Second Touch

For Those Who Don't Know That They Don't Know

Mat 7:21-23
(21) "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
(22) "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
(23) "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

NOTE: Current selection is below introduction

Jesus ended what we now refer to as the Sermon on the Mount with these words. Few Christians have not heard them, yet I fear fewer still have taken the time to ponder the implications. Jesus is warning professing Christians, for they are the only ones who call Him Lord, that not everyone who call's Him Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father in Heaven will enter. Further, he warns that these will be many and these many will be very surprised. Look what they say: "Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name and do many wonderful works?" Jesus does not deny the works, He merely declares that He never knew them and to depart from Him. I believe that these are the most devastating words that anyone could ever hear, that they had been deceived or (more likely deceived themselves) with religion.

If you have put your trust in a doctrine or creed, a catechism, a baptism, or your assent to a "sinner's prayer" you may find yourself upset at what I have written here. But, is it MY writing your are upset with? I have merely pointed out the obvious that Jesus Himself said. However, if you are upset I fully understand how you feel, because I have been there and my question became "how do I know if I know?"

I grew up in a devout Baptist family. My parents believed what they understood of the scriptures. They believed the preacher and taught me what they believed. I believed them too. After all, I had good reason to believe them, for I cannot ever recall either of my parents ever telling a lie to anyone.

I did what was required and expected of me. I walked the aisle at 11 and was baptized. I believed in Jesus by hearsay and thought nothing of it. I believed because I had no reason not to believe the teaching, but I did not know God, nor did I have any inkling that one could. Certainly there was no evidence around me that I could see that anyone else did. Except maybe the preacher. He said God spoke to him and I had been taught that preachers were special; that they were “called.”

I had been told that I was a sinner and that I was lost, yet Jesus had died on the cross for my sins and if I believed that and accepted Jesus as my personal savior that I would go to Heaven when I died. So I believed this, as I had no reason not to, and for the 18 years I spent in the Baptist church I heard very little beyond this basic message. Sure we should cheerfully give to the church, and do service in the church, but even if I didn't I was assured of my "salvation" and it could never be lost. If I was saved, I was always saved they said. So while further reading of the Bible and serving was a good thing, there seemed to me to be little point to it since I was already assured of going to heaven when I died.

Since it had been my habit since birth, the first two Sundays at college I showed up at the 1st Baptist Church where it seemed I was invisible. The third Sunday I slept in instead and then proceeded to do the same for 30 years, except when my parents visited. During those years I began to be schooled in the heart of man. As I said, I was raised to be very trusting and had little experience with deceit and betrayal.

That changed suddenly upon graduation when my first boss cheated me out of $4,000 that I had borrowed from my parents to invest in the company. Within two months I was a newly wed with no job and no money. The money was all spent before he even raised it. Confused, I confronted him. How could he do this knowing that I had to borrow this money from my parents? I never forgot his answer: “It was a business decision for business reasons.” He didn’t even blink. I knew then that if I was going to be able to play in this new game of business that I had some toughening up to do.

Thus, began 30 years of working for Laban. I learned that every contract could be disputed and breached no matter how clear the language. I learned that employees would kill profitable ventures for their company out of jealousy and I became convinced that I must be one of only two or three people in the country who could read and write with understanding. My sport and life was business and I meditated on it those 30 years day and night. Literally. And, I got pretty good at it and succeeded for many years on almost everything I put my mind to. I had complete faith … in myself. Then, in 1994, I entered into a new business venture that should have be the best of all, but no matter how hard I strove, the goal was always just one step out of reach. I was making bricks without straw but didn’t know it. But, I continued to labor, for I had never failed to achieve something that I set my mind on and this should have been a very good venture.

After four years of this, about 2:30 in the morning I suddenly woke up with a start as I heard “It’s time.” My heart leaped with inexpressible joy (that is the best I can do, for I have nothing else to compare to it) and I felt a warmth flow over me from head to toe leaving a coolness in its wake. I remember weeping and saying “It’s all true.”

The first thought that hit me was that my dad had died and was on his way to heaven. I was so convinced of this I fully expected the phone to ring from my mother informing me of such, but when the day dawned there was no call. This still amazes me, but when that call did not come, it was like this experience never happened. I remembered it, yet here I had just had the most profound and unique experience of my life but when what I had reasoned it to be did come about I paid it no further attention. This is what happens when faith is not present. The experience alone is not enough.

