The Red Handled Ax

The Red-Handled Ax
By Ron Wood

In May this year, while worshiping in a small Morningstar church in Wilmington, North Carolina, I heard the Lord say, "I’m laying the ax to the orphan spirit that has invaded my church…" (To read more, see my previous posts in the Teachings section at http://www.touchedbygrace.org/, "The Orphan Spirit," parts 1-4).

Last month, my wife and I returned to live in Bentonville in the lovely hills of northwest Arkansas in order to be closer to our children and grandchildren. Five years previously, we had lived there and had pastored a church there and had hosted many prophetic conferences.

Upon returning to the area, I was surprised by a strong word that came over me: "The ax is already laid to the root of the trees…." I knew the reference for this word. It was spoken by John the Baptist as he prepared the way for the first appearance of the Son of God. (Matthew 3:10) John called for people to repent, saying the kingdom of heaven was at hand. To the religious leaders of his day, he loudly warned them that the ax had hit their religious roots. Their tree was dead, but they didn’t know it.

The issue was fruit, or the lack thereof. The prophet said the right response to the approach of heaven’s kingdom in the Person of Jesus was to repent and then to believe the good news of this kingdom. John said there had to be evidence of repentance, in this case, being baptized in water by the preacher. What a humbling, public, messy test!

What does repent mean? It means to change your mind, to turn and go in another direction. Who needed to repent…sinners? No… John was addressing the most religious people on earth, observant Jews. They tithed, they went to Temple, they obeyed the Law of Moses, they memorized scriptures, they kept the codes of conduct invented by the rabbis, and they generally thought they were better than anyone else, all those filthy Gentiles. They were the chosen "children of Abraham!" We might say, "I'm Baptist!" "I'm Spirit-filled!" It doesn't matter what label we wear but it does matter if it produces pride or prejudice.

For three weeks I meditated on this word-picture God had burned into my heart. As I drove around the cities, I felt the fierceness of the Lord and rehearsed this strong yet strange word. I saw former pastor friends, visited several churches, surveyed the situation, and conferred with my prophetic allies, the intercessors*.

(*I discovered that many of these dear soldiers of Christ were weary or wounded. Many had shed tears to the point of pain trying to advance the church against fierce foes, only to have pastors abandon them or betray them. Many modern pastors think their preaching alone does the work, failing to appreciate the depth of the warfare or the necessity of a team effort to take a city for Christ, which is actually an apostolic task.)

Here’s what I saw as I surveyed northwest Arkansas: enormous wealth being accumulated, bustling busy business people, grand schemes and dreams by a few numerically growing churches (transfers, not conversions), lonely fatherless teenagers and multiplied numbers of lost young adults, prosperous people building homes like tomorrow was guaranteed and failure was not an option.

Beyond the natural, I saw a region void of power from heaven and impotent against deception, idols, and evil spirits. I saw church leaders defending homosexuality and perverting God’s right ways. I saw higher education adrift in a moral vacuum. I saw new-age nonsense and ideological myths replacing historical reality or biblical truth. In society and in the marketplace, the culture of the kingdom was practically invisible while the culture of materialism was proud and prominent. In the churches, I saw that the tradition of man was still prevalent while anointed prophets of change or pioneering apostles of transformation had no place and were not being welcomed. The "one man show" kept the saints passive on the pews. The ministry of Jesus wasn’t being reproduced. The deck chairs on the Titanic were being artfully rearranged.

I started looking for an ax.

I told my son, Scott, about the word I felt burning in me, that the Lord was saying to northwest Arkansas that the ax was being laid to the roots. He is an elder in his church and has a wonderful call of God on his life to be an apostle and I valued his opinion. We discussed what this word might mean.

I knew God was addressing mind-sets and uncovering lying spirits that wanted to keep God’s people impotent, caged in religious boxes rather than enjoying life in the Spirit. One thing that especially disturbed me as I returned was that a dear pastor friend who had been growing his church in the city for two decades had just resigned. Did politics trump spiritual fatherhood? Or did he fail to listen and wouldn’t let a team come alongside to help him? Too often, church transitions turn into chaotic situations, a shameful disgrace.

