Fire On Your Head

Reflections & Meditations on Faith & the Imperishable Kingdom of God

by Steve Bremner

Have you ever heard that statement “all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed and you can move a mountain“? The idea behind it whenever most Christians quote that comes from a misunderstanding that faith is not measurable, but we all have the same proportion. I hope in the next few paragraphs to show otherwise, and maybe we as a body of Christ could do away with that cliched saying that misinterprets Scripture.

Let’s look at one of the instances in the Gospel where Jesus says this.  This teaching gets on my nerves when I hear people teach and believe this passage to mean they don’t have to do anything, and “faith the size of a mustard seed” is used to justify doing little to nothing, rather than provoking tenacity of faith to see the things of God. Here we go:

And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him,
said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:14-20 ESV

I’m not going to teach it here, but this passage even shows it was Jesus’ will to heal when his followers were unable to produce the healing, even though seven chapters earlier he granted them authority to do it and they did.

Notice how in this passage, Jesus tells them it’s BECAUSE of their little faith that they were unable to heal the boy. This translation accurately avoids translating it “faith as small” as a mustard seed.   Context shows it cannot be talking about the ‘size’ of your faith, since Jesus just rebuked his disciples for not having big enough faith!  Jesus was not schizophrenic.

So where do we come up with this misinterpretation, and how did it become such a cliche we use often in Christian circles? I really don’t know. But now let me ask you something: if all it took was a tiny mustard sized seed to move mountains, then how come there is still lots the Church is unable to see take place in the way of miracles and logic-defying deeds? If all it took was a mustard seed, then I’d hate to be the devil when a Christian has more than a mustard seed of faith!

There are five times in the New Testament where the mustard seed is listed, each instance of them are found in the Gospels. Luke 17:6 is almost identical, but is in a different context than the above quoted Scripture. The other three come up in a different parable–the parable about the kingdom of heaven. Matt 13:31 is almost identical to its counterparts in the other gospels:

“It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” Mark 4:31-32.

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” Luke 13:18-19

(Emphasis mine)

This passage gets confused in peoples’ minds with the teaching of Jesus concerning speaking to the mountain, and therefore the teachings get mixed together and you come up with this idea it’s OK to have little faith, but in context that’s clearly NOT what Jesus taught his disciples. Could it be, based on this explanation as to what a mustard seed is and what it does, that we can glean from this parable, which uses the same illustration, and learn something that can change our understanding of the other passage?

Sure, why not? Our faith is to be like a mustard seed. What is a mustard seed like? Though it starts off like a seed, it grows and our faith is to be like that seed that has grown and becomes larger than all the other plants in our garden. Larger than our ‘TV watching plant’, larger than our ‘worldly mindset plant’, larger than our other ‘plants’. In fact, it is to become so big, that everything else in our lives is dependent on it, like birds in the air able to make nests in its shade. If anything, our faith is to be like a solid tall tree, not a tiny seed. Seed is a good way to start off, but you don’t leave a seed like that, you sow it–ask any farmer if he wants just seed, or if he wants to sow that seed and reap more of the same.

Like any seed, it needs watering and feeding, as well as the right conditions for growth. Later if people tell me they want more Scripture to prove my point, I will write more about how we each have a measure of faith God has given us–’a seed’ if you will. And then it’s all up to us how fast, and how much that seed grows. Some, would you not say, clearly walk in more faith than others? They didn’t get that way overnight, trust me. But if you and I would do the things it takes to water our faith seed, with the Word, with prayer, with meditating on the things above and not on hours and hours of TV (can you tell that’s one of my soapboxes?–you’re never going to walk in total victory if you watch TV, movies, surf the internet needlessly, and other such mindless wastes of time— more than you read and pray).

So let’s take a journey and meditate and reflect on this ‘faith seed’ and what the Word of God has to say on it for our lives…

Separating Seeds of Righteousness and Wickedness

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:6-9, ESV, emphasis mine)

Compare that passage with the following:

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said,’No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13: 24-30, ESV, emphasis mine)

The devil always comes that he may steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). It’s harder to steal a tree than it is to steal the seed of that tree in its early form. One of satan’s most effective strategies, is to scatter lies and deception in seed form early on in the harvesting stage. When you take two different seeds in the palm of your hand, you typically will not know what they will bear until you’ve planted them and seen what fruit is produced. Obviously skilled and experienced gardeners and farmers would have a keener eye than the average person on what specific seeds are and what they will yield. But for all intents and purposes, the end result or outcome is not obvious just by looking at the seed in the early stages.

In our parable out of Matthew 13, we’re told that the farmer sowed good seed, but it was an enemy who came in and ALSO sowed bad seed. The strategy behind this is that the same water, the same nutrients from the soil, would feed both the good and the bad, and attempting to rid the soil of the bad weeds would be detrimental to the health of the good crop, and the two in this parable are allowed to grow until the same specified period, upon which time one is harvested and the other is destroyed. When you have the two different seeds absorbing the same nutrients, and dividing where the soil’s resources will be used, the good crop suffers in terms of how much of it could have produced. If you had a whole field with only good seed, you’d yield more usable crop. But when you take that whole field, half of it (the weeds) will be destroyed at harvest time, you’re going to suffer loss in terms of what good harvest you could have produced with the whole field.

Too many Christians live their lives that way: letting both seeds take root in their lives and then later having destruction come to destroy works of the flesh, whether it be from sowing and reaping, judgment, or just plain suffering consequences of actions resulting in those seeds going unchecked and coming to fruition in other forms. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:15)

You can’t feed both natures without suffering loss to one or the other. Scripture says you can’t serve two masters, for you will wind up hating one.

