A Field Under Heavenly Cultivation

This is tape number 1546 in the Inspirational Tape Library, a talk by Corey Ten Boom entitled, A Field Under Heavenly Cultivation. This message was delivered at the Federal Prison Camp in Florence, Arizona, January 12th, 1964. Corey Ten Boom, who because of hiding Jews, was a prisoner in a concentration camp, and received four months of solitary confinement in World War II.

She is an author and world traveler, is rapidly becoming a favorite speaker among Christians throughout the world, and greatly loved by all. This morning, listen to what the Holy Spirit has to tell us, in order that the Lord knows exactly what is in our hearts, and He knows what message we need. Will you pray in the time that I speak? You can listen in the praying attitude.

You can have the horizontal and the vertical connection in the same moment. Pray that the Lord will give exactly that message that you and I need. And in the Bible, it is written in 1 Corinthians 3, 9, we are God's husbandry.

And I have once learned a word from Spurgeon, who said, all to have one's soul, one's life, under heavenly cultivation, no wilderness, but the garden of the Lord, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, weeded by heavenly discipline, guarded by divine power, one's soul thus favored, is prepared to yield fruit unto the glory of God. When you have received the Lord Jesus as your Savior, your life is not a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord. It can be sometimes seen like a wilderness.

In my life, when I was a prisoner in a German concentration camp, where many people were killed, and I was in the hands of people who had had a training in cruelties, my life was like a wilderness. I could compare it with this embroidery, but you see, it's not very nice. But when you have received the Lord Jesus as your Savior, and you know that the Bible is your book about you, for you, then you know that your life is not a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord.

And in the Bible, you see things as it were from God's point of view. And in the Bible, you read that those who love God, all things work for the best. God has no problems with our lives, only plans.

There's never a panic in heaven. Now, I learned that even that I was in a concentration camp, was within the plan of God. Not only that He brought me together with many people who had never heard of the Lord Jesus, and could never hear of Him afterwards, because they were killed or they died.

Ninety-seven thousand women were killed or died in that camp. Then, I understood when I brought these people to the Lord, when I told them the joyful gospel of Jesus Christ, who will be our friend, our Savior, and who has said, Lord, I am with you always until the end of the world, even in a concentration camp. Then, I saw these people who were very afraid and very dark and full of hatred and bitterness.

I saw them change in happy children of God. And I can tell you, every day when we were sitting around the Word of God, I had there a bunch of prisoners around me, and I didn't know from what church they came. But I didn't ask, from what church do you belong? Or what do you think about predestination or about the millennium or the way of baptism? No.

I asked these people, do you know that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, also for your sins? When she said, yes, I know it. Then, I asked, did you bring your sins, your bitterness, your self-pity, all your sins to the Lord? When she said, yes, I did. And then, I said, now, have you given your life to the Lord Jesus, your whole life? And she said, I did.

When I saw that person disappear in the gas chamber, the gas chamber, then I can tell you, I was happy to know that she was saved. It shouldn't have helped me to know that she was a member of the church, for you do not become a child of God by being in a church. To be here in this building doesn't make you a child of God.

Someone said, a mouse born in a biscuit tin is therefore not yet a biscuit, and to be in the building of a church doesn't make you a child of God. For that, you need a decision, and that decision you can read in John 1, 12, where the Bible says, those who receive Jesus, he gives them the power to become a child of God. You receive Jesus, you say yes to Jesus, and that the Lord does that miracle that you are born into the very family of God.

From that moment on, your life is not longer a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord, planted by instruction. The Bible shows us how a Christian has to behave. It is not so that you think, no, all right, now I can, my sins are forgiven, and now I can go on, just like I will do it.

No, no, you are wound around by grace, and planted by instruction. That grace, we must understand that means that when we are children of God, and we confess our sins to the Lord, he is faithful and just to forgive us, and the blood of Jesus cleanses from all the sins we confess. So often we don't understand that.

Exactly the very earnest Christians can be so burdened under their sins, but the joy is when we have the Bible, we know what to do with the sins. We bring it to the Lord, and he casts them into the depths of the sea, and I'm sure he put a sign, no fishing allowed. We are wound around by grace.

When I was set free after eight months of being a prisoner, ten months, I had with me a girl that had had a sentence of three years. We had to go from that prison three days through Germany before we reached Holland, and that girl was very ill. I brought her immediately to a hospital, and after they had given her a bath, and a bed, and a meal, and also they gave me a bath, and a bed, and a meal.

Boy, I will never forget that. That first good meal that I got after ten months, and they could hardly get me out of the bath. I said, oh no, still a little bit in that good hot water, but then I went to Claire, that girl, and I thought, my, she will be happy to be in a clean bed, and have had that bath, and a good meal, but when I came to her, she cried.

