom, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding!
Sidebar: There is one Bible version that I have seen, and older version and happens to be a Catholic Bible, which I'm not able to find anywhere anymore. My father has a copy and I think my grandmother gave it to him.
This version in Spanish is the only version—of all the versions—that says instead of 'day of rest'—all the versions in Spanish, instead of saying 'Sabbath' it says 'day of rest.' There's a particular reason for that. In Spanish 'Sabbath' and 'Saturday' are the same exact word. So, to be super clear to people that they ought to keep the Sabbath, if they just read the word 'Sabbath.' The people who translated the Bible didn't want Saturday in there because it's not the day that most people keep. So, they say, 'day of rest' everywhere.
But not this old version, this version says 'Saturday' or 'Sabbath,' which is exactly the same thing. It's amazing because it says 'Sabbath' everywhere. It tells you very plain and simple! The translation is accurate, it's the most accurate that I have seen in Spanish.
That Bible is the only one that in Isa. 11 where it talks about the seven spirits of God:
Isaiah 11:1: "And there shall come forth a shoot out from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, [#1]the Spirit of wisdom and [#2]understanding, [#3]the Spirit of counsel and [#4]might, [#5]the Spirit of knowledge and of the [#6]fear of the LORD." That's six! Where is the seventh Spirit?
In this other version, it read exactly the same way, the first six, and then it says, 'the Spirit to govern according to His precepts.' It's only one that I have every seen that has the seven, that matches us with what we see in Revelation of the seven Spirits of God around the earth.
The interesting thing about this and how it connects to what we're talking about is that there's this Spirit; v 2: "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him… [and the first thing that is mentioned is]: … the Spirit of wisdom and understanding…" Just exactly how we are to build that house!
That is telling us time and time again, no matter where we go in the Law, the Prophets or Writings, it's always wisdom and understanding! The first is always the Spirit of wisdom an understanding.
"…the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge… [we're going to see in Prov. 24:3 is part of the recipe] …and of the fear of the LORD" (v 2)—is the beginning of wisdom!
This seventh Spirit, I find is very interesting—the Spirit to govern—is according to His precepts. That really caps it all off with what Christ is going to be doing.
I haven't really tested everything in that version, but from everything else that I have seen it's probably the most accurate in Spanish.
So, it's not just something that we get, wisdom and understanding to build this house is not the only things that we are to obtain and get. Yes, they're great and they're gifts from God, and they have to come from Him, but there's a Spirit behind it, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of all of these things. Not only wisdom and understanding of counsel of might, but all of these things are the fear of the Lord.
We have that Spirit in different measures. Christ is the only One Who had that without measure. It's very interesting to see how this wisdom and understanding of the very first two here of the Spirit that Christ has.
Isaiah 40:13: "Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, and who was His counselor that he might instruct Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and made known the way of understanding to Him?" (vs 13-14).
It's very interesting when we stop and analyze this Scripture. We can look at it from two perspectives:
- from that nobody, because He is God; He has all these things
"…who instructed Him…and made known the way of understanding to Him?"
Isaiah 50:4: "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, to know to help the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as one being taught. The Lord GOD has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious, nor turned away backwards" (vs 4-5).
- the Father taught Jesus
This prophecy about Christ is how God the Father was teaching Him. That every morning the Father would wake Him up. That's why people were amazed, where did this man learn all these things? All the teachers in the temple wondered where this man got all of these things, how does He learn and understand all of these things? That's what it says in:
Isaiah 40:13: "Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, and who was His counselor that he might instruct Him?
When Christ was here on earth, when He was God in the flesh—just like we are in the flesh—there was Someone, God the Father taught Him. He woke Jesus up morning by morning. He instructed Him every morning! He instructed Him in the path of judgment, knowledge and made Him know the way of understanding.
Brethren, He wants to do the exact same thing with us! The only thing that's preventing that from happening is us! If we don't ask for these things, or don't think about these things or take the time to meditate on these things. He wants to do the exact same thing with us, and that's the exciting part.
Just as God the Father directed the Spirit of the Lord… He directed Christ's Spirit, He was always full of the Holy Spirit. God told Him what to say and do, and woke Him up every morning to instruct Him.
It was His delight and joy to be thinking about these things all the time. To wake up with His love for God and learning with His instruction and this warm embrace from the Father. Every morning He had that!
When it asks in Isa. 40, it was nobody, He was God, and that's true before He came to lived as one of us, as God in the flesh. But when He came to live as one of us, there was One Who gave Him counsel, there was One Who instructed Him and taught Him in the path of judgment, and made Him to know the way of understanding. That is what understanding really is!
Psalm 111:10: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments…."
Psa 119:34 is a prayer, and this is prophetic about Jesus Christ and how He viewed and kept the Law as a human being.