Romans 8:5-11 says

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

When it comes to struggling with the flesh, and trying to live holy, I’ve heard it likened to having two dogs at war. One representing your sinful nature, and the other your new born again nature. If you throw a piece of meat on the ground and let both dogs go after it, one would get it, eat it, and become stronger. If you did the same thing the next day, the one who got it the day before has an advantage in that he’s got more strength and vitality after having eaten the meat it had previously obtained, and most likely will win the piece of meat this time as well. Eventually the stronger dog will always overpower the weaker one and keep on getting the meat and feeding itself, continuing to get significantly stronger, while the weaker dog keeps on getting weaker and eventually dies. Such, although not a perfect analogy by any means, is similar to the struggle we each are waging with our sinful nature, crucified and washed by the blood, but many of us have mindsets that haven’t changed and need constant renewal (Romans 12:1-2).

When a person becomes born again, they are not changed over night. The old nature has been crucified, and God has transformed the believer. But something interesting is stated here in 1 John 3:9–that God’s SEED abides in us. The interesting thing about a seed, is that it in and of itself is clearly not the finished work of whatever that seed is going to produce and grow into. There is a lot that we could discuss and meditate on in just thinking about this concept of the kingdom of God, and the articles I’ve already written and posted probably just barely scratch the surface of some other thoughts about this. But one thing worth repeating or bearing in mind is that a seed basically contains the image, or the DNA of what its yield will contain. But many of the passages I’m referencing–and other Scripture references we could look at–all have a common thread in that we are in charge of how much we ‘water our seed’, or cultivate our new nature in the Spirit.

Forgive my assumption that all readers of this are mature, but when a man gives his seed to his wife in the marriage act and a child is conceived, all that has transpired is a seed has been shared. An actual full size adult human being is not implanted into the woman, but the image of what that human being will become is all contained in that seed. Hair color, eye color, physical traits, but those things will be nourished and developed in the womb and eventually outside of the mother’s body when the child has been born. Everything the child will become is not obvious just by looking at a pregnant woman who is expecting, or even from looking at the baby in its crib as an infant. The same way that the groom gives his seed physically in the natural example of the marriage act, Christ, the Bridegroom has given us the seed of righteousness to the Church, His Bride. For lack of a better way of describing it, He has implanted His nature into the born again believer upon salvation and regeneration. But it’s not obvious right away. It takes cultivation.

This moment is then the devil’s greatest opportunity to corrupt that seed–early on in the development stage. That’s why, for example, tobacco advertisers aim their ads at youth and young adolescents. This is why many corrupting images are sent our way through television and media. It’s a spiritual and even natural fact that we are most impressionable when we are young, therefore it’s the habits we develop early in life that lay a foundation and form us for the rest of our lives. The same is true spiritually. The young formative seasons of a believer’s walk with Christ are important for growth as this is the most easy time for the devil to scatter other seeds in the soil.

Consider other things Scripture tells us about sowing and seeds:

First Corinthians 15: 36-37 states:

“What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.”

This is consistent with the death to self that we are to be constantly engaged in in order that our spiritual nature matures and strengthens.

Sowing, whatever the seed may be, always results in reaping. We usually hear this used in order to coax people into giving money in offerings when we hear passages like 2 Cor 9:6 which say whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Whatever seed you’re sowing bountifully, you’ll reap bountifully (the context of this passage is giving financially).

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:6-8)

Make no mistake about it, the negative sinful stuff we sow to the flesh will grow, build, and culminate, and if we’re not careful, dominate our lives. It’s a spiritual principle that all too often I only hear about money (sow money and you’ll reap money), but if left unchecked, bad habits in our lives will grow to severe levels. It’s better to deal with these issues in seed form early than to let them fester and germinate.

Even when the hoards of darkness sow seeds of deception into the church or into your mind, it’s usually always mixed in with the truth. We see this in the Garden of Eden when the serpent asked Eve questions about what God said, and helped confuse her as to what the truth of the matter regarding eating of it really was. He even appealed to her desire to be good, to deceive her into disobeying what she was told.

Deception is usually always rooted in some form of truth, corrupting it.

The best way to deal with these issues of sowing to the flesh, is to sow the opposite–to the Spirit. If anybody reading this has gone so far done a path that you are trying to overcome a sin that has snared you, even though you love God and want to overcome but can’t seem to, my best advice is to follow the same pattern that led you in that direction, but with spiritual seeds. It’s true the power of the blood of Christ is enough to set you free instantly from any sin that entangles us, but for the most part the problem lies in our unrenewed mind.

Begin the same process with the Word of God and seeds of righteousness in your thinking that you led in an unregenerate way to get where you may find yourself now. I remember Neil T. Anderson, author of The Bondage Breaker and other books about spiritual freedom, used an analogy that fits: if your mind is dark and polluted from all sorts of sin and unregenerated thinking, imagine it like a coffee pot. The pot is full of dark liquid, and you are taking the word of God and placing the equivalent of one pure ice cube into that pot every day. A little bit of dark coffee will spill out, and the ice cube will melt and dilute into the coffee. Change won’t be obvious right away, but doing this daily, eventually the coffee pot will get purer and clearer, until eventually no more traces of coffee are left, and eventually the whole pot is pure. This is my opinion of what kind of things happen as we renew our mind with the Word of God (Romans 12:2), and it’s also necessary to get rid of and cut out of you life the things that caused that coffee pot to get so dark in the first place or else you’ll have these two different natures remaining at war with one another, rather than your spiritual nature dominating and ruling over your flesh. If you need to avoid certain people who influence you, do so. If you need to get rid of objects you have access to–such as internet or television, do so. Cut the weeds out, they are not harmless. In order to let in more light, you have get rid of the darkness.

