Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Touch (9-28-12)
Hebrews 5:14 - "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."
1 John 1:1-2 - "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us" This time we're going to focus on the sense of touch. How does touch play into our relationship with God? Here again John tells us about his close and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ when He was walking on the earth. He says "our hands handled" another translation says "touched with our hands." John was very close to our Lord. This is the disciple who was leaning, resting on Jesus at the last supper. Of course John is not the only one who touched Jesus. We know that after He was resurrected Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 24:39 - "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." He invited all His disciples to touch His risen body and see that it was truly Him. Thomas wasn't there at that time but Jesus gave him the same opportunity in John 20:27 - "Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”" The Lord Jesus invited people to touch Him.
During the Lords earthly ministry crowds would swarm around Jesus in order to touch Him. They knew that there was something peculiar about Him. They knew that a simple touch would bring healing. We read in Luke 6:19 - "And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all." And in Mark 3:10 it says - "for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him." And again in Mark 6:56 we read - "Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured."
Jesus touched sinners and allowed sinners to touch Him. This is an amazing thing. According to the Law an unclean person was not supposed to touch a clean person lest they be defiled. But Jesus, although He touched and was touched by unclean sinners, was never defiled. In Mark 5:25-34 we read this account - "A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”" This is amazing. According to the Law of God in Leviticus chapter 15, this woman should not have touched Christ, or anybody else for that matter. She was unclean, and uncleanness is passed on by touch. According to the Law anyone she touched would be made unclean, but Christ cannot be defiled. It's impossible. Rather than defiling Him with her uncleanness, He purified her with His purity because she had faith enough to reach out and touch Him. This illustrates a biblical truth. Christ, according to Hebrews 7, is holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners and exalted above the heavens. Man, because of our inherited sin nature, is unholy, guilty, defiled, sinful, destined to perish and suffer the consequences of our sin, which is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. However, God in His great love with which He loved us, even when we were still helpless, ungodly sinners and enemies of God, sent forth His Son born of a woman and made in the likeness of men in order that we might be cleansed from our sins by touching Him. He made Himself available and came near to us in order that we might touch Him by faith and be cleansed of the defilement of our flesh, just like this woman was. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him. Can you say that you touched Christ? This woman touched Christ in a crowd, and the only ones who knew it were the two of them. It doesn't matter what environment someones in, it doesn't matter what circumstances, Christ has made it so that anyone can reach out in faith and touch Him and be cleansed of our sins.
Matthew 14:36 - "and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.”
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Sight (9-24-12)
Hebrews 5:14 - "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."
This time around we're going to look at what the Word of God has to say about our sense of sight and how it relates to our relationship with God. We read in 1 Timothy 1:17 - "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." God is invisible, He cannot be seen with the physical eye. So how does sight play in to our relationship with God? The Bible says in John 1:18 - "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." Here again were told that we cannot see God the Father, but Christ, God in the flesh, appeared as the greatest revelation God has ever given. The Lord Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. If we are going to see God, we're going to see Him through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:15 says - "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." Though we don't see the Father, Hebrews 2:9 says - "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." Even today Christ is the image of the invisible God. He still has a physical body although it's a glorified body. So how do we see Christ today? Through His Word. Through the testimony of those who saw Him. John says in 1 John 1:1-3 - "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." He also writes in John 1:14 - "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." John saw the Lord Jesus in His earthly body. He had daily interaction with Him. And as close as their fellowship was, I'm convinced that God wants to have that same closeness with you and I. He wants to reveal Himself to us through His Word and through a close walk with Him day by day. We can vividly see Him through what He has revealed of Himself in His word. We may not be able to see Him with the physical eye, but we have the testimony of those who did. And we also have the word of Christ in John 20:29 - "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
In John chapter 1 we're given the testimony of John the baptist. In John 1:29 we read - "The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."" And again in verse 34 he says - "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." Those who saw Jesus and knew who He was couldn't keep from speaking about Him. Peter and John said in Acts 4:20 - "for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard." We have faithful testimonies of those who have seen Christ all throughout the Bible. And we see Him through their testimony, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:7 - "for we walk by faith, not by sight." We have faith in what God reveals to us concerning Himself in His Word. And when we approach the Word of God we need to pray with the psalmist in Psalm 119:18 - "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." God is invisible and eternal, and the only way to see the eternal invisible things are with the eyes of faith. 2 Corinthians 4:18 - "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." Pauls prayer for the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:18-19 was this - "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might."
