Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild
creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say,
'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to
the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but
God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the
serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. For God knows that when
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be
desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also
gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together
and made themselves aprons. Gen 3:1-8
Have you heard any of the following? God hasn't told
you enough; you don't have all the details. Yes, He did say that - but
you know He is really not going to do it. Why look at you, God knows if
you had a little more ... you would be doing better or you wouldn't be
in this situation. God is really withholding something from you. God
should be doing more for you. If you were just...you'd be able to take
care of... or the circumstances would be different or you could change
the situation, or etc.
Does any of the above sound familiar? Remember back
when... it wasn't really so bad, remember the...
Our lack of trust and insecurity in God's promises
towards us motivates us into trying to do it ourselves – to make
something happen. Realizing its not working, our first instinct is to
cover up with something, usually the very something God has given us for
our good. We take His provision and make something out of it He never
intended. We know we're naked but we don't want those around us to know.
Take just a minute to really picture this: A grown
man and woman together with some type of clothing made out of leaves.
The leaves are beginning to turn brown, the edges are curling, dry, and
brittle, and they’re sitting in the bushes hoping not to be seen. If we
can really picture this, we can't help but laugh because we see
ourselves.
There's a difference between a covering and a cover
up. God is our covering. The times when we don't feel we have what we
need, things aren't going according to our plan, and these are the times
when we are tempted to make our own covering, resulting in a cover up.
God in His faithfulness is bringing us to a place where we will trust in
His love covering us. He wants us to rest in His provision, sit under
the tree, (Micah 4: 3,4), and know He loves us.
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
Prov. 10:12
And Judah and Israel dwelt in safety, from Dan even
to Beer-sheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the
days of Solomon. Prov. 10:12
Above all, hold unfailing your love for one another,
since love covers a multitude of sins. I Peter 4:8
When we set out to cover up there is deception
involved. We think we can hide, when in reality all we are doing is
drawing attention to ourselves and probably looking ridiculous.
Eve told Satan they weren't even to look at the tree.
God told them not to eat. There is no mention of looking. We’re
sometimes the ones who make situations more difficult. We're enticed by
what is pleasing to the eye. If we look at something long enough it
begins to look like the very thing we think we need to accomplish what
God has spoken. Our mind says if our eyes were opened and we knew good
from evil, we'd be better equipped to take care of this garden. How many
times have we said in our hearts, If God would do... then I could...or I
would be...or if I just had?
We are to allow the Lord to cover us in His love and
rest in His provision.
We the church have been laughed at and ridiculed
because we've been trees with leaves and no fruit. The gifts have
operated in our midst, but we're seen as self-righteous by the world due
to our lack of love. We've seen a trickle here and there but our heart's
cry is - More, Lord! More, Lord! We are coming to the place of rest in
the Father's love, rest in His provision, and rest in His plan, rest in
who He is and rest in His ability to do all that He has promised. We are
to cease from our labor and enter into His rest.
God expects us to have the Fruit of the Spirit in our
lives. We can no longer take what we want and cover up those things we
don't want to be seen.
Have you felt dry and wondered where is the water?
Has it seemed like there has been an unusual amount of dust - clouding
of your vision? These are prime conditions for fig production. Figs are
best produce in soil that is well balanced. We can have faith in God,
operate in the gifts, and still have bitterness, unforgiveness, and
anger in our hearts. It sounds like acid or maybe self-righteousness. If
the soil of our heart is too acid it will not produce fruit and many
will be defiled. Jesus is saying the world won't eat from that fruit any
longer
On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he
was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to
see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found
nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to
it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard
it. Mark 11:12-14
Figs were a food staple in Bible culture with some
varieties producing three different crops. They were God's provision.
They were easy to come by as all one had to do was shake the tree. The
leaves appear later than some of the other fruit trees. The unfolding of
the leaves is thought of as a symbol of a new season. Jesus stated:
From the fig tree, learn its lesson: as soon as its
branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is
near. Matt 24:32
Figs are formed on the tree as soon as the leaves
appear. The leaves and fruit also disappear together. The culture of the
fig tree was "no leaves – no fruit" and no fruit - no leaves, not one
without the other. If it was not a time for figs then it wasn't a time
for leaves. Figs are green until just before they ripen, so they remain
hidden within the leaves hidden in their immaturity. The offering of
leaves is saying there is fruit. Leaves without fruit were offering an
empty promise - deception.
Have we sought to cover ourselves with the things of
God rather than be producers of the Fruit of the Spirit? Gifts or words
without fruit are showy but are deceptive - have we been showing our
leaves without the real fruit. Deceptive thinking has allowed us to
operate in the gifts or do the works of the Kingdom without fully
knowing and being known by the King.
On that day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many
mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, 'I never
knew you; depart from me, you evildoers. Matt 7:22-23
The Lord is saying it's a season for fruit. People
won't keep coming to partake of the leaves; self-righteousness, empty
words, promises without power and a lack of genuine love. People are
desperate for the real fruit!
And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree
planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
And he said to the vinedresser, 'Lo, these three years I have come
seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should
it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, 'Let it alone, sir, this
year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit
next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down." Luke 13:6-9
When the root of something dries up it can no longer
produce life. We've sought to cover ourselves with the gifts, - leaves
of God, we become deceived, thinking our works are acceptable to the
Lord because as people we are being blessed. The world will not know us
by our gifts, but we will be known by our love and by His power in us.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By
this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another. John 13:34-35
He expects fruit but He doesn't expect us to produce
the fruit. Fruit comes from seed, the seed of His Kingdom that He
has planted within us. He's doing the work; we're to rest in Him during
the process. We're to praise Him with a grateful heart. It’s a new day,
a new season. God is saying, rest; trust and you will see me do those
things you've longed for, but first let me do that which will produce
the good fruit.
For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good
pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may
be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst
of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in
the world. Phil 2:13,14
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