Pulling Weeds in the Dark

Pulling Weeds in the Dark

4/12/17

This seems like an absurd statement to be a topic of a message from God, but it is a practice that is thriving today and producing the corresponding results.  I am aghast to remind us that while this topic has been practiced for centuries we have missed its results which continue to leave us in the identical baffled responses.  For the most part, people do not understand that they are following this type of heart set and it is killing the very foundation that has the purpose of our redemption.  This unholy alignment with the world is a vow that is ushering in the new wave of sin that unless we wake up and turn on the Light again, shall cover us in a heavy blanket of darkness that will dominate our world quickly.  God is the only source of true Light that places us back on course to pull the correct weeds out of our paths and leave the plants that we need to have in order to grow in Him.  Our growth is not just a personal issue but one that we all must have in order to live and we can no longer afford to pluck off those around us because we live under lies.

One of the greatest benefits that my family and I have is a garden, and for many years and we love receiving the rewards of our labor at harvest time.  Here in Colorado, the weather sometimes does not cooperate well enough to have a bountiful harvest but when the time does come to reap our sowing it is always a blessing to eat from the garden and more importantly share with others what God has blessed us.  But even while our garden is at the mercy of the weather, we still must continue to perform maintenance procedures to the garden in order for it to perform at its best.   Sometimes this task of up-keeping can be tedious at best but we know that if we do not stay on top of these activities the weeds will soon overtake the garden and choke out the life of the plants, thus rendering the production of good fruit minimal at best.  Plus, it would not be good stewards if we did not complete this task either.

Everyone who has a garden, farms, or has crops of some kind understands that both day and night come as necessary partners in the complete growth cycle of plants.  One also understands that in order to get the best out of your seeds they must ensure that the weeds in the same soil are maintained accurately, for as the above paragraph explains weeds can and will overtake as much space as possible quicker than the seeds can grow and mature.  While darkness provides a period of rest and regeneration for the plant, it is the light that gives off the vital energy in order for the plant to produce the necessary ingredients to grow and then produces its specific fruit and the same concept applies to our lives when it comes to the Church and our mission that Jesus gave us to do.  Operating in less than adequate light or even in the dark can prove to be disastrous and when one is talking about eternity that is a very long time to be providing bad pulling techniques.

The right amount of light must be present for the plants to grow and their growth corresponds with the seasons as well for if the light is not adequate or not correct in temperature then the plant will succumb to the incorrect environmental conditions just as those who need God will if we do not operate in the correct Light.  When the Church operates in perfect Light then she can properly complete the work that is requested of us but at any point in time, we begin to operate in the shadows our witness falls into the category of the topic of this message.  A few weeks ago we had a beautiful message from God concerning the first day of creation when He created Light and through this message He explained to us the specifics of why light was the first order of business.   God now wants us to recognize another truth about His Light and how important it is that we understand its shining abilities.  However, because we have allowed certain selfish patterns into our lives we have taken on the concept of pulling weeds in sub-light conditions and are now doing more damage than good.

It is obvious that throughout the centuries the Church has had her problems, this should come as no surprise because the Church is made up of humans which are subject to sin.  But when we recognize this sin and allow it to live in our lives and do nothing about it is this process which develops that produces the weeds that need to be pulled but if we do not have the correct Light shining, it is more like placing ground clear instead or to be more specific pulling weeds in the dark.  It is these weeds that we need to pull from our around lives so that our fruit that we bear can be the fullest, best and most viable to those who need it.  The world that we live in demands that we make choices of who we shall serve, and if our fruit is not strong and steady then the world shall overpower our mission and destroy us by our own products.  A truth that God has planned for through His Light yet we are determined to be “right” in our conditions according to flawed standards.

It makes no sense to claim that we are completing God’s mission for the world when we cannot even live in the light that we are supposed to have in order to complete this task.  The other night I had gone outside for a few moments and I sat down in the small area in front of our house and just looked up at the sky for a while.  We have a light pole that is almost right in front of the house and while the light bulb in the pole is dim it still gives off enough light so that anyone around can see what is going on.  It was at this time that I looked down in front of me and I saw a couple of weeds, which I quickly pulled up and then pitched into the gutter.  I stopped and thought to myself that I did not believe that I had ever picked weeds in the dark before and it was at that moment when God gave me this article concerning pulling weeds in the dark.  A concept that His Church is continually doing and they have no idea what harm they are causing in completing such activities.

