What Shall I Do - Part Seventeen Mar 05, 2023 by: John Herbert | Series: What Shall I Do... Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T051_20230305.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 6:7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. Today we will continue to look at the two possible outcomes for the Christian who hears the Word of the Kingdom. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday March 5th 2023 What Shall I Do…….. Part 17 1). Heb 6:7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. It has hopefully become very obvious to us that the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt, as well as the redeemed generation at the Lord’s first Advent, all had, what we would call these days, an ‘epignosis’ type knowledge of God’s plans and purposes for them. And as we have seen, hearing this and knowing this, still produced two completely different responses in those who heard and understood. One mixed with faith and the other apart from faith. One response that would lead to life in the Seventh Day, and the other that would lead to death in the Seventh Day. a). And this we have witnessed through the type of Joshua and Caleb, who received their inheritance in the land of promise for a specifically stated reason – Nu 32:10 So the LORD'S anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’ 13 So the LORD'S anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. Whereas the rest of their generation didn’t. let’s go back to – Nu 14:28 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. 30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. 31 But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. 32 But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. And we have seen that not only did this generation die physically in the wilderness, providing the type for anyone who would do the same, but their experience also foreshadows their exclusion from the land during the Millennial Kingdom, after their resurrection and regathering to judgment at the wilderness of the peoples. Once the purpose for the Seventh Day is lost it can never be regained. b). And we had seen this same type of rejection again, when God was in the midst of His people a second time, at the Lord’s first Advent. With the exact same consequences for the generation of Jews alive at that time. c). And God’s response to both these generations of Jews was not because they were Jews, but because of what it was that they had rejected. And needless to say, God will not deal with unbelieving Christians any differently – Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge [epignosis] of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. All of which brings us back to where we had started this morning, Hebrews 6:7-8. Having received the ‘epignosis’ knowledge of the truth, we should allow for ourselves to be ‘cultivated’ by the child training of the Lord so as to produce fruit for the Kingdom. But if, even having heard and received the ‘epignosis’ knowledge of the truth, we reject it and refuse the Lord’s child training, then we, as the ‘uncultivated’ earth, can only bring forth weeds, only thorns and briars, whose end is to be burned – 1 Co 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. And as we consider this it would be good to make the connection with a subject that we have dealt with a lot in recent weeks. Being brought forth out of the wisdom from above or brought forth out of the wisdom from below which is earthly, sensual, demonic. To build on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, is to receive the rain, to be brought forth out of the wisdom from above and embrace the child training of the Lord. This would be the Word of Truth mixed with faith. On the other hand, to build with wood, hay, straw can only come out of being brought forth out of the wisdom from below. Wisdom that cannot be anything except apart from faith. The wood, hay, straw and the thorns and briars describe exactly the same thing, works done after receiving the ‘rain’, that are not mixed with faith. d). And this has been set in the foundation by combining both Genesis Chapter 1 and Genesis Chapter 3 – Ge 3:17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you….. Because of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which has an inseparable connection with the wisdom from below which is earthly, sensual, demonic, the ground is cursed and brings forth thorns and thistles. Hopefully the connection between the thorns, briars, and thistles and that which is other than the Word of Truth, will be obvious. e). To sin willfully, having received the ‘epignosis’ knowledge of the truth, as we see in Hebrews Chapter 10, is to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rejecting the wisdom from above, to embrace the earthly, sensual, demonic wisdom from below. In consequence, thorns and briars are the only possible outcome and their end is to be burned, just as we see in Hebrews Chapter 6 and 1 Corinthians Chapter 3. And those who would choose to do so, as with the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt, and the eternally saved generation alive at the Lord’s first advent, will have lost God’s purpose for them in the Seventh Day for all time – Heb 12:16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance [in his father], though he sought it diligently with tears. 