The
Word of Truth Ministries
Teaching
the Way of God more Perfectly
Acts 18: 24-26
Many ministers and Christians today are unwilling to be taught of God through man, and because they are unwilling to be taught of God through man, they will never be taught any more directly than that. I have always marveled at those who are unwilling to be taught by another for so sense of foolish pride or some immature insecurity. It always strikes be to be true that those with such insecurity and foolish pride are usually the one who need teaching more than all.
I see this strange insecurity in many of my college
student: they are afraid to speak in class because of a possibility of
being incorrect. But I always assure them that school is an ideal place to
be incorrect in. For that is the place where incorrect answers can be
gotten straight. Furthermore, a person can never become correct and
knowledgeable unless he/she is willing to see themselves as they are. This
is also true for any learners. And everyone who ventures to teach must
always and constantly be a learner.
A year or so ago, I visited a church where I had
occasionally gone, and a minister was up ministering, but as he saw me
enter he became hesitant. He sensed some deficiency in his abilities, but
I assured him that I was there to hear him minister and that he should
never be threatened by another minister’s ability. If God has given me
anything, it is this: always be a student and learn from others.
I love good teaching, preaching, singing, etc. I love it from
others, for as they teach, preach, sing, I am inspired by God and always
learn. I will sit under any minister and drink in any truth he has to
give. Certainly, my senses have been sharpened to discern both good and
evil. [Heb. 5:13-14]
For the word of God says that iron sharpens iron. [Prov.
27:17] As a young saint of God, I sat under ministers and soaked in all
they had to give; when their iron could not respond correctly to my
questions, I knew I had grown beyond them and moved on to higher grounds.
I was never afraid to learn, to ask questions, to weigh response, to prove
all things and hold fast to that which is good. [1 Thes. 5:21]
Furthermore, I remember the times when ministers were
stout enough in God’s word that if one came claiming he had a word from
God, we would hear him out and weigh what he said by the word; if he had
nothing of sound doctrine to give, he would have something of sound
doctrine to give to the next church he went to. But there is a strange
culture within the church today: the evangelist cannot come from afar and
claim to have a word from God to the people of God and be allowed to give
it. The doors of the church are closed to God’s word and ministers in
far too many assemblies. And that is because far too many ministers are
not stout enough in God’s word to correct false teaching on the spot and
to help those ministers who are in an error.
When I was the lead minister in a number of churches,
if a minister came in and
said he had something from the Lord, I would let him give it. If his word
was not from the Lord, I would give him a word from the Lord so that he
certainly would have a word from God to share the next time he came
around.
If we shut the doors of the church because we are not
strong enough in the word to defend it in truth, we may well shut out the
true ministers of God who are sent to operate as ministry is supposed to
operate in the church. [Eph. 4:11-16] This closing the doors to
evangelists, prophets, teachers, etc., is the failure of that leadership
to study and be competently prepared in God’s word. That failure is a
breach of the minister’s duty.
Aquila and Priscilla were in the temple when Apollos
came by and ministered the word of God. He was allowed, as the Jewish
custom was, to take the scripture and share what he had from God. As he
shared, Aquila and his wife Priscilla recognized that he was powerful, but
he needed to know the way of Christ more perfectly, for he only knew the
baptism of John the Baptist. And seeing that he was sincere but deficient,
they took him aside and taught him the way of Christ more perfectly. [Acts
18:24-26]
Those who are sincere but deficient, and there are
thousand or millions so situated, will receive the word of God more
perfectly as they are taught it. The acceptance of truth always marks the
perfect man from those who are not children of God—they have never been
called of God, and they are merely deficient actors, deceitful workers,
false apostles who have never been called and chosen of God. [Psa. 37:37;
2Cor.11:13]
God has suggested that there are many who are
partially formed, even as Apollos was and need the way of Christ taught to
them more perfectly. Jesus was in Bethsaida, and the people brought a
blind man to his; Jesus took the man away and spit in his eyes and put his
hands on them as asked the man whether he saw anything. The man said he
saw men as trees, walking. The Bible says that Jesus touched the man again
the once-blind man saw men as men. [Mark 8:24-26]
