“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15  All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.  John 16:12-15

When we finally get to the end of John, we have arrived at the good stuff.  In this passage Jesus revealed the process by which the Spirit Himself was going to teach us. But according to Jesus there was a catch.  He mentioned one prerequisite to learning. He said to these disciples, “I have yet many things to say to you.” Why didn’t Jesus communicate everything on His heart? What was hindering Him?

The answer of course, as he said, was they couldn’t bear the information right then. Don’t you hate it when someone does this to you?  People say things like, “I would tell you, but you wouldn’t understand. You wouldn’t believe me.  I would share, but I don’t think you could take it.”  My response is you shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.

These disciples were not talking to an ordinary person.  They were talking to the Lord Jesus. If Jesus said something was too difficult to bear, it must be too difficult.  What Jesus really wanted to share would have placed too heavy a burden on them. It would have created a demand greater than they could respond to, so He refused to reveal anything deeper.

Why couldn’t Jesus open up fully?  What were His disciples lacking?  Evidently, they lacked the understanding of the resources they needed.  They did not know how to handle these demands or how to satisfy these requirements, so Jesus would not reveal certain bits of truth until they had the power to respond appropriately. I hope this doesn’t sound too convoluted.  I will give an illustration.

Today there are many conferences, seminars, and meetings being held in which great biblical truths are being placed before people. The truth is out there, but many sincere believers are not always being told how to respond to it appropriately.  When we don’t know how to respond correctly, we default back to the only response we know.  We summon up our natural commitment, our natural strength, and attempt to do the best we can to fulfill what we just learned.

Many times when a sincere believer attempts to accomplish a particular spiritual maneuver, it hinders and cripples without them knowing why. How does this happen?  It is not that what they are being told is incorrect. They simply are ill-equipped to know how to respond. This is why everyday, at least on my blog, the top search terms are in the area of faith. People know what they need, they just don’t know how to get there. So they seek to build their faith.

It is important for every believer to understand we must learn and know how to respond in faith and trust to the One who dwells within us before we can ever move forward. Without faith in what God has previously spoken, it is all but impossible to respond to any additional commands from heaven. Read these last lines three times please and believe it.  This is the prerequisite to learning.  Don’t try to learn something you are not willing to allow God to birth, grow, and harvest in your life. (This is the thrust of the parable of the sower.) If you are not going to allow this process to transpire in your life…stop going to conferences, seminars and the like. You are wasting your time and only crippling your walk. All truths must be planted, cultivated, and harvested. If you are not going to be a cultivator and harvester…then don’t plant!  You will only become like the Dead Sea.  Water and life come into you, but no water and life goes out.

It is a very dangerous thing to be shown spiritual truth.  Why?  Because if you do not “follow though” with it, it can become disastrous.  It will weigh you down and you will live in guilt, confusion, and frustration.  Jesus knows sometimes it is best that we not be given spiritual truth. He warned us to “count the cost” first before we build.  If we crumble under the weight of spiritual truth, it will be even more difficult to come back around the second and third time.

The prerequisite to receiving spiritual truth and growing is…. know in the beginning you will respond to God’s word and know ahead of time you will stay in the process until it is completed in you.  Stay with me in the next few blogs and I will try to explain how the Holy Spirit leads us in this process.

Let me give a brief invitation for those wanting more at this point.  If you have been one of those who has crumbled under the weight of God’s revelation, you don’t need any more truth. More head knowledge will only puff you up. Light is not your issue.  There are no shortcuts or tricks. It is about the process which God has placed you. Most simply want out or want it over!  Say amen, if you have been there, done that, and got two t-shirts to prove it.  The simple way to correct the situation is to confess your anger, hatred, frustration, etc. with God’s dealings in your life. Repent and surrender to the Lord’s process. Begin telling the Lord how much you love Him, regardless of where He leads. In this you will find spiritual refreshment for the rest of your journey. Stop asking for more revelation and start asking for more of the Lord’s presence. Always remember, it is not about the destination. Life is about the journey and the Lord loves giving Himself to our process.

Blessings,

Pastor