Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
Is Anyone Stuck in the Mud? Part 1
The word, "mud" has several different meanings, only one of which is positive in nature, namely a mixture of water, clay, and chemicals used in oil-well drilling, which helps in lubricating and cooling the drill bit and flushing rock particles to the surface.
In today's world, mud speaks of abusive and malicious remarks or charges, particularly by political campaigners who sling "mud" at each other. Unfortunately, that connotation increasingly seems to occur in the Christian community when Christian brothers argue (and worse) with one another. That was prevalent in the Church at Corinth. Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 12:20, "For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:"
Another example is when someone uses the phrase that "one's name is mud."
However, the more common, natural meaning of mud is a mixture of a solid material like dirt and a liquid, especially water, producing soft, wet, slimy, sticky, slippery earth. Little children sometimes like to play in the mud, requiring an extensive clean-up of their shoes and clothes. Some adults have been physically hurt by slipping and falling in the mud. Certainly, it is no fun for your car to be stuck in the mud. Even more devastating are mud slides, which occur at times in California and other parts of the world. Mud slides in some cases have cost the lives of people.
But this word is about professing Christians who may be stuck in the mud in a spiritual sense. There are three types of professing Christians: (1) Type 1 Christians are those who are stuck in the mud and don't know it; (2) Type 2 Christians are those who are stuck in the mud and know it; and (3) Type 3 Christians are those who are not, in the Lord's mind, stuck in the mud at all.
The important question is: "Are you stuck in the mud?" "Am I stuck in the mud?" I suspect that very few professing Christians would say they are stuck in the mud. But Type 1 (those who are stuck in the mud and don't know it) undoubtedly has a much larger population than the other two types combined. Scripturally and historically, that is true. In this message we will briefly set forth what we see as the prescription for Type 1 Christians. In our next message we will continue with Type 2 and Type 3 Christians.
Many aspects of true Christianity occur in sets of three ... Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; spirit, soul, and body; and dozens more. But these three are one. There are three separate views of you and me in terms of our relationship with the Lord: (1) where I think I am spiritually, (2) where others perceive me to be, and (3) where the Lord knows where I am. Let us consider one more set of three as exemplified by the Tabernacle of Moses. Assuming a cubit to be 18 inches, the total tabernacle was 11,250 square feet in area, of which the holy place was 450 square feet and the holy of holies was 225 square feet. That leaves 10,575 square feet of area for the outer court, which had no roof; it was open to the natural elements of sun and rain. The only light was provided by the natural sun and moon. Although the Bible does not specify, I seriously doubt that the outer court was paved in any way; it was most likely just dirt because it was portable. If that were true then when it rained, the "floor" of the outer court may have become muddy. The outer court speaks of born-from-above Christians, and 10,575 out of 11,250 square feet is 94 percent. The holy place was completely enclosed; the light consisted of the golden lampstand; 450 out of 11,250 square feet is 4 percent. This speaks of those Christians who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost and exercise spiritual gifts and ministries. They are the priests who minister to the house (Ezekiel 44:10-14). The Levitical priests took turns by course to attend to the three items in the holy place. The Holy of Holies was also completely enclosed; 225 out of 11,250 square feet is 2 percent. The only light therein was the glory of God and the Lamb Himself (Revelation 21:23). Nothing of the natural realm was in the Holy of Holies except the ark of the covenant, which represented God's dwelling place. That speaks prophetically of Zion and Christ in you, the hope of glory. It speaks of the fulfillment of Zechariah 14:21.
Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and that once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people. This speaks of the priests, the sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 44:15-31) who are the priests, the ministers of the Lord (Joel 2:17), or priests after the order of Melchisedec. Many are called but few are chosen because few choose. The three parts of the tabernacle also correspond to the believer, the disciple, and the overcomer.
Type 1 Christians
This type of Christian is stuck in the mud and doesn't know it. Whenever any minister speaks of end-time events, the Books of Daniel, Revelation, and the 24th Chapter of Matthew usually are mentioned. In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" The major response by Jesus concerned the great deception in the last of the end times. He uses the word "deceive" four times in that Chapter but the essence of deception runs throughout His response. From Matthew 24,
Human nature has never changed and never will change. The Lord has never changed and never will change. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." The Word of God has never changed and never will change. We Christians do not like change. Gimme that old-time religion. In our previous message, we shared some thoughts about change.
