The following teaching is the second in the series, Empowered for Ministry, presented by the Rev. John W. Howe. The title is, The Word of Knowledge. Last week I tried to make three points for a new series of meditations that I'm calling Empowered for Ministry. It'll probably go on for the better part of the next year. First point was that Jesus Christ was, from the very beginning, divine.

From the very beginning, He was and ever is the Son of God, the Word of God, as John's Gospel calls Him. the spokenness of God. God speaking Himself.

God expressing Himself. If you want to think of it, God expressing Himself into all time, all eternity, everywhere. God expressing His own nature.

Jesus was divine from the very beginning. But secondly, at a definite moment in time, a dateable moment in time, He became what He never was previously. A human being.

he was the son of god from the beginning he became a human being at a definite point in our history he took on our human nature and in the process he accepted some of the very same limitations that you and i live with all the time he was neither omniscient omnipotent or omnipresent as a human being. He accepted limitations in becoming one of us. And thirdly, that he was anointed by the Holy Spirit.

And that his ministry, and this is the important thing, that his ministry was not out of his being the Son of God, but it was out of his being anointed. And I tried to tie all that to three verses in the first chapter of John's Gospel. You might want to just look again very quickly to refresh it to our memories.

The very first verse in the beginning was the Word. He was there in the very beginning. He was God. He was with God.

The fourteenth verse, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He became something that He wasn't previously. And the thirty-second verse, John's witness speaking about Him, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven, and it remained upon him.

So he was divine from the beginning. He became a human being at a particular moment in history. We're about to celebrate his birthday.

And then he was anointed by the Spirit of God, and his ministry proceeded out of that anointing. Now that is not a new thought. But that may be a fresh way of thinking about it for most of us.

R.A. Torrey, one of the great theologians and evangelists of the last century, put it this way. He said, Jesus Christ obtained power for his divine works, not from his inherent divinity, but by his anointing through the Holy Spirit.

He was subject to the same conditions of power as other men and women, as other human beings. He was subject to the same limitations that you and I are. Do you think of him that way?

I think most of the time we don't we think of Jesus as a super man right we look at him and we see him as God and he was and that's the conclusion that we're supposed to come to but he was not operating out of his divine power he accepted limitation when he became a man he was operating out of an anointing and I tried to press that point last time by simply reminding you that for the first 30 years of his life he was God he was the son of God, but he didn't do a single miracle. He didn't heal a single person. He didn't liberate a single person oppressed by an evil spirit.

He didn't even preach a single sermon. He was God all along, but he began his ministry at the point of his anointing. How many of you did your homework?

I asked you to read through the Gospel of Mark and look for... Ah, Betty's just remembering she didn't do her homework. I saw that and look for two things number one evidence of his limitation as a human being what did you see as you read through witness that he accepted that limitation what were some of the evidences he hired Judas that's interesting was that an evidence of his limitation you think that caught him off guard I think we'll discover just the opposite as a matter of fact.

He did no miracles in his own home. You remember when he went to his own home, it said he could do no mighty works. It's interesting, there's a little footnote on that.

Just a few healings. I mean, most of us would be thrilled with a few healings, right? But from God's point of view, from God's point of view, he could do no mighty works, just a few healings.

No, great miracles because of their lack of faith. Now, I don't fully understand that. The relationship between Jesus moving in power and other people's faith, that's a subject for itself to be developed.

But the point is, he was limited. In that experience, he was limited from doing mighty works. Okay?

What were some others? He got tired. Could fall asleep.

Remember when everybody else is all excited about the big storm coming, and he's asleep on a seat at the back of the boat, what does that tell you? He was exhausted. You're out in this little boat, and the waves are beginning to rock back and forth, and the wind is howling, and the thunder is crashing.

It's not just nonchalance. He's exhausted. He could get tired.

What else? Okay, in Mark 5, who touched my garment? A question.

He doesn't know. he's aware that someone has laid hold of him in a different way everybody's jostling him he's in the middle of this huge crowd but somebody touched him in a different way he's aware of that and he asks a question who was that? evidence that he didn't know everything who was that?

what else? yes how do you see that? how is that an expression of limitation?

That's a human frustration. Well, we could think on that. He was frustrated, that's for sure.

I'm not sure whether that's a human frustration or a godly frustration, to tell you the truth. How come you don't get it? I've been teaching you on this all, you know.

What else? Yeah, hand back here. Okay, it doesn't go into a whole lot of detail about his prayer.