2). And at the end of our study last week, we had come back to the familiar territory of the Matthew 13 Parables, where another agricultural parable is given, where we again find thorns, a parable that states the same truth seen with OT Jews and Christians in Hebrews Chapter 6 – Mt 13:18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom…. The individual Christians dealt with in this sequence of seven parables, are encompassed by the phrase, ‘anyone who hears the Word of the Kingdom’. And this is key. These parables do not deal with those who hear nothing other than the leavened ideologies passed off as doctrine today, but with those individuals who hear the Word of the Kingdom. a). And to stir ourselves up by way of reminder again this week, we will remember that the type of ground we find in the first three sowings in this parable, is determined, not by the individual Christian’s placement, but by the individual’s response to hearing the Word of the Kingdom. b). Those by the wayside do not understand it. Those in stony places are those who have no root, who have not become established in the Word of the Kingdom and stumble when persecution comes because of it. Those among the thorns are those overcome by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, the wisdom from below. And those in good ground, hear the Word of the Kingdom understand it and produce fruit accordingly, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. c). As we see here in our brief synopsis of the Parable of the Sower, the first group, not having understood the Word of the Kingdom, is in no position to produce fruit at the outset. The second and third groups are in a position to produce fruit, but fail to do so, ostensibly because they are brought forth out of the wisdom from below that both invalidates and chokes the Word of the Kingdom respectively. It is only the fourth group, those associated with the good ground who produce fruit, and it is only those from this group who will be found worthy at the Judgment Seat. And it is easy for us to see the parallel between the parable of the Sower and the earth that drinks in the rain that often comes upon it in Hebrews 6:7-8. d). And we can add more detail still to Matthew 13 and Hebrews 6 from - Jn 15:1 ¶ "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. The key to producing fruit in relation to the Kingdom of the Heavens is shown here as abiding in Christ, with abiding being a word that means to stay, or to stand. In this context though, it is not a word that can refer to our positional standing in Christ as this is something that comes automatically for every Christian upon their eternal salvation. And every Christian is what we see through the phrase, ‘every branch in Me’ in v2. And as with the earth that receives the rain and anyone who hears the Word of the Kingdom, those who are positionally ‘in Christ’ are capable of producing fruit or not producing fruit, dependent upon their response to what they hear. e). To abide in Him, is to abide, to stand, in the Word, it is to consistently conduct our lives in alignment with the Word of Truth, not in alignment with the wisdom from below. That which is the outcome of the child training of the Lord - Joh 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. It is the same thought as being continually filled with the Spirit seen in Ephesians 5:18. 3). Keeping all of this in mind, let’s also remind ourselves again of the type seen through Orpah and Ruth - Ru 1:14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. It is Ruth who clung to Naomi, a type of Israel and by extension the Word of God given to Israel. And because it was Ruth who abided in Naomi, it was Ruth who received the ‘child training’, who left the land of her birth and her father and mother, it was Ruth who gleaned in the harvest and found favor with the kinsman redeemer, and it was Ruth who married Boaz, who then redeemed the inheritance for her, not Orpah. Orpah can be found in the earth that received the rain that often comes upon it and then produced thorns and briers. She would be the one sown among the thorns, the one who would eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The one overcome by the world, the flesh, and the devil. a). And we can see the same again through Abraham and Lot – 2Pe 2:7 ¶ and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked….. Lot, we see described as ‘righteous’ in this verse, but this is not a reference to his moral conduct, but to his redeemed status, because we also know that Lot’s focus was on the cities of the plain rather than the hill country where his uncle dwelt – Ge 13:10 ¶ And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere…….. Lot’s association with the plain rather than the hill country causes him to become, what Hebrews calls - Heb 5:11….dull of hearing. It makes him susceptible to the wisdom from below, finding him sown among the thorns. b). Following Lot’s capture and subsequent rescue, after Abraham’s battle with the four kings, Abraham was met by Melchizedek, and received from him God’s promise with respect to both the earthly and heavenly realm of the Kingdom – Ge 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth…… Abraham, who heard Melchizedek’s words, responded by faith, by giving Melchizedek a tenth of all. c). There is no record as to whether Lot was present when Abraham met with Melchizedek nor if he heard what was said between the two. But in one respect it makes no difference either way. Lot already knew why Abraham had left Ur of the Chaldees and he had travelled with his uncle until he came to the cities of the plain. Lot and his family had also just been rescued by his uncle, which might have counted for something but following the meeting with Melchizedek, Lot is found again, not just associated with the cities of the plain, but in the gate of Sodom itself, demonstrating his assimilation into the affairs of that place. d). He is the one pictured in the earth producing thorns and briars, the one seen overcome by the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life. Inevitably, we would have to see him figuratively eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, brought forth out of the wisdom from below, doing what seemed right in his own eyes, he would be