Soil + Root = Fruit

In my last post, I shared a story that somewhat illustrated my personal anger towards 'God'.  If you notice, there were places where I neglected to use the terms, 'Lord', or 'Lord God' for His title.  

     When we're angry at our image of God, submitting to His will is the last thing our heart wants.   The pain from a 'bitter root' can blind our spiritual vision.  This limits our ability to receive from Jesus, the anointed King, the Son of God. 

If you've been spiritually born, but are walking around without vision, you understand what it's like to feel restless and emotional chaos.  Stumbling around in the dark.  Crawling. These are pictures to describe the challenge of a believer's 'walk with the Lord' when everything in the natural realm seems to contradict God's promises. 

   This is the carnal mind at work. It's the nature of the old man that disobeyed God in the Garden, then tried to cover his shame, and deny responsibility for his actions.  

     What folly it is to think we can cover-up, or hide our shame from our omnicient Creator?  The Most High sees through this deception from the Enemy.  If we believe the lie, we are defeated.  

     We give the Enemy power over our soul, when we try to cover-up, hide, or justify sin.  

     Contrary to the natural mind, there isThis is why Jesus became the 'Last Adam'.  The curse that Adam brought upon humanity was He became curse;  He bore punishment for our rebellion. Our shame became His. He drank from the  bitterness of guilt, condemnation, and death, so that we might drink from God's blessings of peace, grace and abundant life.

    Jesus, therefore put to death the carnal mind that Adam brought upon humanity.  

     If the Apostle Paul can say that he was crucified with Christ, was he speaking literally, or figuratively?  In what way?

   that comes with purs Most believers haven't received this understanding yet Since the Word tells us to be carnally minded is death, why do we hang onto this old way of thinking?  

Speaking of this source of life which comes from the mind, Jesus said, "he who seeks to save his mind will lose it, but he who loses his mind for my sake shall find it."

The context for this statement, btw was Peter having confessed Jesus as the Son of God. Once we have confessed Jesus as the Son of God, let our ears hear what Jesus told His disciples next: "if any man will pursue me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me."

Notice the cross? 

    If our old man (and old way of thinking) is not crucified, how can we experience the metamorphosis that God's kingdom intends to bring?  

   Continually beholding the glory of our Lord Jesus is what transforms the carnal mind into the mind of Christ...it's what fully transforms us into mature children to be ready to inherit God's promises.

   Generally speaking, the carnal mind, or 'ego' is at the source of human suffering.  It tends to make-up stories about others, ourselves, and God.  Ego also reinforces destructive behavior.  It drives emotions of anger, lust, pride & fear, while cloaking the pain of shame, condemnation, and guilt.  Apathy towards other's suffering is also a common manifestation of the ego.

It's no secret then, that ego is the Enemy to the kingdom of God. 

The only way to conquer the Enemy, is to see the spiritual source of our pain.  Only then, can a person take this struggle to the cross of Jesus, confessing: "Lord, i cannot, but you can".

This is the process by which we labor to find REST in Him. 

A personal story will follow, but first, I want to show you something...

Bitter roots, produce bitter fruits.

The opposite of this is also true...

Sweet roots produce sweet fruits.

If you've ever eaten a piece of fruit that's been exposed to chemical runoff, or came from a diseased tree, perhaps you'll understand this illustration.

    Have you ever tasted coffee from the Big Island of Hawaii (or similar environment) and compared with coffee from other places?  If so, then you can appreciate how soil affects the flavor nuances of Kona coffee.  The environment and soil of a coffee tree's roots influences the characteristics of its fruit.  Kona coffee is known for its ambrosial, sapid flavor. 

Continuing with the illustration, let's review some basic tree anatomy & physiology:

     A mature tree has root system which anchors itself and gives it stability from external forces such as wind or climbers.  These roots also obtain air, water and minerals which feed the rest of the tree via the xylem. The water, air and minerals are transported by the xylem from the roots to the trunk, through the branches and towards the leaves, where the Sun's light energy is harnessed and stored in chloroplasts.  Here, this light energizes the water & air, and converts it into food energy. 

     A mature, healthy tree can provide shade, edible fruit, a fun place to climb, a place to hang-out, and a place to rest.