When we operate in the dark we can assume that we are not using the proper lighting to adequately complete whatever job we want to complete.  Weeds are a killer to anything that we depend on, whether it be on a physical level or spiritual one and it is essential that we have the appropriate lighting in order to pull what is not needed and to leave what is needed.  If we do not have the proper lighting we shall pull anything that is in front of us up simply because we cannot see whether we are pulling a weed or a plant.  In our quest to keep the path clear of foulness we inadvertently pull up the necessary plants that supply the fruit we need and that the world needs, thus creating a starving diet that all fail to receive.  While this concept is absurd to those who have gardens or any other crop-producing land this practice would drive people out of business right quick like and could totally destroy another person who wants to know the truth about God and eternity.

If proper light is not present then there is no way that we can use the light to maintain the garden and the plants and while we can recognize that weeds shall always be present we cannot see which is which so we begin the pulling process blindly.  It is easily determined what is deemed to be a weed and what is a plant when light is present that is why we tend to our gardens and fields during the day.  As stated above, if we try and complete this mission in total darkness, our efforts shall surely fail and all our work comes to nothing.  Now, let us place this truth towards our spiritual lives and the complete mission of the world.  We must never forget that the Light that God provides is one that pierces the darkness and is not controlled by the darkness, which means that when the light is present it rules the timeframe.  This also means that if the darkness is present the light is off and cannot be used towards God’s goals for our lives.

Sadly, many of us today believe that God’s eternal Light can be dimmed and in this “dimmed” state still see properly to complete our mission, we need to come to grips that this belief is a direct lie from Satan himself and has no place in our beliefs.  God’s Light is either there in our presence or it is not.  God cannot be dimmed in any way, shape, or form for He Himself cannot take second place or be subject to any part of the darkness.  We have allowed this lie to be used in our church walls and subsequently in our own lives as well.  God’s Light cannot be used as a dimmer, you know, like the ones some houses have to dim the lights to change the mood or setting inside the house?  God’s Light is everlasting and has no voltage settings that allow us to stand in the darkness unless we turn off His Light ourselves.  It does not matter which part of life one talks about it is always our words that are spoken that maintains our gardens and presents our fruits accordingly.  Many times I have heard God’s Light being described as a flame and this is true for when the flame is lit it gives off its full potential but when it is extinguished it is just that, out.

Our words and actions pull the weeds necessary for our lives to flourish in God’s Light, but if we have not this Light in our lives we pull everything around us because we deem everything to be weeds.  God’s Light to us is His presence in our lives THROUGH His entire Word and not just parts of it.  It we do not come to His Word every day how can we know what is going on around us, how do we know what is a weed and what is a plant?  We cannot, for the vision that we claim to have is controlled by darkness.  Now, I am not saying that God demands that we read and study His Word every moment of our day but if we have the Light of Him inside our lives we shall want to study His Word so that His Light may continue to shine to the dying world.  Weeds represent the dying world and what it produces and if God does not shine from us to this dark place, everyone is lost. 

Our job in God’s Kingdom is to shed light on the darkness so that we may pull weeds (the world) away from the plants (others).  If we operate this mission in the darkness another horrifying truth is revealed.  For when this setting is in place we go about pulling everything around us which means that while we do pull some weeds (the world) we also pull plants (others) from the ground as well totally defeating the mission of Christ given to His Church.  It is imperative that we keep the entire Word of God in our lives at ALL times for when we do not we turn off the light needed for everyone’s survival.  It is also through this “no light” belief that we become lukewarm to God and therefore profess a lie to the world.  God’s Light sheds a path to our feet for a reason so that we can weed out the necessary pathogens from our way.  When we operate in this truth the world’s leader and his kingdom is pushed back and the eternal Light of God shines brightly.

When darkness rules our lives only chaos, disorder, hatred, and death can rule.  Our eyes may adjust to the darkness physically we can still pull up the vital plants that we need in order to complete our mission, and in this presentation, we cannot afford to darken anyone’s life trough worldly assets.  God provides the only true Light that we need in order to grow and produce the best fruit possible so why would we want to dim His Light and inhibit the truth from being spread?  One of the largest issues in the Church today is that we have allowed ourselves to become comfortable with living in a falsely presumed “dim” light from God and through this darkened lifestyle we have forgotten our calling of truth to those in need.  We are sick Church and need to have the world pulled from us and the only way for this to occur and for us to operate again as we were created to be is to allow God to turn on His Light and show us exactly what is going on in our own lives first, then once He has restored us we can go into the world and pull those weeds effectively.  When there are more pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and other ministerial positions being retired than filled, the picture cannot be drawn more.