Psalm 119:34: "Give me understanding, that I may keep Your Law and observe it with all my heart."
We need to ask for this understanding; we cannot generate it! We try to come up with our own understanding, and if we try to understand with our own efforts, it's impossible. That's why when we share the good news of all the things that God has called us to in this way of life, sometimes we think that everybody will get it. But they cannot get it if their eyes are not opened, if God doesn't let them see. It doesn't matter what we say or do, they're not going to get it!
In the same way, to build the house we have to have wisdom and understanding, but it has to come from God! We cannot generate them, we have to ask for them! This is a perfect way to ask for it, to understand it. We can pick this Psa. And get down on our knees and pray, 'Father, "give me understanding, that I may keep Your Law and observe it with all my heart."
We're going to see that this is a key important thing in building this house; it has to be with all of our heart! It has to be genuine, it has to be from the heart!
Luke 11 is a very important part of it, because this understanding had to come from God and it has to be genuine and sincere.
Luke 11:52—Jesus is reprimanding the doctors of the Law: "Woe to you, doctors of the law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you prevented those who were entering.'"
That's very interesting, because as we have seen, the key of knowledge and understanding are the commandments! This is your wisdom and understanding, all these laws and commandments in the heart! But apart from our relationship there is no real understanding or key to understand these thing.
When we think about the commandments—and this is why He told them this—is because the key to knowledge and understanding is that we have to love God first, with our heart! Then we have to seek Him for wisdom and understanding to even be able to keep them. This is a very fascinating thing about the commandments of God is that He never really did, that in some things it was super prescriptive. He was somewhat prescriptive in the letter of the Law, and then in the spirit of the Law…
Example of the Sabbath: there isn't in the entire Bible just a set of don'ts; there is not a comprehensive list. There are guidelines as to what we should do and not do on the Sabbath. There are certainly guidelines, Isa. 58 and other places. Examples of people and instruction, and admonition of the Prophets. There are guidelines. But there is nothing like what these 'doctors of the Law' did; there's no Talmud which says, 'Rule #1135 that you shall not carry more than 10 lbs.
There is no such thing in the Bible, and there's a reason. God knew that it was a matter of the heart! He set a foundation for a relationship, and that relationship is based on Law. That is really what He's going to give us when He gives us understanding and wisdom to understand His Law to motivate us to not only seek Him.
Ideally, He did this purposefully saying He's not going to give us the list of every single do and don't, so you pick comforting yourself in how you do things. That's exactly what the doctors of the Law were doing. They took it away that key.
Here's the Day of Atonement and do exactly as it says, prescriptive enough in every circumstance that you could possibly encounter and if not then 'we'll add it, no problem.'
The key to understanding is no, that prevents us from a relationship with God! We shouldn't be looking for a strict set of dos and don'ts.
- we should seek understanding
- we should seek wisdom
To build on that relationship, because not every circumstance and every person is going to be the same!
With wisdom God will guide us to the right answer, and the right time, to the right place under the right circumstances, understanding that we are His workmanship, not the other way around.
We cannot make God in our image and bring Him to our level and say that 'You said, God, that if I do this 1,152 things that are here in the Talmud that You are going to give me eternal life, so therefore, give me eternal life.'
It just doesn't work that way, and we know it doesn't. but this key to understanding is exactly what He was so angry, because:
You have taken away the key to knowledge and you yourselves did not enter because you don't have a relationship with the Father either. You do not know Me! You haven't searched Me!
He was the Lord and God of the Old Testament. That's why He took away that key of understanding.
Proverbs 8:1: Does not wisdom call? And does not understanding put forth her voice?" The one/two punch! Understanding and wisdom go together!
Verse 2: "She stands in the top of high places, by the place where the paths meet. She cries in the gates, at the entrance of the city, at the doors" (vs 2-3).
That's exactly what Moses had commanded, that they would write the Law on their doorpost. That's also where the blood was. Christ is also wisdom, and that blood represents His blood as well to pass over our sins.
Verse 34: "Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors."
That's what I was talking about, not only the blood of the lamb where the Law was to be placed, that has great significance at the door.
Verse 4: 'To you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men. O you simple ones, understand wisdom…" (vs 4-5).
Here's the understanding! We are to have understanding to understand wisdom!
"…and, you fools, be of an understanding heart" (v 5). That's an amazing thing! It's just like when God opened our eyes to see certain things—started opening our eyes—to His Truth and way of life, to all of these things that He has for us!
It's very interesting to see that, and to see the things that are amazing and marvelous in our eyes. Sometimes we ask. 'Why me?' this is the way that He wants us to continue to increase in understanding. It's not enough to stay in the basic level, the basic doctrines. The Sabbath and Holy Days are very important and are the foundation, the Rock, the Law.
