The “Thin Silence” of a Whisper

You’re probably aware of this important command from our God in Psalm 46:10a which tells us to do something we could ALL use a lot of grace and practice to put into effect. He tells us to “Be STILL and know that I am God.” And I’m pretty sure you’ve heard this comforting truth before. Psalm 23:2 promises those whom He calls and has made His true sons and daughters, “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside STILL waters.” We see that word, “still,” twice. And Exodus 14:14 says it a third time, “The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be STILL.” There are actually two Hebrew words, but there is not a distinguishable difference that anyone in my research has been able to articulate to me. The first is HARPU and this, to me, must have significance because it is only used once in the entire Bible. The other is RAPHAH. Altogether, they mean “to become helpless, to drop, to fall limp, to be feeble, to let go, to depend on God, to cease, to be still, to cease striving, a resting place, comforting, place of rest, quiet, permanent, to be silent, to be dumb, speechless or deaf, to cease, to cease speaking, to pay nothing, to keep or to remain silent.” I tell you this so that you can have a thorough understanding as we go into today’s words from our amazing Lord and Savior!

A passage many of us will not be aware of is found in a book written by King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived and ever will live, according to God’s very own words. Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 and 7 reads this way. Pay attention, please. “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To DRAW NEAR TO LISTEN is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. BE NOT RASH WITH YOUR MOUTH, NOR LET YOUR HEART BE HASTY TO UTTER A WORD BEFORE GOD, for God is in Heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, LET YOUR WORDS BE FEW. For a dream comes with much busyness, and a fool’s voice with many words…for when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity.”

To get even more inside the nitty-gritty of what The Lord of Hosts is telling us, we need to delve into 1 Kings 19:11-13. It draws us in with these words, “And He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.” And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper’ (a thin silence). And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, ‘What are you doing here Elijah?’”

And to show everyone that the Word of God is true, consistent and its principles, statutes and decrees are threaded throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testaments as a testimony to His unchanging nature, let’s take a look at the words of Jesus Christ Himself from Luke 10:38-42, “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who SAT AT THE LORD’S FEET AND LISTENED to His teaching, but Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but (only) one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Question:  Have you ever noticed when there are noises and voices all around you, that you don’t pay much attention and you just kind of disregard it all—but when someone whispers (when you HEAR A WHISPER), you immediately take notice and want to hear what is being said?

Our Savior Jesus told Martha not to get distracted by the busyness (the many sounds and voices) all around us. He praised Mary for listening. Similarly, Elijah found when the Lord passed by the mouth of the cave, Almighty God’s voice was not in the strong wind, the earthquake or the fire. But the prophet was able to hear Him in the whisper; in the thin silence. The Word implies Martha was restless and worried by the distractions, but the Psalms tell us to BE STILL and to be led by the Spirit to STILL waters. When I am at work and am doing a task that is repetitive and doesn’t require much effort or thinking (no distractions, I am still) many, many, many in these times is when Holy Spirit speaks to me, gives me a word of knowledge and gives me wisdom or revelation! Many times! My phone notes are full of them!

Question:  Since the Lord of Hosts speaks to us in the thin silence of a whisper, why do we fill our times of quietness with the noise of wind, earthquake and fire where we can’t hear His voice? We should be drawn to and seek out and welcome the “entrances to the caves” in our lives in order to hear His voice. We should embrace and cherish the quiet spaces and places in our lives, even create some caves for ourselves intentionally. Remember, John 10:3-4 says, “…the sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name (like Elijah) and leads them out (like to the mouth of the cave). When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them (like when He said to go out and stand on the mount before the Lord, and there the Lord passed by), AND THE SHEEP FOLLOW HIM, FOR THEY KNOW HIS VOICE.”

