How Little the Apostles Knew

How Little the Apostles Knew

To read the account of the life of Jesus is to see how often He was either frustrated or amazed at the apostles’ lack of understanding about what He was saying. He was with them almost daily for over three years, but their words even at the ascension show just how little they had comprehended.

Those apostles struggled to understand even the simple truths He taught. Think of how easily you grasp the parable of the sower. Yet after Jesus told the story of the man who sowed seeds on four kinds of soil, the disciples privately came to Him and asked for help in understanding it. Jesus’ response was, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” (Mark 4:13).

After Jesus had fed the 5,000 and the 4,000, the disciples had forgotten to take bread with them as they were crossing the sea of Galilee. When Jesus gave a stern warning to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, they misunderstood, thinking His words were about the fact they had brought only one loaf with them. Jesus said, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear” (Mark 8:14-18). Think of how readily we understand His words about the leaven of the Pharisees. Note amazement as He rebuked them. They did not understand the simple things He said.

They did not understand the most fundamental truths of why Jesus came. When He foretold His betrayal, death and resurrection on the third day, “They did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him” (Mark 9:31). On another occasion when He taught this simple truth, Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. Jesus turned and rebuked him saying, “Get behind Me Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Mark 8:32-33).  It is remarkable to think they did not comprehend the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

They did not understand the nature of the kingdom. He spoke of the bread and the fruit of the vine in the kingdom, but they failed to see its nature. Just minutes before He ascended into heaven they still thought the coming kingdom had to do with the reestablishment of the Jewish earthly kingdom (Acts 1:6-8).

Jesus selected the twelve, spent years with them and they still did not see why He came and the work He was doing. Now think about what you understand compared to them. They grasped so little of the heart of the gospel, but they were used by Him to change the world. They knew so little but took what they knew to the lost. We know so much more, what are we doing with what we know?

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David Teach Me How to Pray

David Teach Me How to Pray

As one reads the book of Psalms, he easily discovers that in this book are scores of prayers of David. There is so much to be learned about praying from this godly man. In reality we have far more of the prayers of David than we do of the prayers of Jesus. Jesus prayed. Jesus prayed all night. Jesus prayed so differently that when His disciples heard Him praying they said to Him, “Lord, teach us how to pray, as John also taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). His response was to give them the “Lord’s Prayer,” which begins, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” (Luke 11:2).

Because David was a man after God’s own heart, we can learn so much from looking at the prayers found in the psalms. If we can learn to use the words of this godly man in our prayers, we can rest assured that God will hear us when we pray.

Psalm 143 illustrates this concept so clearly. David opens his heart before us and we can immediately identify the situations in David’s life with those which happen in ours. It is at times like this, we can learn from David about how we should never waver in petitioning our Father.

The Setting for Psalm 143

The beginning of this psalm identifies this particular psalm as being one David wrote. Read the psalm to see that there was that enemy of David who had created grave problems. David said the enemy has persecuted his soul, crushed his life to the ground, created a world of darkness around him (v. 3). His soul was overwhelmed.  The man after God’s own heart was conscious of his sins, but prayed to God on the basis of “Your faithfulness…and Your righteousness.”

Keep On Asking

Jesus taught us to keep asking, seeking and knocking on the doors of heaven, and in the last half of this psalm that is what David did. “I spread out my hand to you…answer me speedily, O Lord…cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning for in You I do trust…I lift up my soul to You…Deliver me, O Lord from my enemies; in You I take shelter. Teach me to do Your will for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake. For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.”

God never tires of us asking Him and acknowledging our dependency on Him. Jesus prayed the exact same prayer three times in one hour when in Gethsemane. When trials overwhelm you and it appears the enemy is winning, remember this psalm. This not a prayer indicating David’s doubt of God’s nature. It is his soul repeatedly crying out to God again and again. As trials come, read this psalm and keep on praying!

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Zechariah: Fountain of Sin Opened

Zechariah: Fountain of Sin Opened

After being in Babylon for seventy years, the Jews had returned to rebuild Jerusalem and restore the worship of God in the new temple they had built. Jehovah sent His final three Old Testament prophets to finish delivering that covenant, and then for the next 400+ years He was silent. The last three books of the Old Testament are filled with great truths.zechariah prophet

Zechariah, the longest of these books, ends with many references to the coming of Jesus. He speaks of Gethsemane and that night when evil men would strike the Shepherd and the sheep, the apostles, would be scattered. “Awake, O sword against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My companion, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Zech. 13:7; Mark 14:27).