Scott told me, "Dad, you’ve got the ax head, but you need a handle to swing it."

He was right. I had not way to grip it, swing it, or make it have an effect. I had the revelation, but no delivery system. I had no pulpit to preach from, no platform to stand on, and wasn’t even "full-time in the ministry." I had moved here to be a father and a grandfather, not to start a new ministry or to pastor a church. But I was disturbed.

Then God opened my eyes a little further and took me to Deuteronomy chapter twenty, the section on the Laws of Warfare for laying siege to a city. If ever there was a stronghold of stinking thinking, carnal ambition, greed, and vain religious tradition, it was here, deeply embedded in the thinking of the people of the land that I love.

Liberation would require a siege of the city. Heaven’s kingdom is definitely drawing near. Conflict is inevitable. Whose government is in charge? Who is Lord of northwest Arkansas? We must repent. Victory requires warring with God against His enemies.

The Laws of Warfare are plainly given in the Bible. These Old Testament precepts apply in principle to the New Testament era as we confront the enemies of our souls. Let me give you some Biblical perspective for this siege against spiritual Babylon….

"When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you…. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." (Deuteronomy 20:1, 4 NASB)

One of the most common descriptions of God found in the Bible is "Lord of Hosts." It literally means "Lord of Armies." When Joshua prepared to cross the Jordan to possess the Promised Land, he encountered the Captain of the Lord’s Host, a theophany, an Old Testament appearance of Christ. When Elisha was surrounded by the king’s chariots and in danger, he prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened so he could see God’s support troops… numerous angels arrayed for battle on the hilltops surrounding the prophet.

When Moses transcribed Yahweh’s commands (Israel’s God is Yahweh… not Allah) for how Israel was to successfully wage war, several important factors were listed (see Deut. 20):

The Priest was to come speak to the people and encourage them with the knowledge that God was with them. This was so the people knew the battle had God’s blessing. Warfare was not done indiscriminately. Innocent blood was not to defile the land. (vs. 2-4)

The officers were to speak to the people and weed out from among their ranks any person who might flee in the heat of battle. This included those who had built a new house but not yet dedicated it; those who had planted a new vineyard but not yet eaten its fruit; and any men engaged but not yet married. (vs. 5-7)
They also told them that if they were afraid or fainthearted then they were to leave and go home before the fighting started lest they discourage any of the others. Fear is contagious. Then they appointed commanders over the troops at the head of the army. (vs. 8-9)

When they approached a city to wage war, they were first to offer it terms of peace. If they surrendered, then the citizens became subject to them and their lives were spared. If they chose to fight, then they were to besiege the city, slay all the men, spare the women, children, and animals, and take the spoils as plunder, leaving nothing. (vs. 10-14)

Neighboring cities, which had already entered into agreements with Israel, were not to be attacked, but distant cities that were outposts of idolatry and iniquity were to be taken. However, even in this there was a restriction. War could be fought only over the areas that the Lord had designated as the inheritance granted to Israel by God. (vs. 15-18)

Then I saw a key word for my present situation: An ax was not to be used in a siege of a city against any tree that was bearing fruit! The fruit was to be eaten and its tree preserved. Only the trees that were not fruit trees were to be cut down, destroyed, or used as weapons in the siege of a city. (vs. 19-20)

Listen, if you’re bearing fruit, you have nothing to fear! But if you, or your church, or your religious system, or your family is barren, void of power, chasing selfish dreams at the expense of your children, then watch out! God’s blade is sharp and quick! (Heb 4:12)

I walked through Wal-Mart last week- this is their headquarters, so there’s always one nearby. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an ax. I hadn’t even been shopping for one, but there it was. I walked over and picked it up. It was heavy. It felt dangerous. The new big, black ax head had a gleaming sharp, silvery edge for a blade. But the handle was what caught my eye… it was colored blood red!