In John chapter 1 The Lord Jesus is called the "Light of men." Light enables us to see. There would be no sight apart from it. Even so, there is no true light, and no one can see any spiritual thing apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. The relationship between light and sight are very interesting in Scripture. Jesus said in Matthew 6:22-23 - "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" The word "clear" in this verse means "single". This verse comes in the context of Jesus talking about how we are unable to serve two masters, and how we don't need to worry about food or clothing, but God will take care of us if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. And in all this He talks about the focus of our eye. If our eyes are not fixed on Jesus we are not going to be able to see, to discern between good and evil. And if we try to focus on Him with one eye and focus on serving ourselves with the other, then our vision will be distorted we won't be able to see. Our eye needs to be single, focused on Him in order that our lives might be full of light. Hebrews 12:2 - "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." C.S. Lewis said - "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." In Acts chapter 26 the apostle Paul is recounting his testimony, and he says in verse 18 that the Lord Jesus called him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles - "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me." Mankind has a problem. We are all born blind, spiritually blind. Concerning those who are still lost in their sins, 2 Corinthians 4:4 says - "in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." Satan, the god of this world has blinded the eyes of the unbelieving that they might not see the light of Christ. All who have seen the light of the gospel have had their eyes opened by the Light Himself. The only way we can see is if Christ Himself opens our eyes and reveals Himself to us. We see a great example of this in John chapter 9. In John chapter 9 the Lord Jesus came upon a man who was blind from birth. And the Lord Jesus, after speaking of Himself as the Light of the world, gave sight to the blind man. This man knew barely anything about Jesus. He hadn't even seen him yet after he received his sight, but this man had a testimony, and a powerful one at that. He may not have understood everything about Christ, but he gives this testimony in John 9:25 - "one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." That's the testimony that we sing quite often in the song Amazing grace. "I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."
We have a similar testimony in the hymn Blessed assurance. Fanny Crosby, the writer of this hymn says in verses 2 and 3 - "Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love. Perfect submission, all is at rest I in my Savior am happy and blest, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love." She writes about visions of rapture bursting on her sight. Watching and waiting, looking above. The incredible thing about this woman is that she was blind from the time she was an infant. And yet she had better sight than most seeing people today, because she wasn't looking at the temporal things, she had her eyes fixed on the real things, the eternal things. And she was looking for Christ Himself.
As you read through Hebrews chapter 11, the faith chapter, over and over again you'll notice that sight is referred to. Noah was warned about things not yet seen, and faith moved him to action. The patriarchs were looking for an unseen city, one which had everlasting foundations whose architect and builder is God. Faith sees the invisible. In Hebrews 11:24-27 we read - "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." God is invisible and yet Moses lived his life as seeing Him who is invisible. Faith enables us to see the unseen. How is your sight?
2 Corinthians 4:18 - "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
Monday, April 28, 2014
Hearing (9-22-12)
Hebrews 5:14 - "But solid food is for the mature, who
because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."
The next sense we're going to look at is our sense of hearing. In Romans 10:17 we read - "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. We need to have our ears tuned to hear Him. The Bible is not just a book, it is the Word of God. And when we come to the Bible we need to stay away from the mindset that it's just a book and we need to have the mindset that our Father is speaking to us. Every time you open the Word of God He has a message for you individually, something that He wants to talk to you about. We're not just reading words, we're listening for His voice. Jesus said in John 10:27 - "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Hearing God always results in a response from the hearer. Jesus said "My sheep hear My voice... and they follow Me." For those of us who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, when we hear His voice we follow Him, and following Him often means responding in obedience to the things He has said.
In Matthew chapter 13 the Lord Jesus tells the parable of the sower, and He talks about four different types of ground in which the sower sowed seed. He explains the parable in Matthew 13:18-23 saying - “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” The four types of ground are representative of four types of hearers. All four had the seed, they all heard the word, but only one had the proper response. one hears the word and does not understand. One hears the word and when affliction or persecution arise he immediately falls away. Another hears the word and worry and deceit choke it and it becomes unfruitful. And one hears the word and understands it and bears fruit. There is always a response to the hearing of Gods Word, and any response that is not one of obedience is the wrong response.
Jesus emphasizes this point in Luke 8:21 where we read - "But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”" He identifies His family as those who hear and respond in obedience. He says in Luke 11:28 - "blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."
Romans 10:17 says - "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Faith and hearing are directly connected. In Hebrews chapters three and four the writer is talking about Israels history and how they failed to enter the promised land due to unbelief. And he says in Hebrews 4:2 - "For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard." Again, faith and hearing go hand in hand. Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ, and hearing always needs to be accompanied by faith. If we don't have faith in what we hear it will not profit us.
