Influence...

The original Hebrew version reads like this: "He that is wise winneth souls." The Hebrew rendition of the text definitely implies that the man or woman who is walking in true wisdom shall win souls. Back of every other means which we use to try to reach men and women to get them under the sound of the Gospel, the wise man is talking about something which is a foundation for winning souls. The man who is walking in true wisdom shall win souls, not by some specific effort, but as a consequence and natural result of the influence of his character and life. In other words, if we, the people of God, will live by the divine wisdom of God's Word, our life will definitely influence others. It is impossible to live for God as He disires us to live without having an influence upon others.

Most of the religious thinking today is in terms of self, but true religious thinking is in terms of others. People will say, "Well, I do not think it will hurt me to do that," or "I think it is all right if I do this"--with no thought whatsoever of the influence or effect it would have on someone else. They are living selfishly. In a religious world where men are living a sin-more-or-less life, I ask you to think a little beyond self. I realize that people are being taught that everybody sins, preachers and laity alike, and that we arr are going to get to Heaven. However, have you considered your influence upon others? Lift up your eyes a little bit. Do you realize that you are going to be hel responsible if you continue to live wrongly, and influence others in a wron way and cause them to be lost? Their blood will be on your skirts. We are not only responsible for our own life, but we are also responsible for the influence of our life upon others.

Let us consider our Scripture text in the light of the New Testament. IN Matthew 5:15-16, Jesus sets before us a lesson: "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. [If we will live our life according to divine wisdom--above board--our life will shine out and give light and help to everyone under our influence. He spoke of it as light unto the whole house.] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father [or turn to God because of it] which is in heaven."

I know this is a million miles from the feeling that too many people have today: What I do is nobody's business. If you are a true Christian, however, it is everybody's business. If you are a true Christian, you will feel, recognize, and abide by that responsibility. Just as a lamp is placed on the lampstand and gives light to the whole hose, even so we must let our light shine, or live our lives so that men can see our good works. If the good works are there, they will recognize them and glorify our Father which is in Heaven.

In 1 Peter, Chapter 2, after speaking of us as newborn babes and how we make up the spiritual house, Peter warns us about some things. Let us read verses 10-11: "Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved [nothing could be sweeter], I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." Those things which war against your soul and my soul, if allowed to work, will kill our influence or affect our influence in a negative manner in helping others.

Who Is a Wise Man?...

James let us know that pure religion is nothing more than the practical description of true wisdom. James 1:5 tells us, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upvraideth not; and it shall be given him" We read in James 3:13, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation [ good conduct] his works with meekness of wisdom." I believe that a wise man is endeavoring to live before God and mankind so that his works will be effective on those who are around him.

Let us read verses 14-18: "But if ye have bitter enving and strife in your hears, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, the peaceable, gentle, and eas to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."

The Holy Spirit will never lead you to be jealous or to have bitterness, envy, or hateful feelings. That wisdom does not come from above. This is the reason many parents cannot win their children. There is too much bitterness between dady an mother right in front of the children. Then they have the audacity to profess Christianity, but they cannot reach their children. If God's perfect love does not work in the home and unite husband and wife, do not come to church and sing about uniting God's people. Piety begins at home. If salvation does not work in the home, it cannot work in the church. God is more interested in how you act at the breakfast table then He is at eht Lord's Supper table.

There are reasons for souls not being won. The deceitfulness of the devil, this wisdom which is earthly and devilish, will cause you to just gloss over your wrong living and go right on and testify. Where, however, is the fruit of your life? If you have been living right, the Lord wants to encourage you with the truth. On the other hand, if you have been living wrong, He wants to give you opportunity to get straightened out and live right.

What is a wise man? Just summing it up quickly, a wise man is one who is very careful and very prayerful about his living, realizing that men are looking on. Scripture supports the fact that if you live right, regardless of how people run down the Church and the way of Christ, they will end up saying, "I will have to say one thing for him, he lives according to the Book." That is what God desires.

In verse seventeen, James shows us that the wisdom which is from above is first pure. Brethren, if we are living according to the wisdom from above, we will have a pure mind and pure heart. Our intentions will be pure. One of the first things that real salvation does for you is to make you pure. Brother, without a pure hear, you cannot see God, and when you do not live with a pure hear, no one will ever see God. God is a spirit , and the only way people are ever going to see His is for you and I to live in purity and righteousness before them.

The wisdom that comes down from above is first pure; then it is peaceable. There are a lot of people who think they are pure, but they are not very peaceable. They think they are more pure than anybody else, and unless you fit into their littl mold, they do not have much peace with you.

