Mike Bernadsky released his 40 page manual today on The Kingdom of Heaven & The Parables! You can download your electronic version in Adobe Acrobat format by clicking on the link below:
The Kingdom of Heaven & The Parables
June 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
(All Scripture passages are taken from The Amplified Bible, unless otherwise stated)
(‘Young’ refers to Brad Young, “The Parables, Jewish Tradition & Christian Interpretation”)
(‘Rufus’ refers to contributor Rufus Talent)
Welcome to our journey of exploring The Kingdom of Heaven & The Parables . I just wanted to let you know you did arrive at the right destination. I should have some introductory information and questions for you in a day or two.
We’re still registering online participants, and may add more physical attendees as well.
Besides teaching principles of what I feel is the right way to interpret the Kingdom of Heaven & The Parables, one of my goals is to inspire believers to do some study & research of their own. In our on-site meeting on 2-8-11 we will spend some time becoming acquainted with each other, and sharing why we’re there & what we hope to achieve by attending.
I will share some introductory remarks as listed below; then open up the meeting to responses to the following questions. I hope to post questions each week in advance to provide ample opportunity for all to do some homework before attending. This is strongly encouraged, but is not a pre-requisite.
Online comments are welcome. However, I can’t promise that I will be able to process them & respond to all or any contributions. If someone senses the Lord directing them to be my personal scribe to pore over the responses online & on-site, and incorporate the information into the body of my lessons and then assist me in posting the results online, please let me know. Otherwise, I will approve whatever comments I am able to read, and they should then show up for all to read. However, those following online wouldn’t have access to what was discussed on-site.
I would encourage everyone to print out the lessons for each week & assemble a manual with the colored title as a cover page. Simply copy & paste on a document, making whatever adjustments desired, and then print. I like a format where the lesson material is on the left hand page & have a ruled sheet on the right hand page (if you’re right-handed, I guess) for easy note taking. We’re hoping to post these lessons in a pdf format soon so I could include the ruled pages as well. Happy studying & learning!
I – Purpose:
To understanding the True, Proper & Deeper meaning that God intended for us when Jesus spoke about The Kingdom of Heaven & illustrated it by speaking in Parables.
II – Objective:
To derive the maximum blessing, joy & edification that a believe can achieve through an accurate interpretation of The Kingdom of Heaven & The Parables.
III – General Introduction:
· In my opinion, there are many mistakes &/or inaccuracies made in their interpretation & application that tend to rob us of huge benefits & blessings. And we all know where theft comes from!
· The devil is mad at God for kicking him out of Heaven. And since he can’t get back at God directly, he does so by attacking us, His prize creation made in His “likeness & image”. In messing us up two things happen…
1. We don’t reach our full potential & enjoyment of being a child of God; and
2. God gets robbed of the honor & glory due to Him.
· While I’m not a theologian I believe God has given me certain insights that can help us get on the right track to restore the real meaning & cause us to experience more of the fullness of His blessings for us.
· Those who teach & interpret…are like a householder who brings forth out of his storehouse treasure (I’ve been interpreting parables for over 40 years) that is new and old (the fresh as well as the familiar. Matthew 13:52). It is my goal for us to confirm & establish some of the accurate ‘old’ truths we’ve learned; and add ‘new’ insights.
IV – Definitions:
· The definition & understanding of both what a parable & the Kingdom of Heaven are, is absolutely critical to gleaning an accurate & maximum benefit of what these teachings are attempting to convey.
· “secrets & mysteries”
Matthew 13:11…Jesus, to the disciples, “to you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven…”
Ephesians 3:1-11…Paul repeatedly says re the Gospel to be taken to the Gentiles, “…the mystery (secret) was made known to me and I was allowed to comprehend it by direct revelation… .was never disclosed to human beings in past generations as it has now been revealed…“hidden through the ages”…that through the Church…might now be made known… the eternal and timeless purpose…” Also Colossians 1:25-27.
· “The N.T. is in the Old concealed. The O.T. is in the New, revealed.”
Not only can we not understand the N.T. unless we understand the O.T. accurately; we also cannot appreciate all the tremendous aspects & intricacies of God’s Ultimate Plan for our lives through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” John 10:10b
A. What’s a Parable? (“1/3 of the words that Jesus spoke are in parables” – Young.) (((Original Questions…
1. Did Jesus invent this medium?
2. What was the Purpose of teaching in this manner?
3. How much of His teaching was in Parables?)))
· An illustration from nature explaining a spiritual truth. Many of Jesus’ teaching are earthy, agricultural, simple, everyday, practical. That’s probably why I relate so much to them & see them from a different perspective compared to others…being a farm boy & gardener. Add to that, the minor prophetic gifting on me, provides for an interesting understanding & interpretation of the parables.
“The word parable means to lie alongside and is from the same root as parallel. A parable is a fictional story using symbolism to represent spiritual truths.” - Rufus.
· Hebrew: Story telling, to “reach the heart through the imagination…from a proverbial saying, to a fictitious story. It may refer to a proverb, riddle, anecdote, fable, or allegory…defines the unknown by using what is known” – Young. The Jewish language is a pictorial language. It paints pictures. **Jewish photographer I met at City of Faith…produced 2 volumes on the Land of Israel – all pictures, no words.
· We think in pictures, not words. Unfortunately the Church has never embraced & practiced the divine tool of meditation/visualization in overcoming temptations & problems, and achieving victory in our lives.
Hebrews 12:2, “Fix (NIV…focus) your eyes on Jesus…”…our Shepherd, our Healer, our Provider, etc. Also Philippians 4:8; Psalm 1; Joshua 1:8 So the enemy has stolen it away from us & perverted it (like everything else), causing us to ‘throw the baby out with the bath water’.
*For more on this, go to Lesson 8, Soul – Mind, Emotions, Will, www.restoration101.org, Restoration101 Manual.
Application:
(((This week we took an extended block of time to discuss “we think in pictures” under “What is a Parable?” & “Application”. Go back to this section and meditate on the ways we can meditate on & visualize Jesus on the ’screen of our mind’ to gain victory over difficult areas of our lives & enhance our ability to worship God more effectively.
**We also spent more time discussing ‘The Kingdom of Heaven’ vs ‘The Kingdom of God’.
**Then individuals shared the results of their assignment in choosing one parable to interpret. One person did extensive research on ‘The Pearl of Great Price’. I will share it with everyone later as a resource material once we get to that parable in our study.
ü Loneliness
ü Fear
ü Stress, anxiety
ü Guilt, Condemnation, shame
ü Temptation
ü Our position in/with Christ 2Corinthians 2:14-16)))
· Greek…more drama. The players, the events, the application…more pronounced…requiring or evoking a decision. There was a definite purpose to them.
· Many other cultures used this medium. How was history recorded before the actual craft of writing (of words)? Men told it to their children in stories, but as vividly as possible so that would remember them…and that, accurately. The more vivid the picture painted, the more accurate the remembrance!
· We retain many times over what we see & hear compared to what we just hear.
B. What is The Kingdom of Heaven?
(((Original Questions…
· Let’s use a parable of our own & think through the concept of a physical king ruling over his realm. For example, who and over what was King Henry VIII a king of?
· So who is the king of the Kingdom of Heaven? Who comprises His Kingdom? In other words, who are His subjects?)))
1. In the O.T. Jesus was prophesied to be the coming King sitting on the throne of David. Matthew was written to the Jews to show the fulfillment of that prophecy. However, the Jews were expecting a ‘Knight in shining armor’. The book is replete with references to this being The Kingdom of Heaven… from God’s perspective, not according to their expectations. It is a kingdom postponed, but surely to come to fruition during the millennium. The book is replete with references to this being The Kingdom of Heaven… from God’s perspective, not according to their expectations. It is a kingdom postponed, but surely to come to fruition during the millennium.
2. Beatitudes (chapter 5 is chuck full of it).
3. Children comprise it…or comprised of those with the simple faith of a child. (Matthew 19:14). Not surprising since Jesus came as a child not a warrior on a steed.
4. The Kingdom of God… “…is within you and among (around) you…” Luke 17:20-37. Have you ever tried to wrap your brain around the fact that, with Jesus & the Holy Spirit of God residing within your spirit, you have the fullness of The Kingdom of God within you as well? I still can’t fathom it myself. Just imagine (visualize) of what it would do for us if we could get a divine revelation of what that really means!
Ø Is there a difference between ‘The Kingdom of Heaven’ & ‘The Kingdom of God’? Is the former, the Realm of King Jesus including the good, bad & ugly? And the latter, the Righteous Kingdom of God within us as believers?
Ø Why did Jesus go into the account of His last days & ‘the time of the Son of Man’ (v. 25-37); then refer to the ‘days of Noah’ (v.26-27) and ‘the days of Lot’ (v.28-29,32); and finally detailing the situation surrounding ‘the day that the Son of Man is revealed’ v.30)?
Ø Was it because we’re living in the time of the ‘Kingdom Postponed’, and He was taking us to the final end of ‘this age’ to the transition of the’ age to come’ where His Kingdom will finally be realized & come into being?