Question:  Are there any times and places in our lives which are perfect, quiet and still opportunities for us to spend time LISTENING (or more time listening than we currently do) to the Lord that are filling (or that we fill) with noises like the wind, an earthquake or a fire when we now know that “the Lord is not in the wind,” that “the Lord is not in the earthquake,” and “the Lord is not in the fire.”? Let’s seek out the mouths of the caves and listen to God’s voice in the whispers and moments of thin silence. Only then will we truly hear from Him and be able to follow Him.

If we back up just a little and read the account of Elijah and the 450 prophets of the false god in 1 Kings chapter 18, look at what is written for us to implant on our hearts.

18:11 points out concerning Baal, “…but there was NO VOICE.”

18:29 purposefully reiterates, “…but there was NO VOICE; NO ONE ANSWERED; NO ONE PAID ATTENTION.”

And it should be observed and highlighted in our hearts and minds how the opposite is true of our God, the One True God, and how it has been juxtaposed in the very next chapter for emphasis.

19:5 writes, “…an angel (messenger of God) touched him and SAID to him…”

19:7 also says, “…and the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and SAID…”

19:9, “…the word of the Lord came to him, and he SAID to him…”

19:11, “…and he SAID…”

19:12, “…the SOUND of a low whisper…”

19:13, “…And behold, there came a VOICE to him and SAID…”

19:15, “…and the Lord SAID to him…”

 

The Lord of Hosts WILL and DOES speak to those who KNOW Him and SEEK Him and QUIET themselves before His majesty. But when we search for answers from false gods, idols, wind, an earthquake, a fire or anything that is not Him or is where He is not found, there will be NO VOICE, NO ANSWER. This next verse may or may not apply to you. If it does, it may very well explain a whole lot! John 9:31 tells us something we may not want to hear, but it is simply truth. Whether you are willing to receive it and act upon it can change everything. It says, “We know that God does not listen to sinners (the unsaved, unrepentant), but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, God listens to him.” 1 Kings 18:21 speaks directly and pointedly to many from the lips of Elijah, “How long will you go on limping between two different opinions (living for yourself in the world and living for Jesus in His kingdom)? If the Lord is God, follow Him: But if Baal, then follow him.” And again from the lips of Joshua, the one to whom Moses passed the baton. Joshua 24:14 proclaims, “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in SINCERITY and in FAITHFULNESS. Put away the gods that your fathers served…if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served (the Baals)…or the gods of the Amorites (the Baals) in whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Jesus Christ).”

Baal does not and cannot speak. Molech does not and cannot speak. Chemosh does not and cannot speak. Dagon does not and cannot speak… The LORD OF HOSTS CAN AND DOES SPEAK! Listen to Him! Follow Him! Obey Him! And YOU WILL LIVE! Listening for– and not hearing from– anything else, and YOU WILL DIE. Prioritize time with God. Seek His face. Be still before Him. Be quick to hear and slow to speak. Listen to Him. Hear from Him. Follow and obey Him. He is saying, “When you still yourself and come to Me, you will hear Me and I will lead you.”

 

Almighty God bless you and feed you and whisper to you.

“The Lord of Hosts” (a Lesson for Peter, Gehazi and Us)

When we feel overcome, outnumbered, defeated, alone or weak, we need to understand and take FULL comfort in what this phrase means! In order to do this, we need to do two things:  One, we need to know what is meant by the word “hosts.” We know what “the Lord” means, but what is this word that tells us what He is Lord of? Two, we need to look at it in the contexts it is used and found.

HOSTS is both a Hebraic term and a Greek term as well. This means we find it in both the Old Testament AND the New Testament. Their meanings are almost the same, but with a slight difference, and it’s necessary to know both in order to get a complete understanding and a proper, full definition of it. The Hebrew word tells us it is plural for “army.” And army in this sense means an army of angels—heavenly beings under Almighty God’s command, trained to do battle spiritually and physically. Further, according to the Greek usage it signifies a MULTITUDE, a THRONG, a LIMITLESS company, an UNCOUNTABLE number or amount.

