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            Recognizing the Truth and then allowing God to teach us by following His program of faith lessons, is an incredibly important issue. We must be willing to be shown any lack of faith or any misplaced trust on our part. Then we ask Him to inspire us in faith to make any corrections. 

            The young ruler had misplaced financial trust, so Jesus said Luke 18:22 “Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” The man, most unfortunately, did not accept the advice—he 23 “was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.”

            1 Corinthians 2:14 “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” A God-taught believer will recognize the terrible spiritual condition of the average church today. Jesus reprimanded the religious teachers Matthew 15:3 about how they “break the command of God” concerning honoring parents for the sake of outward show, and then adding 7-8 “You hypocrites!  Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’”

            The Pharisees “were offended” but Jesus said 14 “Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind.” If the Pharisees were offended, that is unfortunate, Jesus meant, because He had given them the Truth, but they did not recognize it, and they not only rejected it, but hindered others from accepting it—“if the blind leads the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

            Our only hope of heaven is be taught by God Himself. He wants to give us the true spiritual nourishment of the full gospel of Christ, so we can grow spiritually—that is the foundation of the true Christian life. Spiritual light and understanding must come from God, because John 3:27 “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”

            God can use various things—different situations, or other believers as His instrument in teaching us spiritual truths. We should be ready to learn, when God sends a message of Truth. Hebrews 3:7-8 “As the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.’”

            The disciples heard His voice, so they were used of God to proclaim His Truth. Jesus said Luke 10:16 “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects [despises] you rejects [despises] Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

            King Asa was offended when the prophet Hanani told him he made a serious mistake in seeking help from Ben-Hadad in fear, instead of depending on God in faith. 2 Chronicles 16:10 “Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison.” The prophet was sent by God to give a message of truth. When the king rejected the prophet, he was rejecting the Lord. Asa then added sin to sin—“At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.”

            Asa had previously been in the will of God—during the earlier part of his life when he trusted on divine power, but when he sought human help, he lost spiritual ground. The prophet asked him 2 Chronicles 16:8 “Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.”

            He then added 2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly.”

            It was very foolish and unwise not to accept a message of God from the prophet of God. After taking this rebellious attitude, the king was physically attacked. 2 Chronicles 16:12-13 “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was [exceeding] severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers.”

            The king refused to correct his mistake and unscriptural attitude, so he received the results of rebellion, rather than the reward of repentance. God, in divine love, sent the prophet to warn the king of the wrong choice he had made. The king could have repented and received salvation—if he had continued to trust God, instead of turning to man, but he refused the message of God by the mouth of the prophet, and received the results of a rebellious heart.

            God can use anyone or any method to give His Truth to someone—but He has to see that they are willing to be taught and open to His Truth. It is always of spiritual benefit to spend time in God’s Word—asking Him to give us a believing heart and an understanding mind. Human intellect cannot discern spiritual truth; but the Holy Spirit will teach us “all truth” John 16:13.

            As we depend on God each day, the Holy Spirit can teach us lessons of trust every hour. We will be trained on principles of trust. We are righteous in the sight of God, when we are believing on the Son of God by faith. Colossians 2:9-10 “For in [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”

            The apostle Peter was used as an instrument of God to give a message of truth to Cornelius; who only had to listen briefly to some teaching on the Atonement. Cornelius said Acts 10:33 “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

            The apostle told of 38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

            Reading about the truth of God, from the Word of God, is first priority every morning. God trained His people for forty years to teach them Deuteronomy 8:3 “that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” The Word of God is the most important avenue of communication used by the Holy Spirit to teach spiritual truth.

            Jesus said to Jews who believed Him John 8:31, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”—free from the sin of unbelief. It is a great gift from a loving Father—a written word of truth that tells us how to be delivered from sin; healed of oppression; meeting people scripturally; and being ready to meet Jesus.

            The Word of God is powerful enough to give every gift of God. Mark 11:22-24 “Have faith in God,” Jesus said, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ‘Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.’”

            We must be on scriptural ground, if we want to be protected from Satan’s attacks. We must definitely place ourselves under the shed Blood of Christ for protection. The Word of God is used as a defense against the attacks of the devil. The Word is a weapon against the evil one; and the Word enables us to be victors in the battle with the devil.

            Whatever, or whoever, is used as an instrument of God, we must be willing to learn. God appoints some Ephesians 4:11-13 to be “apostles; 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: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

            God gives the gift of teaching, so that others can learn the Truth of the Word—but it is God Himself who is the Headmaster. It is vitally important to know about what teaching we accept, because we must listen only to those whom God has taught, trained, and sent. 2 John 1:10 “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [doctrine], do not take him into your house or welcome him.”

            There are more false teachers today than ever. All teaching must be tested by the Word of God. Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” Not many churches teach what Jesus taught about faith, trust, and salvation—which are only through a continuing faith in Him. Matthew 19:21 Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

            Not many today are teaching about the trusting faith of first century believers—how they dealt with finances and possessions. First-century believers acted in faith Acts 4:34-37, “from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet.” Joseph “sold a field he owned” and gave the money to the poor, because Matthew 6:21 “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

            Not many today are teaching the Truth of God’s healing power for those who believe and trust on the Atonement Blood of Christ. Acts 3:16 “It is His name—faith in that name being the condition—which has strengthened this man whom you behold and know; It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him.”

            Jesus warned Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening [ferocious] wolves.” The average minister today gives nothing in the way of God’s Truth. They take the tithe but give no truth in return.

            If they do not teach their listeners to trust God alone for health, healing, protection, and provisions—as well as how to meet things scripturally as Jesus taught us to; then they are not giving God’s Truth—a Truth that is recognized and valued only if God teaches it to us—because John 3:27 “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”