Matthew 13:12-18King James Version (KJV)
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.13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
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:
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.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
The Lord taught people a great deal through parables. He taught them how they could open their hearts to God and by doing so, be able to walk in God.
He applied this principle: There is a progressive unveiling of the truth to those who are honestly seeking to walk on with God.
What about the people who are not hungry to walk on with God?
There are churches all over the country where Christians perform the same little rituals and hear the same messages Sunday after Sunday. There is never any advance or growth.
If you were to visit such a church ten years from now, you would hear the same song, second verse.
In a progressive New Testament church, where the pastor, the elders, and the brothers are seeking to walk on with God. There is always the element of revelation in the service, and the people with spiritual perception are feeding upon it.
Their hearts are open and they grow from season to season.
What do we have to do to receive revelation? Do we strain and exercise ourselves?
Mainly it is a condition of the will. If your heart is set to do the will of God, t is surprising how God will keep unveiling and unfolding the truth to you so that you will be able to walk in it. Do not ever forget that principle.
In the Word we read of God we read of growth and we read of deterioration, but we never read anyone remaining very long at a set state spiritually. A person either goes ahead or he deteriorates.
As Paul expressed it in Romans 1:18, God does not see fit for a man to hold the truth in unrighteousness. The wrath of God is revealed against those who know the truth and back away from it.
Suppose that a person has received a revelation of a man's apostleship, and then backs away from that apostle. Before long he will not believe in the New Testament church restoration at all.
A deterioration occurs, limiting what he will accept. If God makes a truth real to a person's heart, but he does not want to accept it or walk in it, before long that person will be in very serious difficulties.
This applies to churches also. Suppose that a church which believes in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues is exposed to the great revelation of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the church, to the great principles of the gifts and ministries that God is restoring, to the great authority that Christ is bringing to the Church.
If they back away from these truths, there will soon be such a deadness prevailing over that church that nothing can revive it.
A deterioration will set in and they could end up more dead than a denominational church that had never received any light at all.
When ever God moves forward to give you the next step for which He feels you are prepared, do not back away from it, or your light will inevitably turn to darkness.
It behooves you always to have a truth to walk in as well as a truth that you are reaching for in the Spirit. Allow God to continue dealing with you.
What happens to people when they have something from God and are not faithful to walk in it? It is taken away from them.
This is stated very clearly in the following verses of Scripture.
2 Peter 2:20-22King James Version (KJV)
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
To have something from the Lord and to draw back from it is to go through a process of spiritual deterioration. When you go back, you will really go back.
Christ tells us more about this deterioration in Luke:
Luke 11:24-26King James Version (KJV)
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Notice also Luke 9:62:
...No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.
Hebrews 10:38
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
The Lord takes away everything from those who have had great blessing and great opportunity, but have drawn back The latter state of that individual becomes far worse than the former.
Another passage that speaks of spiritual deterioration is almost an ominous warning to every heart never to draw back.
In Hebrews 6:4-8 we read:
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
The Lord is painting a picture here. The more you receive and draw back, the more dangerous it is for you, and the less opportunity you will have of repentance.
If you reach that one place, and then draw back from it, it becomes impossible to renew you to repentance because you have been crucifying the Son of God afresh.
As Christ is coming forth in you, you are actually crucifying Him again. For that, there is no occasion of repentance.
Few of us have ever seen anyone go to that extent; nevertheless, it is outlined in the Word of God.
You may have backslid many times, yet you feel safe because the Lord always receives you back again.
The backslider could be compared to the man who falls out of bed repeatedly. Evidently he goes to sleep too close to the edge, too close to where he gets in.
The Lord is long suffering, and He has mercy upon the backslider; He even says that He is married to thew backslider ( Jeremiah 3:14 ) .
However, when you come to the point of withdrawal described in Hebrews 6, it can be very dangerous for you. Privileges can be withdrawn and knowledge withheld from those who are not willing to walk in them.
How wonderful it is to be alive and to have spiritual sight in this hour when God is doing suh great things!
The majority of Christians living in this age will not see what God is doing or hear what God is speaking; they will not be moving on with God at all.
If we want a progressive revelation and the spiritual perception to watch the things of God unfold step by step in this age, we must have the dedication to walk with God and to receive gracefully the light He has given us.
If we have that dedication, then the basic condition has been worked in our hearts for spiritual perception.
You must face this truth: There is a necessity of walking consistently ad faithfully in the light you have, so that more will be given to you.
This is the basic principle of spiritual perception. Without question, God will be bringing forth His will in the earth, but unless yo walk faithfully, you will lose your spiritual eyesight and not be able to see it.
Romans 1 speaks of those who held the truth in unrighteousness. Even though they knew God, they refused to glorify Him as God.
Then their foolish heart was darkened, and that was the end of any further revelation or light.
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, and they practiced perverse acts with one another. This indicates that days of apostasy are days of spiritual and sexual perversion.
The quickest way for you to be delivered out of anything perverse is to set your heart to walk with God in everything He shows you to walk in.
Seek God earnestly that He will help you to be faithful and consistent in every bit of light you have; then you will remove from yourself any tendency or drive toward perversion.
People are turned over to these things. There is a reason why perversion is so prevalent in this day. America is rapidly turning away from the Lord.