Though the specific word is not used here, the concept is expressed very practically and emphatically. The Lord JESUS says in Matthew 26: 52-53, “Then Jesus said unto him (Peter), ‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father (the Commander of Hosts), and He will not at once send MORE THAN TWELVE LEGIONS OF ANGELS?’” Some very descriptive words to take notice of and what they convey are appeal (ask, reach out to), commander (Lord, supreme in rank, authority), more than (emphatic, beyond a specified amount) and 12 legions of angels (a legion was around 6,000 soldiers in the Roman army). So, Jesus was saying He could immediately summon at least 72,000 angels to aid Him if He needed them, in the literal sense. In a figurative sense, under Augustus, the army he had jurisdiction over was up to 168,000 and Jesus was indicating that He could gather more than half of the Roman army on a whim and in an instant. The people of His time knew full well how many that was and how significant that was. In reality and in power, the Savior was commander over ALL the angels, the myriad, the limitless, the uncountable army. So, we should take GREAT comfort and rejoice in the fact that this same supreme commander (Lord of Hosts) is “ON OUR SIDE!”

Perhaps a more revealing and more comforting and more personal account of this power, as it pertains to mere men (but God’s people) is found in 2 Kings 6: 8-17. The wonder of this account is concisely revealed in verses 16 and 17, but the context is paramount and helps us to see the glory of it all as well as several key points that need to be highlighted. The historical and biblical record says, “Once when the King of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, ‘At such and such a place will be my camp.’ But the man of God (the prophet Elisha) sent word to the King of Israel, ‘Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.’ And the King of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus, he used to warn him so that he saved himself more than once or twice (indicating God is on our side). And the mind of the King of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, ‘Will you not show me who of us is for the King of Israel?’ And one of his servants said, ‘None, my lord, O King; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the King of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom’ (indicating God is omniscient). And he said, ‘Go and see where he is, that I may seize him.’ It was told him, ‘Behold, he is in Dothan.’ So, he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. When the servant (Gehazi) of the man of God (Elisha) rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for THOSE WHO ARE WITH US (outnumber) ARE MORE THAN THOSE WHO ARE WITH THEM’ (again, God is on our side and He is Emmanuel, God With Us and He is THE LORD OF HOSTS). Then Elisha prayed and said (appealed to God Almighty, the Lord of Hosts; just like Jesus in Gethsemane), ‘O, Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So, the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, THE MOUNTAIN (around or behind the city and the army in the city sent by the King of Syria) WAS FULL OF HORSES AND CHARIOTS OF FIRE (indicating the Lord’s presence) ALL AROUND ELISHA (and Gehazi).”

Take notice that we said in the beginning, a word of focus was “hosts” in the phrase “Lord of Hosts” and that it means the plural. We learned “host” in the singular means army. Army means not just angels to be commanded by Jesus—the Captain of the army—but that it means a MULTITUDE, a MYRIAD, a THRONG, a LIMITLESS and UNCOUNTABLE number, but He is the Lord of Hosts/ Armies…plural! So as VAST as one army is, He is the Lord over several or many… much, much, more! That is one reason that Jesus, being ONE, was able to cast out ALL the DEMONS the man in the graveyard had; the speaking demon said his name was “Legion, for we are many.” And in Joshua 23:10 it says, “One man of you puts to flight a thousand, SINCE IT IS THE LORD YOUR GOD WHO FIGHTS FOR YOU, just as He promised you.”

The historical story of Hannah is the first time in the Bible that the phrase “Lord of Hosts” is written and recorded and used by God. So I asked myself, “Why would one woman, distressed, crying out because she wanted a son so badly, address her God as “the Lord of Hosts”? That seemed weird to me. Then the Father gave me three reasons disguised as questions in order to make me think:

• Is it because, though You are Lord of the uncountable, limitless and multitude, You care for the individual? (Your Word tells us You know the number of hairs on our head, that two sparrows are sold for only a penny and yet not one will fall to the ground without Your knowledge, that You leave the 99 sheep to go in search of the one that is lost)
• Is it because You want us to have the boldness to approach You on Your throne?
• Is it because we, Your saints, are PART OF YOUR ARMY?

