The Road Less Travelled
“Your Teacher will no longer hide Himself,
but your eyes will behold your Teacher.”
Isaiah 30:20
All who are believers will have this one desire; to know God, to go further up the road to an understanding of the ways of God. Too often many stop and become comfortable with familiar surroundings and with familiar voices that seem to bring comfort concerning the ways of God. Often times these voices bring confusion and contradicting views about God when compared to the scriptures. Yetmany over look these contradicting and confusing views because they trust the human they believe is their shepherd to higher learning, and settle with the confusion because they are too comfortable to move onward.
Yet, in this setting of confusion and contradiction there are individuals who are seeking to know God, with a desire placed in them to move forward.At first fear of ostracism from those they have looked up to holds them back;only until they find themselves dying of spiritual thirst do they realize there is much more to be revealed. Eventually they will test the waters, often only to move on to another camp. Then something in them stirs again, and they move a little further out. As they start to find themselves alone they start to come to the realization that they possess the spirit of the One Who spoke the universe into being, and that spirit is causing them to move on. Eventually they find themselves in the place where they were warned by others (in the camps) to stay clear of, the place of being alone, without the camps leadership, fellowship and guidance, and withoutaccountability tocamp leaders. But they soon find in themselves they are at peace, and feel the leading of the spirit in their spirit taking them to places of understanding about God they never dreamed were true. At times they will stray off the road, and once again get comfortable in a camp, but eventually they will feel the hand of God gently move them away from the camp, leading them further up the road into still another deeper understanding of Who He is, and into deepertruths concerning His ways with His creation.
While in the camptheir; “ears will hear a word behind them saying: This is the way, walk in it, whenever they turn to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21). As they move forward they soon come to realize few hear those words of Isaiah. And even fewer hear these words from the same prophet: “You are My witness, declares the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He.” (Isaiah 43:10) You will find while you move further up the road you are not just learning about God, you are being moved to a place where you are beginning to know Him, and understand Him, as well as totally believe Him. You are being conformed to the image of His Son. [Romans 8:29](1).This you come to realize is only accomplished by Him; you are coming to realize you are His achievement and the road you are on was made ready beforehand by God. [Ephesians 2:10](2).
You Be Following Me!
There is this account in John when Peter turns to the Lord and asked:”What is to happen with this man?”(concerning John), the Lord turned to Peter and said: “What is it to you? You be following me!” Jesus is telling Peter He will be the fulfillment in John, He will be the One Who will control all of Johns steps, so don’t concern yourself with him, follow Me, I will also be your Guide into truth as well.
So many today have set themselves up as the scripture police, leaders of and to the truth, the only ones who have the keys to understanding the Father, and keepers of the keys to the Kingdom, when Jesus said this understanding is found only through Him and is only in the scriptures: “Search the scriptures, for in them you are supposing you have life eonian, and those are they which are testifying concerning Me……I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.No one is coming to the Father except through Me.”(John 5:39, John 14:6). These words from Jesus are the driving Forces in every believer on the road to knowing God, the Forces that drive us deeper into the scriptures and away from teachings that would cause us to become complacent,away from teachings that contradict and confuse the words of scripture. Only by heeding those words; “I am the Way to the Father…Search the scriptures they testify concerning Me” from Jesus can we come to know the Father, andthe Christ who the Father sent, and His coming Kingdom of Righteousness. No one can come to know the Father outside of Jesus; we have to go through Jesus to know the Father[John 14:6](3).That we might know: “what is the breadth and length and depth and height --to know the love of Christ as well which transcends (human) knowledge -- that you may be completed for the entire complement of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).
Unfortunately many look to others (humans) to make them complete in God. Humans can teach, but God reveals.
His Achievement
We are all His achievement, He is the Master Builder. He is the One Who will bring us to spiritual maturity. Paul tells us what is the goal:” Unto the end that we should all attain to the unity of the faith and of the realization of the son of God, to a mature (hu)man, to the measure of the stature of the complement of the Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13).
This does not happen by listening to a sermon on Sunday morning, or reading an article once a month, or a daily bible reading plan over the course of a year, or belonging to an organization. This happens by a God given desire to know Him, not just followingand learning what others say of Him, but what He says of Himself.
