God's Plan For Man Final
Isaiah’s prophecy raises the question: “A shoo t wi l l c ome up f r om t he s t ump o f J e s s e ; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit . He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” (Isaiah 10: 11:1-5) The question of course is to whom does this prophecy relate. The branch produces fruit because the vine is firmly rooted; Jesus spoke about this specifically: “I am the vine; y ou ar e t he branche s . If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15: 5) The staff as a branch is a consequence, and it is what God revealed in Genesis in the beginning: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.” (Genesis 49:10-11) The staff, which is representative of the shepherd, will not depart from the chosen of God [Judah], and anointed by Jesus [outside of the sight of others] will obediently accomplish what is asked. He will be considered a priest in the order of Melchizedek, because he does not come from what seems ordinary. Anointed by Jesus as a Divine phenomenon, he will remain unseen, unless known when spiritually recognized. However, most will reject him. Our relationship with the Divine and our relationship with the world are always in question. We are mortals, and as such we struggle most of the time, living in an imperfect world while aspiring to comprehend the Divine. Or, people simply don’t struggle by denying the Divine, bound up and not spiritually free. To experience Divinity or the spark within is an assurance, but we must subscribe to prophetic reality, which is certainly revealed by Jesus’ words. Once again He told us how to make the transition: “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3: 5-8) A born again experience is not just using the knowledge about the experience, or using buzzwords to gain popularity: telling others
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