Sermon Transcript — June 12, 2004
What is known as "the Golden Door" to the Mayan world in Mexico and was the first part of Mexico that was discovered by the Spaniards in 1511, several years later, Francisco Fernandez of Cordoba came, and it was he who put the name on this part of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula. You've probably all heard of that.
Legend has it that when this Spaniard asked some of the natives, the Mayan Indian people, what the locals called this area of land, the response was, "Yucatan." Actually, in the Indian dialect, the word, "Yucatan," means, "I don't understand you." And thus we have the name of a part of Mexico familiar to many, "the Golden Door" to the Mayan culture, the "I don't understand you," Peninsula.
Understanding is a very important subject, whether we dwell on it or not. It's something that separates man from beast. It's something that can separate man from man. It is something that can separate man from woman. Men are from Mars; you know that. It is a concept that sometimes has a very simple or general meaning, and in other cases has a profound meaning that impacts our entire lives, and by "entire," we must also include eternity.
It impacts our perspectives, our opinions, our knowledge, our attitudes. It also deals with our day-to-day lives and has a profound meaning on our relationships with each other and with the world around us. It impacts our relationship with God, the Father, and Jesus Christ. It impacts how we see ourselves as well and what our lives as Christians are all about. It's important for us, brethren, to grow in understanding "understanding." Our lives do depend on it.
Almost all of us have the desire for other people to understand us and find it quite frustrating when we're not understood. I remember when I was in my late teens, or perhaps early twenties, and was going through an emotionally challenging time, this may be the proper way to say it. I started writing a song, "Why Doesn't Anybody Understand Me?" And I think we all go through different events in our lives when we feel, "Nobody understands me." Or, "It's just a difficult thing that they don't seem to relate to."
There was one girl I knew in college, and whenever I would talk to her and would start sharing different things about my life, or whatever, her favorite phrase was, "I understand."
And I thought, "No, you don't. You don't have any idea." Well, actually, she did, but in one of the senses of what "understand" means. As I mentioned, the word, "understand," can have quite a few different meanings from the simple to the profound, and there are quite a few different Hebrew and Greek words, as well as Aramaic that are translated, "understand," "understood," "understanding," but I didn't understand most of them, so we'll just deal with those that I could.
Let's start with some of the basic concepts of understanding that we're aware of that are good to review. God set man apart with the ability or the capacity to understand. In I Corinthians 2:11, we read:
I Corinthians 2:11 - "For what man knows the things of (a) man except (for) the spirit of (the) man which is in him?" This sets man apart from animals, as we've recently reviewed. However, we do know that animals actually have a certain capacity to understand. You've probably seen the commercial where the bell rings, and the dog comes running to the guy, and the guy looks at the dog, and the guy looks at the dog, and says, "stupid dog." And then all of a sudden the doorbell rings, and the guy runs to the door, "Heh, Heh," to get his pizza.
Dogs can understand certain things; animals understand certain things, in fact some even say that their pets understand them more than their husbands or wives do. "Never interrupts me when I'm talking, never says I'm inaccurate in what I said; always seems to have compassion on what I'm going through."
But not only does God provide mankind with the ability to understand physical things, He also gives man the responsibility to develop in understanding. We know that because of instincts, birds build nests; beavers build dams; bees build hives, but if you ask any human being to do the same, they would have to have instructions. They would have to be taught, and they would have to understand certain things in order to do what animals can do out of instinct. It is actually a responsibility that God has given mankind, and it's important for us to realize this also in relationship to our spiritual understanding as well. So, God gave man the ability to understand physical things and responsibility to develop in understanding them in order to survive, in order to grow.
Now we know babies develop understanding through action. They learn what the word, "No," means because of the consequences that they face. They also learn physical things, eating and drinking. They also learn to communicate needs. "If I cry, Mommy will come feed me," or, "If I cry, Daddy will give me back to Mommy, and that's where I'd like to be, thank you very much." Fathers can relate to that. Understanding develops through time. Understanding develops through experience, and again, understanding has different meanings.