 

Psalm 46:6-10 emphasizes Your sovereignty, power, trustworthiness and care over us, “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts. THE LORD OF HOSTS IS WITH US; THE GOD OF JACOB IS OUR FORTRESS. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how He has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. ‘Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ THE LORD OF HOSTS IS WITH US; THE GOD OF JACOB IS OUR FORTRESS.”

Romans 8:31 reaffirms His love for us and why we should trust Him, “IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?”

Since He is The Lord of Hosts, of angel armies, is Emmanuel (God with us), is the Lord of the multitudes, of the throngs, of the hordes, of the myriad, of the legions… then we should SEE AND KNOW like Gehazi, that “more are with us than those that are with them,” and we have victory, no loss, no fear, confidence, gratitude, safety, comfort, peace, joy and a SURE HOPE!

As I prayed fervently and sincerely for Him to speak His Truth clearly, the kind of Truth that cuts through all the water and sugar that muddles it so often through human attempts to speak it without unction or power, this admonition is what HE spoke to me and wants us to consider carefully along with the encouragement we have just received:  We all like the idea and the comfort of knowing “the God of angel armies is always by our side,” but are we committed to, devoted to, and attentive TO HIM, “The Lord—the Commander—of Hosts” in the same way? What if God were to change the words around like this: “The angel armies (hosts) of God are always BY HIS SIDE?” Do we take just as much pleasure, joy, confidence and comfort when it is turned around on us? Does the soldier obey and follow the commander as much as the commander leads, guides and protects those under His command?

 

The Lord of Hosts—of which you are one—bless and keep you. Amen.

 

HE Can BE Trusted… EXPLICITLY!

I am VERY excited to pass on to you what God has very freshly passed on to me! Please forgive me, as my understanding is fresh and my sharing of it may be raw, but I want to get it down on paper and out to you while it is still ripening—and isn’t faded by what I might not be able to rightly retain, apart from the Lord!

I rarely, rarely read anything other than Scripture anymore; I prefer the Source, the Bible itself. It’s just SO much better, purer, stronger and truer. But I have begun to read a book about the life of a saint (a man of God as the Bible puts it, not a venerated Catholic man or woman) named George Müller. And I want to be clear that I am not elevating the man. I elevate and exalt Jesus Christ, and Him alone! He alone is worthy! However, I am clear in my conscience and before Almighty God who knows my heart that my purpose in reading the book is to learn from God by becoming familiar with what He did in this man’s life, that He may hopefully do the same in me as well. That’s it. It’s because, over the course of my born-again life, I have heard of him a few times—enough to take notice of and remember that his name was always mentioned in association with a great life of prayer and faith that the LORD did in and through him.

I have a good, rich, and habitual prayer life in terms of personal communion with and devotion to my heavenly Father, Savior and Holy Spirit as well as occasional intercession for others, especially those whom He puts on my heart. However, in these times we find ourselves—the last and particularly wicked days—there have been many inward and outward calls for paramount, effective, intentional prayer! So, my finally ordering the book and having some time off to dive into it (though not nearly finishing it yet) is both the end of my procrastination and the right time and hour to fully embrace it, so that my heart and soul can live it out from this day forward, with the Lord’s grace and help.

This morning as I was reading the sixth chapter (it did not take preeminence to my anticipatory time with my Lord Jesus), the book was talking about God’s faithfulness. It mentioned, specifically, 2 Timothy 2:13 which says, “If we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL—for He cannot deny Himself.” This is from the Holy and Sacred Bible, God’s true Word to us. As a testimony to Brother Müller, it is attested to in the book as saying through the writer of this, sort-of, biography of faith and prayer that, (alluding to Hebrews 6:13) “GOD HAS NOT ONLY SPOKEN, BUT SWORN; HIS WORD IS CONFIRMED BY AN OATH:  because He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself. And all this that we might have a strong consolation; that we might have boldness in venturing upon Him, laying hold and holding fast His promise.” Here is the part that the Lord God used to arrest my attention. It says further, “UNBELIEF MAKES GOD A LIAR AND, WORSE STILL, A PERJURER FOR IT ACCOUNTS HIM AS NOT ONLY FALSE TO HIS WORD, BUT TO HIS OATH.” Whoa! (and Woe!) This is one of those onion-layer moments from the Word.

