When discussing ministers that managed to avoid eating at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, who managed to constantly submit to God and trust God, we have to at some point look at Paul.
Even at the end of his life, with deeper revelations than we can dream of, he did not rely on his knowledge, he relied on God. Now when you are relying only on God, what you do will seem strange to those who rely on knowledge, especially natural knowledge.
But we have to learn to rely on God, not a pattern or formula. God is not a pattern, He is not a robot, He is a person and He knows more than you. Imagine if I tried to run a conference the way it went last time, that’s eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. No! I have to get on my knees and ask the Lord each year how the conference should go.
Paul did not just do what seemed right, He got His information fresh from the Lord. Most of us just as our ministry was taking off would see going to jail as a misstep, as a demonic frustration. Not Paul. In Acts 21, the prophet Agabus tells Paul if you go to Jerusalem you are going to jail. I get the impression the prophet thought the best idea was to therefore avoid Jerusalem, but Paul said “I am ready to be bound, I am ready to die”. Most of us would rely on the Tree of Knowledge and go prison is bad, not being able to travel and minister is evil, being with prisoners is not good. Most of us would think travelling, doing crusades and planting churches is good and not doing that is evil. But God stepped above that.
But Paul went to the Tree of Life, and found out jail was God’s plan. It wasn’t for the last few years but it is now. No programme or formula can get you to this place. No Bible College can put it in you. No one can tell you this. No prophet can see it for you. You must develop a fresh, daily, strong relationship with the Lord.
Paul went to the mission field in Jerusalem, and he wasn’t deciding between the Hilton and the Marriot, he was heading to jail, and he still went. He was totally dependent on God.
Now, Paul’s greatest legacy is without a doubt his letters. The New Testament contains fourteen letters from Paul. At least ten of these letters were written while Paul was in prison. God had a plan for Paul that turned the ashes of prison into beauty. No prophet saw it, there’s no how to write a best seller guide that starts with “get arrested”, but Paul wrote ten of the most important letters ever penned in all of history while in prison. To get there he only had one choice… Rely on God.
We have to realize God’s wisdom is far higher than the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. God’s plan for your life might cause you to move somewhere else than the happening places of our day, but maybe God doesn’t want another church in Colorado Springs and has a place for you to shine you can’t even dream of.
Learn to rely on God. Be ready to suffer and die. Be ready to do anything. Then you will end up in your destiny. Follow a formula will make you formulaic… Trite, jaded, a pale echo of what you should be. Don’t go to the wrong tree.
Next time, Peter.
Tree of Life Blog 