God’s ax isn’t meant for destruction but for clearing the way for construction. The handle that swings the ax head is red to represent the blood of our precious Savior who paid the price for people to be liberated and come into their inheritance as sons and daughters of Almighty God. Therefore, no hand should swing the ax in anger.

Instead, the Father Himself swings the ax. He alone can cut the roots with both justice and mercy. He can remove what He did not plant and build what He had intended. He is the wise Gardener who prunes the vine (John 15). He is the patient Owner of the vineyard who sends his servants and finally his Son to receive the fruit, but being still robbed and dishonored, He finally exacts great vengeance on the wicked stewards. (Matt 21:33-43)

The kingdom was taken from them. When the kingdom is not present, there is no covenant love. There is no deliverance. No healings occur. There are no prophecies and prophets are kept in the closet. The fullness of Jesus is partitioned off. The fruit dries up.

When John the Baptist spoke of God’s ax, he said "It is already laid at the roots," not, "It is going to be laid." Nor did he say, "I’ll swing the ax!" as though his prophetic decrees could initiate the process. No, he just spoke the word. Real prophets don’t rejoice over judgment, they intercede. But neither can they afford to be kinder than God. Our righteous God is insisting on fruit. He is demanding an accounting for His investment.

John simply but boldly announced God’s word-- that judgment was already underway.

Stubbornness, rebellion, lawlessness, legalism, pride, criticism, doubt, and dullness of hearing had become so embedded in the religious system that the fruit of the kingdom was gone. People had stopped hearing a fresh word from the Lord. They even had the Word Made Flesh walking in front of them daily and didn’t see Him. The Temple system was over and the era of The Body of Christ was beginning. The priests were being replaced by apostles and prophets. The Sacrifice was about to be finished. The Law was being fulfilled and Holy Spirit was about to arrive. Nothing would remain the same.

I am carrying my red-handled ax on my shoulder as I visit the churches.

The Red-Handled Ax © 2006 by Ron Wood. Online at http://www.touchedbygrace.org/
We are Touched by Grace to Touch the World! Write us at ron@touchedbygrace.org

Undersight

Undersight
By Ron Wood

In a dream, I saw this block of text as though I were reading a printed page:

Undersight: the ability to see under; to know what is beneath the surface; to discern hidden motives; to observe concealed aspects; to see invisible forces at work; to know the latent versus the patent factors, trends, or spiritual powers at work in people or situations.

Like Superman’s x-ray vision, this ability enables someone who needs to know the real truth to see deeper than others can ordinarily see. This is three-dimensional perception.

Our Creator is the originator of language, placing Adam and Eve in Paradise with the ability to communicate with Him and also invent names for the animals of earth. God uses pictures (visions and dreams) and spoken (rhema) and written (logos) words to speak to us. He also gave us the Last Word, the Word made flesh, Jesus, the Son of God. God is a master communicator.

The Lord loves word-play. He created languages and apparently enjoys using them. Based on the nuances of meaning in my dream, as I meditated further, I drafted this definition:

Undersight: def- "a supernatural grace given by God as a component of business skill, church leadership, or administration enabling a person to succeed and prosper where others would fail due to observing only the obvious or superficial; an element of a wise and discerning heart that has been illuminated to see by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

An application for believers is: "…the eyes of your heart having been enlightened…" (Eph. 1:17-18). An example in Jesus’ life is: "But He knew their thoughts..." (Luke 11:25) A corollary word (a valuable complement to it) would be supervision (Latin), which is the ability to "see over" or render effective management of a project, i.e.- to provide oversight for the welfare of group of people, or to take responsibility for the fulfillment of a corporate task. For example, my father was Supervisor over a large mining operation requiring millions of dollars and 500 men working 24 hours a day.

To supervise means to see over or take oversight. Oversight is a Biblical term. It is derived from episkopos (Greek) - "overview" i.e.- viewing from above, the root word for biskop (Old English word for bishop), as used in the New Testament to identify the task of pastors or elders. "Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…" (Acts 20:28)

May I insert a comment here? Notice, their first task was to take care of each other, not to care for the flock, although that was included. Maybe if more shepherds (pastors) in the body of Christ adopted this order of priority for fellow elders in their city, there would not be so many church leaders falling away or leaving the ministry for wrong reasons.

