The Lord called Jeremiah when he was a young man (Jeremiah 1:5, 6) and said to him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I consecrated you and appointed you a prophet to the nations.” God knew Jeremiah even before his body was formed in his mother’s womb. There is a lot of dispute nowadays about whether an embryo is a human being or not. Here is a verse that should clear that doubt forever - because God says He knew Jeremiah before he was formed. When Jeremiah was a microscopic speck in his mother’s womb, God knew him and consecrated him to be a prophet. That is a great encouragement for us - to know that God had His eye on us even when we were just microscopic specks just conceived in our mother’s wombs. He has a plan for our lives just as He had a plan for Jeremiah.
Just imagine, when Jeremiah went through all those difficulties, how this thought must have encouraged him: “I am facing a lot of difficulties right now. But God knew me when I was in my mother’s womb and He planned my life then. And that plan will be fulfilled. I am going to yield to God utterly.” All of us too should think about that whenever we face trials and difficulties. God chose you before you were born and His plan for your life will be fulfilled. So don’t ever get discouraged.
Then Jeremiah said, “Lord, I don’t know how to speak.” It is amazing how God picks up people to be prophets who are not good at public speaking. Moses was like that. He also said, “Lord, I am unable to speak publicly.” I want to encourage all of you. Don’t think that God cannot use you to preach His word just because you don’t have the ability to speak or the boldness to stand before people. The Lord said to Moses, “I made man’s mouth. Can’t I then make you speak?” If you allow God to break you and to fill you with His Holy Spirit, He can make you also His spokesman. It all depends on your walk with God.
I was a shy, self-conscious person as a young Christian. But when God anointed me with His Spirit, He began to speak through me. He can do the same with you. And one more thing: Don’t ever say to God, “Lord, I am so young.” If God calls you and consecrates you, your age won’t make any difference. You don’t have to wait until you are an old man before you start serving the Lord. As soon as you feel a burden in your heart, seek God to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and go forth and proclaim the word of God.
The Lord told Jeremiah, “Don’t say I am a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak” (Jeremiah 1:7). And then the Lord spoke a word to him that He often spoke to His prophets: “Don’t be afraid, because I am with you to deliver you”(Jeremiah 1:8). One big advantage that all the true prophets had was this that the Lord was with them. Therefore they were not afraid of any man. That is the way we need to serve the Lord today as well. The Lord must be with us.
The Lord touched Jeremiah’s mouth and told him, “I have put My words in your mouth.” God did the same for Isaiah too. Notice then the ministry that the Lord gave Jeremiah. Six activities are mentioned here – plucking up, breaking down, destroying, overthrowing, building and planting (Jeremiah 1:10). Four of these were negative and two - building and planting - were positive. Jeremiah had to tear down the old structure first and then put up God’s structure. That is not an easy thing to do. It is much easier to build a building on an empty plot of land. Christendom today is in very similar condition to what Judah was in those days. There are huge religious structures in Christendom today that are contrary to the Word of God. A prophet who comes with God’s word to such a situation will have to first pluck up, break down, destroy and overthrow many things before he can build and plant something of eternal value. It is this initial work with the bulldozer that many preachers are unwilling to do. They seek to “stitch a patch of new cloth on an old garment”. But the Lord says, “No. You have to throw away the old garment. You have to destroy the old structure completely and start afresh with something completely new.” If you don’t do that, you will not be able to build what God wants you to build. The Lord went on to encourage Jeremiah saying, “They will fight against you, but they won’t overcome you, for I am with you” (Jeremiah 1:19).
Zac Poonen
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Difference between Knowledge and Wisdom
In Psalm 34:11, David says, "Come you children listen to me, and I’ll teach you the fear of the Lord." It’s not an easy task to teach people the fear of God. It’s far easier to teach them how to analyse Romans and Ephesians! If we are to teach others to fear God, we must fear Him ourselves first. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A man who fears God can teach his flock far more than a man who merely knows the Bible. Those who do not fear God can only communicate knowledge, not wisdom. Knowledge makes a man proud - as we read in 1 Corinthians 8:1. But wisdom makes a man mature and teaches him how to apply his knowledge to the problems of daily life. Only men with wisdom can build the church of Jesus Christ.
The fear of the Lord is the ABC of the Christian life. If you haven’t taught your flock the fear of the Lord first, then however much you may have taught them other subjects, you’ve failed in your primary task. You would then be like a teacher who tries to teach his students geography and history before they can even read! No teacher in the world makes that mistake.
To learn the fear of the Lord is like learning how to read. But most elders in churches don’t teach their flock the fear of the Lord first. Here is the proof that the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.