5. It is the general realm of the King, the ‘King-dom’, the King’s domain/dominion …everything under His jurisdiction…the good, the bad, and the ugly; believers & unbelievers; demonic principalities & powers, etc. (Luke 4:5-7) Is a king, president, etc. only the head of those who agree with and are pleased with him? Or everyone in the territory he has responsibility over.territory he has responsibility over.
(((2-15-11 Small Group Meeting Assignment…
This next week I’d like for us to explore different parables of Jesus, in General, as compared to the Specific ones we will be studying in Matthew 13. The assignment for this next session will be 2-fold…
1. See how many parables you can find in the Gospels. This doesn’t need to be exhaustive. Just put on your thinking cap & try to recall from memory as many as you can. I’d like you to be honest & let us know how many you could remember. Then you can search the Scriptures and add to this list, tabulating those as well.
2. I have alluded to the fact that we will be looking at three rules/keys to interpreting parables…
a)Culture
b)Context
c)Continuity, or expositional constancy.
ü First, define these as best you can – just from a logical standpoint…what you think each of these words mean.
ü Then what I’d like each of you to do is take any one of the parables you have listed & interpret it for yourself (then hopefully for the rest of us) using these guidelines of interpretation. It does not need to be extensive; just something real simple. And if you really don’t feel comfortable doing it at the meeting, I’ll excuse you. No problem. I’d like to stretch you; but not freak you out so that you stay away. But at least do it for yourself.)))
V – Types of Parables…
A. General: How many parables can you remember/list? Here are just a few…
· A man hiring workers to work in his vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). E.g. Threshing crews as a young boy growing up on the farm.
· Sewing a new patch of cloth onto an old garment – Julie, as a seamstress
· New wine & old wineskins
· Traveler knocking on a door, needing food at midnight.
· Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-)
· King & debtor Matthew 18:23-
· King & son’s wedding banquet invitations Matthew. 22:2-
· Man on a Journey & Talents Matthew 25:14-
· 10 Virgins Matthew 25:1-13
· Being ‘Born Again’ (John 3). Say what? How many of you have ever thought of this as being a parable? Natural illustration…spiritual truth?! Duh!
B. Specific: (a solid block of 5 parables within one chapter)…“’The Kingdom of Heaven’ is like…” a dozen times in Matthew 13.
(((2-22-11 Assignment:
Interpreting a parable…
1. Culture (examples of General Jewish Culture
· What was the problem/cultural implications of Abraham/Sarah & Zacharias/Elizabeth being childless/barren? Was it Scripturally accurate/God ordained?
· Context: What does it mean to “take things ‘in context?’”
· Continuity (expositional constancy): What does that mean?
2. Why is it Important to know all this? So who cares?)))
VI – Rules for Interpreting a Parable
· Culture:
ü e.g. Abraham/Sarah Zacharias/Elizabeth being childless…serious cultural issue: man could divorce his wife for not bearing him a child.
Scriptural/Cultural Truth: children are a blessing (of God). However, it is not necessarily a curse (of God), Scripturally, to be barren. Yet Culturally, it was thought to be so.
Problem: Jewish leaders kept adding more & more rules & regulations to God’s laws as time went along (worse by Jesus’ time)….and became strict about their adherence
ü Why did Jesus take dirt & spit on it, then place it on the blind man’s eyes (John 9)? In Jewish cultural the spittle of the ‘first-born son’ was thought to have healing powers. That’s why Jesus incorporated that little bit of culture into healing the blind man. He was the ‘Eldest Son’ of the Heavenly Father. John’s focus in his Gospel writings was proving that Jesus was God: His Diety..1:1, “In the beginning was the Word…the Word was God.”
(((We spent time going through the entire chapter observing how the Pharisees kept quizzing the man & his parents, back & forth, trying to find some way to disprove that Jesus was God. Both an enlightening & humorous scenario!
We also compared John’s focus to that of the other three Gospel writers…Matthew wrote to the Jews: Jesus is the King of the Jews; Mark wrote of Jesus as The Servant of God; and Luke (as a physician) depicted Him as the Son of Man: His humanity )))
ü Luke 10:4…”…refrain from (retarding your journey by) saluting and wishing anyone well along the way.” This doesn’t mean ‘don’t talk to anyone at all’, and be a snob. Culturally, saluting entailed a lengthy conversation/discourse. It was an event that took time. Hence, the expansion of this passage in the Amplified Bible just quoted, ‘retarding your journey’.
In other words, be focused on your mission & don’t allow yourself to be distracted by the normal, daily details of life. Example: “A soldier is not allowed to become entangled with the affairs of business while on duty.”
This is very apropos for our modern day & society/culture. We’re way too busy, and way too involved in too many things. We must clearly understand our purpose/mission/calling/gifting/anointing. Narrow it down! And stay focused!
*Pastor Rick’s message intro to Gospel of Luke, “What is your Purpose?”
*My notes on Luke…he states, “…to write an orderly account…(My purpose is) that you (Theophilus) may know the truth & understand with certainty & security…you have been orally instructed.”
*My personal experience…God narrowing my calling/ministry over the past 30 years. Principle: there is no anointing &no protection if we’re functioning outside the narrow confines of our calling/anointing. We don’t succeed because there is no anointing. As a result we fail. And because we’re outside the umbrella of God’s protection, the devil beats our brains in with defeat, failure, guilt & condemnation. Not good!
· Context:
The same words/concepts must be interpreted to mean the same thing in all illustrations/parables in the same grouping. Example: all 7 parables in the same chapter as Jesus enumerated them, one after another, in a cluster…the ‘man’, the ‘field’, the ‘seed’, the ‘leaven’, ‘birds’, etc., must refer to the same thing in each separate account.
· Continuity: (“…the principal of expositional constancy” – Rufus.)
As a General Rule: the same words/concepts must be interpreted to mean the same thing in a broader context and in related illustrations/parables that Jesus, and others taught/understood in other settings. Example: a)Jesus, in all the Gospels, b)Paul.
(((We took some time to study the parable of being born again (John 3), laying the spiritual birth process parallel/alongside the natural birth process, step by step, from ovulation to actual birth. For a full exposition of this process go to www.restoration101.org, The Manual, Lesson 1, Assurance of Salvation.)))
(((Assignment for 3-1-11…
We’re finally getting into the parables in Matthew 13 (compare Mark 4; Luke 8).
A. Even though Jesus gives an interpretation for the meaning of what transpires in each category of soil, there are still differences in regard to…
1. How many believers interpret the interpretations…
a) Who is the ‘sower’?
b) What is the ‘seed’?
c) What is the ‘soil’?
2. Which category of soil represents believers & which unbelievers.
3. What some of the specific characteristics of a couple of the soils are…
a) What are/is the rocks/rocky ledge in category soil #2?
b) What are the ‘thorns’ in category soil #3?
B. Are the actual soils in categories #s 1,2,3…
1. Okay? And…
2. It’s just the ‘stuff’ in them that’s the problem?
3. Can all of them become a #4 type soil?
4. If so, how?
Take a look at all of the above issues/questions, and develop your own personal interpretations.)))
(((Tonight we didn’t get to study the first parable in Matthew 13 as proposed. Instead, I sensed a need to lay a bit more of a ground work in reparation. In the past lessons we touched base on Literal & Inspirational interpretations, and the importance of accurate Literal interpretation. We spent more time on this.
And questions kept coming up about End Times issues because of earthquakes in our area. Even though the subject matter is something we will deal with later, there a ‘felt need’ to address some things & the Holy Spirit appeared to be providing some opportune moments to minister in this area as we talked about the present state of the Church & the anemic condition of so many believers. The following was our lesson.)))
VII – Application
A. Literal interpretation/Application…What was the primary message/meaning/purpose? Typically should emphasis only one main truth, not many or several.
B. Inspirational interpretation/Application…What could be a secondary possibility?…that doesn’t violate the rules/guidelines of proper interpretation?
1. Why is it Important to know all this? So who cares?
a) Destroy the works of the devil. In my Restoration101 classes I teach that the devil is mad at God for evicting him from Heaven even though it was his own fault of insubordination/rebellion. Since he can’t retaliate at God, his focus & strategy is to negatively impact us, God’s Prize Creation made in His Likeness & Image so we can’t be at the top our game; thus…
· Robbing God of the Glory due Him, and
· Robbing us of the fulfillment & joy of serving God wholeheartedly & unaffectedly!
b) Be accurate in our Faith/What we Believe.
· “Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you” – 1Peter 3:15.
· “Study to show yourself approved unto God…not being ashamed…correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully teaching) the Word of Truth.” – 2Timothy 2:15.
· Paul often said, “I would not have you be ignorant…”
c) For our personal Encouragement & Edification.
· Ephesians 3:10-13…”…not to lose heart (not to faint or become despondent through fear) at what I am suffering…” i.e. understand this is a spiritual warfare: one Kingdom vs another
· Understand “we are more than conquerors”, etc.
· “The Kingdom of God is within us…” Luke 17:21
· “Greater is He that is within us…” 1John 4:4
v Otherwise, we don’t know ‘what really hit us’ and we’re ‘merely shadow boxing’
d) To experience the joy of knowing…
· How much God really loves us
· Our true value in His eyes
· Who we are in Christ
v We’ve referred to some of these truths earlier & will be addressing it more in future parables.
