Take Heed

“Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing which has been completely concealed which will not be uncovered, nor hidden which will not be known. Therefore, whatever you said in the darkness will be heard in the light; and whatever you spoke in the ear in the secret rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”
Luke 12:1-2

“Take heed”! The Author of our salvation speaks with clarity and is ever bringing us to a clearer presentation of truth in which “there is nothing…which will not be known”. The casual talk, the rumor-mongering, the whispers in secret places, the animosity, and the attitudes of unforgiveness in our hearts from which these things spring, will all be exposed in due time. Jesus speaks to us all “take heed”. Whatever has been said in the darkness will be heard in the Light. It is the unbelieving and religious, with no fear of the Lord, who have no concept of One who hears all things and will bring all things to light.

There is nothing hid!

The true disciple is different from a mere religious one. Those who abide in His Presence are conscious of their words and their attitudes because of their knowledge of Him who beholds all things. Those who are becoming His, live their lives to honour Him. There is a growing dynamic of His Lordship; a Holy presence that curbs the unruly tongue because the unruly heart is growing in its submission to God. Unholy words proceed from unholy hearts; words spoken in secret places. The religious will speak right things in public but are not so careful in secret and seemingly secure places.

Take heed!

These are the words of life our Master speaks to us. Take heed for nothing is hid from Him to whom we must all stand and give an account. If we are undisciplined, untutored, without the true fear of the Lord, speaking flagrantly, freely, and foolishly we will unwittingly lose out in our growth in God. We will not know those deeper places of abiding in Christ. If we govern our ways in the fear of the Lord, we will find ourselves growing in the Light of God.

“I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:36-37

See: The Sanctified Heart

Brian Troxel

Honouring God

Honoring God

“So speak ye and so do”
James 2:12

We live in a very strange time when individuals can study the scriptures, memorize them, and readily discuss them with others; yet live their lives contrary to the very words they speak. The only way to honor His Word is by obeying it. Obedience is the evidence of a life who truly honors and treats His Word for what it is: Holy. If we do not reverence His Word through obedience we will reap the consequences. How foolish it is to speak His Word and yet not honor it not with our lives.

“For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense; how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation”
Hebrews 2:2

They who esteem His Word lightly, lightly esteem the One who speaks it.

“And if any man obey not our word by this epistle,
note that man, and have no company with him,
that he may be ashamed”
2 Thessalonians 3:14

Brian Troxel

Ministration of the Word

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy”
Psalm 126:5

We are told in the Parable of the Sower that “the seed is the word of God”. Those who sow such precious seed must do so in the same Spirit in which that Word was given. Many may speak the scriptures, but few sow the “Word of God”. When the word is sown by the Spirit of God it teems with His life and power. There is an impartation into the lives of those who hear with ears of faith; the fire of Life burns, the heart of man is quickened, and Jesus is glorified.

“And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes”
Mark 1:22

In order for the ministers of God to speak with authority, their lives must be subject to the authority of the Word. Authority comes from submission. Otherwise, if men share His Word but their life is not subject to His Word, that authority of Jesus will be lacking. Even the Roman Centurion knew and understood this.

“For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it”
Matthew 8:9

The true authority in the Spirit comes to those who are under His authority. His Word has precedence in their lives. It takes very little discernment to know those who serve God and those who do not. There is a fire and the fragrance of Christ’s lordship in the hearts of those who are subject to His will. This touching of His life in one another is called fellowship. The fellowship of the Spirit is not the result of adherence to a teaching, but of Light; His Light resident within His own.

“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another”
1 John 1:7

The fellowship of the Spirit is not a function of teaching but of Light, His Light resident in His own.

Submission to the Word
is revealed in our obedience to it

Brian Troxel

Honouring God – Charles Spurgeon

Honouring God

“…for them that honour me I will honour,
and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed”
1 Samuel 2:30

“Do I make the honour of God the great object of my life and the rule of my conduct? If so, He will honour me. I may for awhile receive no honour from man, but God will Himself put honour upon me in the most effectual manner. In the end it will be found the surest way to honour to be willing to be put to shame for conscience sake.

Eli had not honoured the Lord by ruling his household well, and his sons had not honoured the Lord by behaviour worthy of their sacred office, and therefore the Lord did not honour them, but took the high-priesthood out of their family, and made young Samuel to be ruler in the land instead of any of their line. If I would have my family ennobled, I must honour the Lord in all things. God may allow the wicked to win worldly honours; but the dignity which He Himself gives, even glory, honour, and immortality, He reserves for those who by holy obedience take care to honour Him.

What can I do this day to honour the Lord? I will promote His glory by my spoken testimony, and by my practical obedience…”
– Charles Spurgeon
(Daily Readings)