Back to undersight versus oversight: It is one thing to take oversight for a business, family, or church. It is another thing to have the Holy Spirit’s help to actually see beyond the superficial: the bodies, buildings, and budgets which can be counted or tallied. What is really in play here? We need to exercise oversight but we also need "undersight," spiritual discernment, to see the forces affecting us from behind the spiritual curtain.

Perhaps it is true that apostles (in church or in business) have a greater gift of administration ability to exercise government over churches or organizations. But it is also true that prophets (in business or in the church) have a greater gift of discernment to see beyond the natural-- beyond buildings, budgets and bodies-- into the supernatural, to discern spirits or mindsets or belief systems affecting us, even unconsciously. We need oversight and we need undersight in order to see clearly with both eyes.

In the Bible, the Old Testament ministry representing God’s ways was the prophet, also called a "seer." In the New Testament, the apostle was the most visible agent of the Lord. They were like architects for the church. The new Biblical pattern for the Body of Christ, which has not yet been modeled in very many places, is for the apostle and the prophet to team up together in an equal yoke, a mutual partnership, in order to grow and plant churches. Similarly, a husband and wife very often form a complementary team, partners in the work of growing their kingdom unit, the family, with both oversight and "undersight." Two eyes are better than one.

Undersight is a fictitious word. It isn’t in any dictionary. But sometimes new words do make it into our vocabulary, like internet, or multi-tasking, or Google. Learning a new word makes us think differently. Being made in God’s image, we are creative just like our Heavenly Father. God the Creator allowed Adam to enlarge the human vocabulary when he invited him to identify all the new animals in the Garden of Eden. We call this kind of verbal creativity "to coin a new phrase."

Very often new words may confuse us because we don’t know their proper definition, so we go to the dictionary. A definition is simply a framework of descriptive words based on prior knowledge, something we are already familiar with, a tool that enables us to grasp a new word or understand an unfamiliar phrase so we can recognize it and apply it.

When God gives us a new insight, the goal is so that we can utilize it to enlarge His kingdom and improve our lives. The Lord wants His grace in us to increase and spread beyond the present boundaries of our limited understanding. To do that, we need to think new, act new, and face new opportunities around us with faith instead of fear.

Let me ask you some questions: What factors in your life are puzzling you? Are you stymied? Does your present situation seem perplexing? Do you sense that there may be forces involved acting behind the scenes? Our Lord reveals mysteries. God can give you "insight with understanding" (Daniel 9:22), which means not only do you see behind the scenes, but you can comprehend what you’ve seen by the Spirit.

Ask the Lord to open your spiritual eyes. Be sure and use your Biblical framework- the Scriptures- as your window for viewing reality. Wait in the Lord’s presence; still your soul with quiet praise; give your undivided attention to the Lord. As you worship God, allow your spirit- your inner man- to be bathed in the light that comes from the glory of God through the face of Jesus Christ. Go beyond your limited understanding and allow the way you perceive things to move up to a higher level, where the Holy Spirit reveals the truth about things to you.

Discerning God’s will or seeing reality as it actually is doesn’t mean checking your brain at the door. Discerning of spirits is not the "gift of suspicion." God wants us to always exercise sound judgment. He values our mind and reasons with us. He gave us the ability to use logic, thoughtfulness, and wants us to learn from our experiences. Nor does spiritual sight mean neglecting the foundation of the Scriptures. Everything subjective must be evaluated in the light of God’s objective written Word.

The visible has to be observed, measured, and recorded. How do you measure success? You can’t unless you track the numbers. What about invisible or intangible areas? They also require observation and action. Can you see purity of heart? Can you see honesty or humility? Yes, you can. Can you see greed? Can you see legalism perverting grace? Yes, you can. Can you see an open door and discern the timing to step through? Yes!

Undersight © 2006 by Ron Wood, President of Touched By Grace Inc.