CHAPTER TWO

HOW MANY SQUARES ARE THERE?

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Proverbs 18:13 prayed and asked the Lord to show me how He would have me teach a person who remains in a justified relationship with Him. Asking, how can this teaching spark an individual into realizing how much more there is to Him, when they move with Christ and allow Him to sanctify them? God placed in me a desire to share with others just how rich His Word truly is, and that when they seek it out and allow Him to reveal Himself to them, just how much there is waiting for them as a mature seeker. It was not long before God answered my prayer, because about two weeks later, He showed me. Not only did He show me, but He also taught me something. Sometimes what we see is not always what is there. This is why its extremely important when we search the Word of God, we dont just take a persons word for it. Do the digging yourself. Count the number of squares there are below and write the number in the blank: __________.

When I first took this test, I said, There are 17 squares. I counted all the squares I saw on the surface but failed to dig deeper to see that there are actually thirty squares. If I had taken the time to dig a little deeper I would have seen that, but I was quick to reply with what I thought was the correct answer. This exercise illustrates what this book is all aboutit is all about the dig. That is, digging and seeking for the real gems that are in Gods Word. Digging is the key to developing ones relationship with Christ. We must go beneath the surface of what we read, to uncover not just what it says, but what it means. The Word tells us in Isaiah 40:31,But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. The digging exercise gave me a renewed meaning to this verse. There is so much more to find in Gods Word than what we see on the surface. If we grab our bible. If we keep digging in the text and studying it out. If we seek Him in spirit and truth, and do not faint, or grow weary, He will be faithful and reveal Himself to us, through His Word. God will begin to open up the deeper truths to us as we allow ourselves to go through the sanctification process. Sanctification is the important next step in our relationship with Christ, after salvation. There are so many people sitting in the pews who never grasp the importance of sanctification. Those who overcome and become part of the Bride of Christ receive their full rewards. The price of being part of the Bride requires us to take that walk of dying to ourselves and allowing Christ to mature us. Sanctification is God molding us into who He has planned for us to be.

Before continuing, I want to pray for you. I know some readers are tempted to skip over prayers written in a book, but I ask that you take the time to read this prayer. Father, I thank You for hearing my prayer as I lift up the reader in the name of Jesus. Father, You are a merciful God, a God of great glory, strength, and power. I ask you to prepare the reader for the journey that lies ahead of them. I ask that you show them mercy and grace as they begin to walk in this race to get to know more of You. Father, as they seek you in spirit and truth, I ask that as trials and tribulations come upon them that they understand that this is part of the process of dying to self, meant to make them more mature in You. Remind them when they grow weary that these tribulations come about as a part of their walk. Remind them of those who walked in the wilderness. Remind them that You will not give them more than they can handle and that You will supply all their needs. Father I ask that as the reader begins on the path that the blessings and richness of Your Word will begin to fill their heart and their mind with Your presence. Saturate them in You Lord, in Jesus name I pray and ask, Amen. One thing to understanding in regards to times of trouble. The Word says that God does not give us more than we can handle, 1 Cor.10:13. In most of our lives, we can experience some real doozies of a trial. Our first thought is, God, why did you allow such a thing to enter into my life? Just as I did in the beginning of my time of trouble. Its funny how we turn the table and blame God for our troubles, when in reality, we have placed ourselves in that wilderness, and Gods Word is coming to pass in our lives. God didnt give you more than you can handle, you just need to learn how to handle what God has given you. Knowing how to dig is one thing, knowing how to judge the truth from error correctly is another. Discerning truth from error is a vital weapon in your spiritual war chest. One could make the Bible say anything one wants it to say. Gaining an understanding of biblical symbolism, types and shadows in their respective contexts, and more can allay such false thinking. It is very helpful if one has a spiritual hunger as well as an intellectual quest to study Gods Word effectively. An intellectual quest alone will see apparent contradictions, which spiritual hunger can resolve. Spiritual hunger implies that a person has a heart for God and His righteousness. The power of the Holy Spirit in ones life can enlighten the understanding, in a lifegiving way that exceeds mere intellectual comprehension, however helpful that may be. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. (James 3:17-18). These verses contain seven requirements for any concept or precept to be regarded as truth. Wisdom that is from above is: PURE When a concept is pure, it is completely consistent with all other truths and precepts. There will be no contradictions. The Holy Spirit can witness to ones own spirit when a symbolism, type or shadow illustrates a truth. (The spirit is the new creature or creation

in Christ Jesus, 2 Corinthians 5:17.) Romans 8:16 says, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. PEACEABLE The first thing we experience as a newborn Christian is peace. Romans 5:1 states, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Having peace about any truth is a normal characteristic of a precept. Any concept that leaves one out of rest, wondering how something is supposed to fit with other truths, or otherwise causes confusion, its most likely false. GENTLE God is a gentleman. He does not force Himself on anyone. He has given man freewill, which He will not violate. For example, if you pray for patience, do not be surprised if God causes a circumstance that will require you to be patient or practice patience. God is waiting for us to choose Him and His righteousness voluntarily. Consider the case of a person who is in rebellion against God. When a godly person is praying for them, God knows how to rearrange circumstances in such a way that the rebel will find it very helpful to call on God for help. We have preconceived ideas of how God answers prayer. We must forsake those and use the Bible as our guide to see how God worked in the lives of the men and women in its pages. EASY TO BE INTREATED When questioned, truth is not offended. Truth makes no defense and brings peace and rest. One should not present concepts in a defensive manner. Truth is uncovered with interrogatives designed to either prove or expose it. A truth will not contradict other truths. If a person presenting a false concept becomes offended when questioned, that offensive mannerism exposes the bad spirit connected to the concept. Use wisdom and discernment to determine this. FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUITS God knows we are but dust and that we are born with a sinful nature. We are capable of sinning at any time, especially when we least expect to do so. When we do so, we need mercy. God desires that we build up His good fruits in our lives to guard against the wiles and schemes of the devil that will try to trip us up. The purpose of truth is to increase our faith and understanding of God and His righteousness. One list of good fruits is Galatians 5:22-23, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. WITHOUT PARTIALITY Truth has no favorites. There is no favoritism toward any person or group at the expense of another person or group. Wisdom is fair to all and is for spiritual building up. WITHOUT HYPOCRISY Truth does not say one thing and then do the opposite. This is a theatrical term. The hypocrites were actors in the theaters during Greek and Roman times. An actor portrayed someone or something that he or she was not. When we look at the covers of magazines at the checkout counters in the supermarkets, we can certainly see photos of people who need to stop acting as if they are living, and start living for real. Jesus can and will help them do this if they submit themselves to Him and admit sin.

Concerning actions and deeds, we must always ask ourselves, will it draw us to the mercy of Christ or put us under someones control? If anything is true, it will pass the seven principles in James 3:17-18. Weigh things out and measure them against these verses. Toss out those things that contradict the truth. As we do this, the character of Christ will begin to build in us, as will our ability to properly discern the truth contained within Gods Word. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:12-13) Reading about people in the Bible who went through difficult or tricky situations has given me tremendous understanding of spiritual truth. Witnessing their walk is a valuable key that unlocks powerful understanding. For the longest time, I could never grasp why Job went through such a terrible ordeal. Finally, realizing that he was locked in the me, myself, and I syndrome. Seeing God tumble Job because of it, gave me tremendous insight and continues to keep me peaceably humble before the Lord. When I give thought to certain things, Job pops up in my mind, and I immediately take the wind out of my sails, so to speak.