Conclusion

We conclude this week’s offerings with a mandatory charge, as we come to more conscious and serious grips concerning the fact that people do and still follow the Word of God, for noble and ignoble reasons.

In being taught about envy in believers, I was totally knocked prostrate before the throne of grace, when our Lord showed me this work of the flesh in His disciples. The deceiver surely will keep us blinded and totally ignorant to envy in us, as he keeps us looking at the big, elaborate things and not at the innocent and quiet ways we carry that deadly conjoined threesome. 

This is the incident our Lord brought before me. It was an occasion which led Him to teach His disciples, a stern lesson on sectarianism. I quote the text from Luke 9: 49 – 50. Now John answered and said, Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us. But Jesus said to him, Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.  

Holy Spirit, grant each one of us the humility, understanding and wisdom to receive, accept and believe. Amen! 

John is speaking on behalf of the full evangelical team of twelve disciples. They had gone out on mission and saw someone doing the same work which Jesus had sent them out to do. Be astute and wise in your listening and seeing. Note, the same kind of envy that has crept into churches, religious groups and gatherings, has attacked the disciples and they do not even know.

Here, we are evidencing similar motives and manner of the Thessalonican Jews, to Paul and Silas, servants of God. The main reason for these God-fearing Jews to try and stop Paul and Silas from doing their given work, is because they were not following their ways. Mind you, they never heard Paul speaking about worshipping Satan, or holding him up as Messiah. No! Preposterous, to say the least! What they heard was a man speaking about their God, Israel’s One, True Jehovah, through Jehovah’s Son, Jesus Christ. They had become envious, jealous and covetous of their insular way, their myopic understanding, and their legalistic sight. Is this not what John is showing us also?

He and the other eleven disciples have made an institution of Jesus, as it were. They were casting out demons in the Name of Jesus, the Father’s desired work. However, when they witnessed someone else doing the same work of Father God, in the Name of Jesus, they became as instant bulldozers and cut down that person. They were honest and most sincere about their reason, when John, their spokesman, explained this. He does not follow with us. Can you not hear? In other words, we see demons being silenced and cast out of people. We admit that people are being saved from demon-possession, but when we look at who are doing this work, they are not as we are. They do not come after You, Master, as we have done. They are not of our team, who sit at Your feet daily and are taught by You. They do not travel around with You as we do and receive Your water and bread as we do. They are not seen with You as we are seen with You. Need I go on? We all have taken the things of God and made them lawful and thus when others do not follow laws and traditions as we see and interpret them, according to our own selfish lusts, we deny the Power, Lordship, Majesty and Freedom of the Holy Ghost.

Jesus listens to John and immediately tells them all, Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side. This person was doing the Father’s Will, God’s Work, showing that he was on the same side of Jesus and His disciples, which is the side of Sovereign God.

Holy Spirit, expose us, free and save us from any envy we as believers may harbour against other believers, because they do not follow our ways. Amen!

This brings us straight back to our text, the garden of precious herbs and plants from which we have been exposed to life-healing and life-changing spiritual nourishment. Our mandatory charge comes from the fact that envy does not just roll over and die in us. As long as we do not walk in the Spirit, but walk according to law, there will be continued envy against those of the Spirit. We evidence this in our week’s garden text. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. Acts 17: 13

These Jewish, unpersuaded God-worshippers, have the men of the Spirit away from them, but are they satisfied? Envy is never satisfied, as long as that which they envy is within reach. These envying hearts are resting, at ease for a while, because Thessalonica has been rid of Paul and Silas. However, is this envy dead in them? Not in the least bit! Dormant envy is not dead envy. Passive envy is not powerless envy. They simply hear about Paul and Silas in the neighbouring city of Berea, and envy rises from dormancy and deadness, into full strength and resolute mission. The fierce, bulldozer-type actions take up arms again and these Thessalonicans move with lightning speed to cut down the Word of God through Paul, who is carrying God’s Word. They travel to Berea, fully fired, ignited and fuelled by envy. Uninvited as they are, they stomp into Berea and cause much mischief. There came there also and stirred up the crowds there. It became so bad, so unsafe for Paul and causing a peaceful place like Berea to become a place of religious unrest and wrangling, the Berean believers had no choice but to send Paul away.

Heed this crowning wisdom of God. Wrath kills a foolish man, and envy slays a simple one.  Job 5: 2.

Our mandatory charge is to stay clear of all envy. Let’s follow Jesus by His Holy Spirit and through His Holy Spirit.