Endure: Suffer,
suffering, and affliction
Ø
How can we become broken?
Ø
Again - We are left with
perfect examples to follow!
Paul says:
1 Cor 11:1
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Ø
Paul claims to be an
example – a spiritual father.
1 Cor 4:15-16
For though you might have ten thousand instructors
in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have
begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
Paul consistently preached what the church
should do, but in addition he SHOWED THEM. Every parent knows that their
children will be imitators of the example that was shown them. Words are
important but our example is what teaches them what our instruction really
meant. The world wants to be shown, our children want to be shown, and
even the immature church of our Lord wants to be shown what maturity looks
like. Many in the church have become discouraged because it seems to them
that there are no true examples of Christian maturity. Unfortunately those
that claimed maturity boasted in themselves, they boasted in Christian
activity, they boasted in ministries - instead of boasting in ONLY Jesus.
There are at least a literal “ten thousand teachers” on the circuit
teaching the body of Christ and few examples, yet God speaks loudly that
you are without excuse – the Apostle Paul lived a life that was an
example to YOU, as well as many others in scripture. God in these last
days is raising up examples that will not be out of the “ten
thousand mold” but will be cut out of the “father
mold”. This is a more excellent way.
Again, Paul obtained Christian maturity like
none other in the Bible. God entrusted most of the New Testament to be
penned by Paul and his life and ministry was used of God for the purpose
of showing you a man that walked in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and chapter
13. Paul followed in “HIS STEPS” and you notice that it led to
suffering – IT LED TO BEING BROKEN, DESTROYED, DEAD! This is where
Paul’s boast was – in the things he suffered in Christ, knowing it
will produce God’s “more excellent weight of glory”, lasting
throughout eternity. If your gospel excludes you from the sufferings, the
afflictions, the fire of Christ, then you will lack maturity and its
rewards.
Ø
Everyone
looks the same outside of affliction, but add some affliction (FIRE) - and
the ONE they have been serving shall be manifested.
Boasting
In Christ
The fire of God is the most important element
in your Christian walk. It is the element that breaks the shell – it
removes the bushel to allow God’s Light to shine to the world. The
church is called to go through the fire. <Num 31:23> ...”and
anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and
then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of
cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that
water.” <Ps 66:12>...”we went through fire and water, but
you brought us to a place of abundance.”
Fire AND water shall make us clean and bring us to a place of
abundance. Avoiding fire will keep you unclean and in want. It is very
important that we do not allow this part of the book to become one of
those dishes on the table that we push away. God gives grace in both the
eating of His words and in the doing of them. Following Jesus is not a
life insurance policy to get to heaven, it is a cup given to us by the
Father to glorify His Son. Before suffering, we come to our Gethsemane. To
finish our course we must accept the cup.
Ø
The Sufferings of Christ
means to suffer with Jesus
Rom 8:17
and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also
be glorified together. (NKJ)
Paul said to the early church to imitate him.
Therefore let us observe his example concerning the cup of Christ’s
sufferings.
1 Cor 4:12-13
And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled,
we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat.
We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things
until now. (NKJ)
Many of us think that if we survive a testing
or suffering then we have endured. There is a difference. Enduring is much
more than mere surviving. Enduring submits to Jesus as Lord as it passes
through the valley of the shadow of death. That’s why we can fear no
evil – He is with us when we submit. We live a life of scum as far as
the world views us but in His eyes we are kings. As kings we are not
survivors – WE ARE ENDURERS!
Paul’s RESPONSES indicated that he submitted
to God and received His grace to get through. Our responses will always
tell us whether we are surviving or if we have received grace to endure.
There may be a wrestling of wills such as Jesus experienced at Gethsemane
but we must submit to God’s will and then comes grace that brings the
ability to be struck and yet respond without self-defense. If you have no
Gethsemane experience then you will still be struck but your response will
be to defend yourself. Paul did not defend when struck with spiteful words
- he blessed them instead. This is part of God’s blueprint for the life
of a Christian. God will use His blueprint whenever He builds anything.
Paul saw this blueprint in the life of Jesus and was built by it and would
only build in the lives of others this same blueprint.