One suspects there are at least two elements there. One of just adoring the Father, which he would want to do. he had been doing from the foundation of the world and from the beginning of eternity.

But the other, I think you're absolutely right. There's a continual reminder that he is seeking to know the will of the Father. He's asking the Father, what should I be doing now?

That's an expression that he doesn't automatically know that. He's got to check in with the boss. There's a limitation there.

What else? Yes. the need to withdraw and just spend some time refreshing both in the presence of God and just letting his body be refreshed.

I think that's right. Yes, Carl. Yeah, that's great.

I love that. Don't you, when you stop and think about it, that on a number of occasions, Carl mentions in the garden when he's praying, and he says, couldn't you watch with me just a little while, just an hour? Couldn't you stay awake and pray with me just an hour?

And he looks for that support of human fellowship. I'm interested that on the Mount of Transfiguration, it says that Moses and Elijah came and talked with him of the things that were about to happen. And you wonder, who's supporting who at this point?

They came and talked with him, representing the law and the prophet. I think they were encouraging him, to tell you the truth. I really think they were encouraging Jesus as well as worshiping him and adoring him.

Anything else? Right here. Did you have your hand up?

Bruce? Yeah, let's not get into all of that. We're just looking at the Gospel of Mark and looking for limitations.

Okay. That's interesting. I don't know that you'd want to argue that too strongly, but if that's true, Bruce's point was that Mark seems to show more of the human limitations, perhaps, than the other Gospels.

And that's precisely the reason that I wanted you to read that one. I wanted you to see that. It is also true that right alongside with the human limitation is the incredible demonstration of power.

And I hope that that draws you to the conclusion that I'm suggesting. Namely, that in the midst of human limitation, Jesus is operating under an anointing of the Spirit. It's not because He was God.

It's because He was anointed. There are other evidences of it in that same Gospel. He asks, how many loaves do you have before He feeds the thousands?

He says, how long has He been this way to the father of the epileptic? He says, not even I know the hour of My return when His disciples are pressing Him. He's continually demonstrating that he doesn't know everything.

He doesn't know everything. And yet, he did know many, many things. And some of them absolutely startling.

I want to submit to you tonight that he knew them out of a supernatural empowering of the Spirit of God. That when Jesus articulates things that he could not have known just as any ordinary human being, it's not because he's omniscient. It's because God gives him that knowledge supernaturally as an anointing or a gifting of the Spirit.

Let me just show you how this works. In Matthew, we read of Jesus answering a question before Peter even asked it, regarding the payment of a certain tax. You remember?

the Pharisees were pressing him why doesn't your master pay taxes and Peter goes to ask Jesus about this and before he even asks the question Jesus answers it he says go to the sea cast a hook take the first fish that comes up open its mouth you'll find a shekel take that and pay the tax for yourself and for me got that? he knew where the money was how to get it how much it was, exactly the right amount, it was a half shekel tax, you'll find a shekel, that's enough for your tax and mine. He speaks that knowledge as God gives it to him, absolutely astonishing Peter in meeting the need.

What would you call that? Somebody said a miracle. More specifically, what would you call that?

A word of knowledge. that's Paul's terminology in 1 Corinthians Jesus gave a word of knowledge in fact a very complicated one a word of knowledge in Mark a man named Jairus begs Jesus to come and heal his daughter and Jesus says do not fear only believe and then a little later he says the child is not dead but sleeping and then he raises her up he knew that God would raise her up and the man didn't have to start grieving and he spoke it. He knew it and he spoke it.

It was a word of knowledge. In Luke, he knew that the disciples would meet a man carrying a jar of water whom they were to follow and ask the owner of the house that that man entered for the use of his guest room. He knew that that would be given and he spoke it.

in John when a woman from Samaria tells him she has no husband remember the story he says well that's true of course you've had five so far and the guy you're living with now you're not married to and she is so arrested by that statement that she's not only converted she runs back to town and it says the whole town turned out because of that woman's witness and many believed in him, both because of what he did in her life and then because they met him themselves. That was a word of knowledge. Jesus didn't send in a spy, you see, in advance to check this lady out and then come back to him with a report.

He was there. He just wandered into town, sat down by the well, engages her in conversation. he's seeking to lead her to a point of faith in himself, and in the midst of that conversation, she makes this statement, she has no husband, and he arrests her with a word, a supernatural word from God.

She goes back and tells everybody, come, meet a man who told me everything I ever did. It's a word of knowledge, and it stops her dead in her tracks. I've picked an example from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in all four Gospels.

