by George Runyan | May 22, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
1 Corinthians 12:8 – To another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit.
The word of knowledge is a supernatural revelation given to believers by the Holy Spirit of certain facts in the Mind of God. God keeps ever before Him in the storehouse of His Mind all the facts of heaven and earth. He knows every person, place, and thing in existence. He has them ever before Him. That is a real knowledge base! The word of knowledge is a revelation to an individual by the Holy Spirit of some detail that would help them to know what to do or say. It is supernatural “knowledge” such as the existence, condition, or whereabouts of some person or object. It might be the place, location or occasion of some event. It is a gift of revelation, revealed to one’s spirit and mind. It is usually not vocal, but given as a thought, a picture, or some other type of impression.
The word of knowledge is not natural knowledge, but supernatural information. A few examples of the use of this gift in Scripture will help to make this clearer to us. In today’s lesson, we will consider a few Old Testament examples. In tomorrow’s lesson, we will look at a few from the New Testament.
In I Samuel 3:10-21, a word of knowledge was given to the child Samuel, who was to become the Prophet of Israel. God spoke to the child and said, “Behold, I am about to do a new thing in Israel” (1 Samuel 3:11). Even a child can hear the word of knowledge the Lord wants to give. In II Kings 6:8-12, the word of knowledge is used to warn a king of the enemy’s plan. A man of God sent a word to the king warning him where his enemy was about to attack. In 1 Kings 19:14-18, the word of knowledge was given to enlighten and encourage Elijah, a discouraged servant of the Lord. In II Kings 5:20-27 a word of knowledge was given to expose a hypocrite.
As one can see, the word of knowledge is not new to the New Testament. God has been giving this supernatural grace throughout His dealings with His people. The word of knowledge has been made available to any of God’s servants through the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you have not already done so, begin to ask the Father, in Jesus’ name for the “word of knowledge” to be activated in your life. Yield your mind to the Holy Spirit, inviting Him to be free to give you words that only He has to give. Lord, please help me to speak for You, as Your servants did throughout the Old and New Testaments.
by George Runyan | May 21, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
1 Corinthians 1:31 – Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.
Today, I want us to look further into this subject of wisdom. Throughout the Scriptures, wisdom is highlighted as a gift given by God. In Matthew 2:13, we read of a word of wisdom given to Joseph through a dream which instructed Joseph to take Mary and the babe to Egypt. Compare this with Matthew 2:20 when the angel instructed Joseph to return to Israel. In Acts 13:2, the command by the Spirit to separate Barnabas and Saul was a word of wisdom as to the timing of God’s will to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. This word of wisdom had a bearing upon their walk and experience. In Acts 15:5-27, a word of wisdom is given through James as to what commands should be placed on the converted Gentiles. In Acts 26, Paul is defending himself before King Agrippa and Festus. Festus thought Paul to be insane. Paul testifies of the wisdom from the Lord given to him at his conversion which directed his life in the message he carried as the Apostle to the Gentiles.
The above Scriptures are but a few examples of this wonderful gift the Spirit of God has made available to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 1:31, Paul warns us not to boast in ourselves, but in the Lord. In wisdom, he is quoting from the prophet Jeremiah. “Thus says the Lord, Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises loving-kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
I believe Jeremiah gives to us the sum total of the subject of wisdom. Paul establishes the need for us to pursue wisdom in our personal and corporate life. Today, receive God’s wonderful grace of wisdom. If you can identify times this grace has been released in your life, rejoice and thank the Lord continuously. Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice!
Today, ask the Holy Spirit to give you this gift as needed. Open up yourself to receive a deposit of supernatural wisdom from God by asking for the gift of wisdom, especially when you are at the end of your own sufficiency. If you are anything like me, that would be quite often.
by George Runyan | May 20, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
1 Corinthians 12:8 – To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit
Natural wisdom is the ability to apply possessed knowledge and experience. The “word of wisdom” is not natural or human wisdom, but supernatural wisdom from God. This Wisdom cannot be developed because it is already perfect. The word of wisdom is the supernatural revelation by the Spirit for divine plans and purpose concerning things, people, places, and events. The “word of wisdom” should not be confused with deep spiritual insight in God’s Word. The latter comes from study and revelation. The gift of the “word of wisdom” comes directly from the Spirit of God.
In a sense, the word of wisdom is the revelation of the purpose of God concerning things in the now and in the future. This wisdom is given to direct us in our decisions and provide safety from deception. Some Scriptural examples of the use of the word of wisdom will show how indispensable this gift is to a finite people.
In the Old Testament there are many examples of a word of wisdom given to those walking in a relationship with the Lord. The wisdom that comes from above always carried a redemptive purpose. Consider Genesis 6:13-22. God’s knowledge of future peril was communicated in a supernatural way to Noah. Noah was given the wisdom necessary to build the Ark and accomplish God’s will of saving the human race from the soon coming flood. King Solomon provides another example in I Kings 3:16. Solomon received supernatural wisdom to shepherd God’s people. The issue of the two women claiming to be the mother of the same baby is a great example of this wisdom given by God (1 Kings 3:16-22).
Paul tells us, “By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God.” Today, all wisdom is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul understood more fully than most about wisdom. “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom” (Colossians 1:28). The gospel of Christ is the wisdom of God unto salvation for every individual.
Be bold and ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom of heaven. Every day, ask for wisdom and expect the Lord to release your portion as needed. The Father, through the Holy Spirit, is waiting for us to ask and receive of the wisdom that comes from above.
by George Runyan | May 19, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
Isaiah 28:12— “Here is rest, give rest to the weary and here is repose,” but they would not listen.
