Before we consider an Old Testament picture of the Spirit and its relationship to our abiding in Christ, we shall answer some questions based on the previous two messages.
I don’t understand the difference between growing Christ and producing Christ.
We stressed that the Father wants us to live Christ, grow Christ, and produce Christ. Living Christ is the beginning and is somewhat general. By living Him we grow Him; this is the second step. Producing Christ comes out of growing Him and is the fruit-bearing. To produce Christ is to bear fruit.
While I was growing up, I lived near a vineyard. In the fall the vine would be heavily laden with grapes. When winter came, the branches would be severely cut back. In the springtime those sparse branches would begin living the vine and then growing the vine. Day by day I would see them growing and spreading. Eventually, fall would return and the branches would bear fruit, that is, produce the vine. There was much fruit. This process illustrates the difference between growing Christ and producing Him.
How can you tell when your heart is condemning you and when Satan condemns you?
We need to distinguish between God’s condemnation and the enemy’s accusation. God condemns, the enemy accuses. When we have something wrong or sinful, both the condemnation and the accusation will be present. In such a case there is no need to distinguish between the two. Just confess and get the matter cleared up. “Lord, I am wrong in this. How I thank You that You have enlightened me regarding it. Forgive me. I regret it, and I repent and confess, asking You to forgive me.” Then right away exercise your faith to take the Word, which says that if we confess, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses (1 John 1:7, 9). Next, turn your confession to praise and thanks. “Thank You, Lord. Praise You for the cleansing of the blood.” If something still comes to bother you after such a confession and thanksgiving, that is Satan’s accusation. To differentiate between it and God’s condemnation is now easy. Say to the enemy, “Get behind me, Satan. I refuse to listen to you. The blood has cleansed me.”
I do not have the vision of the vine and the branches. Should I pray for this vision, or is it something that will be worked out in time?
When we use the term vision, we do not mean the strange seeing of something that the Pentecostalists refer to as a vision. Do not expect that while you are studying or praying over John 15, you will see before you a vine with some branches, one of which even has your name on it! If such a vision appears to you, reject it as demonic.
The first time I went to a Pentecostal meeting was with Brother Nee, who had been invited to speak. I had been in Christianity for many years, but I had never before seen such shocking behavior. One fell over, another was laughing hysterically, another was in the corner claiming to see a vision, and some older women kept jumping in the air. It was wild. They talked about seeing a vision.
A few years later, I was serving the Lord in Tientsin, China’s largest port, some two and a half hours from Peking, the capital. Among us was an elderly sister, the wife of a medical doctor. She became involved in the Pentecostal movement. Whenever she prayed, she would roll on the floor. In time, she saw a vision of an old man with a white beard. Eventually, every time she prayed, she saw this vision. The old man would come, gaze at her, and then disappear. We warned her to be careful, but Pentecostalists are so subjective they trust implicitly in their experiences. She would not heed us. At first she was happy about her vision, but after some time it began to trouble her. Then she became sick and was bedridden for a long period. During her illness, that old man often appeared to her. She became quite disturbed and again referred her case to us. We told her the old man was a demon, which she must reject. It was hard for her to believe our word and to reject the demon, but we prayed for her. The Lord eventually gained the victory, and the demon left.
Such is a Pentecostal vision. In our dictionary, however, “vision” does not mean this! Rather, it is a seeing without any Pentecostal vision. As you read John 15, for example, you are so deeply impressed within that you can no longer be the same. Before, you were engaged in making plans and carrying out activities. Now, whenever you turn to what you had been doing so easily before, you have the sense, “No, this is not life. It is activity.” You try to keep on making your plans, but the sense comes, “This is not the branch living the vine, growing the vine, and producing the vine. This is not life.” If you are getting this kind of reaction within you, you may be assured that you have the vision. Formerly you may have enjoyed your work and even boasted about it. Now the sense of pleasure is gone, and a bothering has come, causing you to reduce, even stop, what you have been doing. Every spiritual seeing has this effect.
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