By this time, my wife was sitting on the couch (not far from me in my chair) diving into some intercessory prayer work that the Spirit of God has recently called her deeper into, although she was already quite good at it. I read it aloud to her and she asked me to repeat it. Immediately, the Lord explained to both of us simultaneously but through my mouth, what this truly meant and what great significance it has. Once again, while fresh and raw, let me try to explain it to you. Lord God, I give and surrender my mind, hand and tongue to You. I barely know it myself and even if I did fully comprehend it, it came from You!

Again, from Jehovah to Müller to the writer of the book to me and to you, it says, “Unbelief makes God a liar and, worse still, a perjurer, for it accounts Him as NOT ONLY FALSE TO HIS WORD, BUT TO HIS OATH.” What does this mean? I color-coded it in hopes it would solidify the pairing of the two sets of words in your mind. First of all, many people would equate lying with perjuring; in other words, that they mean exactly the same thing. That’s not quite true. They are very similar but there is an important nuance that sets them apart—and we need to understand it, as it relates perfectly to Almighty God’s nature, unblemished character and FAITHFULNESS. A lie is an untrue statement, simply stated. Anyone and everyone can and does lie, both intentionally and unintentionally. God can’t and doesn’t, ever. It is impossible for Him to do so (Hebrews 6:18, 1 John 1:5). It is a common occurrence for man and happens in the world every day. But in the COURTROOM where you must swear, vow, make a covenant and take an oath in front of a judge, jury, court officers, attorneys, AND while putting your hand on the Bible (no coincidence!) and raising your right hand in the air as a testimony to the validity and accuracy of your witness; in this setting a lie takes on a whole other meaning. The bar, in effect, has been raised. There are no longer any of what the world would like to consider as shades of gray. Everything is either black or white, true or false. And if your testimony is found to be false and unreliable, it is called “PERJURY”—lying under oath. According to the website www.criminaldefenselawyer.com, “a person convicted of perjury under federal law may face up to five years in prison and fines. The punishment for perjury under state law varies from state to state, but perjury is a felony” (a crime, more serious than a misdemeanor) “and carries a possible prison sentence of at least one year, plus fines and probation.” This takes the seriousness of lying to a whole other level as well—and it should; a court of law is the pinnacle of justice for mankind, in the natural sense.

With God, the stakes are even higher. Why? Because He Himself is Truth. As we stated earlier, it is impossible for Him to lie. HIS COURT has eternal outcomes, not temporary ones. And, most importantly, He is not simply a witness taking the stand and offering His testimony under a VOW of truthfulness and faithfulness. HE IS THE JUDGE! So, to make Him a liar and a perjurer by not taking Him at His word (suggesting He is unfaithful) represents a serious CRIME ON OUR PART. That crime is UNBELIEF. This is one reason the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him…” And from all of this we can better understand, and more fully appreciate, the truth and weight of what verse one of the same chapter conveys when it tells us, “faith is the EVIDENCE of things unseen…” Evidence is strong testimony. It is concrete, and carries more weight with a jury or judge than some witnesses do.

