TWO TREES IN THE MIDDLE
I would like to thank you folks for allowing me to share my heart with you from
time to time. At any time if you wished to be removed from my emails, just ask I
will remove your address.
What I hope to accomplish is to explore Father's nature and the things of the
Spirit. Many of us have spent our lives searching for answers and hoping for
truth and bouncing from one church to another. We have tried conservative
approaches and we have sought out charismatic ways and every time we are found
wanting. We seem to only make baby steps in our Christian walk and at times God
still seems at arms length and unable to reach.
My story is long but I will make it short. After many years going from church to
church some of which I led the song service, some I ministered from the pulpit,
upon request, I found myself at a cross roads. So I entered a Church of God
church and there my heart was set on settling down and becoming an ordained
minister in this organization. I had meetings with the elders, wrote essays on
subjects that they had requested and attended more meetings. As I was
approaching my ordination ceremony the thoughts of finally finding a place to
plant myself while making a great salary to
provide for my family was in the forefront of my mind. I had been told that I
would do great in their organization and that they would set me up to become a
Assistant Pastor or even a Senior Pastor of a good size church where I would be
making double maybe even triple the money that I was making in Bride. I had
talked to other Pastors around the country, Senior, Assistant and Youth Pastors
who were all rolling in twice as much money as I was making with Bride. I
thought, this will be a cozy job and I will have an audience every week to share
my heart.
But this was not to take place. My heavenly Father intervened and as Saul met
Jesus on the road to Damascus and found his true identity in Christ becoming
Paul, I too had a unveiling of the truth where my flesh was exposed for what it
was and as I peered through the veil of flesh (lattice work) I saw Christ. Hear
me now because this is very important for you to
understand. I WAS BEING AWAKENED, Born Again, and quickened by the Spirit to
receive a revelation from the heavens. Jesus came forth in a way that I had
never seen before and there I was blind to the world, stripped bare as Adam and
ashamed before Him desiring not to be clothed with the skins of animals but
rather to be clothed with His righteousness. The old man, the first Adam in whom
I had my treasure was now revealed for what he was. He was a liar, a thief and a
murderer. Yes that is correct for he had brought all of humanity down with him
in his fall and me as well. I had put my trust in the first Adam of the Garden.
A man to whom a death sentenced had been pronounced and carried out. Yet it
wasn't until I was well on my way in my Christian life that I came to KNOW this
and in my new enlightenment I came to embrace the Last Adam which is Christ
Jesus. You see, I spent years ministering what I had been taught by others, and
believing all the things taught to me by my parents. I had been raised in a
God-fearing home by Christian parents but had never been touched by Christ in
this way before. There was some truth in my ministry, some good yes, but I was
ministering off the tree of "good and evil (knowledge). This is FLESH and CANNOT
PLEASE GOD!
This tree was in the center of my being like it is in the center of your being.
This tree of knowledge is occupying a space in all of us. Let me say for truth
it is residing in the very same space as the "TREE OF LIFE." How can this be?
Two trees in the middle, occupying the same space? Gen 2:9 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.
In the above scripture the word "midst" is the word tavek {taw'-vek} which
translates "in the middle." It also is defined as "within." So I propose to you
that this is not two trees sharing the exact same space but this is a single
tree with two sides. One side produces life. The opposite side produces death.
The tree of life is a spiritual side and from it one can "KNOW" God for God is
Spirit. Whereas the other side of the tree is the natural, fleshly side and this
produces death. One a renewed mind the other the carnal mind. We know that the
flesh realize solely on the five senses, taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing.
Not one of these can "KNOW" God. When I say know I mean not one of these senses
can enter a intimate
relationship with God.
To "KNOW" someone is to have relations with the person. An example would be on a
couple's honeymoon the groom wants to "KNOW" his bride. How does he go about
this? Do they sit on the edge of the bed and she tells him her life
story from birth to the present? I think not. This sort of relationship would
only help the groom to "know about his bride." But to truly "KNOW" the women
that he just married the groom must have an intimate relationship with her. We
"KNOW" God the Father when we enter an intimate relationship with Him by
worship. Worship is not holding your hands in the air, shouting praises to the
heavens or even dancing around. Worship is when you give your body as a living
sacrifice to the Lord. Every day of your life you can be in worship as you live
the life of Christ in complete obedience to the Father.
