If we look at the anointing of David, we see Samuel the prophet anointing him in front of his brothers, father, and  maybe even servants.

The point to be made is that there was a crowd.  David was anointed on his head and the oil rolled down to the rest of his body.  From this we understand that the head received the oil and the body was also considered anointed.

There was no separation in the body simply because the head was the only thing anointed.

I believe that here, we see  a picture of what Jesus was doing for the church.  We know that Christ is the head of the church according to the Word.

Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

When Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit after his baptism, he  was being shown to the crowd that he had been chosen by God for a special calling.   God was saying that this was His Son!  The one that had been promised to come!

So, if Christ is the head – the church is his body.

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church…

If our Head has been anointed, then we also as the body have the same anointing!  Think about that….you’ll see this as a start to something huge. Trust me.

Things I Need to Do

1. Reckon myself dead yet alive through Christ – daily.
2. Love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.
3. Trust God more.
4. Be prepared to obey God with whatever he asks.  Then, when He does ask I need to do it.
5. Yield my members (my body) to righteousness and not to sin,

Things God Promised to Do

1. Make the crucifixion of the old man a reality.
2. Empower me supernaturally.
3. As long as I am willing, He will guide me.
4. God will prepare me and transform me into what He wants.
5. Give me peace, joy, love, and power.

Praise God for He will never leave me nor forsake me!  God will empower me to perform the things that I cannot.  Honestly, I can’t do a single one of these without His strength.  God knows that and will supply for my need.

Paul said:

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

We need to consider this carefully as it also paints a picture of who we are at our core.  Paul continues to share with us that:

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Here you have it folks.  The flesh (our flesh) is only capable of doing things contrary to God’s will and plan.  That is why we need to offer our bodies a living sacrifice to God daily (Romans 12:1).  But, understand that the flesh is also capable of doing both good and evil!

Read what Christ said in Matthew:

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

There are some that will perform good works, but obviously, the works are not recognized by Him!  How can this be?  Though the intention was noble and good, the end result was one of rejection by the Lord.  Our flesh is capable of performing good deeds.  We do them everyday.  The problem lies in that we may be working outside of the parameters set by God.

One may ask, “Is giving water to the thirsty not working within the parameters set by God?”  That is a good question and one that must be looked at seriously.  The answer will lie in the intention of the heart and in the Lord calling us to perform the action.  If we give someone water for our glory, the deed is worthless.  If we give someone water to look good, to make an appearance so that others will look at us – the action is worthless.  Why did we give water? That now becomes the question.

Everything a Christian does should point to Christ.  Our attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and actions should reflect and point to Christ as the source of all good things.  We know that in our flesh lies no good thing.  When we trust ourselves instead of the Lord, we will certainly attain failure.

We must guard against the “good works” of the flesh.  If they are allowed to continue, sin will follow.  It’s that simple.  The Bible instructs us to crucify the flesh and take our cross to follow Christ.  Even when our actions are noble, they are still unrighteousness if done in the flesh.

The end result is Total Dependence on the Holy Spirit.  Not may of us want to go there.  The flesh is strong and the desires to appease it are strong as well.  Paul struggled with this.  Keep in mind that the name for “flesh” in the Greek is “soma” which means slave.  Our flesh should be the slave to the spirit and soul.  It should never be the ruler of them.  Our flesh is a slave in need of commanding.  That is the reason why the Bible instructs us to not put any confidence in the flesh.

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

God will always look at the source of our actions.  God is only pleased with His son Jesus. Period.

We tend to think of our actions in terms of right or wrong.  God, however, goes beyond that and sees the action from the source.  Is the work from the Spirit? Is the work from the flesh?  Those are the questions.  Not right or wrong but rather – from what source is this action coming?

Mar 8:22  And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.

Mar 8:23  And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

Mar 8:24  And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

Mar 8:25  After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

I want to humbly ask that you consider what I have written about this account. I have seen and heard many explanations of this account but I feel that what is said by the blind man after encountering Jesus sheds the light we need into understanding what really happened.

The question that needs answering is one that asks whether or not Jesus messed up in healing the blind man.  Did Jesus heal the man in increments?  Did Jesus not heal completely the first time? The answer, as you will see, is a firm “no” – Jesus always heals completely and fully.

Consider the following verses:

Psa 1:1  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psa 1:2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psa 1:3  And he 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.

Also,  please read the following verses from Psalms:

Psa 37:35  I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

Psa 52:8  But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

Psa 92:12  The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Can you see that men are seen as trees in the Bible?  Yes, it’s true that these verses are only from Psalms, let me give you a few more from the Old Testament.

Dan 4:19  Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.
Dan 4:20  The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
Dan 4:21  Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
Dan 4:22  It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

Isa 61:3 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, that he might be glorified.

Can you see that there is a connection in the Bible with men and trees?  Trees are a shadow/type for humans in the Word!  Not convinced yet?  Ok, let’s look at some scriptures from the New Testament.

Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Do you see this? Why is verse 15 talking about false prophets and then the connection is made about knowing them by their fruits? Why fruits? What bares fruit? A tree!

There are of course more examples on this and I will let you search them out. Look at the image below. Here, I drew a tree and numbered some of the parts.

