My husband Tom and I recently moved this summer, during the short intermission of the Covid-19 lockdowns here in Israel. As with all moves, we had a lot to do to get set up and established in our new home. There was one thing on my agenda and that was to get the yard in order; of course, after the house.
Where we live in the northern part of Israel in the Galilee District they have these horrible thorny weeds, several different varieties. Some can look very nice when their flowers are blooming but don't touch them!
As with many spiritual lessons the Lord uses the very things around us to give us revelation to things in the spirit.
So back to my yard. I set out hacking away these weeds. I had about half the yard cleared. It looked nice. Then the heat of summer set in. This year the heat was unusual and extremely hot staying over 100F or 40C for most of the summer into October. For me, I was done working in the yard until the weather started to cool once again. I had one section of the yard that I had been able to cover with a weed-blocking material, not a lot. An incredible thing happened! All the work I had done getting rid of all the weeds was for nothing. They all grew back! Worse than before. It was as though I just gave them a good pruning. Except for the area that I covered.
Have you ever thought you dealt with a problem in your life only to see it resurface at a later date? Maybe worse than the first. It could be anger, sadness, sickness, addiction, unforgiveness, guilt, sorrow, or lust. It could be anything. Something you thought you would never have to deal with again. Yet, here it is occupying space in your life that should be available for something good.
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
You know, nothing happens without God knowing about it. As a matter of fact, like in the case of Job, Satan had permission to bring trials into his life to test him. This has been a season of testing for the world.
As a global community, most nations were impacted by the Covid-19 chaos. Fear, death, sickness, loneliness, loss of finances, business shutdowns and so much more left a permanent mark in the lives of so many.
Here in Israel the economy, which is heavily reliant upon tourism, has been greatly impacted.
What does this have to do with my garden and the weeds? Look around. There are lots of weeds in the world, some places more than others. Here in Israel, which is supposed to be a “Holy” nation, the land of Promise, of God's covenant people we have a lot of unholiness. We as a nation have abused the very people that have come to this nation to experience a special encounter with God. We have reveled in the abundance of wealth that flowed here and charged these pilgrims exorbitant fees to stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, go on tours...you name it. Not to mention that these very industries abused their workers with long hours, low wages, and abusive treatment while they made huge amounts of money off their modern-day form of slavery!
In Israel, the first lockdown was hard. Evidently, it did not achieve the desired results. The nation thought they would recover until this second lockdown; which our government has no set end in sight. People are depressed, bankrupt, children are not going to school (which they might enjoy), lonely and so much more. Why? Why is this happening?
Back to my weeds. I had to go and hack down all the weeds again. It was very difficult to pull out all the roots. They were deep. What I did do was spray weed killer on the roots then I covered all the exposed land to prevent them from growing back.
Israel, like many nations in the world, has a lot of spiritual weeds. God is allowing a time for the roots to be pulled out and that can only come through true repentance. A turning away from the idolatries in life. We here in Israel and in the rest of the world must return to God. These periods of lockdown can be compared to the application of weed-killer. A farmer recently told me that you have to let the weed-killer do the work and it would get down to the root and kill it. It just takes a little time. Ah-Hah!
Now, let's go back to our scripture:
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
In verse Mat 12:43 we see the first pruning or getting rid of the weeds. In verse 44 we see that although the weeds were pulled nothing was put in place to stop them from growing again. So in verse 45, we see the seven-fold principle taking place of demonic multiplication. The weeds, in this case, unclean spirits come back in greater abundance and stronger than at first.
Now let's bring this teaching back to us personally. What were things that we had dealt with within our lives that we didn't replace with the things of God? What do I mean by that? Things like drinking. How about, sex outside of marriage. Watching dirty movies. Going to the wrong places. Unholy living...
Don't be foolish. You cannot live like the world and still live a life unto God. He calls us to be separated unto Him. Then, when we interact with the world there is a distinction.
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
God hasn't changed, neither has His word.
Mal 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Mal 3:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
It remains to be seen if the weeds in my yard will trying to grow back even under the weed-blocking material. Maybe a few might squeeze out around the edges but for the most part, those weeds are history! Are yours?
We've gone through the holidays here. The times of repentance, Yom Kippur. The times of fellowship in Sukkot. The question is did it have the impact in the lives of people that it was intended to. Have the people turned back to God in their hearts? This was the first year in thousands of years that the feast could only be celebrated with those in your own house. God has been speaking through demonstration. His word goes forth out of Jerusalem to the world. Has anyone been listening?
Joe 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joe 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Joe 2:14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
Pray and ask the Lord to reveal the weeds that are in your life. Submit yourself to Him for His help to remove them. Once they are removed fill yourself with the Word of God and His Presence.