2. What’s the real problem in our Modern Society? (Post Christian…)
Many believers just don’t know & understand the Real Truths of Scripture/The Faith. There’s such a shallowness & disregard for the Truth of Scripture. Example: Universalism! (We will address that more later under 3. c.)
a) Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”
b) Amos 8:11 “’Behold, the days are coming’, says the Lord God, ‘when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a (famine) for hearing the Words of the Lord” v.12, “…shall wander from sea to sea…run to & fro to seek the Word of the Lord, but shall not find it.”
c) “For the time is coming when (people) will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction; but, having ears itching (for something pleasing and gratifying), they will gather to themselves one teacher after another…their own liking and to foster the errors they hold.” – 2Timothy 4:3
3. What’s the real solution?
a) “Herald and preach The Word …whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable (whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome)…convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.” – 2Timothy 4:2
b) Study the Word. (Back to 2Timothy 2:15)
“You shall know the Truth” & “the Truth shall set you free” – John 8:32.
c) What’s the other condition of this statement?
· Obedience v. 31, “If you abide in My Word …”
d) Engage…Charisma editorial, January 2011
· “…we must interlock with God’s Word as it comes into ‘frictional driving contact’ with our flesh…wrestling with Scripture…”
e) Hope… the Truth sets you free from the bondage, the lies, the doubt, the guilt & condemnation of the enemy
f) The believer must have a…
· Teachable spirit…taught all through the Proverbs
· Fear of God Proverbs 1:7
· Love of the Truth 2Thessalonians 2:10
“We must Fear God, Love the Truth, and Implicitly Obey Absolute Truth without rationalization; for Rationalization leads to Deception.”
g) These teachings bring believers…
· Out of the closet of darkness…confusion…uncertainty…doubt … guilt…and defeat – the vacuum where the enemy lives and thrives, and
· Into the Light of God’s Truth where the enemy’s lies & deceptions are exposed…and the strength of his bondage is broken
(((Assignment for 3-8-11…
Since we didn’t delve into the study of the first parable of Matthew 13, our assignment will be the same as it was for last week, 3-1-11)))
3-8-11
(((Since we didn’t want to run back & forth from the natural parable & spiritual interpretation from category of soil to soil; and since we couldn’t cover all four categories in one class, we decided to take one soil at a time studying the natural parable & its spiritual interpretation.)))
VIII – The Interpretations (adapted from www.restoration101.org, ‘The Manual’, Lesson 4)
A. The Sower, The Seed & The Soil – Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23; Luke 8:5-8, 11-15; Mark 4:3-8,14-20.
1. Preliminary Deliberations
a) The only parable in Matthew 13 Jesus did not refer to as ‘The Kingdom of Heaven’, yet it sets the pattern for the rest…i.e., words used, etc.
b) Specific plots/parcels/areas of land/soil, but not ‘a field’ – v. 38,44. Hence, not referring to ‘the world’, but type of character/condition of individual persons… i.e., ‘anyone…what was sown in his heart‘ – v.19, etc.
c) Hand-sown seed (seed scattered by hand). “Semetic & Aramaic love idioms…mention the hand.” – (Young). Compare to ’choking’ in third category of soil; harvesting’ pearls’ later parable.
d) Young…feels “Luke is most authentic as to the actual words of Jesus because…” compared to Matthew & Mark.
· It’s more semetic…”preserves the original balance of a Hebrew parallelism”. I guess I don’t really understand that statement, or his reasoning.
· More dramatic/impactful…example: 100-fold harvest is more dramatic than 30/60/100-fold as written by Matthew & Mark.
v My questions would be, “Why?”
· Since Matthew wrote to the Jews? His terminology should be more ‘Jewish’, wouldn’t it?
· The 30/60/100 could be as, or more dramatic…increasing each percentage with greater emphasis…example:30/60/100!
· Matthew is the only one who has grouped 7 parables together in 1 chapter. ‘7’ is the number of perfection & completion!
2. Observations
a) General:
· Do all/most/some of the soil basically have the potential for good productivity?
v Discussion:
ü Not all soil is the same. Some is loam, some clay, some sand, etc.
ü However, mostly all soil in the same general plot/parcel/acreage would be…just not all of it would necessarily be properly cultivated/prepared for seeding/planting.
· Someone/ satan (and original sin) has tampered with, or something has happened to the soil & negatively affected that productivity – Genesis 3:17-19
· Something can be done (in most cases) to effect healthy productivity.
v I shared the experience from my childhood farming days of watching my father prepare wooded/uncultivated soil for planting seed…
Ø Bulldoze trees, place on large piles and burn them.
Ø Remove large boulders.
Ø Break ground with a one-share breaking plow, disc, cultivate & harrow (rake) soil back & forth.
Ø Pick up smaller rocks & haul them off.
Ø Cultivate, spray for weeds
b) Specific:
Ø Soil #1
· The soil is trodden down under foot & hardened – a pathway, uncultivated, hardened by sun.
· The seed that falls on it is stolen…‘birds of the air’ (Luke only; Matthew & Mark say only ‘birds’. Is that significant?)
v Is the seed strewn on the hard, rocky & thorny ground done so on purpose, or in-advertently as scattered by hand (cultural method of sowing seeds compared to careful sowing by machinery in cultivated areas only these days…though they were quite careful & proficient, seed being as precious as it was?
· No germination, no life, no productivity.
Ø Soil #2
· Good soil, but shallow due to rocky sub-surface (some say ‘rocks’- Luke; Matthew ‘rocky ground’; Mark ‘ground full of rocks’)
· Brief life is ‘evidenced’.
v How?
ü Germination
ü Plant stalk
· But thwarted
v Why? Due to…
ü Shallowness of soil
ü Inadequate root structure
ü Tall spindly, weak plant stalk
ü Exposure to the elements
· No actual. Long-term productivity
Ø Soil #3:
· Good Soil with ability to put down some roots…deep & wide? Is there Life here?
v “…thorns grew up & choked them out.” – Matthew 13:7.
v “…thistles grew and pressed together an utterly choked and suffocated it, and it yielded no grain.” – Mark 4:7.
v “…thorns grew up with it and choked it (off).” – Luke 8:7.
v What’s to choke if there’s no life?
v So…there’s life…
ü Plant receives some good nutrition & moisture.
ü Develops fairly strong, sturdy stock able to withstand harsh elements.
· Sustained life.
· But, only moderately productive in terms of quality & quantity.
v Why? (due to)…
v Infested with weeds, thorns & thistles, causing…
ü Limited life flow of moisture & nutrients, because the thorns hog most of it.
ü Limited access to healthy, direct rays of sun.
ü Limited (restricted) space to grow, develop & produce fruit – no elbow room.
· Good, deep soil.
· Sustained life, healthy plants.
· Very productive because all hindering elements have been removed.
v What is the key to turning bad or affected soil to good soil?
ü Cultivation
ü Remove rocks
ü Spray for weeds
3. Interpretations
a) General
· Potential for spiritual life in all soils, but evidence of it varies from soil to soil.
· Most are negatively affected by the enemy.
· Can be spiritually plowed, cultivated and adequately prepared for the spiritual seed of the Gospel & optimum productivity.
v How?
v Through Intercession, serving, friendship evangelism, etc. – 2Corinthia ns 10:3-4
b) Specific
Ø Soil #1: Unbeliever
· Hardened by enemy lies, deceptions, attacks – 2Corinthians 4:3-4
· Seed of the Word is stolen [“out of their hearts” – Luke; “at once and (by force)” – Mark] by satan, prince of the ‘power of the air’…due to no penetration/receptivity. (Birds in scripture often represent demonic entities.)
· WHY? No germination/ovulation/conception. So no spiritual life/birth.
Ø Soil #2: Addictive Personalities
· Enthusiastically responsive to the Gospel because of desperation & the promise of personal victory
v Evidence of spiritual ovulation/conception/ life
v The issue of “life”: was there ever any spiritual life
ü Fruit or no fruit?
ü What really is fruit anyway?
ü Do we sometimes get confused between ‘fruit’ & ‘reproduction’? John 15:1-8; Galatians 5:22-23
· Very shallow Christian, no staying power/lasting life, easily swayed & drawn back to addictions when things get tough due to selfish pre-occupation with personal needs and dependence on external & artificial sources to meet needs
v For years I struggled with understanding what the rocky ledge represented. I thought it was lack of discipline. But then I saw a lot of naturally, well-disciplined, successful people make total shambles of their lives.
v Example:
ü Athlethes
ü Actors
ü Business people
v Lack of ‘self-control’ rather than (vs) discipline. Many people can discipline themselves to be seemingly very productive and successful in society overall, but they lose the inner battle in the area of personal, self-control.
· Definition of Addiction:
ü Anytime we are not able to go down into the deep reservoirs of our personal character within us (naturally), or Jesus Christ (as believers), but instead reach out to external & artificial means to meet our personal needs of comfort, security, happiness, etc.
ü When this is done on a regular & continual basis, it becomes a habit; then, an addiction.