In all of the history of the human race, there has never been a generation on the face of the earth that has been exposed to greater spiritual light than this generation in the United States. Most believers have heard an enormous amount of good teaching, both through first hand exposure and through books, tapes, and videos. Yet the Church in America has strayed far from what the Lord desires. How have we strayed? by building here three tabernacles; by being comfortable with the status quo; by not allowing the Holy Spirit to change us daily. Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Two scriptures are particularly relevant for Type 1 Christians.
We can become so absorbed with revelation of Scripture that we never come to know Him.
Further, Jesus said, in John 5:39-40, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life." So life is not in the scriptures ... life is in Christ. He is the Life. The scriptures simply point to the Life, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life (2 Corinthians 3:6). Jesus also said, in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
We also can get so caught up with earthly things that we cannot appreciate nor understand the realities of the Spirit. No serious Christian would doubt that the world is going from darkness to gross darkness. That truth is evident to our natural senses. The real question is why? why is the world going from darkness to gross darkness? Much of the answer to that question is because of the state of the church over the past 100 or so years. The lack of discernment and the lack of spiritual understanding on the part of Christians has reached epic proportions that rivals the Israelites who were set free from bondage and captivity in Egypt but who never were able to enter the Promised Land. All but two adults, Joshua and Caleb, died in the wilderness. Let us consider a few modern-day examples, after which we will look at the principle behind these examples.
It is certainly true that we need zeal for the Lord. However, in some cases with Type 1 Christians, our zeal exceeds our wisdom. For many long years, many Christians have believed that we need to get more Christians elected to government positions. Then we could "clean up" the government in the form of democracy. However, democracy never was and never will be God's form of government. To try to "make better" anything that is not according to God's plan and purposes is a fruitless endeavor. Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's." We might add, but don't ever mix the two. Oil and water do not mix. God's ways and man's ways do not mix. In like manner, some Christians have proposed that we Christians should, in effect, fight against the worldly system by combatting them at their level. That will never work. It will never produce good results. In John 18:36, "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."
Also, I have seen and heard first hand with my natural senses pastors who try to use the best ways of the world to add new members to their "fold." By the way, the Lord Jesus does not have a "fold." A "fold" by definition has some kind of fence around it. Jesus has a flock, which has no worldly restraints. Many churches use the best advertising methods, providing anything and everything in the way of natural attractions, such as coffee and doughnuts, easter egg hunts for the children, gymnasiums, sports teams, 200-person choirs to stir up our emotions, you name it. A number of years ago we visited a local mega-church where the pastor told everyone, "we are the premiere church on the east coast." If that were true, we are all in big trouble. In another local church, they pass out goodie bags to first-time visitors which includes a coffee mug with the inscription, "world-class ministry." Again, if that were true, we are all in big trouble.
About 45 years ago two men came to our house church from out of state. Their purpose was to establish one of their churches in the Washington, D.C. area, to make me one of their two elders in their new church, and basically to try to control me. Those two men laid hands on me, prophesied over me, and ordained me to be an elder in their new church. After a few days, the other new elder, and a very close friend of ours, asked me if I had believed every word those men had prophesied over me. My response was that I believed some of the things they said were true but for the future, some of the things they said were true and were for the present, but I did not witness to some of the things they said. Specifically, I did not witness that I was to be an elder in their new church. Then I said ... when I eat a grape, I eat the pulp and spit out the seed. I believe that principle applies to every Christian at every level. We must understand that no man, not even the great Apostle Paul, was or is perfect. None of us has perfect understanding of all things. I have been very aware, for many long years, that I really know very little about the Lord and his Word. We know in part and we prophesy in part. No book written by man is perfect. I personally still believe, for a variety of big reasons, that the King James Version of the Bible is the most accurate. However, I have found that even that version in a few places has some wordings that are misleading to the natural mind. That is because the original translators were human beings just like you and me. If you are interested in this area, I have a little booklet written years ago by a solid man of God and a very close personal friend. I will be happy to postal mail to you a copy of his book, which I heartily endorse. We have to go back to the original Greek to get the true word of God. But then we have to determine "which original Greek?" because there are two different original sets of documents ... one inspired by God and the other inspired by fallen man.
Now, what is the common thread behind all of those examples? It is written in scripture in 1 Samuel 8:4-9,
The word, "mud" has several different meanings, only one of which is positive in nature, namely a mixture of water, clay, and chemicals used in oil-well drilling, which helps in lubricating and cooling the drill bit and flushing rock particles to the surface.
