Winter 1989
Spiritual Growth
Wade E Taylor

"Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him" Mark 1:16-18.

Jesus spoke to Andrew and Simon with words that could be easily understood by them. "You are going to continue fishing, but I have called you to a higher vocation. Rather than fishing for fish, you will be fishing for men". Simon and Andrew were about to be lifted from one dimension of His calling upon their lives into another. Sometimes we fail to recognize the voice of the Lord because He speaks to us with the words that we commonly use rather than with a King James vocabulary.

Some years ago a farmer, H. B. Kelshner, was working in his field. When a heavy rain began to fall, he went into a small shed to wait out the storm. While looking at the rows of corn, the Lord caused him to consider the nature of corn and opened his understanding regarding the spiritual message that is portrayed by corn.

His thoughts then turned to the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-23)concerning seed that is sown into different types of soil. A detailed comparison between this passage of Scripture and the corn in his field formed within him, and a ministry was birthed with five messages that used corn to portray the path to spiritual maturity. He spent his life ministering these five messages about corn with outstanding results.

Corn is golden in color. Gold speaks of the "divine nature" that is within the earthen vessel that we are. When we confess our sin and accept the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, we become justified and are declared righteous. Through the power of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, we receive anew nature. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" 2 Cor 5:17.

Having become a new creation, we are made partakers of His divine nature(gold) as a babe in Christ. "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" 2 Peter 1:4. And then, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" I Peter 2:3. As a babe in Christ, we are to grow (buy of me gold) into spiritual maturity, or spiritual adulthood. Salvation is a free gift, spiritual maturity must be earned.

Jesus compared this "divine nature" to a seed that is sown into fertile soil. "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" Matt 13:23. Just as we have this treasure of His divine nature hidden within our earthen vessel, golden corn is hidden within a covering. As we, it has a tassel (hair) on top. Also, there is a distinct gradation in ears of corn. Not all ears of corn (nor we) come to the same level of growth, or maturity.

Our spiritual growth as a Christian follows the same progressive development as corn, with comparable results. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow," Matthew13:3b. The intention of the sower is for the seed that has been sown to come to full maturity so there will be an abundant harvest. The condition of the soil has much to do with the harvest. Some of these seeds fell by the wayside and birds ate them. Some fell in stony places and were unable to take root. Some fell amongst thorns and were choked out. However, the seed that fell into fertile soil produced a harvest that was either thirty, sixty, or one-hundredfold.

So also, the Lord "sows" His divine nature within us as a babe in Christ, intending it to develop to full maturity. He uses this parable to teach us that our "inner attitudes and desires" (good soil) along with the "things" that we permit in our life experience (wayside, stony places, thorns) greatly affect our rate of spiritual growth.

Fall comes early at Pinecrest. If the tomatoes in our garden are still green when the first frost comes, they are picked and placed on a window sill where the sun can shine on them. They will gradually ripen and turn bright red. However, suppose some thirty fold corn that has not fully matured is placed on the same window sill. What will happen to this corn? It will dry out and become hard. The thirty fold corn will not become sixty, or one-hundred fold corn. So it is in the life of a Christian.

Many have the mistaken idea that they will be changed on the "way up." They imagine that they will depart from this earth realm as a babe in Christ and arrive in heaven as a matured saint. However, once our life has been lifted from the soil of His dealings, no further maturing is possible, it is too late. Like the ear of corn, no further change will take place. Spiritually speaking, we are not tomatoes. Rather, we are as these ears of corn. Our spiritual development must come while our "roots" are in the ground of our present environment.

There is a limited time for this process of coming to spiritual maturity to be completed. Just as the ear of corn must come to maturity during the growing season while it is attached to the root within the soil, so there must be a proper response to the workings of the Lord within us during our life time.

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, EVEN AS IALSO OVERCAME, and am set down with my Father in his throne" Rev 3:21. Jesus qualified for His place in the throne with His Father by overcoming the hindrances that were in His path. "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered, and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him" Heb 5:8-9. Now He is able to say to us, "You are to overcome in the same way that I did."

In using the terms of their vocation to speak to Simon and Andrew, there was the danger that they would not hear as Jesus intended. He did not say to them, "Follow me and fish for men." Rather Jesus spoke to them of a process that would qualify them for this higher vocation, "Come ye after me, and I will make you TO BECOME fishers of men" Mark 1:17b.

Notice that Jesus did not say "Go." Rather, He said "Come." The call was to come to Him. We must "come" (our attitude and desire) to the place (good ground) where He will be able to bring about the changes within us that will qualify us to fish for men, rather than fishing for fish.

The seed that fell into "wayside soil" missed the furrow in which He works. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should WALK IN THEM" Eph 2:10. The "good ground" is where the divine plow turns the soil. This plow overturns our own ways and exposes all that hinders our spiritual growth. Unless we are careful, we will step aside when we see this plow coming our way.

The problem with the "divine plow" going down the furrow of our lives is that it turns every thing upside down. This enables the Lord to get at the inner problems that we have buried deep within us. Now, He is able to change us at the very root of our being. Then that which grows up into full view will bring forth an abundant harvest; thirty, sixty, or one-hundred fold.

"For we are his workmanship," Eph 2:10a. Our new nature, grown to full maturity, is the product that the Lord desires to harvest out of the good soil into which we have been sown. That which is seen is to be a fully developed example (as the one-hundred fold golden ear of corn) of the nature and character of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are disappointed when we pull away the covering from an ear of corn and find it to be only thirty-fold in its development. When we are lifted by the Lord from our present circumstance of fishing for fish, and openly manifested in the higher realm of fishing for men, let us make sure that what is seen will be a one-hundred fold representation of His divine nature.