ü That can be anything that controls us rather than us being in total control! (Of course, as believers, it’s only through dependence on the Power of Christ within us).
ü Some people have good character/integrity & can still be ‘overtaken in a fault/misconduct/sin (fault)’ – Galatians 6:1.
ü Some (Proverbs, Jesus, N.T. writers) are scoundrels & ‘pursue sin’. Compare Romans 9:13-24; 2Timothy 2:20-21.
o Pre-destination/foreknowledge
· Characteristic of Addiction: The lack of depth of self-control is both…
ü The underlying cause for the addiction, and
ü The hindrance in overcoming it. – Matthew 13:5-6
· The addiction must be dislodged first before wholesome, sustained life and productivity can be achieved (rather than unwholesome, unproductive, counter-productive, destruction behavior).
v How is that done?
ü Drilling a hole in the rocky ledge of addiction.
ü Filling it full of spiritual dynamite.
ü Asking Jesus to detonate it by the Power of the Holy Spirit, blasting it to smithereens!
· Can all of this be compared spiritually to (a parable of) ‘premature birth’ in the natural?
Ø Soil #3: Damaged Personalities (wounded emotions)
· Receptive to Gospel.
· Evidence of…
v Spiritual germination…Life?
ü “…he who hears the Word, but …choke & suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.” – Matthew 13:22,
ü “…choke & suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.” –Mark 4:18-19.
ü “…choked & suffocated…and their fruit does not ripen (come to maturity and perfection).” – Luke 8:14.
The one thing here that may make a difference in the interpretation is the true, original language & cultural meaning of the word ‘hear’.
Same thing applies in the interpretation as in the ‘natural parable’: If there’s no life, what’s to choke?
v Some (limited) Growth & development…no ‘major’ addictions (or is there?…dependence on good times & money??? See below.)
v Some Fruit…but only moderately productive…limited in quality & quantity.
v Average! Mediocre!
· So what’s the Problem here?
ü What’s lacking, if anything?
ü What are the limitations, hindrances to vibrant Christian living?
v “Involuntary Victimizations”…inflicted upon us in the normal, daily pursuit of life.
What’s the most common & popular means of changing a person’s behavior?
Behavior Modification…by changing how a person thinks.
So why don’t so many people do what they already ‘know’ they should do?
Wounded emotions…
ü “…but the cares of the world” – Matthew 13:22.
ü “Then the cares and anxieties of the world…creep in and choke…” – Mark 4:19. ‘Creep’ – subtle!
ü “Choked and suffocated with the anxieties & cares…of life” – Luke 8:14.
v “Voluntary Victimizations”…inflicted upon us as we ‘pursue’ personal fulfillment and happiness in the things of this world – 1John 2:15-17; James 1:14-16.
How often, in your opinion, would emotional wounding take place in the pursuit of ‘worldly things?
ü “Pleasures of life” Luke 8:14
ü “The pleasure and delight and glamour & deceitfulness of riches…” – Matthew 13:22; 1Timothy 6:9
ü “Cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things…”
· Removal of hindrances…
v Is achieved by weeding the spiritual garden. This can be accomplished in any number of ways. My approach is to invite Jesus as the Master Gardener to walk through the garden of a believer’s heart (life), and…
ü Pull up all the spiritual weeds, thorns & thistles, along with the roots & original seed.
ü Cleanse & suture the wounds…sorry for the ‘mixed metaphor’.
ü Release the healing, resurrection power of Jesus to effect healing.
· Creates a category #4 soil with accompanying results!
(((Addendum to Soil #3…Housekeeping/Tying Loose Ends Together.
It seems like every time we come to the end of a class session we’re short on time & rush through the most important aspect of the lesson. So this week we hope to go back to the end of our last lesson and look a little more closely at a couple of things.
A. Apology & Re-Consideration…re…
1. God Allowing Things…
2. [Though, many times we do incur attacks caused by our disobedience, etc. – Hosea 14, “O Israel, return to the Lord…for you have stumbled and fallen, (visited by calamity) due to your iniquity.”]
§ I was too abrupt & focused in class on a personal conviction & struggle of “what’s of God”, and “what’s of satan”.
§ God DID allow…
1. The storm – Luke 8:23…right after Jesus told disciples, and they obeyed Him, to go to the other side of the lake…were smack dab in the middle of God’s will.
2. The man born blind – John 9:3…no one sinned, “…but…in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him.” The problem was probably still caused by satan, but God allowed it, and used “…whatever you meant for evil…” (Joseph, to his brothers) “…to work for good…”
3. Job – “righteous servant”. Satan asked permission & God granted it…with limitations. Satan “robbed, killed & destroyed”, but God blessed him back with double of almost everything he lost [Jewish law of restitution (restoration)].
B. How do we determine/discover Root Causes?
v Resource: www.restoration101.org, Introduction, p.14, C. God’s Method of Healing & Restoration: 1. a), b) & c). (Compare what I’ve written there as a pattern for the following)…
1. God – Sovereignly reveals the root cause of a problem to someone out of the blue without any person even searching it out.
2. God – reveals it to the person in need after searching it out. Through…
§ Study
§ Prayer
§ Fasting
3. God – reveals it to one person in the behalf of someone else in need.
v The Process…
v Identify a recurring issue that just doesn’t/won’t go away, after repeated prayer & ministry. May experience temporary relief/success, but it recurs; and keeps cycling over and over again.
v Identify as much as possible when the problem first occurred. Go back a far as necessary in an attempt to determine when it may have started.
v Identify what traumatic event/experience may have occurred about that same time…in your life, in your extended family.
v Identify Generational/Family Issues.
ü Young mother with two young children – loving, compassionate. Suddenly experiencing urge to kill her children for the first time. Pastor helped identify it started when her grandfather died, who physically abused his children. Enemy transferred demonic influence on him, to her. Pastor prayed to break assignment & release her from the influence.
ü My 10 years of Oppression. I became a ‘basket-case’ emotionally overnight. Traced it back to my mother’s death on my 38th birthday. A 60-year assignment/stronghold of unresolved resentment & bitterness due to a teenage wound, and ensuing intense pain she carried inside her all that time, was transferred onto me. When identified & broken through prayer, and my emotions healed, my life was dramatically transformed into a brand-new person.
a) Go to www.restoration101.org, The Manual, Lesson 3- Spiritual Warfare. Glance through it, study it, or whatever time allows; then do the personal evaluation.
Evaluation:
· What types of conditions are you aware of, in general, that could be considered ‘hereditary’?
· Had you ever considered the possibility that these conditions could be more than just physical, natural, ‘this worldly’? That there could be a spiritual dimension to them?
· Had you ever heard of ‘bloodline’ or ‘generational’ curses? Do you understand now what that means? What Strongholds & Demonic Assignments are? How they get established?
· What possible conditions/problems do you see in your family that appear to have been passed down from generation to generation? How many generations? Have any of them been passed on to you?
· How has your family dealt with them? How are you dealing with them? Has there been an appreciable improvement in any area? Or are they just getting worse and more entrenched? How does that make you feel? Do you have any hope that things will ever change for the better?
· Do you truly believe the possibility exists that these situations/conditions can be stopped? Reversed?
· Are you ready to destroy and eliminate the ‘heredity’ in your life and establish the ‘Heritage’ of God? – Exodus 20:5-6. (v. 5 – heredity; v.6 – heritage!)
b) Add to it the following questions that refer specifically to our last lesson on “thorny soil”
v One of our main and oft repeated concentrations in this study is the difference between ‘symptoms’ and ‘root causes’
§ Do you want to continue dealing with the symptoms that keep recurring in your life and wearing you out?
§ Or would you rather focus on identifying and removing the root causes and having the symptoms disappear for good as a natural by-product? )))
Ø Soil #4: (natural parable)
· Good, deep soil
· Sustained life, healthy plants
· Very productive because all hindering elements have been removed
v What is the key to turning bad or affected soil to good soil?
ü Cultivation
ü Remove rocks
ü Cultivate, spray for weed
Ø Soil # 4: (spiritual interpretation)
· Productive, victorious Christian living…the way God designed it…
· Addictions are broken & removed.
· Damaged emotions are healed & restored.
· Holy Spirit has free flow to produce fruit & manifest gifts.
(((We need to spend just a bit more time talking about “Fruit”. – John 15:1-8
1. What is fruit? – Galatians 5:22-23
v “Love, Joy Peace, Patience, Self-Control (opposite of rocks in 2nd category of soil).
v It is “the fruit of the Spirit!”
2. What does it mean…(John 15)
a) To Not ‘bear fruit’? Anymore? Gardener inspecting branch (parable) indicates there may have been fruit the year before!? “…that stops bearing…” .
b) Branch being ‘cut off’? “…He cuts away (trims off, takes away)…” v.6, “If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a (broken off) branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.”
v Can you see where the enemy would have a hay-day with guilt & condemnation, causing the believer to struggle with Assurance of Salvation, if fruit was interpreted as ‘winning souls for Christ’ rather than bearing the fruit of the Spirit resulting from a sustained, healthy relationship with God?
c) Pruning? “…cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.”