Two months later, I was laid low with an extreme case of bronchitis. I was very weak from lack of sleep and I began having a series of night visions and other experiences which I have no name for, except they were more real than “real” and had something to do with the Kingdom of God and Christ's coming reign on the earth. At the end of this week I was hospitalized. When I got out I was humbled and shaken.

The doctors explained my experience as a hallucinatory side effect of my anti-biotic, but I could not shake the notion that all these things had something to do with God. I was like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where he cannot shake the vision of the mountain. He is drawn there even though he does not know what to expect and goes even at the threat of death. He MUST go. This is the state I was in when I reentered “the Church.” Something had happened to me. I was sure God was involved and I was looking for answers in the church and in the Bible. I became like Dreyfuss sculpting his mashed potatoes into the vision of the mountain. I had seen, but men looked like trees walking around. I needed a second touch. I had to know.

This began what I call my tour of the seven churches, the first stop of which was an apostate Methodist Church where I quickly saw that the pastor had no clue. I would ask him questions about the Bible and was greatly alarmed to learn that he knew less about the Bible than I did and I had not cracked it in 30 years. Weren't these guys "called?"

So I began to move from one high place to the next seeking the true church. I had no awe of men any more, church leaders or not, and I began reading the Bible for myself. As I did, I began seeing that virtually every familiar passage had its meaning twisted out of context. These were not difficult passages either. I found great distortion and disagreement on the most elementary teachings. I thought "if they are wrong about the things that seem so simple, why should I think they are right about the deeper things?" And, as I read, I found voluminous material that I had never heard discussed, much less preached from the pulpit.

Yet, ironically, as my distrust of religious men grew, my trust in God grew, for it was clear that He was the One showing me the error. I knew Him. He was now my Teacher and I needed no other. He was real and present. When I prayed, there was a Presence and my prayers were answered. Some before I finished speaking. There seemed to be a new life stirring within me. I could feel it, like a woman with child feels her child stir. He opened my eyes and I could see that He was directing my path, in real time, and I wanted Him to do so. Even when the path got exceedingly difficult, I had wanted to stay on it. Where else could I go?

There was a time when I was very reluctant to share my experience. I figured most won't believe it and I was afraid that the ones that did might have their faith upset if they had not had a similar experience, but now I don't think that was of the Lord. You see, there is a big difference between a belief that is the product of reason and that which is received by faith. If we have seen Him and have received that by faith by revelation, we cannot be shaken by the discrediting of a doctrine or teaching.

I began to read some of the writings of godly men who have already gone on with the Lord, and found their testimonies to be similar. Consider this quote from A.W. Tozer:

If you have to be reasoned into Christianity, some wise fellow can reason you out of it! If you come to Christ by a flash of the Holy Ghost so that by intuition you know that you are God's child, you know it by the text but you also know it by the inner light, the inner illumination of the Spirit, and no one can ever reason you out of it.
When I was a young man I read most of the books on atheism. I had my Bible and a hymnbook and a few other books, including Andrew Murray and Thomas a Kempis, and I got myself educated as well as I could by reading books. I read the philosophy of all the great minds - and many of those men did not believe in God, you know - and they didn't believe in Christ. I remember reading White's Warfare of Science with Christianity, and if any man can read that and still say he is saved, he isn't saved by his reading, he is saved by the Holy Ghost within him telling him that he is saved!

Actually, many of those philosophers and thinkers would take away all my "reasons" and reduce me to palpitating ignorance. On the basis of human reason, they would make a man just get down and walk out and toss his Bible on a shelf and say, "There goes another one!"

Do you know what I would do after I would read a chapter or two and find arguments that I could not possibly defeat? I would get down on my knees and with tears I would thank God with joy that no matter what the books said, "I know Thee, my Savior and my Lord!"

I didn't have it in my head - I had it in my heart. There is a great difference, you see. If we have it in our heads, then philosophy may be of some help to us; but if we have it in our hearts, there is not much that philosophy can do except stand aside reverently, hat in hand, and say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty."

This my purpose for writing this, that you should know that you CAN know and once you know there is no teaching can ever shake it, for you no longer trust in WHAT you believe but in WHOM you believe and like Paul you can say, "For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He can keep that which I have committed unto Him until that day." We have an unspeakably rich inheritance awaiting us in Christ, but many, like Esau, are trading it for a bowl of soup.

May God give you all a second touch.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Does God Speak Today?

