Scripture Reading: Gen. 49:18; John 12:27-28; Rom. 1:25; 9:5; 11:33-36; Eph. 1:2-3; 3:21; 6:23-24
All Scripture is God-breathed, but not all of the words in it are spoken by God. Some are spoken by Satan, some are spoken by men, and some are spoken by men possessed with demons. The Lord said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). The Lord did not say that out of the abundance of the heart the hand acts. This shows that the mouth expresses what is in man's heart. Man's words express his true inward condition. The verses listed above show us the kind of people who are qualified to speak for the Lord.
Jacob did not have a good start. But by the time he was in Egypt in his old age, he had changed. He was the first man in the Old Testament to utter a complete discourse in prophecy (Gen. 49:1-28). He could do this because God had wrought Himself into him and he was matured in life. In his prophecy in Genesis 49, he spoke about the future of the twelve tribes. In the prophetic discourse, only one sentence was not prophetic: verse 18. In this verse he spoke about himself. While he was speaking about the future darkness and sins of his sons, he interjected the words, "I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord." These words show us the kind of person he was and the kind of heart he had. Previously, Jacob had been a calculating person. He calculated his blessing, his wages, and his flock. He even outdid his uncle, Laban, in calculation. But in his old age Jacob was no longer calculating. He only waited for the Lord's salvation concerning his sons. Jacob had matured. His words proved that he was a matured man. Such a matured man was qualified to speak for the Lord.
The Lord's prayer in John 12 shows the kind of person the Lord Jesus is. In verse 27 He said, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?" The disciples had heard His messages and witnessed His acts, but it was difficult to sense His inner being. This verse, however, reveals that the Lord was pliable. He was dealt with by the cross. He was not stubborn. He never insisted that God grant Him what He asked for or thought was right. If I had been praying then, I would not have dared to use the same words. The Lord was debating with Himself: "What shall I say? My soul is troubled, and I do not know what to say." He prayed for the Father to save Him from that hour, but He had come for that hour. This was an impossible request. The time had come. What should He do? He said, "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven and said, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again" (v. 28). When most men speak, they expose the uglier part of their character. But it was different with the Lord. He was very pliable. He did not insist and was not stubborn. Rather, He fully obeyed the Father's will.
In his Epistles, Paul often was not speaking God's word but his own. Yet his words were also inspired by God. This shows the kind of person Paul was. In some passages in Romans and Ephesians, Paul interjected a word of worship in the midst of his speaking for the Lord. The first part of Romans 1 may not strike us as unusual. But at the end of verse 25, Paul suddenly exclaimed a word of worship, "Who is blessed forever. Amen." Verse 26 should have immediately followed the word "Creator" in verse 25. When Paul came to this point, he realized that men were not worshipping the Creator. He wanted to declare that he worshipped Him, and he hastily added his word. Paul paused, worshipped God, and then went on with his speaking. This shows us that there is a human element even in God's Word.
Romans 9 has another interesting passage. Verses 4 and 5 speak of Christ and His relationship to the nation of Israel. At the end of verse 5, another word of worship is interjected: "Who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." The main subject of this passage is not Christ but the people of Israel. The first part of verse 5 should have been followed immediately by verse 6, but a word of praise is inserted. From this we see that Paul was a person who worshipped God. His worship was not just in a worship meeting or a meeting of praise. In the middle of his speaking, Paul worshipped God. He was qualified to speak God's Word because he knew how to worship God.
The same thing occurs at the end of chapter eleven, where Paul spoke of God's mercy for men. Verse 32 should have been followed immediately by chapter twelve, but Paul inserted a word of worship from verses 33 to 36. From these passages we see Paul's character. He feared God and exalted God; he was a man taught by God.
This also occurs in chapters one, three, and six of Ephesians. After speaking for some time, Paul inserted a word of worship. He was indeed a good worshipper; he worshipped God everywhere and anywhere. I am not saying that we must insert words of worship into our sermons. If you do this as a kind of performance, others will detect it; it will not be spontaneous or spiritual. Instead, it will be artificial and unnatural. We must be people who are full of worship before we can utter words that are full of worship.
Sooner or later a man's true nature will be exposed. Sometimes we may pretend, but others can always see through our pretense. If a man sits up straight in his chair and does not slant back, you should not assume that he is a diligent and responsible person. Some people are very impatient, yet they act in a patient way. But this acting is easily exposed. Even their pretended patience will expose their impatience. If a man does not have endurance, it does not matter how much he acts; he will still be intolerant. Some people seem to be hasty outwardly, but they are actually not hasty at all but are quite patient inwardly. If you are a man of worship, you will worship at the critical moment, and you will utter words of worship like Paul.
Paul was also a person who blessed others. He often began his Epistles with a word of blessing. "Without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater" (Heb. 7:7). A mark of spiritual maturity is the ability to bless others. A mature person is one who can always bless others. When we are young, we receive blessings from others. When we are mature, we bless others.
Today men are concerned only with the right words. They try their best to come up with clever words and to be scriptural. But the words they speak do not convey the persons they are. This is the shallow way to release God's word. It is not a matter of what you preach but a matter of who you are. It is not a matter of the doctrine but a matter of the person. This is today's problem. In the Old Testament we read of an ass opening its mouth to speak to the prophet. The ass might have uttered human words, but it was still an ass. Many people think that they can speak as long as their doctrine is sound. No, the whole issue is not whether a person can speak but what kind of person the speaker is. Once you open your mouth, a spiritual man will detect whether or not you are a "Galilean" because your accent and tone will speak loudly of your person; you cannot hide. The kind of person you are determines the kind of words you speak; it is useless to pretend. One can tell right away whether a Fukienese is speaking Mandarin or a Cantonese is speaking Mandarin. If a man from Hsing-Hua or Amoy speaks the Foochow dialect, any Foochow native can tell right away that the speaker is not from Foochow. The accent will identify to the listener that the speaker is a native from Hsing-Hua. When a man speaks for the Lord, his spirit and heart flow out. When a stubborn person opens up his mouth, nothing but stubbornness will flow out. When a proud person opens his mouth, only pride will come out.
We must not only hear the Word and convey the Word but also live the Word. Of all the persons in the Bible, the two who touch me the most are Moses in Deuteronomy (Old Testament) and Paul in 2 Corinthians (New Testament). These two books convey a clear portrait of these two persons. Moses was not a cruel person who coldly passed on the law to men; he was meeker than all the men who were on the face of the earth (Num. 12:3). Only Deuteronomy gives us a picture of such a person. Deuteronomy is the result of a man digesting God's word and then reiterating it to others.
Prayer: Lord, deliver us from our self-confidence and self- contentment. May we learn to live in fear and trembling and in Your light. May we reach maturity and know how to bow down and worship You all the days of our life, in the name of the Lord, amen.
