The riches of the good land-
Vines and Fig TreeS
Deuteronomy 8:8
"A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees with oil and of honey"
Song
Focus: The good land is a land of vines and fig trees. The vine tree signifies the sacrificing Christ living in us and energizing us to sacrifice ourselves to bring happiness to God and to others. The fig tree points to the sweetness and satisfaction of Christ whom we enjoy when we love Him and contact Him.
Scripture Reading on the Vines
Deuteronomy 8:7-8
For Jehovah your God is bringing you to a good land...A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees with oil and of honey.
John 15:1
I am the true vine....
Judges 9:13
But the vine said to them, Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?
Matthew 26:26-29
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body.
27 And He took a cup and gave thanks, and He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you,
28 For this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
29 But I say to you, I shall by no means drink of this product of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of My Father.
Ephesians 5:18-20
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit,
19 Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord,
20 Giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control...
Ministry Portion on the Vines
Now let us see something concerning the trees. The first is a vine tree. What does the vine represent? In Judges 9:13 the vine said, “Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men?” In one sense it depicts the sacrificing Christ, the Christ who has sacrificed everything of Himself. But this is not the main point. The main significance is that out of His sacrifice He produced something to cheer God and man—new wine.
Sometimes under the Lord’s sovereignty we are put into a certain situation in which we must sacrifice ourselves to make others happy and the Lord happy. When in this situation we come to contact the Lord, it is then that we experience Him as the vine which produces wine; we experience Christ as the One who gives cheer to God and cheer to others. Out of this experience we become the vine; we become the producer of something that cheers both man and God. I know you have had this kind of experience. There are different aspects of Christ to meet every need in every situation. Christ is so rich. He is not only the grain of wheat and the loaf of barley, but He is also all the trees, and the first is one that produces happiness for God and happiness for others. If all the brothers and sisters are happy with you, I am sure that to a greater or lesser degree you are experiencing Christ in this aspect; you are experiencing Christ as a wine producer. Christ as the sacrificing Lamb lives in you, energizing you to sacrifice yourself for others to bring them cheer.
The most happy person is the most unselfish one. The most selfish people are always the most miserable. They are always crying, “Have pity on me; treat me a little better!” They are just like beggars, begging all the time. The sacrificing one is the happy one. How can we sacrifice? We have no energy to sacrifice, for our life is a natural life, a selfish life. Only the life of Christ is a life of sacrifice. If you contact this Christ and experience His sacrificing life, He will energize you, He will strengthen you to sacrifice for God and for others. Then you will be the most happy person; you will be drunk with happiness. This is the experience of Christ as the vine tree. By this experience you will become a vine to others. All of those who contact you will be happy with you, and you will bring cheer to God.
Discussion
1. How did Christ's sacrifice produce something that cheer God and cheer men?
2. What does it mean for Christ to energize us to sacrifice for God and for others? How is this different from the sacrifices people in the world make to achieve a goal or to fulfill a purpose?
Scripture Reading on the Fig Trees
Judges 9:11
But the fig tree said to them, Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?
Mark 14:3-9
3 And while He was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He reclined at table, a woman came, having an alabaster flask of ointment, of very costly pure nard, and she broke the alabaster flask and poured it over His head.
4 But there were some who were indignantly commenting among themselves: Why has this waste of the ointment been made?
5 For this ointment could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and given to the poor. And they were infuriated with her.
6 But Jesus said, Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a noble deed on Me.
7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you do not always have Me.
8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.
9 And truly I say to you, Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be told as a memorial of her.
Ministry Portion on the Fig Trees
We now come to the fourth item—the fig trees. Judges 9:11 tells us that the fig tree represents sweetness and good fruit. It speaks of the sweetness and satisfaction of Christ as our supply. In the first item, the wheat, we could not see the sweetness and the satisfaction; neither could we in the barley. Even in the vine the emphasis is not on the sweetness and satisfaction of Christ as our supply. We must come for this to the fourth item, the fig tree.
From our experience we realize that the more we enjoy Christ as the wheat, as the barley, and as the vine, the more we experience the sweetness and the satisfaction of Christ. The more we enjoy Christ as the resurrected One, the more we will be pressed, and the more we will enjoy Him as the vine. But praise the Lord, at that very moment we realize the sweetness and the satisfaction of Christ as our supply.
Though the early apostles were much despised and imprisoned, they considered their suffering a glorious and joyful thing, since they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Lord's name (Acts 5:40-41). The martyrs throughout the generations could joyfully accept the suffering of death and were not willing to forsake the Lord's name, because they had touched the sweetness of the Lord and had been constrained by His love.
Always pay your full attention to the inner part of your being where Jesus is. Do not try to serve the Lord, work for Him, or do anything for Him. You have to look unto Him so that He would show you all His beauty, His sweetness, and His fairness. This will attract you to love Him. We should say, “Lord Jesus, to me You are so sweet. To me You are so loving and so lovely. Whenever I call on You, I have a sweet sense deep within my being.” We should have a love toward Jesus that is sweet to our inner sense. We should tell the Lord all the time, “O Lord Jesus, I love You.”
Simply call on Him and tell Him that you love Him. Tell Him that He is so sweet to you. Tell Him that He is so lovely to you. “O Lord Jesus, I just love You. Show me Your beauty. Show me Your fairness. Show me Your sweetness. Cause me to have the full sense of Your sweetness.” If you are going to pray, you should pray in this way.
Discussion
1. How can we sense and experience the sweetness of Christ represented by the fig tree?
2. Pray for each other to have more experience and enjoyment of the sweetness of Christ especially during spring break.