1.20.10 "Know the Word"

"Know the Word"

Genesis 41:17-42:17
Matthew 13:24-46
Psalm 18:1-15
Proverbs 4:1-6

"Young men, listen to me as you would to your father. Listen, and grow wise, for I speak the truth - don't turn away... [My father] told me never to forget his words. 'If you follow them,' he said, 'you will have a long and happy life. Learn to be wise,' he said,' and develop good judgment and common sense! I cannot overemphasize this point.' Cling to wisdom - she will protect you. Love her - she will guard you." Prov. 4:1-6 (TLB)

Have you ever tried to convince someone the urgency of something and they just didn't get it? It can be as simple as, "if you don't put a coat on, you'll be sorry". Or, it can be more urgent. "I'd turn off the breaker before changing that light switch..."

Today's proverb uses the phrase, "I cannot overemphasize this point". We desperately need Godly wisdom. Godly wisdom comes from the Word. We must be Empowered Through Biblical Training. How are you doing with your bible reading? Most make some kind of commitment at the beginning of the year. Sometimes a day is missed, discouragement sets in, and the goal is given up.

To not be in the Word daily means that one doesn't understand the urgency.

We need to be sure of what the Word says because of the "thorns" around us. In Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of a farmer who has sown seed. His enemy came and planted thistles. "The farmer's men came and told him, 'Sir, the field where you planted that choice seed is full of thistles!... Shall we pull out the thistles?' 'No,' he replied. 'You'll hurt the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest, and I will tell the reapers to sort out the thistles and burn them...'"

Worldliness is all around us. Sometimes it's tough to tell what's "wheat" and what's "thistle". Knowing the Word brings clarity. Knowing the Word helps us know God. Jesus says in verses 40-43 "Just as in this story the thistles are separated and burned, so shall it be at the end of the world: I will send my angels and they will separate out of the Kingdom every temptation and all who are evil, and throw them into the furnace and burn them. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the godly shall shine as the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Let those with ears, listen!"

Knowing the future as revealed in the word should place upon our hearts the urgency to be in the word. The enemy doesn't want us in the word.

"Death bound me with chains, and the floods of ungodliness mounted a massive attack against me." Ps. 18:4

The word is our defense. What foolishness to think we can stand against that in our own strength. We need to be fortified in the Word.

Being Empowered Through Biblical Training produces fruit in every area of life. Through time in the word the power of the Spirit grows in us. After all Joseph had been through, listen to Pharaoh's comments about him. "As they discussed who should be appointed for the job, Pharaoh said, 'Who could do it better than Joseph? For he is a man who is obviously filled with the Spirit of God.'" (Gen 41:38)

As we become who God has created us to be, the world will see that we are "obviously filled with the Spirit of God."

This is a game "for keeps". This is a big deal. There are so many excuses of why not to read the word. They all pale in comparison to the real urgency of the situation. We need to KNOW God! We need to KNOW his Word!!




Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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