DON'T FORGET WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY LEARNED

12/17/14

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: Isaiah 28:10

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2: 19-22

There are so many messages that we read and hear from the Spirit of God, and one could easily forget what we just read a day or two ago, because a new message was just brought to our attention by someone filled with wisdom and insight from God.

It is so easy to forget the foundation, because we want to keep looking upwards at the rest of the building. A cathedral is filled with so much light and beauty, especially those that have been graced with Rose Windows like many of the structures that are still standing such as Chartes Cathedral and Notre Dame. One could spend hours gazing as the light pours through these windows and look upon the many pillars and other structural elements that make up these beautiful cathedrals.

But one would be remiss if they ignored what was needed to begin the building of these great stone structures. Without the foundational stones and the flying buttresses that support it, the entire building would collapse. And so it is in the spiritual also. If one would continue to embrace and applaud every new prophecy or teaching, without remembering those that came earlier, they are always gazing at the rest of the building, and ignoring what the building stands upon. We as a people can be so fickled in our understanding of these things. We can so easily get caught-up in the moment, that we lose track of everything else that is good.

We hear about a great revelation from God, but we ignore everything else that is good that we have learned. How can one go onto maturity if their thinking is like this? Many I believe get caught up in going to this conference or that one, thinking that what they hear from the lips of this speaker will cause miracles and new revelations to come into their lives. But the truth of the matter is that the Holy Spirit alone is the one that gives these insights. He alone, speaks to us in that still, small voice so that we can be taught of Him.

Let us always be looking forward to what the Lord would say to us in this hour, but let not forget what we have learned in the journey. Everything that we learn should be like building a wall or a bridge in the Spirit. Each stone that we lay that has the mortar of God upon it, should allow other stones from the past, to be next to it. Then as each new “living stone” is added upon another, the wall begins to rise and the overall structure is seen. Otherwise, if we just use what we have just heard from God, then that stone alone is allowed to sit where a wall could be. It is alone, without the benefit of an underlying structure. It is very much like the cathedral again. We receive something beautiful in the Spirit, a window perhaps, or a cornice, but the window collapses and falls to the ground, because there is nothing to support it.

And lastly, the building is not made up of just those individual stones from us, but they are shared and linked together by the many other members of the body of Christ. We have stones that we have learned through the teachings of others and ourselves, but they cannot fit together smoothly until the edges of our individual stones have been perfected. It is only through the process of tribulation and the wearing down of pride and our own sinfulness that our stones can fit better into the overall building.

Then as we are perfected through the process of dying to ourselves, the building rises to become a beautiful temple, a living cathedral for all to see. But it is only through the eyes of the Spirit that one can see these things. Pursue new understanding and revelations of God's Spirit, but do not forget what you have learned in the process.

Amen,
Stephen Hanson