DIARY OF A YOUNG MINISTER 4

TREE OF LIFE OR TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

1. There are two trees planted by God at the centre of the Garden of Eden - the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

2. Despite the fact that both of them were planted by God, He commanded man not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and that the consequence of eating from that tree would be death.

3. These principles are still at the centre of our lives and ministries today in that you can choose to do ministry by your relative knowledge of good and evil as opposed to the law of life which is not based on any prior knowledge.

4. You begin to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil when you base your relative and fleshly interpretation of good and evil, without recourse to the life of good. You then term certain individuals or experiences good or evil.

5. You continue with what/who is good and ostracize what/who is evil based on past knowledge.

6. Remember, the consequence of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is death. There are so many deaths - cessation of life in the scheme of things because folks have not embraced the principles of life in dealing with one another in ministry. Some have been labelled evil due to the knowledge of a wrong they did 20 years ago while on campus and they are still judged on that basis today.

7. On the other hand, it is the operation of the law of life that made Apostle Paul send for John Mark years after Mark caused the separation between him and Barnabas. He was no longer relating with Mark based on the knowledge of the ‘evil’ that he did, but on the law of life.

8. Years later, Paul simply said in 2 Timothy 4:11 “get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry…” The same Mark that Paul blatantly refused to join their team!

9. When based on your relative perception of good and evil, certain folks are never allowed to stand with you even though they are PROFITABLE to you for ministry because you are still very much conscious of the knowledge of the evil they did to you. You are still eating from that same tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10. It will interest you to note that the same John Mark later became a spiritual son to Peter and wrote the gospel according to Mark. That is life!

11. How about Peter and Paul? Yes, Paul rebuked Peter publicly and called him a hypocrite at Antioch. For the final words of Peter on the epistles of Paul, Peter said about Paul… “...as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” (2 Peter 3:15-16).

12. It was this testimony of Peter with respect to the letters of Paul that made the church fathers, after the council of Nicaea in AD 325, unanimously agree that the letters of Paul as attested to by Peter are scriptures and must so be included in the cannon of the New Testament. Imagine Peter had related with Paul based on the perceived public embarrassment Paul caused he and Barnabas at Antioch. An interpretation of evil on the basis of our carnality would have ensued here. Peter, like many today would have forfeited life and related with Paul based on his knowledge of the ‘evil’ Paul did. That is why today, some ministers have nothing good to say about some ministers no matter what. It is all about a situation that occurred 25 years ago. Can we all eat the tree of life, please?

13. How about the Lord himself- after Peter betrayed him? Upon his resurrection, Christ still refused to relate with Peter on the basis of good and evil, but re-commissioned him on the basis of life.

14. That same word of God still echoes in the corridors of history, saying “in the day you eat thereof you will surely die”

15. What is the tree of life?

? Proverbs 3:18 - WISDOM IS A TREE OF LIFE

? Proverbs 11:30 THE FRUIT OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS A TREE OF LIFE

? Proverbs 13:12 WHEN DESIRE COMES, IT IS A TREE OF LIFE

? Proverbs 15:4 A WHOLESOME TONGUE IS A TREE OF LIFE

17. Again in Revelation 22:2, the tree of life is the only tree that bears twelve fruits in each of the month of the year and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

18. When you operate in wisdom, fruit of the righteous which is soul winning, great desire and a wholesome tongue, you are set to bring forth 12 manners of fruit for health.

19. Cease to eat from the tree of your perception of knowledge of good and evil and start operating from the life of God in you- not layers of knowledge hindering the bringing forth of diverse fruits and healing for the nations.

20. The tree of life is for overcomers. Let us go for the tree of life! Don’t forget- both trees were planted by the Lord God but one of them must not be eaten. These situations and circumstances will be planted by the Lord around us; they will produce fruits, but we must never feed on their fruits, no matter how good they look; the end is always death; we are only allowed to feed on the tree of life.

21. Finally, operate in wisdom; reach out to a fellow minister today; have a strong desire to win a soul in this regard and refuse to say evil about anyone based on your perception of evil; have a wholesome tongue like Peter and like the Lord; deplore the life of God on all fronts. Reach out and start bringing forth 12 manners of fruits.