the one who would not receive the child training of the Lord. e). And when Lot was warned of the judgment about to be brought to pass on the cities of the plain and those who lived there, he was given clear instructions for his escape - Ge 19:17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! [your soul] Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest you be destroyed." However, despite the clarity of the message given to him, Lot still would not hear – Ge 19:18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords! 19 "Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 "See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." [What seemed right in his own eyes] Lot did end up on the mountain he was originally told to go to, but this was a result of circumstances rather than choice - Ge 19:30 ¶ Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. As a result of his response to what he heard, Lot was not found standing on the top of the mountain before the Lord as Abraham was, where Lot could have been, but hidden in a cave, in a place associated with darkness and shame. f). And the examples we have looked at of both Orpah and Lot, provide good examples of the picture given through the earth that receives the rain that often comes upon it from Hebrews Chapter 6 and when anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 13. Further good examples of figuratively eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of being brought forth out of the wisdom from below rather than being child trained by the wisdom from above. 4). So, how might we account for this? It would seem, from a logical standpoint, that to hear the Word of the Kingdom, the rain that often comes upon the earth, at least twice a week in our case, would of itself ensure that we would become fruitful and be brought to the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls. But Scripture clearly shows that this is not guaranteed. So, again, how might we account for this? a). Well, a key to unlock the answer to our question can be found once again through the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt – Ex 16:11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ ” 13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” [manna] For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat…… The Lord had provided the physical sustenance for Israel to complete their journey from Egypt to Canaan. But this physical sustenance was symbolic of God’s spiritual provision for them, that which we can equate with child training – 1 Co 10:3 all ate the same spiritual food…….. Now, we might understand the question, ‘What is it?’ the first time that they saw the bread, but Moses gave them the answer, ‘This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat’, but they continued to call it ‘manna’, what is it? And implicit in this name appears to be a casualness towards the supply and the Supplier, that suggests the ‘manna’ was not something of value to them. Something maybe they needed but didn’t really want. And this is borne out for us by what we see recorded in – Nu 11:5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” The bread from heaven, the ‘manna’, would of necessity equate with the wisdom brought forth from above. Which would mean that the Egyptian diet, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, must equate with the wisdom from below. And in the desirability of these fruits and vegetables from Egypt we can again find the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – Ge 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. And this derogatory stance towards God’s provision of bread, reaches its zenith in that recorded in – Nu 21:5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Here we can see a regression to the point where God’s provision of bread is now regarded as ‘worthless’, something that their souls loathed. From a spiritual perspective then, the spiritual food provided for them, because of their response to it, produced in them only thorns and briars, not the fruit it could have produced. And just as the end of the thorns and briars was to be burned, so the Lord sent ‘fiery serpents’ among the people and many died, being cut off from their inheritance. b). And not surprisingly, we can find a parallel to this at the Lord’s first Advent – Jn 6:41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” [See here the wisdom from below]43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. [Learned from the Scriptures – Child training] 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has life for the age. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. [with respect to the age to come] 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. [with respect to the age to come] 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will have life for the age; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. [Think Israel, not the whole ‘world’] ” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” And we know what comes next – Jn 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. [for the age] 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has life for the age, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live [have life for the age] because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. [for the age to come] He who eats this bread will have life for the age.” 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” And we can qualify His disciples’ reaction in v60 by going back to John Chapter 5 and Jesus’ words to the religious leaders, those who had previously taught His disciples - Jn 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” LK 24:25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. We will continue with this next time if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed. What Shall I Do - Part Seventeen Mar 05, 2023 Speaker: John Herbert Series: What Shall I Do... Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T051_20230305.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 6:7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. Today we will continue to look at the two possible outcomes for the Christian who hears the Word of the Kingdom. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday March 5th 2023 What Shall I Do…….. Part 17 1). Heb 6:7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. It has hopefully become very obvious to us that the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt, as well as the redeemed generation at the Lord’s first Advent, all had, what we would call these days, an ‘epignosis’ type knowledge of God’s plans and purposes for them. And as we have seen, hearing this and knowing this, still produced two completely different responses in those who heard and understood. One mixed with faith and the other apart from faith. One response that would lead to life in the Seventh Day, and the other that would lead to death in the Seventh Day. a). And this we have witnessed through the type of Joshua and Caleb, who received their inheritance in the land of promise for a specifically stated reason – Nu 32:10 So the LORD'S anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’ 13 So the LORD'S anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. Whereas the rest of their generation didn’t. let’s go back to – Nu 14:28 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. 30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. 31 But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. 32 But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. And we have seen that not only did this generation die physically in the wilderness, providing the type for anyone who would do the same, but their experience also foreshadows their exclusion from the land during the Millennial Kingdom, after their resurrection and regathering to judgment at the wilderness of the peoples. Once the purpose for the Seventh Day is lost it can never be regained. b). And we had seen this same type of rejection again, when God was in the midst of His people a second time, at the Lord’s first Advent. With the exact same consequences for the generation of Jews alive at that time. c). And God’s response to both these generations of Jews was not because they were Jews, but because of what it was that they had rejected. And needless to say, God will not deal with unbelieving Christians any differently – Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge [epignosis] of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. All of which brings us back to where we had started this morning, Hebrews 6:7-8. Having received the ‘epignosis’ knowledge of the truth, we should allow for ourselves to be ‘cultivated’ by the child training of the Lord so as to produce fruit for the Kingdom. But if, even having heard and received the ‘epignosis’ knowledge of the truth, we reject it and refuse the Lord’s child training, then we, as the ‘uncultivated’ earth, can only bring forth weeds, only thorns and briars, whose end is to be burned – 1 Co 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. And as we consider this it would be good to make the connection with a subject that we have dealt with a lot in recent weeks. Being brought forth out of the wisdom from above or brought forth out of the wisdom from below which is earthly, sensual, demonic. To build on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, is to receive the rain, to be brought forth out of the wisdom from above and embrace the child training of the Lord. This would be the Word of Truth mixed with faith. On the other hand, to build with wood, hay, straw can only come out of being brought forth out of the wisdom from below. Wisdom that cannot be anything except apart from faith. The wood, hay, straw and the thorns and briars describe exactly the same thing, works done after receiving the ‘rain’, that are not mixed with faith. d). And this has been set in the foundation by combining both Genesis Chapter 1 and Genesis Chapter 3 – Ge 3:17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you….. Because of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which has an inseparable connection with the wisdom from below which is earthly, sensual, demonic, the ground is cursed and brings forth thorns and thistles. Hopefully the connection between the thorns, briars, and thistles and that which is other than the Word of Truth, will be obvious. e). To sin willfully, having received the ‘epignosis’ knowledge of the truth, as we see in Hebrews Chapter 10, is to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rejecting the wisdom from above, to embrace the earthly, sensual, demonic wisdom from below. In consequence, thorns and briars are the only possible outcome and their end is to be burned, just as we see in Hebrews Chapter 6 and 1 Corinthians Chapter 3. And those who would choose to do so, as with the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt, and the eternally saved generation alive at the Lord’s first advent, will have lost God’s purpose for them in the Seventh Day for all time – Heb 12:16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance [in his father], though he sought it diligently with tears. 