To Him Shall Be Given

July 15, 2009

To Him Shall Be Given

Kathleen Maples

Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

I have considered this Scripture much lately, with a question in my mind. If He has given-made available to us an understanding and opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, why is so much of the church ignorant of these things? I could only conclude that it is because of two things: carnality and unbelief. The natural man receiveth not the things of God. (1Co_2:14) So much of the church is carnal, walking in self will and unbelief rather than in the Holy Spirit. The Cross is not understood as it should be, and yet we cannot fully fault the pulpit for we are responsible to study the Scriptures and pray and let the Spirit of God do what He was sent to do-guide us into all truth and replace our self life with His divine life. Only then can we reflect the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many times when He begins to point us to self denial, we retreat, and prefer to struggle with our weakness rather than just give it to Him. Oh, pray for the grace to want Him more than yourself. Whatever it is you are hanging on to will never satisfy you like He can. It can't save you, either. To see Him, as He is, to understand His pure loveliness and begin to hunger for Him. This is a divine work of the Holy Spirit He wants to accomplish in our hearts. We will need this. Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Carefully consider what He is saying here. He's talking about those to whom He has given a chance to know and understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. This is a life whose Source and agenda differ radically from the earthly natural life. It's about serving Him, and involves some personal suffering. It's not about pleasing self, but pleasing Him. Whosoever has that revelation, has it because they have done what He said do: Ask, seek, and find. Knock. Eat My Word. Pray. Humble yourself and seek My face. This kind of revelation is not given to those who don't seek it. Those who seek understanding, who seek to know what He's made available, are given more revelation, more understanding. Those who are casual, lazy or careless about the things of God will not receive this. The Door has been opened to them, but they make excuses and they do not take advantage of this opportunity. It requires a hunger and thirst many do not have. Not having the desire is no excuse, either, for in Phil 2:13 He said it is God that works in us to cause us to desire to do His Will and to do it. He gives us the desire, but if we see we lack it, we must pray for Him to stir this desire in us. To give it to us. When I got saved, I was hooked on marijuana and cigarettes-I'd been smoking both for 17 years, heavily. When He saved me, He delivered me from the desire for drugs, He broke that chain. But the cigarettes was something different. I believe it was because the drug addiction was a demonic stronghold on my life, and the cigarette addiction was a thing of the flesh. He broke what I couldn't break. He began to deal with me after about three months to stop smoking. I didn't want to. I

liked to smoke and I was a heavy smoker. It was a great stress reliever, so I thought. I was a young Christian, about four months old in the Lord, and didn't know or understand much of doctrine or theology. I just knew how to read my Bible, though I didn't understand a whole lot, and pray and talk to God. I knew prayer always just left me with the most amazing feeling-that this awesome wonderful God who had healed such deep pain in my soul, who had washed me clean from such an awful life of sin, would listen to me and loved me. To me, it was amazing. So I did the only thing I knew to do, I just went honestly before God and asked for the desire to quit, because I confessed to Him I didn't want to do this. I told Him I was sorry, I should want to do anything He asked, because He'd done so much for me, and I felt bad that something in me didn't want to cooperate, but I didn't dwell on it, I just went to Him and asked for help to do what He wanted me to do. I wasn't aware Php 2:13 promised this. I just knew I loved Him, and if He wanted me to stop smoking, He would have to help me because I couldn't do it on my own. He honored that simple prayer by planting a desire to be free of the cigarettes in my heart. Was it easy? No-I had a 17 year habit and I was totally addicted to nicotine. Did suffering through the cravings for a few days, while being married to a smoker, and working with smokers, take me down? No, because I was weak, and He was there to strengthen me and His Presence and His Word drew me. He had done the work in my mind, as well. He changed the way I began to think about smoking. I found myself wanting Him more and resenting the hold the cigarettes had on me. When I'd go to light up, inevitably my eyes would look up and the thought would go through my mind, "if Jesus comes, and I'm smoking, will He leave me here?" and the Scripture would come to mind about not defiling His temple. He began to show more of Himself to me, I began to sense His Presence, and understand His Word a little more because I was reading it more, hungering to know Him. I began to want to know Him more than than I wanted to smoke. He did this in me. I just had to determine to quit, and suffered the denial of self-I reached the point I just simply refused to put another cigarette in my mouth. I leaned heavily on Him through the withdrawal, by praying and praising Him for delivering me. It wasn't anything I was told to do, it was just something I did. I believe it was His Spirit guiding me. I didn't do it on my own. HE did it. He alone gets the credit, and glory and my heartfelt gratitude for delivering me from that ball and chain! I haven't had a cigarette in 8 years-because HE lives in me. Everything in our lives unlike Him, we can, like little children, bring Him, and ask Him to begin this process of deliverance in our lives. I was under the blood, forgiven, but He was separating me from a worldly, unhealthy habit. We take His Word into ourselves, and His Spirit in us uses it to teach us right from wrong. His Word creates new desires in us which war with the desires of the self. But He is so faithful! Jesus says in Mat_6:33 we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness. This is a command, not a suggestion. But whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even what he has. My God. This is so serious. Consider what He is saying here. Whosoever has not, from him shall be taken what he has. Without a vision, the people perish (Pro_29:18). Those who don't seek this greater revelation of Christ, and His kingdom will lose even what they have-their salvation. That is all that remains that could be lost. He saves us, then He says, come follow Me. Those who do, make it, those who don't, won't. Only He knows the way. We can't do it the way we think it's to be done.

Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and

their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with

their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Seeing, they see not and hearing they hear not nor understand. Consider what He's saying. The Lord doesn't want to hide truth from us. He left everything in heaven to put on flesh and come down here and show us Truth. He demonstrated by His behavior and the lengths and depths He went to how much He wanted to show us the truth of God, the way of God, and the life of God. It is not His will for us to be in the dark about anything. I had never really thought much about these Scriptures, until He drew my attention to them. I had read them, but not really understood them. But as I was reading these last night, it occurred to me to ask WHY did they see and see not, hear and hear not nor understand? YOU were right there, being to them what the Holy Ghost is to be to us. You were showing the world all along what the Spirit of God would be to the believer who yielded. Teacher, and Guide and Comforter. Why did they not see or understand what was being offered to them, what was right in front of their faces? I was so surprised when He answered me softly "They were willfully ignorant". Peter warns us in 2 Pet 3 of a people who were willingly ignorant, and would scoff and mock or not believe the Word of God, even though there stood a testimony of what God did to previous generations who refused to repent in Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the flood of Noah's generation. God demonstrated His justice on those who would willfully break His law, and not repent. Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

You look up and see the order and beauty all around you, in the natural things of the world, the sky, and space, and you know in your heart Someone had to create these things. It had to start somewhere. Evil, unregenerate minds under demonic influence want to convince us it just happened through some big bang, but I know if I have all the ingredients to make a cake it won't happen unless I take the ingredients and put them together the way they are to be and then put them in the oven and bake it. It's not going to happen on its own by random chance. They had truth laid out before them, offered to them, freely you have received, He said. They heard, alright, and then they went on about their business, unchanged, because it basically went in one ear and out the other. They saw what Truth was. They see the truth but don't take heed to it. They hear, they understand enough to know it is right, but they don't fully comprehend because they never put forth the effort to learn and they don't consider the truth valuable enough to change their

