March
14 2004 MF Blume Gen 2:9 (9) And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Pro 3:13-18 (13) Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. (14) For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. (15) She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. (16) Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. (17) Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. (18) She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. Pro 11:30 (30) The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Pro 15:3-4 (3) The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (4) A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. Isaiah 61:1-4 (1) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (2) To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (3) To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. (4) And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. Jeremiah 17:7-8 (7) Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. (8) For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Rev 2:7 (7) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. The first story of the Bible, the Garden of Eden, highlights above all else the tree of life. • Eating fruit of the tree of life was God’s purpose for Adam. • It was what the serpent sought to distract man from. • The serpent knew that mankind with God’s Life inside himself would bring about the devil’s demise. We have seen how that throughout all the Bible, the Tree of Life is stressed, but in a way that requires illumination. Let us pursue this issue today. The word of God plainly teaches us that Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:1).
And after His resurrection, He said... Luke 24:39 (39) Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. So the thought of the incarnation of God must be understood as God showing Himself indirectly through flesh to the world as Jesus Christ.
And He came to give us LIFE! John 10:10 (10) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. He came to restore what mankind lost so long ago in Adam’s day.
Like the first story of the garden in the Bible, with the tree of life, the FIRST PSALM reads: Psa 1:3 (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Notice the leaves and the fruit are highlighted, which is the reason the same are highlighted here: Rev 22:2 (2) In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And no more curse, as in the Garden, before sin came with it’s curse. Rev 22:3 (3) And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: What is God saying?
(10) For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Rom 8:29 (29) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. There was to be a reproduction!
There is a work, in a sense, though. IN the same Chapter where Jesus said His WORDS were the flesh and blood we must consume, we read... John 6:27-29 (27) Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. (28) Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. BELIEVE!!!! We are to BELIEVE THE WORD.. That is how we eat the flesh and blood!
John 6:67-69 (67) Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? (68) Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (69) And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. IN fact we also become WORDS OF GOD, ourselves. 2Co 3:3 (3) Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. THE EPISTLE OR BOOK OF CHRIST! And the whole world reads us! What should they find if we are reproductions of Christ?
2Co 3:18 (18) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. We get this fruit of life with the SEED of the word in it from Jesus. Rev 2:7 (7) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. But notice that OVERCOMING is part of the manner in which to RECEIVE THIS FRUIT OF LIFE! And you cannot get the seed in you if you do not receive the fruit of Life first.
(4) Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. (5) Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. He even talks as though he walked in the Garden when He said: Rev 2:1 (1) Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; And the candlesticks he speaks about were from the picture of the seven branched candlestick in the Tabernacle that looked like BRANCHES OF AN ALMOND TREE. A CHURCH LOST THE IMAGE OF CHRIST!
Notice God told Adam he had to overcome something. Gen 2:17 (17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Adam did not overcome. Instead he ate of the forbidden fruit OF THE “OTHER” TREE. He had to overcome the temptation to the other tree.
(6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Look at what John said the WORLD is comprised of: Think of the forbidden fruit and the fruit of life when you read: 1Jo 2:15-17 (15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. The WORLD became known in God’s word as being comprised of the very things the forbidden fruit was comprised of! Since the SERPENT offered this fruit, you could say the world took on the image of the devil.
And with these words of 1 John in mind, showing us what the world consists of, and with Jesus words to Ephesus saying He that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life in mind as well, we read about overcoming in 1 John as well. 1Jo 5:4 (4) For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Are not SONS born of God? BORN OF GOD means a reproduction! And we read that we overcome THE WORLD BY FAITH! Since the world consists of the three elements of the forbidden fruit, (1 John 2:16), then we see a need to overcome the very thing Adam was supposed to overcome. IT IS STILL THAT WAY IN THE WORLD AND IT HAS NEVER CHANGED SINCE GENESIS CHAPTER 3! Jesus is God’s Image!
They TREE OF LIFE in the cross is closely connected to all of this sort of thinking. Terry Fox was a Canadian who raised money for cancer cure research by running across Canada.
John 12:24 (24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:31-33 (31) Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. (32) And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (33) This he said, signifying what death he should die. The judgment of WHAT? THIS WORLD? What is the world comprised of?
No greater love!
The world would not consist of the lust of the flesh, eyes and pride of Life. The world would consist of LIFE... fruit of the Spirit!!! Love joy peace longsuffering gentleness goodness faith meekness and temperance. You cannot get good fruit from an evil tree.
1Jo 2:18 (18) Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 1Jo 2:19 (19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. How is a false prophet manifest?
(22) Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 1Jo 4:2-3 (2) Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: (3) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. The tree of knowledge was ANTICHRIST!
1Jo 4:5 (5) They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 1Jo 4:12-13 (12) No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. (13) Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. You cannot see God.
John 15:5 (5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. FRUIT – TREES – GARDEN – Images of God!! Let’s win souls! Come to hear the Word of God – the SEED OF THE FRUIT OF LIFE.
In Revelation, the City only had One tree, unlike the Garden with two trees! The tree of the knowledge of good and evil cannot get in this city!
(12) And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: [Recall Psalm 1] it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. Let’s not come to play church. Let’s not come to get a position. Not for an office. Let’s not come to show off a new building. Let’s come to receive SEED OF LIFE and overcome the WORLD’s lust of eyes, flesh and pride of life. Let’s come and eat of the tree of life.. And MANIFEST GOD IN OUR FLESH – and see His love, THAT CANNOT BE CONTRIVED, come out of our lives and DRAW ALL MEN AND WOMEN HERE. You have to give! |