2 Cor 1:7-9
And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that
as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the
consolation. For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our
trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure,
above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the
sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but
in God who raises the dead, (NKJ)
God took Saul of Tarsus - a deceived religious
leader at the time and responsible for the most vicious attacks on the
church, and took him to the other extreme – a partaker of sufferings.
What are we partaking of? How many in ministry would dare teach their
congregation this Sunday to partake of sufferings instead of the
communion? Paul suffered, as a minister of the Gospel, and 2000 years does
not change this principle. Verse 9 gives us a purpose for this affliction,
“that we should not trust in ourselves”. We learn in affliction to
trust in God and not ourselves IF we are submitted to His dealings. Let us
start passing these tests and not merely surviving. The “sentence of
death” when receive will always execute the natural man.
Paul
- A Mature Example
2 Cor 11:23-30
Are they ministers of Christ?-- I speak as a fool-- I am
more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more
frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes
minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned;
three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the
deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers,
in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in
the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in
perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil,
in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
often, in cold and nakedness-besides the other things, what
comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is
weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with
indignation? If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern
my infirmity. (NKJ)
Observing mature examples of ministers like
God's servant Paul will sober you up about how immature much of
"today's church" really is. In this particular passage in 2
Corinthians we see that Paul is teaching a contrast here. We also
must contrast “today’s church” with Paul’s teaching. Paul is
contrasting his ministry in verses 23-30 with these “so called” other
ministers that the Corinthians had received. In the first letter of
Corinthians – Paul admonished them concerning the improper receiving of
ministries. In this second letter we see Paul admonishing them again on
the same subject. The immature church will always receive the wrong
“ministry examples” and therefore God sends true apostles and prophets
to admonish them. Paul admonished them by comparing, by contrasting what
he boasts in and what they boast in. If the ministers you have received in
the past have boasted of exploits they have done in the Name of Jesus –
then compare. If the ministers you have received in the past have boasted
in signs and wonders – then compare. If the ministers you have received
in the pa
st have boasted of their visions and revelations – then
compare. Paul demonstrates the boast that pleases God and thereby proving
himself to be the true apostle to the Corinthians.
Ø
Where is our boast?
Ø
Do we boast in the
sufferings of Christ?
Ø
Or do we boast in material things, signs and wonders,
and gifts - given
to us freely.
Ø
Do we boast in the Lord
and His FAITHFULNESS in affliction?
Ø
Or do we boast in what we
have accomplished in His Name.
Ø
Our version of the Gospel
might be off.
Have you ever been to a group gathering where
people boasted as Paul done? What
we have in this scripture is an example of the boasting that pleases God!
In Paul’s rebuke to the Corinthian Church we see in addition that the
Corinthians had been associating themselves with teachers that not only
boasted incorrectly but also did not even offer an example of suffering.
The Corinthians thought that they were much further along spiritually than
they really were (sounds like most of us). They had boasted in the wrong
things. This is Paul’s admonishment to those that boast wrongfully.
1 Cor 4:7-8
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do
you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do
you boast as though you did not? Already you have all you want! Already
you have become rich! You have become kings-- and that without us! How I
wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!
(NIV)
Boasting outside of Christ is a boasting that
says, “the gift came from us”. Paul brings sarcasm to this rebuke. The
purpose of the rebuke was to warn about bad examples. Paul explains that
the Kingdom of God is not in talk but in power. In other words there is
SUBSTANCE to the example that Paul has shown them. It is easy to present a
doctrine, it is easy to boast of a gift, it is easy to puff up after God
uses you in these gifts – but there is substance in suffering in Christ.
We want the power; we go to a revival for the power – THE POWER IS A
PERSON THAT YOU HAVE SUFFERED WITH!
A
Suffering Messiah
The Jews expected a messiah that would rescue
them from the present tyrannical government of the day, but when he showed
up as a suffering Messiah they did not recognize Him. He fulfilled a
multitude of scriptures concerning Himself; the people read and read those
scriptures and never recognized Him. Many of us may not recognize the True
Jesus even after much studying because our hearts are hard and our prayers
are cold.
