Proverbs 1:23 - Repent And Receive My Spirit.
Proverbs 1:23 (NKJV) Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will
make my words known to you.
Proverbs 1:23 (NASB) Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will
make my words known to you.
Proverbs 1:23 (ESV) If you turn at my
reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I
will make my words known to you.
Proverbs 1:23 (AMP) If you will turn
(repent) and give heed to my reproof, behold, I
[Wisdom] will pour out my spirit upon you, I will
make my words known to you.
INTRODUCTION
God is more than willing to pour out his
heart and make known his thoughts to us. To
receive his advice, we must be willing to listen,
refusing to let pride stand in our way. Pride is
thinking more highly of our own wisdom and desires
than of God's. If we think we know better than
God or feel we have no need of God's direction,
we have fallen into foolish and disastrous
pride. [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
The Highest Counsel
Have you ever had someone ask you for
advice only to ignore you once you gave it to them?
There are many reasons people turn away from
guidance. Some are so deep in denial, they are blind
to what would help them. Others live only in
the moment and cannot think in the long-term.
Still others want your approval for doing what
they know is bad for them.
Solomon personified wisdom as a pure and
noble woman who preaches to fools wherever they
congregate in a city: "Wisdom calls aloud outside; she
raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out
in the chief concourses 'How long, you simple
ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners
delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge"
(Proverbs 1:20-22).
The amount of wisdom we may have does not
depend on how much God is willing to give; rather,
it depends on how much we are willing to
receive. The problem is not with the Giver but with
the asker. "Until now you have asked nothing in
My name," Jesus told His disciples. "Ask, and
you will receive, that your joy may be full"
(John 16:24).
When we fulfill the requirements of
receiving the blessings from God's promises -
admitting our need, confessing our sins, surrendering
our hearts, committing to obey - we have access,
through Jesus, to the best counsel in the universe.
So don't harden your heart to godly advice. The
rebukes of heaven are blessings, for they open your
life to the wisest counsel in your time of need.
Dear Jesus, I humbly seek Your wisdom to
help me face the problems that overwhelm me.
Thank You for promising to pour out Your Spirit on
my mind and heart. [The Most Amazing Bible
Promises by Amazing Facts]
COMMENTARY
Spirit Given on Condition
Christ has promised the gift of the
Spirit to His church, and the promise belongs to us
as much as to the first disciples. But like
every other promise, it is given on conditions.
There are many who believe, and profess to claim
the Lord's promise; they talk about Christ and
about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit.
They do not surrender the soul to be guided and
controlled by the divine agencies. We cannot use the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the
Spirit, God works in His people "to will and to do
of his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13. But
many will not submit to this. They want to manage
themselves. This is why they do not receive the heavenly
gift. Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who
watch for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit
given
There is no limit to the usefulness of
one who, putting aside self, makes room for the
working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives
a life wholly consecrated to God If His
people will remove the obstructions, He will pour
forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams
through human channels,
The Spirit furnishes the strength that
sustains striving, wrestling souls in every
emergency, amid the unfriendliness of relatives, the
hatred of the world, and the realization of their
own imperfections and mistakes. A union of
divine and human endeavor, a close connection
first, last, and ever, with God, the source of all
strength--this is absolutely necessary.
To Jesus, who emptied Himself for the
salvation of lost humanity, the Holy Spirit was given
without measure. So it will be given to every
follower of Christ when the whole heart is
surrendered for His indwelling. Our Lord Himself has
given the command, "Be filled with the Spirit,"
and this command is also a promise of its
fulfillment. It was the good pleasure of the Father that
in Christ should "all the fulness" dwell; and
"in him ye are made full" (Colossians 2:9, 10,
R.V.). {OHC 151 re cross ref Luke 11:13.}
Four Ways God Answers Your Prayers
God always answers every single prayer -
just not always the way you want - and he does it
in one of four ways.
When the request is not right, God says,
No. Just like parents say no to their kids
for a hundred good reasons, God doesnt owe
you an explanation every time he says no
to your request.
When the timing is not right, God says,
Slow. Theres a big difference between a
delay and a denial. No and not yet are
not the same thing, and learning and accepting
the difference shows spiritual maturity.
When the request and timing are right,
but youre not right, God says, Grow. He
wants to do something in your life before he
answers your prayer because youre not yet ready
to handle the answer.
When the request is right and the
timings right and youre right, then God says,
go. God often gives us the green light to our
prayers - and its a reason to celebrate!
Luke 11:11-13 says, You fathers - if
your children ask for a fish, do you give them a
snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you
give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you
sinful people know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (NLT).
God is never going to give you anything
that is hurtful or bad for you. After all, if
even imperfect parents know how to give good
gifts to their kids, wont God, who is good and
perfect, do even more for you? He is ready to answer
your prayer - in his own perfect time and way.
[Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/ re cross ref Luke 11:13.]
If the sinner still refuses to heed the
voice of mercy which calls after him with tender,
pitying love, his soul will be left in darkness. If
he neglects the opportunity presented him, and
goes on in his evil course, the wrath of God
will, in an unexpected moment, break forth upon
him. He, that being often reproved hardeneth
his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that
without remedy. 4T208 re cross ref Luke 11:13.
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Luke 11:13 (NKJV) If you then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to those who ask Him!" Devotional pending.
Romans 8:32 - Will Not God Give Us All
Things That Are For Our Good.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2017/20170314-1044.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
