WHAT WE FIND IN JESUS (PART 5)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him - the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and He will delight in the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 11:2-3a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

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WRITER’S NOTE: My trip ended up extended so sorry for the delay. Glad to be back and ready to continue to share what the Lord places on my heart. Hope this finds all well with my readers. Blessings to you all. In Christ, Mark

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Three main themes emerge in the Book of Isaiah through the first eleven chapters. First, we see God’s judgment coming on His people who have disrespected and disregarded Him one time too many. This judgment is coming in the form of attacks by the Assyrians and Babylonians who will lay waste to the Promised Land and take the Israelites into extended exile. Secondly, we find God promising deliverance of His people from exile. A remnant would be allowed to return and restore the holy city of Jerusalem as God shows His forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love. Finally, we find that the future, not just for Israel but for all people of all nations, would be bright as God would send His Son to earth, the Messiah who would come to rescue and save. This Messiah would be known as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and would bring hope to all people, both in the present and in the future.

In Isaiah, Chapter 11, we read about the many things a believer will find in Jesus when they seek Him to include fruits of the Spirit, wisdom and understanding, and counsel and might. Today, we look at two more qualities we find in our Savior, knowledge and a fear of the Lord, qualities that will take root within our hearts and minds as well when we commune with Jesus each and every day.

Let’s look at the first of these two qualities: knowledge.

Too often, we think we’re smarter than we really are. We tend to rely on our own intelligence, thinking we can figure out the matters of life on our own. The problem with this is that we become too self reliant and distance ourselves from the Lord, the true source of knowledge. As we look at verse 2 of Isaiah, chapter 11, we find the word of God bringing us this truth. For God the Father would send His Spirit of knowledge on Jesus His Son who wasted little time sharing that knowledge with everyone He encountered in ministry. And He still shares that knowledge with us today when we walk with Him through living in His Spirit each and every day.

Indeed, we might think we’re capable of obtaining knowledge on our own but as we saw in part 4 of this series, knowledge does not equal understanding. You can have a ton of knowledge and know nothing. It’s only when we turn to Jesus that we find both knowledge and understanding working hand in hand, and not just any knowledge and understanding but a perfect knowledge and understanding that only comes from the One who brought intelligence to life within us.

So why do we continue to try and pretend to be knowledgeable apart from the Lord?

Perhaps because of the same reason we do many things outside of Him because we fail to have a fear of Him.

That’s the second thing we find in Jesus from today’s verse and just as we can gain knowledge through Him, we too can discover the kind of respect that God deserves.

For that’s what we get at when we speak of fearing the Lord. It’s all about reverence and respect. When we have it in fullest measure, then we will not rely on our own knowledge or understanding but rather know that without His wisdom and guidance, we are destined to fail and fall. Frankly, I will continue to seek Him and His direction day after day after day after day for Jesus said Himself, quoting from the Old Testament scriptures, that man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4). The word of God is life to us and we should consume every bit of it we can to remain spiritually healthy. For in it, we find the nutrition of His knowledge that brings us understanding and makes us fit through His perfect truth, a truth we find as Christians in His Son Jesus, the predicted Messiah of the Old Testament, who came to save us and provide a way to the Father forever.

Jesus, and Jesus alone, is THE Way and THE Truth and THE Life (John 14:6). In Him, we have all we need. Come before Him in reverence and awe, seeking the perfect knowledge He brings, the knowledge imparted on Him by the Spirit to share with the world.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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