On one occasion in the Gospel of Mark a scribe asked Jesus, “What is the first commandment of all?” (Mark 12:28). Not the first one in order, but the most important one of all. Jesus answered the scribe by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
It is interesting that, while He said this was the most important commandment of all, it is not one of the Ten. Did you notice that? This is not one of the Ten Commandments. Paul writing to Timothy talked about the law. He said the law was for those who break the law, not for the righteous man. Let’s read it. The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murders of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them which defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there are any other things that is contrary to sound doctrine. I Timothy 1:9-10. In other words, you don’t need anyone to tell you not steal. You know you shouldn’t do it. Who is it for? It is for those who will steal! The law is for the lawless.
He says, “Hear, O Israel!” That is the first thing – to hear. Hear, O Israel! Hear, O Church! Hear, O People! The hearing is most important. Some, after hearing a truth over and over again, the light finally comes on. “Now, I understand!” They finally really heard it.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 And you shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your might.
6 And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart:
7 And you shall teach them diligently unto your children…
The concept is repetition. Teach it over and over and over again and continue to teach it. God believes in repetition. Do you know why? It is because we are so hard of hearing! How many times have we heard a certain Word and one day the light dawns? There’s a story about a pastor who took a new church and he preached his sermon. The congregation liked it, but the next service he preached the same sermon again. They begin to wonder about their new preacher, “Doesn’t he know anything else?” The third service he preached the same sermon. Finally, the deacons approached him and said, “Pastor, you’re preaching the same sermon over and over.” He said, “Yes, and I’m going to preach it until you hear it.”
Hearing what the Spirit is speaking is accomplished by the spiritual capacity of your spirit. You must develop the spiritual capacity to hear what God is speaking. It is not the words of the language, but His voice riding on those words. Here is something you need to remember. In the Scriptures when God says, “Obey My voice indeed,” He is not talking about obeying the information of the words, but His voice. Voice and Spirit are synonymous. He is saying, “Obey My Spirit, the spirit of what I’m speaking,” because the Lord does not speak words as we do.
Deuteronomy 6:7 And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
This is life in the Word. When you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and rise up – the Word becomes your life. The children are not the little ones running around your house. The children are those you are responsible to teach, regardless of age. Write it upon their hearts. Listen to what God said through Jeremiah. I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…This will be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jeremiah 31:31, 33. The Psalmist said, My tongue is the pen of a ready writer (Psalm 45:1). In other words, as you are speaking the Word of the Lord the Holy Spirit is writing it upon hearts. If you have ears to hear, of course. So the anointing not only needs to be on the one who is speaking, but also upon the one hearing.
Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Paul is writing this epistle to the church at Philippi. He understood the importance of repetition. When having intercession you may hear someone pray what you wanted to pray and you think, “What am I going to pray now?” Pray the same thing! Hit it again! Speak the Word again because it just gives it that much more force. Repetition is important. Repetition - God believes in it. Paul believed in it. He said, “To write the same thing to you again is no trouble to me, but it is safe for you.”
One wonderful thing about the Scriptures is that they are inexhaustible. Regardless of how familiar you are to a passage, it holds more for you to receive at a latter time. Now let’s look at a few verses and believe for the Holy Spirit to open up something new for us.
Romans 16:25 Now to Him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel….
The apostles were very bold. John, for example, in his epistle said, “If they don’t hear us, they’re not of God” (I John 4:6). Can you imagine someone saying that today?” Paul gets bold here, too, when he says, “Now to Him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel.” But this is the gospel of Christ, isn’t it? Yes, and Paul says it is according to my gospel because the gospel of Christ had become his life.
Romans 16:25 Now to Him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.
The gospel of Christ has been kept secret since the world began and is now being made available through the apostles and the prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. The seals are being taken off the Book. It is opening up and people are beginning to receive revelation that has been sealed up and kept secret for ages. This Bible is a mystery book. It is a mystery of Christ and the Kingdom of God. Just anyone reading it will not see it. They will not understand it. Millions of people are reading the same Bible, but they are not hearing and receiving the same thing On one occasion when Jesus gave the Parable of the Sower His disciples asked Him, “Master, why do You talk to them in parables? They don’t understand what You are saying.” He answered, “It is not given for them to understand. It is given for you to understand” (Matthew 13:10-11). What makes the difference? Well, the multitude came and listened, and then walked away and went home. The disciples, on the other hand, listened and kept walking with Him. They had a different heart. Everyone is not going to understand the Bible. It is not written for just anyone to read with understanding. It is written for people who have a heart to walk in it. The kind of heart you have determines whether you will hear what God is speaking or not.
I Corinthians 2:6-7 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not
the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God
ordained before the world unto our glory.
We speak the wisdom of God among them that are perfect. “Them that are perfect” are the spiritually mature. Paul was speaking the wisdom of God in a mystery. It wasn’t wisdom, though, according to the Judaizers. They called him a blasphemer. But we speak the wisdom of God in mystery. The Scriptures are a mystery and what Paul was speaking was a mystery. Spiritual insight was needed to understand the mystery of God. That is what is meant by “Hear, O Israel!” Have you ever had a truth in the Scriptures that you understood take on new meaning to you? Suddenly, you saw it in a new light. What does that tell you? The Scriptures hold deeper truths that are revealed as you become more mature spiritually. Regardless of where you are right now in your spiritual growth, the Scriptures hold deeper truths that you have not yet discovered. So don’t feel cocky. You are still a babe compared to what is hidden in the Word.
Mark 4:11 And He said unto them, Unto you is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.
You will never be intelligent enough to understand the Scriptures. You can learn and understand the information, but the spiritual capacity to hear what God is saying in them is a completely different thing. You cannot discipline yourself in order to get this mystery. It is given. The key word to the Bible is grace. You will never be worthy enough to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Love Him and submit to His Lordship with all your heart and say, “I want to know You! I want to walk with You.” He will respond. He will give you understanding of the mysteries of His Kingdom as you are able to receive.
Jesus kept trying to teach people about God’s willingness to give. For everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it is opened. If a son asks bread of his father, will he give him a stone? If he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children; how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask? Luke 11:10-13. It is important for us to understand the mystery. We need to relate to the Scriptures correctly. Open your heart to receive something beyond where you are.
Let’s look in Luke 24. This is at the end of Christ’s ministry. During the time between His resurrection and His ascension, He only ministered to His disciples. It was a time of last preparations for them. He knew He would ascend, return to spirit, and they would be responsible to be the Christ on the earth.
Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Moses talked about the law, the sacrifices, the offerings, the tabernacle, etc., right? No, he was talking about Jesus Christ. Beginning with the very first verse of the Bible, Jesus Christ and His Kingdom was the primary subject of the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus unlocked the Scriptures and revealed Himself from them to His disciples. Have you found Christ in them? He is the mystery. At some point He had found Himself in the Scriptures! He knew who He was! And the mystery of His divine life was being revealed to the disciples. When you really find Christ in the Scriptures, you will also find the many-membered Christ. When the disciples left on the Day of Pentecost to begin their ministry, they had found themselves in the Scriptures also. We are also beginning to see the functioning Body of Christ in the Scriptures. We are finding ourselves in this Word, and this is when it really begins coming alive to you so that you can say, “Yes! I am seeing the mystery, and I am part of it!” It is a wonderful thing. The Bible is taking on new life for us. These Scriptures are holding within them His life, and as you partake of His life your life is being hid in them also. When you hear the mystery in the Scriptures, you become a part of the mystery of Christ.
Copyright © 2007 by Henry DuBose