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Weekly Reminder...
The Weekly Reminder is an informative tool to help people who read it consider what the man of God has said. This weekend’s articles are based on what was heard on March 28 & 29, 2009 in the Westbury assembly.written by Br. Samuel Philogene
“And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.” (Exodus 18:20)
We’ve been called to be a taught people, instructed in the ways of God (John 6:44-47). God never called people to do His work without teaching them what to do, how to do it and when to do it. He doesn’t let us do the work in our own way but always gives us instructions. When he created Adam and placed him in the garden He gave Adam instructions that he must follow if he wanted to live eternally in the face of God (Genesis 2:15-17), but Adam failed to observe the teaching so he received the wage of his disobedience (Genesis 3: 17-19). It was the same for Israel when God took them out of Egypt in the bondage. God gave them precepts, how they ought to live in the Promise land even how to live in order to reach the Promise land but they failed; most of them didn’t even reach the Promise land. So for us today to be successful, for God to reach down and bless us, we have to walk in the ways of the Lord and the way to do that is by hearing the Word coming from the mouth of the man of God, the main channel that God will use to teach us the paths we must follow.
We can see throughout the Bible that every single person who did not obey the instructions of God fell under His judgment. We have so many examples, we have to take heed of the things that we learned thru the years and apply them in our lives. We read in Romans 15:4 how even bad things are written in the Bible for us to learn from them so we won’t have to make the same mistake. This is the will of God for us to know Him (John 17:3). This is what the Bible is all about, it testifies in the child of God, His will and purpose for every one of us. We can read in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”.
We saw in Deuteronomy 31:12 that there was a command from God to gather the people so they could learn the law. This is how it will always be; God wants us to serve Him not with emotions but He wants our services to be based on a profound knowledge of who He really is. This is why Jesus had a conversation with the Samaritan lady about how and where to worship God. That woman was nailed in a tradition to worship God at Jerusalem but Jesus wanted her to be instructed in the perfect way so her worship would not be a traditional activity but something based in the knowledge of the Word of God. “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we know” (John 4:21-24). That is why I like the testimony in the Bible concerning Apollos “born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures” (Acts 18:24).
So last weekend God was using Br. Antoine to let us know that we need to learn from God, to know His perfect will and not do anything in our own righteousness. We have to learn the will of God in every aspect so we will act according to the knowledge that we’ve been taught in (Philippians 3:9).
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written by Br. Samuel Damus
The Lord had gathered us last weekend to learn of Him. When we gather together in His house to hear His words we are participating in a grace that is bestowed unto all man. Everyone who ever lived will hear His words but it is God who draws us to Him. It is the Lord that enables us not just to have a knowledge of Him but to know Him. “It is written in the prophets, ‘and they shall be all taught of God’; every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me” (John 6:45). We must not only hear the words of God but we must learn them as well. In order for us to learn of God, the Lord must be working in our lives.
We’ve been told time and time again to not use the time that we sit in church in vain. When we come together in a church service it is intended for us to learn of God; the more we come to church is the more we ought to grow in God. The same way the Lord called for a gathering of the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 31:12 to instruct them on how they should walk before Him, is the same way we are being instructed every time we come to church. However, our learning does not come by hearing the words but by putting the words into practice. The Lord was telling Ezekiel that there are people who come to church and hear the words of the Lord but they will not do them (Ezekiel 33:31); this group of people did not learn of God. The teaching is there but the people do not want to learn how to live for God. They would not learn because their hearts was not in it. The Lord said, “They have turned unto Me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction” (Jeremiah 32:33). It is a great grace to be taught how to walk with the Lord, but the wicked will continue to practice evil (Isaiah 26:10) but there are people who appreciates and makes use of this dear grace.
There are saints that are blessed with the God given desire to learn. Their hearts are fixed on the Lord, to follow His instructions. They can say just like in Isaiah, “With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early: for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9). The Lord will help us in keeping His words if we put our hearts, mind and soul into serving Him. He will give us an ear to hear and words of wisdom to speak if we are not rebellious (Isaiah 50:4-5). Remember Jesus said that no man can follow Him unless God (the Father) draws him to Him (Jesus). The proof of this is when we hear the word and practice (learn) it. There is a difference between the learned and the unlearned. When we are learning to be like Christ it must show. Paul said, “If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:21-24). Our growth in righteousness and holiness is proof that we are learning of God.
I have examined myself after this teaching and realized that I have a lot to learn about God. When I say “a lot to learn” I’m not taking about head knowledge [memorizing scriptures and laws] every man has that; I am referring to the practicing of the laws and the application of the Lord’s instructions in my life (Ecclesiastes 12:11-13) . Has not the Lord told us repeatedly what He wants for us to do (Micah 6:8)? It is not hard if our hearts are willing. It is truly a blessing to be able to seek the Lord with your whole heart (Psalms 119:2). Let us sincerely take Jesus’ invitation to learn of Him (Matthew 11:29) so that we will be more and more like Him every day and not be ashamed of this gospel in these perilous times.
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