You may have often heard unbelievers—even vocal opponents of the Christian faith—refer to or insist that faith is intangible. They often say it is a “blind” faith. How untrue and very telling a statement of a complete lack of understanding (and oftentimes a willing ignorance) of what true faith is. To them faith is a hoping, a wishing, a crossing-of-the-fingers, a “belief” in the unknown or what they deem unprovable or unknowable, especially by the worldly “absolute” (and I use that term loosely) of science. Science is well and good, but is not the standard, measuring stick, or plum line of true absolutes or the end-all/ be-all for believing. The Bible accurately asserts that faith is the evidence or assurance of the unseen. Combine this definitive truth from God’s inerrant Word with the following chain links in the book which describe and proclaim from observable and measurable experience in the life of someone who “walked with God.” It conveys what I and every genuine believer know to be true. He BELIEVED; and because he believed, he PRAYED; and because he prayed, he EXPECTED; and because he expected, he RECEIVED.  THE LESSON IS THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL, STEADFAST AND TRUE—ALWAYS!  To have faith in who He is and what He says and what He does proceeds from His oath, His testimony. If we don’t take God at His word, we make Him both a liar and a perjurer. And this is why the Bible says in Romans 14:13 “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

Another verse that fits hand-in-glove with this truth and principle is 1 John 1:5. If you are a believer—a CHRISTian—and you don’t yet know this verse, you should have it imprinted in your mind and engraved on your heart. It says this, “And this is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, He will hear us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we KNOW that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”  Since the Father is faithful and true—and to say or believe otherwise is to make Him not only a liar, but a perjurer—then rather than doubt the validity of the Bible, we should approach it as both absolutely truthful and completely authoritative. Don’t approach your dealings with Him from unbelief—as if He can’t be trusted—but from belief. Otherwise, there can be no relationship. And any and all kinds of associations are, at least initially, based on a measure of trust. They have to be or else we’re dead in the water. Don’t approach the One true God, the Creator of all things, the Author of life, the Savior and Redeemer of the human soul who formed you and gave you the breath of life and who sustains you from moment to moment, as though what He says isn’t true or that He isn’t worthy of our utmost confidence. Search your heart honestly and vulnerably to find out the motive, the real reason for your unbelief and confess it.

As a newborn baby comes into the world completely dependent upon those who have been charged and blessed with nurturing, feeding, caring for and protecting him or her, so we too must be completely dependent upon our heavenly Father to care for us. Can you imagine coming into this world and NOT entrusting yourself to those who love you and played a part in your birth? What would you do? Where would you go? Would you fend for yourself?  Of course not! Then why intentionally attempt to live your life without the unconditional love, protection, guidance, grace, provision and providence of your Maker, fully reliant upon Him and with full certitude in Him? At the absolute very least, enter into the relationship with trust and confidence, rather than unfounded doubt and fear. Take Him who cannot lie at His Word, walk with Him step-by-step, hold His hand tightly, and follow and obey Him where He leads. The reward you will enjoy of KNOWING the God of the universe will lead you to the forgiveness of your sins (because, in His love for you, He will convict you) and the salvation of your eternal soul, if you will let Him. You will see life and not death. You will be made clean from your filth. You will have joy and peace and hope in place of hardness of heart, conflict and despair. We don’t deserve it and we can’t earn it, but He is willing to give it and has MADE THE WAY POSSIBLE THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! That’s the Good News! And it’s amazing grace!

Embrace the love and trust in Him!

God bless you.

Your Stumbling Block is Also Your Treasure

The thing you tripped over was put there on purpose and it has great value.

Matthew 13:44 shares this truth, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Imagine you are out walking somewhere and you stumble on something protruding from the ground. You look to see what you tripped on, perhaps to move it so that someone else who comes after you won’t do the same. Upon closer inspection, you see that it is a small, wooden box. Out of curiosity, you open it and see a bunch of gold coins. When you count them, you see that their value is a million dollars! The land where you were walking was undeveloped, so you decide to find out how much the field is worth to see if you can afford to buy it because, in order to lay claim to and possess the treasure, you have to possess the land where it was hidden and found.

