WHY ARE WE HERE?

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).
  • He is God manifest in flesh (1 Tim 3:16).
Although Jesus was God in the flesh, Jesus Himself said, that God is a Spirit.

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.
  • The flesh was not God, because they killed the flesh and you cannot kill an eternal God.
But it was enough to say that when God was manifest in flesh, for the first time, He was seen of Angels!

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.
  • LIFE!
  • Adam missed the fruit of LIFE!
And so you could say that Jesus Christ was a TREE OF LIFE to this world.
  • In fact, He is sort of like the fruit of Life, hanging from the tree, because the cross is likened to a tree in the epistles.
  • And Jesus told us to eat His flesh and drink His blood in John 6.
  • He was not referring to literal flesh, but John 6:63 says it was HIS WORDS that were SPIRIT AND LIFE.
And so we come to the scriptures that speak of God’s people as TREES OF LIFE who win souls and are righteous.

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?
  • He wants us to be trees of life.
  • Reproductions of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was like a tree of Life!
  • And like fruit trees, the Lord Jesus has SEED of the Word of God that brings forth after it’s own kind.
  • Reproductions.
  • Jesus did not come to showcase something that will forever be completely unique.
  • He did not come to show off God in the flesh.
  • The SON OF GOD was a man with the SPIRIT OF GOD THE FATHER in him.
Heb 2:10
(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!
  • MANY SONS OF GOD.
  • MANY TREES OF LIFE!
And the all important note here is that THE SEED IN THE FRUIT OF LIFE REPRODUCES AFTER IT’S KIND, without any work on the behalf of the 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!
  • His literal flesh profits nothing, but HIS WORDS are the spirit and the LIFE we must eat by BELIEVING.
Peter knew what He meant by eating his flesh and drinking his 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?
  • LIFE!
  • WORDS OF LIFE!
The same chapter continues the thought.

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.
  • And when the fruit of life is given, and the seed is put within your life, you then become REPRODUCTIONS of Jesus Christ.
  • Notice that Jesus said this to a church!
  • And this is my message to this CHURCH!
  • This Church FELL AWAY.
  • So similar to the first biblical story of the Garden, the first letter to the 7 churches said:
Rev 2:4-5
(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!
  • A church fell.
  • A church was in need of being made into His image AGAIN, because Jesus told them they had to overcome and eat the fruit of Life from Jesus.
  • That reception of Fruit of Life is when we have FAITH and we become children of God and reproductions of Jesus Christ!
We are meant to be a church – a reproduction of Jesus Christ who is producing and handing out  FRUIT OF LIFE to a dying world!

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.
  • The world would have been born from Adam and been comprised of MANY TREES OF LIFE, in a sense, had Adam not sinned, because He would have eaten the fruit of life and lived forever.
But instead He ate the wrong fruit and died.
  • If Adam had overcome the other tree, he would have eaten of the fruit of life, Just as Jesus told the Ephesians to overcome and eat of the tree of life!
But the “world” became something else.
  • Watch this:
  • Look at what Eve FELL for.
Gen 3:6
(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.
  • They were made in God’s image, and should have taken the fruit of life and lived forever.
  • They should have been TREES OF LIFE!
But now the world is made of the very things that were characteristic of the forbidden fruit.

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!
  • Adam HAD the image of God, but LOST IT, and took upon another image of the enemy.
  • Jesus... the tree of life for man AGAIN... come to give us LIFE ONCE MORE... came.
  • And he wants us to become TREES OF LIFE AS HE IS!
Notice that we read how the righteous people are trees of life who win souls because they’re wise.

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.
  • My neighbour recalled him passing through Halifax, with no big crowd, no big reputation, a little spot on the TV news, and a lone car or two following him up the highway as he ran with one artificial leg removed due to cancer.
  • But his small attention and following all changed one day.
  • He died while working towards the cause for a cure for cancer.
  • Today MILLIONS have been drawn to his cause.
  • Something caught their hearts!
  • Something drew them to his cause, and named an annual marathon called the TERRY FOX RUN.
  • IT WAS HIS DEATH.
Jesus said no greater love has anybody than to give his life for his brethren.
  • Fox gave his life for cancer research.
  • And it drew millions to his cause.
Speaking of the death on the cross, Jesus said...

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?
  • The three elements of the forbidden fruit!
  • And He said ANOTHER SEED IS HERE IN THIS WORLD AGAIN!
  • A seed of LIFE.
And in speaking of seeds and trees, Jesus would DIE FOR US ALL, AND THEREBY DRAW MANY SOULS TO HIMSELF.

No greater love!
  • Souls drawn!
If we are trees of life, we will have THIS KIND OF LOVE OF GOD!
  • Do we want souls to fill this new sanctuary?
  • Then let’s be TREES OF LIFE!
  • LET’S WIN SOULS!
  • How?
  • Overcome the world’s lust of the flesh and eyes and the world’s pride of life.
  • Walk past this forbidden tree and its fruit that has reproduced itself everywhere.
  • Have FAITH IN GOD’S WORD!
Adam was TOLD to not eat the fruit of knowledge of good and evil.
  • He received a WORD FROM GOD.
  • You have to HAVE FAITH IN GOD’S WORD.
  • Had Adam had FAITH in God’s word, and REALLY BELIEVED IT, he would never have eaten the forbidden fruit.
  • Eve knew it as well.
  • Had Eve had faith in the WORD, she would not have eaten the false fruit.
And the world would be filled with TREES OF LIFE.

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.
  • The tree must be good.
  • You just “HAVE TO BE” in order to produce real fruit.
And in speaking of this WORLD’s comprisal, we also read John say:

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?
  • BY HIS FRUIT!
  • A good tree cannot produce EVIL FRUIT!
1Jo 2:22
(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!
  • Spirits of Christ confess Jesus CAME IN FLESH.
  • Antichrist denied God’s attributes coming in flesh.
  • It fought Adam getting God’s LOVE in his flesh.
  • And CHRISTIANS WHO FIGHT AND FUSS ACTUALLY DENY CHRIST CAME IN FLESH.
That is the reason that after we read of the spirit of antichrist, we read:

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.
  • But if you love each other, GOD IS IN YOU.
  • And people CAN SEE THAT.
  • So it becomes CHRIST IN THE FLESH ONCE AGAIN!
  • The only way you can love people who would naturally and normally get on your nerves, or really irk and “bug” you is to have RECEIVED A LOVE OF and FROM GOD.
Notice he said we know that we dwell in him and he in us because we are given this kind of LOVE from 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.
  • That is what we are here for.
  • That is what we built this church for.
  • And GO OUT AND GROW FRUIT OF LIFE AS A RESULT.
  • Overcome the WORLD and its evil ingredients!
  • The righteous are trees of life who win souls and are wise!
  • Come here and receive so much SEED word of God that your miserable traits of grudges and gossip and hate, and hard hearts, pulled out like weeds and you can receive the engrafted WORD WITH MEEKNESS!
Have FAITH that the message preached here will reproduce JESUS in your life, until YOU LOVE by GIVING just as Jesus GAVE HIS 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!
  • The world is full of the false vine.
  • But the city is full of TREES OF LIFE!
Eze 47:12
(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!


SERMONS