Psalm 40 – Part 2

Welcome and Introduction

So, we left off last week without completing chapter 40. By the way, last week was a monumental day for the ministry and we praise and thank our God for His Spirit and the launching of things in His Name thereby.

God’s Desires

The verse I last mentioned was from Hosea 6:6 and the subject was about what God desires from us, as it says, “For I desired mercy and not sacrifice;” a theme that is essential to the minds and hearts of all who seek Him. But the point I want to emphasize before we leave it is where Hosea adds, “For I desired mercy and not sacrifice” and “the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

I am speaking to the choir today, and there are several billions around the world who have no, and have never sought to obtain, the knowledge of God. In this line, we are confronted with an interesting conflict – that of pleasing God by faith and having a knowledge of Him.

Faith and Knowledge

How does that work, faith and knowledge? Isn’t it constantly getting confused by us in the fact that we will often say, “I know” something, when all we really have is faith? And in things of knowledge, like of God, we tend to think that we just place our faith in what we think about Him?

“Where faith is the substance of the promises of God hoped for, the evidence of the promises of God not seen,” there does, in fact, seem to be a reality promised in scripture that human beings can individually “know God.”

I want to emphasize that faith in God, and “Knowing God” are not collectively derived, but entirely individual and based on objectively demanded instructions, where each individual searches and seeks by the Spirit, depending on how much insight they are given.

This suggests, as frightening as this is to objectively driven institutions, that the illiterate farm-hand in 1000 AD Micronesia can know God better than the Oxford scholar in biblical studies today. To war over our respective knowledge is equally insipid because who can say who is right?

The Study of God

There are numerous realms of study about God as well, and I am not going to include studies about doctrine, practice, soteriology, or ecclesiology but only those studies aimed at knowing Him. These studies have been broken down systematically over the years by men into Paterology, Christology, and Pneumology because of the influence of the formation of the Trinity. But I am going to avoid this man-made trap and simply resort to the tools the Bible describes as helpful in our personally knowing Him.

We do this as believers, based on inscriptions like what we just read in Hosea but also because when Yeshua was incarnate, He made the following plain, saying, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Yeshua Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

The Words of Yeshua

In Hosea, YAHAVAH said to the Nation, “For I desired mercy and not sacrifice (ready) “and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” But we note that Yeshua modified this and said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, (and) Yeshua Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). To a modern Jewish leader in that day, this addition was untenable. In fact, we meet people every day who reject Yeshua’s addition.

But to those who want access to God His Father, the Apostolic Record makes it plain, through the very words of Yeshua, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).

The Relationship with the Bride

To the Bride, Yeshua made the following plain, saying, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). Emphasizing this relationship of those elected as the Bride in that day, Yeshua added, “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).

Conclusion

Bringing it all full circle, to them, and then to the world, Yeshua adds the definitive declaration in John 14:6, “Yeshua saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Many, many, many souls…

Understanding Access to God

Many struggle to accept the notion that God was made flesh and dwelled among us to bring us into a direct relationship with Him. Instead, they entertain the idea that one can know God without Christ, who paradoxically was “God with us.” The incarnation—God in flesh, God in Man—poses a difficult concept for some, resulting in billions insisting they can access God without Him.

As a Yeshuan, I find few things further from the truth. Although all things are reconciled to God through His incarnate Son, I do not believe His victory removes the Son from the picture. Instead, God has subsumed Himself into His Son, who sits on the throne, fulfilling the words spoken by Christ on earth to Philip:

Jesus as the Way to the Father

In John 14, during a conversation with His disciples, the following dialogue occurs:

John 14:5-13

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Yeshua saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Yeshua saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Jesus’ Authority from the Father

In John 5, Yeshua faces criticism from the religious leaders for working on the Sabbath:

John 5:17-29

My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Yeshua and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth.

Divine Knowledge and Personal Experience

So, automatically, when we hear God say through Hosea that he seeks them to have a knowledge of Him over burnt offerings, we are left to accept that in the course of Ancient Israel, to whom God promised a Messiah, God became flesh so as to give us direct material knowledge of Himself which all who receive this story by faith are able to individually know God as perfectly as we know His Son. Knowing God, therefore, is synonymous with knowing His Son, and we all can individually know His Son by and through the bestowal of the Spirit of His Son within us.

Encounters with God

When I have sat with atheists and debaters on my understanding of God, my go-to, as much as they do not like it, is that I have a personal witness of the veracity of God’s existence present in three biblical events or teachings shared and told in the Apostolic record.