ways and follow Him. It's a mental assent to truth, yes this is right, but they don't act on what they have heard. They heard the Word of God preached, but they haven't considered that this hearing requires action on their part to be effective. It is not the hearers that are justified, but those who hear and do. This people's heart is waxed gross, He said. What does that mean in plain English? Their minds, their feelings, are hard and dull, they are not soft and sensitive to the Spirit of God who is Truth. They have a hard time hearing truth because their heart is hard. They have refused to see and hear because to do so will cost them something they are unwilling to surrender-themselves. To surrender to such truth will cause them to turn from their ways to His, their thoughts to His, their life to His, and in so doing, they would be made whole. So how does this apply to us? Well, I'm guilty, and you are too. How many times have we heard the Word of God preached, knowing it was truth, and then left the service, or turned it off if we were listening at home, and continued on about our business, doing nothing about what we've heard? We leave the church on Sunday, and in the parking lot, the conversation isn't about the Word of God, which is meant to save and deliver us, but about which restaurant we're going to, or what we are going to do that afternoon, or whose birthday party the kids are invited to. Someone can ask us what was preached and we can't remember. Many go home and eat and get busy doing other things. Whatever happened to keeping the Sabbath day holy? It's only holy when it's set apart for spending time with Him who is holy. How many go home, and get alone with God and say, okay, you have offered me some truth this morning that will change my life and pray until they touch heaven, for God to make this real in their lives? I know this works if you have to do other things, like work or take care of your family. Your mind can focus on Him and you can lift your heart and thoughts in prayer to Him as you work. I've done it and I know He hears. He responds. To hear truth is one thing, but to receive truth is another. He came unto His own and they received Him not. If we don't spend time with Him, digging in His Word, and praying for Him to help us understand, and make it real in our lives, it won't be real to us, it won't change us. Just the opposite, we will get hard to it, because we let too many other things interfere with His Word. Picture in your mind a bride, all dressed in her bridal gown, pure, and clean. To have that pristine gown on she can't indulge in other things and it stay clean. She has to be separated from other activities to stay clean. She can't walk the dog, or get down in the floor and play with the kids, she can't mop the floor or scrub the oven, she can't swim, or do normal earthly activities in her gown and stay clean. Now apply that spiritually. Spiritually, we are to be clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. If we are His Temple, and He lives inside us, we must remember to listen to Him and commune often with Him. But many don't, and their spiritual garments begin to get spotted up and wrinkled up. We shouldn't set anything unclean or wicked before our eyes. The Bible tells us this. Many don't take the time to pray but will sit down and play video games that are full of sorcery, murder and mayhem, with sensually dressed characters, or watch TV shows written by unregenerate people that are full of the same, and catch themselves laughing at ungodliness, knowing in the back of their mind there's a little urging of the Spirit, trying to warn them, but they don't listen. The internet is a breeding ground for this kind of ungodly entertainment with its online video

games, where you assume another personality, and become involved in a virtual world, and its anything but Christ-like. It's the enemy of your soul alluring you through the lust of your flesh, the pride of life, and the sight of your eyes, to escape reality and sink your mind into an alternate world of 'entertainment'. This isn't like Pac-Man, folks. If you've ever seen the wildly popular "World of Warcraft" game, you will understand what I mean. I have family that plays it and I refused to allow my son to take part, nor would I. You tell yourself, it's just a game. Harmless. It's not real. But if you are a Christian, you have no business taking part of it because it's drawing you away from Him. How are you different from the world if you entertain yourself with what they do? You are setting something wicked before your eyes and defiling His temple. Spot. Blemish. Wrinkle. Stain. What if it's your job that consumes your thoughts and time? Ask Him for help. If your job doesn't require much mental effort then give your mind to Him, His Word, meditate on the Scriptures you read on your break, talk to Him from your heart as you work. If you can't do this while you work, do it on your break. Whatever you have to do, give Him some time, whenever you can. What if it's just a romance novel? Just reading a book that is not spiritual? What if you are just watching old episodes of Home Improvement just to relax because they are funny? We tell ourselves, it's been a long day, we need a break, some rest, and just a few laughs every now and then. Then you are feeding the old man, not the new and the one you feed the most will be the one who overcomes. If the old man is fed more, he will overcome and you will be lost. Do I think it's wrong to watch TV? If you've already given God His time, and put Him first, and fed that inner man, then He will guide you into real rest and joy and peace. Ask Him if He's okay with it. I know I feel like a traitor when I sit in front of it more than I read my Bible and pray. I have a fondness for watching things on history or the discovery or national geographic channels, history in the world, or our nation, and about animals, and ocean life. I also like Andy Griffith (and Home Improvement) and Fox News, so I understand what I'm saying here, because I am speaking from experience. It's a matter of having the right priorities. He must come first. If He's first, then these other things will lose their importance and appeal. His life in us must increase and our self life must decrease. If other things interest you more, it's because you haven't really seen Him yet. You haven't had that personal encounter with Him that will forever change you. Once you taste of Him, these things will begin to pale in comparison. To give them up will be like trading dung for riches, as Paul said. Whatever I counted (before) as gain, I now count as dung-it's meaningless. I've seen Him, and I'm willing to give up everything that I may know HIM. He is my Treasure. Oh, the enemy of your soul will try to draw you to these pathetic things of the world so you don't ever have that encounter with HIM because the devil wants you to miss Him. Flesh doesn't want that encounter because it knows it's under a death sentence as far as He is concerned. Haven't you ever wondered WHY Paul said what He did? Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them

