Thirty, Sixty or a Hundredfold? - Die Lighuis Ministry

By Yolandie Mostert (8 June 2023)

The audio version is available on our telegram channel: https://t.me/+1hYU7h46Jj1hZDc8

A while back while I was in prayer, the Holy Spirit reminded me of two passages in Scripture. It is as if He has put the passages above each other in order for me to see the parallels.

These two passages are the parable of the sower and the different sections of the tabernacle. While I was busy compiling the message, the Holy Spirit placed two more passage above these two. I have written a small section in my book on Song of Songs on the one passage; it’s where Ezekiel was shown the stream with the different water levels. The last parallel related to the ever-shrinking number of followers of Jesus while He was on earth.

The parable of the sower

We find this well-known parable in Matthew 13:1-9. Usually when we read the parable, our focus is on the seed that either gets stolen or that doesn’t develop into a mature plant. Today I want to focus on the seed that germinated and resulted in a fruit bearing plant.

Other seed fell on good soil and yielded grain, some a hundred times as much [as was sown], some sixty [times as much], and some thirty. (Matt 13:8)

Jesus explained the meaning of the parable to his disciples afterwards. You can read that from verse 18 and onward.

There are three groups of unfruitful people.

The seed doesn’t get a chance to germinate. These first group of people hear the word, but they don’t understand the message. Bondage and established thought patterns make it impossible to comprehend the merciful salvation of the gospel.
With the second group, the seed germinate, but doesn’t develop a root. They lack spiritual endurance. The moment when the fleshly needs of prosperity and blessing are not catered for, they return to the world.
Within this group, the seed germinates and the plant starts growing, but there are so many other plants that choked all the spiritual growth out of the plant. When someone wants to serve God, but are not prepared to leave behind all worldly pleasures as well as their love for money and sin, these things will be a snare and will obstruct all Godly life in them.

There are also three groups of fruitful people. The seed fall in good, fertile soil. The person hears the truth and understands it. The seed germinates and develops in strong fruit bearing plants. However, their yield is different. The one group produce thirty times more fruit as what was sown. The next group sixty times and the last group a hundred times more. I want to focus today’s message these last three groups.

Our purpose is to bear fruit:

All throughout Scripture we can see a theme of fruitfulness. We are called to bear fruit. Many people believe it’s enough to just accept Jesus and to have eternal security. Actually this is only the first step, it marks the start of our journey. We need to grow through all the groups mentioned in the parable in order to yield a hundredfold more.

First, we need to get rid of the rock layer within us. It doesn’t happen automatically when we are born again. There are many children of God that simply can’t take root. Another problem with regards to this is that there are not many sermons and teachings on spiritual endurance. The term the Bible use for this is to overcome – Rev 3:21. We have to run and complete the race with endurance.

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Rev 3:21)

Next, we need to get rid of everything in our lives that constrain us and literally choke the living breath (Ruach) out of our spirit. The love for money and everything that Babylon has to offer, restrict our growth and hold us back. The things of the world smothers us and hampers our spiritual growth.

Once we pass these phases, we can start to mature in order to bear fruit – thirtyfold, sixtyfold or a hundredfold.

My Father is glorified and honoured by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples. (Joh 15:8 AMP)

You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting (Joh 15:16 AMP)

that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Col 1:10)

The levels of fruitfulness

People on the next three levels dealt with the rocky layer in order to develop roots of endurance and depth. Most of the things that obstructed spiritual growth are removed and laid down. Of course this process of cleaning and surrendering will not stop until the very last of the weed in our lives are eradicated. Weed in the spiritual grows just as fast as in the physical realm, always way faster than the good plants. Relentless commitment is required to recognise weed and to pull it up.

Thirtyfold

This is the first and lowest level of fruitfulness and agrees with the Outer Court of the Tabernacle. It is also the ankle-deep stream that Ezekiel saw (Ezek 47). Everyone had access to the Outer Court. The number of people following Jesus that are bearing thirtyfold fruit are much more than those that achieve yields of sixty and a hundredfold. The number can be compared to the twelve disciples of Jesus. Twelve were way less than His initial followers and the seventy that left, but is still more than only the three that was on the mountain with Jesus when He was glorified.

Sixtyfold

This level can be compared to the Holy Place in the Tabernacle. The people on this level are in the stream up to their knees and hips. Less people reach this level. The number of followers can be compared to the three closest disciples: Peter, John and James. There three men were with Jesus on the mountain and in the garden of Gethsemane. The rest of the disciples stayed at the foot of the mountain.

Hundredfold

An extremely small number of the followers of Jesus bears a hundredfold fruit. These people live in the Holy of Holies and are no longer able to stand on their own in the stream that Ezekiel saw. The stream is so deep that a man cannot cross, he can no longer stand by himself and is driven by the Holy Spirit. Very few disciples of Jesus reach this level and in the rest of the message we will see why. Of the three disciples in the inner circle of Jesus, only one stood at the cross – John. The rest were watching from a distance. It was also John that leaned with his head on the chest of Jesus. Most of his writings carried the theme of love. When we read his epistle, the deep love and reference for Jesus can be seen. His approach is completely different to the other three epistles. The book of Revelation is not only a revelation of that will happen in the future, it’s also a revelation of the fullness of Jesus Christ. Jesus revealed His fullness to John, the disciple that walked in an intimate relationship of deep friendship with Him.