Remember dear reader, you are an over comer in Christ. It is positional truth. It’s just the battle is in your mind and takes some sowing to the Spirit.

An Imperishable Kingdom

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4:31-32 ESV)

God’s kingdom is established and started with imperishable seed. We’ve already established that the enemy scatters seeds (weeds) in with the good seed, and wherever the river flows, everything grows, both good and bad. Only in the end time harvest, will the good be distinguished from the bad and the chaff burned up, but that doesn’t mean we wait for that day in order to sow seeds of the Kingdom of God instead of to our flesh.

Galatians 6:7-8 states:

“For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

I want to draw your attention to the difference between building for the kingdom using imperishable seed, instead of perishable seed–chaff, weeds, wood, hay and stubble. I think I’ve covered this extensively elsewhere, but this will be a bit more of review and looking at the difference between the perishable kingdoms of this world versus the kingdom of God–the heavenly imperishable realm.

Everything the believer does must be founded on the Word of God, not the flesh. Usually we refer to the flesh when we think of sinning and not living a holy life, but Scripture uses it for other concepts as well;

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.“ (1 Peter 1: 25).

For our intents and purposes today, flesh is that which perishes, is not of God, is man’s strength, and that which can be accomplished without God’s help, or even accomplished in contradiction to His help. By default, this includes sin and living and functioning without Him. But I want to take it further than the obvious. There’s many ‘good’ works being done in our lives (in man’s eyes), but they are of the flesh, and like grass will wither and burn up.

Recall with me some of the things we know about seeds: if you take seed, both good and bad, and sow them into a field or plot of land, both will grow and use up the resources in the ground. The more you sow to the flesh, the more it will strengthen and develop, and the more you sow to the Spirit, then the more you reap in that realm.

All flesh is destroyed eventually with the test of eternity. If flesh is ‘like grass’, then thinking of things we know about grass is a good way of understanding what’s going to happen to the works of the flesh on that day–such as the imagery and analogy of seeds the Lord has had me writing about lately. There will be much work that has been done by men, in the name of Christian religion, that will burn up on that fearful day and have NO significant eternal impact, because it was built with wood hay and stubble (1 Cor 3:12-15). Therefore, allow me to challenge you by asking what are you building with? What are you sowing with? Are you building with perishable substance or imperishable? It may look big and righteous now, but is it of eternal significance? Will it withstand the fire of God on that day?

The difference Between Perishable and Imperishable

I mentioned how not all flesh is inherently spoken of as being sin, though it IS in that category by default. The only two kingdoms the Bible refers to are the kingdoms of darkness, and the kingdom of light. I’m not going to be harsh and specifically calling many of the works going on in this world as being sinful, but it IS true they are of no significant impact for eternity. Jesus said it, and he said anybody not working for Him is working against Him (Matt 12:30). Many ‘good’ social programs exist today that take care of the immediate needs of people, and this is a good thing, not bad. God’s Word says that pure and undefiled religion is taking care of the widow and orphan (James 1:27). In no way am I knocking things that Scripture commends and commands.

However, unsaved people can also take care of their widows and orphans without the Holy Spirit’s touch involved in it, and spend eternity in hell despite having started good social programs. A lot of ‘good’ people, who are doing ‘good’ things, are still going to hell. It’s not our good works that make us right with God because Scripture says they’re like filthy rags anyway (Isaiah 64:6). The Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection is the only way into His eternal kingdom (John 14:6).

The kingdom of man can invent hearing aids, without the Cross–or even WITH God’s help and motivation in the inventor’s life. But Jesus, in His kingdom opens the ears of the deaf and they hear. People can train seeing eye dogs, and come up with a language that involves touching the surface with one’s fingers in order to help the blind read and understand. But Jesus Christ opens blind eyes and gives sight itself to the blind. It’s a noble thing for men to enter the medical profession, invent or discover cures for diseases that ail the flesh–the temporary earthsuit man inhabits–but Jesus Christ heals all those things in both the earthly flesh realm and operates out of the heavenly imperishable realm.

Simply put, the difference between that which will withstand the fire on that day and that which won’t, is the stuff that can’t be done without the power of God in it.

Even of miracles the demonic realm has a counterfeit that looks just like the genuine.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matt 7:21-23)

For our context, that would be like ministers reminding Jesus that his name was on their ministry, or they accomplished many things as a charitable not-for-profit organization or even as 501c3 church status organization. But what will His response be? Will He know you? Does He recognize you from the secret place as you’ve had personal relationship with Him, and repented of man-made efforts? Remember in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:24-30), that tares look exactly like wheat in seed form but eventually by the harvest time their real DNA is made obvious, and their end result is destruction by fire, even if for a long time they looked alright compared to the wheat. They are but grass…

The manner in which things are done in the flesh compared to how they are done in the kingdom of God is different in that the stuff that is birthed and originated in the flesh does not withstand the eternal fire, but that which is birthed in the heavenly realm can exist in the fleshly realm but not burn up when tested and salted with Holy Spirit fire. The perishable–that which is flesh and not born of above doesn’t, and can’t exist in the imperishable Spiritual realm. But the imperishable does and can exist in the perishable temporary realm, but it still exists and lasts in the eternal realm.

