Hello Simantov

TIME TO BE PLANTED

About the middle of 1993 one day, I was sitting in my living room (in Toronto at the time), listening to a worship tape, and I suddenly saw a field of sunflowers, with all the flowers in full bloom. And with a majestic beauty they were all facing the sun. Then my eyes were like a zoom lens on a camera, my sight began to zoom in on one particular flower and even closer to one particular seed. And I realized the seed had eyes and a mouth, and I understood this seed represented me.

As I looked at this, the sun began to fade and it seemed it was harvest time. I began to understand that the seeds were being harvested, and sent off to be processed in a far off oven. And a small amount of these seeds were placed in what appeared to be an old wooden desk drawer, in a room that was rarely used. And there these seeds remained for a long time. After I saw the drawer open just a crack. As I looked in the drawer I saw the seeds, and realized that one of them had eyes and mouth and knew it was me.

A Planting of the Lord

Still seeing this, the drawer began to open and a massive hand reached in, and took a handful of the seeds out, one of which was me. The picture disappeared, and I knew I was about to be planted. That was in 1993, and now I again live in the country of my birth Israel, beginning to understand, that as I surrender to the planting of the Lord He will ultimately receive some glory from my planting.

Now the Lord has given me greater revelation of this vision. I now understand that when I came to faith, I was baptized into Messiah's death and I died to the "sin nature" (Romans 6:2-3). But that was only the beginning of this life in Messiah. Paul said that he "dies daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31), what did he mean, he dies daily? Obviously Paul is not talking about dying to "the sin nature" here, but in fact like a seed that falls into the ground and dies (to self) he is talking about dying to all of who he was and aspired to be, to reckon himself dead and alive in Messiah, so that there can be much fruit produced. (John 12:24-25).

The Lord desires that we be planted, that we die to this world in which we live so that all of who we were in the old man would die. Reckoning ourselves dead as a (seed planted), never to be seen or heard from again. Then the seed which the Lord has in each one of us can begin to break forth and sprout new life, His life. And out of this new life which is bound up in the person of Yeshua the Messiah we will begin to bear fruit for others to come eat of, for others to come gain life from. I realized today that a plant or a tree which bears fruit does not consume its own fruit, but in fact bears it for another. I remember a preacher once saying "that we the body of Messiah are the only organization that exists for the benefit of its none members."

Contemplating these things the Lord is revealing, is convicting me of the reality that I do not live with this truth active in my life. I see my sinfulness in wanting to produce fruit for my own consumption. When in fact I am not my own, but have been purchased with a price, and my master has need of my fruit to feed those who are being brought into His kingdom. He has called each one of us to be like His Son Yeshua, laying down our lives, so that others may be fed with the bread from heaven which is Yeshua the living bread of life.

We must surrender our lives and count our former life as lost otherwise we cannot be as a seed in the ground dead. And "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" And the Lord is saying to all of us who are reading this article today. Examine yourself and see if you have truly allowed the Lord to make you His planting, (Isaiah 61:1-3). For it is out of this planting that the Lord will be able "to give unto them (the lost) beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Allow the Lord to challenge each of you with this word, and allow Him to make your life, the planting of the LORD. That He may bring others to come and eat of the fruit of His Holy Spirit alive in each of us. For the Holy Spirit was sent to bring Glory to the Son, whom in turn brings Glory to the Father in heaven. May we be the manifest sons of God in this season.