Let me ask a question to those of you who have graduated from a seminary. Did you learn the fear of the Lord there, or did you merely get a degree-certificate? Let me ask you a second question: Why did you join that seminary? Was it to get a job, or was it to learn the fear of God? Why did you choose one seminary in preference to another? Was it because it was a more prestigious one? And did you join it even though you knew it was not evangelical in doctrine but liberal? Can you imagine Jesus sending His disciples to such seminaries to prepare them for His service? How many of you can honestly say that you chose a seminary to learn the fear of God? Probably none. Isn’t that tragic? I know that many people join a Bible school here in India only as a first step to go to the United States, to make money. Some apply to Bible schools in America in order to settle down there. How can such people ever serve the Lord? Can you acknowledge today that you joined a Bible school with wrong motives? If you’re willing to be honest, then there’s great hope for you - for God loves honest people. Now, make sure you warn others not to repeat your mistake. Teach them the fear of the Lord first. Our children don’t have to repeat the mistakes we’ve made.
In Proverbs 24:3,4, we’re told that a house is built by wisdom and that by knowledge its rooms are filled with many precious things. Notice the contrast here between wisdom and knowledge. I’m not devaluing Bible knowledge. Not at all. I’ve spent more than 40 years studying the Bible, and I think, I know it as well as anyone else.
But what I seek for most of all is wisdom. Divine love is the greatest thing in the world. But Divine love is always guided by Divine wisdom. Love without wisdom is dangerous.
Love can be likened to the petrol in the tank of a bus, and Wisdom to the driver of the bus. You certainly need love to lead your flock forward. But you need wisdom to decide which way you’re going to lead them.
Wisdom is fundamental. It is possible for you to get 100% in Bible knowledge and zero for wisdom! That would be like a student getting 100% in Physical Training and zero in Mathematics. It would be better if he got 100% in Maths and zero in Physical Training ; because in the long run, Maths is more important than P.T. And in the long run, wisdom is more important than knowledge. We saw that knowledge fills the rooms. Knowledge is like the furniture – chairs, tables and beds - that we put into our rooms. So if you have knowledge without wisdom, you’d be like a man who puts out all his expensive furniture on an empty plot of ground! Many expensive tables and sofas are there. The only thing missing is the house! You can well imagine that such a man will be the laughing stock of everyone around him. But that’s exactly what we see among most leaders and preachers in Christendom today. They have knowledge but no wisdom – because they do not fear God.
We hardly hear any preacher preaching these days about the fear of the Lord. And that’s why most believers are not wise and have so many other fears.
Zac Poonen
The fear of the Lord is the ABC of the Christian life. If you haven’t taught your flock the fear of the Lord first, then however much you may have taught them other subjects, you’ve failed in your primary task. You would then be like a teacher who tries to teach his students geography and history before they can even read! No teacher in the world makes that mistake.
To learn the fear of the Lord is like learning how to read. But most elders in churches don’t teach their flock the fear of the Lord first. Here is the proof that the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.
Let me ask a question to those of you who have graduated from a seminary. Did you learn the fear of the Lord there, or did you merely get a degree-certificate? Let me ask you a second question: Why did you join that seminary? Was it to get a job, or was it to learn the fear of God? Why did you choose one seminary in preference to another? Was it because it was a more prestigious one? And did you join it even though you knew it was not evangelical in doctrine but liberal? Can you imagine Jesus sending His disciples to such seminaries to prepare them for His service? How many of you can honestly say that you chose a seminary to learn the fear of God? Probably none. Isn’t that tragic? I know that many people join a Bible school here in India only as a first step to go to the United States, to make money. Some apply to Bible schools in America in order to settle down there. How can such people ever serve the Lord? Can you acknowledge today that you joined a Bible school with wrong motives? If you’re willing to be honest, then there’s great hope for you - for God loves honest people. Now, make sure you warn others not to repeat your mistake. Teach them the fear of the Lord first. Our children don’t have to repeat the mistakes we’ve made.
In Proverbs 24:3,4, we’re told that a house is built by wisdom and that by knowledge its rooms are filled with many precious things. Notice the contrast here between wisdom and knowledge. I’m not devaluing Bible knowledge. Not at all. I’ve spent more than 40 years studying the Bible, and I think, I know it as well as anyone else.
But what I seek for most of all is wisdom. Divine love is the greatest thing in the world. But Divine love is always guided by Divine wisdom. Love without wisdom is dangerous.
Love can be likened to the petrol in the tank of a bus, and Wisdom to the driver of the bus. You certainly need love to lead your flock forward. But you need wisdom to decide which way you’re going to lead them.
Wisdom is fundamental. It is possible for you to get 100% in Bible knowledge and zero for wisdom! That would be like a student getting 100% in Physical Training and zero in Mathematics. It would be better if he got 100% in Maths and zero in Physical Training ; because in the long run, Maths is more important than P.T. And in the long run, wisdom is more important than knowledge. We saw that knowledge fills the rooms. Knowledge is like the furniture – chairs, tables and beds - that we put into our rooms. So if you have knowledge without wisdom, you’d be like a man who puts out all his expensive furniture on an empty plot of ground! Many expensive tables and sofas are there. The only thing missing is the house! You can well imagine that such a man will be the laughing stock of everyone around him. But that’s exactly what we see among most leaders and preachers in Christendom today. They have knowledge but no wisdom – because they do not fear God.
We hardly hear any preacher preaching these days about the fear of the Lord. And that’s why most believers are not wise and have so many other fears.
Zac Poonen
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