3. How do you produce fruit?
v Not by any effort on our part, but by depending totally on Jesus Christ & the Holy Spirit within us!
v V. 4, “Dwell in Me…just as…branch (being vitally united to) the vine…”
v V. 5, “Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me (cut off from vital union with Me) you can do nothing.”
v V. 7, “If you live in Me (abide vitally united in Me) and My Words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts…ask…and it shall be done…My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.”
(((Addendum to Soil #3…Housekeeping/Tying Loose Ends Together.
It seems like every time we come to the end of a class session we’re short on time & rush through the most important aspect of the lesson. So this week we hope to go back to the end of our last lesson and look a little more closely at a couple of things.
A. Apology & Re-Consideration…re…
1. God Allowing Things…
2. [Though, many times we do incur attacks caused by our disobedience, etc. – Hosea 14, “O Israel, return to the Lord…for you have stumbled and fallen, (visited by calamity) due to your iniquity.”]
§ I was too abrupt & focused in class on a personal conviction & struggle of “what’s of God”, and “what’s of satan”.
§ God DID allow…
1. The storm – Luke 8:23…right after Jesus told disciples, and they obeyed Him, to go to the other side of the lake…were smack dab in the middle of God’s will.
2. The man born blind – John 9:3…no one sinned, “…but…in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him.” The problem was probably still caused by satan, but God allowed it, and used “…whatever you meant for evil…” (Joseph, to his brothers) “…to work for good…”
3. Job – “righteous servant”. Satan asked permission & God granted it…with limitations. Satan “robbed, killed & destroyed”, but God blessed him back with double of almost everything he lost [Jewish law of restitution (restoration)].
B. How do we determine/discover Root Causes?
v Resource: www.restoration101.org, Introduction, p.14, C. God’s Method of Healing & Restoration: 1. a), b) & c). (Compare what I’ve written there as a pattern for the following)…
1. God – Sovereignly reveals the root cause of a problem to someone out of the blue without any person even searching it out.
2. God – reveals it to the person in need after searching it out. Through…
§ Study
§ Prayer
§ Fasting
3. God – reveals it to one person in the behalf of someone else in need.
v The Process…
v Identify a recurring issue that just doesn’t/won’t go away, after repeated prayer & ministry. May experience temporary relief/success, but it recurs; and keeps cycling over and over again.
v Identify as much as possible when the problem first occurred. Go back a far as necessary in an attempt to determine when it may have started.
v Identify what traumatic event/experience may have occurred about that same time…in your life, in your extended family.
v Identify Generational/Family Issues.
ü Young mother with two young children – loving, compassionate. Suddenly experiencing urge to kill her children for the first time. Pastor helped identify it started when her grandfather died, who physically abused his children. Enemy transferred demonic influence on him, to her. Pastor prayed to break assignment & release her from the influence.
ü My 10 years of Oppression. I became a ‘basket-case’ emotionally overnight. Traced it back to my mother’s death on my 38th birthday. A 60-year assignment/stronghold of unresolved resentment & bitterness due to a teenage wound, and ensuing intense pain she carried inside her all that time, was transferred onto me. When identified & broken through prayer, and my emotions healed, my life was dramatically transformed into a brand-new person.
a) Go to www.restoration101.org, The Manual, Lesson 3- Spiritual Warfare. Glance through it, study it, or whatever time allows; then do the personal evaluation.
Evaluation:
· What types of conditions are you aware of, in general, that could be considered ‘hereditary’?
· Had you ever considered the possibility that these conditions could be more than just physical, natural, ‘this worldly’? That there could be a spiritual dimension to them?
· Had you ever heard of ‘bloodline’ or ‘generational’ curses? Do you understand now what that means? What Strongholds & Demonic Assignments are? How they get established?
· What possible conditions/problems do you see in your family that appear to have been passed down from generation to generation? How many generations? Have any of them been passed on to you?
· How has your family dealt with them? How are you dealing with them? Has there been an appreciable improvement in any area? Or are they just getting worse and more entrenched? How does that make you feel? Do you have any hope that things will ever change for the better?
· Do you truly believe the possibility exists that these situations/conditions can be stopped? Reversed?
· Are you ready to destroy and eliminate the ‘heredity’ in your life and establish the ‘Heritage’ of God? – Exodus 20:5-6. (v. 5 – heredity; v.6 – heritage!)
b) Add to it the following questions that refer specifically to our last lesson on “thorny soil”
v One of our main and oft repeated concentrations in this study is the difference between ‘symptoms’ and ‘root causes’
§ Do you want to continue dealing with the symptoms that keep recurring in your life and wearing you out?
§ Or would you rather focus on identifying and removing the root causes and having the symptoms disappear for good as a natural by-product? )))
Ø Soil #4: (natural parable)
· Good, deep soil
· Sustained life, healthy plants
· Very productive because all hindering elements have been removed
v What is the key to turning bad or affected soil to good soil?
ü Cultivation
ü Remove rocks
ü Cultivate, spray for weed
Ø Soil # 4: (spiritual interpretation)
· Productive, victorious Christian living…the way God designed it…
· Addictions are broken & removed.
· Damaged emotions are healed & restored.
· Holy Spirit has free flow to produce fruit & manifest gifts.
(((We need to spend just a bit more time talking about “Fruit”. – John 15:1-8
1. What is fruit? – Galatians 5:22-23
v “Love, Joy Peace, Patience, Self-Control (opposite of rocks in 2nd category of soil).
v It is “the fruit of the Spirit!”
2. What does it mean…(John 15)
a) To Not ‘bear fruit’? Anymore? Gardener inspecting branch (parable) indicates there may have been fruit the year before!? “…that stops bearing…” .
b) Branch being ‘cut off’? “…He cuts away (trims off, takes away)…” v.6, “If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a (broken off) branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.”
v Can you see where the enemy would have a hay-day with guilt & condemnation, causing the believer to struggle with Assurance of Salvation, if fruit was interpreted as ‘winning souls for Christ’ rather than bearing the fruit of the Spirit resulting from a sustained, healthy relationship with God?
c) Pruning? “…cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.”
3. How do you produce fruit?
v Not by any effort on our part, but by depending totally on Jesus Christ & the Holy Spirit within us!
v V. 4, “Dwell in Me…just as…branch (being vitally united to) the vine…”
v V. 5, “Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me (cut off from vital union with Me) you can do nothing.”
v V. 7, “If you live in Me (abide vitally united in Me) and My Words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts…ask…and it shall be done…My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.”
(((Addendum to Soil #3…Housekeeping/Tying Loose Ends Together.
It seems like every time we come to the end of a class session we’re short on time & rush through the most important aspect of the lesson. So this week we hope to go back to the end of our last lesson and look a little more closely at a couple of things.
A. Apology & Re-Consideration…re…
1. God Allowing Things…
2. [Though, many times we do incur attacks caused by our disobedience, etc. – Hosea 14, “O Israel, return to the Lord…for you have stumbled and fallen, (visited by calamity) due to your iniquity.”]
§ I was too abrupt & focused in class on a personal conviction & struggle of “what’s of God”, and “what’s of satan”.
§ God DID allow…
1. The storm – Luke 8:23…right after Jesus told disciples, and they obeyed Him, to go to the other side of the lake…were smack dab in the middle of God’s will.
2. The man born blind – John 9:3…no one sinned, “…but…in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him.” The problem was probably still caused by satan, but God allowed it, and used “…whatever you meant for evil…” (Joseph, to his brothers) “…to work for good…”
3. Job – “righteous servant”. Satan asked permission & God granted it…with limitations. Satan “robbed, killed & destroyed”, but God blessed him back with double of almost everything he lost [Jewish law of restitution (restoration)].
B. How do we determine/discover Root Causes?
v Resource: www.restoration101.org, Introduction, p.14, C. God’s Method of Healing & Restoration: 1. a), b) & c). (Compare what I’ve written there as a pattern for the following)…
1. God – Sovereignly reveals the root cause of a problem to someone out of the blue without any person even searching it out.
2. God – reveals it to the person in need after searching it out. Through…
§ Study
§ Prayer
§ Fasting
3. God – reveals it to one person in the behalf of someone else in need.
v The Process…
v Identify a recurring issue that just doesn’t/won’t go away, after repeated prayer & ministry. May experience temporary relief/success, but it recurs; and keeps cycling over and over again.
v Identify as much as possible when the problem first occurred. Go back a far as necessary in an attempt to determine when it may have started.
v Identify what traumatic event/experience may have occurred about that same time…in your life, in your extended family.
v Identify Generational/Family Issues.
ü Young mother with two young children – loving, compassionate. Suddenly experiencing urge to kill her children for the first time. Pastor helped identify it started when her grandfather died, who physically abused his children. Enemy transferred demonic influence on him, to her. Pastor prayed to break assignment & release her from the influence.
ü My 10 years of Oppression. I became a ‘basket-case’ emotionally overnight. Traced it back to my mother’s death on my 38th birthday. A 60-year assignment/stronghold of unresolved resentment & bitterness due to a teenage wound, and ensuing intense pain she carried inside her all that time, was transferred onto me. When identified & broken through prayer, and my emotions healed, my life was dramatically transformed into a brand-new person.
a) Go to www.restoration101.org, The Manual, Lesson 3- Spiritual Warfare. Glance through it, study it, or whatever time allows; then do the personal evaluation.
