Careful How You Hear.

Luke 8:16-18 (ESV) “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

Many quote the first part of this parable, but verse 18 has the word “Therefore,” which ties together hiding our light with how we hear. 

With constant exposure to wrong doctrines, strongholds of wrong thinking and wrong believing will increase (we get more added), and our light gets progressively hidden. (what we seem to have, is taken away) No one intentionally does this; it comes from the enemy’s deception and catering to selfish desires and itchy ears.

We must all ask ourselves this question; What are the primary ways that we learn about God and His word? Through the teachings of others (leavened bread) or through reading and listening to the Bible for ourselves? (unleavened bread)

Only by the sharpness of the living word can we rightly discern and divide the truth. If we avoid the portions of God’s word that cut, pierce, and prunes us, we quickly slip into error and deception. Our light gets hidden, and our witness to the world is compromised.

Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Many would say, “It is hard to read the Bible, hard to understand.” I would say to those people, walking and talking were challenging too, until you learned how to do it. Now it comes naturally.

Our leaders cannot walk or talk for us. Neither can they feed us anything more than leavened bread. We need the unleavened bread and the sincere milk of God’s word, and we must learn to feed ourselves.

The interesting thing about spiritual hunger is that it comes from feeding, not starving. The more we give ourselves to reading the word, the more we will enjoy it and desire it.  

1 Peter 2:2 (ESV) As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Notice that Peter said, “As newborn babes?” He isn’t pointing out baby Christians; he is saying that our hunger and desire for the word of God should be like an infant that cries for life-giving milk every few hours. Mature and immature Christians alike.

Ask yourself, “what am I hungry for? Am I hungry for God and His word, or the latest preaching and teaching from my favorite ministers?” They are not even close to being the same.

If a minister reads the scriptures alone, you feed on the unleavened bread of truth. As soon as the minister explains and expounds on that truth, you are eating leavened bread, filtered through a vessel with two opposing natures.

I am not saying we don’t need ministers to help us rightly divide the truth. I am saying that we should be mindful not to make it our primary source.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

The Manna Test

          We find one of the most fundamental truths about the Christian life in how God provided manna for Israel during their forty-year journey through the wilderness.

Exodus 16:4-5 (NKJV) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. ⁵ And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

          The purpose of the manna was not just to provide food for God’s people but primarily to test them in their faith and obedience. To see if they would follow God’s commands.

          God fed Israel supernaturally for forty years by raining down a fine bread-like substance from Heaven. It fell to the Earth every night for six days during the week. It fell in the form of tiny white specs and tasted like wafers with honey.

          The Israelites were commanded to collect about half a gallon of manna per person daily. On the sixth day, they were to gather a double portion because no manna fell on the sabbath day. Any leftover manna would stink and breed worms, so they could not live off the manna from yesterday. It must be gathered daily according to God’s instructions and a double portion for the Sabbath.

          What is this strange story telling us about our Christian life today? Every story, every interaction, and every encounter with God we see in the Old Testament is for our instruction in the New. Everything from Genesis to Revelation points to Christ and Christian living.

Romans 15:4 (NKJV) For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 

          The word “manna” means; “What is it?” That is what the Israelites said when they first saw it lying on the ground. Manna is a type of the Word of God.

Israel didn’t understand God’s reason for the manna, much like the Church today does not understand the divine purpose and significance of the Word of God. Israel did not just disobey God’s instructions concerning the manna; they continually despised it and complained about it. They did not appreciate that God was demonstrating His daily love, care, and commitment to them through this bread-like substance that fell from Heaven.

Had Israel joyfully obeyed God’s instructions about the manna, they would not have wandered in the wilderness for forty years and died without ever reaching the promised land.

Christians behold God’s written word today and say the same thing in their hearts, “what is it? I don’t understand it. I have heard that before. It’s hard to swallow. Hard to understand. I’m tired of eating the same old manna every day.”

The written word is here to test us in the same way that manna tested the Israelites. To see if we will keep and obey His commands. Most Christians don’t honor God’s Word properly nor understand that this is the very thing that gives spiritual life and health to them.

It is essential to notice that God commanded them to gather manna daily. The manna provided daily fuel and sustenance for their physical bodies. The written word provides the fuel and nourishment for the spiritual part of our being.

Think about the time and effort it would take to gather a half-gallon of tiny white specks off the ground. It would undoubtedly take more than just a few minutes. God could have rained down manna the size of marbles or golf balls, but He didn’t. He chose to make it the size of a coriander seed so His people would have time to consider what they were doing and the significance of why they were doing it.

Think about the amount of time spent bowing down low in a position of humility to receive this precious manna? There is divine purpose and wisdom in how God does everything. The process of daily collecting bread from the ground is a prophetic example of how we are to approach God’s word.

Not properly appreciating the unleavened bread of the written word leads us to seek the leavened bread of entertaining teachers and preachers that make us feel good instead of transforming us into His image. Leavened teaching causes us to have itchy ears and perpetuates a self-deception that disqualifies us from the blessings of the kingdom of God. We must collect our own manna daily if we are to grow strong spiritually.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

God’s Life

          The life of God comes from the word of God. Not listening to preachers and teachers; those are for our equipping. Reading books from our favorite Christian authors, watching Christian TV, or listening to Christian radio are all leavened bread and should be considered supplements to the pure spiritual food of God’s written word. We can survive off those other things, but we cannot thrive. The life of God comes from the unleavened bread of the Bible.

Just like a newborn baby will cry for life-giving milk every few hours, we should hunger and thirst for God’s holy word the same way.

1 Peter 2:2-3 (NKJV) as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

          God’s word should be the joy and rejoicing of our hearts. The bread from Heaven gives us life and strength for spiritual warfare. If we are not fully engaged with God’s word, we will not be thoroughly equipped for spiritual warfare.

Jesus said when tempted by the devil, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). How will we know what is written unless we read it for ourselves?

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.