We cannot live in the perfect will of God if we choose to partake of the tree of
knowledge. This only produces tradition, rituals, and doctrines of men. I
believe that Saul who was a Pharisee was a man who sought to please God. His
life was spent in arrogance eating from the wrong tree. He practices a violent
form of religion. Whereas after his conversion with his new identity in tact and
going by the name of Paul he went out giving his body as a living sacrifice in
the service of the Kingdom of God. For now new who he was in Christ Jesus being
led of the Spirit his inward man now recognized the "tree of life" in his very
midst.
Remember when in Luke 17 verse 20 "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees,
when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of
God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there!
for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
Today people are so confused running to and fro seeking knowledge, carried about
by every wind of doctrine. They follow certain denominations, they vote a
certain way only because they were born and bred to do so by the parents. Others
follow certain teachings and doctrines without weighing out the truth or seeking
the voice of father. We are not to live by the written word but by every Word
that precedes outs of the mouth of God. Do you know why this is? IT is because
"GOD CANNOT LIE" and if you hear it from His mouth it is the truth. If you hear
a word, or rather I shall say an interpretation from a man who calls himself a
preacher, teacher or Pastor then it may be that you are getting only his
opinion. His opinion could be based on his own person theology, taught to him in
a seminary, or by an old hillbilly preacher, or some TV. evangelist with a
flamboyant delivery. You see it is father we ought to be listening to.
In order for Eve to eat from the tree of good and evil she had to walk right
past the Tree of Life. How many people on the day of the crucifixion of Christ
walked along that road side starring into the eyes of the Savior of all men and
just kept right on going? They passed up the tree of life, they ignored the
Prince of Peace, and they mocked and spat out venomous words to the Lord of all.
Basically this is what Eve done in her garden, when she was seduced by the
serpent (her carnal mind). The voice coming from that tree was in her head! The
serpents hiss was calling from within for the tree was within. She was seduced
in a way that she desired to be a god to be independent from the One True God.
The fruit of that tree looked good! She heard the voice (this is hearing), she
saw (which is seeing), I am sure the tree smelled wonderful (this is your sense
of smell), she handled it and it felt right, and then she bit into the sweet
nectar. All five carnal senses were at work here. It was so good she gave it to
her husband Adam.
We know the story after words how all hell broke loose. They ran, they hid, they
were ashamed, they covered themselves with leaves or should I say they buried
themselves in the church. Then they accused one another. It sounds like their
GOOD INTENTIONS went terribly wrong.
The results of this act brought forth death. They were driven from the paradise
of God by their own guilt and shame. Don't ever think that God will drive you
from His presence. He says I will never leave you nor forsake you. While man is
the one who in his distorted views of God believes that God has left. It is man
who has left, who has separated himself from the Lord God of all. God isn't
going anywhere, for He is everywhere, all the time!
Now in conclusion I want to point out that in Adam all die. I was dead to for I
was concluded in Adam as the Bible tells me. But when Christ Jesus came there
was something brand new enacted and everything of the old vanished! That's
right, there is nothing, and I mean nothing left of the old because Jesus came
to bring something fresh and alive apart from the
confines of walled buildings and traditions of men. He brought life. The old
could not bring life it only produced death.
Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have
mercy upon all.
In the above scripture we have something positive that is said. Look at the word
"might." Many people would interpret this word as "maybe, possibly, could have,
etc but this is incorrect.
The word might means "that he will have mercy upon all." This leaves no doubt as
to whom His mercy extends. Remember God promised Abraham that he would be the
father of many nations? This did not mean maybe he would; this
meant positively Abraham would be the father of many nations. Looks at Romans
4:8 where the word might is used. "Who against hope believed in hope, that he
might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So
shall thy seed be."
Another reference would be was Jesus the "firstborn of many brethren or not?
Well the scripture says that He is and if He is not then we are doomed. Take a
look at where the word might is used again. Romans 8:29 "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."
