Thorns
have always been used to choke out the Word of Life. Why
did they crown Christ's head with thorns? What was that a
symbol of? They thought they were choking out the Word of
Life that Jesus Christ was scattering around over the
country. They thought they were choking it out, or putting
an end to it. Little did they know, they were just
spreading it out.
All through the Word of God, the thorns
are a type of the works of the flesh. In Songs of Solomon
the 2nd chapter, Christ is talking to the church. Christ
gives us a picture of the Church. What did He call her?
"As a lily among thorns, so Is my love among the
daughters." Do you think you could find a lily in a
thorn patch? Well, you can find the church among 'this
confusion.' Why did He liken her to a lily among thorns?
These churches and man made organizations are works of the
flesh. Any church you can join, was started by some man or
group of men. It is an earthly thing. That second beast
(of the Revelation) came up out of the earth, or out of
the minds of men.
The Church came down out of heaven. She
Is the only one that did come down from heaven, and Christ
likened her to a 'lily among thorns.' I believe there are
many people who see her, but are not willing to take the
scratching to get to her. She is like a lily among thorns
-- and they will scratch you, and 'work on you.' You will
get 'scratched up.' It will take some persecution to get
there. But if you are willing to pay the price and take
the trip through the briar patch, you can get to (and in)
the Church.
Let's go to the 55th chapter of Isaiah.
I believe you see -- thorns are a work of the flesh, but
Isaiah will help us a little farther. "Let the wicked
forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and
let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy unto
our God and He will abundantly pardon. For your thoughts
are not my thoughts and your ways are not my ways."
If we will throw away our thoughts and throw away our ways
and take God's thoughts and ways, we can all go together.
The thing that divides God's people is 'their' thoughts.
We had better cast 'our thoughts' aside and find out what
God thinks about it. The Word of God is the mind of God.
Only an old deceitful spirit and false doctrine would tell
people that we don't know what God's mind is in the
matter. Go to the Word, if you please. If He never spoke
any later than that, it will be just like He Said, and if
we will believe 'that way' we can have it 'that way.' The
Word of God is the mind of God, searching our thoughts,
searching our ways. If we both take it Gods way, we can go
together. He said: "As the heavens are higher than
the earth so are my thoughts higher then your thoughts and
my ways higher than your ways."
There is a 'heavenly place' that we 'set
together' right here on earth. When we get lifted to the
place that we take it Gods way, when we get a revelation
of God's truths -- while men 'down here' are operating
something in what they think about it, Gods people are 'up
here' in a 'heavenly atmosphere' walking in what God
thinks about it. Praise the Lord! "As the rain cometh
down and the snow so shall my Word be that goeth forth. It
will prosper in the thing whereunto I sent It." Glory
be to God!
What will happen to you when the Word
hits you? You will go out with joy, led forth with peace,
the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you
into singing and all the trees of the field will clap
their hands. Those 'trees' are righteous Individuals. In
the 61st chapter of Isaiah, he said we are the Lord's
planting that we might be called trees of righteousness.
Isaiah is trying to show us here that when we get back to
God and get right with God -- and back 'in tune' with
nature, it will even 'cheer us on.' He takes nature here,
to show us that when we are out of harmony with God, we
are out of harmony with nature. His world doesn't look as
beautiful as it ought to, and we begin to be sick with the
whole thing.
If we will begin to see 'this thing' as
God wants us to see it, nature will 'move us on and praise
us.' When the people turn you down -- and won't take the
message -- and persecute you; shut your eyes and as the
psalmist of old, "look unto the hills from whence
cometh your strength." Get out -- alone with God. He
will use nature to 'cheer you on.' Sure, the birds will
sing, all the trees of the field shall clap their hands
and instead of the thorns shall come up the fir tree,
Glory be to God, and instead of the briar shall come up
the myrtle tree. What will it be? It will be to the Lord
for a name.
What will be for a name? A people, or a
congregation of fir trees and myrtle trees -- with no
briar and no thorns. They are God's people, but have too
many thorns and briar patches in among the fir trees. God
says He won't put His name on it. But I declare unto you,
that when we get far enough into the Church in Asia (in
the Revelation), that there is just a 'certain condition'
that must exist before God says, "I will write my
name on it." Isaiah tells us what It Is. When we get
rid of 'the works of the flesh' (stop being carnal), and
become a sanctified people, baptized by one Spirit into
One Body -- a grove of fir trees and myrtle trees, then,
my friend, God says, "That will be for me a name;
there is my people." And it will be an everlasting
sign. Yes, a sign that will work everywhere God's people
are.
How are we going to find the Church? You
find a place where there are fir trees and myrtle trees
and no thorns and Briar -- that's God's people, "that
will be to Me for a name." In the first chapter of
the Songs of Solomon the 17th verse, the church said
"the beams of our house are cedar and our rafters are
fir." The Church of God cannot be built out of thorns
and briar. It is built out of fir trees and myrtle trees.
We have got a bunch of people building today, everything
into what is called the church -- and what a monstrosity.
It is no wonder it does not stand. God builds solid things
into the church. It takes the best lumber there is (to
signify it that way). But men and women today are
determined to build briars and thorns in. May God help us
to see it.
The Scripture shows us that it is 'the
work of the flesh' that choked out the Word and caused us
to become unfruitful. We are made to realize again that
there is a need of 'progressive work of grace' upon the
souls of men if they remain fruitful. Jesus said, "I
tell you these things (when He taught 'the purging of the
branches' in the 15th chapter of John) that your fruit may
remain." That you may remain fruitful.
