The Great Commandment

: Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.; (Matthew 22:35-38)
We do not understand very well today what Jesus meant when He said "with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."
To the Jews it was a commandment that they learned at their mother's knees:: Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.; (Deuteronomy 6:1-13)
learned by rote because it was not followed by the faith in their hearts which God was wanting them to seek.
This becomes apparent when Jesus tested them:: While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.; (Matthew 22:41-46)
To confirm this, none of them commented on the second commandment that Jesus inserted into the answer to the first question, which purpose was to distinguish the commandment from why it was given. To show a God-centred soul:: And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
(Matthew 22:39-40)

We must try and understand what that old Jewish phrase meant and its pertinency in today's society of different cultures. It has to be a way of life common to all believers throughout the world - Africa, Asia, Europe. So, it must surpass man's culture whatever that is, wherever that is.

To illustrate: I know a man and his family who recently moved house. It was discovered that on one side of them live an unmarried couple who have a dog or two, who do not clean up the dog mess on the premises with the result that the stink and the flies migrate over the fence. On the other side live a family who are continually arguing, using offensive swear words back and forth at the top of their voices for the whole neighbourhood to hear.
Now, if one of these neighbours came to you to ask to borrow R1000 would you expect to be reimbursed?
If one came for a cup of sugar, would you "lend" that?
You see, the same man who taught about the Great Commandment also said:: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.; (Matthew 7:6)

We know that the Bible does not contradict itself in essence, perhaps in translation, so let's see some more from Matthew's gospel:: Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.; (Matthew 7:1-27)
So, what is Jesus getting at? What is He teaching about?
The evidence of a converted soul.

Jesus explained this phenomenon elsewhere and called it being born again:: There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.; (John 3:1-8)

And we know that we cannot just drift into becoming born again, it is a definite occurrence and we, our bodies and souls, become changed, in that instead of being worldly [self-centred] , we willingly work to become God-centred because we have God, who is Spirit and truth, living in us, and we want to please Him.: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.; (Romans 8:4-9); For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.; (Romans 8:24-28)

Paul, Peter and John expressly repeated this commandment which is so seldom obeyed by professing Christians; one of the most potent weapons which the indwelling Holy Spirit of God can use because of our obedient witness and lifestyle.
Paul stated:: And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.; (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)
Peter said:: Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:; (1 Peter 1:22)
John wrote:: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.; (1 John 4:15-21)

Now these are not just some high sounding phrases, but show a definite change of heart.
This starts off when we first believe that God is who He says He is and we experience (perceive) spiritual happenings that we were not previously aware of. As we acknowledge God for what He is doing in our life, He "turns the volume up" and when we realise how rotten and sinful we are compared to Him and throw ourselves upon His perfect mercy, then, and only then does the Holy Spirit of God enter our physical bodies and joins to our own, sleeping spirit.
God, who created us, spirit soul and body, for this purpose (Romans 8:11; Ephesians 1:11; 1 John 5:14) can now legally and righteously use us in the kingdom of this world to overthrow the prince of the power of the air so that His Will is done on earth and His Kingdom can come (Matthew 6:10), the Kingdom that Adam gave to the serpent (Satan) that time (Romans 6:16).

Now, if you were prompted by the indwelling Spirit to give R1000 to a certain person for use in the Kingdom, what would you do? Be honest with yourself, your life may depend on it.

Here are some relevant readings put together at this time by the Holy Spirit for those who are interested in learning more.

From the book Names of Christ (Moody Press):

HOPE OF GLORY
: To whom God would make known* what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:; (Colossians 1:27)
Here is a revelation not made known in other ages to the sons of men but now revealed by the Holy Spirit to the church.
Paul is continually impressing the wonderful truth of God's will as the cause and work of salvation and the wonderful privilege bestowed upon him of preaching it. This glory which is so wonderful is the garment with which all believers will be clothed when Christ comes for us. How we should prize the possession of "Christ in us." Do we, and do we long that others might possess it also?: Lord, give us a hunger for others that they might also be the rich possessors of the Hope of Glory. Thank you for the riches we possess through You. Amen.
* Ephesians 2:8-10


From the book Every Day with Jesus (Crusade for World Revival [CWR])(Struik)

Day 194
: And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.; (Ruth 2:20)