Evaluation:
· What types of conditions are you aware of, in general, that could be considered ‘hereditary’?
· Had you ever considered the possibility that these conditions could be more than just physical, natural, ‘this worldly’? That there could be a spiritual dimension to them?
· Had you ever heard of ‘bloodline’ or ‘generational’ curses? Do you understand now what that means? What Strongholds & Demonic Assignments are? How they get established?
· What possible conditions/problems do you see in your family that appear to have been passed down from generation to generation? How many generations? Have any of them been passed on to you?
· How has your family dealt with them? How are you dealing with them? Has there been an appreciable improvement in any area? Or are they just getting worse and more entrenched? How does that make you feel? Do you have any hope that things will ever change for the better?
· Do you truly believe the possibility exists that these situations/conditions can be stopped? Reversed?
· Are you ready to destroy and eliminate the ‘heredity’ in your life and establish the ‘Heritage’ of God? – Exodus 20:5-6. (v. 5 – heredity; v.6 – heritage!)
b) Add to it the following questions that refer specifically to our last lesson on “thorny soil”
v One of our main and oft repeated concentrations in this study is the difference between ‘symptoms’ and ‘root causes’
§ Do you want to continue dealing with the symptoms that keep recurring in your life and wearing you out?
§ Or would you rather focus on identifying and removing the root causes and having the symptoms disappear for good as a natural by-product? )))
Ø Soil #4: (natural parable)
· Good, deep soil
· Sustained life, healthy plants
· Very productive because all hindering elements have been removed
v What is the key to turning bad or affected soil to good soil?
ü Cultivation
ü Remove rocks
ü Cultivate, spray for weed
Ø Soil # 4: (spiritual interpretation)
· Productive, victorious Christian living…the way God designed it…
· Addictions are broken & removed.
· Damaged emotions are healed & restored.
· Holy Spirit has free flow to produce fruit & manifest gifts.
(((We need to spend just a bit more time talking about “Fruit”. – John 15:1-8
1. What is fruit? – Galatians 5:22-23
v “Love, Joy Peace, Patience, Self-Control (opposite of rocks in 2nd category of soil).
v It is “the fruit of the Spirit!”
2. What does it mean…(John 15)
a) To Not ‘bear fruit’? Anymore? Gardener inspecting branch (parable) indicates there may have been fruit the year before!? “…that stops bearing…” .
b) Branch being ‘cut off’? “…He cuts away (trims off, takes away)…” v.6, “If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a (broken off) branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.”
v Can you see where the enemy would have a hay-day with guilt & condemnation, causing the believer to struggle with Assurance of Salvation, if fruit was interpreted as ‘winning souls for Christ’ rather than bearing the fruit of the Spirit resulting from a sustained, healthy relationship with God?
c) Pruning? “…cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.”
3. How do you produce fruit?
v Not by any effort on our part, but by depending totally on Jesus Christ & the Holy Spirit within us!
v V. 4, “Dwell in Me…just as…branch (being vitally united to) the vine…”
v V. 5, “Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me (cut off from vital union with Me) you can do nothing.”
v V. 7, “If you live in Me (abide vitally united in Me) and My Words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts…ask…and it shall be done…My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.” )))
(((Jesus’ words between the natural parable of The Sower & the spiritual interpretation. What was He trying to say?
1. “He who has ears (to hear), let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing.” – Matthew 13:9-17; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8
“He who has physical ears let him really hear & understand what is being said.” Isn’t that what this study is all about?!
2. “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
a) “To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven…”
b) “…but to them…not…” v.13-15
3. Did the disciples ever understand anything Jesus said? In casual observance of Jesus’ dialogues with them, they appear to be ‘as dumb as dirt’. They didn’t ever appear to really ‘get’ what He was saying. But I guess more than…
a) The people in general. v.16
b) The Prophets of the past (because it wasn’t their time yet). v.17
v As we discussed earlier the disciples must have had an open heart & a teachable spirit. God in His foreknowledge saw that condition of their hearts, and knew they were good soil, potentially. So He chose them.
v On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, that fact was confirmed.
· The disciples who argued as to who was greatest in the Kingdom of God, and who wanted to call fire down from heaven; and
· The disciple who denied he knew Jesus three times in the public arena, while the others cowered behind closed doors,
All became transformed by the Power of God. The seed had been planted into good soil by Jesus, and now we see an abundant harvest for the Glory of God.
(((Jesus’ words between the natural parable of The Sower & the spiritual interpretation. What was He trying to say?
1. “He who has ears (to hear), let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing.” – Matthew 13:9-17; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8
“He who has physical ears let him really hear & understand what is being said.” Isn’t that what this study is all about?!
2. “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
a) “To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven…”
b) “…but to them…not…” v.13-15
3. Did the disciples ever understand anything Jesus said? In casual observance of Jesus’ dialogues with them, they appear to be ‘as dumb as dirt’. They didn’t ever appear to really ‘get’ what He was saying. But I guess more than…
a) The people in general. v.16
b) The Prophets of the past (because it wasn’t their time yet). v.17
v As we discussed earlier the disciples must have had an open heart & a teachable spirit. God in His foreknowledge saw that condition of their hearts, and knew they were good soil, potentially. So He chose them.
v On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, that fact was confirmed.
· The disciples who argued as to who was greatest in the Kingdom of God, and who wanted to call fire down from heaven; and
· The disciple who denied he knew Jesus three times in the public arena, while the others cowered behind closed doors,
All became transformed by the Power of God. The seed had been planted into good soil by Jesus, and now we see an abundant harvest for the Glory of God.
((( Assignment for 4-19…Read Matthew 13:24-30.
1. Is there a difference between the ‘soil’ in the first parable & the ‘field’ in this one?
2. The emphasis was on the different types of soil before. What’s the emphasis now?
3. What/who are the seed?
4. Tares/weeds/darnel (Amplified, “resembling wheat”). How can you tell the difference?
5. What does sleep mean?
6. In both parables the end result is at harvest time. In the first, it was varied, with the ultimate goal being an abundance of good fruit. What does this harvest time depict? Are we looking for fruit here, or something else? )))
B. Parable of the Wheat & Tares Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
v There appears to be a more specific ‘cut & dried’ approach to the interpretation of this parable, leaving little doubt as to what’s what & who’s who… with some minor difference…
1. The Sower…
a) The first parable doesn’t specifically designate who the sower is; just that he ‘went out to sow’. And the interpretation revolves more around the degree of receptivity of each soil.
b) In this parable, the interpretation specifically states that the sower is the Son of Man. I don’t think there’s any doubt that refers to Jesus Himself, a common title He gave Himself.
2. The Seed…
a) In the first parable it is obviously the Gospel, the Good news of the Kingdom.
b) Here He says it’s “the children of the Kingdom”.
v We talked about “continuity”, BUT…can you see where seed being The Gospel wouldn’t fit here?
v Would God insist that both good & bad seed/fruit co-exist in the same believer until the Day of Judgment? No! His plan is Sanctification! Separation!
3. The Field…
v There appears to be a definite difference between the ‘soil’ in the first parable & the ‘field’ in this one.
a) “The Soil” is the heart (spirit/soul) of an individual.
· The emphasis was on the different types/conditions of soil.
· Four different types:
ü One, unbeliever.
ü Three, believers.
b) “The Field” is the world…similar to ‘the sea’, meaning the masses of humanity.
· The emphasis now, only two types:
ü Believers, and
ü Unbelievers.
4. Tares/weeds/darnel.
a) (Amplified, “resembling wheat”)
b) “While he slept”…in the dead of night…when evil is usually perpetrated…“Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” – John 3:19.
c) “Do you want us to go and weed them out?”
d) “No…Let them grow together until the harvest. “
v Why is all this mentioned?
v How can we tell the difference? Discernment! “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” – 1Samuel 16:7.
v This will be discussed more in “Application” below.
5. Characteristics. In both parables it is at harvest(ing) time.
a) In the first, it was varied, with the ultimate goal being an abundance of good fruit, but…
· Not necessarily at the final Judgment at the End Times.
· Just the season of growth & production…good & bad fruit/character.
b) The second, is definitely the Final Judgment, “the close (end) and consummation of the Age (world)”. We aren’t looking for fruit here, but relationship with God.
· Children (believers), of the Kingdom (of God) or
· Children (unbelievers) of the evil (wicked) one (the enemy, the devil).
v Both are part of the Kingdom of Heaven v.24, 41…only good seed are part of the Kingdom of God.
6. End Results.
v Two destinations… Matthew 25:31-46…“sheep” & “goats”.
v “Gather out of His Kingdom” (of Heaven) – 13:41… both good & evil residing (growing) together…“good, bad & ugly”.
a) Heaven…
· “…the righteous (upright and in right standing with God) shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.” – 13:43.
· Sheep. “ Come , you blessed of My Father (you favored of God, and appointed to eternal salvation), inherit (receive as your own) the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…those who are just and upright and in right standing with God (will go away) into eternal life.” – Matthew 25:34.
b) Hell…“weeds”, “goats”.
