Radical Disciples – A Remnant Revolution

THE LIFE-STRUCTURE OF MAN

Trees are often used in Scripture to symbolize men or the life-structure of a man. In the figurative language of Scripture, the tree, the root, the soil it grows in, and the seed that the tree grew from are all important in understanding God’s plan (kingdom pattern) for the individual and exposing the enemy’s scheme for causing affliction.

Isaiah 55:12: For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Isaiah 61:3: To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

In the parable of the sower and other scriptures, the heart of man is referred to as soil.

Our heart is our spirit and soul.

Our spirit is who we are and relates to the spiritual realm.

Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions and relates to the natural realm through the bodies in which we live.

The heart of man, like soil, will grow whatever is planted in it. The soil does not determine the type of tree that will grow. The seed does. The same soil, that will grow a pecan tree when a pecan is planted in it, will grow a peach tree if a peach seed is planted in it. A thorn tree will grow if the soil is planted with the seed of a thorn tree. Our heart-soil does not in itself determine our tree or life-structure. Rather, the seed that is planted will determine the nature of our tree or life-structure. The fruit of the tree (our actions or deeds) will be determined by the nature of tree (life-structure) that grew from the type of seed planted.

Matthew 7:16-20: You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Matthew 12:33-35: Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good things, and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things.

In the above passages, the Lord speaks of the tree (life-structure) and its fruit (deeds) coming forth from the soil of the heart of man.

The “Heart-Tree” of our life is either good or bad and will bear either good or bad fruit according to the tree. The seed planted determined the type of tree.

As we see in Matthew 13:19, the seed is a word. A word is more than just letters arranged on a page; it is a pattern that is alive and able to grow into a structure of life that bears fruit. It can be a vision, picture, image, an action or a combination or series of these things. A communication in any form is a word or seed.

Since there are two kinds of trees and two kinds of fruit, obviously there are two kinds of seeds, good and bad. Good seeds are good words or living patterns Bad seeds are bad words or living patterns.

All words or seeds ultimately have their origin from either the tree of life or the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which produces death. Every word, seed, action, or communication of any form has its source in either God or the devil.

A child planted with inordinate premature, sexual activity will grow a life-structure of sexual confusion and disorder. A child planted with legalistic rigid harshness will grow a life-structure of frustrated perfectionism. A child planted with violent acts will grow a life-structure of fear and aggression. A child planted with unconditional love and peaceful security will grow a healthy, happy life-structure.

The seed of the kingdom of God is a special, good seed that will grow the life and rule of God.

THE ENEMY’S SCHEME

UNGODLY HERITAGE
(OPEN TO BAD SEED)

Our ungodly heritage causes our heart-soil to be born with an openness to bad seed.

The ungodly heritage of Adam has passed down through the generations. We were each conceived and born with a heritage that goes back to Adam. Sin and the curse of death entered through Adam and spread to all men. Through our forefathers, the sin of Adam reaches to each of us.

Romans 5:19: Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

Psalm 51:5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

Though we bear no personal accountability for the sins of our parents and forefathers, each of us are born under the curse of sin and must at some time become personally accountable for our own sin. However, we are directly affected by the inheritance of the iniquity (tendency to sin) of our forefathers.

Exodus 20: 5-6: …. visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Leviticus 26: 39: And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies lands; also in their fathers iniquities; which are with them, they shall waste away.

Exodus 34: 7b: … visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.

The sin of Adam, working through our heritage (the iniquity or perversions of our forefathers), serves as a big hammer to drive the wedge of sin into our own heart-soil, causing an opening for bad seed to be planted. Then, in our own experience, the seeds are planted and our life-structure (Heart-Tree) begins to grow. Eventually our lives will bear the fruit of it.

UNGODLY LIFE EXPERIENCE
(CLOSED TO GOOD SEED)

Our ungodly experience causes our heart-soil to be unable to grow the kingdom of God seed (the good seed).

Matthew 13:3-9: Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying; Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

THE WAYSIDE SOIL

Matthew 13:19: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

Notice that this scripture refers specifically to the word of the kingdom. It does not say the word of “being born again” or some other word from God cannot be received.

The word of the kingdom cannot be received or understood in the hard-pressed soil of our heart. The heavy, wounding footsteps of man and his ox cart’s wheels may have pressed down the soil of our heart and made it hard. These wounding experiences and the hard-press of life have damaged our soil and our ability to receive the good seed that could have produced a kingdom life-structure. Because it cannot penetrate the hardened soil, the enemy easily and quickly steals the word of the kingdom from us. The wayside heart must be plowed to break up the hardened soil, and then healed by the gentle rain of the Holy Spirit before it can receive the good seed.