It is not difficult to imagine the kind of thoughts that may have been going through Naomi's mind as she dwells on Ruth's first day in the harvest field. How will she fare? What will the men say about her - a foreigner? Will she be successful in bringing home enough grain to help keep body and soul together?
If Naomi had such fears then they are quickly laid to rest when Ruth returns with a whole ephah of barley, An ephah is no small measure. In today's terms it is nearly ten kilogrammes. I can picture Ruth recounting the events of the day with great excitement - her whole being tingling with delight as she reflects on the way God has provided for her. Naomi's questions come fast and furious: "tell me everything! Whose field were you in? Where did you glean?" As soon as Ruth mentions the name of Boaz, Naomi's heart leaps within her, and she begins to focus on the Lord in a way she has not quite done before. " The Lord bless him!" she says, referring of course to Boaz, "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead" (v.20). She senses that Ruth's meeting with Boaz has a providential feel about it. Boaz was a close relative who had the right to redeem Ruth and take her to be his wife.
Together, Ruth and Naomi look back over the day and give thanks to God for the evidence of His guiding hand. They find, as you and I have found, that the evidences of divine design are certainly there as we look back.
: Father, I confess I am better at looking back and thanking you than I am at looking ahead and praising You. Forgive me for that. Help me learn from what I have experienced of Your guiding hand to trust You more in the future. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen

Day 195
: So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.; (Ruth 2:23)


Ruth continues to glean in the field of Boaz, secure in the knowledge that when the barley harvest is over she will be able to stay on and participate in the wheat harvest as well. Naomi is equally elated as she senses that Ruth's meeting with Boaz is no accident but part of God's wonderful, provision and care. One can imagine Naomi musing to herself: "How strange that Ruth should alight on the field owned by Boaz and that she should become the object of his personal interest and concern. And to discover too that Boaz has the right to redeem her and may well take her to be his wife." Deep down in her heart Naomi knows that God is at work.
Each one of us must recognise that in the ebb and flo of life's circumstances, an eternal God is quietly pursuing His purposes. Little, if anything, happens by chance in the God-ordained life. The Almighty is seeking to work out His purposes in the life of each one of us, and He is there in every emergency of situation that arises. He is there in the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the comings and goings.
When you become aware that in the life of every one of His children God is bent on bringing to pass His perfect purposes, then that thought most certainly reduces anxiety and fear. If only we could grasp the truth of Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Hardly a fear would then arise in our hearts. Our trouble is not that we do not believe God's Word; our trouble is we do not believe it enough.
: My Father and my God, grant that Your Word might move from my intellect right into my heart. I don't want just to hold Your Word; I want it to hold me. "I believe, help Thou mine unbelief." In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.


From What the Bible Teaches by R..A. Torrey. (Whittaker House Publishers)

The Work of the Spirit in Man

I I The Work of the Spirit in Man in general.
: But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.; (John 15:26-27); The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.; (Acts 5:30-32)

FIRST PROPOSITION: The Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth regarding Jesus Christ.

Note 1 - At first sight this testimony would seem to be confined to the believer, For Jno. 15 :26 ( "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:") says "whom I will send unto you" (i. e., of course believers) but in the next chapter, verses 7, 8 ("Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:") where the Holy Spirit's work in the world is distinctly described, it says, "I will send him unto you," The truth seems clearly to be that the Spirit works on the world through the believers to whom He is sent. If we as believers realised the utter dependence of the world upon us for the Spirit's gracious work, would we not be more careful to see that the Spirit found in us an unobstructed channel? How slowly the world comes to know Jesus because of the unfaithfulness of the church.
Note 2 - Jno. 14:17 - " Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." All truth is from the Spirit - He is "the Spirit of truth" but it is His especial work to bear witness to Him who is the truth - Jesus Christ. (Jno. 14:6.)
Note 3 - It is only through the testimony of the Holy Spirit that men ever come to a true knowledge of Christ. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3) If you wish men to get a true view of Jesus Christ - such a view of Him that they may believe and be saved - you must seek for them the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Neither your testimony, nor even that of the Word alone, will effect this - though it is your testimony or that of the word which the Holy Spirit uses. But unless your testimony and that of the word is taken up by the Holy Spirit and He Himself testifies, they will not believe. This explains why it is that one who has been long in darkness concerning Jesus Christ so quickly comes to see the truth when he surrenders his will to God and seeks light from Him. (Compare Jno. 7:17 and Acts 5:32.) It also explains why it is when you have shown a man the truth about Christ over and over again and he has seen nothing, suddenly it all bursts upon him, and he sees and believes. The Spirit has borne His witness to Christ. It was not merely Peter's words about Christ that convicted the Jews of the truth concerning Christ on the day of Pentecost. It was the Spirit Himself bearing witness. If you wish men to see the truth about Christ, do not depend upon your own powers of expression and persuasion, but cast yourself upon the Holy Spirit and seek for them His testimony and see to it that they put themselves in a place where the Spirit can testify. This is the cure for both ignorance and scepticism concerning Christ. (Cf. Jno. 7:17.)
Note 4 - The testimony of the Holy Spirit to Christ is different from His testimony to our sonship. That we will consider later.
: And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.; (John 16:8-11)

SECOND PROPOSITION : The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgement.

And, and, and ~ ~ ~
: Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone;; The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.; Put on the Gospel armour, each piece put on with prayer;; Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.