Understanding can simply mean, "Recognizing words being said, but not necessarily grasping the meaning." This can happen with other languages, and being able to understand the words that someone is trying to say, but not understanding any meaning that is associated with them. Sometimes a person will try to pronounce English words when their native language is not English, and we can say, "Yes, I understood you; I understood every word you said."
In some situations like this, one person can understand what someone is trying to say, and another person cannot understand what they're trying to say. Again, it's a matter of perception; it's a matter of understanding pronunciation. Now usually, you would think that people who speak the same first language would be able to understand each other speaking another language, such as English. Well, my wife, Marguerite, as most of you know, French is her first language. I'm still trying to figure out what her second language is, but anyway, that's a joke that she actually likes, so, otherwise, I would not use it. I'd get myself in big trouble.
But when she moved to Pasadena, California, she was listening to a gentleman giving a sermon, and French was his native language. She had a very hard time understanding him. And she talked to some friends of hers and said, "I'm having a hard time understanding him speaking English, and yet we both speak French as our native language." Well, they spoke French differently. They had different pronunciations, and their English pronunciation was not in sync either. Fortunately, Marguerite found out that other French friends of hers couldn't understand the man very well either. It turned out that some English-speaking people understood his English better than French people understood his English. So it doesn't always work out that understanding is the same for all people.
It can also happen between people who speak the same language, and they understand the words, but they don't grasp the meaning intended. For instance, "Honey, I understand what you said, but I don't have a clue what you mean." That happens so often, not in our house, but, you know, you hear about it, you know, all over the place how people have a different lack of understanding, whatever.
Understanding can also mean, "to know." To know, or to have a basic perception of, for instance: I understand that when I hit my thumb with a hammer, it is going to hurt a great deal. And I don't need to grow in understanding that; I know it. It's not a deep understanding. I know it. The hammer is put away. Some of you are disappointed with that, but that's all right.
Yes, God provides us with the ability to understand, and I think we all know that understanding in many cases is a process dealing with physical experience, thought, development of thoughts and ideas which lead to understanding. And that is a very important realization that we need to have because God has given us an ability and gives us also responsibility to use and to learn to use properly. Not in our physical lives only, but more importantly, in our spiritual lives, the lives that He has called us to.
One of the Hebrew words translated, "understanding," actually means, "the faculty of understanding, or the ability to understand." God created man to have that ability by the spirit in man which we referred to previously and to develop that ability. God created man with the ability to develop, so different from the animals that have instincts. God has called us to develop, to grow, and we need to grow in understanding "understanding."
Again, understanding can mean very simple understanding, and also can be very profound. Our English word itself is very interesting, at least to me, when you break it apart: "under" "stand," or "stand" "under." What in the world does that mean? Well, when you get into the etymology of the word, it actually comes from old English roots which go back to German roots, and it is said by one dictionary to mean, exactly what it says: "Under and from standan, and earlier form of "stand," but actually the concept is: "To be close to." To be close to, to be "standing with.," or to be "standing very close to." And we know that the concept of understanding goes beyond the mind. It goes beyond mechanics and can reach into the heart, the soul, the very fiber of our being. It can include feelings of pain, feelings of elation. It can include the heart sinking, or the heart bursting with joy. It has a lot to do with our very beings, our makeup, and understanding as we know can go very deep in our lives. And we know that through different experiences that we have, we develop understandings of what others have gone through, or are going through. We can say, "We feel their pain." We can say, "Now, I understand what you're going through." "Now, I understand what it's like to be a father." "Now, I understand more what it's like to be a husband." "I'm with you; I'm standing beside you in heart and in mind. I've been there, too. I understand."
We look to the English words, and also in the Greek, there's several words, and I'll just read some of the ways that they are defined that I find very interesting on this subject. One of them means primarily: "To bring or set together." Remember that, "stand together?" And is used to perceiving, understanding, uniting, making one, the perception with what is perceived, so that there is like a one-mindedness regarding an issue, regarding a feeling, regarding an experience.