     A tree therefore, is an organic, living, breathing organism...When it gets thirsty, it needs to drink water.  When it gets hungry, it redirects its roots to where there are nutrients and water in the soil.  If properly pruned, the canopy will direct its growth TOWARDS the sun.   

    Additionally, when heavy branches start to grow TOWARD the dust, they might need to be lifted up & supported, or pruned-away.  If the tree has a nutrient deficiency or disease, it eventually manifests as spots, decay or wilting leaves.  Fruit vigor, flavor, and production will all be negatively affected.  If neglected, most fruit-bearing trees will quickly produce sour or bitter fruit. 

I've mentioned this illustration of trees being a metaphor for men & women.  I return to this metaphor again...

A year and a half ago... 

    my anger towards God was so fierce that it brought me to me knees...  I wanted my heart & mind to be restored. I concluded that only God could perform such a miracle, but didn't know how to get that to happen....

This night, i confessed the anger towards God in front of two friends I respected and trusted.  Now, while the confession didn't provide direct freedom from the bitterness, it did provide the opportunity for Almighty God to start working on the pride of my heart.  In the middle of my breakdown and emotional honesty, one of my friends shared something he noticed about me...

He said, "You're pursuing Jesus as a teacher, but not as Lord." 

That stung.  

     I didn't have to psychoanalyze what he was saying, to realize two things: 1) I didn't want to submit to Jesus as Lord.  2) His motive was to help me understand something: my self-righteousness prevented me from submitting to Jesus' Lordship. Consequently, this prevented spiritual healing in my life. 

Until that night, anyone who called Jesus 'Lord' sounded like a person of low IQ, poorly educated, or a victim of brainwashing...And I didn't want to be one of those people.  I was one...arrogant...bastard.  

     Even after having an epic dream of Jesus as the Son of God, my pride and intellect would only allow me to 'see' Jesus as an ascended master & teacher.  I was NOT a child of God, but rather, a walking contradiction:  My heart wanted Jesus to be the embodiment of God, but the idea of God coming down to be homeless, abdicating the throne of David to hang-out w/ a bunch of fishermen, prostitutes, and tax-collectors seemed ridiculous to my rational mind.  Who was this royal, yet relatable man?

The revelation of Yeshua as the Lamb that was slain for my sins still needed to pierce my heart of stone, so that I could understand how messed-up I actually was, and how much I needed Him.  

     I've noticed the following pattern: the more honest with myself before God, about the condition of my heart, and my relationship with Him, the more grace I seem to receive from Him.  In this pattern, I see that He appreciates emotional honesty, or what some may even call, 'brutal honesty'.  

     This is the level of honesty that exposes pride & fear for what they are--a hard shell that prevents someone from living a victorious life.  Like a magnifying glass over a single blade of grass, God's all-consuming fire of love can ignite and burn away that shell.  His radiant love can extinguish our 'unquenchable' hell of shame, condemnation, guilt, anger and lust. 

 Returning to the story...

This was in fact, the night the Holy Spirit knocked on the proverbial door of my heart, and asked me to surrender my anger & pride towards the person of Jesus.  

     There was however, a fear of the unknown in surrendering...What COULD happen?  I already left one system of mind-control, having challenged several religious leaders. Doing so cost me everything.  I had also seen religious leaders spiritually abuse folks, and didn't want THAT to happen again.  This fear plagued my psyche...It attempted to discourage me from submitting to the Father of Jesus.  Despite this fear, my intuition assured me something spectacular was about to happen; if I let go of those fears.
 

I made a choice. 

Disregarding the fear and chaotic thoughts of my psyche, I opened the door of my heart, and invited this divine presence inside.

I surrendered.

     Suddenly my heart began to feel different--a  completely new Presence began to overshadow me.  My pride and anger felt like it was melting and dissipating....

And then it happened.

     As a failing damn wall cracking under the weight of water, my heart burst open.  The rushing current swept through my heart.  It felt as though i was being transported outside of time and space into a new, higher dimension.  

Tears flowed from my eyes and my heart.  After a period of deep, lamenting sobs and weeping, my mind wrestled to understand what has happening.  I wanted desperately to speak--to describe the internal wailing and transformation occurring in my heart, but this Divine Presence guided me to NOT speak.  