I recently received emails of two heartwarming Christmas stories. The question, of course, always comes up "are these anonymous stories true." When I read them they both rang true in circumstances, meaning if they weren't factual to their authors, the principles are true for someone, in fact many someones. In this they reminded me of a story I received from someone over 10 years ago entitled "Does God Speak Today?" so I Googled to see if I could find it.

I did; on a website called Truth or Fiction. The website gives a summary of the story and then the following commentary:

"The Truth:
For those who believe in God performing miracles, this story is not hard to believe. The problem, however, is that there are no names, dates, or places that would help give the story credibility. The world is filled with people who have first-hand experiences of this nature, and those are the versions that need to be circulated, not ones that are written in a way that feels like fiction. "

He has a good point, so here is mine.

About 10 years ago, I was driving to a dental appointment in Cerritos. As I exited the 605 freeway at South Street there was a homeless man standing by the off ramp.   I was paying little attention for I had passed him by many times before. But, this time as I passed I received a prompt in my thoughts "Go buy him lunch." Startled, I said "Lord, was that you" and then began an internal debate as to what I should do as I had no time before my dental appointment. Finally, I said "Lord, if that was You and he is still here when I come back I will buy him lunch." I then proceeded to go to the dentist's office.

On the way back, I decided to stop by Carl's Jr. and pickup a meal to go. I figured if the homeless man was not still there I could eat the burger myself. As I got out of my car I noticed a homeless about 75 feet away in the parking lot looking at me and it made me feel uncomfortable. I thought "these guys are everywhere" and didn't recognize if he was "my homeless guy" or another one. I went inside, bought the meal and when I came back out the man was gone.

I got in the car and as I was making a left turn onto South St. there was the homeless man across the street. I couldn't stop as there was traffic and I was turning into the inside lane. Besides, at this point I wasn't sure this guy was the one I had seen at the exit. I continued to drive past the off ramp and saw that the homeless man was no longer there. I could and should have turned around, but I did not. After all how could I know that this was God and not my imagination? Besides traffic was heavy so I drove home and ate his lunch.

The very next day I received an email from someone I didn't know which contained the story I referenced above.

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study.   The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice. The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?" After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home.   Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God...If you still speak to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."

As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.

He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down that street." This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street.

At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will.” He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.

Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid."   Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.

He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt.  He looked like he just got out of bed.   He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you."

The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby.  I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.

His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I asked him to send an Angel with some.  Are you an Angel?”

The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers.

As I read it I noted how similar the young man in the story's reactions were to mine and I began to weep tears of joy and sorrow at the same time. Joy because I now was certain I had heard the Lord.   Sorrow because I had not believed sufficiently to obey. I asked for forgiveness and as I did it seemed my Father was gently saying "It's OK, I know you weren't sure it was Me." Joy returned and I resolved that if I ever thought I heard the Lord again, even if in doubt, I would try to obey.

A few months later I got another chance. I suddenly woke up at 2:30 in the morning KNOWING that I was to get out of bed immediately and go up to the hilltop in the middle of Turtle Rock. There was no voice or urging, I just intuitively knew I was supposed to go there even though I had never been there before nor had a desire to go. Immediately, I began to question as I did not want to get out of bed at 2:30 AM. Then, I caught myself as I remembered that if I got another chance and thought that God MIGHT be speaking I would try to obey so I got up, dressed and went up to the hilltop to see what might happen.

I climbed up and looked at the lights of Orange County spread out before me and sat down on a rock. Nothing. I was still sleepy so I got up and began walking like a sentry back and forth a hundred yards or so across the hilltop.   As soon as I did thoughts began to flow that "sounded" like my thought speech, but was far more articulate. It was like I was listening to myself give a teaching sermon on a variety of scriptures only with the subject matter far beyond my level of knowledge. This continued uninterrupted for about two hours, then it suddenly stopped. I asked "Lord, are we finished? Can I go home now?" Just as I said this I caught some motion out of the corner of my eye about 150 feet away on the other side of the hilltop. (Thinking back on this I am surprised that this caused me no concern even though it was 4:30 in the morning and the sign at the bottom of the hill warned of mountain lions in this area.) Nevertheless, I walked over to where I had last seen the motion and found a young man sitting on a rock with a Bible in his lap.   I sat down and told him I had been waiting there for him for 2 1/2 hours.

We began talking and he told me he lived in Orange, had been a Christian for 6 months, and had never come to this hilltop before. We talked about the Kingdom of God and the scriptures for a half hour or so. Then, as the sun came up, a dozen or so men suddenly appeared climbing up the rocks and gathered in circles behind us and began praying. I thought "this is quite a popular place" but the young man paid no attention to them so we continued our conversation until he had to leave for work. I never saw him again, but later found out that these men who had gathered behind us were members of a cult.