In today's world, mud speaks of abusive and malicious remarks or charges, particularly by political campaigners who sling "mud" at each other. Unfortunately, that connotation increasingly seems to occur in the Christian community when Christian brothers argue (and worse) with one another. That was prevalent in the Church at Corinth. Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 12:20, "For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:"
Another example is when someone uses the phrase that "one's name is mud."
However, the more common, natural meaning of mud is a mixture of a solid material like dirt and a liquid, especially water, producing soft, wet, slimy, sticky, slippery earth. Little children sometimes like to play in the mud, requiring an extensive clean-up of their shoes and clothes. Some adults have been physically hurt by slipping and falling in the mud. Certainly, it is no fun for your car to be stuck in the mud. Even more devastating are mud slides, which occur at times in California and other parts of the world. Mud slides in some cases have cost the lives of people.
But this word is about professing Christians who may be stuck in the mud in a spiritual sense. There are three types of professing Christians: (1) Type 1 Christians are those who are stuck in the mud and don't know it; (2) Type 2 Christians are those who are stuck in the mud and know it; and (3) Type 3 Christians are those who are not, in the Lord's mind, stuck in the mud at all.
The important question is: "Are you stuck in the mud?" "Am I stuck in the mud?" I suspect that very few professing Christians would say they are stuck in the mud. But Type 1 (those who are stuck in the mud and don't know it) undoubtedly has a much larger population than the other two types combined. Scripturally and historically, that is true. In this message we will briefly set forth what we see as the prescription for Type 1 Christians. In our next message we will continue with Type 2 and Type 3 Christians.
Many aspects of true Christianity occur in sets of three ... Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; spirit, soul, and body; and dozens more. But these three are one. There are three separate views of you and me in terms of our relationship with the Lord: (1) where I think I am spiritually, (2) where others perceive me to be, and (3) where the Lord knows where I am. Let us consider one more set of three as exemplified by the Tabernacle of Moses. Assuming a cubit to be 18 inches, the total tabernacle was 11,250 square feet in area, of which the holy place was 450 square feet and the holy of holies was 225 square feet. That leaves 10,575 square feet of area for the outer court, which had no roof; it was open to the natural elements of sun and rain. The only light was provided by the natural sun and moon. Although the Bible does not specify, I seriously doubt that the outer court was paved in any way; it was most likely just dirt because it was portable. If that were true then when it rained, the "floor" of the outer court may have become muddy. The outer court speaks of born-from-above Christians, and 10,575 out of 11,250 square feet is 94 percent. The holy place was completely enclosed; the light consisted of the golden lampstand; 450 out of 11,250 square feet is 4 percent. This speaks of those Christians who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost and exercise spiritual gifts and ministries. They are the priests who minister to the house (Ezekiel 44:10-14). The Levitical priests took turns by course to attend to the three items in the holy place. The Holy of Holies was also completely enclosed; 225 out of 11,250 square feet is 2 percent. The only light therein was the glory of God and the Lamb Himself (Revelation 21:23). Nothing of the natural realm was in the Holy of Holies except the ark of the covenant, which represented God's dwelling place. That speaks prophetically of Zion and Christ in you, the hope of glory. It speaks of the fulfillment of Zechariah 14:21.
"Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts."
Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and that once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people. This speaks of the priests, the sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 44:15-31) who are the priests, the ministers of the Lord (Joel 2:17), or priests after the order of Melchisedec. Many are called but few are chosen because few choose. The three parts of the tabernacle also correspond to the believer, the disciple, and the overcomer.
Type 1 Christians
This type of Christian is stuck in the mud and doesn't know it. Whenever any minister speaks of end-time events, the Books of Daniel, Revelation, and the 24th Chapter of Matthew usually are mentioned. In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" The major response by Jesus concerned the great deception in the last of the end times. He uses the word "deceive" four times in that Chapter but the essence of deception runs throughout His response. From Matthew 24,
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.5 For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.25 Behold, I have told you before.26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not.27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Human nature has never changed and never will change. The Lord has never changed and never will change. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." The Word of God has never changed and never will change. We Christians do not like change. Gimme that old-time religion. In our previous message, we shared some thoughts about change.
In all of the history of the human race, there has never been a generation on the face of the earth that has been exposed to greater spiritual light than this generation in the United States. Most believers have heard an enormous amount of good teaching, both through first hand exposure and through books, tapes, and videos. Yet the Church in America has strayed far from what the Lord desires. How have we strayed? by building here three tabernacles; by being comfortable with the status quo; by not allowing the Holy Spirit to change us daily. Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Two scriptures are particularly relevant for Type 1 Christians.