That being said, which realm do you want to be found living in? Which realm do you want to build ministry and things that *look* like they are of the kingdom of God? Which realm do you want your works to originate in? Which type of seed do you want to sow–that of the flesh or that of the Spirit? Unsaved people can take care of the blind. Muslims can care for their sick. Hindus can look after their orphans. What marks a difference with you and the kingdom you purport to be a part of, dear reader? When the seeds have grown and harvested, which category will they be of –flesh or Spirit? When the wheat and the chaff are separated at the end of the age, which side of the flame will your life and ministry be found on?

There is a lot of ‘good’ works being done, but that’s just the thing–they are ‘good’ and ‘noble’ things. But if they can be done without the Spirit of God, their worth is NOTHING in eternity, and only matters in this ‘grass’ realm temporarily before being burned up.

Another difference between the two realms is the fear of the Lord versus the fear of man. Whose praise do YOU seek? Just recently I was listening to someone I respect and look up to weigh his options and use me as a sounding board about ministry he’s considering severing ties with because of how much more money-focused said ministry is becoming and losing its focus on spreading and sharing the Gospel. It was this brother’s impression that this other ministry is more concerned about having a large reputation in the media and man’s eyes, but has left its first love that it was started on in the first place. The ministry being referred to has no mention whatsoever on its website about the Gospel or that it’s supposed to be Christian in nature. The idea is that it will not receive government grants and money from organizations that won’t sponsor them if they are overt in their Christianity, so they ‘tone it down’. Friends, such a ministry is made of grass. It may seemingly accomplish much in this realm in the short few decades or centuries it’s functioning today in this earthly & fleshly realm, but Jesus said “whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 10:33) Whoever one fears usually determines what realm the ministry or work is birthed in and functioning out of.

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Cor 3:12-15)

Father, let us be a people whose works last and remain when tested by fire! Let us be a people who are built on the cornerstone of Christ Jesus rather than be crushed by it and ground to powder from rejection of Him. Make us into the living stones joined together into a kingdom of lasting significance and may you destroy all works of grass from our midst that we may be a pure and lasting kingdom of royal priests. Let us not be ones who build with substance that doesn’t withstand the fire of your presence in eternity.

Amen.

The Image Inside The Seed

“But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matt 13:23)

Recently I had heard about a number of tombs being found in Egypt in recent years which contained mummified remains of people. In the tombs they also had jars which contained seeds that had been preserved in that state for thousands of years. Someone got the idea to sow them and harvest the corn and such contained in the seed to see if there was any significant difference between what they sowed in Egypt over 2700 years ago, compared to the seeds of those types of crops harvested today. There was no difference, it yielded the same exact thing. It didn’t matter how old the seed was, because apparently the seeds we’ve passed on from generation to generation, still contained the same crop as those from thousands of years earlier. It didn’t expire or reach its ‘best before’ date. All of the image of what that seed was intended to yield remained intact inside it for over 2700 years until it was harvested.

I thought this was simple yet amazing enough of an example of God’s kingdom worth adding to my series on the ‘imperishable seed‘ lately. I highly suggest going over those posts for the benefit of this entry if you’ve never read them before, as many of the Scriptures I’m referencing or taking for granted in this post I’ve been covering more in depth in previous posts for the foundation I’m building on in this one.

Another way I thought about this: I remember as a teenager the days when I used to make mix tapes – long before we had digital mp3 players and iPods (which I thank God for!). I would take songs on CDs of mine that I wanted to make a mix tape with, and listen to the tape on my Sony Walkman while delivering newspapers. The quality of the songs–because they were only a copy–would be degenerated compared to the original CD I obtained them from. If I wanted to make a copy of that mix tape for somebody, I’d have to go to the original CDs again, because if I copied the tape–which itself was just a copy of songs–then the quality of that next tape would be even worse than mine was. Such was the quality of copying using analog–it gets worse and worse the more you reproduce it from one copy to another.

Natural seed is not like such, and this is certainly not the case with the imperishable seed either (1 Peter 1:23)–it doesn’t diminish, lose anything, or degenerate from one generation to the next as it’s passed on.

The same seed of Christ planted in a believer who was changed by the blood of Christ having put their trust in Him 2000 years ago does the same work in a believer’s heart today. The seed has not gotten worse the more it was spread. Kingdom seed is not analog. Its ‘DNA’ doesn’t change when it’s passed on from one person to another. If what’s true of the natural seed is true of the spiritual imperishable seed of Christ in us, then it shines light on passages like when Jesus said in John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

We are capable of doing at the very least the works, signs and wonders Jesus did, because His imperishable seed–perfect image of His nature–has been implanted in us (1 John 3:9). But Jesus didn’t stop there, He said we’d do greater works than these. Whenever I talk to people of certain evangelical persuasions or denominations who don’t believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit–tongues, healing, and what have you–as being for today, I no longer go to the book of Acts to point out that there’s no reason to believe such activity was to stop in the Church, but I point to this aspect of Christ’s character. If He did certain things, and said we would also and more, AND has planted His seed in us, then nothing of the image in that seed has depreciated over the centuries or degenerated in quality since. Nothing of His has been lost or diminished in us. He didn’t even say we’d do at least the same He did, but greater works. I know that sounds blasphemous to some, and is an abused concept by some people, but it’s still what the Word of God teaches and shows. So the idea it’s arrogant to say believers can heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons or do things Jesus did and said we’d do (Mark 16: 16-18) is strengthened, and “only He can do it” is nullified, because the very nature of Christ is implanted into us as believers when we’re born again.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:24)

Jesus, our ultimate example, left His abode in heaven, and entered our fleshly earth realm, and lived as a man. He ‘fell into the earth’ and died, that He may be raised from the dead and conquer sin, and in a sense, plant a new work in mankind that would blossom and flourish and that work itself would overcome the sinful, carnal death nature. Jesus died in order to be gloried, much like a seed. Seed gives forth after its own kind, and Jesus’ likeness is reproduced into those of us where His seed is implanted. Who He is, is spread and reproduced in us as we mature and grow and spread the kingdom of God with evangelizing and manifesting the nature of Christ through healing the sick, and giving freedom to the oppressed.