Even in the churches, there is a great deal of modernism and unbelief and drawing back from the thing of God.
Walk in the light you have; then more light will be given to you. If you do not, the very light you do have and your capacity for it will be taken away.
Regardless of where you are spiritually, you must have one quality worked in your spirit: the overall deep dedication to walk in what god sets before you. This is the safest position to be in.
I have seen many different types of people come to the Lord. Often they were hung up with habits that they knew were really wrong.
They would come to the Lord, and as the people gathered around them, they would start "praying through."
They cried out to God, until out of utter exhaustion they felt they had finally prayed through.
For a little while, they walked in some vistory, but most of it was short-lived.
Why?
Because nothing had removed the basic root which had first veiled the truth to their hearts, which had put up a wall so that the grace could not get through to them.
Most of the time they had only gone through an emotional prayer. How much better and more effective it is when God deals down deep with your will, when you wait before the God, praying until there is the real willingness worked in you to walk in everything you know is true, everything that God has made real to you.
Do not be concerned about things in the Word that you do not yet understand; the things that should bother you are the things that you do not understand.
Those you should work on. If you work on the truths you do not understand and find your heart walking in them, in due time God will lift the veil from the things that you do not understand, and you will walk in those too.
spiritual things are veiled and hidden, and for this reason spiritual perception is so necessary. Above all, a dedication to walk with God must be absolutely worked within our hearts.
The Lord takes away everything from those who have had great blessing and great opportunity, but have drawn back The latter state of that individual becomes far worse than the former.
Another passage that speaks of spiritual deterioration is almost an ominous warning to every heart never to draw back.
In Hebrews 6:4-8 we read:
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
The Lord is painting a picture here. The more you receive and draw back, the more dangerous it is for you, and the less opportunity you will have of repentance.
If you reach that one place, and then draw back from it, it becomes impossible to renew you to repentance because you have been crucifying the Son of God afresh.
As Christ is coming forth in you, you are actually crucifying Him again. For that, there is no occasion of repentance.
Few of us have ever seen anyone go to that extent; nevertheless, it is outlined in the Word of God.
You may have backslid many times, yet you feel safe because the Lord always receives you back again.
The backslider could be compared to the man who falls out of bed repeatedly. Evidently he goes to sleep too close to the edge, too close to where he gets in.
The Lord is long suffering, and He has mercy upon the backslider; He even says that He is married to thew backslider ( Jeremiah 3:14 ) .
However, when you come to the point of withdrawal described in Hebrews 6, it can be very dangerous for you. Privileges can be withdrawn and knowledge withheld from those who are not willing to walk in them.
How wonderful it is to be alive and to have spiritual sight in this hour when God is doing suh great things!
The majority of Christians living in this age will not see what God is doing or hear what God is speaking; they will not be moving on with God at all.
If we want a progressive revelation and the spiritual perception to watch the things of God unfold step by step in this age, we must have the dedication to walk with God and to receive gracefully the light He has given us.
If we have that dedication, then the basic condition has been worked in our hearts for spiritual perception.
You must face this truth: There is a necessity of walking consistently ad faithfully in the light you have, so that more will be given to you.
This is the basic principle of spiritual perception. Without question, God will be bringing forth His will in the earth, but unless yo walk faithfully, you will lose your spiritual eyesight and not be able to see it.
Romans 1 speaks of those who held the truth in unrighteousness. Even though they knew God, they refused to glorify Him as God.
Then their foolish heart was darkened, and that was the end of any further revelation or light.
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, and they practiced perverse acts with one another. This indicates that days of apostasy are days of spiritual and sexual perversion.
The quickest way for you to be delivered out of anything perverse is to set your heart to walk with God in everything He shows you to walk in.
Seek God earnestly that He will help you to be faithful and consistent in every bit of light you have; then you will remove from yourself any tendency or drive toward perversion.
People are turned over to these things. There is a reason why perversion is so prevalent in this day. America is rapidly turning away from the Lord.
Even in the churches, there is a great deal of modernism and unbelief and drawing back from the thing of God.
Walk in the light you have; then more light will be given to you. If you do not, the very light you do have and your capacity for it will be taken away.
Regardless of where you are spiritually, you must have one quality worked in your spirit: the overall deep dedication to walk in what god sets before you. This is the safest position to be in.
I have seen many different types of people come to the Lord. Often they were hung up with habits that they knew were really wrong.
They would come to the Lord, and as the people gathered around them, they would start "praying through."
They cried out to God, until out of utter exhaustion they felt they had finally prayed through.
For a little while, they walked in some vistory, but most of it was short-lived.
Why?
Because nothing had removed the basic root which had first veiled the truth to their hearts, which had put up a wall so that the grace could not get through to them.
Most of the time they had only gone through an emotional prayer. How much better and more effective it is when God deals down deep with your will, when you wait before the God, praying until there is the real willingness worked in you to walk in everything you know is true, everything that God has made real to you.
Do not be concerned about things in the Word that you do not yet understand; the things that should bother you are the things that you do not understand.
Those you should work on. If you work on the truths you do not understand and find your heart walking in them, in due time God will lift the veil from the things that you do not understand, and you will walk in those too.
spiritual things are veiled and hidden, and for this reason spiritual perception is so necessary. Above all, a dedication to walk with God must be absolutely worked within our hearts.
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