So many people refer to themselves as the end time bride of Christ and the remnant. It became like a new fad and spiritual buzz word. The bride is the one that yields a hundredfold fruit. In the next paragraph we will see what it entails.

The layout of the Tabernacle

We need to look at the placement of the different objects in the Tabernacle in order to practically understand the parallels. The bronze altar and basin were placed in the outer court. In the Holy Place there were three objects. The table on which the showbread was placed was on one side and opposite it was the golden lampstand. These two objects faced each other. Right before the curtain that separated the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was the altar of incense. Behind the thick curtain was the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies.

The parallel with the numbers can also be seen here. All the people could enter the outer court. The priests and Levites were allowed in the Holy Place, but only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year.

Now I want to discuss the three sections of the tabernacle in terms of our spiritual growth. Each item in the sections represents a spiritual principle. We can choose to remain in a specific section or we can grow towards maturity, to a life in the Holy of Holies, where a man is no longer able to stand in the stream.

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (Heb 6:1-2)

The outer court

The bronze altar was the first object in the outer court and here all the animals were sacrificed to bring temporary atonement. The bronze altar represents the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.

In the context of this message, this object refers to our salvation and redemption by the Blood of Jesus – the first step. I am also grouping inner healing and deliverance here because we are set free by the Blood of the Lamb (Heb 10). As we are dealing with all our bondage, we are busy washing our robes in the Blood (Rev 7:14).

And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:14)

After the bronze altar, we find the bronze basin where the priests had to wash their hands and feet before entering the Holy Place. The water in the bronze basin speaks of the baptism in water that every believer and follower of Jesus must go through (1 Pet 3:21, Rom 6:4). It also refers to the washing in the water of the word (Ef 5:25-27). The first being a once off event and the latter being a continuous process.

There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 3:21)

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:4)

just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word (Eph 5:26)

This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. (1 Joh 5:6)

Everything that takes place in the outer court are classified by the writer of Hebrews as foundational to our faith (Heb 6:1-2). We are not supposed to camp out in the outer court and to remain there, we have to grow towards spiritual maturity. I don’t disdain the outer court. Not at all. How else can one receive access to the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies if it wasn’t for the outer court. What would we have done without the Blood of the Lamb?

It’s possible to be fruitful when we make the outer court our permanent dwelling. But it will only yield thirtyfold. What does live in the outer court look like? It only focuses on the salvation and mercy without any talks of sanctification and the growing towards spiritual maturity. Many go so far as to label sanctification as works, which of course is contrary to what Scripture teaches us. In the outer court the flesh is still very much alive and strong and have not been dealt with. Only the foundation is laid: salvation, death through baptism and resurrection to a new live. We have started to read the Bible and can experience the effect of the washing in our lives. Someone that hasn’t mature beyond this, is still a spiritual babe and is dependent on milk due to their inexperience. Again, the outer court is not a bad or sinful place. It’s a needed place where we have to visit. But we are not to stay. Otherwise we will never get out of the shallow waters.

Leaders and ministers must also be cautious here. It is possible to be so focused on bringing people to salvation and on the number of people being baptised that spiritual growth and discipleship are neglected. Even those ministering deliverance can be overly focused on demons and other kinds of bondages in people and label everything as demonic while ignoring spiritual discipline and the crucifying of our fleshly nature.

The Holy Place

The table with showbread can be seen against the wall on the right as we are entering the Holy Place.

The showbread symbolises Jesus Christ, the bread of life (Joh 6:33).

For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. (Joh 6:33)

Our spiritual growth is dependent on us feeding on the bread of life. This doesn’t only refer to reading our Bibles, but includes our dependency and relationship with Jesus as the source of everything we need.

The golden lampstand, the menorah, can be found against the opposite wall.

The menorah represents the Holy Spirit. When we become born again, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The precious Spirit of God then occupies the heart of our spirit, the place the writer of Ecclesiastes refers to as the golden bowl. Thereafter we are baptised with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of this is to strengthen and empower us for the spiritual journey ahead of us. Jesus is the One that baptises with the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11). The menorah also represents us living by the Spirit as Paul wrote to the Galatians in chapter 5. The sixtyfold yield is the result of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

The only light in the Holy Place is provided by the golden lampstand and it illuminates the show bread. The Holy Spirit always illuminates Jesus.

In the Holy Place we feed on both the logos and the rhema word – the written and spoken word. It’s wonderful to dwell in the Holy Place. Here we live by the Spirit and bear fruit. We can hear God’s voice and can flow in the gifts of the Spirit. Here we study and come to know the Scriptures. People that reach the Holy Place in their spiritual journey, are seen as blessed and fortunate, and even envied. In the Holy Place the stream of water is now reaching our knees. Man is still very much in control at this depht, just like when standing in water ankle deep and will not be easily carried away by the stream.