So you go to City Hall, tell them you’re interested in buying that lot, and you find out it sells for $10,000. The problem is you don’t have that kind of money. Who does? Maybe you don’t even make that much. You begin to see how valuable that field is just by virtue of what it contains, so you start thinking about how you can get the money together (the $10K) in order to obtain the treasure (the $1M). You look in the garage and figure you can probably sell your lawnmower for $200, but you need much, much more! Now, the things like your bed and furniture and TV that you used to think you couldn’t do without before suddenly seem like a small price to pay in order to gain that which has far greater value.

You sell all of those things and more but, including the lawnmower, you’ve only managed to scrape together about $3,000. You’re still far short of your goal. So, you start to reassess what you thought was necessary and very valuable to you and what you thought you couldn’t do without. After all, when you’re getting rid of something you think has worth to you it suddenly loses its worth when compared to something that is worth much, much, much more. You now have nothing left but your car. You think about how it’s reliable, it’s in good shape, it doesn’t have that many miles, it’s almost paid off and you need it to get back and forth to work. You need it to make money, pay your bills, get groceries and so much more. You can’t possibly part with that. It’s just not practical and it doesn’t seem to make sense.

But then you realize none of that matters because you do your research and find out that you can sell your car at fair market value for $7K. Maybe you think you can get more for it but, if you sell it, and combine that money with the cash you got for the mower, TV, computer, bed, furniture and everything else you had, you now have the $10K that you need to buy the land and, more importantly, to be able to lay claim to the $1 MILLION! Then you also realize that once you have the treasure, the far greater amount, you can, if needed, go back and buy the other things—better and newer than the ones you had before. But those things are not even important now because, in the process of buying the field which holds the treasure, you have discovered their real value—or LACK of value—those items really had. They PALE in comparison to what you stumbled over.

 

† JESUS IS TELLING US IN JUST ONE VERSE WITH JUST 34 WORDS WHAT REALLY MATTERS AND LASTS ETERNALLY, VERSUS WHAT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER AT ALL AND LASTS FOR ONLY A VERY SHORT TIME. †

 

When you now reexamine your life and reassess what you think is important to you and what you think you can’t live without, now that HE has allowed you to stumble over the rock (Jesus, the kingdom of God, forgiveness of sins, the salvation of your soul, eternal life) in the field which is your life, you should have NO problem eliminating from your life the things you need to get rid of, and stop focusing on, and spending too much time with (including people) in order to obtain the treasure of infinitely more value and worth!

In Matthew 19: 16-22 the Lord Jesus Christ is approached by who the Bible describes as a “rich, young, ruler.” That passage says this, “And behold, a man came up to Him, saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And He said to him, ‘Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’ He said to Him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to Him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, GO SELL WHAT YOU POSSESS and give to the poor, and YOU WILL HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN; and, come, follow Me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

He, the young man, was TALKING WITH THE TREASURE in the field. He was IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MUCH GREATER VALUE, yet placed more worth in his bed, TV, phone, computer, clothes, furniture and car (the $10K). So, he didn’t sell them in order to buy the field to lay claim to the $1MILLION. How foolish and how short-sighted! And, as a result, the Word of God says “he went away SORROWFUL.”

The Bible also refers to the Savior of the world and of your personal world as “a stumbling block.” He is the treasure in the field that, at some point, you will trip over. Romans 9:33 says, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a Stone of Stumbling, and a Rock of Offense; and whoever believes (TRUSTS) in Him will not be put to shame.” You can personalize it like this, “Behold, I am laying in this field which is your life a stumbling block of great worth and value, but to you it will seem offensive because it is convicting to you (allows you to see and feel guilty over your sin) and seems to you to stand in the way of what you think holds value and importance; but if you find your treasure in HIM by eliminating from your life the things which are of immensely less worth, buy the field with your faith, lay hold of the treasure you have stumbled upon of immensely greater worth by repenting of your sins and making HIM Lord of your life, you will not be ashamed of the Gospel which has saved your soul and washed away your sins because “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (trusts in Him).”

 

Sell what you have, buy the field, take hold of the treasure. His name is JESUS CHRIST!

 

God bless you.