John gives his personal testimony of his interaction with Christ in 1 John 1:1-3 - "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." His relationship with Christ was very close and very personal. He heard Him speak, he saw the works that He did, he touched Him. We'll get to these other senses later, but John and the other disciples heard Jesus, they heard the words of the Word, as He is called in John 1. Jesus is Gods greatest revelation of Himself to mankind. God communicates so much to us through His Son in every aspect of His life. The writer to the Hebrews begins the book by saying - God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." God spoke long ago through the prophets, but now He has spoken to us, personally and individually, in His Son. God has spoken and He longs for us to hear. When Jesus took Peter, James and John and went up to the mount of transfiguration, as it's called, God the Father made a proclamation out of heaven. We read in Mark 9:7 - "And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”" There are only three times in the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ when God the Father audibly spoke from heaven, and one of these three times He said “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” We need to have our sense of hearing trained to discern good and evil. We need to exercise our ears to, not only hear words from the Bible, but to actually hear Him. Our Father is speaking to us, are we hearing Him?
Mark 9:7 - "And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”"
The next sense we're going to look at is our sense of hearing. In Romans 10:17 we read - "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. We need to have our ears tuned to hear Him. The Bible is not just a book, it is the Word of God. And when we come to the Bible we need to stay away from the mindset that it's just a book and we need to have the mindset that our Father is speaking to us. Every time you open the Word of God He has a message for you individually, something that He wants to talk to you about. We're not just reading words, we're listening for His voice. Jesus said in John 10:27 - "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Hearing God always results in a response from the hearer. Jesus said "My sheep hear My voice... and they follow Me." For those of us who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, when we hear His voice we follow Him, and following Him often means responding in obedience to the things He has said.
In Matthew chapter 13 the Lord Jesus tells the parable of the sower, and He talks about four different types of ground in which the sower sowed seed. He explains the parable in Matthew 13:18-23 saying - “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” The four types of ground are representative of four types of hearers. All four had the seed, they all heard the word, but only one had the proper response. one hears the word and does not understand. One hears the word and when affliction or persecution arise he immediately falls away. Another hears the word and worry and deceit choke it and it becomes unfruitful. And one hears the word and understands it and bears fruit. There is always a response to the hearing of Gods Word, and any response that is not one of obedience is the wrong response.
Jesus emphasizes this point in Luke 8:21 where we read - "But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”" He identifies His family as those who hear and respond in obedience. He says in Luke 11:28 - "blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."
Romans 10:17 says - "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Faith and hearing are directly connected. In Hebrews chapters three and four the writer is talking about Israels history and how they failed to enter the promised land due to unbelief. And he says in Hebrews 4:2 - "For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard." Again, faith and hearing go hand in hand. Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ, and hearing always needs to be accompanied by faith. If we don't have faith in what we hear it will not profit us.
John gives his personal testimony of his interaction with Christ in 1 John 1:1-3 - "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." His relationship with Christ was very close and very personal. He heard Him speak, he saw the works that He did, he touched Him. We'll get to these other senses later, but John and the other disciples heard Jesus, they heard the words of the Word, as He is called in John 1. Jesus is Gods greatest revelation of Himself to mankind. God communicates so much to us through His Son in every aspect of His life. The writer to the Hebrews begins the book by saying - God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." God spoke long ago through the prophets, but now He has spoken to us, personally and individually, in His Son. God has spoken and He longs for us to hear. When Jesus took Peter, James and John and went up to the mount of transfiguration, as it's called, God the Father made a proclamation out of heaven. We read in Mark 9:7 - "And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”" There are only three times in the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ when God the Father audibly spoke from heaven, and one of these three times He said “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” We need to have our sense of hearing trained to discern good and evil. We need to exercise our ears to, not only hear words from the Bible, but to actually hear Him. Our Father is speaking to us, are we hearing Him?
Mark 9:7 - "And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”"
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Taste (9-20-11)
Hebrews 5:14 - "But solid food is for the mature, who
because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."
The writer to the Hebrews tells us that we need to be mature, and he describes the mature as those who have their senses trained to discern good and evil. All of our senses are talked about in the Scripture in regard to our relationship with Christ. I would like to go through the Bible and point out what the Word of God has to say about each of our five senses and how they relate to our walk with God and the first one that I want to focus on is taste, simply because that is the one directly referenced in this verse and it's context.
Here in Hebrews chapter 5 and into chapter 6 it's talking about feeding on and tasting the Word of God. We read in Hebrews 5:12-14 - "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." We need to grow up in all aspects in Christ. When we were infants milk was enough to satisfy us, and what's more, it was pleasing to our taste. And as we grow up we still enjoy milk, but solid food is so much better. This is how our study of the Word of God should be. Peter says in 1 Peter 2:2 - "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation." The basics of our salvation are still wonderful, no matter how mature we are in our relationship with God. The elementary principles of the oracles of God, the pure milk of the Word is wonderful. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." These are wonderful verses and wonderful truths that never grow old even though they are basic and the youngest Christian knows them. But as we grow up in Christ we need to have our sense of taste exercised to discern good and evil. We need to partake of solid food, the truths in the Word of God that are not so basic. We need to have our sense of taste trained so that we know when something doesn't taste quite right, biblically speaking. When we read a book or a commentary, or listen to someone expounding a passage of Scripture, if we are infants, if we don't know the Word of God we're likely to take them at their word, and for all we know they may be feeding us junk food. We need to exercise our sense of taste in the Word of God and go beyond the pure milk of the Word. And when we do we'll discover just what the Psalmist did in Psalm 119:103 - "How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Gods Word is sweet to the taste.