He speaks of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Spirit. “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced” (Zech. 12:10). They pierced our Savior’s hands, feet and side, but the coming of the Spirit caused their cries of “Crucify Him, crucify Him” to be turned to tears of mourning on Pentecost. Their cries became petitions reflecting their grief at what they had done. They cried out, “Men and brethren what shall we do” (Acts 2:37)?

Some remarkable truths are revealed in chapter thirteen. “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (v. 1). They killed His Son, and His response was to open a fountain of blood to wash their sins away! Our God is One who longs for all men to come to repentance.

Look at the next verse.  “It shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts…that I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.” In one brief sentence God shows that demon possession would come to an end when He opened the fountain for sin. There is no need for exorcists in our day because demon possession came to an end.

God was about to end the Old Testament prophets. When Malachi wrote his book, God would become silent and there would no longer be prophets. When the fountain opened for sin, New Testament prophets would come again, but there would be an end to these prophets. When they had finished their work, God would again become silent. “I will cause the prophets to depart from the land.”  The opening of the fountain brought new prophets, but the end of their work was foretold. The faith has now been revealed once and for all (Jude 3). When God had given all that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), He stopped sending prophets. We have all the truth in the book they left for us.

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Forsake Not Wisdom

Forsake Not Wisdom

“Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”(Proverbs 4:5-7 KJV)forsake not wisdom

Four things stand out to me in these verses. For one thing, we see the importance of gaining godly wisdom – it is the “principal” thing. Also, we see the ultimate goal of wisdom is to gain understanding – the ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and the godly from the ungodly. As well, we see the spiritual protection provided by wisdom – it will metaphorically guard or watch over us. The thing that perhaps stands out the most, though, to me is the warnings against forgetting or forsaking wisdom. Solomon wrote those words by inspiration and at one point in his life he embodied wisdom – he was world-famous for his godly wisdom – but something happened, and his heart was turned away from God and folly was the result! He turned his back on wisdom and paid a heavy price for it!

Let us learn positively from the inspired writings of Solomon, but also let us learn the lessons regarding the decline of wisdom, from the life of Solomon.

Read Matthew 6:33; Hebrews 5:14; 1 Kings 3:1-15; 12:1-8

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3 Prophets No More

3 Prophets No More

Those seventy years in Babylonian captivity had ended, and the Jews were returning to the land God promised to give to them in the days of Abraham. There were only three final books of the Old Testament to be revealed. What had God not told them which He needed to tell them? What truth had He not yet revealed? After these three prophets—Haggai, Zephaniah and Malachi—penned their messages, God quit sending anymore messengers. For the next 400+ years, the Jews would be without prophets living among them. God had finished that part of His work among them and had given them all they needed in the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament.prophet message

There is so much to be learned by studying these final three books. He had only these three men to give them all that was missing from His message to His chosen people. What did He have to say?

Look at the book of Malachi. This short book of four chapters concludes His message to His chosen people until He sent New Testament prophets to them. The first half of the book begins by reminding them that He had loved them more than any people on the earth, but they had failed to respond to that love. They were worshiping God but bringing sacrifices to Him that were far from those which He demanded. They were bringing sick animals, crippled animals, which were unfit for human consumption to offer to Him. Their priests had failed to lead them in the ways of God, and He told them that He would rub the animal dung from those animals in their faces. They were literally robbing God of what was His by such sacrifices and their refusal to tithe.

In the last half of the book, God delivers His final message showing that, after the close of the Old Testament, “Someone Will Come.” Before that Someone came, He would send His messenger to prepare the way for Him when He came. “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant” (Mal. 3:1).

That messenger was John the Baptist. Malachi described the work of John. He would “…turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers…” (Mal. 4:6). These exact words were quoted by the angel, Gabriel, when he told John’s father that his son was to be the messenger, the forerunner of Jesus.

We will look more at these final books next week, but let me urge you to pay special attention to God’s final command to Israel. It was the last command He would give before the four hundred years of silence. “Remember the law of Moses, My servant.” It is vital that we know and do His will!

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