Other definitions also that are very similar in setting or bringing together; there was another one, "to lay hold of," "to grasp." We use that word in dealing with understanding, don't we? Meaning, "to grab," to grab a hold of, to hold close, to actually have it as if it's a part of you. And I'm sure we know that when we have gone through great difficulties, and we have seen someone else go through something else, and when we really understand it, and we say, "I understand what you're feeling," we know what that's like. We know that there's almost a oneness of mind, of experience that they are going through that we have done the same with.
You may have heard the old saying that has been distorted in several ways throughout history. "Those that know, do; those that understand, teach." That is not an insult though the saying itself has been distorted to be an insult against teachers. But just to give a better understanding of that and understanding, the difference between knowing and understanding. I'll tell you a little story. It was about a foreman who was able to stand in the shade of a nice tree and looked across a hillside to some men who were working out in the sun, the hot sun, digging ditches, and just sweating, and, you know, not having a good time at all. Well, there were two of them working together, and one said to the other, "You know I just don't understand why he gets to be up there in the shade, just enjoying the day, watching us and basically not doing anything, and we have to be here doing what he told us to do, digging and sweating all day; I'm going to go find out why."
So the guy climbed out of the hole and we went over the foreman, and he said to him, "This is not fair. I don't understand why you're the boss, and we have to work in the ditch."
And the foreman looked at him, and he said, "Well, it's pretty simply, actually. It's because I'm smart, and you aren't."
And the guy said, "What do you mean?"
So the foreman said, "Well, let me show you." So he put his hand against the tree, and he said, "Here, punch my hand as hard as you can."
And the guy said, "Okay," and he swung. And as soon as his fist got close to the hand, the foreman pulled it away; the guy smacked the tree, and was just, OH, in such pain!
And the foreman said, "Well, now you know. See, now you understand. I've helped you understand this; I'm smart, and you aren't."
And the guy, you know, shaking his head, "Yeah, I got it." So he went down to his buddy, and he was trying to hide the pain; he didn't want to embarrass himself, so he went to his buddy, and he said, "Hey, you know what? Now I understand why he's the boss, and we're just the workers And I am understanding this better, and soon, eventually, I'm going to be the boss, and I'll have workers under me. I understand what it's all about now."
And his buddy said, "Well, what? You know, what do you mean?"
And he said, "Well, I won't tell you. I'll just demonstrate. Here, punch my hand as hard as you can." (Laughter). Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.
Let's turn to I Kings 3. Solomon is often known as the one who asked for something that really impressed God. And you know when we're dealing with the understanding, we're dealing with our calling. We're dealing with the fact that God has intended us to become teachers in the kingdom of God. In order to teach, we must understand.
I Kings 3:5 - Now he was told, "Ask what you want and I'll give it to you." What was it that he asked for? Did it begin with the letter "w?" Let's take a look. "At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ÔAsk! What shall I give you?'
Verse 6 - "And Solomon said: ÔYou have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
Verse 7 - " ÔNow, O (Lord) (Eternal) my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
Verse 8 - " ÔAnd Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.
Verse 9 - " ÔTherefore give to Your servant an understanding heart," an understanding heart. In Hebrew, the word associated with understanding is, "hearing," a hearing heart, perceiving, understanding, being made one with. A heart, ". . .an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?'
Verse 10 - "The speech pleased the (Lord) (Eternal) that Solomon had asked this thing." He desired understanding, not just for his own benefit, not for himself, but to serve God's people, and that's what you and I have been called to do, to prepare for, to understand, to develop toward the wonderful kingdom of God.
We all know how incredible it feels when we know someone understands what we're going through, especially when we're going through trials, and we know how incredible it feels to have compassion and sympathy for someone, to help someone, because we can understand. We can stand close to them. We can feel their pain. We can feel a unity with them, and help them through what they are going through, what they are experiencing.