2). And at the end of our study last week, we had come back to the familiar territory of the Matthew 13 Parables, where another agricultural parable is given, where we again find thorns, a parable that states the same truth seen with OT Jews and Christians in Hebrews Chapter 6 – Mt 13:18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom…. The individual Christians dealt with in this sequence of seven parables, are encompassed by the phrase, ‘anyone who hears the Word of the Kingdom’. And this is key. These parables do not deal with those who hear nothing other than the leavened ideologies passed off as doctrine today, but with those individuals who hear the Word of the Kingdom. a). And to stir ourselves up by way of reminder again this week, we will remember that the type of ground we find in the first three sowings in this parable, is determined, not by the individual Christian’s placement, but by the individual’s response to hearing the Word of the Kingdom. b). Those by the wayside do not understand it. Those in stony places are those who have no root, who have not become established in the Word of the Kingdom and stumble when persecution comes because of it. Those among the thorns are those overcome by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, the wisdom from below. And those in good ground, hear the Word of the Kingdom understand it and produce fruit accordingly, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. c). As we see here in our brief synopsis of the Parable of the Sower, the first group, not having understood the Word of the Kingdom, is in no position to produce fruit at the outset. The second and third groups are in a position to produce fruit, but fail to do so, ostensibly because they are brought forth out of the wisdom from below that both invalidates and chokes the Word of the Kingdom respectively. It is only the fourth group, those associated with the good ground who produce fruit, and it is only those from this group who will be found worthy at the Judgment Seat. And it is easy for us to see the parallel between the parable of the Sower and the earth that drinks in the rain that often comes upon it in Hebrews 6:7-8. d). And we can add more detail still to Matthew 13 and Hebrews 6 from - Jn 15:1 ¶ "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. The key to producing fruit in relation to the Kingdom of the Heavens is shown here as abiding in Christ, with abiding being a word that means to stay, or to stand. In this context though, it is not a word that can refer to our positional standing in Christ as this is something that comes automatically for every Christian upon their eternal salvation. And every Christian is what we see through the phrase, ‘every branch in Me’ in v2. And as with the earth that receives the rain and anyone who hears the Word of the Kingdom, those who are positionally ‘in Christ’ are capable of producing fruit or not producing fruit, dependent upon their response to what they hear. e). To abide in Him, is to abide, to stand, in the Word, it is to consistently conduct our lives in alignment with the Word of Truth, not in alignment with the wisdom from below. That which is the outcome of the child training of the Lord - Joh 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. It is the same thought as being continually filled with the Spirit seen in Ephesians 5:18. 3). Keeping all of this in mind, let’s also remind ourselves again of the type seen through Orpah and Ruth - Ru 1:14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. It is Ruth who clung to Naomi, a type of Israel and by extension the Word of God given to Israel. And because it was Ruth who abided in Naomi, it was Ruth who received the ‘child training’, who left the land of her birth and her father and mother, it was Ruth who gleaned in the harvest and found favor with the kinsman redeemer, and it was Ruth who married Boaz, who then redeemed the inheritance for her, not Orpah. Orpah can be found in the earth that received the rain that often comes upon it and then produced thorns and briers. She would be the one sown among the thorns, the one who would eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The one overcome by the world, the flesh, and the devil. a). And we can see the same again through Abraham and Lot – 2Pe 2:7 ¶ and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked….. Lot, we see described as ‘righteous’ in this verse, but this is not a reference to his moral conduct, but to his redeemed status, because we also know that Lot’s focus was on the cities of the plain rather than the hill country where his uncle dwelt – Ge 13:10 ¶ And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere…….. Lot’s association with the plain rather than the hill country causes him to become, what Hebrews calls - Heb 5:11….dull of hearing. It makes him susceptible to the wisdom from below, finding him sown among the thorns. b). Following Lot’s capture and subsequent rescue, after Abraham’s battle with the four kings, Abraham was met by Melchizedek, and received from him God’s promise with respect to both the earthly and heavenly realm of the Kingdom – Ge 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth…… Abraham, who heard Melchizedek’s words, responded by faith, by giving Melchizedek a tenth of all. c). There is no record as to whether Lot was present when Abraham met with Melchizedek nor if he heard what was said between the two. But in one respect it makes no difference either way. Lot already knew why Abraham had left Ur of the Chaldees and he had travelled with his uncle until he came to the cities of the plain. Lot and his family had also just been rescued by his uncle, which might have counted for something but following the meeting with Melchizedek, Lot is found again, not just associated with the cities of the plain, but in the gate of Sodom itself, demonstrating his assimilation into the affairs of that place. d). He is the one pictured in the earth producing thorns and briars, the one seen overcome by the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life. Inevitably, we would have to see him figuratively eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, brought forth out of the wisdom from below, doing what seemed right in his own eyes, he would be