We find another object in the Holy Place: the altar of incense.

This altar is the first object to be seen when entering as its position is right across the room. The altar is positioned just before the heavy curtain separating the Holy Place and Holy of Holies. It’s impossible to enter the Holy of Holies without first stopping at the altar of incense.

Even though the altar of incense is placed in the Holy Place, Paul describes it in Hebrews 9 as part of the Holy of Holies. I believe the reason for this is because the altar is allowing access to the Holy of Holies.

Incense, that speak of worship, is being burnt on this altar. When we stop at the altar of incense, we present ourselves as a living sacrifice releasing a pleasant aroma to God (Rom 12:1). True worship is obedience and calls for a lifestyle on the realisation of His fullness. Deep reverence and love follow as a result.

The difference between sixtyfold fruit and hundredfold fruit depends on our level of surrender.

We can remain at the table of showbread and all the wonderful workings of the Holy Spirit. Many people will be fulfilled by such a spiritual life. But there are so much more and so much deeper. If only we were able to taste the sweetness and loveliness of the Lord, we would never be satisfied with the glory of living in the Holy Place.

At the altar of incense we welcome the refiners fire (Matt 3:11, 1 Pet 1:7, Rev 3:18, Mal 3:3 and Job 23:10)

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matt 3:11b)

that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:7)

I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. (Rev 3:18)

He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. (Mal 3:3)

But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)

By the time we have cultivated an altar of incense lifestyle, the stream of water is reaching our hips. Now it’s not so easy to stay upright anymore. The altar has the tendency to reveal our fleshly nature and weaknesses which in turn leads to a deeper level of dependency on God. On the altar you truly realise that there is nothing good dwells in our flesh and that our only hope is Jesus Christ. It’s a wonderful place to reach. The refiners fire deals with our prideful nature because pride will never be able to enter the Holy of Holies.

It’s noticeable that only three disciples were in Gethsemane with Jesus. Gethsemane as another way to describe the altar of incense because here the flesh is willingly sacrificed.

The Holy of Holies

Now we are ready to talk about a life in the Holy of Holies. This is where the ark of the covenant was found; it was the most holy place on all of the earth. It was the earthly dwelling of YHVH.

The Holy of Holies represents the place of the deepest possible relationship with God; friendship with God. True friendship involves trust both ways (Isa 41:8).

We are quick to describe ourselves as friends of Jesus and of the Father. Friends are sharing their hearts with each other. Can we be trusted with the secrets in the heart of the Father? Or do we only want to receive revelations and experiences in order to look great in the eyes of men?

Total oneness happens when we are being carried away by the stream (Eph 4:13).

till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ(Eph 4:13)

Then man has nothing left to boast about or to lean upon. It’s a life completely driven by the Spirit of God. In the Holy of Holies we are being overwhelmed, captured and saturated by the fullness of who He is. We go where the stream carries us; all control has been surrendered. The uncertainty of such a deep relationship with God fills many with fear. Fear to surrender all control, because flesh always wants to hold onto security.

If only we can let go and trust Him. Then we will be carried to a place of revelations of deep spiritual mysteries and depths. Not to puff us up or parade us in front of people as someone super spiritual or great. No, the Holy of Holies is actually a very obscure place. Elevation and exposure are only determined by the Father and His ways look very different to those of men.

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Cor 2:10)

Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? (Job 11:7)

But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. (Isa 41:8)

In the Holy of Holies we are living face to face with YHVH (Ex 33:11).

So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. (Ex 33:11a)

There is no place for pride, rebellion and fleshliness. He reveals His heart directly to us. Only a crucified flesh can be entrusted with this great honour. This in turn leads to greater worship, humbleness and consecration, because no man that can come so close to God will even be the same again. In the Holy of Holies we live on His heartbeat because we lie against His chest (Joh 13:23-25), just like John did, who found the strength and dedication to stand at the cross. This disciple of Jesus was full of love that fear could find no place in him. To be able to live in the Holy of Holies, Godly love is needed; it’s the key to be able to abide in Him.

Jesus explained a man driven by the stream as being carried by wind wherever the Holy Spirit wills. It’s the same principle. A life in the Holy of Holies; a place where we can gaze upon and experience His beauty and holiness because of a surrendered life.

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (Joh 3:8)

As you are listening to these words, do you also yearn for these depths and fullness?

If you answer is yes, it’s the depth within your spirit that is calling out to the depths of the Father. His depths will never be exhausted. There is always deeper in Him. Don’t be satisfied with thirty or sixtyfold. A hundredfold yield is possible. Yes, the price is high. We cannot bypass the altar of incense; we have to climb willingly on the altar and remain there to allow the refining fire to do its job. But the sweetness in Him that will then be found surpasses it all.

Deep is calling to deep at the thunder of your waterfalls; all your surging rapids and waves are sweeping over me. (Ps 42:7)

One thing I have asked of the LORD, and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD [in His presence] all the days of my life, To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the LORD And to meditate in His temple. (Ps 27:4)