I had an experience many years ago that was devastating at the time. I was in the hospital; I was very ill; I was not expected to live through it, and during one of the periods of time that I was in ICU, I didn't have a clear mind. I was on medication, and again, I was near death. What I had was misperceptions, misunderstandings; I was confused; I didn't know what was going on, but I kind of thought I did. I thought that the nurses and doctors were out to get me. That they actually weren't there to help me, but really wanted to get me.
And I pictured myself hiding behind the bed that I wasn't even able to get out of, because I thought they were after me. And it was a devastating experience. It was frightening, and it was something that at the time I didn't understand why am I going through this? Now I didn't even have the brains to think that at the time, or ask the question, but years later, one of my family members was going through almost the exact same thing, and that was my mother. And she called me from the hospital, she was on medication; she had gone through severe trauma that had almost taken her life, and she said, "Dave, they're trying to kill me."
And at first I thought, "Mother, you're going through what I went through."
She said, "I hear their voices; I hear them talking, and it sounds like they want to kill me."
So I said, "Mother, this is exactly what I went through years ago. Do you remember what I went through? I'm coming down to the hospital, and I'll be with you." And you know, however devastating that experience was, however troubling it was, however difficult it was to go through and then to wonder what in the world purpose could that ever serve, later made me so glad that I had experienced that, that I had been given understanding regarding, so that I could help another person. And I know those of you who have gone through traumatic stress, or traumatic problems, who then can help other people, know what it feels like.
It feels so good to know, "I can help this person. I understand them. I can give them true sympathy, empathy, compassion; it's a wonderful feeling." And it's a very important part of our development, a very important part of our lives, and needs to be kept in mind with everything we experience, especially the experiences that we have, and hopefully grow in understanding by going through them.
So how to we grow in understanding? How do we develop in understanding? Now, there are, of course, many different types of understanding. There are all kind of ways we could go down different avenues, understanding people, understanding prophecy, understanding cicadas in Ohio. There are just all kinds of ways we go at this, but what I'd like us to take a brief look at this afternoon is developing the understanding that God wants us to develop, that God wants us to have, that God wants us to be developing as we are in preparation for becoming teachers in the kingdom of God. Just the general concepts and a few ideas, we'll go over.
In order to grow in this understanding that God wants us to have, we must realize that there is understanding, and there is misunderstanding, and that we, of and by ourselves don't always know the difference. Now, it's simple to say, "Yes, there's understanding; there's misunderstanding," but sometimes we don't know how to tell the difference. After all, it's our understanding. Now if it's someone else's, we could say, "Well, that's your understanding." It's easier to do, isn't it? But if it's something that we feel, we grasp. We understand it's hard for us to admit this may be misunderstanding, and we need to be on guard against that.
We see evidence of it around us regularly, and we read about it throughout the Bible. We see examples of people not understanding, but being confident that they were wise, "Professing to be wise, they became fools." Without God's spirit, we can't even begin to grow in the right understanding of God, the right understanding God wants us to have. In I Corinthians 2, and this time I'll be reading several scriptures that I referred to previously in Verse 11.
I Corinthians 2:10 - "(But) God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
Verse 11 - "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God." Does anyone who doesn't have the spirit of God think they have the understanding of God? You'd better believe they do. This whole world has different understandings, which are misunderstandings, of God without the guidance of His spirit.
Verse 12 - "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit (who) (which) is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
Verse 13 - "These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." Things that are beyond the grasp of the human mind.
Verse 14 - "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him," or incomprehensible, without God being involved. ". . . nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Understood.
Verse 15 - "But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
Verse 16 - "For Ôwho has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?' But we have the mind of Christ." Now some would stop right there and say, "See that? We have the mind of Christ." Now we're not going to go into it, but if you read into I Corinthians 3, the first few verses, it shows that their mind of Christ within them was not complete, and we have to admit the same, don't we? We can't say that we have the mind of Christ and are complete, that our understanding is complete. We cannot say that.
Proverbs 3:5 - I will just quote to you, and it bridges between the first point and the second. It says: "Trust in the (Lord) (Eternal) with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;" Now this may be a very familiar scripture; it's something we may not understand thoroughly, though.