I said, Claire, what's the matter? Oh, she said, they have given me a clean nightie, and I have spilled, when I ate, I spilled food on that nightie. Do you think they will beat me? I said, no, Claire, you are not longer in a concentration camp. You are now in, you are not longer in a place where they had a training in cruelty.

You are now in a Christian hospital, where every nurse has had a training in being good for the sick people, but she didn't understand she was too ill. She was still scared, and when a nurse came, she saw in her just a guard of that horrible prison, where they did their utmost to make our life as terrible as possible. Claire hit her face on my shoulder, and the nurse said, what's the matter? I said, she is so afraid that you will beat her, because she has spilled food on her nightie, and that nurse took her in her arms and said, Claire, I love you.

You are not longer in a prison camp. You are now in a place where we have learned to be good, and for the sick people, and I see that you are too weak to eat alone. The next meal, I will help you.

Now, you see, sometimes we do not understand that when we believe, that we, when we belong to the Lord Jesus, we are walled around by grace. I heard a boy who said, when I asked him, will you become a Christian? He said, no, I try so hard, I can't do it. I showed him a stick.

I said, when I try to let a stick stand, that is not possible, but for this, it is not the nature of a stick to stand, but when I keep my hand on it, now the stick can stand. When I try to be good, a good Christian, by myself, then my sinful nature and the power of the enemy make me fallen, but when I surrender to the wounded hand of Jesus, his hand keeps me from falling. We are walled around by grace.

John Bunyan made a little good ploy. He said, run, John, run. The law commands, but gives us neither feet nor hands.

Far better news the gospel brings, it bids us fly and gives us wings. What does he mean? When the Lord says, you must love your enemy, can you do that? I can't, but when I open my heart for the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is love, love even for enemies. So when Jesus tells me to love my enemies, he gives me the love that he demands from me.

I met after the war, in a prison in Holland, a man. He had been one of the very cruel guards in the prison where I had been in Holland before they sent me to America, to Germany, to the camp, concentration camp. This man had been so cruel, had killed so many people when he was a warden, a guard in the prison, that he was now sentenced to 18 years in the very prison where he had done his cruelties.

And now I visited him. You know why? He had written to his mother, although I am here, I am happy. I have asked Jesus to come into my heart.

He has made me a child of God. I brought him all my sins, and I've read in the Bible that he has cast my sins into the depths of the sea, blotted them out like a cloud. When I heard that, I said, I will visit that man.

For when Jesus is in his heart, he is no danger at all anymore. And I will write to my queen in Holland to give him amnesty, grace. A queen can do that.

But before I did it, I visited him. And so I saw my former guard who had been so cruel. And I told him that I had met his mother.

And then I told him, I have been in this very jail myself. He said, when? I said, in 44. And he turned pale and said that we know each other.

I said, yes, we know each other. And that moment that man, Ernst Reich, saw his cruelties again in his memory, and I saw them. But the next moment he said, my, how happy I am that I've got rid of my sins.

There came a very dark thought in me. Is it so easy? Have you got rid of your sins? But in the meantime, my old father of 84 years old, my brother, his son, my sister, and many of my friends died under your cruelties and the cruelties of your companions, and now got rid of your sins. Is it so easy? That moment I saw myself, what did I do? Jesus had cast his sins into the depths of the sea.

And wasn't I busy to fish them up? I only could pray, Father, forgive me my unforgiveness and bitterness. And then I asked Lord Jesus, will you keep me very close to your heart, that I can forgive and forget and love my enemies? I hadn't said a word, but then I spoke, and I said, indeed, Ernst, you have got rid of your sins, for Jesus finished all at the cross to carry the sins of the whole world, also your and my sins. And I will write to my queen and ask her to give you amnesty.

And I did. But in that cell, I learned the greatest lesson of my life, that when Jesus tells you to love your enemies, he gives you the love that he demands from you. I have here a quarter, and I try to let this quarter float on water.

We all know that by the law of gravitation, it falls to the bottom. But I can make this quarter float on water, when I tie it at this piece of pine wood. Now it can float.

The law of gravitation is just as strong as before, but there is another law that makes that pine wood can float. You know what I mean with this? This quarter is me, my sinful nature, and the power of the devil makes me sinning and falling in sin again and again, and hate my enemies. But this is Jesus.

When I'm connected with him who prayed at the cross, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. When I'm connected with such a one, then I can love my enemies.

And love for lovers is good, love for neighbors is better, but love for enemies is best. And you never touch so the ocean of God's love as that you love your enemies. Yes, we are no wilderness when we belong to Jesus.

We are a garden of the Lord, watered round by grace and planted by instruction. And that is the very moment that we belong to Jesus. And sometimes the instruction, for the instruction the Lord uses our prayers.

I was a watchmaker before the war, and I had a jewelry store. Now in Switzerland, I have some friends who have factories for watches, and I can always buy my watches for wholesale price. Now in Holland, you must pay high tax on watches.

