Christ's Sufficiency > Myself

When it comes right down to it, we are all given that choice: to obey, or not to obey. But how many things are passively allowed into one's life that end up hindering one from fully following the Lord Jesus? When it comes right down to it, I'm finding that my own pride keeps me from obeying the truth...thinking I can add in my own "two cents" and earthly wisdom. This brings heartache, confusion, hindrances, and insecurity. But Christ brings healing, wisdom, freedom, and sufficiency.

Many a "thing" can keep a believer from fully obeying the Word of God. The apostle Paul refers to these sneaky, looked-over sins, as leaven. As only a little leaven is needed when baking bread to make it puffy and rise, only a little sin is needed for disastrous effects.

"You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is." (Galatians 5:7-10)

Put into context, Paul is exhorting those brothers and sisters who allowed the false doctrine of justification by works to creep into the church.

     vs. 7 - "...Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" May it never be that fellow believers are responsible for being a hindrance to another brother or sister obeying God. Where am I in this? (Hebrews 12:1)

     vs. 8-9 - I get the wrong idea by adding things to God's Word, trusting in the wisdom of man rather than God. Search out the truth, and God will correct...allowing bad doctrine in will blind me to the fact that I cannot justify myself. Lay before His altar the prideful thought that I can interpret Scripture completely by myself, and submit to Him the revealing of what He wants me to know in His perfect timing. God’s Word is not meant to be a mystery, but treating like a fun book to be interpreted however I want is wrong. Search the truth, and God will reveal it.

     vs. 10 - “I have confidence in you, in the Lord…”. Paul knew and had confidence in the believers because he was an apostle of God, not of men, and his words had the authority of God. He did not say, “I have confidence in you only”. He was fully aware that men will fail, but God cannot.

"And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.” But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord." (II Kings 4:38-44)

Soooo many lessons to be learned from this passage. A brother at our chapel spoke on this passage this morning, and it ties in so nicely with what I've been learning in Galatians!

     vs. 38 - Elisha as a type of Christ: whatever need the people had, they went to Elisha who was with them. "...returned to Gilgal" - Gilgal was the place that the people of Israel had originally been circumcised after coming out of the Wilderness (Joshua 4-5). We can see this as a picture of us being circumcised in a spiritual sense, that is, putting no confidence in the flesh. We must return to Gilgal, that place of putting no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:1-7) We must be reminded of this over and over again--not of ourselves. Man's wisdom fails. Be led by the Spirit. "...and there was a famine in the land." Is that where I am, in a spiritual famine? "Put on the large pot..." we must look to the Word of God, the food we need. Elisha gave them instructions of what to do, like God tells us what to do.

     vs. 39-40 - adding foreign objects is wrong! (Galatians 2:16-19; 5:1-9) Just a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

     vs. 41 - Once again, Elisha gave them instructions: go to that which you know (the flour speaking of bringing Christ back into the picture, the only perfect One, the only One Who can justify us). Reminds me of Jeremiah 6:16...stick to the old roads, that which is good.

     vs. 42-44 - this amount of food did not seem sufficient enough for the people, but it was made more than enough! Like when Christ fed the five thousand, He wants to show His perfection and sufficiency in weakness. He is more than able to provide all that we need. (II Corinthians 12:9-10)

Here's what I'm getting at...when I add extra things, I get bogged down. Christ is more than enough. He's where I need to put my confidence. How on earth do I do that? Well, for starters, I need to ask for help. Get in the Word. Get rid of the rubbish. Stop dumpster diving.

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." (II Corinthians 3:5)

Posterous theme by Cory Watilo