We have to continue to build! We have to continue to put these precious materials! But we need the wisdom and understanding, and we need for God the Father and Jesus Christ to give us these.
Proverbs 9:1: "Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars; she has prepared her meat; she has mixed her wine; she has also furnished her table. She has sent out her young women; she cries upon the highest places of the city, 'Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.'…." (vs 1-4).
An invitation from God. It's phrased as wisdom personified, but it's God Himself! God the Father and Jesus Christ are the embodiment of wisdom.
"…As for the one who lacks understanding, she says to him, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed…. [the Passover with the bread and wine] …Forsake the foolish and live; and go in the way of understanding'" (vs 4-6).
We saw that in Isaiah, He did that with Christ and He wants to do that with us every day:
- guiding us in His wisdom
- guiding us in His understanding
as to how to keep His Law in the spirit:
- with the circumstances that we are in
- with the kind of person that we are
- with the type of personality that we have
- with our strength
- with our weaknesses
He's polishing us, understanding that we are being polished right now. We are His creation!
But we are to, v 6: "Forsake the foolish and live; and go in the way of understanding." This is the way to build the house!
Prov. 15—there's more instruction here about wisdom. I was doing a quick survey in the book of Proverbs and I think there's maybe one chapter where it doesn't mention the word wisdom! The entire book of Proverbs is full of wisdom!
Proverbs 15:14—very revealing: "The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness."
That is the next logic step, the progression that man takes.
Proverbs 24:3: "Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (vs 3-4).
It's not enough to build a house. We don't build a house and just sit in it. We build a house and put our furniture in and we decorate it and do different things. That's what God wants to do. This is not talking about just a physical house, it's really and spiritual house, the house that God is building. We are to be fully cooperating with this building:
- how we use our time
- how we use our thoughts
- how we pray
- what we pray about
- where our mind goes
- where our words are
Those are the things! But a man of understanding seeks knowledge! This knowledge is like the furniture, the furnishings of the house, the decorations and all the things that we have.
- to make our lives easier
- to make it comfortable
- to make it nice and presentable
- to enjoy
These are the furnishings!
If we have the foundation—the Law—and all the building—wisdom and understanding of the structure of:
- How do we think?
- Where do our thoughts go to?
- Do we rely on God?
- How often to we pray?
- What do we do?
- How do we react?
All of this is a house that is being built! The furnishings are all those things that are put into this house, like love and how we treat others. It's different levels, and complimenting all of the other things.
One of the spirits is the spirit of knowledge (Isa. 11:2). There's a spirit of wisdom and the spirit of understanding; this is one of the seven Spirits of God.
Isaiah 28:9: "Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Those who are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts, for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little" (vs 9-10).
It's true! We don't just bring furniture to an empty lot. We have to set the foundation and build the house and when the house is completed we bring in the furniture. So, we have to go step-by-step. We have to do that:
- as a good architect
- as a good interior designer
- as a good decorator
We have to have all these things in our spiritual house!
That's how we are to learn. We are to do 'here a little, there a little.' That's what it says, "Whom shall He teach knowledge?…." God is the One Who teaches us the knowledge.
Not only through His Word, but through the experiences that we live! He wants us to reflect on the things that happen to us everyday with different people and really analyze. Especially as we're getting into the Passover period, to really analyze ourselves.
- How is our house?
- thinking about our actions
- thinking about our reactions
- thinking about our thoughts
- Where do we go?
- What do we do?
- What materials are we using?
- ask for wisdom
- ask for understanding
- ask for knowledge
- seek knowledge
We know what knowledge is! The knowledge of the Word of God!
Proverbs 8:12: "I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion." It's wisdom that dwells along with prudence, and that's exactly what God wants to do!
Verse 13: "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil…"
How do we get knowledge? By fearing the LORD!
"…I hate pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth" (v 13). God and wisdom hates all of these things!
Verse 14: "Counsel and sound wisdom are mine; I am understanding; I have strength." Wisdom is understanding! "…I am understanding; I have strength."
Verse 15: "By me kings reign and princes decree justice. Princes rule by me, and nobles, and all the judges of the earth. I love those who love me; and those who seek me early shall find me" (vs 15-17).
This last part is very important and very critical, because it's not only early—like early in life—that is absolutely true. The more that we teach our children to do this at an early age the better off they will be. Teach the child on the path that he should go and he shall not depart!
But I find that the Bible applies in every sense of the word, like early. Sometimes if we wake up early and make a little bit more time to pray, that goes a long way. There are studies and a lot of information out there about meditation in the morning and getting your thoughts straight for the day.
Apart from God, it's not necessarily with this, but we who know better, we know that those who seek Him earlyshall find Him! When we first wake up is this first thing that we think of. Is this the first place that we go to and we ask for wisdom and instruction. This is very important. "…and those who seek Me early shall find Me."