Later, in 2003, while I was in Florida caring for my parents, I used to take walks through the neighborhood in the cool of the morning and evening. One day I felt restless and decided to take a long walk leaving at 10:30 AM. I ended up taking a very long walk to the bay front, most of the time praying to the Lord. About 2:00 PM I was hot, tired and hungry and I was walking purposefully to get home and eat. As I passed a house about a mile east of my parent's house, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man in a wheelchair wheeling up his driveway, but I paid no attention. As I passed his driveway I heard a voice in my thoughts saying "Go talk to him." I stopped and looked back and said, "Lord, was that You? I don't see him."   Then I clearly heard "Go to the door." Now, I knew it was the Lord because the last thing I wanted to do was to go knock on a stranger's door.   What would I say to him? I was wrestling with these thoughts as I retraced my steps back to the driveway and looked at the house. I repeated "Lord, I don't see him." Once again I heard "The door" and as I looked again I saw the man sitting in his wheelchair in the back of his garage. I laughed and started walking up the driveway trying to figure what to say to open the conversation. Noticing that there was a neighborhood garage sale going on I said, "Looks like you are the only one in the neighborhood that is not having a garage sale." His reply was "Praise Jesus."

And that is how I met Roland Rhodes, a former Navy submariner, who had been paralyzed for over 20 years after suffering a massive stroke in his thirties. He had been living alone in that house for over 12 years. The first two he spent drinking, but then encountered the Lord as he was channel surfing and heard the Gospel. The last 10 he had spent virtually all day praying and reading the Bible. He rarely ever had a visitor. We spent that first meeting talking non-stop about the Lord in his driveway for 1 1/2 hours that passed like 10 minutes. Over the next year I visited him every week.

Now let me tell why I think the story in the link above is based on fact even if the story itself is not factual. What I mean by that is by now, 10 years later, I have heard the first person testimony of several follower's of Christ and found that their experiences were very similar to mine and the story of young man. And, these are very similar to examples in scripture. So I think the story's details line up very well with the ways of the Lord and the story, even if fiction, is based on facts. I fully agree, however, that first hand experiences are far better, however, one reason one seldom hears such accounts is that those who have had them quickly learn they are not believed.

When I reread the story the first thing that strikes me is that the young man begins by questioning whether God STILL speaks to people today. Why does he question that? He didn't get it from reading the Bible for the bible is filled with examples of God speaking to His people from beginning to end. The sad answer is that his doubt is most likely due to other Christians who have taught him theology that teaches now that the Bible is given to us God no longer speaks. This theology itself requires a great leap of reasoning to find biblical support and if one case out of the thousands of testimonies over the last 2,000 years is true, then the theology is false. All it takes is one healing, one miracle, one instance of God speaking and the closed Canon theory is refuted.

Second, the young man is not sure it is God speaking. It is very difficult to explain what he heard. It is described as "strange thought", "urged", and "sensed." He is not sure he is hearing or imagining. This is very realistic, as is the story's citation of Samuel. This behavior is common throughout the accounts in scripture. Gideon is another one. The common question of the man in question is "how shall I know this is true or real."

Third, there is the matter of fear of looking foolish. If God indeed is speaking to someone that speaking is not going to come without spiritual opposition like "Who are you that God should speak to you" or "People will think you are crazy." Think of the absurdity of caring what someone you have never met nor will ever see again thinks of you versus hearing and obeying the voice of the Creator. Yet this is a very natural response. I did the same.

I find that my encounter on the hilltop and with Roland both fit the following pattern:

Act 8:26-31
(26) But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.)
(27) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,
(28) and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
(29) Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot."
(30) Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
(31) And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

In the above passage we see that first Philip is commanded by "an angel of the Lord" to go out on a road in the desert. He is not told where he is to go on the road or why. Then, after he obeys and encounters the Ethiopian in the chariot, it is the Holy Spirit that tells him to go up and join the chariot. When Philip obeys and runs along side he then hears the eunuch is reading Isaiah. In both cases, the confirmation of God speaking comes after obedience. If II had not gotten out of bed or retraced my steps, I would have never known if God had spoken.

The same pattern is true in perhaps the most famous one:

Exo 3:2-4
(2) The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
(3) So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up."
(4) When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

Moses' attention is captured by a burning bush. That should be nothing unusual, except Moses looked at this burning bush long enough to notice that it was not being consumed by the fire. Note that "when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him."