Does our version of Jesus the Messiah allow us to live a life sufficient
in Him, where those who are first in this life are last, and the last of
this life are first? When He comes to us today in relationship, do we
expect a Messiah that will take us away from our oppression like the Jews
who were oppressed by the Romans, or do we expect a Messiah who consoles
us in the sufferings we must endure?
Those who recognize Him and pattern their
lives after Him, are those who daily lay down their life. They are those
whose boast is ONLY in the Lord; they have died to their desires and plans
for their life and their family's lives. Because they know Him who is
sacrificial love, they become like Him. They prefer one another in love.
They do not impose their will on the lives of those around them. They
minister Jesus and His love to every one they meet.
1 Pet 4:1-2
Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm
yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in
the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time
in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
(NAS)
Affliction when endured will cause us to stop
sinning. If we just survive a test, a valley, and an affliction - then we
have not passed the test. If that were the case then we would have come
into maturity long ago, you would not have a problem with disobedience and
sin. The world survives and yet most will never come to Christ. Again, you
must endure not survive! When you endure, you are dealt with by God to see
yourself as He sees you; when you see yourself you must allow yourself to
be disciplined by a Father that loves you much more then you want to
receive love.
As a son or daughter of God, we are
disciplined so that we can be led of the Spirit. It is after
we endure a certain affliction,
that we can respond like Jesus - with His nature. If we simply
passed through a certain affliction, we will not posses Jesus’ response
the next time we encounter that affliction. We must examine our response
to someone that afflicts us. Again, our response will indicate whether we
have passed the test of that previous affliction. For example, if we
always respond to someone that gossips about us in a manner outside of
Christ, then we have yet to understand the dealings of our Father.
Ø
Do I have to go through
Paul's severe fire?
You may have a similar fire to Paul's if you
are here at the end of the last generation or if you are called to another
geographical area that takes you out of your current comfort zone. However
most of us face a certain fire of God everyday in the home, in school, in
church or in the workplace. In these things we have been given the
opportunity to be afflicted for the purpose of developing FRUIT.
Fire
Causes Fruit Bearing
Soon as we get into our vehicles to proceed to
school or work, the trial begins. First the fruit of patience and
longsuffering comes into play as we drive alongside others. It is amazing
how we as Christians think we are so far along in our spiritual
development and then we drive our automobiles as carnal Christians. We
manifest impatience, stress, anger, rudeness, fear, and civil
disobedience. All of these are works of the flesh.
Ø
Did you bear fruit or
flesh last week?
The home, school, church, and the workplace
are designed to test, break, and put to the fire. The first place we might
fail will be our tongue. Gossip, speaking evil of those that were created
in His Image. Peter says we will suffer for this, but we must bear it
patiently for it is the fire that consumes those parts of us that do not
resemble Him. If we suffer and do not bear these sufferings patiently
then the fire will harden the surface of our heart instead of burning up
the impurities. If we refuse to repent of the sin that got us these
sufferings then the fire will cause hardness of heart. All of us
struggle with being a faithful servant in the natural – the earthly
things of life, and yet if we do not overcome these natural areas that are
common to our lives than we will never fully develop in Christ and
eventually we will harden our hearts before God.
Areas God deals
with in the workplace:
1)
Tardiness & Unneeded Absentee
(This destroys your witness)
2)
Lack of production
(This robs your employer)
3)
Not following policies and rules
(This is pure rebellion)
4)
Domination and Control
(Big temptation of those in authority)
5)
Contention (Contending against those in authority or fellow workers
is a work of the flesh.)
6)
PRIDE (ALL OF US HAVE THIS TO CONTEND WITH)
All of these cause a fruitless life. Much will
fall under pride. You will find others will attack that pride. Do not be
reactionary. Let that pride die! You have to come to the end of yourself,
to the end of every thought and action that is independent of His Will.
The way of God to accomplish this will be to hand over that pride to be
attacked by the enemy. The attack will usually occur through
relationships, and strangers, maybe customers, supervisors, friends, your
spouse, your pastor, or fellow drivers. Though they may be controlled by
devils when they attack, IT IS FIRE to purge those parts of you
that are not conformed to His image.