As well as tasting the Word of God, the Bible talks about other ways that our taste aids our relationship with God. In 1 Peter 2:3, right after we're told to long for the pure milk of the Word, we read - "if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord." Everyone who is saved has tasted the kindness of the Lord, we have all tasted the grace of God in our salvation. We may not even realize it, but we know what Gods grace tastes like. In Psalm 34:8 we read - "O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" This isn't talking about the Word of God, or the grace of God, but God Himself! "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
It's kind of strange to think about, tasting the Lord, and obviously it's not a literal tasting the Lord just like tasting the Word of God doesn't literally mean eating pages out of the Bible, but rather it's entering into and enjoying Him and being satisfied with Him. We eat physical food to satisfy our appetite. We taste and see that the Lord is good because He is the only one who can satisfy the soul.
The Psalmist says in Psalm 42:1-2 - "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?" The Psalmist has a hunger and a thirst for God, because He alone can satisfy. David says in Psalm 63:1 - "O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Again, we see a longing for God. And when we come to verse 5 we read this - "My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips." God alone can satisfy a hungry soul, and everyone who will taste Him will see that He indeed is good. In the Song of Solomon we have a very beautiful and intimate love relationship between Christ and the church pictured. Every one of the five senses is used in this book, helping us understand how they apply to our relationship with God. In chapter 2 verse 5 the bride says - "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
Psalm 34:8 - "O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"
The writer to the Hebrews tells us that we need to be mature, and he describes the mature as those who have their senses trained to discern good and evil. All of our senses are talked about in the Scripture in regard to our relationship with Christ. I would like to go through the Bible and point out what the Word of God has to say about each of our five senses and how they relate to our walk with God and the first one that I want to focus on is taste, simply because that is the one directly referenced in this verse and it's context.
Here in Hebrews chapter 5 and into chapter 6 it's talking about feeding on and tasting the Word of God. We read in Hebrews 5:12-14 - "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." We need to grow up in all aspects in Christ. When we were infants milk was enough to satisfy us, and what's more, it was pleasing to our taste. And as we grow up we still enjoy milk, but solid food is so much better. This is how our study of the Word of God should be. Peter says in 1 Peter 2:2 - "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation." The basics of our salvation are still wonderful, no matter how mature we are in our relationship with God. The elementary principles of the oracles of God, the pure milk of the Word is wonderful. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." These are wonderful verses and wonderful truths that never grow old even though they are basic and the youngest Christian knows them. But as we grow up in Christ we need to have our sense of taste exercised to discern good and evil. We need to partake of solid food, the truths in the Word of God that are not so basic. We need to have our sense of taste trained so that we know when something doesn't taste quite right, biblically speaking. When we read a book or a commentary, or listen to someone expounding a passage of Scripture, if we are infants, if we don't know the Word of God we're likely to take them at their word, and for all we know they may be feeding us junk food. We need to exercise our sense of taste in the Word of God and go beyond the pure milk of the Word. And when we do we'll discover just what the Psalmist did in Psalm 119:103 - "How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Gods Word is sweet to the taste.
As well as tasting the Word of God, the Bible talks about other ways that our taste aids our relationship with God. In 1 Peter 2:3, right after we're told to long for the pure milk of the Word, we read - "if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord." Everyone who is saved has tasted the kindness of the Lord, we have all tasted the grace of God in our salvation. We may not even realize it, but we know what Gods grace tastes like. In Psalm 34:8 we read - "O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" This isn't talking about the Word of God, or the grace of God, but God Himself! "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
It's kind of strange to think about, tasting the Lord, and obviously it's not a literal tasting the Lord just like tasting the Word of God doesn't literally mean eating pages out of the Bible, but rather it's entering into and enjoying Him and being satisfied with Him. We eat physical food to satisfy our appetite. We taste and see that the Lord is good because He is the only one who can satisfy the soul.
The Psalmist says in Psalm 42:1-2 - "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?" The Psalmist has a hunger and a thirst for God, because He alone can satisfy. David says in Psalm 63:1 - "O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Again, we see a longing for God. And when we come to verse 5 we read this - "My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips." God alone can satisfy a hungry soul, and everyone who will taste Him will see that He indeed is good. In the Song of Solomon we have a very beautiful and intimate love relationship between Christ and the church pictured. Every one of the five senses is used in this book, helping us understand how they apply to our relationship with God. In chapter 2 verse 5 the bride says - "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
Psalm 34:8 - "O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"
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