Once I bought three watches in Switzerland, and then I had to go to Holland. So I didn't like to pay the tax, and I took these watches and I put it in a corner of my suitcase that no custom officer in the world could find my watches. I've been an underground worker.

I know how to hide things. Before I went to the plane, I prayed. I said, Lord, will you give us good weather for the flight with the pilot and ability and wisdom, give us a safe landing? Oh yes, Lord, and after landing, will you help me to smuggle? I could not finish my prayer.

I prayed, help me to smuggle my watches. And I did not smuggle my watches. The moment that I would pray for it, I knew there's a sin.

Corn smuggling is stealing. I was a dumb Dutch not to realize that earlier. But you know, when there is something in your life you cannot pray for, be sure there's a sin.

Is there in your life anything you cannot pray for? Can you pray for the way you use the money that you have, you use your spare time? Can you pray for that book that you are reading, the friendship you have? You cannot. There's a sin. Jesus may come in the morning.

Jesus may come at noon. Jesus may come in the evening. So keep your heart in tune and your heart is not in tune when there is an unconfessed sin in the Lord.

You are not meant to be a wilderness. You are a garden of the Lord, walled around by grace and planted by instruction. There was a man, a boy, Jimmy, and he accepted the Lord in a meeting in Australia.

And I said, Now, Jimmy, have you asked me something? He said, Yes, I am now. I belong to the Lord Jesus, but I have still a problem. I said, Now, speak up, boy.

He said, I'm so fond of rock and roll. Yes, that was a problem. So I prayed, Lord, give me wisdom to help Jimmy with his rock and roll problem.

And the Lord gave me wisdom, even a little bit of humor. I said, Jimmy, now you belong to Jesus. And that means that you are standing on the solid rock, Jesus Christ, and you are on the roll in heaven.

And that's now your rock and roll. You see, that boy was the moment that he was no longer a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord. He was planted by instruction.

And we are visited by love. You know, God's love is the greatest reality. And I have never found so the reality of God's love, and that I was in a surrounding of hatred and cruelties.

And that was because I have the Bible. And in the Bible stands that God's love still stands also when all else has fallen. And in my life, all else had fallen.

I stood on roll call every morning from 3.30 till 6.30. And some of the guards used that time to demonstrate their cruelties. One morning, I could hardly bear to hear and to see what had happened in front of me. And suddenly a skylark came and started to sing in the sky.

And all the prisoners looked up. And when we looked at the sky and listened to the birdsong, I thought that Psalm 103 was written, as high as heaven over the earth, so high is God's mercy and love over all that fear Him. And suddenly I saw it.

Oh, love of God, how deep and great, far deeper than man's deepest hate. And God sent that skylark during three weeks daily, exactly during roll call time, to turn away our eyes from the cruelty of man and to the ocean of love of God. We are no wilderness, but the garden of the Lord, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, by God's love, and weeded by heavenly discipline.

You know, I have learned that I can pray for everything. And that's good, because when we belong to the Lord Jesus, there is not one single thing we cannot pray about, for we belong to Him, lock, stock, and bell. That is not so.

Some people think that here they have their devotional life, their Bible reading, they go to church, they're praying, and there the Lord Jesus is King. But here they have their work in the workplace, in the workshop, on the field, they're having fellowship with other people, and there they try to solve the problems in their own power. But that's not the meaning.

We belong 24 hours to the Lord. I was a watchmaker, and my father said sometimes on my watchmaker shop is my name, but really God's name should be on it, for I'm a watchmaker by the grace of God. And I've learned you may pray for everything.

It was long ago that I had a very bad fountain pen. Have you ever had a fountain pen? Now there are such good ball points, I even do not use a fountain pen. But have you ever had a fountain pen that wouldn't write? I just tried and tried, and there was ink on the floor, but not on my paper.

Before I knew what I did, I said, Lord, you know that I must write so much. I have such a bad fountain pen. Won't you give me a good one, Lord? A Parker 51.

I said, no, no, no, Lord, I didn't mean that. I may pray for a fountain pen, but I must leave the trademark up to you. But do you know what happened? The next day I got a little package from a lady, I'd never heard her name.

And she wrote to me, Corrie, I have had such a great blessing when you spoke in my church. And I thank God for it. And when I thank God for the blessing that he had given through you to me, the Lord said, I must send you my fountain pen.

It was a Parker 51. I can tell you, my cheeks were very red when I opened that package. With that Parker 51, I have written one and a half year long, every day, letters, articles, even a book.

Once I was very cross on the publisher of the book. I had sent him the book six months before. He did not publish it.

When I wrote him a letter, he didn't answer. So once I was so angry, and I thought, now I will really tell that man what I think of him. You call that in America, talk turkey, huh? Yes, I learned a little bit slang.