Many times a Christian will cast out the devil
or try to pray away the very thing that is sent to buffet them. The Holy
Spirit must reveal to you the difference, and at that moment you are to
exercise authority over devils, or you are to pray, or to endure by His
grace and allow that grace to change you into His image. Examine YOUR
heart first! Let us look at the “thorn” type of affliction again.
Ø
If you were in Paul's
fire, if you had his thorn, would you have prayed it away?
Well guess what, Paul prayed that God would
remove his "thorn in the flesh", which represents to us the
circumstances that afflict us. What was God's answer to Paul? It was NO.
Why would God, Who loves us, allow us to be afflicted? Because of our
PRIDE! As we discussed earlier, that is the reason Paul was given this
thorn in the flesh, it was for the purpose to subdue spiritual pride,
whether currently in him or that which was to come because of the
abundance of revelation. Again God reveals a specific purpose of this
affliction, but as you will observe, the purpose of most afflictions will
mostly fall under the category of humbling us from our pride.
1 Cor 8:1
Knowledge Puffeth up
Even revelation knowledge of the scriptures can
become proud if we do not stay submitted to His purposes.
Paul's thorn in the flesh was sent by a
messenger of Satan to harass him. We also receive a thorn in the flesh
from Satan in our lives. You can try praying it away but as the Lord told
Paul there is an important plan and purpose for it. Jesus in the garden of
Gethsemane prayed to obtain the Father's will in regard to His future
affliction and then He accepted that cup. We must accept that “thorny
cup”. The end purpose is going to be resurrection life if we do.
Paul reveals some light on the ultimate purpose of
affliction and the fire of God in our lives.
2 Corinthians
12:7-10 AMP
And to keep me from being puffed up and too much
elated by the exceeding greatness of these revelations, there was given me
a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to rack and buffet and harass
me, to keep me from being excessively exalted. Three times I called upon
the Lord and besought Him about this and begged that it might depart from
me; But He said unto me, My grace is enough for you: for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and
show themselves most effective in your weakness. Therefore I
will all the more gladly glory in my weakness and infirmities, that the
strength and power of Christ may rest and may pitch a tent over and dwell
upon me! So for the sake of Christ I am well pleased to take pleasure in
infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities, and
distresses; for when I am weak in human strength, then I am truly
strong in divine strength. (Amplified Version)
God's grace is enough for us; when you are
insulted, accept His grace. When you are treated unfairly, accept His
grace and let His strength be made perfect in your weakness. Let your
pride die, put it on the altar and let the high priest Jesus cut it out so
that all that remains will be Him - that which is perfect, that which
bears fruit. To break our will, God must deal us a heavy blow until we
humble ourselves before God and say, "Lord I dare not think, I dare
not ask, I dare not decide on my own for in everything I need you."
When we are stricken, we must learn that our will is not to act
independently. Only then can God use us and produce fruit. Maturing is
being broken. Defending ourselves when pride is touched is immaturity.
You say, “But I lay hands on the sick and they recover”,
“I cast out devils in the Name of Jesus and they leave”, “I worship
the Lord in His presence”. These are responses when spiritual pride
rises up. The proof of spirituality is in your ability to die when your
pride is touched. This is a powerful truth from heaven for us and we
should always remember it when discerning spirituality.
Test
of Responses
Deut 30:15-20
15
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and
destruction.
16 For
I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to
keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and
the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to
possess.
17 But
if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are
drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
18 I
declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not
live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This
day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set
before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life,
so that you and your children may live
20 and
that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to
him. For the
LORD is your life,
and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to
your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (NIV)
It’s your will! Your life is a series of the
decisions that you have made. With every decision you chose life or death,
blessing or cursing, obedience or rebellion – “the Lord” or flesh.
