NOT
ONES GENIUS BUT JESUS
BREAD
12 “Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved.” 13 When
they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled,
ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been
with Jesus. Acts 4:12-13 (NIV)
14 Not
until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin
to teach. 15 The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get
such learning without having studied?” 16 Jesus
answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him
who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will
find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself,
but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there
is nothing false about him.” John 7:14-18 (NIV)
47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them,
I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not
accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.
49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but
the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I
say is just what the Father has told me to say.” John
12:47-50 (NIV)
11 “When you are brought before synagogues,
rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or
what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that
time what you should say.” Luke 12:11-12 (NIV)
12 Who
has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his
hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or
weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who
has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? 14 Whom
did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who
was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? 15 Surely
the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the
scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. 16 Lebanon
is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. 17 Before
him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and
less than nothing. Isaiah 40:12-17 (NIV)
18 Have
you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all
this. Job 38:18 (NIV)
6 Then
the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm: 7 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you
shall answer me. 8 “Would
you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? 9 Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder
like his? 10 Then
adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and
majesty. 11 Unleash
the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low, 12 look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked
where they stand. 13 Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in
the grave. 14 Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can
save you.” Job 40:6-14 (NIV)
15 Do
your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not
need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:14-15 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Spiritual truth is discernible only to a
pure heart, not to a keen intellect.” Oswald Chambers
“The true secret
to all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man’s genius, or man’s intellect,
or man’s energy; but simply the power of the Spirit of the God of the Gospel.
‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts
(Zech.iv.6) It is well for all ministers
(and believers) to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the heart and give
constant freshness to their ministry (and lives). A ministry which flows from abiding
dependence upon the Holy Spirit can never become barren. If a man is drawing on
his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be,
or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the
Holy Spirit be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must, sooner or
later, lose its freshness and its effectiveness. How important then, that all
who minister (and live) in the gospel…should lean continually and exclusively
on the power of the Holy Spirit. He knows what souls need, and He can supply
it. But he must be trusted and used. It will not do to lean partly on self and
partly on the Spirit.” C H Macintosh
“Whoever you are, good reader, and
whatever your education may be, if you be the Lord’s, be assured you will find
no rest in philosophizing divinity. You
may receive this dogma of one great thinker, or that dream of another profound
reasoned, but what the chaff is to wheat, that will these be to the pure word
of God. All that reason, when best
guided, can find out is but the A B C of truth, and even that lacks certainty,
while in Christ Jesus there is treasured up all the fullness of wisdom and
knowledge…..Jesus satisfies the most elevated intellect when He is believingly
received, but apart from Him the mind of the regenerate discovers no rest. ‘The fear of the lord is the beginning of
knowledge.’ ‘A good understanding have
all they that do His commandments.’” Charles H. Spurgeon
“His
wisdom’s vast, and knows no bounds, a deep where all our thoughts are
drowned.” Isaac Watts
“Love the person of your Lord! Bring forth the
alabaster box of your heart, even though it be broken, and let all the precious
ointment of your affection come streaming onto His pierced feet. Let your
intellect be exercised concerning the Lord Jesus. Meditate upon what you read.
Stop not at the surface; dive into the depths. Be not as the swallow, which
touches the brook with her wing, but as the fish, which penetrates the lowest
wave.” C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair
Begg
“All
religion rests on authority. Someone or something always has the last word.
Nobility is what you do with the Word of God. Beware of coming to church
and being stirred but not changed. Our behavior with the Bible is indicative of our belief in the Bible.” Kevin DeYoung
“God alone knows
the depth and riches of His Godhead, and divine wisdom alone can declare His
secrets.” Thomas
Aquinas
HEART SAVOR
- ·
In Jesus are
hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- ·
We are to do our
best to present ourselves to God as one approved, an unashamed workman correctly handling the
Word of Truth.
- ·
Who has understood
the mind of the Lord or instructed Him as His counselor?