There are studies that say that it really changes your day, if the very first thing you do is pray, meditate and thank God for the things that we do have, the blessings or just waking up another day. All of these things are very true.
Verse 17: "I love those who love Me…" That love has to be developed, like a relationship! That's the wonderful thing about this is that it's a relationship of building the house.
It's not just things and put things, it's really building that relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. All of these things that we've been talking about are found in His Word! That's where they're found, but we have to:
- ask for it
- seek it
- love it
- dwell on it
Proverbs 9:10: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding."
Knowing God, "…the knowledge of the Holy…"—that relationship: Do we know God? That's real knowledge, by which we are going to fill all of these rooms.
Proverbs 24:23: "These things also are for the wise…" That's exactly what we are to do, to grow in grace and knowledge!
2-Peter 3:18: "Rather, be growing in the grace and the knowledge…" because that is understanding in the one who knows and loves God!
There's no way not to love God when we really get to know Him, when we've developed that relationship.
Daniel is referred to as greatly beloved! That's how the angel addresses Daniel, 'Greatly beloved, do not fear.' Let's see the thoughts of Daniel, what kind of relationship did he have with God.
Daniel 2:20: "Daniel answered and said, 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding" (vs 20-21)—to those who know Him!
What great wisdom that God have Daniel! Daniel became like the second in command, and he was a great, wise and understanding man. Not only that, he had humility that he received. But to reflect on his view of God and just praising Him.
Verse 22: "He reveals the deep and secret things… [and He wants to reveal them to us, believe me] …He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. I thank You, and praise You, O God of my fathers, Who has given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of You, for You have made known to us the king's matter" (vs 22-23).
He who owns wisdom and understanding and shares it with those who love Him, who really love and honor Him, and fear Him the way that Daniel was. That's a great lesson for us to remember.
Ephesians 4:11: "And He gave some asapostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ; until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…" (vs 11-13).
It starts with wisdom and then continues with understanding, but we have to get to knowledge of the Son of God.
"…unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (v 13). That's what's so important; to continue to ask for
- wisdom
- understanding
- knowledge
To do all of these things and have love in our heart!
This relationship just like Daniel had, because God is going to continue to add
- to our understanding
- to our wisdom
- to our knowledge
It's His knowledge and wisdom in the end! It's really not ours!
There's something very interesting about the place where we began. We read it for context as we were looking at the comparison of the wise man and the unwise man. But we began in Matt. 7:20 about the fruits, but in:
Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says to Me "Lord, Lord" shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name? And did we not cast out demons through Your name? And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?' And then I will confess to them, "I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness'" (vs 21-23).
Jesus didn't say that you didn't do those things. He said, 'I never knew you!'—relationship, that's what it's all about, our relationship with God! The works will flow from that. If our relationship with God is strong and we know Him, and we're getting to know little by little every day, then the works will flow and the fruits will come. That's what He said: 'Just abide in Me. I'm the Vine and you're the branches.'
He said, I never knew you.' Just like when you walk up to somebody that you have known in the past, or a famous person and you think that person knows you, and say, 'Who are you?'
This is exactly what Christ is saying, because many will come to Him and say, 'Lord, Lord, we knew You.' I never knew you, who are you?
But if we do these things and we're building; Proverbs 24:3: "Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established… [understanding the laws and commandments of God] …and by knowledge… [of the Lord, the Son of God] …the rooms shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (vs 3-4).
That's how we will be able to be in the Kingdom of God, and not only that, but we will really fulfill our purpose for which we were born: to be in God's Family, to be these wonderful homes established on the Rock full of all precious things—not ours, but His—God the Father's and Jesus Christ's—Their workmanship!
That's what this is all about! Let us continue to build the house in a powerful way through wisdom, understanding and knowledge!
Scriptural References:
- Matthew 7:20-27
- 1 Corinthians 3:9-15
- Proverbs 24:3-4
- Jeremiah 51-15
- Psalm 111:10
- Psalm 37:30
- Proverbs 24:13-14
- Proverbs 23:15-16
- Revelation 22:12
- Proverbs 24:3
- Deuteronomy 4:5-6
- Isaiah 11:1-2
- Isaiah 40:13-14
- Isaiah 50:4-5
- Isaiah 40:13
- Psalm 111:10
- Psalm 119:34
- Luke 11:52
- Proverbs 8:1-3, 34, 4-5
- Proverbs 9:1-6
- Proverbs 15:14
- Proverbs 24:3-4
- Isaiah 28:9-10
- Proverbs 8:12-17
- Proverbs 9:10
- Proverbs 24:23
- 2-Peter 3:18
- Daniel 2:20-23
- Ephesians 4:11-13
- Matthew 7:21-23
- Proverbs 24:3-4
Scriptures referenced, not quoted: Isaiah 58
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 9/24/20
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