Friday, August 9, 2013

Oaks of Righteousness (1)




The Planting of the Lord

By William M. Self, Sr.






 Knowledge is good

But unless it’s simple enough

To produce life

It is useless

  

Oaks of Righteousness

The other day I met a lady in a store and
she thought she knew me from somewhere.

I mentioned some of the places in
 life we might have crossed paths.

When I mentioned I had pastored, she
began to open up about her spiritual life.

She began to tell me she studied
 the original language, Hebrew.

She said the problem with people
is they don’t know who they are.

Then she began to tell me we
 are all the 12 tribes of Israel.

She gave me each one of their names in
Hebrew and how they were a part of my body.

The ear is one tribe, the eye another
 and the kidney the tribe of Judah.
 
Her knowledge of Hebrew was very
impressive, in fact, almost intimidating.

Her search for who we are was caught
 up in parables, types and shadows.

When I asked her where she fellowshipped,
 she said she didn’t.

Her knowledge was impressive.

 Yet, the reality of how these Hebrew words
could be “fleshed out” was a mystery.


Psalms 92 says… We are planted in God’s house.

The plant food God feeds us is not
to fill our minds with knowledge.

The plant food God gives us is to
 make us grow and produce fruit.

Yes, going back to the original language can
be very helpful to better understand the truth.

But knowledge is not the goal.

Everything about God is life…
“I am the way, the truth and the life.”

Everything about God is to be “fleshed out”,
 “lived out” as part of our DNA.

In 1 Corinthians, we are warned not to
leave the simplicity that is in Christ.

If you want to know who you are, think of this…
You are a planting in the Kingdom of God.

According to Romans, 3 things are produced
in the Kingdom of God…Righteousness, Peace and Joy.

Make right decisions, be a peace maker and spread joy.

Now that is life – That brings worship to God.

That looks like the…“Oaks of righteousness the planting of the Lord.”

 

Scripture Reading

Isaiah 61:3 NIV
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord


2 Corinthians 11:3-4 NKJV
3 But I fear, lest somehow,
 as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
so your minds may be corrupted from
the simplicity that is in Christ.


Romans 14:17-18 NIV
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way
is pleasing to God and approved by men.

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