We can easily be inclined to think that our understanding has been given to us by God, if we're in the church, been in the church for years. We've studied things more thoroughly than perhaps the booklets have. We have gone such depth, prayerfully that we may feel that our understanding is not distinct from God, but is what God has revealed to us. And this, interestingly, we can't even feel more solid about our understanding when others differ with us. Especially if we believe we have come to an understanding. And this can deal with prophecy, and this can deal with many other subjects as well. This can separate us from others, especially others of the faith. Especially if our understanding differs from that which the church teaches, and it is then that we are wise to acknowledge that we may be, if not probably are, leaning on our own understanding, and that can be difficult for us at times. But it's something we have to keep in mind, that God, well, we'll touch on that in a little bit.
As the first portion of this verse stated, and that being the second point, we must realize that without God's understanding, all is vanity. Without the understanding God wants us to have, all is vanity. And that's something that we have to yearn for, is to have the same understanding, the same perspective as God, to have the mind He wants us to have, to have the perception, to have the perspective that He desires for us. If we understand something, and God does not agree with that understanding, it's misunderstanding. True? True. We all can admit that quite easily, and of course, we cannot grow to have God's perspective on our own. We have to ask Him. We have to rely on His spirit. We have to ask for His guidance and direction, but we also have to watch that we aren't getting off on tangents that God may not intend us to be dwelling on as we seek understanding. We'll touch on that in a little bit, too. The bottom line here is without gaining, growing in Godly understanding, life is meaningless, and we know there's a book dedicated to that, isn't there?
Third, we must realize that God gives understanding, but not all understanding. Did I get your attention with that one? Let me say it again; we must realize that God gives understanding, but not all understanding. By this I mean that God is the source of all true knowledge, and that God reveals things to us, that He gives us understanding of His word, of His way, and of Himself a little at a time, but He does not reveal all things to us at once and will not reveal all things to us. Some things are beyond our understanding at this time, and we have to accept that. We read about the peace that is beyond understanding. We read in the book of, well, I'll go to Daniel first, Daniel 12:8; Daniel provided an example for us regarding this. In:
Daniel 12:8 - We read, Daniel writing: "(And) (Although) I heard, (but) I (did not understand) (understood not.) Then I said, ÔO my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?'
Verse 9 - "And He said, ÔGo your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed (till) (until) the end of time.'" So Daniel ignored that instruction and deeply studied what he had written and came to an understanding on his own. Right? Nope. He didn't do that. He accepted God what had told him and focused on what he was to be doing.
Sometimes God has not revealed things clearly to His church, and sometimes we might feel such a passion to understand something that God does not yet intend to bring to our understanding, and we can get our minds off the focus God wants us have, to be developing, to be growing, to becoming His sons and daughters in His soon coming kingdom, that we are developing to become teachers, that we are growing in character, that we are growing in understanding, and living the lives that He has called us to live and grow in understanding.
God brings us to understanding in our calling, and by His spirit He enlightens our minds, and then we have no need of Bible study, prayer, meditation or fasting. Right? Well, no God directs us to the source of knowledge that we are to grow in understanding with effort and with time. So God does not give us all understanding. I knew one student at college who said to me, "Well, I'm going to get baptized as soon as I understand the whole Bible. And I still don't know if he's been baptized, but if he had that frame of mind, I doubt if he ever could be, because God doesn't reveal all things at once. And God helps us to grow, and He expects of us to take the responsibility to grow, to learn, to develop, to grow in understanding.
Job also had come to realize that there were many things about God that are totally beyond our comprehension or understanding in the creation. Who can understand the power of God? Who can understand how He created things? God reveals Himself to us as He sees fitting. God directs us in our lives to grow in the understanding He wants us to develop in.
And the fourth point is that we must realize that there is a path or a way to understanding, and we need to follow it. There is a path, or a way to understanding, and we need to follow it. If you're on the wrong road, you're going to end up at the wrong destination. We're all heading somewhere, right? If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else. We all have experiences; each and every one of us, every day we have experiences, and they can be determined by the path we're walking on, or how we view those experiences can be determined by the path, or those who are on the path with us. And the influence and the impact they have on us and on our experience as well.