The “rest” of God comes through obedience to His will. The Assyrian army was a growing threat to Israel’s safety and peace. What Israel had known under God’s protection was on the verge of disappearing. Once again, Israel, which had known the deliverance of Jehovah’s great power, was about to be taken into bondage and slavery by a people who spoke a different language. This people also had a different world view than that of Israel. Israel confessed faith in Jehovah and His redemptive power, but lived like the heathen nations around them. As we have seen in previous devotions, they mocked the word of the Lord and the Lord’s messenger.
The height of Israel’s rebellion and arrogance came during the times of Jesus. The religious leaders mocked Jesus and rejected the deliverance Jehovah was offering through His Son. As in the past when they killed the prophets, they planned the murder of Jesus, and later the murder of God’s apostles. In Peter’s first sermon, he warned Israel when he testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40-41)!
There are three words that are important to consider as we speak about the rest God has provided for His people. The first word is to reflect. God sends His word and allows circumstances in order to get our attention. Many times obstacles are allowed by God to draw us toward Him. In those times, we need discernment. The second word to consider is the word received. The Lord sends His word and it is important to take a posture of receiving His word. I like the use of the word embrace because it speaks of getting close. It is possible to agree with God’s word in terms of doctrine, but not embrace His word as relevant to my circumstance. Our third word to consider is the word respond. Responding is obedience to God’s word. James expressed it this way, “Prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).
Ask the Father, in Jesus’ name, for the help of the Holy Spirit to discern words spoken to you and the circumstances that surround your life. Ask Him to give to you grace to embrace the word of God and apply it appropriately. Finally, set your heart to obey God’s word and all of its implications to your situation.
by George Runyan | May 18, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
Isaiah 28:11-12 – Indeed, He will speak to this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary and here is repose,” but they would not listen.
Yesterday, we saw how God chose to speak through the Assyrians as their conquering army was poised to swoop in and take Israel captive. God’s people mocked the word of the Prophet and rejected the protection that Jehovah was offering His people.
It is interesting how the Scriptures can have more than one meaning, and prophecies can have a couple of applications. The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14:20-21, chose to use Isaiah 28:11 to explain the purpose of the “gift of tongues.” Paul says, “Do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20). In Isaiah’s passage, he reveals that Israel was not being mature. They acted like children as they mocked the Prophet. The Corinthians were misusing the “gift of tongues.” They acted immature in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 14:22 Paul teaches, that tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers.
In Isaiah 28:10-12, the stammering lips and a foreign tongue was a “sign” to Israel. When God poured out His Spirit as recorded in Acts 2, once again “tongues” was a sign to Israel. This time, it was evidence the kingdom of God had come with the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, and the accompanying sign of tongues. Paul is reminding the Corinthians “tongues” was God’s means of getting His people’s attention. Isaiah said, “This is the rest whereby I will cause the weary to rest, this is the refreshing, but they would not hear.” The “rest” was found in receiving God’s warning through the sign of pending judgment. In Acts 2, the rest is found in receiving the Spirit who brings the Good News of the kingdom of God through the Apostles’ preaching.
The rest and refreshing for the people of God is found in an open heart poised to receive God’s word by making the needed corrections and moving in the direction of God’s will. The Spirit of God has come with gifts that will refresh God’s children as they receive them. Many resist the Spirit’s gifts because they seem strange or because their hearts are fixed on other things.
Today, let us choose to be mature in our thinking. Open your heart to what God has for you. He may choose to speak to you through His written Word or through another individual. Holy Spirit, lead us to be aware of when You are speaking, though it sounds like a stammering lip, help us to hear and obey.
by George Runyan | May 17, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
Isaiah 28:10 – For He says, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.”
What is Isaiah speaking about through the Spirit of the living God? I was taught early in my Christian walk that this meant God gives us a little here and a little there. That thought may be true in regard to how God deals with His children, but it is not what the Prophet had in mind. He is describing how the Lord saw the Israelites as a mocking people. In response, the Prophet is mocking them in what he has to say from the Lord.
How do we receive the Word of the Lord? Many of God’s people today, as Israel of old, regard lightly God’s Word to them. It is easy to reject a sermon when the minister begins to deal with one’s heart condition or one’s attitudes. Today, many want the minister of the gospel to make them feel good about themselves. There are those who feel safe because they are sitting comfortably in a church with a pastor who is feeding them pabulum. Israel, in Isaiah’s day, was comfortable in their religion and their compromise of God’s true purposes through them.
God began to speak to His people through the Assyrians who threatened the Israelites’ safe abode. The Assyrians represented a pending judgment to the people of God. They spoke a language that was foreign to the Hebrews. God was warning Israel to repent and turn back to Him. They refused to listen to the Spirit of God through the Prophet. They continued to mock the Prophet’s word. Calamity came upon them.
Today, as in Isaiah’s day, the Lord is looking for His people to open their hearts to Him. In this passage, God used foreigners that did not speak the Hebrew language to be the instrument of His judgment. What is the Lord using in our lives? Could it be the threat of radical Islam? What about the possibility of economic collapse? Could it be poor leadership in the State and Federal government?
Ask the Spirit of God to increase your respect and honor of God’s Word. Ask Him to protect you from mocking the Word of the Lord in your life, and open your heart to hear and receive His corrections. Ask Him for power in the Holy Spirit to live godly in an ungodly culture. Pray for revival!