The wisdom that comes down from above is also gentle to others and easily entreated. It affects the way we receive others. This wisdom is also, "...full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality [ good fruit for everyone], and without hypocrisy." God says, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay" (Romans 12:19), Brother, if you have thoughts of vengeance, you need to do some house cleaning.

The Fruit of Righteousness...

James 3:18 tells us, "And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." Here we are, right back where we started. In Proverbs 11:30a we read, "The fruit of the righteousness is a tree of life." Just as one literal tree produces many other trees, if we will live the life and be ture, we will produce other trees. When you live in righteousness and true holiness, you will produce another spiritual person, or another tree of life. The daily walk in meekness of wisdom is full of good fruit, and you become a tree of life, or a tree that will produce life for others. This tree of life is merely a biblical expression. Much of the Bible is written in symbolic language, taking natural things to teach us spiritual lessons.

Let us read Isaiah 61:1-3: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preache good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them 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 [For what reason?], that he might be glorified."

Men and women who have had this wonderful change in their lives have become new creatures in Christ Jesus. God has taken away the mourning and given them joy. He has taken the garment of heaviness and given them a garment of praise. Theprophet said that they will be called the trees of righteousness. Righteousness and life (speaking of true, Christian life or spiritual life) are used interchangeably in the Scriptures. In Galatians 3:21 Paul said, "...for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law." Here he uses life (spiritual life) and righteousness interchangeable. Verse 22 tells us, "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

So, the fruit of the righteous is another tree of life. We produce more just like ourselves--like produces like. For this reason, we, as the church mother, need to be very careful of how we live and how we measure to the standard of God's Word. Why? Because our new converts are going to come along and look just like us. According to James and the Proverb writer, a tree of life must impart nourishment, health, and joy to all who come in contact with it. Brother, we have been given something to impart to others. It has not been given to us just to bless ourselves or to enjoy within the confines of our own life, but we have been given this life to impart it to others. You have been given joy, not to just make you happy, but to impart joy to others. We are here, my friend, to help mankind. We know salvation is a divine work and it takes the working of God on the heart and life of man, but you and I are left here to help in this great work of winning souls for God.

The River of Water of Life...

Let us read Revelation 21:9, "...one of the seven angel...talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the brode, the Lamb's wife." [ The Church ] Now, get this fixed and settled, the Revelation is not a picture of Heaven. It is a symbolic description of the Church, and it goes on to tell about her gates and walls (other people who are in the Church and how they live and worship). John is describing the Church, the conditions which exist within the Church, and how productive each one of her memebers are in helping the world.

Still talking about the Church, Revelation 22:1 tells us, "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out o the throne of God and of the Lamb." This water came out of the throne of God and of the Lam. Some preachers teach that this is the river of death, with trees on each side. HOwever, the Bible says that it is the water of life, not death. This is the river of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the lamb.

Revelation 22:2 tells us, "In the midst of the street of it [ the street of the city, Mount Zion, the Church of the living God], and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which have twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." First, we have the river of the water of life coming out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. When it flowed out the next thing he saw was the tree of life on both sides of the river which bare fruit every day, every month; it was consistent in fruit bearing. It was not up and down, in and out, sometimes right and sometimes worng, but it was consistent in bearing fruit.

The Perfect Type...

Ezekiel, the prophet, had the same vision, but he gives it to us a little more implicitly so that we can understand. (Do not forget, this river of water of life flowed out of the throme of God and of the Lamb, Jesus Christ; that is where this river had its beginning.) God, through the prophet, gives us a vision of the spiritual house (the Church) that God would build through Jesus Christ. We know this to be true because there are things which happened in that vision which never did, and never will happen in literal Jerusalem. He took him around the old temple and there showed him certain things that would be symbolic of, or the type of, the reality that Jesus Christ would bring when He built the house of God (the Church of the living God).

We read in Ezekiel 47:1, "Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stook toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar," This is a picture of the New Testament house that we read about in the Revelation. Jesus said, "...I will build my Church..." (Matthew 16:18), He also said in John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved..."

When God brought Ezekiel around the second time, there were waters running out from under the threshold, and the threshold is right below the door. (I want to say right here, there never was literal water running out from under th door of the literal templ. Every bit of the water used in the temple had to be carried in.) Here,though, we have a picture of water running out from under the door. Who is the door of the new house? Christ. The door was facing the easr, and that is the way He hung on the cross, facing the east. The water ran out from the right side of the house, and that is where it (blood and water, the water of life) ran out when they pierced His side.

