"Do you understand all these things?" "Yes," they said, "we do." Then He added, "Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old." (Matthew 13:51,52 NLT)
Have you got a heart for the Lord? Have you got a heart for the Kingdom of God? Really, is this a heart matter? The Lord says that if you really have a heart, that is going to mean spiritual understanding.... There are people whose good hearts are not rebellious to the Lord.
They are not the people who say, "I will not have the Lord's Words." They make a
response to the Lord, and it comes from their hearts. But some good people have
reservations. Some very good people say, "Now if I go all out for the Lord, you
know what my friends will think of me? Do you know what the people in my church
would say about me? And you know, perhaps my position in business will be
interfered with. I must be very careful. I must not lose my influence with
others. I must think about what other people will think and say. Now, my
committee expects this of me. If I really go all out for the Lord, my committee
will be very angry. Perhaps they will ask me to resign." Do you see what I mean?
Very good people, but they are influenced by policy. I was talking to a man
once, and as I talked to him, he saw what I was meaning. And when I was
finished, this is what he said. "Yes, Mr. Sparks, you are quite right. I quite
agree with you. But if I was to go the way that you are going, I should offend
all my friends. And in my work for the Lord, people would begin to withdraw
their support with money. So I must think about my people and about the Lord's
work." Very good people, very devoted to the Lord. There is no doubt about it
that they love the Lord, but you see these reservations. It says about Caleb of
the Old Testament, that he had another spirit, and he wholly followed
the Lord....
I say to you: have you
understood all these things? I have
much more to say to you about spiritual understanding. But, oh, how important it
is that I should have eyes to see, to see behind the things that are said and
done, and see the meaning of
the Lord. These people only heard His Words, and saw His works, but they did not
understand the meaning. And they lost so much. Ask the Lord to give you
spiritual understanding. And if
you don't understand, don't say, "I don't understand." Go to the Lord and
say, "Lord, make me understand. Open the eyes of my
heart." That will show that you
mean business with the Lord, and if you mean business with the Lord, the Lord
will mean business with you.