We have become so efficient at pulling weeds in the dark that we have incorporated our movements as the symbol in which we operate, in other words, it is more important that we are right than what the Word of God states as the truth.  The world shall contend the same arguments and this assessment should be the underlying truth that equality with the world is a grave decision, not a companion that we should keep.  It cannot be stressed enough that God’s Light shall never be “just good enough to get the job done”.  God’s Light is perfect in all ways possible and then more, God cannot provide something that is even at 99%, it shall always be at 100% which means that His Light will shine bright enough to recognize exactly what needs to be pulled and what needs to stay on the ground.

There is no way imaginable that we can accomplish this mission of ours when God’s Light is turned off, yet for some reason, we are the ones turning off His Light.  Are we nuts!?  There is no reason at all why we should be pulling plants out of the ground, for it is the plants that are needed in order for God to advance His Kingdom.  Directional pulling is a perfect method of weeding the garden, but using this method in the dark can only produce one ugly result.  See, Satan does not care what you do to others as long as you clear your area in the darkness.  It may look clean to the physical eye but if you look at the lives that you have misled and then destroyed in cleaning your path, what good have you accomplished?  Satan can only produce a defeated lifestyle one that is based strictly on selfish gains and there cannot be any life obtained in such a path.

A few years back there was a song that came out that spoke volumes concerning this issue when it said that Jesus’ sword was never ours to swing.  The essence of pulling weeds in the dark follows this concept because if we operate in the dark we will not be able to see what we are supposed to clean and upkeep, thus swinging a sword for everything around us by using our words and actions as ground clear.  God wants our lives and our paths to be holy and righteous at all turns, but we cannot afford to wipe out the important creations (others) along the way.  We must pull the weeds, yes, but if we are walking in God’s Light we will be able to see what needs to be pulled and what needs to flourish. 

On the other hand, we cannot allow the weeds to meticulously grow unabated either.  If we do not clear our path then our road becomes cluttered and painful for many times weeds carry thorns or thistles which when stepped on do hurt.  It is the job of our enemy to convince us that it is ok to bypass weeds and for you to move onward and upward, but what if another person has been convinced to do the same ignoring pattern?  This means that the weed is larger and stronger and will present more indications for you.  The pattern will continue and by the time a few people pass, that one weed could become an implanted truth that we deem as part of the road.  While the path that God has for us is straight and narrow, we should not make the path so complicated for others at the same time.  Good upkeep and posture lead people in a right pattern and by pulling those weeds and keeping our head up we can effectively follow the path that God has for us without added complications.  A process guaranteed to provide an example of pulling weeds in the Light and not in the dark.

Church it is time that we stop flinging the personal ground clear and begin to pull the weeds that are in front of us instead.  The only way that this can be accomplished is if we turn on God’s Light and operate through His eternal sight.  It is not our place to cut down the vital plants that are necessary for God to advance His Kingdom but to pull the weeds and keep steady the path for others to follow.  Satan will distort the Word of God so that it fits into our human category of acceptance (a weed) or he will use God’s Word to manipulate a person in denying God’s existence (another weed).  It is these lies that will be exposed if we continually have God’s Light on for it represents the undying and eternal Word of God.  We no longer can afford to play around with the Bible and present it as some two-bit book that has some pretty interesting tales.  The Bible is the ONLY Light that shall guide us into complete freedom from this world and to an eternal resting place forever.

People are not weeds, it is the lies and sin that our eternal enemy place in our lives that represents a weed.  God did His best to prove this point to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when He gave them the command to keep up and dress the Garden.  And ever since they forgot about how important it was to always follow this command, we have followed suit with this truth as well. Weeds stink and they are a pain to deal with but they must be removed immediately for if they do not they will shorten the life of the plant and therefore reduce the product necessary for life.  This produce is the truth and life and God and if the product is tainted lies will be believed and then an eternity of separation shall ensue.  God loves us and He wants us to obey His Light by turning it on and allowing it to shine with each step we take.  Turn back to God and place His Light as #1 in our hearts again and He guarantees that we shall see a drastic change come our way and end this deadly practice of pulling weeds in the dark.

DLB