Grapes And Giants

(Permission obtained personally by Buddy Smith to use this article - though, since he had first given permission to Brother Cloud to use it, Buddy Smith has requested that I keep Bro. Cloud's headers and footers with the article.)

December 14, 2007 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following article is by Pastor Buddy Smith, Grace Baptist Church, Malanda, Queensland, Australia:

“We have been reminded again just recently that grapes and giants are most often found in close proximity. They just seem to go together. When the spies brought back from Canaan a great cluster of grapes, they also brought back reports of giants living in walled cities. In fact, the Bible dictionary I use indicates that the grapes came from the very location, Hebron, where the giants lived. I must confess that I would rather it were not so. My flesh is a lover of grapes, but has no affinity for giants. I would like for them to be found far apart so that I could rest in peace under the shadow of the grapevine and eat to excess the grapes of Eshcol, all the while avoiding all contact with the giants. The apostle wrote to the Corinthian church this very truth when he penned the words, ‘There is a great door and effectual opened to me, AND there are many adversaries. (16:9). Great door, many adversaries! Opportunities and Opposition, Doors and Difficulties, Blessings and Burdens, Grapes and Giants! This is God's plan for His servants. The very fact that they are found together teaches us to be optimistically realistic and realistically optimistic. If there are giants who are harassing you at this moment, then there must be large clusters of grapes nearby! It is God's way to plant them in close proximity. If there are grapes growing in abundance in your, then you must be ever so watchful for giants! And just here you will see one of those Bible portraits of the servants of Christ. In one of his hands is a cluster of the very largest, lushest grapes, sweet and rich, blest of God. And in the other hand he holds a sharp sword, with which he fights off the giants. While he tastes the sweetness of God’s richest blessings, his eye is sharp and his arm is strong and he holds the Sword of the Spirit, because the giants, the enemies of God, are ever near. We have been enjoying many wonderful grapes of blessing in the church planting work here, and there are also giants. Over the past few months our church has been under severe attack from many quarters. False accusations, slander, threats of lawsuits, unrest in the homes of our members, dissatisfaction on the part of some, and a thousand other difficulties have come our way. These are our giants.”

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