Inspiration and Insulation, Multiply and Multi-fly

UV 1662/10000 Inspiration and Insulation, Multiply and Multi-fly
And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 36 v 11

The Lord knows our humble beginnings. Everyone of us had a humble beginning as a tender, vulnerable , weak, helpless and innocent infant. He causes us to grow, increase and multiply. The word “ multi-ply” implies that in multiple ways He blesses us to increase, both man and even our animals, whether flocks or pets. We are made fearfully in terms of our fragility and vulnerability but we are also made wonderfully by the one who is called Wonderful in order to do “wonderfully.” The classification of all our acts are either under the label “ ordinary” or extraordinary. Only the Lord can do the supernatural and wonderful. The ordinary does not evoke surprise while the extraordinary evokes admiration. The wonderful or awesome evokes faith and worship. As we multiply, we should also “ multi-fly”, meaning we should grow to our full potential in Christ and use all our gifts for His glory. We should do wonderfully in many ways.

When we humans think in terms of “ fruit”, we think in terms of material or monetary or edible fruit. The seed of man causes us to multiply biologically but the seed of God enables us to multiply and multi-fly spiritually. The fruit from the perspective of the Lord is the spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control. These nine fruit are the dimensions of all round moral, social, personal and spiritual excellence. We are chosen to bear such fruit and to bear it increasingly. His Word is meant for our inspiration as well as our insulation. Inspiration is intended to urge us to bear more fruit. Insulation is intended to protect us from the values or fruit of this world. Insulation is a kind of spiritual fencing around us to protect us from being preyed upon, from our spiritual fruit being pillaged and plucked by the enemy of our souls. The Holy Spirit will place a fencing around us as estates are girded or protected by fencing all round so that trespassing spirits cannot enter and cause harm or damage. He will settle or establish us so that we are rooted in the Lord and grow to flourish and not perish spiritually. Our “old estates” are a metaphor for our dwelling places on earth while our new estates are a metaphor for the mansions the Lord prepares for us in His eternal realm.

The uni-verse promises that the Lord will do better to us now than at our beginnings. Whatever men consider as “good” in this world, the Lord has reserved something better for us. Whatever we regard as good in our past, the Lord has something better for us in the future and in eternity. He will send us the latter rain and the morning dew of His compassion and love to bless the cultivation of spiritual fruit that is precious for Him. We will know the Lord more intimately and our dependence and love for Him will increase. We will know that every increase of joy, peace, prosperity, health, wisdom, influence, strength and grace has come from none but the Lord Himself.

Prateep V Philip