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EPHESIANS 1:15-18
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Do we know that Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, or are we drifting along in our faith? Are we engaging in the life of our Lord in us? Paul makes clear in Ephesians 1 that the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation is a gift from our Lord Jesus Christ, but to receive that gift — as we receive any Holy Spirit gift — is an act of faith.
Wisdom is not knowledge. Remember Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Wisdom and knowledge are separate things. Knowledge comes by study and leads to understanding, but that does not of itself lead to wisdom or faith. Only the spirit gift of heavenly wisdom and revelation brings us to an intimate relationship with Christ.
Only recently I learnt, or realised, that Jesus never said “You must…”, but instead put it as “IF you will…” our Lord always left it to us to make a choice. There is no dictatorship or coercion with Christ. We always have a free will choice. And that is where the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation inspires us. If we have the Revelation of the person of Jesus Christ in our innermost being, then we are filled with the wisdom of The Almighty. At that point our free will choice activates and we can either embrace or deny Him.
The point that Paul is making here is that, if we are genuinely filled with a God-given revelation, then the wisdom from on high is never likely to persuade us to reject it. If we have even the slightest revelation from Christ, then denial becomes total betrayal of His life in us.
Thus our earnest hope is that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation. And may the Spirit of The Most High fall upon each one and give you peace.
Wisdom is not knowledge. Remember Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Wisdom and knowledge are separate things. Knowledge comes by study and leads to understanding, but that does not of itself lead to wisdom or faith. Only the spirit gift of heavenly wisdom and revelation brings us to an intimate relationship with Christ.
Only recently I learnt, or realised, that Jesus never said “You must…”, but instead put it as “IF you will…” our Lord always left it to us to make a choice. There is no dictatorship or coercion with Christ. We always have a free will choice. And that is where the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation inspires us. If we have the Revelation of the person of Jesus Christ in our innermost being, then we are filled with the wisdom of The Almighty. At that point our free will choice activates and we can either embrace or deny Him.
The point that Paul is making here is that, if we are genuinely filled with a God-given revelation, then the wisdom from on high is never likely to persuade us to reject it. If we have even the slightest revelation from Christ, then denial becomes total betrayal of His life in us.
Thus our earnest hope is that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation. And may the Spirit of The Most High fall upon each one and give you peace.
And consider this…
Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.
And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,
and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel.
And he answered, “Here I am!” So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.
Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!”
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.)
And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”
Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy.
1 SAMUEL 3:1-8
REVELATION SONG — Kari Jobe
A CLOSING WORD from BILLY GRAHAM
Make sure of your commitment to Jesus Christ, and seek to follow Him every day. Don't be swayed by the false values and goals of this world, but put Christ and His will first in everything you do.
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #545 ACTS 2: A RUSHING MIGHTY WIND
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ISAIAH 9:2-6
The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The government will be upon His shoulder is part of Isaiah’s magnificent prophecy of the coming Messiah. It is saying that He will be Lord of All and that the governing of His people will be His and His alone. Also we can see other aspects of these words that reveal the greater depths of our Lord’s compassionate hand on us.
The government wil be upon His shoulder emphasises ‘the mind of Christ’, for surely He has ‘a good head on his shoulders’ as an everyday expression would have it, and it is having and submitting to His Mind in us (understanding His Word to produce the way, the truth and the life in us by the Holy Spirit), that keeps us connected to Him, producing a growing faith and trust in Him as our intercessor with Father God.
It is the person of Jesus Christ that gives our faith reality. He is not an icon or figurehead, a leader or ruler, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and countless other names, but for each one who comes to Him He is a friend and brother who lives within. Christian belief is not a religion but a relationship, and Jesus is not merely ‘a personal saviour’ — that is only the first step — He is the indwelling Redeemer and He invites us to cast your burden upon Him. He shoulders that burden, not in an ‘I’ll deal with this. Don’t you bother about it’, but in the much more realistic way that shows you the way through, lifts the weight from you, while strengthening and encouraging, dispelling the darkness. In prayer, we each have a hotline to the Creator. That is Divine Government — raising you up into the light and not letting you slip into sinking sand.
We sing about turning our eyes toward Jesus. However, we must hold His gaze and be unwavering in that loving relationship. It is easy for us to be distracted, but He is forgiving, and desires our full committed attention. Don’t be discouraged when He seems afar off, He is always there. His broad shoulders are more than able.
The government wil be upon His shoulder emphasises ‘the mind of Christ’, for surely He has ‘a good head on his shoulders’ as an everyday expression would have it, and it is having and submitting to His Mind in us (understanding His Word to produce the way, the truth and the life in us by the Holy Spirit), that keeps us connected to Him, producing a growing faith and trust in Him as our intercessor with Father God.