The three personal examples I described above were noteworthy to me for their clarity, but there have been many others, some more subtle but all requiring a step of faith and obedience. But I can testify unequivocally that God does still speak to His people. He speaks in many ways yet frequently He does so as He has given us examples in scripture. Unfortunately, many times have we been too preoccupied to notice our burning bush or failed to obey due to unbelief. And worst of all, we may have heard but dismissed it because we have been taught by other Christians that God no longer speaks. That is a tragedy indeed.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Yeast of the Pharisees

Our human nature prepares us to be deceived even when we read scripture, for we look at it with natural eyes. The Bible has much to say about sight and blindness. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear.

1 Corinthians 2 deals extensively with this and sums up the problem in verse 2:14 "The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. He cannot understand them, for they are spiritually discerned." This means that unless one is born again, one cannot understand. But there is a far greater truth in here than just that the unregenerate cannot accept the things of the Spirit of God. The verse says the natural man, not the unregenerate man. The unregenerate man is 100% natural, but the man who is born again still has a natural man. Even though the scriptures tell us that the natural man is the enemy of God, it is that same natural man toward whom almost all Christian teaching and teaching methods is directed.

Gal 5:17
17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
NASU

2 Peter 1:20-21
20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,

21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
NASU

In case we still don't get the message, look what Paul says about the wisdom of the wise, one of which he used to be as the Pharisee of Pharisees.

1 Corinthians 1:19
9 For it is written:

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
NIV

The bottom line is that if we learn and are taught scripture as an argument directed toward human reason, we will gain an understanding of scripture that can be greatly in error EVEN IF WE ACCEPT IT AS THE WORD OF GOD. This certainly was the case of the Pharisees.

John 5:39-40
39 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;

40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
NASU

The Pharisees believed the scriptures were the word of God and they believed that they possessed the knowledge of them, yet it was their knowledge and pride that blinded them to Christ, despite the miracles that Jesus did. The Bible gives us hundreds of prophesies that Jesus fulfilled, yet no one person recognized Him because of the scriptures. If you think about it, that seems impossible, but true nevertheless and that should be a lesson to us.

Let me illustrate with the scripture that paints the picture that Jesus enacted to depict the blindness He then called the yeast of the Pharisees.

Mark 8:1-33
In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them,
2 "I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.
3 "If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance."
4 And His disciples answered Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?"
5 And He was asking them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."
6 And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people.
7 They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well.
8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.
9 About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.
10 And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.
11 The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him.
12 Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, "Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."

Why did Jesus sigh deeply? He had just performed one of the clearest signs of who He was and they failed to see.

2 Kings 4:42-44
42 Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat."
43 His attendant said, "What, will I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, "They shall eat and have some left over.'"
44 So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.
NASU

What are the works of Elisha? Opening the eyes of blind, blinding the eyes of those who see, raising the dead, filling water jars with oil, feeding people bread according the Word of the Lord with some left over. Who preceded Elisha? A prophet wearing a coarse robe of hair with a leather belt, who lived in a river canyon in the desert. Who preceded Christ as the first prophet to Israel in 400 years and what did he look like? What did the person he announced as the Lamb of God do?

Do you see the picture? I didn't, until I looked intently for several days. At first glance, there seemed to be no particular purpose for the works of Elisha, but in the aggregrate they were prophetic enactments of the works of Messiah.

But, the Pharisees weren't the only blind men. What about the disciples were with Him 24/7?

13 Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.
15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."
16 They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.
17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?
18 "HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR? And do you not remember,
19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?" They said to Him, "Twelve."
20 "When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they said to Him, "Seven."
21 And He was saying to them, "Do you not yet understand?"

No, they don't, so Jesus continues the lesson in the school of Christ, by giving them another picture of the picture they had seen but could not understand.

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him.
23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, (the first touch) He asked him, "Do you see anything?"
24 And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around."

He sees something, but not clearly. He only recognizes what he sees by the understanding that trees do not walk around, therefore, they must be men. Reason is being exercised, but reason does not produce a clear vision.

25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; (Then Jesus gives him a second touch and an important thing happens.) and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

It was only after he looked intently after the second touch that he saw clearly. The Pharisees did not look for a second touch, nor look intently. Neither did the disciples. They did not receive their second touch until the road to Emmaus and then in the upper room.

26 And He sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."

But the school of Christ continues.