Here are a couple more references just in case you are not convinced. Romans
9:23, Romans 14:9 (I like this verse because it says plainly that Christ is Lord
of all). The list goes on and on but the word "might" is an absolute word. This
means there is not a "maybe" or "possibly" involved. It is a sure thing.
In order for us to understand the heart of the Father, to live in the eternal
now which mean a quality of life in God. For us to grow up into Christ the head,
with His nature, character and attributes we are going to have to lay aside the
doctrines of men or the weight of bondage that so easily surrounds us. The life
that is hid in Christ has no restraints, restrictions and is liberty. It wasn't
until I was apprehended by Christ in the last 5 years or so that I have ever
truly felt guilt free, unashamed,
and able to live without condemning myself for coming up short. I believe that
there are many of you today who have lived a life much like the one I just wrote
about. Now you wonder how to get free.
Most religions are packed full of superstitions, fables made up or borrowed from
other religions etc. But pure and undefiled religion can only be found in
Christ. There is no building for you to attend for you are the building (temple
of the Lord). There is no sign outside which says some are welcomed and others
are not. An example would be (and I am not calling out any denomination) But
when a church hangs their affiliation on the sign out front whether it is
Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran etc they are basically saying these folks who
believe like us are welcomed and the rest (Pentecostals, Church of God, etc) are
not welcomed here unless you are willing to believe the way we do.
Believe you me, I have attended every sort of church imaginable and never found
the true peace and harmony that I have found now until I stepped through the
veil of flesh and entered the realm forbidden to flesh and blood. It is truly a
revelation from God when we enter His presence for in His presence He shares His
heart, His love, and prepares us for the journey ahead. With man's logic behind
me I could now move forward as a vessel of honor for the Lord. I was able to
take Christ off the cross and see Him High and lifted up!
The majority of church folks will do their best to live good decent lives, they
will make an attempt not to break any of the commandments, they will try to do
good to one another and make all the self asserted efforts to live right. But
unless they walk around to the other side of the tree, they will continue to
only experience God in-part, they will live without a clear
vision, living in a room with partial lighting, casting shadows off of every
wall and they will never enter the Holiest of All to experience the radiance of
pure clear light and understanding. The Tree of Life is in our midst. Let us be
led of the Spirit that we do not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The flesh keeps
Christ on the cross because this is all natural man can understand. Whereas the
Spirit lifts Christ to a elevated level where only spirit can dwell.
Listen up and I will close. There is a movie out called "The Passion of Christ."
Everyone has heard about it and has seen all of the whoopla surrounding its
release. Many have said and will say "I never knew until he saw the film how
much Jesus loves us." My response to that is, I do not have to see a film, or be
moved by my soulish emotions to know that Christ loves me, died and rose for me
for I have experienced the death of Christ, and am living the resurrected life
being glorified and raised to a new level of understanding in the Spirit and I
have not seen the movie! I may go see this film, yet I know that this movie
though it may stir physical emotions can not touch me in any way shape or form
as Father has already demonstrated to me in His unconditional love. I am living
daily from the tree which produces life; I encourage you to do the same.
A dear friend of mine sent me an email this morning and in it Jan Antonsson
stated "It is easy to see why people who love Jesus want to experience <The
Passion,> but my tears this morning were for those who don't know Him, and who
cannot know Him by reason of where they live and how they were brought up. Think
of the people in Iran, where the mullahs have almost complete control over their
religious lives. How can those people ever call on the name of the Lord and be
saved? Church doctrine says that if they don't, they will burn forever. I wept
for all those who believe this grotesque doctrine to be true."
In agreement with Jan I must confess that if we are to truly believe "The
Passion of Christ" we must rightly divide the Word of Truth and lean not to our
own understanding. We have for so long failed God who has never failed us. What
is being played on the screen for the whole world to see cannot compare to "the
passion" that is being played out in the heart of God's elect who long for the
restitution of all things, the reconciliation of all men, the restoration of
everything back to God that He would be All in All.
I hope this message has in some way blessed you, encouraged you and lifted you
up into the realm where you can be free.
Dale Thompson