You see numerous examples of this. I've just picked four. This is one of the major revelatory gifts of the Spirit.

A word of knowledge. And you see it operating in Jesus' ministry over and over and over again. He knows Zacchaeus' name.

He knows Nathaniel's character. He knows Mary Magdalene's grief over her sin. He knows of Lazarus' impending resurrection.

He knows of Judas' betrayal. He knows of Peter's denial. He knows the cause of Bartimaeus' blindness.

He knows the rich young man's idolatry. He knows the length of time he'll be in the grave. He knows when and where to let down the nets to catch a great shoal of fish, and on and on and on and on.

Unless you see the limitations, you might very well suspect that he knew everything. But he doesn't. He accepts human limitation, But God anoints him with the Holy Spirit, and Jesus exercises one of the chief gifts of the Holy Spirit, a word of knowledge. I hope that encourages you.

Because he says this same Spirit is available to you. You'll receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And one of the ways that he manifests himself is by giving a word of knowledge.

I remember when some of us were out at Shrine Mon a few years ago with Pat Robertson. And Pat began the evening meeting, and as he wound up his talk, he began to exercise words of knowledge. And he said, somebody is here being healed right now of such and such a thing.

Somebody is being healed of such and such a thing. And all over the crowd, people began to say, wow, that's happening right in my body. and folks came and asked him about that afterward that was one of the most powerful demonstrations that many of us had seen at that particular point and they said how do you get that how do you get in on that and pat kind of just smiled and he said well it's a word you get a word of knowledge it's a word a word comes into your mind sometimes it's just a word sometimes it's a phrase sometimes God gives you a fact that you couldn't possibly know sometimes He gives you something that seems ridiculous sometimes He gives you half of something and unless you speak it out and somebody else completes it you're never going to know what it was He gives you a word and what you do with the word is you speak it well we're beginning to learn about that as a people God has been giving us words of knowledge and we're going to ask him in just a moment to do precisely that right now to give us supernaturally words about what he's doing as I was thinking about all this a very funny phrase, a strange phrase, because of what it used to mean popped into my mind.

Do you remember Timothy Leary? Big drug guru back in the 60's and he had a phrase, tune in, turn on, tune in, drop out. Remember?

That's close, but not quite. Turn on by the Holy Spirit. Tune in to what he's saying.

Just let him speak to your mind, to your heart. Get everything else out of the way. Tune in.

Lord, what are you saying? Concentrate on him. Lord, what are you saying?

And not drop out, but speak out. Turn on, tune in, and then speak it out. That's where the rubber hits the runway is speaking it out.

We've got to take that risk. And you might be wrong. You might make a mistake.

But we love you. I might make a mistake, and I hope you love me. Do you?

All right. I sense Jesus doing exactly what I'm talking about all the time. You remember at the wedding in Cana?

They ran out of wine, and His mother says, My son can save the party. And His first reaction is, Woman, what have you to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.

Then he tunes in to what the Father is saying. Oops, I guess it has. Do you get that?

Put yourself back into the story. It's not time for me to start my miracle. Oh, yes sir.

Okay. Get some water. Or on the Mount of Temptation, when Satan says, Turn the stone into bread.

Jesus says, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The implication being, I'm not going to do that, not because there's something wrong in changing stone into bread. There's nothing wrong with that.

You never read a commandment, thou shalt not turn stone into bread. But I'm not going to do that because my Father didn't tell me to. I, as a faithful man, am going to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of my Father.

and so the lady who said when Jesus draws aside to to pray it's an evidence of his limitation it's an evidence of his humanness seeking guidance but God gives that guidance and that's an evidence of the anointing God speaks and when Jesus is in the midst of ministry he tunes into what the father is saying and then he speaks it out. We're going to look at some of the other gifts in other weeks. Let's just exercise this one right now. Let's ask God to give to us words of knowledge right now. Let's tune in on what the Father is saying.

And then as you sense a word, just dare to speak it out and let God tell us what it is he wants to do. here in our midst tonight. Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask You now to anoint this congregation with Your Spirit.

Holy Spirit, come upon us. Come upon us just now. Holy Spirit, we welcome You.

We welcome You. You are welcome here. and we ask you to manifest yourself specifically we ask you to manifest yourself by giving to us words of knowledge about what it is you want to do perhaps there are healings that you would want to perform we ask you to give us words of knowledge about those perhaps there are other needs that you would want to meet tonight we ask you to give us words of knowledge of what you're doing in the name of Jesus.