Fire On Your Head

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Mark 13:28-31 ESV)

We’ve been looking a lot in my articles lately about the kingdom of God, the Word of God specifically in the context and imagery of seed,  which is the Word of God (Luke 8:11).

In my studies and meditations on this concept of ‘seed’, I was compelled to think even further on how seed–including sowing and reaping–works in the natural realm.  Even though fruit for example, is delicious, and different ones have different uses for our healthy diets, the primary purpose of the flesh on a fruit is not to add potassium or fiber to the human body, though that is obviously a good use for it.  But at the core of an apple, you find more seeds.  If the fruit were left on the branches of the tree, eventually the fruit falls to the ground, rots, and the seeds are sown into the ground.  Those seeds don’t give forth life or reproduce after their own kind until a death has taken place.  Only when the seed dies, and a rupture happens, leaving the seed to give forth life and take on a form it wasn’t previously, will a new plant emerge, and produce fruit again.  And in the next generation of fruit, will be contained therein the same DNA of the seed that was sown.  This cycle perpetuates itself indefinitely until or unless something stops it.  When nature is left to its course, the seed is never lost or destroyed despite the death and decay around it when the fruit falls to the ground off the branches and even if the tree itself rots or is intentionally destroyed by an outside source, the seed will remain.

Likewise, the Word of the Lord never perishes even though heaven and earth will pass away (Mark 13:31).  I was recently talking to a missionary friend of mine telling me how much he’s upset other missionaries and other established Christian ministries in the area he’s called to.  When he leads people in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, casts demons out of the oppressed, or heals the sick with the power of the seed implanted in him , other Christians get nervous and tell his disciples and followers to ‘be careful’.  We’ve had no problem passing on doctrines and dead works down through the ages of the Church, but those things are usually that which rots and decays–the flesh.  But he notes that whenever people need a miracle or a devil cast out of someone, they don’t hesitate to call on him.  The law kills but the Spirit gives life, therefore it’s this life we should be imparting.  Not the flesh that protects the seed, but the seed itself.  People will notice and be able to tell the difference.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

It is this living word that is intended to be passed on.   Genesis 1:11 mentions how the earth sprouts vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.  If the church can exist in certain areas of the world and all that’s being produced is dead works and dry religion, then it’s because that’s the seed that’s being sowed.  As a leader of mine in Holland says, we can’t give what we don’t have.  If the living breathing Word of God is not resident in us, it won’t come forth in others.  If we’re not seeing The Spirit move in others, it’s because He’s not moving in us either.  Simple as that.  Many theologians can write books, blogs, or just plain be armchair critics about what is the proper way to minister this or teach that.  But the fruit they are producing tells what they really sow.  We can all teach what we know and think, but we reproduce who we are. So who are you?  And what seeds are you sowing in others?  What fruit are you reproducing?

Don’t hinder others’ seeds from sprouting

A rut we believers tend to fall into when sowing the seed–the Word of God–into peoples’ lives, is to not let it do its own work.  I’m not against, nor am I contradicting the efforts made towards discipleship and helping other believers mature in Christ.  I’m not even against confrontation and rebuking where specific sin is present that the Bible admonishes us to deal with in both our lives and those of each other.  What I am talking about is digging up the seed to see if it’s doing anything under the surface or to see why progress we may be expecting hasn’t happened yet.  Sometimes when we lead new believers to Christ, we tell them all the things they now can’t do, but don’t teach them what they can do.  We start accountability structures and relationships that are fear-based and revolve around consequences if one messes up, because deep down we’re afraid the Holy Spirit really isn’t going to bring other people into maturity as well as we believe we could.  Of course we don’t admit it to ourselves or even believe that’s what we think.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout,  giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;  it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55: 10-11)

God knows what He’s doing, and if we’ve been faithful in sowing the seed of His Word, we don’t need to add extra fleshly rules to that soil, of what we can and can’t do as believers.  Another friend of mine was just chatting with me on MSN and reminded me that there are fewer basic non-negotiables to the Gospel and the message of Christ in the believer that most of us like to admit.  However, we have made up lots of other stuff that boils down to personal convictions (personal preferences) that we’re not willing to die for in order to ‘be right’ but that’s another blog entry or podcast show altogether!  The Spirit of grace inside us, along with the implanted Word of Christ will bring forth the fruit if that’s what we’ve sown in them, and had sown and watered in us.  If the seed has the basic elements it needs to grow, then it will.