The Blind Man’s Healing

The first is found in the story of the man born blind who, after being healed by Christ and interrogated by the religious leaders of his day, suggests that Yeshua was a sinner. The man simply said, “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” This physical healing is a type for the spiritual healing Christ brings to all formerly blind to Him and the Truth. Prior to knowing Him by His Spirit, which is the Spirit of Truth, I was as blind as a bat, but once I was ready and equipped to see, there remains no doubt in me. We are blind to some things, many things, and in the face of those, we walk by faith. But when He opens our spiritual eyes and we are clearly equipped to see, faith—in the areas where we see—is over, and we are blessed to know. Because this is always subjectively experienced, it can never, ever be proven, hence the criticism of those in the world.

The Possessed Man of Gadarenes

The second evidence I have subjectively and personally is told through the story of the possessed man of Gadarenes reported in Luke 8. When they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, over against Galilee, a certain man, possessed by devils for a long time, met them. This man wore no clothes, lived not in any house, but in the tombs. Upon seeing Jesus, he cried out, “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.”

For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. This spirit had often caught him, and he was kept bound with chains and fetters, but he broke the bands and was driven by the devil into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, “What is thy name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many devils had entered into him. They beseeched Jesus not to command them to go out into the deep and instead enter into a herd of swine feeding on the mountain. Jesus permitted this, and the devils entered the swine, leading the herd to run violently down a steep place into the lake where they were choked. When the caretakers saw what was done, they fled to tell it in the city and in the country. The city folk came out to see what had happened and found the man, from whom the devils had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.

Last week, we spoke about the power of Christ operating in what? That’s right, our minds. Here we note in the story of the man possessed with demons that when the city folk, who knew his history, came out to see what was done with him, they were amazed.

The Warfare of the Mind

“Found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”

From this, we directly learn that the warfare, the renewal, and the place of knowing God is in and through the mind, which led to the man being clothed, sitting at Yeshua’s feet.

Knowing God: Religious and Mystical Approaches

For man, knowing God comes through a whole bunch of “tions.” Organized religion attempts to impart this knowledge objectively through regimentations, ordinations, incorporation, and indoctrination.

On the other hand, mystics suggest that people can know Him through experimentations, isolation, hallucination, explorations of their flesh, incantations, and visiting certain destinations.

But the fact remains, the only way to know God is through the realization of Him being in you, liberating our minds, clothing us in peace and reason, and sitting at the feet of Yeshua in the end.

Light and Darkness

Remember, Christ is the light that came into the world, who shines in the hearts of all souls. This is synonymous with illumination or light entering first and our decision to seek it or reject it. Yeshua plainly said that those in His day who rejected Him “love the dark more than the Light.” Keep that in mind as we move forward today.

The Parable of the Sower

The third teaching that tells me personally that I have come to know God and that He dwells in me through the Spirit of His Son is located in the teaching of the Sower, found in Matthew and Luke. We will read Luke’s account this morning, as it says:

Luke 8:4-8

And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Fortunately, instead of leaving this parable up to our interpretation, we then read:

Luke 8:9-10

And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Interpreting the Word and Seed

And then He adds: “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”

Our translators translated the Greek term “logos” here to “word,” like John did when describing Christ. We have slipped into the habit today of calling the scripture the “word of God.” Scripture is used 31 times in the Apostolic record, and they all come from the Greek term “grapha,” while words spoken are translated from “rhema.”

“Logos,” which is what Yeshua uses in Luke 8:11, saying, “The seed is the word of God,” is translated from “logos,” the name John uses to describe Christ. “Logos” is used 316 times in the Apostolic record and translated to all sorts of things, but in seven of those times, the translators make it upper case and assign it to Yeshua. The rest of the time, we might assign the use of it to His message, cause, heart, gospel, sayings, even teachings, truths, and the very words that Yeshua spoke from and on behalf of God.

Because of all of this, I think we might best interpret Luke 8:11 as meaning, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God (Himself) and the words that He spoke on behalf of God.”

Not the scripture itself and alone – that is the grapha or writings conveying some of the things Yeshua said from God, but again, the seed Yeshua is referring to is Him, His teachings, His sayings.

The Seed and Its Reception

And then what does He say about the Word when they are cast?

Luke 8:12

Those by the wayside are they (meaning the people) that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

Again, this was to that audience who were Jews and when Satan (who was operating in the religious leaders of that day) came and took Him, His sayings, and teachings out of their hearts in case they might believe and be saved from the coming day, hell.

Understanding the Nature of Spiritual Growth

I am not convinced that Satan’s grasp continues today because of Christ’s victory. I believe that today we allow our own minds, hearts, and the powers in the human realm to steal Him and His influence away, as a means to draw us and keep us in the dark.

The Parable of the Sower

Yeshua continues and speaks to those where He and His teachings fall on the stony ground and adds:

“They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.”

The second heart-soil group are the babes and infants in Christ. When they hear the message, they rejoice and believe for a while, Yeshua says, but when they are met with temptation—which means what Yeshua says is challenged—they fall away because they have no root. This proves that the immediate Yeshua experience is only the beginning. When the seed is received in the heart-soil excitedly, but in this state of early germination, the planted Christ cannot abide, and lacking roots, dies.