Likewise, in order to obtain the Christ seed, we ourselves die. We have to give up our life and no longer be in control, or no longer own ourselves, in order to be a part of this spiritual realm. In order to manifest this heavenly Christ-ruled kingdom, we die to ourselves, and live through Christ. There can’t be any ounce of self left, because Christ’s nature abides in the believer. He was not like ‘us’ in our sinful fallen state. Therefore such sin nature must die–that nature must no longer be nurtured–but the seed of Christ in us watered and nurtured, and cultivated. The seed of Christ on the inside of us is as holy as how sinful Adam’s seed inside us is evil–the nature that must be killed in order to mature in the nature of Christ. Galatians 6:7-8 states “For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” All opportunities for this flesh nature to grow, or be nurtured, must be cut off.

What Exactly is IN the Seed?

“The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11) This being the case, I’m going to use the word ‘seed’ interchangeably with ‘the Word’ of God, and by no means is the following list exhaustive, but I just want to share a few ideas to drive the point home.

“And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.” (1 Cor 15:37-39)

• It contains what it is to reproduce after, as we’ve already been establishing.

“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.”(Mark 4:26-28)

• It contains the kingdom of God. All that is necessary for revival and the kingdom of power spreading is found first in the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear…

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor 9:10-11)

“Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21)

“I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:14b)

• It contains your righteous nature and ability to live holy, and to overcome sin and the evil one, and salvation for our souls. See also 1 John 3:8-10.

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

“For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God” (2 Peter 3:5)

• It contains creative forces which create and give life. As you can see, faith is mixed in with this word of God in order to bring forth any creation. The same properties as mentioned in Hebrews 11:3 are true of seed. The wood and leaves and fruit and all such things itself are not present in the seed, but the DNA is and in the right conditions, those things come forth out of the ground when it’s planted and nurtured.

I personally believe this ‘seed’ is where gifts, talents, skills, and our calling is located. I won’t be too argumentative if someone disagrees with me, because I can’t completely ‘prove this’, but hear me out: the same way each and every individual person has specific and unique DNA that makes them who they are, I believe the Lord does with this imperishable seed in all believers. The same way that the seed in the womb of a woman contains all the information as to who the baby is and will become, its hair color, its personality, and other traits not just physical, I believe the spiritual seed implanted inside the believer contains all the spiritual versions of such DNA and it’s up to us to water and nurture that seed. It’s up to us to edify, encourage and exhort each other as well (since we are all the collective Body of Christ) into maturity into such things as God has designed for us individuals to become in Him and in His Body. That’s why some people are capable of not ‘realizing their potential’. It’s not that some people fail, and others succeed because God is hyper-sovereign and picks and chooses some to be outpacing others, but because He’s deposited in us all we need, and allows us to be stewards of our own edification and growth.

The point of the seed is that it yields and gives forth after itself, and does not remain a seed. Therefore in an upcoming post, I’ll share some more on how to extract that information from the seed and grow spiritually.

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” (Luke 13:18-19)

God’s intention is not that we remain in seed form, but grow in such a manner as to produce fruit some thirty fold, some sixty and some a hundredfold.

May it be so in our lives!

Growing Deeper Roots

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” (Psalm 1:1-4)

A tree–and pretty much all plants and vegetation in general–need several things in order to grow and produce their corresponding fruit: proper soil, water, and sunlight. If you water it too much and/or only give it water, then it will get waterlogged and die. If you don’t give it any, and it only gets heat and sunlight, also, it will die. But the soil also needs to be in correct condition. For example of this, the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 ) details the different outcomes of having the seed fall on different types of ground. In Psalm 1 we’re given a few contrasts between the righteous and the wicked which I’d like to focus on. The man who delights in the law of the Lord is contrasted with the man who doesn’t, but walks in the counsel of the wicked and sits in the seat of the scornful. Here we’re told not that the man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night is not like a seed, but how he’s like a tree planted by streams of living water. The man of wickedness, like a leaf that withers.

It stands to reason that if the righteous man is the one who grows, and prospers, it would be necessary to know how the he does so. Therefore we need to be delighting in the law of the Lord if we’re to prosper and be blessed in all areas of righteousness–through both the rhema revelation and the logos written Word, studying it, getting into it deep and sinking our roots deep into it. Only from having these conditions in place in our own lives, will we be able to extract the image from the seed, the Word of God. The man who does this, yields fruit in season, and in all that he does he prospers. It’s also necessary to realize is that one must to do this regularly, as indicated in the words ‘day and night’. As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but not if you only eat one apple and nothing else in the course of a day!