Your Christian maturity today is the outcome of these decisions. You have
either crossed the Jordan entering the land or you still remain in the
wilderness. In this overlapping of truth, parts of your life may have
entered into the land and other parts are in a dry desert. Your will is
defined as “appetite that is acted upon” or “desires that are
obeyed”. If as the Psalmist of Psalm 119 you also can say, “I have hid
your word in my heart that I may not sin against You”, the result is the
eating from the tree of Life in the Paradise of God. Choosing the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden is “appetite apart from
relationship with God”.
Ps 139:11-12
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
and the light around me will be night," Even the darkness is not dark
to Thee, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are
alike {to Thee.} (NAS)
When you encounter opposition or affliction,
it is a test of responses; it is the indicator of what you have chosen.
When all is well, circumstances are as the day to us. When all is turmoil,
circumstances can be the darkest of nights. Neither touch God - but we
respond to both. Most find God when circumstances are dark even though
the same God is just as present when all is light. Jesus is Light in both
but for us there is the difference of CONTRAST. We have allowed the day of
our circumstances to drown out the light of His presence. God in knowing
our nature has allowed us to experience night and darkness for a reason;
to see the contrast of Him Who is Light compared to the darkness of the
night. There is no mixture when man experiences the dark of nights
for all that is seen is Jesus our Lord; that is if we will respond “to
Him” and respond “like
Him” in every circumstance.
God
sends the scouts into the land
Num 13:17-20
17 And
Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you
up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
18 (1)
And see the land, what it is; and (2) the people that dwelleth therein, (3)
whether they be strong or weak, (4)
few or many;
19 (5)
And what the land is that they dwell in, (6) whether it be good or bad; and (7) what cities they be that they
dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
20 And
what the land is, (8)
whether it be fat or lean, (9) whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good
courage, and (10)
bring of the fruit of the land. Now
the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
God commanded Moses to search the land that He
God
was promising. When reading this passage for the umpteenth time one
day it occurred to me, “why did God want to send spies into the land?
God already knew what was there,
and He had already established it can be taken NOW”. “Now” was the
season to take the land. After asking the question, I heard a resounding
voice of the Holy Spirit our teacher say, “it is a test of responses”.
Moses sent 12 witnesses or spies into the
land. Each witness was the head of their respective tribe. This is God’s
way of saying, “each witness represents the people whom they are an
ambassador”. Nine is the number of fullness and they are given nine
commands to report for their journey. They are also given a command of the
action they are to take to conclude their report. This command was to
“bring back the fruit”; it is the substance or evidence of the report.
This last command was the tenth requirement of God to the twelve
witnesses. Ten is the number of trial
and testing
as well as law.
The witnesses spent forty days in the land. Forty is also
the number of testing
–
signifying
a probationary period.
40 days - worldwide flood with those in Ark as
a remnant
40 days - of Goliath taunting Israel (defeated
by 5 stones)
40 days - embalming of Israel (Jacob) to be
completed.
40 days - Jesus’ wilderness then came the
test of responses
40 years - wilderness journey for the people
of God who rebelled.
These are just a few examples of how God relates
this number to testing and trial. The number that God chooses to use, is a
teaching of His purpose. Joshua and Caleb come back from the land and give
their response; their report based on what they have witnessed. This is
their FIRST RESPONSE.
Num 13:27
Thus they told him, and said, "We went in to the
land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey,
and this is its fruit. (NAS)
It is not the positive-ness that is important
here; it is the fact that they agreed with what God had said! These two
witnesses then show the proof – fruit. One will say, “you can’t
ignore the bad circumstance”.
Num 13:28-30
28 "Nevertheless,
the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified
{and} very large; and moreover, we saw the …giants there.
30 Then
Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "We should by all
means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it."
(NAS)
The spokesman was Caleb and though his
physical eyes he saw the giants, the obstacles – AND HE SAW THEM AS
DEFEATED. Caleb and the “land” are a type and shadow that must be
observed to understand what has taken place here. God gives Caleb a
promise; "But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different
spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he
entered, and his seed shall take possession of it.” (NAS) Caleb
is a type of the “Seed” that shall come,
and in Him there will be a people that possess the land. They are a people
that see the obstacle and giants as defeated. They are a people that go
into the land to witness with eyes of faith looking for the fulfillment of
the promise. The ten spies or witnesses had a different view of the
land. In
the same land they saw:
Num 13:31-33
31 But
the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up
against the people, for they are too strong for us."