Jesus asked: "Who are the throngs saying that I am?" (Luke 9:18).Read the answers; “John the Baptist, Elijah, some prophet”; all were dead, yet this is what the throngs believed who He was, their understanding was clouded by their own perceptions and traditions, they could not accept Jesus for who He said He was; the throngs were wrong. Those who walk with Him and know Him, and that has always been the minority, will answer as Peter did:“Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15). And no human can reveal that truth to anyone: “For flesh and blood does not reveal it to you, but My Father Who is in the heavens.” (Matthew 16:17).
The human mind left to its own imaginations can only speculate on what the scriptures teach, most believe it is like reading a manual to fix a broken appliance, or a challenge to be good or else, and it is by their efforts the appliance is slowly brought into working order, which is not the case. Without the spirit of truth (the mind of Christ) humans will only understand what is in vogue about God.
Before the scriptures were written God was revealing Himself to individuals who were chosen to reveal Him to others. Now He is revealing Himselfthrough the scriptures to those who are His, to those who have the mind of Christ [1 Corinthians 2:16](4),to those who are led by the spirit [Romans 8:14](5),to those whowill rule and reign with Him in the oncoming eons [2 Timothy 2:11-12](6).
To know God isn’t some random haphazard work of His spirit leading and revealing. And it is never by the will of humans to know Him [Romans 3:11, 12](7). Your heart has to be open to the things of God, and God is the One Who will: “give (you)a heart to know (Him)……You shall seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 24:7, 29:13) It is not by “our” understanding of the scriptures that God reveals Himself to us; Jesus said that many were transgressing the word of God by their traditions(“THEIR” understanding of the scriptures), and in vain were they revering Him, because in their teachings they were teaching the directions of man, and in doing this they invalidate the word of God [Matthew 15:6-9](8).This has been true ever since Jesus spoke those words, and before.
It is only by God’s spirit of truth that the word of God reveals God to us: “Yet whenever that may be coming -- the spirit of truth --it will be guiding you into all the truth, for it will not be speaking from itself, but whatsoever it should be hearing will it be speaking, and of what is coming will it be informing you. That will be glorifying Me, seeing that of Mine will it be getting, and informing you.”(John 16:13-14).Most, unfortunately, have been programmed to believe that there are earthly “higher” places of learning set up to reveal only what God can reveal to them.
Paul tells us Christ seats us among the celestials [Ephesians 2:6](9). That is our place of higher learning; that is where He is revealing His Plan of the Ages to us: “that, in the oncoming eons, He should be displaying the transcendent riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:7)
To the one whose heart has been opened to His teachings, that ones heart will be open to hear His voice:"My sheep are hearing My voice, and I know them, and they are following Me.”The voice of another we will not hear: “Now an outsider will they under no circumstances be following, but they will be fleeing from him, for they are not acquainted with the voice of the outsiders." (John 10:5) There may be times (seasons) when a strange voice will sound comforting, but under closer examination it will be recognized as the voice of an outsider. Then the Voice that will be heard above all others will say “this is the way” and move us onward up the road. The one who hears the Voice and understands will be the one whose faculties have been exercised to discriminate between the ideal and the evil [Hebrews 5:13-14](10). They will move onward.
The Lonely Road
To walk on the road to Sonship/Daughtership[2 Corinthians 6:17-18](11)is quite often lonely. Jesus said: "Enter through the cramped gate, for broad is the gate and spacious is the way which is leading away into destruction, and many are those entering through it. Yet what a cramped gate and narrowed way is the one leading away into life, and few are those who are finding it. "Take heed of those false prophets who are coming to you in the apparel of sheep, yet inside they are rapacious wolves.”From their fruits you shall be recognizing them (Matthew 7:13-16).