Jeremiah 48:11, "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed."
Amos 6:1, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!"
We can become so absorbed with revelation of Scripture that we never come to know Him.
Further, Jesus said, in John 5:39-40, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life." So life is not in the scriptures ... life is in Christ. He is the Life. The scriptures simply point to the Life, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life (2 Corinthians 3:6). Jesus also said, in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
We also can get so caught up with earthly things that we cannot appreciate nor understand the realities of the Spirit. No serious Christian would doubt that the world is going from darkness to gross darkness. That truth is evident to our natural senses. The real question is why? why is the world going from darkness to gross darkness? Much of the answer to that question is because of the state of the church over the past 100 or so years. The lack of discernment and the lack of spiritual understanding on the part of Christians has reached epic proportions that rivals the Israelites who were set free from bondage and captivity in Egypt but who never were able to enter the Promised Land. All but two adults, Joshua and Caleb, died in the wilderness. Let us consider a few modern-day examples, after which we will look at the principle behind these examples.
It is certainly true that we need zeal for the Lord. However, in some cases with Type 1 Christians, our zeal exceeds our wisdom. For many long years, many Christians have believed that we need to get more Christians elected to government positions. Then we could "clean up" the government in the form of democracy. However, democracy never was and never will be God's form of government. To try to "make better" anything that is not according to God's plan and purposes is a fruitless endeavor. Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's." We might add, but don't ever mix the two. Oil and water do not mix. God's ways and man's ways do not mix. In like manner, some Christians have proposed that we Christians should, in effect, fight against the worldly system by combatting them at their level. That will never work. It will never produce good results. In John 18:36, "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."
Also, I have seen and heard first hand with my natural senses pastors who try to use the best ways of the world to add new members to their "fold." By the way, the Lord Jesus does not have a "fold." A "fold" by definition has some kind of fence around it. Jesus has a flock, which has no worldly restraints. Many churches use the best advertising methods, providing anything and everything in the way of natural attractions, such as coffee and doughnuts, easter egg hunts for the children, gymnasiums, sports teams, 200-person choirs to stir up our emotions, you name it. A number of years ago we visited a local mega-church where the pastor told everyone, "we are the premiere church on the east coast." If that were true, we are all in big trouble. In another local church, they pass out goodie bags to first-time visitors which includes a coffee mug with the inscription, "world-class ministry." Again, if that were true, we are all in big trouble.
About 45 years ago two men came to our house church from out of state. Their purpose was to establish one of their churches in the Washington, D.C. area, to make me one of their two elders in their new church, and basically to try to control me. Those two men laid hands on me, prophesied over me, and ordained me to be an elder in their new church. After a few days, the other new elder, and a very close friend of ours, asked me if I had believed every word those men had prophesied over me. My response was that I believed some of the things they said were true but for the future, some of the things they said were true and were for the present, but I did not witness to some of the things they said. Specifically, I did not witness that I was to be an elder in their new church. Then I said ... when I eat a grape, I eat the pulp and spit out the seed. I believe that principle applies to every Christian at every level. We must understand that no man, not even the great Apostle Paul, was or is perfect. None of us has perfect understanding of all things. I have been very aware, for many long years, that I really know very little about the Lord and his Word. We know in part and we prophesy in part. No book written by man is perfect. I personally still believe, for a variety of big reasons, that the King James Version of the Bible is the most accurate. However, I have found that even that version in a few places has some wordings that are misleading to the natural mind. That is because the original translators were human beings just like you and me. If you are interested in this area, I have a little booklet written years ago by a solid man of God and a very close personal friend. I will be happy to postal mail to you a copy of his book, which I heartily endorse. We have to go back to the original Greek to get the true word of God. But then we have to determine "which original Greek?" because there are two different original sets of documents ... one inspired by God and the other inspired by fallen man.
Now, what is the common thread behind all of those examples? It is written in scripture in 1 Samuel 8:4-9,
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
In Verse 9, who does "their" and "them" refer to? "Their" and "them" clearly refers to the elders of the chosen people of God ... to the leaders of professing Christians, not to heathens.
Today, instead of hearkening to their voice, we do not hearken to their voice; instead, we argue with them. The Lord told Samuel to go ahead and do what they want but to warn them of their error. In Verse 9, "protest solemnly" in Hebrew is one word, uwd (pronounced "ood") which means to "warn." Today who is warning the elders or professing Christians, even though Colossians 1:28 places a higher priority of "warning every man" as compared to "teaching every man in all wisdom?"