I thought, I will talk turkey with that man and tell him what I think of him. I wrote him a very sharp letter. When the letter was finished, I wasn't quite sure if that's good.

I said to my friend, say, is that a good letter? She said, no, Corrie, you mustn't overcome evil by evil. That's not a good letter. You must overcome evil by good.

I said, listen, I think that's a very good letter. Now that man knows what I think of him. And I mailed that letter.

That evening, I lost my Parker 51. Do you understand? You remember, this was God's fountain pen. I prayed it from God.

He had given to me. Now, with God's gift, you may not sin. Now, I tell you, the next day, I had a meeting for ladies, and I told him, with God's good blessings, we may not sin.

And I told him about God's Parker 51. And that group of ladies gave me another Parker 51. But you see, we are no wilderness, but a garden of the Lord, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, weeded by heavenly discipline, guarded by divine power.

And I can tell you, that power of the Lord is available for us. And we may, we can experience that, we can pray for everything, and then the Lord hears us. Once in prison, I had a very small problem.

I had caught a cold, and I had no handkerchief. I said to my sister, must I do? She said, pray. I said, pray.

She said, yes, why not? And she folded her hand. She said, Father, in Jesus' name, I pray that you will give Corrie a handkerchief, for she has caught a cold. Amen.

I smiled, just like you. The idea to pray for a handkerchief, but do you know what happened? And she said, amen. I heard that they called out my name.

I went to the window, and there stood my friend, also a prisoner, who worked in the hospital. I said, do you come to visit me? She said, no, no, no, I'm not free. I just bring you a little present.

I opened it, it was a handkerchief. I said, now listen, did I ask you for that? No. He said, why do you bring me a handkerchief? She said, I was folding handkerchiefs in the hospital, and there was a voice in my heart that told me, bring a handkerchief to Corrie ten Boom.

Can you imagine, what in such a moment a handkerchief can tell you? That handkerchief told me that there's a God in heaven, who listens, when on a very small planet, one of his children prays for an impossible little thing, for a handkerchief, and that Father in heaven hears it, and tells one of his other children, give Corrie ten Boom a handkerchief. My friends, this is what the Bible tells, the foolishness of God. But you see, the dimensions of God are so different from our dimensions.

It is possible that the handkerchief is just as important as whole America. I don't know it, but this I know, that God answers prayers. That is written in the book.

Does he always give the yes answer? No. Sometimes he gives the no answer. I prayed that the Lord would heal my sister.

She was very ill. But the next day, when I passed the hospital barrack in the prison, I saw that they took her dead body to bring it to the crematorium, and it was the darkest moment of my life. But a week later, I was set free by a blunder of men, and a miracle of God.

And then, when I came in the office to get registered, I said, what about, I heard that they didn't know that my sister had died, and I said, is my sister also set free? They said, no, she must remain there for the duration of the war. I would find out what should have happened with her if she had not died. Then I asked, may I stay with her? The officer said, not one minute, now you disappear.

I praised and thanked my Lord for that unanswered prayer. Or just imagine, when God should have healed her, she should have had to stay in that hell of the concentration camp, and I should go to Holland. And now I knew that she was in a house of the Father, with the many mansions.

God does not make mistakes, never, and I saw it. And once in heaven, we will see God's side also of our so-called unanswered prayers, and we will see that God's no answer sometimes can be still greater blessing than a yes answer. God never makes a mistake.

We are not a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, weeded by heavenly discipline, guarded by divine power, and you may ask him everything, and your life thus favored is prepared to yield fruit unto the glory of God. You see, that's the great joy. When we bring our sins to the Lord Jesus, he will forgive us and cleanse us.

But that's not the only thing. He cleanses our heart, that our lives will be a garden to the honor of God. For when we are cleansed by blood of Jesus, he fills us with the Holy Spirit, and Holy Spirit makes us to be the light of the world.

For the fruit of the Spirit is love, and peace, and goodness, and kindness, and self-control, and patience. And then really, by our life, we are used for the honor of the Lord. Shall we pray? Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have come into this world to die at the cross for us, so that we are not, have not to be a wilderness, but your garden. Oh Lord, we thank you that you have said, Lord, I'm with you always till the end of the world. And now Lord, I pray that you will show us if there are sins in our hearts, so that we can bring them to you, and then you will fill us with the Holy Spirit.

Lord, I pray that you will lay your hand on the life of all of us in this room, so that you will make from our lives instead for a wilderness, a garden to your honor. Thank you, Lord, that you will use sinners, save sinners like we are, to be the light of the world. Thank you for that great joy.

Oh Lord, make us such a light that we may reflect your joy and love, and that the fellow men here, the fellow prisoners, may see in us you by our testimony and by our life, so that when we come in heaven, several will tell us you invited me here. Thank you, Lord. Amen.