Come to God to Learn

We come to God for many reasons.  He is worthy of praise, He is worthy of worship; He is worthy of our time.   We also come to get filled up and recharged; we allow Him to revive us and restore our hope.  In the last week, the Lord began highlighting another reason we come to Him: we come to Him to learn.  

"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants--from this time on and forever," says the LORD.

Isaiah 59:21

Here the Lord makes a covenant, with us!  I feel this covenant is for all who believe.  And He says that His Spirit will always be on us, and His words will always be on our lips.  He says that He will always teach us--us and our children forever!

So, we come to the the Lord and He imparts to us knowledge--He gives us the spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17).  He teaches us about Himself and His character. And He also teaches us how to apply His thoughts to this current world.  He gives us divine inspiration.

Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.                                         Micah 4:2

Now, this is a future prophecy yet to be fulfilled, but we can attain to it symbolically even now.  We come to the Lord, and we ascend with Him.  Remember that Jesus ascended, and He was the firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29).  We, too, can go up to His mountain!  And that's where we learn.  He will teach us His ways so that we can walk in His paths!  Wow!  

This mountain top is also where we hear God most clearly.  The Law of Liberty dwells here, and so does an atmosphere of clarity.  There's an atmosphere of clarity and praise.  This is where the word of God, the hearing and knowing of His mind, comes in.  God speaks a word so that He can dwell among us (John 1:14).  He teaches us and speaks to us so,  and then we can come down from that high place and encourage other believers to go up for themselves.  

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’ Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”                  Zechariah 8:20-23

Here is another literal prophecy that is also yet to be fulfilled--yet we can take so much from it symbolically.  If we've been on the mountaintop, if we've been taught by God, if we've heard Him speak to us--then we will draw other people in!  Now, we won't draw everybody in...but those with softened hearts will be drawn in and captivated by what God's done.  People will know that God is with us.  And then they will be motivated to go up and learn from God for themselves!

This is testimony-based evangelism, and this is what God wants us to do.  He wants us to learn and grow based on what we've learned on His mountain!  He wants to tell us great and unsearchable things (Jeremiah 33:3) and provoke others to holy jealousy.  He wants us to gather around Him.

God's Character as our Plumb Line

A few days ago, I was walking around outside the house, when I saw a line of string hanging down from a low part of the roof.  There was a tiny weight attached to the end of this string...I'm not sure what the thing was there for.  And the Lord reminded me that His Word is our plumb line.

"I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line..."

Isaiah 28:17

In the Old Testament, righteousness was God's plumb line, and whenever this line was crossed, He would bring on judgement.  There is a righteousness that God expected of His OT people, and when they fell away and worshiped idols, He was obliged to move towards judgement.  The plumb line is something that Israel was not to cross.  The plumb line is from Him, and it is also for Him, so that they knew that He was justified in His judgement (Psalms 51:4).

Today, we have God's righteousness embodied in His word.  We have His plumb line shown throughout the Bible.  He has set precepts that are to be fully obeyed (Psalms 119:4)--this is the plumb line.  If we cross it, we lose the righteousness He's given.  If we cross it, our disobedience takes away the blessing on us and hedge of protection around us.  It happened again and again to the Israelites, and it happens to us today.

There is a more personal element to this, too.  We can discern God's will, God's voice, through aligning it with His Word.  We can use the Bible, and all of it's promises, as a plumb line to ensure that we are seeing things as He does.  If we are out of alignment, His plumb line will show it.

Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God."

We need to be have God make a way for us so that we can know both His Word and His power.  We have to know where our strength lies, where our foundation is at, and where our plumb line is.  We have to know how to identify His righteousness and stay within His confines so that we can walk in it.

Confirmed:  Later on this same day, I was reading a prophetic Word about God's plumb line.  Cool!  Every matter should be established by two or three witnesses... (2 Corinthians 13:1)

Confirmed:  Just today, the Lord led me to the story of Zerubbabel.

Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. "For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel-- these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth."                  Zechariah 4:9

We have here a template for our own working for the Lord.  First, we need to build upon a foundation the Lord has provided, and go on in building only according to His plumb line--only according to what He has said.  We need to make sure that our effort aligns with His will and His Word.  If He sends us into a project and guides us through it, then we are ensured to finish it!  And if He trusts us, He will allow us to take that plumb line--that essence of His character--and use it in our own hands.  

We need to be thankful for every day that God shapes our mandate and builds on our work.  We need to know that His eyes are on us, and approving of us, and then enabling us, by His Spirit.  We need to apply His character and His righteousness to our work, in order for Him to call it blessed.  That's how we create a testimony where it's clear that He's sent us.  That's where we won't be tempted to despise the day of small things.  And that's how we please Him!  God wants to sanctify our work.