Good Afternoon Sisters and Brothers,
Last week we learned there are three types of Believers: the Ignorant, the Double Minded, and the Fully Persuaded. Today we are going to see examples in The Scriptures of each. Two of the examples are spoken of by Jesus Himself. The third example is given to us by the Holy Spirit through Moses.
The first example is Lazarus the Beggar found in Luke 16:19-23 (focusing on these specific verses):
A. Lazarus the Beggar (ignorant Believer that doesn’t leave the jail cell):
1.) “certain” = Greek word “tis” which is used of persons and things concerning which the writer either cannot or will not speak more particularly. The Holy Spirit told me further that more information on both was unnecessary for Jesus to make His point. This is why The Scriptures speak to a “certain” rich man and a “certain” beggar.
2.) Compare and contrast the rich man and Lazarus:
a. Both are Jews, both are the physical seed of Abraham.
b. Only Lazarus is the spiritual seed of Abraham because when he dies, he is in Abraham’s bosom – the place all Old Covenant Saints went to until the Resurrected Jesus Christ ministered unto them, and they went from being “saved” to being “born again.”
3.) On this earth, the rich man was successful, and Lazarus was a failure. Why was Lazarus, the physical and spiritual seed of Abraham, an earthly failure? He had no business, as the Covenant spiritual seed of Abraham, being poor and begging:
a. God called, and calls, all Believers to be earthly giants of faith and to be successful in this earth in all things! By the way, “all” means “all.”
b. Look at Lazarus’ condition:
i. He is a beggar, obviously can’t get around well because he “was laid at the rich man’s gate.”
ii. He is full of sores.
iii. He DESIRES to be fed with the crumbs from the rich man’s table – the table of the world.
WHY IS A COVENANT MAN lying on a sidewalk full of sores and begging for crumbs? Stinking thinking as Andrew Wommack says.
Proverbs 10:13-15 describes the mindset of Lazarus.
Proverbs 10:13-15
13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
14 Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
Lazarus should never have been in the position he was in as a beggar. As the physical and spiritual seed of Abraham, Lazarus was to experience The Blessing of Genesis 12:2-3. But, if we’re ignorant of who we are according to The Scriptures, we will fulfill Ecclesiastes 10:6-7. We should be riding the horse as a prince of God in this earth. Instead, the servant, which is the world, will be riding the horse, and we, as princes of God, will be walking.
B. Lot (double minded Believer who leaves, returns, leaves, and returns to the jail cell):
1.) Genesis 12-19.
2.) Lot is Abraham’s nephew.
3.) II Peter 2:7-8 tells us Lot was a righteous man.
4.) II Peter 2 also tells us Lot was “vexed” from day-to-day by seeing and hearing the unlawful deeds done by the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. “Vexed” means “tortured, troubled, worn down, oppressed.”
5.) Lot lived with Abraham in Canaan. So, he obviously partook in the worship of God by Abraham and his family. Lot heard Abraham preach. He developed his faith by being around Abraham, observing Abraham, and listening to Abraham.
6.) Lot prospered as a righteous man and being with Abraham. He had great material wealth and riches. Not as much as Abraham, but significant. The Word says, “for their substance was great.”
7.) Lot and Abraham decided to separate because of the strife between their herdmen. In Genesis 13:7 it speaks of the strife and mentions the Canaanite and Perizzite being in the land. These represent two of the seven evil spirits of Satan. The point the Scripture makes is there are evil spirits waiting for us to give them an entry to our heart. They attack our minds with temptation, deception, and condemnation. The evil spirits cannot create “strife” UNLESS WE ALLOW THEM TO DO SO. Double-minded Believers have “strife” within themselves through the persistent attacks of Satan, which they finally give into.
a. Canaanite Spirit – sexual perversion, addiction, exaggerated people pleasing, and child sacrifice.
b. Perizzite Spirit – limited vision, laziness, low self-esteem.
8.) Genesis 13:12 Lot starts out pitching his tent toward Sodom. In Genesis 14:12 we find Lot dwelling in Sodom. Lot, his family, and his possessions are taken captive by the marauding kings. Double-minded Believers are subject to influence by Satan and his demonic army because of their unbelief or lack of development of God’s faith in them. Once inside their minds and hearts, Satan ramps up his attacks on the Believer, his family, and his possessions.
9.) In Genesis 19:1 we find Lot in the Gate of the City of Sodom. The gate of a city is where the elders and leaders of a town would gather to discuss the issues of the day and provide wisdom and guidance. This implies Lot was a respected leader in Sodom. This tells us Lot had adopted the culture of the city. Else they never would have made him a leader.
10.) Lot knew what he was doing was not according to God’s Word. But, through allowing Satan to influence him with temptation, deception, and condemnation, Lot became a slave to sin.
11.) In Genesis 19:5-8, we see Lot protecting the two angels from the city inhabitants, but he is willing to give up his virgin daughters to appease the city inhabitant’s sexual lust and perversion. This is the ultimate in doublemindedness.