God told Ezekiel to measure these waters trying to get him to see the greatness of the work of the Spirit of God, or the water of life. He measured and it was up to his ankles, and when he measured a little farther, it was up to his loins. He measured again, and it was over his head. There were waters to swim in, my friend. He is talking about the life-giving quality of the water of life, symbolizing the Spirit of God that flowed from Christ as it went out to the world. It brought life to everything it touched. This is a very fertile river.

Trees of Life...

In Revelation, John just saw a tree of life on each side of the river. Now, let us consider what Ezekiel saw. We read in Ezekiel 47:7, 8, and 12: "Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. [Right out of the desert place, when this water was turned loose, there were trees on both sides of the river] Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

"And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."

In the Revelation, John saw the same vision--a tree of life on each side of the river, and the fruit of those trees were for meat and the healing of the nations. The Proverb writer in our Scripture text pictures Christians as trees of righteousness, or trees of life. You and I as Christians who have repented, the Spirit of life has entered into us. This water in all its profoundness has entered into us. As it has entered into us, our life becomes something for people to feed on.

Oh, how weak people are~ They need this meat that I ampreaching about right now. What kind of meat? The meat of right living. We are living in a time when we have crooks upon crooks, and they are out to crook you. The idea is that everybody is doing wrong and that nobody is living square. Many who have lived good lives are becoming weakened. How they nee some meat to feed on! "Oh," someone said, "They need to read the Bible." They know what the Bible says, but they need a life to feed on. They need someone to live before them in a manner which will strengthen them.

Leaves for Healing...

Ezekiel said that the fruit of the tree was for meat and the leaf was for the medicine, and John also said that the leaf was for the healing of the nations. The leaf is figurative of the outward manifestation of the life of the tree. You can tell how the life of the tree is getting along by the leaf. When you look at the trees in your yard and wee the leaves withering, you don't say, "There is something wron with these leaves." You say, "There is something wrong with the tree." The leaf is the outward manifestation of the life oth the tree.

Let us read Psalm 1: 1-3: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungldly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water [ right back to that same river], that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither..." The leaves of this tree stay gree and fresh. No matter how much the devil puts the heat on, the leaf will not wither.

Someone may ask, "How can that help with the healing?" Ezekiel 47:12 said that the leaf of the tree (which we have shown you is figurative of the outward manifestation of our life) is good for medicine. What kind of medicine? Well, he is certainly not talking about physical healing here. He is talking about the spiritual life of a Christian. In Proverbs 17:22a we read, "A merry heart doeth goo like a medicine." We are living in a world where most everyone is down in the mouth. You and I can heal it. How in the world can you have a merry heart? Get saved! *S*

When the prodigal said, "Father, I have sinned...in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son," the father replied: "...bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found..." (Luke 15:21, 23-24). Salvation gives you a merry heart.

Someone may say, "The conditions are bad; you do not know what I have gone through." How would you like to have been with the Apostle Paul, chained to guards, living in a prison, and having about half an impression that you were going to get you head cut off in just a few days? He had a merry heart when he stood up before the king and said, "I think myself happy..." (Acts 26:2). In verse 29, he said, "I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds."

The world cannot see what is down in the trunk of your tree. They are looking at the leaves, or the outward manifestations of you life. Isaiah prophesied that when this real salvation comes, "...trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Isaiah 55:12). These trees of the fields are Christians, or trees of righteousness. The greatest, the most blessed, and the most wonderful thing that could happen to a man or woman is to get saved. Someone may ask, "What should you tell people when you have troubles heaped clear up over you head, and the ask, 'How are you?'" You should say, "Saved." Someone may fell that you are just being foolish, but let us read 1 Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him..."

Nonwithering Leaves...

The leaves, or the outward manifestation of the lives of these trees whose roots are in the river, bring forth fruit every month. As long as God gives them months, or time, they bring forth frut and the leaves do not wither. Let us read Proverbs 17:22 again, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." The psalmist let us know that if we would meditate upon the law of God and have a desire to keep the law of God, we,"...shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper" (Psalm 1:3).

Let us read Jeremiah 17:5-8: "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whos heart departeth from the Lord. [ Here is a very grave danger. Brother, the devil is out to win you heart and my heart, and one of the means he uses is to get us to trust in our own wisdom, strength, and ability.] For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat commeth, but he leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

When our leaf begins to fade, it is an outward manifestation and expression that our experience has begun to faed. It shows one thing--a lack of moisture andnourishment, and that decay has set in. Job13:25 shows us that God just cannot use those leaves and those trees, "Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?" No, God is not interested in going after leaves that are driven to and fro like the dry stubble.