Jeremiah 50:6, "My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace."
God's chosen people have gone backwards from mountain to hill ... from the kingdom of God to the initial phase of salvation. Our resting place is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, not simply our pleasant meetings with our emotional-stirring songs and our nice teaching revelations.
1 Peter 4:17, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
If judgment begins at the house of God, then a double portion of judgment falls on our elders ... our Christian leaders. However, just "because my pastor never told me about this" will be no excuse when we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 both say that all Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Each member of the body of Christ has a responsibility to seek the Lord in all things.
Now the question arises, warn every Christian about what? about walking in the ways of the world, about walking in man's ways rather than God's ways, about being lukewarm, about neglecting so great a salvation. In Verse 9 we are also somewhat lacking in showing unto them the manner of the king (not a man) that shall reign over them if they follow the ways of the world. People do not like to be viewed as "different." To a great degree that is true of us Christians. The event in 1 Samuel clearly says that the Lord is displeased with the leaders of His chosen people who want to be like worldly people. God's ways and man's ways are quite different. Those Israelites who came to Samuel were NOT evil heathens. They were elders of God's chosen people. No one will ever please the Lord by adopting the ways of the world. I could share several more examples of this lack of spiritual discernment and understanding.
Now we need to be a little careful. It is true that gifts of healing and the working of miracles are gifts of the Spirit. But the flesh can never manifest these or any of the other gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. "But all these [gifts] worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing [or distributing] to every man severally [in His own way] as He will" (1 Corinthians 12:11). God bestows His gifts freely by His grace upon whomsoever He will; all we have to do is to receive them and use them. We are exhorted to desire spiritual gifts, but the Lord determines those which we receive. Likewise, I can desire to be an apostle or a prophet or a teacher, but unless the Lord has ordained for me to be one of those specific ministries, then it will never happen. "He sets the members, every one of them, in the body as it pleases Him" (1 Corinthians 12:18).
However, gifts of the Spirit are not evidence of spiritual attainment (just consider the Church at Corinth); they are imparted by the Spirit ... freely given to us. Likewise, the ascension gifts (ministries) listed in Ephesians 4:11-15 are for the purpose of adding fruit to God's garden, that we "may grow up into Him." Gifts are absolutely necessary, but they are only a means to the end. The fruit of the Spirit, and not the gifts of the Spirit, constitutes the real test of spiritual life; the fruit is the nature and expression of Christ within our heart and soul. We all have read many times about the fruit of the Spirit: "Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22). But fruit must mature; and God has never intended that the Body of Christ should ever bring forth fruit except through a continuous partaking of the Tree of Life. The word "continuous" means it never stops. When God told Adam (and Eve) that they could eat of the tree of life, that was never intended to be a "one and done." That was to be their daily food and nourishment. We must eat the Manna from heaven and drink of the Spiritual Rock on a daily basis. Fruit does not immediately appear on trees - first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
God does not come to us looking for gifts; He has freely given those to us. What God wants is fruit; that is something which He desires to receive from us. The fruit must grow within us by our patient and continuous walk with God and by appropriating His Spirit. Until now the Husbandman has come into His garden, tenderly caring for it by pruning, cultivating, and watering. But now the harvest time is approaching, and soon He will visit His garden for one purpose only ... seeking for fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. We can never appreciate any measure of the real glory until the fruit of the Spirit visibly becomes manifest within us.
Now the question arises, warn every Christian about what? about walking in the ways of the world, about walking in man's ways rather than God's ways, about being lukewarm, about neglecting so great a salvation. In Verse 9 we are also somewhat lacking in showing unto them the manner of the king (not a man) that shall reign over them if they follow the ways of the world. People do not like to be viewed as "different." To a great degree that is true of us Christians. The event in 1 Samuel clearly says that the Lord is displeased with the leaders of His chosen people who want to be like worldly people. God's ways and man's ways are quite different. Those Israelites who came to Samuel were NOT evil heathens. They were elders of God's chosen people. No one will ever please the Lord by adopting the ways of the world. I could share several more examples of this lack of spiritual discernment and understanding.