First, a little bit about my approach to reading/studying/interpreting the Bible: since all Scripture is God-inspired, then the meaning of one passage is tied into the one before it and breeds the meaning of the one following. All the parables, teachings and stories are like the strokes of a much larger painting. All of it ties together. Therefore, passages like Psalm 1 don’t require a lot of scholarly study to understand, and if we just read the whole thing in context we can understand the individual verses contained therein. As good as it is to memorize individual Scripture verses, I think it’s even better to meditate on entire chapters of Scripture and entire stories or parables than just individual verses. Doing so helps avoid accidentally (or intentionally) lifting sentences out of context.

So let’s have at it: if a blessed man walks not in the counsel of the wicked, and all the things detailed in the first two verses, then that means the unrighteous man does the opposite. If a righteous man is like a tree firmly planted, then a wicked person is not (I know, deep revelation, but bear with me). And if an unrighteous person is not getting his counsel from the law of the Lord then by necessity he’s getting his counsel somewhere else –as James 3:13-18 explains, from below. And by ‘below’, I don’t mean the ground, but the pit of hell.

We read in passages like Luke 6:43-44 that no good tree bears bad fruit, and vice versa. There’s only two options, good or bad, fruitful or unfruitful, righteous or wicked, good fruit or bad fruit. That which is below or that which is from above. A wicked person who is not firmly planted near the streams of living water is not going to yield fruit as though he were firmly planted in good soil. Verse 45 goes on to say that the good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Therefore, it’s no wonder the very next thing Jesus proceeds to teach here in Luke 6 is about building your house on a rock so that it withstands the storm. The idea of building and construction is linked to sowing, reaping, growing and harvesting in this context. The fact Luke writes them one immediately following the other in his Gospel allows us to assume they are a part of the same flow of thought Jesus was teaching here.

“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:47-49)

For years I read that passage of Scripture as though it were talking about the believer and the unbeliever, the righteous versus the unrighteous. However, both individuals heard, but only one did what he heard, the other didn’t, and the storms and cares of this life knocked the structure down.

So why am I saying all that, and how exactly do we extract the content of the incorruptible seed of Christ in us? Those passages then being a loose framework for us to work with provide some steps for obtaining revelation knowledge and extracting the image from the seed :

1) Put into practice what you learn from the Word of Christ

This is of the utmost importance in growing in Him and extracting revelation knowledge from the seed. In receiving the implanted word, James 1:21-25 talks of making sure to be doers of the Word of Christ, which would be building your house on the rock, versus being a listener only–building on sandy foundations. One person extracts the image from inside the seed BY obeying what Christ teaches and the other didn’t and the ruin of his house was great.

“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:25)

2) Submit to fiery trials in your life

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

Under circumstances like heat, and fiery trials in life, we’re capable of having squeezed out of us just what’s really inside our hearts. It is these moments that reveal our true character. Sometimes the greatest opportunity for our faith to grow, is from under pressure, and remember, your faith has no perishing point (1 Peter 1:7). The light of the sun is vital and a crucial component to the growth of any vegetation–the same way muscle doesn’t grow except under resistance. But your true, tried, and tested genuine faith will survive the heat, and you will be refined and made purer, and steadfastness is produced in your life the way fruit grows from the tree planted by that stream of living water.

3) Create the right conditions in your life for the growth

Like I’ve already mentioned, certain conditions need to be right for the seed to sprout and germinate properly. We see this exact same concept exemplified in the parable of the sower where the same seed is scattered in each instance, but the conditions are different, and the seed that sprouted up immediately is the one that withers and dies under the heat–the pressure and trials of life. The soil of our hearts has to be right, or else the seed doesn’t go deep and develop any roots. You can’t have too much sunlight, and yet can’t have too little. You can’t have too much water, yet you can’t have too little.

Likewise, if you have too shallow of soil, the roots can’t grow deep. Several years ago for my birthday when I was living as a missionary in Holland, some dear Dutch sisters gave me a vetplante. I’m by no means an expert on plants and flowers, but it had very thick leaves and had an interesting ‘rubber’ like texture. They gave it to me in a small pot, and told me it could go weeks without being watered, so that way I wouldn’t have to worry about watering it every day or having it die if I left for a few days. Not only that, but if I put it in a larger bowl or pot, the plant would grow even larger. Such is the case with our lives–we can only dig our roots as deep as how much room we have to grow in, and without deep roots, we’ll not have much fruit to blossom where we’re planted.

I could write a whole post on just what is needed to break up the fallow ground of one’s heart, but I think this article here that I stumbled across does an excellent job.

4) Don’t fragment the seed

The seed itself also has to be left in tact. Nobody who knows a thing or two about farming would take a seed and split it into pieces smaller than it already is, and then sow each piece and expect a bigger harvest. Nor would they expect partial incomplete harvest, because none would be obtained. Why? The image in the seed would have been destroyed by splitting and dividing it. You can’t sow just the part of the seed responsible for leaves, and then just the part of the seed responsible for fruit, and just the part of the seed that will be responsible for wood, and expect to grow any of those components independent of the other. They are all a part of the same package. Likewise it is with the heavenly seed, the Word of God. We can’t add to it or take away from it. We can’t split up any of its aspects and over-emphasize one component over the other. It all works and accomplishes something together. We sow it as it is. The Holy Spirit will work with the written text of the Bible He authored.

5) Confess and Speak the Word

To repeat, Luke 6:45 states that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. There’s a correlation between what someone believes & thinks in their heart, and what they choose to speak out. Simply put, confession is a statement of your beliefs.

Ephesians 5: 18b- 20 states:

“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

So what are you saying with your mouth? I recommend this previous article for further Bible study on speaking and meditating on the Word of God. If you’re storing the Word of God in your heart, you’re off to a good start in terms of stuff that you’ll be able to pull out of it and confess with your mouth based on both memory and from the Holy Spirit having something in you to draw upon.