32 So
they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which
they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone, in
spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people
whom we saw in it are men of {great} size.
33 "There
also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and
we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in
their sight." (NAS)
In our own sight is the emphasis here. Jesus
spoke in parables because “seeing they cannot see”. The land of
promise was but a parable to the ten spies. Those that do not have eyes to
see and ears to hear, perceive not what “any” scriptures say
–scripture is simply one big parable to them. However all of us do the
same thing in different verses and areas of circumstances. We see
ourselves as a grasshopper in overcoming a particular sin. We see
ourselves as weak in possessing God’s more excellent way of an
“abiding in Christ lifestyle”. We see the enemy in the lives of our
fellow Christians as being too strong for them to be set free or
delivered. We say, “I guess my fellow Christian will remain deceived”
or
“my
brother in Christ is simply to stubborn to change”.
Here is another type and shadow; the promise
land is not a geographical area. If we think the “land”
in Israel is what God is most interested in, we should start reading the
Bible all over again – it is a redemption story for PEOPLE! The
promise land is the place where God desires His people to
reside. You are sent as a witness, a spy – to observe the land and
give a report. You are commanded to “not forsake the assembling of
yourselves together” for the purpose of entering the land of God. YOU
ARE THE LAND
OF GOD
– TheGod’s people are the land;
when you fellowship with
the “land”, what is your response? It is a test of responses and
our report is the evidence of what we witnessed and what we see. Do you
see the giants in others as “overcome”? Do you see God possessing the
people? Do you see the people as a place where milk and honey shall flow?
DID YOU GET THE FRUIT!
Isa 11:1-3
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his
roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on
him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and
of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD--
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by
what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;NIV
Isa 53:7-8
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not
his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from
prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he
was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my
people was he stricken.
God sent 12 men into the land and
prophetically they acted out the plan of God. Caleb and Joshua represent a
people that look with the eyes of God. They do not see with the physical
eyes nor hear with their physical ears for they have spiritual eyes to see,
and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. They
see what God sees! They search for what God is searching for.
God goes into the land (people of God) and He is searching for FRUIT. God
finds the fruit and it is acceptable. God finds the fruit attached to a
branch. God finds the promise He made and must now seal it. The fruit that
God finds is His Son. The branch God finds is His Son – His Son is
the promise. What does God do when He finds the Son in the land (His
people)?
Num 13:23
Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut
down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a
pole between two {men,} with some of the pomegranates and the figs.
(NAS)
God finds His Son in the land, in the land of
Israel that He descended from. Born of promise, born to be the Branch of
Isaiah 11, Jeremiah and Zechariah. “The Righteous Branch that will grow
out of His temple”. But first the Father must cut down His Son from the
land of the living. Redemption in the scriptures will always come from
life in the blood instead of vegetation from the ground. It is Abel’s
sacrifice of blood that was acceptable – it spilled unto
the ground. As Caleb cut down the Branch
and hung Him on a pole between two men – Caleb prophetically
acted out the cross of redemption. Caleb took the sacrifice of
the land, went back to the people, and said, “here is the proof of the
promise” – AND THEY REJECTED HIM.
Num 14:9-11
"Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear
the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has
been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." But
all the congregation said
to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent
of meeting to all the sons of Israel. And the LORD said
to Moses, "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they
not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their
midst? (NAS)
The people then went to stone the messenger
– Caleb. There are so many powerful pictures taking place that are
applicable to our daily lives in this passage. Let us focus on this; the
messenger that agrees with God is subject to get stoned. Stephen fulfilled
this as He preached the crucified Jesus and they stoned him,
even as
He saw the glory of God revealed. There is a stoning that comes from total
unbelievers and there is a stoning that comes from partial unbelievers –
both hurt.
