RE Verse reading–Hosea 4:1-13b (day six) “My people are destroyed from LACK of knowledge( yada). Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests” (vs 6) “One thing you still LACK. Sell everything. . .and come follow me.” (Luke 18:22) The rich young ruler only lacked one thing. The problem? It was the most important thing of all. The eighth century Israelites only lacked one thing. The same thing. Intimacy with God. The Hebrew word yada did not mean “information about”. It mean’t “intimacy with”. In Genesis 4 when Adam “knew” Eve and she conceived, the word is yada. Stange isn’t it? We can have so much (and do so much) and still lack the one thing that God desires from us–open-hearted, genuine intimacy. Leave off everything else and gain this and you will be fine. Skip this and you will have missed the very purpose of life. It is so good to be home! I will see you Sunday–Don
I did not know that the word used for knowledge this passage was yada….makes sense, though.
I have been thinking all week about Pastor Richardson’s sermon encouraging us to see people who are lost as if they were in the Kingdom and then help them get there (my take anyway on what he said). My question is how do we do this…. how do I do this?
The way of God with us is very much like the way of a man with a woman. As he comes inside us and we become one with Him in that process, He will plant seeds that will bring forth Life. Just like most men would not be satisfied with a one and done scenario with their wife, we are also to be regularly intimate with Him. It is this process which brings forth Life in us.
The rich young ruler lacked only one thing….his new nature…he was not born again. Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the lamp (candle) of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.” Rather than say, you have not loved your neighbor as yourself…it was pointed out to him what that would look/feel like were it true. However, he could not possibly do this….yet….because the love of God had not yet been shed abroad in his heart through the Holy Spirit. That is why it goes on to say, “the things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” Praise be to God that we are no longer under the Law because He has written it into our new nature… yes we will still do it (the Law) by our new nature…. but now it is possible that we may do so!
I am so glad that He is bringing this all together for me, because it changes the way I will look at anyone who is stuck in darkness/sin/dead relgion. Often the lost are criticized for being what they are…. lost…but because they do not have this new nature, they have no choice. My prayer today is that the church would understand this and that it will illuminate how I am to seek Wisdom from the Lord in praying for them. I read the books of Ephesians and James last night before bed. Interesting that James talks about Abraham and states that his obedience to God’s voice was “works” and then goes on to the famous faith without works is dead. What he considered “works” was Abraham listening to the Lord and doing what He told him to do….not just doing whatever he wanted to do “in His name.” What an encouragement.
Ephesians 5 says, “Awake sleeper, And Arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you”…we are back to the lamp/candle analogy again of the new birth/new nature. It is by the Spirit that we put to death the deeds of the body…..”but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom 8)
It is impossible unless someone is born again and thus extremely futile to expect someone who is lost to do so. Rather than criticize or judge them we should see it as an opportunity to seek the Father’s will on their behalf. Christians have the ability to do so, but may still block this process and not allow the Spirit to do this work of putting to death the deeds of the body… thus they will not be much different from the lost person on the outside, but the same applies….even more so…. they should be taken before the Father and His will sought as to how we can agree with Him in what He wants to do in their life.
I, for one, want to do everything possible to allow this process to happen to the fullest, but now I can understand/love/be sympathetic to those who do not understand this process and are trapped by their lack of knowledge. Glory to God! Huge answer to prayer for me. Thank you Father.