Knowing The Truth P.3

 Knowing the Truth Part 3

2 Timothy 2:15: Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

·        Our Christian experience is for us to “live life” as He intends it to be.

·        And He has given us His word to do that “in us.”

·        Some people say, “I know I should read my Bible more, but I have trouble understanding it.” Others say, “There are so many interpretations of the Bible, I don’t know which one to rely on.”

·        Here’s the good news; we have more than the word of God! We also have the anointing of the Spirit abiding within us leading us into the truth of God’s word when we are reading it alone or studying it with others.

1 John 2:26-27: These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.  But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

·        This anointing will help us to deal with the “problem of deceitfulness and deception” around us.

·        So how do we know the truth? Well, John says we have “an anointing” that “abides within us” for that very purpose.

·        This is the anointing of the Spirit—it’s a partaking of Jesus’ anointing, the Anointed One.

·        This doesn’t mean we can’t be led astray; it means if we do go astray it is because “we are either ignorant of the anointing,” or are “resisting the anointing” that abides within us.

·        Someone spoke the word of God to you, you received Jesus as Savior and Lord in response to the word… and you also received the Holy Spirit from Jesus!

·        The word of God requires a continual coming to the word. We all need more word going through us.

·        But as far as the Spirit, John says, “He abides.” There is no need to ask for more of the Spirit as so many do! He is all there!

·        He is a person and He comes in as a full person. Just as when we come into a room, we do not come in with our legs only and then other parts follow.

·        No… He is all there because that is the way a person comes in. But we must abide in Him.

1 John 2:27: And you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

·       Does this mean we don’t need teachers? No, of course not.

·       We know that we have teachers provided by the Holy Spirit because there is a spiritual gift of teaching.

·       But the answer lies at “the level” that this teaching takes place.

·       Jesus talks about us having, “eyes to see, and ears to hear.” And we use our eyes and ears to process information based on the physical level.

·       But the anointing of the Spirit is not at this physical level.

·       But we need to use the “eyes and ears” of our heart to reach the level of “understanding and anointing” from the Spirit at the spiritual level!

·       Paul helps us understand:

Ephesians 1:16-19: I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.

·       Paul describes for us this different level of understanding that operates “within our spirit,” and it’s by the power or anointing of the Holy Spirit.

·       He calls this the “eyes of our understanding.”

·       When we understand on this “spirit level” we begin to grasp these wonderful things and we experience the excitement of revelation from the Spirit.

·       A teacher cannot touch the human spirit in a man and give him spiritual understanding, only the Holy Spirit can do that.

·       However, the Spirit may use a human teacher to bring the word, but the only understanding can come from the Spirit. Let’s see Jesus in an example of this.

Matthew 16:15-17: He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

·       Peter had been walking with the Lord for a while, but still didn’t have the “eyes of his understanding open” of who He was just like the other disciples.

·       But now Peter sees it in the flash of an instant, and had a sudden grasp of the truth, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

·       And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you,” because you didn’t reason that our in your own mind—but my Father has revealed this to you. This is the anointing of the Spirit. And it brings blessing into our lives!

Luke 24:25-27: Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

·       Jesus appears on the Road to Emmaus where two disciples were troubled and disturbed over His death on the cross.

·       They had seen these scriptures many times before, but they had never seen that they referred to the Messiah. They did not know who this stranger was, but now they knew the Messiah must suffer.

Luke 24:30-32: Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?

·       They had heard what He was saying, but they did not grasp it until He opened their eyes, the eyes of their hearts and then their hearts burned with these magnificent truths. This is what the anointing does.

·       This also teaches us a very important concept; this anointing is an illumination from the Holy Spirit but it is not a knowledge that is separate from the word or not in the Bible!

·       He will NEVER contradict the word!

·       Jesus wants them to see Him in the word, and receive the revelation from the anointing and the word. He wants to meet you in the word, too.

·       It is taking the scriptures as they are written and giving them confirmation of the truth that is in them.

·       Others will try to deceive you with information that is not written in the Bible and the Spirit will not confirm that!

1 Corinthians 2:12-16:  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.  For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

·       I believe the Spirit of God is at work with all men, but is “not abiding” in all men.

·       Therefore only the believer has the understanding that allows him to come into a relationship with God, and fellowship with the Father.

·       There are deep mysteries and truths hidden in Christ that are to be revealed to us by the Spirit as He teaches us the word.

·       These revealed truths are the things that help us to make sense of this world, and give us purpose in the midst of it.

·       Because of the abiding of the Spirit, we have the mind of Christ. It’s an “inner mind,” different from our original mind.

·       We must “renew our minds” to use the “mind of Christ” within us that comes from the Spirit of God.

·       And just as Christ depended completely on the Holy Spirit revealing the purposes of the Father in perfect fellowship, we can also depend completely on the Father through the Holy Spirit.

John 21:20-22: Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

·       This anointing that abides within us is an intensely personal thing. So don’t compare yourselves to others.

·       Our activity must always be based on those things that the Spirit has revealed to us…. aligning with the word.

·       In other words-- you walk by faith as God has brought it to you—not by what you have learned by religious tradition.

·       Your actions cannot be based on some church hierarchy, traditions, or secondhand information contrary to the word.

·       You must not walk in a way that “has not been confirmed” to you by the Spirit Himself.

·       It is intensely personal and comes from the anointing that is within you.

·       But that being said, we must be open to hear what others are saying because sometimes I do not always hear things correctly.

·       If you believe something that is completely contrary to what all others are saying, I must make sure I am hearing correctly.

·       I must remember that the Spirit of God speaks through others too…but I must get internal confirmation from the Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

·       After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Promise of the Father came to men who believed in Jesus. Men could now be filled and anointed with the Holy Spirit.

·       This was the ultimate result of the resurrection was that we could become the temple of God, not just filled with the Spirit of God… but with the anointing or empowerment too.

·       The fire of the Spirit came upon each one of them; it was personal, and powerful. Each had a flame that was personal for him/her. It was perfect for each person, but “special and particular” for each.

·       It’s the same Holy Spirit, but the anointing is perfect for you and your calling in life.

·       You got a flame with your name on it.

·       It’s perfect for who you are.

·       It’s perfect for how you were made.

·       And it’s perfect for your destiny!