· “…gathered and burned with fire… cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth” – 13:40-42.
· Goats. All who offend, “(by whom others are drawn into error or sin).” – [“causes one of these little ones…to stumble and sin…have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be sunk in the depth of the sea” – Matthew 18:6] and all who do iniquity and act wickedly” –13:41.
· “Be gone from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!…Then they will go away into eternal punishment…” – Matthew 25:41, 46..
· “…the devil was hurled into the fiery lake of burning brimstone…where the beast and false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever…And if anyone’s (name) was not found in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.” –Revelation 20:10-15.
7. Application. What’s the real reason & purpose for Jesus telling this parable?
a) For us to not be judgmental… too quick to judge & sentence people, and pray God’s judgment on the unbeliever,
v James & John wanting to call fire down from Heaven. (Luke 9:54)…even be selfishly vindicative! We could cause a lot of damage in the process.
b) To teach the holiness & justice of the Father? That there is a real & literal Heaven & a hell.
v Example: Universalism. How could anyone ever believe in eternal salvation for all…regardless…when you read the passages of Scripture just listed above?
***In the next four parables Jesus offers no explanation or interpretation.
A. The Grain of Mustard Seed & The Birds. Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19.
1. Typical Interpretation: Everything here is good, great, wonderful…a desired result.
a) Man is God, preachers, believers…
b) Seed is the gospel, ‘faith the size of a mustard seed’.
c) Field is ‘good soil’/heart.
d) Mustard tree is the combined believers, The Universal Church, the Kingdom of ‘God’.
e) Birds are unbelievers coming into The Church, becoming born again, finding refuge in it, and being disciple.
2. Proper (possible other) interpretation: something is wrong here!?
…“sowed in his field…when it has grown it is the largest of the garden herbs and becomes a tree*, so that the birds of the air come and find shelter in its branches.” (Matthew).
a) Man – God (v.37).
b) Seed – the Church.
c) Field – the world (v.38)…”the good, the bad, the ugly”.
d) Mustard *‘TREE’ – something’s wrong here! Why?
· Normally the mustard seed is planted in a field or garden (“largest of garden herbs”).
· But grows to an abnormal size…not intended to be a tree! A tree is not something you plant in a field or your garden; rather on the edge for shade, windbreak.
e) Birds…Luke, “‘wild’ birds found shelter and roosted and nested in its branches” – reproduced/procreated!
· Birds in first parable – referred to as demonic entities.
· Culturally…
Ø Birds were considered scavengers & unclean.
Ø Chickens were not allowed in the city of Jerusalem because there was always a possibility they would get loose & ‘fly’ into the Temple area & defile it.
v So everything is not good, great, & wonderful here; and this is not the Father’s desired result. So what’s the real meaning?
3. God planted His Church in the world to be…
a) Separated/sanctified unto Him, righteous & holy.
b) Small, a minority, a remnant.
c) To be salt & light.
4. But we have allowed it…
a) To grow into a monstrosity, an abnormality.
b) By compromise & lack of discipline/correction, allowing sinners & sin to be a part of us. “Made it a den of thieves.”
5. Examples in History & Today…
a) Constantine…making Christianity the State Religion.
b) England…making the Anglican Church the State Church.
c) Modern Day…allowing church leaders: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors & Teachers, etc. to remain in office when living in sin…or re-instating them too soon.
d) Allowing business people with unscrupulous practices to remain in office in the local church because they are heavy financial contributors.
e) Allowing parishioners to live in secret or open sin without reproof, correction & discipline.
B. Three Measures of Meal & Leaven Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20-21
v Yeast in bread dough. I can still see my mom putting yeast in huge quantities of dough in making bread…mixing it all up, letting it rise, kneading it down, then allowing it to rise again, breaking chunks of it off, forming them, putting them in pans, then putting the pans in a hot, wood-stove oven to bake.
1. Questions…
a) Who is the woman?
b) What is the dough?
c) What is the leaven?
d) What does it mean that the woman ‘hid’ or ‘covered over’ the ‘leaven’ in the ‘meal’? Or does it have any significance?
e) Is there any significance that it was ‘three measures’ of meal/wheat/dough?
2. Typical Interpretation… Everything here is good, great, wonderful…a desired result.
a) Not sure who the woman would be.
b) The dough would be the believer or the church.
c) The leaven would be the gospel, ‘faith the size of a mustard seed’.
v The seed of the gospel is planted or simple faith is exercised…producing a great harvest!
3. Proper (possible other) interpretation: something is wrong here!?
a) The woman in this case represents ‘wickedness’, ‘uncleanness’ & ‘unfaithfulness’. In a good sense a woman represents ‘Israel’; never the church.
b) The dough is the Church Universal.
v I heard not too long ago that 3 measures of meal equaled approx. 65 lbs…a massive amount of meal.
c) Leaven generally refers to ‘sin’, ‘false doctrine’ & ‘hypocrisy’. Jewish bread, especially in sacrifices/feasts, was ‘unleavened’ bread, signifying purity, unadulteration. Leaven was not allowed.
d) Examples:
· Jesus… Recorded by 3 out of 4 Gospel writers! Repetition signifies importance.
ü “Jesus said to them (disciples) ‘Be careful & on your guard against the leaven (ferment) of the Pharisees & Sadducees…the teaching of…’” – Matthew 16:6, 11-12.
ü “Jesus (repeatedly & expressly) charged & admonished them, saying, ‘Look out; keep on your guard and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees & the leaven of Herod…” – Mark 8:15.
ü “Be on your guard against the leaven (ferment) of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy (producing unrest & violent agitation).” – Luke 12:1. [personally & corporately].
· Paul…
ü Original sin…“as sin came into the world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, (no one being able to stop it or to escape its power” – Romans 5:12.
ü Talking about a problem of incest in the Corinthian Church Paul writes, “Do you not know that (just) a little leaven will ferment the whole lump (of dough). Purge (clean out) the old leaven that you may be fresh (new) dough, still uncontaminated…not with old leaven, nor with leaven of vice & malice & wickedness, but with the unleavened (bread) of purity (nobility, honor) and sincerity and (unadulterated) truth.” – 1Corinthians 5:6-8.
ü “A little leaven (a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers) leavens the whole lump (it perverts the whole conception of faith or misleads the whole church).”- Galatians 5:9.
4. Application:
a) Very similar to what we just studied in the previous parable.
b) Contrast:
· The mustard seed speaks of the perversion of something that starts off being good.
· The leaven speaks of an intrusion of evil right from the beginiing.
· Both eventually completely infiltrate & adulterate the purity & holiness.
C. The Treasure in a Field – Matthew 13:44
1. Typical Interpretation…
a) Treasure is Jesus.
b) Field – ?
c) Man is the unbeliever.
d) Hidden…found…Hidden again …field purchased to acquire treasure…sinner gives up (sells) everything he has to gain Jesus Christ & eternal salvation.
v BUT, we have nothing of value to sell or give up in exchange.
v “Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory of God” – Romans 3:23.
v “All our righteousness is as filthy rags” – Isaiah 64:6..
2. Proper (possible other) interpretation:
a) Treasure (‘something precious’) is us as individuals & corporately, The Church. Some believe it is Israel, God’s earthly treasure.
b) Field is the world
c) Man is Jesus
d) Hidden…“found…Hid again…in His joy…sells all He has and buys that field”…to acquire the precious treasure.
v Jesus,..“He, for the joy (of obtaining the prize) that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame”… saw us/The Church/The Bride hidden in the world; and gave up all He had, the riches of Heaven, to come to earth & die on the cross for the entire world…just so He could purchase us for the Kingdom of God.
v That’s how much God loves us, and how valuable we are to Him!
D. The Pearl of Great Price – Matthew 13:45-46
1. Typical Interpretation…
a) Man is the unbeliever.
b) Pearl is Jesus.
c) Sells all he has to possess Jesus & eternal life. BUT! We have nothing worth anything to sell in exchange. Compare 1. d).
2. Proper (possible other) interpretation:
a) Man or dealer in fine & precious pearls – Jesus!
b) Single (significant?) Pearl – The Church/Bride!
c) Sold all he had & bought it.
v Same application as last parable. Compare 2. d).
v Some claim the Treasure is Israel, God’s earthly treasure; Pearl of Great Price is The Church, God’s Heavenly Treasure. Hence the repetition.
A. The Dragnet – Matthew 13:47-50
1. Simple, cut & dried, right? Or not?
2. Appears the same as the ‘wheat & tares’. Is it? What’s the difference?
a) “A dragnet” – tool of harvest….evangelization or judgment?
b) The “sea” – the masses of humanity only…vs the field – the world…vs The Kingdom of Heaven.
c) What is the difference between the three?
v Subtle differences?!
v Narrows down a bit each time.
· Kingdom of Heaven includes – the demonic principalities & powers of the ‘air’.
· Field – involves planting of seed, growing season, harvest.
v Typically only good seed is planted by a sower.
v God doesn’t plant His Good Seed in the kingdom of satan.
· Sea – Existence of both believers & unbelievers harvest only. *See Application below.
d) “Fish of every sort” – believers & unbelievers.
e) “Men” – “angels”.
f) Sorted out good & bad fish – “…good fish into baskets, but the worthless ones they threw away”.