The
focus is our response; when you enter the land, when you enter your
fellowship – do you look for the fruit? If they are followers of Jesus
– there is a branch with fruit in there. When you talk with others about
your Christian Brother or Sister, do you show them the “fruit” or the
do you show the “giants that are too strong”? The testimony of Christ
is the branch that you cut down to show to others – the Crucified One.
We must see in others,
the Christ that was born in their hearts,
and we must agree with God when He said, “He that began a good work in
you will complete it”. It is a land that we are ridding of giants with
the grace of God upon our lives. WE CHOOSE TO SEE THEM AS DEFEATED. We
choose to see ourselves dwelling together because we abide in the Branch
that was cut off. We choose to
allow our own lives to follow His example and be cut off as well from this
land of the living – that we may be a testimony of fruit. Our response
to every situation is the response of God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
We must
attend local fellowships that God has set us
in –
instead of
Sunday morning conscious soothing centers. In our attending, we are
entering into the land of Promise, the people of God. If we see the giants
and respond in the spirit of the ten witnesses –
we shall
suffer their consequences. If we see other church members that possess
giants and share the “giant-ness”
to other
church members – WE ARE WRONG EVERY TIME!
We must repent. If we
have left a church that possessed giants, then entered the land (God’s
people) and told them about the “giant-ness”; if we
spoke derogatory remarks –
WE
ARE
WRONG EVERY TIME! If we
think we
are spiritual and we
speak derogatory about the land, we
are only as spiritual as the “ten”
instead of the “two”.
We
are not acting like Caleb or the Seed;
we
have failed the test of responses and we
must
repent lest we
die in the wilderness. The immaturity of others is not open game for us to
target
and expose
to
others that know these people.
Instead we must obtain NEW EYES and SEE WHAT GOD SEES IN THEM.
We justify our derogatory comments about others
that possess giants with a flavor of spirituality –
yet our comments become a giant in our own life. Jesus
called this type of “giant”
a board in our eye. We can call it maturity, prophetic, or
discerning but we are blind men trying to lead.
I
have witnessed Christians that deemed themselves spiritual, commenting on
the personal lives of other Christians that do not measure up, personal
lives that
possess
giants. Their eyes are just like the ten spies,
and their eyes spread
like wildfire in the congregation of the Lord.
They see the problem, the giants in others, but they lack God’s
life in them to do anything about it. Therefore they have no faith to
see the problems and false doctrines in other believers as conquered.
They do not look for the Branch in others, they do not see milk and honey flowing,
as evident by their testimony.
It is only the problem that
they see and confess. When
they leave a church, they bring as many to this corrupt view as they can,
and many times with the intention of warning.
No matter what church disputes occur, we are NEVER permitted to preach
giants. Our testimony can disrupt those that are set into a local
fellowship. Our “giant” focus can cause others to leave a church that
God set them in. We scatter instead of gather.
We
must focus on our eyes first. If our vision of the people in the land is
one with unconquerable giants, then our mouth will simply follow our eyes.
When
you see your pastor making what you think is a “giant” decision,
simply see it as a defeated giant that cannot
hold back the milk and honey from flowing throughout God’s people.
If we witness carnality, false doctrines,
or deception in the congregation that God has set us in –
we must
exchange our “natural eyes” for the spiritual eyes of Jesus. Carnality,
false doctrines, and deception in the congregation – EXIST TO TEST YOUR
RESPONSE. What you spoke about,
concerning
what you witnessed
-
will indicate if you passed.
God
is bringing the church into the unity of the faith. Right now the
“giant” exists in the land, God’s people. Most Christians cannot see
the land ridded of these giants. They see disunity now, and they envision
disunity for our future, until Christ returns. Because they witness the
stubbornness to change in other men and women, that is all they see. They
do not possess the eyes of Caleb – the Seed. However, some of them may
possess eyes for a small remnant, but usually a very small remnant. This
view is still not Jesus’ view. LACK OF UNITY IN THE FAITH IS A DEFEATED
GIANT. We must see this or our unbelief of this promise will cause a life
of wildernesses.
Surely
there will be controversies where we may be the center of attention,
surely it may cause disunity, but it must be the other party that God is
testing concerning responses instead of us. We must be dead to these
issues we see so frequently in the church. If we see these giants as
conquered, in our heart they are dead issues though they appear to live.
