Perfection's Parable

Reading: 

John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches:  He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Judges 9:13 “And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?”

This booklet is intended to draw full attention and complete reverence to Jesus Christ our Lord, the True Vine; give Him His rightful place in our midst; and allow His ministry alone to penetrate unobstructed into the heart of every man. The above verses are given so the reader will approach this testimony from our true position in Christ. The clarification is given not as an affront of any kind, but rather as an aid.

In simple dictionary terms, a vine, as used in the reference Scriptures, is a stem or ascending axis that supports a plant. Without such support, a plant could not exist. However, there is overwhelming evidence from various media sources, both religious and secular, first-hand observance on the part of the author, and countless witnesses of devout believers, that Christ, our True Vine, is neither acknowledged nor esteemed as the supporting center in many churches. In such places, a disastrous fall is imminent. In too many cases, Christ has been replaced by other objects of affection, hence, idolatry exists. Subtle but idolatry still.

With the True Vine now centered in our hearts and in view; abiding in Him and He in us; let us now return to the Book of Judges and put the above reference in its holy perspective.

Judges 8:30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.

8:31 And his concubine that [was] in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

8:32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

8:33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

8:34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

8:35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, [namely], Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

Gideon was a judge who represented God’s Plan in the earth at a time when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) As seen, Gideon is now dead. As soon as that which represented God’s Plan was gone, Israel immediately turned to Baal. This situation gives us a blaring example, if we have ears to hear, of how important it is to keep Jesus, the Vine, in constant view of His people. Once there is no representation of Him and what He stands for, the people will soon “go a whoring after other gods.” (Judges 2:17).

Baalberith or Baal of the covenant is a false representation of Yahweh, the True Covenant-keeping God. Once the false has been in place for any length of time, people get used to it quickly and settle for a life that is a lie in spiritual reality. If the god is false, the life is false. Everything being perpetuated is false, and it takes the people farther and farther away from the True and Living God. Jesus came that we might have life. That Life is found only in Him. Whenever, we are serving another god or trusting in another god, it is impossible to be abiding in the Living Christ at the same time.

Of this Life, Paul the Apostle wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Idolatry will never exact this Christ-Life in us. Another form of idolatry is to gather unto Him only to do what we want. Many call on Him only when in need. Others build great “ministries” on their own simply because they are financially able to do it. We are not gathered unto Him to continue living the “best we can” or to develop programs that “we think” are good things to do. We are gathered unto Him for His Life to be manifested in power and demonstration of His Spirit through us. As Paul noted, He is our Life!

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Is Tradition Sabotaging Your Testimony?

By Bishop Carolyn P. Bynum:

In the Gospels we find Jesus teaching most powerfully by His presence and through His deeds. Through every miracle one Divine aspect of God’s love for us right after the other is revealed. God’s thoughts as expressed through His Son are so full of spiritual depth and eternal life until His deeper truths require an inexhaustible fountain within to reveal them to us. If we would only had eyes to see by His Spirit.

Through the miracle outlined herein, we will see a powerful testimony of the miraculous hindered by the spirit of tradition. Keep in mind that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. As Paul the Apostle encouraged the church at Galatia, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Tradition is a word that carries the same numerical value of 666 as that of the beast the in Chapter 13 of The Revelation. It will cause your testimony to weaken and lose its power as it clouds your view of the redemptive work of Christ. Tradition opposes Christ to the maximum. It replaces the things of God with its own ineffective counterfeits. When it comes to inheriting our possession in Christ, we can but view it afar from the prison of tradition.

Tradition religiously ties God’s people to a system that was only given so man would know what sin was. The power of the Cross of Christ annihilated sin consciousness. Tradition will challenge the liberty of God’s people so that it remains right in its own eyes. Such pride never yields to the simplicity of Christ. It seeks to tie eternal Spirit to its carnal forms. Hence, tradition never allows for the real change of heart that brings us to the end of self and into the kingdom of God.

Let us learn from the way tradition handled the man Jesus healed from blindness in Chapter 9 of John. Actually, this man’s condition spoke of the spiritual condition of Israel at the time and of much of spiritual Israel today, which is the Church. As Paul
prayed, may we be strengthened with might in our inner man and the eyes of our understanding be enlightened. Thank You, Lord Jesus.

9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

First of all, let us ever be mindful that Jesus sees the condition we are in. Every situation is for our learning. May we also be mindful of this fact when we blame each and everything we dislike on the devil. Say to yourself aloud, “Jesus sees my condition.” Jesus has never been in the business of quick fixes. He is the Word from God Who did not return void but accomplished all Father sent Him to do. His coming has an eternal effect. Not just for quick fixes but for eternity. Therefore, everyone should be blessed as a result of our individual blessings.

The disciples recognized that the man’s condition existed from birth. Birth speaks of origin. As representing all mankind, this particular man was a son of Adam.

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Ministry That Touches God

By Bishop Carolyn P. Bynum:

“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman name Martha received him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.
But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42).

This portion of Scripture describes a wonderful illustration of two types of ministry as seen through Martha and Mary. There is one type that allows little time for worship and fellowship with our Lord. There is another that fully allows us to do what we have been created to do which is worship God in spirit and in truth. Notice at this point only the ministries are addressed and the one upon whom ministry will impact is not yet introduced. Their brother (Lazarus) is a type of the new creation man that we are in Christ. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we shall see wonderful truths concerning ministry that brings Jesus into our situation.

There is no doubt that Martha loved Jesus because the Scripture declares she is the one who received Him into her house. That action is the very basic step toward a ministry of power. What we see early on is how Martha becomes more concerned with serving or ministry than with the One the ministry or service is all about. In fact, the ministry became cumbersome which means she was weighed down or burdened. The ministry itself became a catalyst for hindrance and obstruction. Immediately, there is a contradiction with the ministry unto the Lord because His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

In addition to receiving Jesus in her house, Martha’s sister, Mary, is described as one who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His Word. “Also” is an inclusive term indicating Martha worshipped and prayed before the Lord. The difference was that Mary was continually before Him.

Jesus said Mary had chosen the one needful thing or the good part, which would not be taken from her. According to God’s Word, He shall supply all our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The Bible also declares that every good and perfect gift comes from above. All that Jesus spoke of concerning Mary’s ministry pointed to its heavenly vantage point. A ministry from a heavenly perspective is propelled by God’s supernatural power. Truly, the one needful thing in ministry today is pure-hearted, Christ-centered focus nurtured by the Holy Spirit, Who will lead and guide us into all truth. 
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