12.) Usually victory for a doubleminded Believer comes from another Believer interceding on their behalf. God spared Lot and didn’t destroy him and his two daughters because of Abraham’s intercession.
13.) Finally, Lot’s daughters, brought up in a sexually perverse culture, likely taught little-to-nothing about God, and likely didn’t believe what they were taught because no one around them, including their mother or father, worshipped God, committed incest with their father producing two sons, the Moabites and the Ammonites. Both peoples have been, and are, a thorn in the side of Israel throughout history, to include today. An ignoble end to a man that “had it all” with the exception of what really counted, a personal relationship with God as his final authority.
James 1:6-8 describes the mindset of Lot. Lot, a righteous man, was vexed daily by trusting in and desiring the world.
James 1:6-8
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Lot was double minded. He was a righteous man according to God. This means he was a man of faith. However, we can see that he didn’t trust God in all areas of his and his family’s life. Lot chose to make it by his and the world’s wisdom. And we see the end result of this Believer. You cannot serve God and serve the world. As Jesus said, doing this will cause you to love one and hate the other.
C. The Canaanite Woman (fully persuaded Believer who leaves the jail cell and never returns):
1.) Matthew 15:21-28.
2.) Canaanite, a Gentile, not part of the Covenant with God, yet. This wouldn’t happen until Jesus Christ is resurrected from the dead. No covenant, no standing with God.
3.) In Matthew 15:22, the Canaanite woman addresses Jesus as Lord and the Son of David, and she pleads for his mercy. She also acknowledges His anointing from God.
4.) In Matthew 15:25, the Canaanite woman came right up to Jesus and worshipped Him. Even though Jesus said it is not the time for the Gentiles yet, she refused to back down or leave.
5.) In Matthew 15:27, the Canaanite woman continues wrestling with Jesus, just as Jacob did in Genesis 32. Although Jesus said, “It is not meet [proper, right, becoming] to take the children’s [Children of Israel’s] bread [The Word of God], and to cast [to give over to one’s care uncertain about the result] it to dogs [to the Gentiles], the Canaanite woman would NOT LET GO of Jesus – just as Jacob in Genesis 32.
Genesis 32:26-28 describes the mindset of the Canaanite Woman. She was NOT going to be denied. Her faith was very strong. She was going to “wrestle” with Jesus through faith until He granted her the desire she desired, believed, spoke, and received.
Genesis 32:26-28
26 And He said, Let Me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except Thou bless me.
27 And He said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And He said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
6.) In Matthew 15:28, Jesus HAS TO MOVE FOR THE CANAANITE WOMAN because of her FAITH. Jesus said to her, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt [wish].” Just as Jacob prevailed by wrestling by faith, so did the Canaanite woman.
7.) The Canaanite woman was “fully persuaded.” She would not take “no” for an answer. She was violently contending with Heaven for her blessing.
Matthew 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
As we examine Lazarus, Lot, and the Canaanite Woman, we find four things common among all of them: all had desires, all believed something, all spoke their belief, and all received what they spoke. This is true of us. This is why we MUST guard what we feed into our mind, what we believe, and what we speak. A Believer is going to have results. The results will either be blessings or curses. We have no other choice, and we cannot escape one or the other happening to us. So, as God said in Deuteronomy 30:19, “choose life and choose blessing.”
Common Among All Three:
1. All had desires:
a. Lazarus: crumbs from the rich man’s table
b. Lot: pleasures of this world
c. Canaanite Woman: crumbs from the Master’s table (demon cast out of her daughter)
2. All believed:
a. Lazarus: in the rich man (world) to meet his desire
b. Lot: in the world to meet his desire
c. Canaanite Woman: in Jesus to meet her desire
3. All spoke:
a. Lazarus: begging for mercy and the crumbs from the rich man’s table
b. Lot: wisdom of the world
c. Canaanite Woman: cried for mercy, worshipped Jesus, and decreed her daughter’s healing.
4. All received:
a. Lazarus: crumbs from the rich man’s table
b. Lot: destruction of his family, destruction of his wealth and riches, and a sad story in the annals of Biblical history.
c. Canaanite Woman: her daughter’s deliverance from demonic possession
When Jesus told the parable of The Sower in Mark 4, He identified four types of seed sown. Three of the seeds accurately describe the three types of Believers.
The Three Types of Seed Evident in the Lives of Each (Mark 4):
1.) Lazarus:
Mark 4:16-17
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
2.) Lot:
Mark 4:18-19
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
3.) Canaanite Woman:
Mark 4:20
And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
In closing, God calls us to allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and point out to us which Believer we are today. And, if we are not the “Fully Persuaded” Believer, we have work to do through Christ. It is a growth process, and it doesn’t happen overnight. However, Romans 12:1-2 tells us to become living sacrifices to Christ and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, hearts, words, and actions. Transformation comes by observing Matthew 6:33, seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness FIRST. Everything else then lines up according to God’s Word when we do this and The Blessing just flows over and around us as spoken to in Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
“Our responsibility is not to look at what we don’t have, but to ask God what we do have, and what to do with it.” Bill Winston.
In Christ,
Larry