Learn Of Jesus

Isaiah 26:3-4

Understanding the scene that and understanding the True God in this passage makes this a powerful statement! It is a statement of truth!

Isaiah is speaking of those saints that come to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation during the Great Tribulation. After the church is raptured and the antichrist comes to power, the people that are left here will be under tribulation both from the broken treaty of the antichrist and then God’s judgement will be executed on the earth. The scene will be horrific! We know of how it will be in detail but I do not believe any human, except for Jesus while He was in the flesh, has ever experienced at this point.

During the midst of this tribulation, this text is declaring that the one who trust in the Lord Jehovah as everlasting strength, the one whose mind is leaning or staying there is kept in perfect peace. In other words, our minds know and trust something greater than what we see! What our minds Know, and KNOW is the key word, is greater than the destruction or trouble in our lives!

We spoke about this Wed. night, how many times we have made decisions when we were in trouble or distressed? Decisions based on what we saw rather than what we should know about God!

Anger, rage.....

Fear, fear of the unknown.....

Depression, sorrow......

Driven by emotions in stead of TRUTH.......A lot of this is from what we do not know about the Lord JEHOVAH and His Everlasting Strength and also not believing! Giving the power to the situation rather than to the Lord!

That is the ultimate truth.....all throughout Scripture the Lord declares to us to look to Him instead of what you see or know about the world.....probably the greatest verse to guide us in this is in 2 Corinthians 4:18 “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Listen to what Paul tells us at the beginning of that 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 ......I won’t make you turn because we are going many places........“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

We must weigh out the temporary and the eternal!

The eternal far outweighs the temporary and if we cannot see that, then life will eat us alive spiritually!

A right response to the eternal, which is Godly sorrow, repentance, then salvation in, through and with Jesus Christ, will bring us hope that will lead us to a life that does not weigh in the balance!

We cannot have this hope until our minds our stayed upon the Lord......meaning that what we think and know about the Lord causes us to stay upon Him......

I like the word stay.........meaning: establish, uphold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, set self, stand fast

What I know about God causes me not to be moved by circumstances, my life rests upon the Lord Jehovah!

Jesus gives us this encouragement, invitation in Matthew 11:28-30.........

Those who grow weary and that our carrying a heavy burden to come unto Him.......that is not a call to walk somewhere, it is a call to get know Him......

He tells here that He will give us rest if we take His yoke...........

The yoke of the law” and kindred expressions are common among the Jews (e.g., “He that takes upon himself the yoke of the Law, from him shall be taken away the yoke of the kingdom and the yoke of worldly care,” ’Abot 3:5; cf. Sir. 51:23–27 and the passages listed in SBk, I, pp. 608–10). The rabbis spoke lovingly about “the yoke of the law,” and there can be no doubt that for them it was a singular blessing.

They took seriously what the yoke of the law meant, and, for example, Paul spoke of bringing Christians under the law as laying “on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear” (Acts 15:10), and again of not being “entangled in a yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1; cf. 1 Tim. 6:1).

In contrast with this yoke Jesus is holding out to his followers the thought of a yoke that was easy, not bondage. It was not that he demanded less from his followers, for the Sermon on the Mount shows that he looked for more. But it was of a different kind and in a different spirit so that it was kindly, not a burden.

So, then Jesus tells them, as well as us............ to learn of Him...........

Throughout this Gospel there is an emphasis on learning, on being a disciple, and the like, and the verb here is cognate with “disciple”; it means “learn through instruction.” To be a follower of Jesus is to be a disciple and therefore a learner.

We must learn of Jesus and KNOW about Him to believe and be able to make those steps of faith, otherwise we will respond in what our flesh knows!

If that is all we know, then that is how we will react!

We watch other people, maybe even people we know real well and have respect for and we learn from them and in turn follow after what they do.........

How many of us have listened to the Words of Christ and enacted them in our lives?

How many of us have followed Christ (In Scripture) through His earthly walk and patterned our lives after His?

Following after Jesus....taking His yoke is not gratifying to the flesh, never will be! Only in the eternal and spiritual life does following Jesus reap rewards where moths and rust does not corrupt!

The reason why many Christians make no progress in grace and heavenly-mindedness is because they are ashamed of Christ’s yoke; and not keeping company with Him, they cannot be taught by Him. We enter the school of Christ when we enter the yoke of Christ. There are many branches of learning here. With Him we learn to be patient in suffering, to walk humbly, to trust implicitly, to love intensely, and to rejoice exceedingly........Look with me at Ephesians 4:20–23......

What you know, effects how you think....if your mind is stayed on Jesus Christ, that means how you think is guided by Jesus’ life and teaching........

The Holy Spirit comes into play as well.........John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Teaching us and causing us to remember what Jesus has said.......which in turn causes our minds to think on those things!

Thinking is important.......it means to form in our mind........to take what we know and process and make a decision on it based on reasoning what is true or not!

So, the true importance is what we know........

Now, that carries a lot of weight, especially if we are talking about what we do not see rather than what we see!

To separate lies from the truth.........separating temporary from eternal.

That makes preaching and teaching the Word of God, so important!.....Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Some people make this about the preacher, but it is more about the Word of God than the person telling about Him!

The essence is in what we know, what we believe.....Listen to Charles Spurgeon......

Believe him, then. As you are persuaded of the truthfulness of his character accept his teaching; and as you believe in his deity—if so you do believe, and I trust you do—believe in his ability to save, and at once trust your soul in his hands. If he be a mere pretender, do not come to him; but if indeed you believe my Lord and Master to be faithful and true, I beseech you attend at once to his call. Where is he now? He is not here, for he is risen; but since he spake these words he has lost no power to save, but in a certain sense has gained in ability: for since he uttered those words he has died the death of the cross, by which he obtained power to put away the sins of men; he has also risen from the grave, no more to die, and he has gone up into the glory with all power given unto him in heaven and in earth. He is King of kings and Lord of lords; and it is in his name and by his authority that, we proclaim to you the gospel of Christ, according to his words, recorded by the evangelist Mark: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth: go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” It is an enthroned Redeemer who today invites you. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them; therefore doubt not his power to save you, but come to him at once and find rest unto your souls.

This is a knowledge that causes us to reason in our minds and then to believe out of that reasoning that Jesus is our only source of life.....

That is what denial of self is all about.....we deny myself as any source of living unto God and then our lives depend on the righteousness and sacrifice of Jesus Christ as our source!

Declaring in our minds: Psalm 23 “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Just saying it doesn’t do it justice if you do not believe it, rightly! Knowing this and believing it in spite of what you are seeing is where True Life resides!

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”