but dung, that I may win Christ, Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but

that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

All these other things, all this religious head knowledge, all the studying and reading I had done, all the possessions and material gains I had in this world, once I saw Him, He knocked me off my high horse, and showed me truth. Paul had an encounter with the Living Savior. It forever changed him. He realized nothing mattered except knowing Him, following Him, having as much of Him as He could get. Everything else was kicked out, thrown out, because He counted knowing HIM more excellent than what he had before Him. He counted everything he had worthless in comparison to what the Lord offered. He understood, if I reject my self effort, all my religious knowledge, worldly knowledge and distractions of things that aren't really important, and pursue Him, then my righteousness won't be something I have striven to do or have, it will be all Him. I'll just be filled with HIM, then I will be filled with His righteousness. He knew there would be some suffering, some denying that old man his way, and feeding that new life he got when he was born again. But just as Jesus was dead to everything but the Father's will, so Paul would be dead to everything except the will of Christ. In return, he would know Him so well, he could accurately reflect Christ to a lost and dying world and people would be saved by the thousands. Paul had a peace in his heart that saw him through all his troubles and trials. Paul had a relationship with Jesus Christ that kept his faith strong while sitting for two years in a Roman jail, while other so-called Christians thought he had missed God and was being punished. You can't jump in a mud puddle and not get muddy. Your mind is supposed to be pure, and stayed on Him, but when you feed it on things of the world, it won't be pure, nor will it be spiritual. These things will draw you away from Him. They will dull your spiritual senses, and your spiritual sight and hearing. He will not compete to be heard over things we willingly subject ourselves to. If we are too overcome with the things of this world, then we can't grasp spiritual truth, nor it's importance. It's vitally important-because He said you shall know the truth and it will make you free. We can't get free if we don't seek understanding of the truth. Jesus said their heart was dull, their ears were dull (hard of hearing) and their eyes were closed; in other words, their ability to see spiritual truth is shut down because they are blind. What blinds us? He said walk in the light while you have the light (understanding of truth) lest darkness overtake you. This is simply refusing to yield to and live according to the truth and understanding He has given us. Rejecting light leaves only darkness. If we spend more time watching TV or on the internet than we do in prayer and the Word of God, we are not going to be spiritual, but carnal. Whichever life you feed the most will be the strongest. To feed the carnal and neglect the spiritual leads to blindness. I wonder how many folks who consider themselves good Christians do these things, unaware of the danger? We go to church, we have to work, we have kids, and families to take care of, but should not HE be at the center instead of ourselves? When decisions are made, shouldn't He be consulted first, and then we should act according to His direction not our own? Oh, I don't know how to change myself and I don't think I can, but I know HE can. It's just a matter of trusting and loving Him enough to make time to get alone with Him and bring His Word to Him

and pray for His power to live it, which He has already promised. (Act_1:8) We can't do this on our own. If you have read this far, you are probably wondering, like me, dear Lord, how can I live this kind of life? How can I be like Paul? I've messed up so much! Oh, please read on for He will encourage you! Peter exhorts us to grow in grace, which is the divine influence of God upon our hearts, urging us to do the right thing. Grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior-learn Him as Savior, but know Him as Lord-and no man can say He is Lord but by the power of the Holy Ghost. (1Co_12:3). Paul exhorts us to do the same. He warns us, in Heb 4:2: we've heard the gospel preached, just like Israel did, but it didn't profit them because they didn't mix it with faith. In other words, they didn't act on what they heard. Faith is not what you know, it's what you do about what you know. Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you

