“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “WHO TAKE COUNSEL, BUT NOT OF Me, And who DEVISE PLANS, BUT NOT OF My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; Who WALK TO GO DOWN TO EGYPT, And HAVE NOT ASKED My ADVICE, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation.” (Isaiah 30:1-3 NKJV).
Beloved, have you ever wondered what God really wants from His children? Well, He wants our trust and fellowship; He wants our wholehearted devotion. God wants us to fellowship with Him wholeheartedly -- listen to Him and follow His ways, and talk to Him always regarding all things; He wants us to communicate with Him always, to take counsel of Him and devise our plans of His Spirit; He wants us to take advice from Him regarding every plan we make. God desires us to study His Word to know His perfect will and to stand perfect and complete in all His will. Indeed, God desires our fellowship. This is why the apostle John, in inviting others to fellowship with us, says that, “truly our fellowship is WITH THE FATHER, and WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.” (1 John 1:3 KJV). The apostle Paul also says that, “God is faithful, by whom ye were CALLED UNTO THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9 KJV). We have been called to fellowship with God, with His Son Jesus Christ, and also with the Holy Spirit (see 2 Corinthians 13:14). But there cannot be true fellowship where there is no trust or mutual agreement. The Bible says that two cannot walk together except they are agreed (see Amos 3:3). Therefore, to walk together with God or have true fellowship with God, you have to agree with Him wholeheartedly, you have to agree with His Word (the Holy Scriptures) and be devoted to His Word; give yourself entirely to the Word of God, trust Him and cooperate with Him. God says, “My son, GIVE ME YOUR HEART, And LET YOUR EYES OBSERVE MY WAYS.” (Proverbs 23:26 NKJV). God’s ways are revealed in His Word, and so He also says, “My son, GIVE ATTENTION TO MY WORDS; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; KEEP THEM IN THE MIDST OF YOUR HEART; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.” (Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJV).
To those Jews which believed on Him, Jesus said, “IF YE CONTINUE IN MY WORD, then are ye My disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32 KJV). Again, He said, “IF YE ABIDE IN ME, and MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, ye shall ASK what ye will, and IT SHALL BE DONE unto you.” (John 15:7 KJV). Here, Jesus makes abiding in Him and continuing in His Word or allowing His Word to abide in you the only mark of true discipleship, and the only condition for answered prayers. This is right in line with the Psalmist’s exhortation that you “DELIGHT YOURSELF ALSO IN THE LORD, And He SHALL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART. Commit YOUR WAY to the Lord, TRUST ALSO IN HIM, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.” (Psalms 37:4-6 NKJV). To delight yourself in the Lord is to delight yourself also in His Word, because God and His Word are one (see John 1:1). Similarly, to trust in the Lord is to trust also in His Word. The apostle Paul says, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and TO THE WORD OF His GRACE, which is ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP and GIVE YOU AN INHERITANCE among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32 NKJV). Then He adds, “Let THE WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly in all wisdom…” (Colossians 3:16 NKJV). God's will for us is that we walk in the light (or understanding of, belief in, and compliance with the truth) of His Word. Thus the apostle John, speaking by the Spirit, says, “It has given me great joy to find some of your children WALKING IN THE TRUTH, JUST AS THE FATHER COMMANDED US.” (2 John 1:4 NIV). You ought to always walk in the truth of God’s Word, even if you have to walk alone; and God will definitely be with you as you do so. Let your heart be loyal to the Word of God, and not to the wisdom, tradition, and opinions of men. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHOSE HEART IS LOYAL TO HIM...” (II Chronicles 16:9 NKJV). Indeed, God delights in those whose heart is loyal to Him, who love Him and trust in His Word.
Beloved, only the Word of God has the power to build you up (into an unshakable spiritual edifice) and to deliver into your hands the inheritance that is already yours in Christ Jesus. You will make your way prosperous, and you will have good success as you study the Word of God diligently, and continually meditate on it, confess it and observe to do according to all that it says. (see Joshua 1:8). Therefore, give yourself entirely to the Word of God.
Now, it is equally important to understand that there can be no true fellowship with God without a two-way communication. God desires to communicate with His children always, and He desires a two-way communication. He says, “CALL TO Me, and I WILL ANSWER YOU, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV). Truly, God desires to HEAR and to ANSWER our prayers. He wants us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (see Hebrews 4:16 NKJV). Peter writes, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (I Peter 3:12 NKJV). And Paul adds that God's will in Christ Jesus for us is that we rejoice always, PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, and in everything give thanks. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). Therefore, dearly beloved, let us not be like the rebellious children of Israel; let us always seek counsel of God through prayer, and meditation on God's Word. David said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” (Psalms 119:105 NKJV). Then He added, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” (Psalms 119:11 NKJV). Each of us also ought to hide God's Word in our heart, that we might not sin against Him; we ought to seek God’s advice in all we do, and devise all our plans of the Spirit of God. The Bible says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14 NKJV). The prophet Isaiah, speaking of the leading of the Holy Spirit in our day, said, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21 NKJV). The Lord Jesus also promised that the Holy Spirit will, among other things, guide us into all truth, and tell us things to come. (see John 16:13). May you always seek and heed the voice of the Holy Spirit. Remain blessed.
I share this message, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 KJV).
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