Isaiah tells us, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away" (Isaiah 64:6). There he pictures mankind without Christ. We have just passed the time of the year when people turned over what they call a "new leaf." They plan to refor and live differently, but without Christ in their life, it will only be a matter of time until the leaves fade. Sin and iniquity will get the best of them.

Come to Christ in old-time repentance and let Him plant you. Salvation will not plant you in any of the deserts of false religion. If you get saved, God will plant you by the river. He will put you in touch, through the Holy Spirit, with the headquarters of Heaven. He will plant you by the river, and if you will keep you roots spread out into the river and take in the divine moisture that the Spirit of God will bring to you life, your leaf will stay green.

Healing of the Nations...

Let us go back to Revelation 22:2, "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month [ Some people feel that the tree is Christ, but there are two trees here. In Ezekiel's prophecy, there are many trees. The river of life goes right through the midst of the city, the Church of the living God.]: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."

Saints of God, even though we are within the city (Mount Zion, the city of God, the Church of the Firstborn), our leaves, or our outward of life, is for the healing of the nations. You can help situations. Yes you certainly can, by getting a real experience of salvation and getting you roots in the river.

When the Scripture refers to the healing of the nations, it is certainly not referring to physical healing. In every one of these Scriptures which deal with the healing of the nations,he is talking about spiritual healing. In Jeremiah 6:14, Jeremiah cried out, "They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is not peace."

How can we hwlp heal circumstances and situations? Paul said in I Thessalonicans 5:13b, "And be at peace among yourselves." A congregation which will live close enough to God, get their roots deep enough in the river, and live at peace among yourselves." A congregation which will live close enough to God, get their roots deep enough in the river, and live at peace among themselves will have more of an outreach and effect than you would ever realize.

How else can we heal? How can the walk of my life and your life, the leaves or the outward manifestation of our lives, help heal? Hebrews 12:12-13 tell us: "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." The leaves are for the healing of the nations. How we live affects how new converts get along. He did not say, "Take straight steps," but "make straight paths." Someone is going to follow you. Remember, while you are walking, you anr making a path. Why be so careful?--A brother or sister who comes walking along in your path may fall and lose out. They may limp a little in their Christian experience, or they may be a little lame. You should make straight paths, so instead of them falling away from God, their lameness is healed because of your straight path.

Someone is walking in your footsteps. Surely, your children are. God intended for your little child to see God through you. Mak straight paths for your feet lest that one walking behind you is lame and should be turned out of the way, but let him rather be healed. Our leaves, the manifestation of our life, our conduct, or the light that we shed through our good works, are for the healing of the nations.

We Are Deeply Indebted...

There was once a pastor working on the walls of a new church building, and he was asked by a man going by, "When will it be completed?" The pastor gave him the approximate time. The next question the man asked was, "Will the congregation be in debt?

The pastor said, "Oh, yes, very much. Sometimes the thought of the debt we will bear frightens me."

"Well," the man quickly retorted, "Why did you begin the building when you did not have the money?"

The pastor said, "Oh, we have the money; the building is paid for, but think how much a church like this owes to its community and the world. The community of this city and surrounding areas is looking to us for God's love and God's grace."

We, also, are deeply indebted to every lost man and woman everywhere. I wonder if we feel that debt. The Apostle Paul said, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (I Corinthians 9:22b). He went on to say that he did not commit sin to become all things to all people, but anything that he could in a rightful way to win someone. What does it mean to become all things to all people? To become all thing to some people, you might have to become their babysitter a couple days a week in order to get them out to service. You might have to become a nurse, and take care of the children in the nursery so they can hear the message. Now, I believe you can take it from there.*S*

If we would slow down from the busy programs we are tied up with, we might be surprised at how many avenues we will see where we can help someone and win them to the Lord. The reason we do not see these avenues is because we are traveling too fast, following the limits of the program of our life, and passing up opportunities on every side to bear a good witness for the Lord. Certainly, we do not like to see a recession or a depression, but while we are in it, let us look at it as a good opportunity to help people who nee help.

He that is wise winneth souls, and the Bible plainly teaches us who is wise. If we will live according to that wisdom which comes down from above, it will be impossible for us to not affect someone when they see our good works. Jesus said that if they will see your good works in the right light, they will glorify God. It is a promise. So, my friend, the real foundation for winning souls is living the right life, consistently. Then from that foundation, the outreach will be taking advantage of opportunities to witness to needy ones on every side. [ The End ].