Many have taken these verses to be about the saved and the damned, those who find the cramped gate (narrow way) and those who find the broad gate (wide road) are either destined to heaven or hell. That is not what Jesus meant.This portion of scripture has to do with those who have spiritual insight, those who do not take heed to the teachings of false prophets,those whose hearts are lead by God’s spirit, they are the ones (the few) entering the cramped gate which leads to the narrow road of truth and life with very few on it. The wide gate is for the throngs, the many;those who Jesus said will follow the innumerable and diverse human teachings and traditions concerning God and Himself. They will not be able to recognize the fruit (false teachings) of those coming in sheep’s apparel; their faculties are not exercised to recognize they are on the broad road, because the road they are on is populated, popular, and comfortable. Everything is done for them, no need to search; someone has been paid to do it for them. They are taught to relax and turn their mind off; they will be told what to believe.I am not being critical, or judging, this is all God’s doing as well, He set them on their course, He is the One in control of all,[Isaiah 46:10b(12), Psalms 33:11(13), Isaiah 14:24(14), Romans 9:19-20](15).All on the broad road are there because that is where they are to be [Matthew 13:11(16), Luke 8:10] (17).Only God can call you through the narrow gate.
The Few
All through the scriptures there are those, the few, who have ears to hear, as well as those who don’t. To those who have ears to hear Jesus says: "To you the secret of the kingdom of God has been given.” (Mark 4:11) Jesus also said: those outside, although they have ears, they will only hear parables, parables they will not understand (Mark 4:12).He says the reason for this in (Matthew 13:11)(16), the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens has not been given to those outside of His immediate circle.Like the cramped gate leading to the narrow road: “few are those who are finding it.” To those who are His, the Way (road) they are aware of, it has been given to them to know the Way [John 14:4] (18).
Many (the throngs) recoil at this truth.
“Jesus doesn’t show favoritism,” they say.“We are all the same in God’s eyes.”
This is true in part. He shows no favoritism when it comes to His love for us, or His salvation for all, but when it comes to those who will serve with Him in the on coming eons there are many verses that teach this is so. The twelve apostles will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel[Matthew 19:28] (19), those who are chosen out of the nations will serve with Him over the nations and over the messengers [1 Corinthians 6:2-3] (20).
We can also see from scripture when Jesus was with the twelveHe had four who were His close companions, Peter, James, Andrew and John, they saw and heard things the other eight were not privy to. They were asked to be with Him on the mount of transfiguration[Matthew 17:1-2] (21),three; Peter, James and John were asked to be with Him at the Garden of Gethsemane when He went off to pray[Matthew 26:37] (22). Also, out of those three John was the closest. John was the one who rested his head on Jesus’ chest in the upper room. John is also called the one whom Jesus loved –especially-[John 13:23] (23). John was the one that Peter asked Jesus what was to happen to him, probably because of John’s closer relationship with Jesus[John 21:20-23] (24). John was the only one of the twelve at the crucifixion, he was the one that Jesus told his mother Mary to be a mother to, and to John; Mary was to be like a mother [John 19:26-27] (25).
Paul tells us that there are those whom God prefers to be the first to believe in this era,the first fruits of those who will be believing[2 Thessalonians 2:13] (26). Also it is God who opens up the heart of those who hear to be believing in this era[Acts 16:14] (27),and closes the hearts of those who are not to be believing in this era[John 12:39-40](28). All through the Old Testament God singled out individuals to whom He let know Him, as well as the nation Israel to believe, while leaving the other nations to go their own way[Acts 14:16-17] (29).
Unfortunately this is unknown by the masses (throngs). It is hardly, if ever preached about, and when it is it is taken so far out of context that it makes God out to be a monster. Just because God sets apart a few does not mean He neglects the rest[Acts 14:17] (29), He cares for all.But for now He is preparing a few to know Him.
All will eventually come into an understanding of His grace and love, and all will one day know Him, but for now it is only for those who are set apart [1 Timothy 4:9-11] (30).Those who have been lead to seek His truth are those who have obtained: “not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we may be perceiving that which is being graciously given to us by God, which we are speaking also, not with words taught by human wisdom, but with those taught by the spirit, matching spiritual blessings with spiritual words.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).
To the masses the few are peculiar, out of step, unlearned in the common and traditional teachings, yet these are the ones God has called to know Him [1 Corinthians 1:26-31] (31).
Learn to Unlearn
The first thing that God does with those who are entering the cramped gate is teach us to learn to unlearn what was once believed to be true about Him, the teachings that are taught to those on the wide road, the teachings that don’t stand side by side with the scriptures concerning His ways.
When God draws you aside, He takes you just as you are, but now He begins the process of molding you into what you will be: a joint enjoyers of Christ’ allotment.