After some more silent wailing, and stirring in my heart, my mouth finally opened, breathing out something I did NOT expect: "I am a sinner!", this voice declared.   What?!?  How did THAT escape my lips?, my rational mind battled.

     As soon as I voiced this phrase, my heart was convinced of its veracity, originating from a source that wasn't filtered through my psyche.  I knew this declaration was true, even though I couldn't explain why.  

This was knowledge from above... So many thoughts of what needed to be said next regarding this transformation flooded my mind.  There was a desire to speak about how much I wanted to do for God, and my love for Him, yet this Divine Presence directed my mouth and pysche to be silent.  

Some time later, after submitting again to His lead, He caused my voice to cry out: "I want Jesus to be Lord over my life!"  

"Yes,  I do want this!", my heart exclaimed.

 Again, my my rational mind was in shock, yet my heart was convinced of this new reality. I surrendered to God's love for me.  This is not a love that can be intellectualized, but only experienced.  A passionate love affair between the Lord Jesus Christ and me, was about to begin...

 After submitting my will to the volition of this unseen force, it seemed as though everything was different.

And it certainly was. God gave birth to a new creation in my spirit, transforming my heart. From this moment, eternity had begun for me.

     Recently however, some more bitter fruit manifested from my tree.  It was very apparent a year and a half ago, but now that the tree is mature enough, I can finally see the root system.  I didn't want to acknowledge this bitterness, b/c of how painful it is.  

     But let me show you something: It is only in acknowledging the ROOTS of bitterness, that I become present to what needs to be worked out of me.  A brutally honest SELF-EXAM and CONFESSION of my fruit needs to happen, before I can appreciate a PHYSICIAN-EXAM of my ROOTS.  Once reality 'hits', and I want these roots surgically removed by the Great Physician-- above all else, only then, can I receive the much-needed spiritual surgery.

These painful roots come from an OLD tree in my heart that produces thorns.  They cause my heart to believe what I do for a living is important. They reinforce the idea that how much income I make, my lifestyle, and my reputation are also important.  They also teach me that being rejected by a former spouse, can be healed in the 'right' woman.  They say the bitterness of a failed marriage can be ameliorated with a new one.

     Many voices would say these desires are only natural.  [Correct.] They might even bring up the point that God provided a wife/helper for Adam. [Right again.]. They also say God has a woman for me too. [Perhaps.]  

These voices often tell me to leave my current job for one more aligned with my knowledge, skills, & abilities.  They'd tell me to pursue my dreams, to develop my career talent, and seek a life partner.  They'd encourage me to focus on what I want.    

I know what these voices would continue to say...and it would seem like wisdom... But from the warning in my spirit...i realize they seek to take my heart away from my King.   

This is the work of the Enemy whose goal it is to steal my identity, kill the new growth, and destroy my hope of entering into ALL of God's promises for those who enter into His REST.

The strength of the desire rooted in my heart seems like a GIANT.  But there's something about grace from the Shepherd King being revealed to a person, that can melt away these giant trespassers.

Do I really NEED identity from my career? Or, do I NEED greater understanding of my identity as a son of the King.  

Do I NEED emotional & physical intimacy with a woman?  [My heart & libido say "yes!" Thank you Lord for reminding me of my humanity & physical health.] Or, do I need greater intimacy and revelation of King Jesus' love for me?   His love is unconditional and ETERNAL.    

     In my impatience, there is a temptation to ask the Lord to take me out of the suffering. There is also a temptation to just walk away from the current situation. Lately, my view has been jaded, seeing my circumstances as a prison. I caught my subconscious trying to remove myself from this refining fire...but I have a CHOICE.  

A while back, regarding this situation, i prayerfully asked, "Lord, what do YOU want from me, right now?"  

 "Don't run from [the situation]... Run towards Me", is the unction His spirit impressed upon mine.  

Today, I asked:

     "What is my King's will?"

He responds with: 

      "Trust Me. I know what I'm doing, and it's going to be beautiful."   

And i realized something i had forgotten:

     "Oh! That's right...You're not just the Almighty God, You're my Father!  You paid the highest price to buy me back! You swore an oath that You'd never be angry with me again, and sealed it with the blood of the Lamb.  How can i ever doubt Your love for me?! 

Next, i ask, "What now, my King?" 