If this is true then when attacked we are not defensive. When are talked
about and judged, we love not our life having learned to be a doormat for
all humanity. When other trample on us, we instantly respond with
blessing, envisioning them as ones that have temporarily been misled by
giants, yet these giants are without power and dead. Having the hope that
they have in them the Branch and after finding the Branch we return to the
people (who we left back in the wilderness) who are awaiting our response
– and show them Proof of the Promise of our God. If all we see is a
broken down church that cannot possibly live without giants in the midst
– we are not the children of faith God desires. If we see the present
church with the inability to function like the early apostles in pure
doctrine, unity, and love – we are not the prophesied two witnesses from
this story.
THE
TWO WITNESS PATTERN
Prophetically, Joshua and Caleb, as well as
other prophets, are seen in Revelation as the two witnesses. Joshua and
Caleb were heads of their tribe, ambassadors that speak the good report,
bearing fruit, and they were cut down for it. Resurrection day for the two
witnesses loomed ahead,
and though killed they stood up and entered into their inheritance forever
more. Though this may happen by two individuals and though the event may
take place just as portrayed, it means something spiritual to us. They
represent the good report;
andthey
represent the pattern of God that
isrequires
us to
“cut
down the fruit from the land of the living”. Why must martyrdom take
place? It is the testimony, proof - from the land. Those that reject the
testimony will NEVER ENTER IN. But it is our will.
Heb 4:4-11
For He has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh
{day} "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works";
and again in this {passage} "They shall not enter My rest."
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly
had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through
David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today
if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua
had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the
one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as
God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest
anyone fall through {following} the same example (PATTERN) of
disobedience. (NAS)
Paul took a truth about the Sabbath day and
gave it a meaning that many Hebrew Christians never thought of. Even today
many Christians celebrate their Sabbaths and have no revelation of what
the Sabbath points to. Paul teaches that the Sabbath is the “spiritual
rest” that comes from God where we cease from our works or rituals. Paul
now relates this truth to the LAND. They FAILED to enter into the land
because of disobedience. One will say to Paul, “but Joshua did enter
into the land with the people”. Paul responded that if this land, this
rest had truly been enteredentered,
thenand
then God would not have spoken of a day afterwards.
How do we enter into this rest? The entrance
of the land starts at the new birth; it is obedience to the Lord Jesus
causes us to fully
enter into rest that only He can give. A rest that does
not work to be obedient, but it is a rest that comes from
finding the “severed Branch that lives” and grafting to it daily. Our
life is the abiding relationship where our pleasure is to please Him; our
work is to know His thoughts; our labor is to enter into the state where
we do the things that please our King. Why do we start doing these things?
Because our pleasure is linked to His pleasure.
As a foolish jester in the court of the king we find out what puts the
smile on the face of our master and our “aim of life” is towards that
objective.
The events in the desert in those “40 days” that resulted in
“40 years” of wandering – is for our example. It is a blueprint of
the result of disobedience, the result of not looking for the Branch, and
the result of being a false witness.
If you celebrate the physical Sabbath and all
that you gain is physical rest – it is temporal. The true Sabbath is a
Person we serve. Paul’s message stresses that this truth is “TODAY”.
It is not a tomorrow truth, it is a today truth. An overcomer is not one
with strength to fight the enemies of the land; the overcomer is one
with eyes to see Him Who will conquer the giants of the land. The
land of rest is the land where we have learned to rest in His ability to
fight instead of our abilities. Faith does not strenuously
muster up courage, tenaciousness, and great maturity as much as one would
think. First, faith is seeing the giant as conquered because
we heard what the Master said. Faith is the response of this
seeing and hearing. Faith is finding the Branch, which is the PROOF, the
substance that we hope for, and finding this Branch inside of us, and
inside of others. We are so convinced that we shall enter “THE
REST” because we see Him Who is the substance of that hope. Courage,
tenaciousness, and maturity are born out of our seeing and hearing of Him
Who is called THE BRANCH.
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