27 Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, "Who do people say that I am?"
28 They told Him, saying, "John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets."
29 And He continued by questioning them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."
30 And He warned them to tell no one about Him.
NASU

If we are just reading this in Mark, we have received a first touch, but we would have to say "Lord, I don't get it. Why does Peter say you are the Christ and then you tell them not to tell anyone." If we look intently, we might turn to another gospel for a clue.

Matt 16:16-17
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

17 And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
NASU

The disciples' natural man believed Jesus was the Christ. That is why John and Andrew left John the Baptist to follow Jesus. That was the first touch. But, look what Peter has just said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." They had thought Jesus was the Messiah who would restore the kingdom to Israel. That is why they were always asking about their positions in the kingdom. But Peter has just said something new. Something Jesus had not told him. Jesus was the Son of the Living God. Jesus confirms that the natural man (Peter's flesh and blood) could not see this, but it was revealed to Peter by the Father in heaven. Now the school begins in earnest as Jesus begins to tell the disciples His whole mission. Note he states the matter plainly. No dramas, no parables; just plain talk. What is the result?

31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
NASU

They don't get it, especially Peter, who is now super spiritual. He takes the Lord aside and rebukes Him. What a lesson! The instant God begins to give revelation Satan is right there to deceive and confuse. Peter didn't know that it was the Father who had revealed to him that Jesus was the Son of God, nor did he understand that Satan had deceived him into trying to tempt Jesus. Revelation is received by the spirit and usually does not come at once with understanding as it must be received by faith. We find ourselves enabled to believe without, or even despite, rational evidence. We just know because we know and this belief which is sufficient for us to act is, in itself, evidence that that which is unseen, yet believed, is real.

Heb 11:1
11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
NASU

This faith is not something we can produce in ourselves it is a supernatural gift of God. Note that faith is the means through which we are saved

Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
NASU

If we receive the word of God by faith then in time the Lord will usually provide testimony of two or three witnesses to firm up our faith and ground our understanding. But in this transition period we are very vulnerable to Satan's deception and our natural reasoning. We see an example of Satan's attack at Jesus' baptism. As soon as His Father speaks to Him from heaven confirming that Jesus is His Son in whom He is well pleased, Jesus is taken into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. So are we.

As one reviews the gospels, if we have eyes to see, a collage emerges which in its entirety reinforces this lesson: it does not matter what we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, or reason with our mind, we cannot apprehend the truth of scripture apart from revelation by the Spirit. The nation of Israel proved it. The disciples' experience affirms it and scripture states it plainly.

Luke 9:43-45
While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men." 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
NIV

Matt 11:25
25 At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
NASU

Luke 18:34
34 But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
NASU

Mark 4:11-12
11 And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,

12 so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."
NASU

1 Corinthians 2:9-10
9 However, as it is written:

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"-

10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
NIV

As I was writing this I became aware of the fact that of how difficult it is to teach the principle of the yeast of the Pharisees without violating the principle in the process. The Lord is, and must be, our Teacher. No human can open our minds to the scriptures as the Holy Spirit does.

Matthew 22:8-12
8 "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
9 "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
10 "Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.
11 "But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
NASU

This is Jesus speaking to His disciples. If He commanded such as this to His disciples how much more should it apply to us. I am still not certain of the proper way to teach, but I am sure of what its result should be -- to point the one being to taught to the One who is his Teacher. Any teaching that results in dependency on the human teacher rather than pointing them to Christ via the teaching of the Holy Spirit is likely to do far more harm than good.

The picture that I described came to me through the process that this pictures. Some became clear in minutes. Others days, months and even years, but the pattern and method of the Lord in doing so is unmistakable. Jesus gives us a first touch. He draws our attention to something, but often does not give us the understanding at that time. If we are paying attention, we do like His mother, Mary, we "hide these things in our heart" for in His perfect timing He will reveal the meaning in such a rich full way, that we will know with certainty that He is the One who has revealed it to us. This message is reinforced throughout scripture. Those who wait on the Lord are blessed, but those who are impatient and seek out their own understanding miss the blessing; the greater revelation.

The Holy Spirit gives life to the scriptures in many ways. Sometimes He quickens a particular verse or passage and gives us the meaning as we read it. However, it appears that He often uses the second touch method to give us revelation of deeper and more complex teachings. Something that is so contrary to our understanding that we could not accept it if it became clear to us immediately. Often this understanding will require growth on our part, just as we might say to an inquisitive child, "Wait until you are older. You will then be better able to understand." Therefore, we should pay close attention when He draws us to scripture but does not give the understanding right away. As Mary and Martha learned when Jesus tarried so as to raise Lazarus, the waiting often prepares us to receive a new and greater revelation.