the one who would not receive the child training of the Lord. e). And when Lot was warned of the judgment about to be brought to pass on the cities of the plain and those who lived there, he was given clear instructions for his escape - Ge 19:17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! [your soul] Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest you be destroyed." However, despite the clarity of the message given to him, Lot still would not hear – Ge 19:18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords! 19 "Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 "See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." [What seemed right in his own eyes] Lot did end up on the mountain he was originally told to go to, but this was a result of circumstances rather than choice - Ge 19:30 ¶ Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. As a result of his response to what he heard, Lot was not found standing on the top of the mountain before the Lord as Abraham was, where Lot could have been, but hidden in a cave, in a place associated with darkness and shame. f). And the examples we have looked at of both Orpah and Lot, provide good examples of the picture given through the earth that receives the rain that often comes upon it from Hebrews Chapter 6 and when anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 13. Further good examples of figuratively eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of being brought forth out of the wisdom from below rather than being child trained by the wisdom from above. 4). So, how might we account for this? It would seem, from a logical standpoint, that to hear the Word of the Kingdom, the rain that often comes upon the earth, at least twice a week in our case, would of itself ensure that we would become fruitful and be brought to the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls. But Scripture clearly shows that this is not guaranteed. So, again, how might we account for this? a). Well, a key to unlock the answer to our question can be found once again through the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt – Ex 16:11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ ” 13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” [manna] For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat…… The Lord had provided the physical sustenance for Israel to complete their journey from Egypt to Canaan. But this physical sustenance was symbolic of God’s spiritual provision for them, that which we can equate with child training – 1 Co 10:3 all ate the same spiritual food…….. Now, we might understand the question, ‘What is it?’ the first time that they saw the bread, but Moses gave them the answer, ‘This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat’, but they continued to call it ‘manna’, what is it? And implicit in this name appears to be a casualness towards the supply and the Supplier, that suggests the ‘manna’ was not something of value to them. Something maybe they needed but didn’t really want. And this is borne out for us by what we see recorded in – Nu 11:5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” The bread from heaven, the ‘manna’, would of necessity equate with the wisdom brought forth from above. Which would mean that the Egyptian diet, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, must equate with the wisdom from below. And in the desirability of these fruits and vegetables from Egypt we can again find the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – Ge 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. And this derogatory stance towards God’s provision of bread, reaches its zenith in that recorded in – Nu 21:5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Here we can see a regression to the point where God’s provision of bread is now regarded as ‘worthless’, something that their souls loathed. From a spiritual perspective then, the spiritual food provided for them, because of their response to it, produced in them only thorns and briars, not the fruit it could have produced. And just as the end of the thorns and briars was to be burned, so the Lord sent ‘fiery serpents’ among the people and many died, being cut off from their inheritance. b). And not surprisingly, we can find a parallel to this at the Lord’s first Advent – Jn 6:41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” [See here the wisdom from below]43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. [Learned from the Scriptures – Child training] 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has life for the age. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. [with respect to the age to come] 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. [with respect to the age to come] 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will have life for the age; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. [Think Israel, not the whole ‘world’] ” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” And we know what comes next – Jn 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. [for the age] 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has life for the age, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live [have life for the age] because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. [for the age to come] He who eats this bread will have life for the age.” 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” And we can qualify His disciples’ reaction in v60 by going back to John Chapter 5 and Jesus’ words to the religious leaders, those who had previously taught His disciples - Jn 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” LK 24:25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. We will continue with this next time if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed.