Since we know that God makes no mistakes, and Jesus is God, we then must reason that there is a message that God has placed in this passage for us. Some years ago, as a relatively young boy, I remember talking to my mother about her religious experience with God, where in their churches they “got religion” as it were—God would touch them. I was provoked to godly jealousy and I remember praying to God asking for religion like my mother had; in deed, the spirit of the living God did touch me. Thereafter, I thought I was complete and saved, but I was only touched of God and needed more and I did not see things clearly. So it was with Apollos. One day my own personal Aquila and Priscilla came along and showed me the way of Christ more perfectly. They showed me that I had to repent of my sins, be baptized in water in the high and holy name of Jesus because nothing but that name could remove/remit my sins and God would fill me with his spirit. [Acts 2:38; 4:11-14] That they showed me what the new birth was that Jesus told Nicodemus he must have. [John 3:3-5] Having been called and chosen of God, I accepted the truth of God’s rightly divided word and submitted myself it. Thereafter, I saw men as men because I had that more from God that I needed. My eyes were opened by God. [Luke 24:45]
There are many who have been truly touched by God,
some have been baptized into and with the Spirit of God, but still do not
see things as they are; they are seeing men as trees and need, but as
Apollos needed the word of God shown to him more perfectly, they too need
the word of God more perfectly. Notice, if you will, the Bible says,
“Then opened he their understanding that they MIGHT understand….”
Might is conditional, not absolute. That they might understand is
dependent on their allowing someone else to guide them. But, sadly, many
of these touched of God but without clear sight, will die in their sins
rather than accept God’s rightly divided word.
But as Paul, I know the terror of God, and I preach
Christ to them rightly divided and observe them to see if we can mark the
perfect man. And many will die as they wrongly tout the word of God that
does not apply to their situation, saying God is too loving to let them
go astray, even as this message is, in fact, God bidding them come.
Why die before your time? [Eccl. 7:17]
The Ethiopian Eunuch of Queen Candace’s court was
riding along when the spirit sent Phillip to preach to him as the eunuch
read the words of Isaiah about Jesus. Being an intelligent man, one called
of God and humbled enough to receive additional truth, he asked Phillip
whether Isaiah spoke of himself or someone else? For he had already
perceived that he could not understand what he was reading of that sealed
book, except some man guided him. [Acts 8:27-37]
For the sincere saint of God that person will always
receive truth; for those who are not really serious, their hearts are not
tender toward God and they will not allow themselves to be taught the word
of God more perfectly. And they will be destroyed because of their
ignorance. [Hos. 4:6] When the lost book of the law was finally found in
God’s house, it was read before King Josiah and since he humbled himself
before God’s word and received it, God sent word that he would be spared
the evil God would do to his people because of their sins. But his heart
was humble before God. [2Kings 22:19-21]
There are many who are self-deceived and deceived by
others into thinking that they are properly walking in the way of God and
will not allow truth to pierce their deception, but God said that we are
to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. [Lk. 4:4] We
must see things clearly and that can only be done if we are eating all of
God’s word. Jesus said to his disciples, that they had to eat his flesh
and drink his blood, and many of them who were only partially sighted
walked with him no more after that. [John 6:51-53] They were unwilling to
go any further to become that disciple indeed and know the truth and be
freed by that truth. [John 8:31-32] Notice
the intensity of Christ and discipleship, we are told, even as John the
Beloved was told, to eat the little book up all the way. Allow it to get
into our stomach and provide nourishment for the whole body. Yes, it will
be bitter until it cleans all that body up. [Rev. 10:8-9]
I close with this, my friends, only when we eat ALL of God’s word—eat his flesh and drink his blood totally--will be become disciples in deed; only then will be become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ; only then will we becomes gods to whom the word of the Lord comes. [John 8:32; 10:34; Rom. 8:17] Only then will our eyes become open to see things as they are. It is for this cause, that God has allowed this incident in Mark 8 to be there: to show the many of you who have partial births of God that there is more for you—you need a second touch of God; you need to see things clearly so that you can do them correctly and right, line upon line, precept upon precept…. Examine yourself and see if you are in the faith, and let some man with the sight of God guide you through that examination! [Isa. 28:10-13; 2Cor. 13:5]
See another Sermon on the same issue published six months ago.
The Word of Truth
Ministries
The
Truth of God