6) Pray in tongues & Allow the Holy Spirit to work Through You

Jesus said Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:38) He was talking about the Holy Spirit, who ‘waters’ this seed–Word of God in us, and supplies the power to bring it to fruition. All that you need to live holy and grow in Christ is contained in that seed. Again, the Holy Spirit will work with the written text of the Bible He authored.

In conclusion, this list is by no means exhaustive, nor are spiritual disciplines in the Word walk limited to just these things listed, but I thought those things would help you out with unpacking the content of the faith seed.

What Kind of Spiritual Seed Are You Reproducing?

“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.

Your Faith Has No Perishing Point

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, though it is tested so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Gold and silver are perishable things (1 Pet 1:18). Those are types of things I’ve spent considerable time meditating on and thinking about. Gold and silver are things you find in the ground, in caves or hidden in safe places. They require finding. They aren’t just on the surface of the ground for any passer by to have access to who couldn’t care much less about finding them. At intense temperatures with a lot of heat, these valuable stones are purified and all the dirt and dross burns away after a certain point.

Gold has a certain perishing point. If you kept the temperature rising, the gold would eventually turn to liquid, and if you kept increasing the temperature higher still, then eventually the gold would evaporate or dissolve. If you took a pile of gold and projected it into our sun, at some point before it got right near the sun it would have completely dissolved. However, your faith has NO point at which it dissolves or perishes–according to Scripture. Peter refers to it as being more precious than gold, that perishes though it is tested by fire. Gold, not faith is the object here being referred to as perishable. Can you imagine that or think about that for a moment?

Later in the same chapter it says:

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:22-25)

If our souls need purification, and we’re born of imperishable seed, and not perishable–then why do so many of us spend so much time dwelling on and feeding ourselves with perishable stuff and dwelling more on the ‘perishable’ realm of our lives? I know a lot of Christians that read the Bible for 5 minutes a day -if at all– but gosh–don’t ever ask them to quit the TV for a week or suggest withdrawing from the internet for 2 days to dig into the hidden manna, and to dwell on that imperishable stuff that doesn’t fade or have a perishing point. Many ministries and preachers build their ministries using substance of this earthly realm, using materials that are combustible, flammable, and unable to withstand the fire on that upcoming day (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and for more along that line, read What Are You Building With?).

“Fiery” trials…

For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:49-50)

The things we must remember are some simple key words: EVERYBODY will be salted with fire. Salt universally is a key ingredient to many foods and dishes. I remember one time making my famous Bremner spaghetti omelet for my translator and mutual friend during my first visit to Peru and scrambled to find enough of the ingredients at the nearest supermarket to properly prepare it for my guests. I’ve made it numerous times, but this time it didn’t have anywhere near as potent of a taste as normal. That’s when one of my guests said “it’s because you didn’t put salt in it.” Salt naturally helps retain some of the flavor. Living in a hot climate, I’m also in the habit of sprinkling a little bit of salt on some of my food in order to help me retain water in my system and not dehydrate. In God’s scheme of things, he’s going to ‘salt’ us using *fire*. Do you want your flavor to be retained with God’s fire, or are you of a different flavor that’s not worth being enhanced, because instead it will bring other stuff to the surface to be burned?

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1-6)

What causes the wicked to be melted in the presence of it, causes the pure in heart to be made purer and more refined in its presence, like precious gold and silver–but yet not perish like the wicked. What for the righteous is a baptism, is destructive for those not on the right side of the flame. Fire serves as a method of distinguishing:

As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:15-17)

I have gone off a bit to talk about the fire of God, just to get to this point I’m about to make:

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29). The “un-shaking” nature of this kingdom somehow mysteriously lies in the nature of its King–Who is likened to a consuming fire, Who in the presence of, only the purified things can withstand the presence and not be destroyed or shaken by it.

We have other passages of Scripture using different analogies like water or wind, not just fire, but I felt for this article focusing on the imagery of fire would serve the purpose, but consider what the word of God is like according to Isaiah 55:10-11:

“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.“

Being from Canada and seeing the long-term effects of snow, I can appreciate the concept of this passage. In the last few years before I moved to Peru, we had record amounts of snow. One thing about rain and snow, being both water, is that it doesn’t disappear, but the change of temperature merely makes it change form. When you have record amounts of snow, you have tall snowbanks in the winter. But when you reach spring, the record amount of snow becomes record amount of flooding. The snow doesn’t just vaporize and go back to the sky, but it becomes something else and accomplishes a new purpose. Water too, doesn’t have a perishing point, but just a point of vaporization. And it doesn’t disappear, but accomplishes that which it was sent for. There’s a LOT in that concept of the Word of God being like rain and snow watering the earth that we could write a series of meditative articles on, but that’s for another time.

With all that we’ve just looked at in the Word, allow me to say this:

God is faithful to fulfill the purpose for which He has sent word into your life. It may feel like you’re burning up from fiery trials He’s putting you through, but there is no perishing point, and God is not and never will put you through more than He feels you can bear. You are just being purified. He will finish what He started in your life, and what He has sent your way will accomplish its purpose. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17)

Abide in Him. Your faith has no perishing point.

What material are you building with?

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44)

I may seem like I’m going off on a weird rabbit trail and it might not be obvious at first why I reference the other passages that I do in this entry to talk about just this one verse, but bear with me. Remember as I mentioned previously that the kingdom of heaven being LIKE a mustard seed. “It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matt 13:31b-32) Right after that we’re told “the kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened” (v.33).