One time as a child, a buddy of mine and I were at our other friend’s house on a hot summer day to go swimming in his family’s above-ground swimming pool.  I can’t remember if we were 8 or 9 years old, but we somehow got the brilliant idea that we’d do this friend’s mom a favor and water her flowers in the backyard.  We didn’t realize that using the pool water was actually bad, as it contained chlorine and such chemicals designed to neutralize and kill certain bacteria to help keep the pool clean.  What was good and healthy for that pool’s usage, was NOT good and healthy for my friend’s mom’s garden plants and flowers.  In our immaturity, we had good and well meaning intentions, but it was a deadly idea, and his mom saw us out the window and came outside and stopped us and explained that though she saw the intention of our hearts, our effort would actually kill, and hinder any fruit from being produced.

Sometimes we do likewise when we try to water other peoples’ seeds using conditions and standards that aren’t applicable to every plant in the garden.  We actually spread death when we try spreading certain religious concepts onto each others’ lives from the outside, instead of letting the Holy Spirit within water the implanted Word of Christ.  We are only overcomers of the flesh (soul) when we are strong in our spirit.  We are just picking rotting fruit off the tree when we try fixing problems using fleshly/soulish and external solutions, rather than going to the root:

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ”Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”  referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:18-23)

Usually the self-made regulations we add in order to try watering that seed are of no use in actually doing the work we’re attempting to accomplish with it.  If we understand that flesh in Scripture doesn’t just specifically and only represent the more obvious and outrageous sin, but categorically those seemingly ‘good’ deeds, though noble, but not birthed of the Spirit, then we can chalk up good intentions and personal disciplines to that which leads to death like Paul talked about in Romans 8:

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (v. 7-8).

The solution is found in the two verses preceding it:

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

A lot of works of ministry and a lot of personal disciplines are just works of flesh, and not of the Spirit.  If you want to overcome the deeds of the flesh, then sow to your spirit and whatever you sow you will reap (Gal 6:7).  If all flesh is like grass and will fade away, then why use that fleshly grass to enhance our personal disciplines and water the seed with substance other than the Word which abides forever (1 Peter 1:24-25)?

When we eat a fruit, say an apple for example, the fruit’s flesh itself that we eat is useful for food, but itself is of no use toward reproducing more apples.  It protects the seeds found in the core, which are then used for reproducing more apples.  The human male body’s flesh substance itself won’t produce new life, but the seed inside him being protected by his body used in the reproduction process will.  Therefore if it’s so in the natural, why do we operate in the opposite fashion so often in the spiritual, and as Colossians 2 states, do things that in and of themselves are of no use in stopping the gratification of the flesh?

That being said, whether you’re a leader in the church or someone who edifies others in the Body of Christ, you will reap what you sow, and can only give what you have.  Let’s fan into flame the Spirit in the lives of one another, and not the deeds and not self-made religion, and other such things we think are of living water, but are actually loaded with poisonous chlorine and hinders growth and life.

Attached is a humorous video I found on YouTube of the effect I’ve seen some Christian ‘sheep’ have on others in the Body of Christ that although not specifically related to this topic shared, I thought was amazingly accidentally profound in showing the same concept, for what is a skeleton mask representing other than that which is dead and lifeless?  Well, you get the lighthearted point.  I think like this sheep, we have the same effect on others in the flock of God when we are trying to spread our ‘dead’ works.