1. tree trunk
2. water/river
3. tree roots
4. fruits

I want to take Psalms chapter 1 (just the verses posted at the beginning) and analyze that part of the chapter. You will see then that a righteous man is compared to a tree planted by a river or water. That is what this image is all about.

Now, consider that watering of a tree happens underground.  The roots take in the water and send it up the trunk towards the branches and finally towards the fruit.  That is the natural path of travel.  A tree with no water has no life.  A tree with little water has little growth and bares mediocre fruit.

How do know that a tree is flourishing?  Well, it will increase in size and strength. Let’s look at the spiritual application of all of this.

We have already mentioned that water can be a type/shadow of the Holy Spirit.  You will need to read John 7:38-39.  The tree, according to Psalms, is the righteous person who being planted in proximity to the water increases in size and bares fruit.  The Holy Spirit is the one responsible for providing the growth just as the water to a tree.  Also, understand that the Holy Spirit will nourish you underground – that is to say, within you.  You will not be able to see the roots of any tree taking water because it all happens in a place hidden from view.  A tree is planted (or set) in the earth just as a Christian is left on Earth to grow and produce fruit.  Our roots should move towards the living water so that we can grow and be strong.

Trees give fruit which is a visible sign of vitality and purpose.  Men and women should also bare fruit as a response to the Holy Spirit’s nourishing.   Look at the chart below:

• trees get their energy by the sun – men receive their life energy from God who is in Heaven
• trees are planted in the ground – men are set in the Earth for a witness and testimony
• trees are watered underground – men are nourished within (invisible)
• trees give fruit – men give fruit (visible)

Now that we have established the above, let’s go back to the original scripture – the man who saw men as trees walking around.  What really happened?  Think about it.

I believe that based on what we just discovered, the man who received sight received his vision in such as way as to peer through the physical and into the spiritual.  I believe that Jesus Christ allowed this healing to go beyond the man’s expectations (not to mention our own) so as to tie the comparison between men and trees even more.  I believe that in the supernatural, we actually resemble trees.  I don’t believe the the man’s vision was blurred and that he saw people as figures of trees (like when we squint).  I believe that he really saw men like trees.  It was only then the Jesus touched his eyes again and gave him normal human vision.

Jesus did not heal him in increments but rather healed him in a powerful and complete way.  This man saw people as Christ saw people.  Had you ever considered this?  Wow, praise God for His goodness and kindness!  We really are men walking around as trees.

As I read through this, the Lord impressed upon me a few things that I want to share!  Let’s take a look at the verses individually.  I pray that the Lord reveals something to your spirit through this.  The passage reads like this:

Luk 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

Luk 5:2  And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

Luk 5:3  And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

Luk 5:4  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

We will begin at verse 1 where Luke informs us that the people “pressed” upon him to hear him speak.  The only time people “press upon” someone is when the person being followed has an answer or a cure for an ailment or situation.  As you know, Christ has the cure and these people recognized it, so much so that verse 32 of Luke chapter 4 says that

“…they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.”

It is not sufficient to assume that this crowd understood that Jesus was the Messiah, all they knew was that his speech had backbone and substance.  The things he spoke were powerful.  At the age of 12, we see Jesus debating with religious leaders and astonishing them.  Here, at around age 30, we see him teaching the common folk and opening the eyes to the spiritually blind.

So much was the force of the crowd, that verses 3 & 4 say that he selected one ship and asked the owner – Peter, to cast him off a little into the water.  What I like about this part is that Jesus stops addressing the crowd and now moves to addressing the individual.  Is it not like our God to address all of His children through the Word but still take the time to minister to us individually?  Is it not like our God to proclaim a truth to his Church and yet take the time to show us individually how this truth can be applied?

So Peter obeys – what an act to be imitated.

Take a look at the image below.  I have labeled 4 things here.

1. Christ
2. Christ’s Word
3. Water
4. the Crowd

Jesus was in the midst of the crowd being pressed upon.  He, however, understanding that His voice could only carry so far, decides to go away from the crowd into a place where he can both be seen and heard.  Understanding that a body of water tends to meet the land at an incline, Jesus knew that this position would mimic that of an amphitheater where the speaker is at the center and below the hearers.  His voice would be spread out by the water causing a reflection of sound into the ears of the people.  Simple physics right?

Follow me now – Christ is away from the crowd as he could not be properly heard while he was in the mass of people.  Is that not a picture of how a Christian should be?  While in a crowd, the Christian’s voice may not be properly heard as we will be in union with what the crowd is about.  Stepping away from that gives us a better view of the situation and a better view of the people.  Many times, people don’t listen to us because we are “just like them.”  We need to step away and create space between us and the crowd we are trying to reach.  I’m not saying that we need to remove ourselves from fellowship with them, we just need to remove ties that would hinder our testimony and hinder the message we are to give.

Consider also that water is also a shadow/type for the Holy Spirit.

John 7:38  “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Christ speaks the Word of God to the people and uses the water (Holy Spirit) to magnify the message and to drive the message into the ears and hearts of the hearers.  Just as when we speak the things that the Lord has placed in us to share, the Holy Spirit magnifies the words and takes them into the depths of the people who are to hear.

There is much more to this account than I could have imagined!