THE STONY SOIL

Matthew 13:20-21: But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

The word of the kingdom of God cannot be brought to fruition in a stony heart. The stones represent hardened, firm, previous convictions. If we are so convinced that we already know how things are (what the Bible says, what life is like, what people are like, what we ourselves are like, etc.), then we will not grow the new life-structure to maturity. We will let it go when challenged, because negative, hardened, previous beliefs or convictions will prohibit the word of the kingdom of God from taking deep root in our heart. Rocks of earlier, hardened beliefs or convictions must be either thrown out or smashed before the kingdom life comes to fruition

THE THORNY SOIL

Matthew 13:22: Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

The word of the kingdom cannot be brought to fruition in a heart growing thorn bushes of the cares of this life. If feel we must have anything of this life in addition to, or apart from what God desires for us, we have thorn bushes. We must love God above all else and be fully content with Him and his desired provision for us. The thorn bushes must be uprooted and thrown out before the kingdom life can come to fruition.

GOD’S KINGDOM PATTERN

THE GOOD SOIL

Matthew 13:23: But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces; some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The word of the kingdom of God will be received and grow to fruition in the good heart-soil. The good soil is the heart that is healed of wounds, has had its stones of hardened, previous convictions thrown out, and the thorn bushes of cares of this life pulled up and discarded. This heart can produce the kingdom of God lifestyle. It will be fruitful in producing the kingdom of God on earth. It will not receive the bad seed but is ready to grow the good seed.

We are told in Scripture to be careful what we hear–what we plant in our soil. It is God’s plan for us to receive good seed. If we are filled with the peace of God, our hearts will receive only good seed, which will grow a good tree (life-structure). This will produce good fruit (deeds or actions).

The peace of God guards our hearts from bad seed.

Philippians 4: 7b-9: … and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Proverbs 23: 7a: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

We will be formed by the thoughts we think–by the words in any form that we receive into our hearts. Our heart-soil grows whatever we allow to be planted in it, whether good or bad. Whether it is a spoken word or some action carried out against us, if we allow it to be planted in our heart-soil, it will determine our life-structure thereby, determining our feelings, self-image, attitude and eventually, our actions whether good or bad. We will live in peace or in turmoil and stress, according to what we decide to allow to be planted in our heart-soil.

What are you allowing to be planted in your soil? What are you watching, listening to, and thinking about?

What did you plant in your heart-soil from the time you were born until you were about six years old? Obviously you had no choice at that young age. Someone else decided what would be planted in your heart-soil at that time. It is a known fact that most of our life-structure was formed in us as small children. Before we developed the ability to choose, the seeds that would determine the majority of our life-structure were already planted. What kind of seed was planted in our soil from the time we were in our mother’s womb until five or six years old?

Unfortunately, not all of us grew up surrounded by the peace of God. Many of us did not have our heart-soil planted with seeds of unconditional love and acceptance. On the contrary, we may have received seeds of a conditional, performance-based kind of love and grew up feeling unaccepted. Or, we may have felt little or no love at all. Anything short of unconditional, affirming love and acceptance becomes a bad seed. If so, then the seeds of unlove and rejection sown into our heart-soil began to grow into our life-structure.

God’s kingdom pattern is that we be planted with good seed and grow a good life-structure (a Good Heart-Tree). If, however, this was not so, then Jesus came to uproot our bad life-structure (the Bad Heart-Tree), heal our heart-soil, and replant it with His good seed to grow His good life-structure (the Good Heart-Tree).

God has given us the ability to take the cover off and see the methods or schemes the enemy has used and is using to afflict individuals and cause them to afflict others. We know his plan is to kill, steal, and destroy. Once we see his plot to kill us, steal all we have including our faith and joy, and to destroy the plan and work of God, we can make the necessary adjustments to appropriate the ministry of Jesus to destroy all the schemes of the enemy and establish God’s kingdom patterns.

Understanding God’s kingdom patterns for individuals, families, businesses, and all aspects of life and planting them in our heart will produce abundant life. Learning to personally appropriate the ministry of Christ will bring about the uprooting of the old and the planting of the new tree. Jesus has provided and is providing everything we need to completely destroy the old work of the enemy and establish the new work of God in our life.

We are absolutely without excuse. The enemy would like to cause us to believe that because it was planted in us, we can do nothing about it. To say, I can’t help it; someone did it to me, is to say, Jesus is not sufficient to meet my need. His blood, resurrection life, and omnipotent power are not enough to fix me.

If we attempt to avert our responsibility by placing the blame on others (the ones that did it to me), then we are deceived. It really does not matter who did it; ultimately, it was the enemy who did it. And the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, has been and is manifest to destroy the work of the enemy. He is no respecter of persons. His freedom-giving ministry is available to all. His ministry begins with our real repentance, not our phony excuses. Our escape and defense mechanisms are designed by the enemy and brought forth in our soul to prevent true repentance.

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net