VISION OF THE SILLY TREE

Date: Wed, 02 Dec 1998

From: RIVERMAIL/STUART DAYTON

Dear Intercessors,

I received a note from Keith Davis asking for us to hold up Bob Jones in prayer. "He has been under physical attack recently spending three days in the hospital."

Bob has given us so much prophetic insight from the Lord, now we can give of our prayers.

Blessings, Stuart

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VISION OF THE SILLY TREE

A Vision Given to Bob Jones written by Keith Davis ************************************************************

In a recent prophetic experience, Bob was taken to an orchard of trees. Initially, his attention was directed to some of the rather humble trees in the orchard. These trees were so inconspicuous and meek in appearance that they were hardly noticeable unless someone's attention was directed to them. The trees did not have beautiful blossoms nor an abundance of leaves, however, upon careful examination greatly beneficial fruit could be seen being produced from these humble trees.

Bob's attention was then directed to the center of the orchard where a large seemingly beautiful tree resided. When looking at this tree from a distance it was clear that bright pretty blossoms were being produced that were very appealing to the natural eye. This tree was so exuberant that anyone visiting the orchard would see this tree and hardly even notice the other more humble fruit bearing trees. Bob thought that surely this tree would have an abundance of fruit based upon its outward appearance.

Bob then moved to the center of the orchard to closely examine this seemingly beautiful tree. However, the closer Bob got to the tree the less appealing it seemed. In fact, careful scrutiny revealed that this tree did not produce any fruit. It was totally barren of fruit and it's only purpose was to attract the attention of the people attending the orchard, distracting from the other more lowly trees that were producing beneficial fruit.

Bob then saw the name of the tree...SILLY.. The name given to this seemingly beautiful tree to the natural eye was the "silly tree". It represented the silliness that resides in the church that serves as a distraction to the true fruit bearing trees of Righteousness. Bob then saw a hand descending from Heaven toward the "Silly Tree" striking the tree at its base cutting off its foliage and blossoms leaving only the trunk and a few branches.

INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION

Presently, there resides in the church an element of silliness that has prevented the church from moving into the necessary maturity to bear the nature and image of Christ. The silliness has served as a distraction to the equipping ministries that were given to the church to provide a Word in due season directing the church toward growth and maturity. The Lord always sends his greatest gifts in the most humble packages. The enemy of the church has promoted the "Silly Tree" causing it to "stand-out" and nullify God's Grace through distraction.

Through this experience, the Lord is saying that the silliness is to be cut out of the church. Silliness is not to be confused with Joy. The joy of the Lord shall eternally be our strength. There is a clear distinction between Joy and silliness. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit... silliness a distraction.

The apostle Paul once said, "When I was a child, I used to speak as a

child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things." (1 Cor 13:11) When the church was young and immature, she did childish and silly things. However, the church must now move into adulthood and maturity, the times dictate it. We simply cannot allow distractions to continue to steal from us the essential fruit provided for us from Heaven.

Copyright (c) 1998 Bob Jones Ministry. All rights reserved. For forwarding do not change, or add to, or delete anything. Complete copyright must be included with every article. Copyright (c) 1998 MorningStar Publications & Ministries. MorningStar Publications, Inc., 16000 Lancaster Highway Charlotte, NC 28277 HTTP://WWW.EAGLESTAR.ORG