Now we need to be a little careful. It is true that gifts of healing and the working of miracles are gifts of the Spirit. But the flesh can never manifest these or any of the other gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. "But all these [gifts] worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing [or distributing] to every man severally [in His own way] as He will" (1 Corinthians 12:11). God bestows His gifts freely by His grace upon whomsoever He will; all we have to do is to receive them and use them. We are exhorted to desire spiritual gifts, but the Lord determines those which we receive. Likewise, I can desire to be an apostle or a prophet or a teacher, but unless the Lord has ordained for me to be one of those specific ministries, then it will never happen. "He sets the members, every one of them, in the body as it pleases Him" (1 Corinthians 12:18).
However, gifts of the Spirit are not evidence of spiritual attainment (just consider the Church at Corinth); they are imparted by the Spirit ... freely given to us. Likewise, the ascension gifts (ministries) listed in Ephesians 4:11-15 are for the purpose of adding fruit to God's garden, that we "may grow up into Him." Gifts are absolutely necessary, but they are only a means to the end. The fruit of the Spirit, and not the gifts of the Spirit, constitutes the real test of spiritual life; the fruit is the nature and expression of Christ within our heart and soul. We all have read many times about the fruit of the Spirit: "Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22). But fruit must mature; and God has never intended that the Body of Christ should ever bring forth fruit except through a continuous partaking of the Tree of Life. The word "continuous" means it never stops. When God told Adam (and Eve) that they could eat of the tree of life, that was never intended to be a "one and done." That was to be their daily food and nourishment. We must eat the Manna from heaven and drink of the Spiritual Rock on a daily basis. Fruit does not immediately appear on trees - first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
God does not come to us looking for gifts; He has freely given those to us. What God wants is fruit; that is something which He desires to receive from us. The fruit must grow within us by our patient and continuous walk with God and by appropriating His Spirit. Until now the Husbandman has come into His garden, tenderly caring for it by pruning, cultivating, and watering. But now the harvest time is approaching, and soon He will visit His garden for one purpose only ... seeking for fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. We can never appreciate any measure of the real glory until the fruit of the Spirit visibly becomes manifest within us.
6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground!8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
Luke 13:6-9The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. 2 Timothy 2:6
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the Husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until He receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7
The Husbandman has not yet received the fullness of that latter rain. Note that He will receive the early rain and the latter rain together! A double portion! What is the early rain? all those saints who have gone before by the power of the Holy Ghost. What is the latter rain? all those saints who are still on earth and are looking for Him. But all are part of the spiritual rain, His great grace and power, that he causes to come upon us.
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. Leviticus 25:1-5
If any man, after being born from above and delivered from the bondage of Egypt, desires to enter the Promised Land (the Kingdom of God), then he must keep the Sabbath. But the Sabbath is no longer a certain day of the week! Jesus is our Sabbath. All who dwell in the Kingdom of God must rest and abide in Him. Man is nearing the completion of the six years of sowing our field (6,000 years) and of pruning our vineyard (our souls and spirits) and of gathering in the fruit of the Spirit. But in the seventh year (the Feast of Tabernacles) there shall be a Sabbath rest for the Lord. When we rest in Him, He sows the field and He prunes the vineyard. "That which grows of its own accord" is the work of the flesh.
We need to recognize that the time of John the Baptist was a time of transition... a transition from the dispensation of law to the dispensation of grace. The time of the new Elijah company is also a time of transition... a transition to the age of the kingdom. We are on the verge of the dawning of a new dispensation. And with a new dispensation, that which was divinely given in the previous dispensation is divinely set aside in the new dispensation. Abraham had three wives ... Hagar (the law), Sarah (the church age), and Keturah (the age of the kingdom). Keturah means to "turn into incense, as by fire." God is raising up a people who have been tried by the fire and turned into an altar of praise to our God. The new Elijah company will consist of people like Amos, who said, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit. And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel" (Amos 9:14-15).
Today, we personally know a few mature ministries who are in the wilderness. They have been tried by fire, tried through much suffering in a variety of forms, tried by a lack of (human) fellowship that is common to the natural temple. But they have been counted worthy by the Lord to suffer in His Name. They have found that the Lord Himself is sufficient for all of their needs. They have been chosen as a tenth of a tenth of believers. Many are called but few are chosen. It depends upon our response to God. It depends upon the decisions that we make.
As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise. Proverbs 27:21
The New American Standard says "the crucible is for silver." We are being tried in a crucible, in the wilderness. Certainly, the Lord is waiting to provide for all of our needs in the wilderness: food (manna), water (Moses struck the rock), money (Matthew 17:27), healing, guidance, protection, and on and on. The Lord not only provides all of these elements for those who trust in Him, He is our Provision in all things. Lord, increase our faith!