The scripture is primarily a picture book. One of examples. The OT testament is full of pictures of spiritual truths. The NT gives us the captions, but the pictures of the truths are often in the OT. But Jesus taught in similitudes, his miracles are similitudes, the explanation of His parables are similitudes. These are all pictures that to see we must ask for a second touch and then look intently (and patiently) until we see clearly. If we become impatient and grab a commentary and choose which of the scholars answers seems right to us, we partake of the yeast of the Pharisees. We may acquire knowledge through the flesh, but because we do not ruminate on the unleavened manna there is no life in it. It is not acquired through the spirit and thus has no food value. The spirit is not fed.

2 Cor 3:5b-6
our adequacy is from God,
6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
NASU

Paul had great learning, unlike the eleven, and began his ministry arguing from the scriptures in the synagogues, an argument that he, Paul, a Pharisee, was unable to accept himself. Yet, now having his eyes opened Paul thinks he can persuade those like him on the strength of his testimony. Paul tries this many times with little or no success. The result was that he caused many great arguments, sufficient to cause rioting which brought in the Romans who beat, imprisoned and subsequently had to protect Paul from the Jews. Paul preached a brilliant intellectual message to the Athenians, however, many began to sneer as soon as Paul proclaimed Jesus as risen from the dead. They cut Paul off as soon as he proclaimed Jesus risen. Two thousand years later, many still do the same.

By the time Paul went to Corinth, he had learned a hard lesson in the school of Christ. We cannot apprehend the truth of the gospel of Christ through persuasive words of human wisdom, so (with much fear and trembling) Paul decided to preach nothing but Christ and Him crucified. It says in Acts that Paul literally (in the Greek) became "afflicted" with the word of God. We immediately see a change. He proclaims the gospel. He does not offer apologetics, he no longer argues, he does not give 5 point sermons, and when the Jews reject him, Paul says that their "blood be on their own heads," he is clean. He is going to bring his message to the Gentiles. Immediately, see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Corinth. These things were written as examples for us. Many times our focus on what is being said blinds us as to what is being portrayed. Many become deceived in this way.

1 Tim 1:5-7
5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,
7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
NASU

The letter to the Ephesians may be the deepest spiritual lesson in the Epistles and is impossible to understand at even a shallow level in the flesh, and who knows the height, depth, width and breadth in the spirit? It shows a clear pattern:

Proclaim, Pray, Testify as to what you have seen and heard, Exhort and encourage

Paul proclaims the gospel, the mystery of Christ. Paul prays that they will receive knowledge of the fullness of Christ and that the eyes of their heart will be enlightened. (they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him.) Paul implores the Lord to touch these blind men. He gives testimony, often to the indescribable, and exhorts the believers to seek truth and apply it to their lives.

We rarely see that today. We seek a mental assent to our persuasive words, we do not implore Jesus to touch the blind men, we do not testify as to what we have seen and heard for our Pharisees teach us that God no longer speaks and cannot be seen, and finally we are afraid to exhort lest we offend. Worst of all, not only are we "not entering the Kingdom of God, we are preventing others from entering."

We cannot argue a person into the Kingdom of God. We can only point to the One who is the narrow Gate, who is the Way, the narrow path, the true Shepherd whose sheep must know His voice as He goes before them. Only then will we get the true vision of the scriptures.

Food Preservation

"...I believe that much of our religious unbelief is due to a wrong conception of and a wrong feeling for the Scriptures. A silent God suddently began to speak in a book and when the book was finished lapsed back into silence again forever." [A. W. Tozer-The Pursuit of God.].

I was down the street visiting with a brother in the Lord who is confined to a wheelchair. We were discussing the role of the Holy Spirit and the scriptures and were given a great similitude. I started talking about freeze dried food and using it as an example. As I noticed that he was fully tracking with me on this, he told me that he eats freeze dried food all the time because he orders his food over the internet and the shipping is cheaper for freeze dried. Interestingly, I have never tasted it, but was the one speaking on it, so I began to listen to what I was saying and then looked the subject up.

Here is a brief description of how freeze drying works:

Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, is like "suspended animation" for food. You can store a freeze-dried meal for years and years, and then, when you're finally ready to eat it, you can completely revitalize it with a little hot water. Even after all those years, the taste and texture will be pretty much the same.