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Http://www.ontrackrestorationproject.info
Where we live in the northern part of Israel in the Galilee District they have these horrible thorny weeds, several different varieties. Some can look very nice when their flowers are blooming but don't touch them!
As with many spiritual lessons the Lord uses the very things around us to give us revelation to things in the spirit.
So back to my yard. I set out hacking away these weeds. I had about half the yard cleared. It looked nice. Then the heat of summer set in. This year the heat was unusual and extremely hot staying over 100F or 40C for most of the summer into October. For me, I was done working in the yard until the weather started to cool once again. I had one section of the yard that I had been able to cover with a weed-blocking material, not a lot. An incredible thing happened! All the work I had done getting rid of all the weeds was for nothing. They all grew back! Worse than before. It was as though I just gave them a good pruning. Except for the area that I covered.
Have you ever thought you dealt with a problem in your life only to see it resurface at a later date? Maybe worse than the first. It could be anger, sadness, sickness, addiction, unforgiveness, guilt, sorrow, or lust. It could be anything. Something you thought you would never have to deal with again. Yet, here it is occupying space in your life that should be available for something good.
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
You know, nothing happens without God knowing about it. As a matter of fact, like in the case of Job, Satan had permission to bring trials into his life to test him. This has been a season of testing for the world.
As a global community, most nations were impacted by the Covid-19 chaos. Fear, death, sickness, loneliness, loss of finances, business shutdowns and so much more left a permanent mark in the lives of so many.
Here in Israel the economy, which is heavily reliant upon tourism, has been greatly impacted.
What does this have to do with my garden and the weeds? Look around. There are lots of weeds in the world, some places more than others. Here in Israel, which is supposed to be a “Holy” nation, the land of Promise, of God's covenant people we have a lot of unholiness. We as a nation have abused the very people that have come to this nation to experience a special encounter with God. We have reveled in the abundance of wealth that flowed here and charged these pilgrims exorbitant fees to stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, go on tours...you name it. Not to mention that these very industries abused their workers with long hours, low wages, and abusive treatment while they made huge amounts of money off their modern-day form of slavery!
In Israel, the first lockdown was hard. Evidently, it did not achieve the desired results. The nation thought they would recover until this second lockdown; which our government has no set end in sight. People are depressed, bankrupt, children are not going to school (which they might enjoy), lonely and so much more. Why? Why is this happening?
Back to my weeds. I had to go and hack down all the weeds again. It was very difficult to pull out all the roots. They were deep. What I did do was spray weed killer on the roots then I covered all the exposed land to prevent them from growing back.
Israel, like many nations in the world, has a lot of spiritual weeds. God is allowing a time for the roots to be pulled out and that can only come through true repentance. A turning away from the idolatries in life. We here in Israel and in the rest of the world must return to God. These periods of lockdown can be compared to the application of weed-killer. A farmer recently told me that you have to let the weed-killer do the work and it would get down to the root and kill it. It just takes a little time. Ah-Hah!
Now, let's go back to our scripture:
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
In verse Mat 12:43 we see the first pruning or getting rid of the weeds. In verse 44 we see that although the weeds were pulled nothing was put in place to stop them from growing again. So in verse 45, we see the seven-fold principle taking place of demonic multiplication. The weeds, in this case, unclean spirits come back in greater abundance and stronger than at first.
Now let's bring this teaching back to us personally. What were things that we had dealt with within our lives that we didn't replace with the things of God? What do I mean by that? Things like drinking. How about, sex outside of marriage. Watching dirty movies. Going to the wrong places. Unholy living...
Don't be foolish. You cannot live like the world and still live a life unto God. He calls us to be separated unto Him. Then, when we interact with the world there is a distinction.
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
God hasn't changed, neither has His word.
Mal 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Mal 3:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
It remains to be seen if the weeds in my yard will trying to grow back even under the weed-blocking material. Maybe a few might squeeze out around the edges but for the most part, those weeds are history! Are yours?
We've gone through the holidays here. The times of repentance, Yom Kippur. The times of fellowship in Sukkot. The question is did it have the impact in the lives of people that it was intended to. Have the people turned back to God in their hearts? This was the first year in thousands of years that the feast could only be celebrated with those in your own house. God has been speaking through demonstration. His word goes forth out of Jerusalem to the world. Has anyone been listening?
Joe 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joe 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Joe 2:14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
Pray and ask the Lord to reveal the weeds that are in your life. Submit yourself to Him for His help to remove them. Once they are removed fill yourself with the Word of God and His Presence.
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Http://www.ontrackrestorationproject.info
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