again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

The writer to the Hebrews was reminding them how Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered, and was perfected, and suffering is something we want to avoid. He went through this process of suffering in the flesh because flesh didn't want to go to the cross. Dying to self involves suffering, but it's the only way to be perfected. Only as we decrease, can He increase in us-and He is our perfection. The more of Him we have, the more perfection we have. What we don't realize is by trying to avoid suffering, we do like the Jews who crucified Him, resist the Holy Spirit of God. We have a choice to make. If we are born again, and He is dealing with us about things in our lives that need to go, or need to change, and He has made us aware of this, what do we do? Either we deny the flesh, deny self, and let it be crucified, or we deny the life of Christ in us, and He is again crucified in us and by our self will. He is right, He is pure, He is holy, He is good. He knows the way, we do not. Beloved, it's not as the enemy would have you believe, that He is being mean, wanting to boss us around, and deny us pleasure in life. It is that He loves us, but even though He loves us, He cannot change this immutable truth: He is a consuming fire, and sin, in any form, cannot stand in His presence, it will be consumed. You put straw, hay, grass, or wood in a fire, it will be consumed. But lay gold in the fire, what happens? It's not consumed...it's purified. He cannot change what He is, who He is. But His desperate desire to have us be able to stand in His presence, His children, His beloved, caused Him to send His Son to die for us, so we could stand covered in His righteousness. We could no more stand in the core of a nuclear reactor without protective clothing, than we can stand in the presence of a holy God without the covering of the blood of Jesus. It's just the way it is. He offers so much more than He requires. Yes, He wants our lives, He wants to purify us so we can live with Him forever. He wants to change us so we can stand before Him unashamed. We can't change ourselves.

Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

He warned us of false prophets and mockers and scoffers in the last days. They are everywhere. A message of the cross is preached and people think it's foolish. They don't want to deny self anything, but in refusing to deny self they deny Him. We need to give more time and attention to His Word, to communicating with Him from our hearts, recognizing our need of His help and intervention in our lives. Don't take His Word lightly, take it in deep, let Him plant it in there so nothing can root it out. What He plants isn't rooted up. These are the last days and time is running out. So many are lost, so many need to see His light and life in us! He is able to keep us from falling and present us without fault before His presence! He can do it! He said He would! But we must listen to Him and follow Him and trust He knows best, even when it hurts, even when we are tired and weary, and even when we don't understand. Luk 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

Luk 21:35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Surfeiting is the result of over-indulgence. Regardless of what it is, over indulging in anything not spiritual will slow you down, make you dull, hard, heavy and slow. This is why too many church goers don't respond to the Word and the Spirit with the sensitivity they should and need to. Too many things are spotting them up. If your mind is filled with earthly things, heavenly things have no room. He will not force His way in. He stands outside and knocks, seeking entrance. It us who need to hit our knees and cry out for mercy and forgiveness, and ask Him to come and take His rightful place as number one. What a change we would see if we separate ourselves as much as possible from the things of this world, turn off the TV and computer, for a time, and read nothing but His Word. Take a set time as soon as possible and fast your mind and your body from as many worldly influences as you can, including food. Don't read the paper or watch TV for a few days. Get off the computer and out of the debate forums, and get alone with HIM. We can't reject ourselves, our ways, our desires, unless we are able to see One we want more than ourselves. That is the whole point of what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in our lives. He seeks to show us there is One who is better, who is right, who is everything we aren't, and yet He loves us. He wants to lead us to the cross Jesus said we must carry daily, nail our self will to it, and crucify us, so then the One who is more, who is better, who is Everything, can live in and through us and many can be saved and delivered from a perishing world. He is the love and life every hungry heart is searching for, whether they realize it or not. It will be an awful thing on that day of judgment when we all will have to stand before Him, and see the love and pain in His eyes. Many will stand there in awe, and finally understand that here is the love, here is what they spent their whole lives

searching for only to find it is forever beyond their reach. Those who deny Him in their lifetime will be denied when they stand before Him. If we reject Him in life, He will not accept us in eternity. He will give us in eternity what we demanded in our life: His absence. It will hurt Him to do so, but He will not violate our free will. That's what is going to make hell so awful. Millions will mourn they were deceived-and you can't be deceived if you truly love the truth and pray for Him to help you not be deceived. To spend eternity realizing He was what we longed for and we missed Him will be horrible. The devil has many deceived into believing things of this life, such as getting ahead, having money, reputation, beauty, popularity, or position, are what is important. People are always grasping, because self is never satisfied. That inner emptiness is never filled. Only God can fill that void and make us complete. Only His love can heal our wounds and hurts. Only His peace can calm our troubled hearts. If all this sounds too hard, too difficult, too impossible, just pray and admit honestly that you can't do this. You wouldn't even know how to begin to try to do this. God already knows that you can't. But He can. Trust and commit yourself, your life to Him and He will bring it to pass. He can make you what He wants you to be. Time is short, don't delay any longer to run to Him. Please. The one who listens and obeys, to him shall be given life. He is our life. Psa 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Psa 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.