    I realize He wants me to REST in Him.  Despite this addiction in my heart, He can perform 'spiritual surgery' so that these thorny cares & desires of the world pale in comparison to what He's preparing for me.  

      By acknowledging and confessing the bitterness, it has nowhere to hide.  Now, its time to allow the Great Physician to examine this bitterness, this GIANT, which trespasses on my heart and soul. 

     Aha!  There you are...I see you.  You don't belong here.  I don't want you here! My King is coming to sit on His throne, and you have no authority to deny His return! .....

This heart is the most holy place where God dwells!  He has redeemed it by the blood of His Lamb. You're trespassing on His property!  I rebuke you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Be removed by your roots, and be cast into the sea! Now!

To those who know their identity as a son or daughter of the King, this---has---POWER. EXPLOSIVE POWER which frightens even the most daunting demons, no matter how many, or how big.  This power renews hearts & minds. 

The demons cannot hide from the King's presence---They must submit to His authority!  They cannot remain in His garden....

There is a reason that Adam was a gardener.  There is a reason that Jesus spoke of His Father as a gardener.  There is a reason that the first person to see the risen Christ, took Him as the gardener.   

There is also a reason the blind man whom Jesus restored sight to, initially could only "see all people as trees, walking around", before he could see clearly into the physical realm.  

     The blind man had previously seen physically, but somehow lost his vision.  While the cause is not given, the remedy is: Jesus took him by the hand.  Jesus led him away from everyone else, and into intimacy with Him. This man let Jesus spit the moisture of His breath into his eyes.  By resting in Jesus' works, this man received grace from the mouth of God's Son. Once this happened, spiritual sight came, followed by the physical sight he wanted.

Herein is a spiritual truth:  

When the Lord Jesus restores you, it happens spiritually before it happens physically.   

The very act of Him forgiving sins EMPOWERED people to be set free from spiritual oppression.  Demons run. Minds are restored. and bodies are healed. When the Great Physician heals, it is COMPLETE! 

 The Shepherd King who came to set the captives free, is also the Ultimate Gardener AND Physician!  Hallelujah!

Now, with trees in mind, let's take a look at the parable of the soils...

But first, some background on parables:  In the New Covenant, parables illustrate profound spiritual truths often concealed by Jesus. God chooses to reveal these truths to those whose hearts are responsive ro His spirit.

Regarding the Parable of the Four Soils, Jesus said this: 

"If you don't understand this parable, how can you understand the rest of the parables?" (Mark 4:13)

So, if you want to understand the 'mystery' of the kingdom of God, this is the first one to study.

Remember how Jesus said that the kingdom of God does not come with observation? He told the Pharisees that the kingdom of God is within them...

     Now, how would that make sense, unless the kingdom of God comes when a person's heart has been aligned with God's heart?

     Who has the power to change hearts?

     In this parable, there are four types of soil.  These 4 types of soil represent the four different HEART CONDITIONS which hear the Word of God.  The seeds represent the unadulterated gospel of Grace, as revealed in the Word.  The sower represents the one sharing the Good News.

    Only one of these four soils produces a mature tree which lasts to the point of bearing sweet fruit.  The other 3 soils fail to produce any fruit.

      1. The first seeds were sown by the beaten path.  They were trampled under the feet of men, so that they did not penetrate deep enough into the soil to be hidden from the predatory birds.  Naturally the birds found and ate the seeds before any transformation. This soil, did NOT give ANY growth.

     Did you notice this seed was sown near a highly-trafficked environment?  The sower of this seed did not carefully watch and defend it from passers-by or predators. In this enviornment, the seed was likely crushed under the weight of others' feet; this would ruin any chance of the seed germinating. 

     Consider this: when a person 'hears' the Word in a high-traffick environment, what other forces are around to try to manipulate it, or interfere with the Holy Spirit?  Have these hearts been sufficiently prepared to understand why they need the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? Are they hearing the complete, unadulterated gospel of Grace from the spirit of Truth?  Or, are they hearing something different?  Like the predatory birds, the Enemy will come to quickly snatch away any good news.  He'll do whatever he can to distort how the gospel is given, and how the person HEARS the Word. He'll also try to distract them with anything else he can, so that the Word seems uninteresting to this person's heart.  Satan wants to ensure the seed in this heart gets corrupted, so that it never breaks out into a new creation.  