The basic idea of freeze-drying is to completely remove water from some material, such as food, while leaving the basic structure and composition of the material intact. There are two reasons someone might want to do this with food:

Removing water keeps food from spoiling for a long period of time. Food spoils when microorganisms, such as bacteria, feed on the matter and decompose it. Bacteria may release chemicals that cause disease, or they may just release chemicals that make food taste bad. Additionally, naturally occurring enzymes in food can react with oxygen to cause spoiling and ripening.

Like people, microorganisms need water to survive, so if you remove water from food, it won't spoil. Enzymes also need water to react with food, so dehydrating food will also stop ripening.

Freeze-drying significantly reduces the total weight of the food. Most food is largely made up of water (many fruits are more than 80 to 90 percent water, in fact). Removing this water makes the food a lot lighter, which means it's easier to transport. The military and camping supply companies freeze-dry foods to make them easier for one person to carry. NASA has also freeze-dried foods for the cramped quarters onboard spacecraft.

Once the material is dried sufficiently, it's sealed in a moisture-free package, often with an oxygen-absorbing material. As long as the package is secure, the material can sit on a shelf for years and years without degrading, until it's restored to its original form with a bit of water (a very small amount of moisture remains, so the material will eventually spoil). If everything works correctly, the material will go through the entire process almost completely unscathed! "

The above is a picture of freeze-dried spaghetti. Note how unappetizing the picture on the left is. Yet, it is the same spaghetti as that on the right. The only difference is that the water has been removed.

So there you have it. If you were to make the spaghetti pictured above, you would make it just as you usually do. It is regular spaghetti. Then, you would freeze it and place in a freezer which has a vacuum pump that lowers the atmospheric pressure which allows the ice to evaporate directly from solid to gas without passing through the liquid state. You would be left with all of the solid material of the pasta and sauce but no water. The spaghetti could then be kept for years and by adding water, it could be restored to the same hot, tasty food it was originally.

This is a breathtaking similitude for what our Father has done with His word. A similitude is something that is like unto. (I.E. The Kingdom of God is like unto a mustard seed .....)

The logos, the constant Word of God, is the true bread, the solid, spiritual food. The rhema, the instant Word of God, is the water, symbolizing the Spirit. When God prepared the bread for us He gave it to the prophets and the apostles, and Jesus, by revelation by the Holy Spirit in the form of rhema, the utterance of God. Fresh-baked, nutrious manna.

To preserve it, it was written down and became the letter. The letter on the page is dry and one dimensional by itself. The essence of it is there, but the life, the spirit, has been removed from it. Not very appealing in the natural. Imagine eating the dry spaghetti pictured above. When an unbeliever or a Christian reads or hears the logos in the natural it is just like eating the dry spaghetti. Hard to read. Impossible to truly understand. It is easy to choke on it. Remember the law was not designed to save, but to be a tutor to make us aware of our sin, to bring us to total helplessness and dependence on the grace and mercy of God. "The letter kills, but the Spirit brings life."

However, when the Spirit (the water from the Rock) is poured back into the bread it is restored back to what was when it was first given to the author of the scripture. In doing so the logos can once again become rhema. This is the food that Jesus said that man must eat along with his natural bread. "Every word (rhema) that proceeds from the mouth of God." Not the written logos, but rhema.

This is why we cannot depend on any human to be our teacher. I am not saying we cannot be taught by God using a human. I am saying we must not look to the human to be our teacher in lieu of the Holy Spirit. I have received nutritious manna from the driest possible human teacher as the Holy Spirit quickened a stale morsel to life and I have received nothing from the most learned and eloquent human teacher. We must dine at the Lord's table. Otherwise, we are eating the dry freeze dried food that has not been restored to its original state to bring us life.

Once again, we have the Gospel pattern of death and resurrection, even of the logos. The rhema of God becomes the dead letter as it is written, then it is raised up in new life as the Spirit comes back into the dry bones and just as in Ezekiel's vision, the bones come back together, flesh is put on them and the Spirit quickens them back to life.

This is the similitude. I am going to buy some freeze dried food because I want to eat it dry and then hydrate it to burn this similitude into my heart. I have eaten the dry word, but I have also tasted the Living Word. There is no comparison.

I hope you will chew on this for a while and I will pray that the Lord makes this as tasty for you as He did my neighbor and me. First the natural, then the spiritual. "If you do not know of earthly things, how can I speak of heavenly things?"