It is the person of Jesus Christ that gives our faith reality. He is not an icon or figurehead, a leader or ruler, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and countless other names, but for each one who comes to Him He is a friend and brother who lives within. Christian belief is not a religion but a relationship, and Jesus is not merely ‘a personal saviour’ — that is only the first step — He is the indwelling Redeemer and He invites us to cast your burden upon Him. He shoulders that burden, not in an ‘I’ll deal with this. Don’t you bother about it’, but in the much more realistic way that shows you the way through, lifts the weight from you, while strengthening and encouraging, dispelling the darkness. In prayer, we each have a hotline to the Creator. That is Divine Government — raising you up into the light and not letting you slip into sinking sand.
We sing about turning our eyes toward Jesus. However, we must hold His gaze and be unwavering in that loving relationship. It is easy for us to be distracted, but He is forgiving, and desires our full committed attention. Don’t be discouraged when He seems afar off, He is always there. His broad shoulders are more than able.
As for me, I will call upon God,
And the LORD shall save me.
Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For there were many against me.
God will hear, and afflict them,
Even He who abides from of old.
Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.
He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him;
He has broken his covenant.
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.
Cast your burden on the LORD,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction;
Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days;
But I will trust in You.
PSALM 55:16-23
TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS — Sovereign Grace Music
A CLOSING WORD from Derek Prince
“Do not sell yourself short, because God holds you in very high regard. He invested the blood of Jesus in you.”
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #544 THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION
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ACTS 1: 4-8
And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
For some time I have desired to study the Acts of the Apostles, commonly called the book of Acts, and it is intended that this will take the form of a brief overview of each chapter in turn, touching on one or two details in each meditation. We know that Acts is a continuation of Luke’s Gospel, but while the Gospels revealed Christ’s finished work of The Cross, Acts shows us Christ’s continuing work from the Throne. The book begins with…
The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
ACTS 1:1
That ‘doing’ and ‘teaching’ of Jesus, now continues as the work of The Holy Spirit, and verse 2 is thus the last mention of the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus’ earthly ministry. It is true to say that Acts is the book of the Holy Spirit, and chapter 1 shows us details of the transition from walking with Jesus by sight, to walking with Him by faith. Reading of the experiences of the apostles at this time of change is itself a work of the Holy Spirit in us and a great encouragement to press in to The Lord and know the reality of His presence.
Verses 4 to 8 tell us of Jesus’ final words to the disciples, using the wonderful title The Promise of The Father to describe the Holy Spirit. That promise is not just an expression, but a reminder of God’s covenant. His purpose is to bring many sons to glory, and here ‘sons’ emphatically means everyone. Verse 12 shows that The Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh — men and women alike — all are Sons of God.
We are told of Jesus’ ascension — taken up, carried up, received up in the clouds. ‘Clouds’ here is a picture of the Heavens; the Third Heaven that Paul speaks of…
Verses 4 to 8 tell us of Jesus’ final words to the disciples, using the wonderful title The Promise of The Father to describe the Holy Spirit. That promise is not just an expression, but a reminder of God’s covenant. His purpose is to bring many sons to glory, and here ‘sons’ emphatically means everyone. Verse 12 shows that The Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh — men and women alike — all are Sons of God.
We are told of Jesus’ ascension — taken up, carried up, received up in the clouds. ‘Clouds’ here is a picture of the Heavens; the Third Heaven that Paul speaks of…
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
2 CORINTHIANS 12:2
We are given a lengthy few verses on Judas and the choosing of an apostle to replace him. Twelve is the number denoting Divine Government on the Earth, while eleven is problematic in that it involves choice or discernment. Usually, it is considered to be an indication of rebellion, disorder, betrayal, or idolatry, among other things, which may explain the eleven verses devoted to Judas.
The choosing of Matthias as the twelfth disciple by drawing lots, is the last occasion such a method is mentioned. Following the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, such decisions were made ‘by The Spirit’.
Luke mentions all these ‘proofs’ as a continuation of his gospel to show us the outworking of the plan of God; that Jesus’ triumph over death, was also a victory for all of us who respond to His call in all generations. We must surely give thanks to Almighty God for His Eternal Promise.
Hallelujah!
The choosing of Matthias as the twelfth disciple by drawing lots, is the last occasion such a method is mentioned. Following the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, such decisions were made ‘by The Spirit’.
Luke mentions all these ‘proofs’ as a continuation of his gospel to show us the outworking of the plan of God; that Jesus’ triumph over death, was also a victory for all of us who respond to His call in all generations. We must surely give thanks to Almighty God for His Eternal Promise.
Hallelujah!
AND CONSIDER THIS…
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
EPHESIANS 1:13
HOLY SPIRIT LIVING BREATH OF GOD — Keith and Kristyn Getty
A CLOSING WORD from Peter Marshall
Human nature must be changed if we are ever to have an end to war or to correct the wrong situations that make our lives uneasy and our hearts sore. Now Christianity, the power of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God, is the only force that can change people for good.