The Challenge of Thorns

Yeshua continues and says:

“And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth.”

That phrase means that they understand. They are more matured than the Logos planted on stony ground that takes no root, but this time He and His sayings are received and understood. However, they are:

“choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.”

The bearing of the fruit that Yeshua describes, which is agape love—selfless, sacrificial, insufferable love toward God and Man—is literally impossible without Him operating with us. That is why he said:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”

Trials and Growth

If you ever wonder why God keeps turning up the heat in your life, it is His means to help you bring forth more fruit. How and in what way does this manifest? In trials, disappointments, frustration with others, and losses—all causing us to face ourselves and whether we will respond in the flesh or by His reigning Spirit within.

Abiding in God

In this place in John 15, Yeshua continues and says to His disciples then and there:

“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

The Commandment of Love

In John 13, Yeshua plainly said:

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Him/Fruit/Love is the evidence that we are His disciples, and therefore proof that we know Him, causing the Apostle John to write in his first epistle, chapter 3. Listen to his use of KNOW, as he writes:

“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love…”

Knowing God Through Action and Truth

The Parable of the Sower

Yeshua concludes the Parable of the Sower by stating, “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” This process, which clearly comes from nothing of ourselves and contrary to popular belief, “proves we individually know Him.” It’s not just about having faith, but about truly knowing.

After years of trying to analyze the process of “realizing Him,” “accepting Him,” and allowing Him to “reign over our lives,” we have worked hard to see common traits among those who truly know Him. These are people who have eyes to see, freedom from our demons, and bear fruit.

The Role of Humility in Spiritual Growth

Let’s wrap up by exploring some personal discoveries after decades of teaching and conversing with hundreds of individuals. Firstly, from all I can tell, humility is the precursor to spiritual growth. This is why He truly desires us to have a “broken heart and a contrite spirit.” Nothing in heaven or earth can force someone to humble themselves before Him inwardly; it’s a personal decision for every person made in His image.

Some might think that pain and suffering cause humility, but that’s not necessarily true. Decades ago, I met a young man with Lou Gehrig’s disease, a brutal terminal illness. Despite his condition, he was an atheist. When I asked how he could deny God’s existence nearing the end of life, he replied, “How could I believe in one?” Just like the sun can warm and soften or harden clay, we determine how the Son works upon our hearts. Scripture says to “humble yourself”—it’s in our hands. Why some do and some don’t is unclear.

Choosing Light and Learning

As we choose to humble ourselves, turning away from our personal desires, we also choose light over darkness. Delaney suggests that humbling oneself and desiring light are synonymous, and I agree. It’s about seeking eternal, illuminated things and avoiding that which stupefies, negates, destroys, or harms.

With this desire for light comes a desire to learn, specifically to learn about Him and to know Him. We maintain that we learn of Him through a study of His actions, found in an exegetical analysis of scripture. When scripture is read by the Spirit—illuminated by the Spirit of God—it renews our minds and equips our will and emotions with the Spirit of His Son.

Embracing God’s Love

What do light and learning do for the individual? They lead us to love as God loves: selflessly, sacrificially, and insufferably. Here, our will and emotions become better equipped to follow Christ’s will. Prior to this transformation, my will and emotions were subject to my flesh, akin to an animal. But as learning and illumination take effect in my mind, I begin to know Him. My will and emotions then align with His, resulting in an attitude like Christ’s in the garden: “Thy will, not mine be done.”

Achieving Freedom

However, learning to choose His love is not the end goal, even though Scripture emphasizes love as part of the two great commandments. There is still another L-word beyond light, learning, and love. I maintain that God’s ultimate goal for every human being is freedom, which explains why He gives commands; He wants us all to be truly free.

The Reward of Liberty

More powerful than freedom is liberty.

Core Principles

Light, Learning, Love, Liberty

With the last being the reward to every soul who embraces the first three.

The Pathway to Liberty

The approach works—it is real—it is based on scriptural principles. Like everything from God, once it falls into place, just like when a seed is planted in the right soils, all of the elements begin to work together in a more integrated fashion than through some systematic order. When we discover that He has been planted in us, there seems to be the initial requirement that each individual first chooses humility or light, then learning. Once the fruit of those decisions takes root downward, we begin to bear the fruit of love upward, which serves to liberate us in the end.

Knowledge of God

All of this increases our very knowledge—not faith in, but knowledge of God—which is why Paul wrote to the church at Colosse in his day, stating:

Colossians 1:9-17
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Looking Ahead

Just to let you know, next week I will hit on some salient points in our study. However, the majority of our time will simply be reading through Psalm 41-50 because they, in my opinion, do not bring much new to our minds from what we have read thus far. But I want to read them with you as a means to cover all of the Psalms before the year ends.

Final Thoughts

Comments/Insight, please.

Prayer