     The solution to this condition is a fresh seed being planted anew by a sower who will take a person by the hand.  The sower leads this spiritually blind person 'outside the village', and reveals the Lamb via the Word.  This can only happen when the heart is ready to receive a clear distinction of what law is, and what Grace is. 

     Many know what law is, but few correctly understand God's grace.  Grace is NOT a religious doctrine. Grace is a person...and his name is Jesus.    

     2. The second seeds are sown into stony ground.  Here, there is a thick, stony surface covered by a shallow covering of dirt.  The seed falls between these two layers.  Heat from the sun is reflected by the deeper stone and warms the dirt.  The seed immediately germinates into a new creation.  The roots however, never developed because the soil lacked depth, nor could it retain water.  When the heat comes, the sprout withers away.

     This condition is seen all too often... It represents the condition of those whose hearts are wide and shallow. Impulsively, they immediately believe, and receive the Good News with gladness, but did not "count the cost" of becoming a disciple of Jesus.  Note that they "have no root in themselves", enduring only for a season.  

     When 'fiery trials', suffering, and tribulation for the sake of the Word shows-up, they become offended and stop BELIEVING in the Father's goodness.  They lack revelation of  Jesus.  

    The solution for this condition is having the Gardner till the soil of their heart, breaking-up and removing stony paradigms, while adding fresh revelation of Jesus to their soil milieu.

     3. The third seeds were planted into soil, potentially deep enough, and perhaps having adequate nutrients & water.  They sprout into a new creation, and give growth. But something unfortunate happens to this young tree: thorns grew-up around it and choked out life before any fruit was produced.

      This is the condition of a preoccupied heart.  These hearts are choked by desires of what their eyes see, or what their flesh wants. If they are not deceived by riches, they are consumed with achievement, approval, and acceptance for their accomplishments. This heart believes it needs these things to be happy.  It becomes preoccupied with legitimate worldly cares like family, work, or education. This heart allows these cares and desires to take priority over the kingdom of God. 

   The young tree becomes choked by these 'thorns', consistently pressing into their developing mind. This heart will look for ways to mask the pain of the thorns.  Unless this heart releases its grasp from the desires and cares of the world, it's new growth will 'choke', the tree will then suffer, and there will be no fruit. 

This heart is led away from its First Love.  The solution for this cardiac condition involves returning to its First Love and submitting to the Great Physician for 'spiritual surgery.'

     4. The final seed was planted into 'good' soil.  This soil is balanced in nutrients, and is deep enough to support a well-developed root system.  It is well aerated, allowing the water to flow.  It can also retain enough water to quench the thirst of its trees's roots.  The seeds in this soil sprouted into new creations.  They grew, and with patience, matured into a healthy, fruit-producing tree...
     

     Such is the condition of a heart that can receive, understand AND carefully tend to the Word.  This heart trusts there is beauty in the Word, and savors it's nuances.  It will chew on it, before swallowing it.  This heart will seek interpretation of seemingly obscure passages.  It will pursue spiritual truths that Jesus concealed from the masses, yet revealed to only a select few.   This heart wants to understand how the Word will be applied in their everyday life.   To them, the Word is not just a moral code to live by, or a history of God's dealings with man.  To these, the Word is ALIVE and stirs in their hearts.  It flows out of them because their heart is abundant with it.  As a delicious meal, they want to enjoy and share it with others.  This is the heart which diligently labors to enter God's rest, no matter how big their giants might seem.

Sometimes our soil needs to be tilled.  Often it needs fresh, flowing water.  Our tree always needs to be pruned before it can grow, or produce fruit.  While pruning sounds painful, it encourages life-promoting spiritual growth.  

     Remember this: The gospel of Grace is about BELIEVING upon God's goodness, not ours.  It's about our perseverance, not our performance. Too often we get impatient in wanting to see sweet fruit manifest from trees before there's adequate growth.  Let us remember that genuinely sweet fruit takes patience.     

I believe that King Jesus can transform hearts, when no one else can. As the Gardener, He prunes the branches of a defeated mind. As the Good Shepherd, he restores the soul, to give beautiful growth.  As the Great Physician, he performs the surgery, binds the wound, and heals our injuries. Let us remember who He is.