ABILITY TO COMPREHEND

1. “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.
2. “For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.
3. “They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
4. But THEY UNDERSTOOD NONE OF THESE THINGS; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.”
   Luke 18:31-34 (NKJV)

• Jesus took His twelve disciples aside to tell them about what He would pass through: His sufferings, crucifixion, and the resurrection, but they were unable to comprehend, understand, what He was saying.

• The truth in the Word of God, the Bible, could be incomprehensible to you if the Holy Spirit does not enlighten your mind.
• Some have said they read the Bible, but they could not understand it.
• Your mind needed to be illuminated, enlightened, for you to understand the Scriptures (Ephesians 1:17,18).

• The passage says the saying of Jesus was hidden from the disciples, and they did not know the things that were spoken (Luke 18:34).

• There is a need to pray consistently that God opens your eyes of understanding, to know the hidden things of the kingdom, shared in the Scriptures.

1. “do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
2. that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
3. the EYES OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING BEING ENLIGHTENED; that you may know what the hope of His calling is, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
   Ephesians 1:16-18 (NKJV)

• For your walk with God to be pleasing, pleasurable, and rewarding; you have to understand what He says through His Word.
• It is when you understand what He says in His Word that you can do the Word—practice it. And it is when you practice His Word that you can please Him.
• Acting on the Word is called faith, and without faith you cannot please Him.
  “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”
  Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

• The Bible is closed, hidden, to a number of Christians, thus they could not walk with God intimately:“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”(Amos 3:3).

• For you to make progress in your Christian faith and to make the most of your relationship with God, you need to adhere to the Word strictly.
• Your prayer could only ascend, rise, or go up, when it is offered in accordance with God’s Word (Revelation 8:3,4).
• Whatever you want to ask God to do, has to be in line with His Word.
  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
  John 15:7 (NKJV)
• The Word would cause God to give attention to what you have to say.

• Your relationship, fellowship, with God should be premised, based, on the Word.

• Until you start living, walking, and doing all you do in line with the Word of God, you may not be able to get the best of the kingdom.
  “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a DOER of the work, this one will be BLESSED in what he does.”
  James 1:25 (NKJV)

• Pray that your heart, eyes of understanding, be illuminated or enlightened, to be able to decode God’s Word; that you may get the best of the Kingdom—what God has in plan for you (Ephesians 1:17,18).

• You will not fail in Jesus’ name.
Peace!