In Isaiah 40:13, 14, we see that there is a path or a way of understanding that comes from God. He is the source of all things that are good and perfect. If there is any way we want to learn the right type of understanding, the right form of understanding, we have to look to God, and we know that.
Isaiah 40:13 - We read: "Who has directed the Spirit of the (Lord) (Eternal), Or as His counselor has taught Him?
Verse 14 - "With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and (who) showed Him the way of understanding?" Now I believe these are all rhetorical questions; I think we're all in agreement there. There is a way, though, as this shows, there is a path to understanding, and God is the One who provides it. No one can provide God with a way of understanding. It is God who provides the way to us, and we must ask Him to show us His ways, to teach us His paths, to help us to grow in the understanding that He wants us to develop.
He has given us the ability to develop understanding of the physical, and as His people, of the spiritual, and He wants us to be with Him on the path, not as mindless computers, but as His sons and daughters who have been called out of this world and all of its misunderstandings into His church where He is adding understanding, the right understanding as we walk together. Yes, we're all supposed to be on the same road together, aren't we? And we're all supposed to be as iron sharpening iron under the direction and leadership that God provides. On that path that God provides, we know that we must receive instruction. We have to receive instruction in order to learn, in order to grow, and we do receive that from God's word, but also as touched on in the first point, we have to know that we may not be able to get all this understanding on our own. And all of us need guidance and instruction; all of us need guidance and instruction.
There's an example that you may be familiar with in Nehemiah 8 of all those who were teachers, and they were helping the people to understand. Yes, God was re-revealing His truth to them, but there were teachers who were helping them to understand.
In Acts 8, we read the story of the Ethiopian eunuch and that God guided Philip to him. And the eunuch was asked by Philip, "Do you understand what you're reading?" He was very interested in it, reading about Jesus Christ. He was very interested but didn't know that it referred to Jesus Christ.
And the eunuch said, "How can I understand this except someone guides me?" Now that can be difficult for us as well, can't it? Because with the teaching we have received, with the learning that we have, sometimes we may think that we can come to all understanding, it's just you and me, Jesus. And we have to be careful about that, because we can often get off on tangents and become too confident in misunderstandings that can be very damaging with our relationships with each other and in our relationship most importantly with God, the Father, and Jesus Christ.
We also see from scripture that we can't even understand ourselves by ourselves, that the heart is deceitful about all things. We read examples of those who cried out to God, "Give me understanding of myself." Now when you can't even understand yourself, you have to admit that you might not be able to understand everything else either, right? I mean, it's something that God has revealed to us, to show us that in order to come to correct understanding, we're not a one-man show. We need God; we need instruction; we need guidance.
That path also to understanding is something that we must walk and not just talk. It requires taking steps along the way; it requires active involvement, not just reading the map, because knowledge of and by itself is meaningless. It requires acknowledging that God does give us understanding beyond our own capacities; that He expects us to develop our minds, our hearts, our understanding as He guides us, not only with His holy spirit, but also with His word, the Bible and with the instruction that He provides for us, and with the experience that He allows or causes, in Psalm 119; why don't we turn there.
In Psalm 119 we see an example of understanding, of coming to understanding, of asking for understanding. And as we first read it, we might even think it's contradicting itself, but I think we'll see quite clearly it isn't. And sometimes because of our own carnal nature, and I'm speaking as a second generation Christian, one who grew up in the church, one though, that God did give understanding to, and called me into a very personal relationship with Him, but it can be easy for us to sometimes think that God is responsible. God is responsible for giving understanding, and if God doesn't give understanding, then I don't have it. Right? So what am I going to do?
And sometimes we can hold God responsible and not see that God holds us responsible in seeking knowledge, in seeking understanding, and that can be too easy for us at different times when we think about certain scriptures without looking at the whole, without seeking the guidance that God does provide, the entire guidance. I don't know if any of you can relate to that, but sometimes that can be something that we can think and become somewhat lackadaisical in our Christian development, another thing we have to be on guard against.
