Bible In One Year-Day39 (Saturday, February 08, 2014)

Commentary: Luke16-18. The book of Luke has been quite interesting so far and a good minister of God and all genuine believers should look deeply into it. Jesus’ worst ministry enemies were not those outside but those who had the scriptures at source; the Pharisees, teachers, scribes and lawyers. These were the guys who loved good appellations, they believe in self righteousness and justification. At any gathering, they want to be recognized, they love the best places to sit where people could see. Going to a bible college to acquire biblical knowledge is not anointing, rather, it is to boost brain power. Anointing teaches and reveals the truth; inspiration. Anointing gives real-time information.

1 John 2:27 “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”

In essence, one could have a Ph.D in bible knowledge but without the revelation knowledge of the reality of God. Without anointing, one could be an award earner in wrong teaching, i.e. Phylosophies. The Pharisees had this knowledge but demons were comfortable while they taught in the Synagogue. But when Jesus taught under the power of anointing of the Holy Spirit, demons were uncomfortable.

Luke 4:33& 36 “And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean demon, and cried out with a loud voice, … And they were all amazed, and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

The Pharisees have the knowledge of the scripture but no revelation of what the scripture says; this is WOE!!! They mixed the resources of the knowledge of God’s word with the love for money. Know something beloved, knowledge is good but it is not the ultimate.

Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Only the Holy Spirit gives understanding, i.e. light, of the scripture (Isaiah11:2). The presence of a spirit in knowledge is the power of the knowledge. Any knowledge that touches people listening, positively or negatively, has a spirit behind it. In the case of the Pharisees and co, Lk16:14 tells what spirit was behind their knowledge and that was why they deceived a lot of people in order to earn respect and worship from men. Comparing this to Jesus’ word in John6:63, when the Holy Spirit rests on you, He uses your knowledge in the word of God to work as the word of God is the sword of the Spirit; He gives life to the word. The Holy Spirit gives the understanding of the revealed word. It is absolutely ominous to go into ministry without the fullness of the Spirit of your assignment in the vineyard because you will meet the Pharisees and co in it and they will challenge your knowledge and authority to the core. Jesus did not run away from them. He even dined with them, but because of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, he knew the intents of their hearts and that was the defeat of the Pharisees and co each time they confronted Him. Remember that Jesus was led to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested by Satan. Satan used the ‘word’ to test Jesus, but the Holy Spirit was there to raise a standard against the devil.

Luke 12:12 “For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.”

Which means that it is the Holy Spirit that suggests what to do and say and not you showing off.

Isaiah 59:19 “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”

A preacher or evangelist who has not the Spirit that searches the heart of the audience will not have the correct word to preach. The Spirit moves, searches the heart and then picks the right word from the knowledge bank to pierce that heart and releases power into it. Please carefully go through these scriptures in order; 1Cor2:10, Eph6:17 and Heb4:12. The words of Jesus gave the Pharisees tough times. Their protests were as a result of the discomfort Jesus’ words gave them. They were only trying to protect their prestige and self justification before men, Lk16:15.

Luke 16:15 “And he said to them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

When the word of God is sugarcoated, it loses its power and the glory in it is affected. Our resource is the word of God. The messages in Lk16 reflect on the management of these resources. Jesus did not face the Pharisees and co to teach them this management because they were operating under another spirit but He faced His disciples who will soon receive the true riches; the gift of the Spirit of God. However, the splash of His word hit the Pharisees. A good reflection of Jesus’ teaching on management is that of the rich man and Lazarus. The revealed truth of this aspect will be heavier than this piece of article. Meanwhile, the little part of it is that there were two ‘Pastors’ represented in the parable; Pastor Richman and Pastor Dog. Pastor Richman had resources but used it to build a fence round himself to shield the assignment of God (which is Lazarus discomfort) away from getting to him. Pastor Dog on the other hand was compassionate on Lazarus and therefore carried out its ministerial duty by licking the wounds of Lazarus; i.e. (Matt12:34) he compassionately engaged in the assignment of God. THIS IS LOVE. Lazarus is the assignment. The tongue of the dog gave comfort to Lazarus. Believers having the Spirit of God should comfort the discomforted and not use the resources given to them for self comfort just like the rich man. The Holy Spirit is the Kingdom of God we need to seek for, and this is what will bring in other things, Matt6:33. The rich man bought earthly comfort for himself with God’s resources at the detriment of eternal comfort. An attribute of a Pharisee is described in Lk18:9.

Luke 18:9 “And he spoke this parable to certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:”

Because of this, Jesus gave the parable on prayer. Humility, purity of heart and faith are not negotiable when you stand to pray. May the Lord shine His light brighter in our souls in Jesus name, AMEN!!!. Prayer: Lord, increase our faith (Lk17:5). Next mile on the trip is Lk19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive. Spread the gospel of JESUS!!!