In both of these examples of seed and leaven, we’re given the image of something that starts off small, and grows and spreads and eventually fills all that contains it. When Jesus Christ set foot into this physical realm of ours nearly 2000 years ago, He planted the seed of the kingdom of God and it has been growing ever since. The tares have also been planted, and have been growing ever since in the same field (this world) both in linear history, and horizontally in our lives or relationships, and ministries.

Many believers understand the Gospel of salvation, but don’t often realize that the Gospel is about the KINGDOM of God manifested in all of creation, including the earth. The return of Christ draws nearer and nearer, and at that time He will begin to rule for 1000 years in a ‘tangible’ way—the full ‘manifestation’ of what we’ve been growing towards. He already rules now, and is seated at the right hand of God, but His literal kingdom doesn’t ‘exist’ yet. This kingdom of God keeps spreading like leaven, until it fills all creation—at His kingdom “finally” being set up—it’s part of the overlapping “not yet” and “already” ages we’re currently in.

The kingdom of God HAS come, through Christ, but is still “not yet here” at the same time. “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God (Romans 8:19)—because it will be made manifest in that Day of Judgment—the wheat we discussed last entry will be separated from the tares and it will finally be obvious—the grey-headed tares will stick out from the rest of the true crop. We’re in a sort of overlap of two different ages—the ending of the old one that has been defeated and concluded by the work of Christ on the cross, and the beginning of the new one—simultaneously, that was ushered in BY the work of Christ on the cross.

While the kingdom of God–the wheat–grows and spreads in the field (the world)–likewise the kingdom of darkness keeps spreading until the tares are separated from the wheat at the end of the age and burned up. The verses following describe this, as Jesus gives the explanation of the parable of the wheat and tares that he had just previously shared.

There are not very many parables of Jesus’ that He explains in the Gospels, but in Matthew 13 there are two that He does as I’ve already devoted attention to in my last few entries—these parables are of utmost importance. Jesus says that at the end of the age

“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then, the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (v.41-43)

This speaks of separation and distinction; the righteous separated from wicked, true from false, wheat from tare.

In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he told them:

“According to the grace of God, given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each man’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (emphasis mine).

Wood, hay and straw are stuff that grows or is found above the ground. Gold, silver, and precious stones are beneath the surface, and aren’t visible–they are buried and hidden and require seeking.
If you went to Home Depot with several thousands of dollars, and you decided to buy piles of 2x4s, I’m sure you could get a good start on building a house. But if you were to take that same money and invest it in gold or silver, you would get a significantly smaller quantity amount with your investment. Wood on the one hand burns in fire. And when it burns, it’s gone, and all you have left are ashes.

Gold withstands fire and is purified. In order to get them from the ground, one needs to bow down and seek. When you put gold through the fire, you don’t diminish it or lose any of it. It changes form at a certain point from solid to liquid, but you don’t lose any of it when you put it through the fire, and the impurities are dissolved and the gold is given a purer quality by the fire.

I think gold is symbolic of your private and “unseen” devotional life; 1 Peter 1:6-9 says:

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (Emphasis mine)

When I read this passage, I think of the Persecuted Church in parts of the world where the kingdom of God is growing exponentially, and we don’t know about it because it’s leaders are not well-known and flying in private jets with flashy ministries. They live in constant persecution and even to the point of losing their lives in some cases. They live in a realm we have no understanding of, yet have a more pure and genuine faith.

Of silver, Proverbs 10:20 says “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.” What are you saying? What do you spend your time speaking of? If you go back to Exodus and study the garments the priests were to wear before entering into the holy of holies, you’ll find it was embroidered with precious stones.

All of these items, gold, silver and precious stones are symbolic in one way or another of personal private devotional life in the believer’s life under the new covenant, while wood, hay and straw may be tall, large and mighty—looking great and standing erect above everything else,ultimately they don’t withstand the fire at the end time harvest.

What materials are you building the kingdom of God with?

In order to get them from the ground, one needs to bow down low, and seek for them, which is itself a posture symbolic of prayer and private devotion. This man described in the verse I began with (yes, I had a point in bringing up all that stuff about building to get to this), not only discovered this hidden treasure in this field, but feared lest someone else discover it also, and went and sold ALL he owned at once to purchase it. This seems to imply the treasure was not out in the open in plain site, but something that needed to be sought after in order for it to be discovered. And one that was purchased at no small cost.

When you put the fire to THIS gold, you don’t diminish it or lose any of it—but it costs you everything you’ve got to purchase it. It doesn’t look like a lot, but it will withstand the fire on that day of judgment. There’s not only going to be a lot of tares uprooted and thrown in the fire on that day of judgment, but there’s going to be a lot of public wood, hay and straw ministries going up in flames in that day also.

Why do you think 1 John 2:28 warns us not to shrink back in shame at His return? We wouldn’t be told this unless there was a possibility some of us would be, when we find out we have nothing left that has withstood the fire of His coming. If you’ve been building a self-glorifying exalted ministry in this lifetime, or doing anything that you may be seen for how spiritual you are, then don’t worry, that will be reduced to ashes at His appearing. You’d feel like a pauper and ashamed, shrinking back at His coming.

We are told not to be building with materials that won’t last—so what are you building with? The merchant in the next parable did the same thing when he discovered the pearl of great value and went and sold all he had to obtain it. Sacrifice is required of us in order to do works that withstand the fire on that Day of separation.