Psalm 119:34 - We read: "Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law." So, there, okay? I'm going to sit on my porch, and I'm going to have a beer, and if any understanding comes, then I'm sure I'm going to keep Your law. So, I'm just waiting. "Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; (Yes) (Indeed) I (shall) (will) observe it with my whole heart." But, of course, that's dependent on whether or not You give me the understanding.
Verse 35 - "Make me (to go) (walk) in the path of Your commandments. . ." Okay, if You make me, I'll do it. ". . .for therein do I delight." That really changes the meaning, doesn't it? And the meaning itself is not saying, "Make me, or I won't do it." It's saying, "Help me, guide me, march me along the path, help me because I need help."
Verse 73 - "Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments." Let's skip down to Verse 98:
Verse 98 - "You, through Your commandments (have made) (make) me wiser than my enemies: for they are ever with me.
Verse 99 - "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation." Now, of course, he wasn't speaking of teachers that God had provided, but the teachers that were leading away from God.
Verse 100 - "I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts." Because I do. Now is this contradicting itself? I think as we step away and look at it all, we see in the words written here that it is all a cycle. That yes, we have to rely on God to give us an understanding, to know that His way is the way, and that's what He gives us through the calling; that's what He gives us through helping us to understand the world, and see the world through eyes that the world does not look through, to understand Satan is the god of this world and will continue until Jesus Christ comes. That we need His help, that He does help us, but then we grow in understanding as Psalm 119:100 says by doing, by being active, and as we are active, we grow in understanding. We grow in the understanding of God's commandments by keeping them. We read that in Psalm 111:10:
Psalm 111:10 - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all (they) (those) that do His commandments." You can understand the Sabbath is the seventh day, but I don't believe anyone can understand the Sabbath, God's Sabbath, unless they're keeping it. It is through obedience; it is by walking; it is by doing that God gives us the understanding of His way, of His mind, of His heart, and what He is helping us to develop in doing, in becoming.
We all know that we have been called to become teachers, that we are called first fruits, that God has a special plan for us and purpose in our lives, that's what they're all about, or are to be all about, to be growing, to be learning, to be developing the understanding God wants us to have.
In I Corinthians 14:19 we read an admonition. In fact it's a very strong admonition in the Greek, and I don't speak Greek; I don't know Greek, but I read reference works to Greek that seem to make it quite clear that in this verse, or in these verses, the tense that is used is not just a suggestion, it is a strong admonition, if not a commandment.
I Corinthians 14:19 - Paul was dealing with not impressing men, but wanting to help men to develop and grow in God's way. And he said: "Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that (by my voice) I might teach others also. . ." We've been called to become teachers. Our understanding is not only for ourselves. We're not out to impress the ignorant, or shouldn't be. We're to be growing in understanding. I would rather do that than ". . .ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
Verse 20 - "Brethren, be not children in understanding. . ." "Be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men." Be mature, be teleios, be perfect, as we are to be becoming perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. That is the understanding that we are to be growing in. That is the responsibility that God has given us, that He gives us the understanding, that we are to recognize that there can be misunderstanding in which deceives us into thinking it is correct understanding. Remember, because we don't easily want to admit, "Well, this is the way I understand it," and that is a misunderstanding. That's just not the way our minds work.
But as we live our lives we are to be, and we are, one way or another, growing in understanding. It can be Godly understanding, or it can be misunderstanding. Let's not be deceived; let's constantly be on guard. We need to be growing in understanding true understanding, Godly understanding. Let's all think about this and work, work to grow in the true understanding of God through living His commandments, living His holy days, living His word and living on these things in relationship to all of our experiences that in everything we do we are living in growing and understanding the mind of God and always thinking along that line and learning to understand ourselves, learning more to understand the world around us and each other from a right perspective. God has given all of us a tremendous ability to understand. He has also given us the tremendous responsibility. That's what our lives are about. Let us grow in true understanding.