· “…close & consummation of the age.
· “The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from the righteous,
3. “And cast them (the wicked) into the furnace of fire: there will be weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth.”
4. Final Application:
v Some say it’s the same as “wheat & tares” & deals with co-existence of both believers & unbelievers until the judgment. But there’s no indication of that whatsoever. There is no attention given to planting & growth of fish. Refers to the gathering of all humanity for the judgment only.
v No mention of the destination of the righteous. Just that the wicked are separated from the righteousness. Deals with the final end of the unbelievers only. Why? In v. 43 and Matthew 24:33-34 reference it, but not here.
A. Extra Parables relating to the End Times (Preliminary to Ten Virgins) – Matthew 24… The End of…Time? The Age?
v. 3…“…when…?”
…“…what will be the sign…of the end…of the age?”
v. 4, 11…“Be careful that no one misleads you (deceiving you and leading you into error).”
· Unfortunately there are even church leaders, including well-meaning, veteran, born again church leaders that teach out of deception, minor as it may appear to be on the surface. But I remember from my ministry training years back in the early ‘60s being told it only takes 5% error to be heresy.
· Makes you wonder, since we’re all human, how many of us are off-base even to that minor degree. Personally I don’t think there’s a single one of us that is 100% right-on on everything we teach.
· Recently we saw how a 90 year old veteran student of the Bible was deceived on the simplest of details re the End Times & lead hundreds/thousands of believers down a dangerous path. We’ve seen it dozens of times over the years in the Christian Church and in cults.
v. 5…False Christs “…will lead many astray.” Yes, even today there are those claiming to be The Messiah.
v. 6-8…“…wars…”, nations in conflict, “…famines, pestilences and earthquakes…” Be “…not frightened or troubled…the end is not yet….the beginnings of birth pangs (intolerable anguish).”
v.9…Personal persecution of the believers (some say anti-semitism)…“…suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death…hated by all nations for My Name’s sake.”
v I can see where some words, etc. could give one the idea this entire chapter deals with the Jews, but…
v Personally, I see it differently from the context…
· Jesus shared these things with His disciples, privately!
· If you read these verses slowly & carefully with no bias, paying close attention to the words, phrases, thoughts…I think it’s obvious.
v What does this sound like? The Great Tribulation?!
v No mention of a rapture yet!
· Unless you believe that somehow, somewhere that has already transpired without it being definitely alluded to.
· Wouldn’t it stand to reason that something that important would be given some playtime in this context?!
v.10, 12…The Great Falling Away*(below). “And then many will be offended and repelled, and will begin to distrust and desert, and will stumble and fall away, and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred (amongst believers) …And the love of the Great Body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity.” (Lose heart).
v I personally believe this very specifically refers to what will happen when believers who have been taught the concept of a pre-tribulation rapture escape suddenly realize they are smack dab in the middle of The Great Tribulation .
v There will be Great Disallusionment (expectation/unfulfilled expectation), a sense of betrayal, anger…causing many to say, “I didn’t sign up for this. Good-bye!”, turning their backs on God; with some even turning on their pastors & teachers with vindicative vengeance.
v.13- 14…“But he who endures to the end will be saved…Good News …(the Gospel)…will be preached…the whole world…and then will come the end.”
v Still no rapture. Or is it implied here, since it’s The End?
v Does this first section relate to the believer/The Church? And this next section (v.15-24?), to the Jews? Then v.25-? is either back to the believer, or both believer & Jew?
*The Great Falling Away…here’s a post I made in November ’08 when I sensed the Lord’s direction to start the website www.howshallwenowlive.org)
NO “TRIBULATION” BAILOUT!
In the early ‘70s I came to the conclusion I could not honestly see in Scripture where the saints would escape the Great Tribulation of the End Times. I rather saw the first three & a half years as possibly the culmination of The Great Polarization that we’ve seen transpiring & escalating in the past several years, where satan would unleash his frustration & fury upon the believers. He’s already been furious with God because He kicked him out of Heaven for his insubordination & insurrection. Because he’s had no direct recourse against God he’s been retaliating against Him indirectly by victimizing us, God’s prize creation made in His likeness & image.
SATAN’S FURY & GOD’S MERCY
He will eventually become so fit to be tied (and in the end will be, literally) as he sees himself losing ground with revival sweeping the world and sees his time is running out…that in sheer desperation he will make one last ditch attempt (Custer’s Last Stand) to gain control (Revelation 12:12)…Possibly the first 3 1/2 years. In God’s Divine Wisdom & Mercy He eventually steps in to save us & releases His Wrath upon satan and all his cohorts…for the remainder three and a half years.
THE GREAT FALLING AWAY
Similarly I have also sensed that part of the Great Falling Away could stem from this erroneous teaching in The Church of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Not entirely, but certainly one of the reasons. I can see in all candor, where believers who have been taught & have held on to the concept that we will escape all that mess; that when they find themselves smack in the middle of it all, they will become offended, disallusioned, and angry…with God & those who taught them that they wouldn’t experience this onslaught. I don’t blame them. I would too. Many will turn their backs on God & the faith they professed, stating that this is not what they signed up for. I believe they will fall away by the droves.
What’s so frightening about all this is that it’s happening in the very safe, nurturing environment of the Church whose commission is the “perfecting and the full equipping of the saints…toward building up Christ’s Body…that (we might arrive) at really mature manhood, the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him. So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro…” (Ephesians 4:11-16). But instead of preparing the saints to “endure all things”, the enemy has succeeded in using this safe-haven sanctuary for his own diabolical purposes of training believers to be weak-willed, shallow and self-serving, building our lives on sandy foundations rather than on The Rock.
That’s really scary when you consider the consequences of…
1) The many that will lose their way (and their salvation?), and …
2) Our accountability to the Father. Now I’m fully aware that these spiritual leaders are sincere & entirely convinced they have it right. I was taught from childhood by sincere pastors that’s the way it was going to play out. But being sincerely “wrong” has never counted for anything with God. So how is God going to deal with that? Frankly, I don’t know. But I’m beginning to sense a lot of concern & pain over the many lives that will be disastrously impacted by all this. We’re talking eternal consequences here, folks! “My God have mercy in us!”
There’s a growing sense of responsibility to sound an alarm. ”Son of man, I have made you a watchman…therefore hear the word at My Mouth and give them warning from Me…his blood will I require at your hand…Yet if you warn…you have delivered yourself…” (Ezekiel 3:17-21)
Companion passage in Luke 21…
Luke 21:5-6…Speaks to the perceived permanency of things. We have a difficult time imagining things won’t stay the way they are (*below). But nothing lasts forever. “It’s all going to burn.” After the national elections n November 2008, I believe the Lord let me know that “We’ve turned a corner & we’re not coming back. Things will never be the same again.”
v. 11 …“…plagues (malignant and contagious or infectious epidemic diseases which are deadly and devastating)…” Wow! This really speaks to the plagues of cancers, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
v.12 …“But previous to all this …persecute you…” So if we’re not yet going through this kind of persecution, are the conditions in v. 11 going to get much worse?
v.13…“This will be a time (an opportunity) for you to bear testimony.” Apostle Paul in prison.
v.14…Prepare? Some things…possibly ‘Yes’. Here, it says, “not to meditate and prepare beforehand how…make your defense and how you will answer.” The Grace of God will cover it all. The Holy Spirit will speak through us. Does that apply to all other areas of preparedness? Food storage, emergency preparedness, etc.? Probably not. We need to be practical & responsible.
v. 15 Amazing!!
v.16…Genocide. When I was in Rwanda in April ’09, I sensed saying Genocide was coming to America. It’s hard to conceive of man being capable of such atrocities to his fellow man. In Rwanda it was 40 years of continuous brainwashing by the Belgium government. I believe several condition have prepared our country for this to happen here. In brief…
· Secular humanism & perversion of our educational system.
· Taking Bible, Ten Commandments out of our schools.
· Media desensitization of violence.
· Drug culture.
· Demonization…through drugs, new age/occult, etc.
· Impersonalization of relationships through internet.
v.17-19…Not sure about this passage.?
v. 20…Jews & Jerusalem???
v. 22-23…“For those are days of vengeance (of rendering full justice…)…indignation and punishment and retribution upon this people”. Who has the ability to exercise vengeance & render full justice…but God? Against whom? The demonic forces & demonized people (v. 16) who have been waging an onslaught against the believers.
v. 24…“…Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles…”
v. 25-26…“…distress (trouble and anguish)…bewilderment, and perplexity…Men swooning away & expiring with fear and dread and apprehension and expectation of the things that are coming on the earth…”.
Glenn Beck, “Don’t be afraid. Be determined…Warn the people & prepare.”
v. 27…“…And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great (transcendent and overwhelming) power and (all His kingly) glory (majesty and splendor).”
[Matthew 24:29-31, “Immediately after the tribulation…”…signs in the heavens (sky). “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky...on the clouds of Heaven…And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call {1Thessalonians4:16}, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, (even) from one end of the universe to the other.”] – The Rapture!
v. 28, 31…“Now when these things begin to occur,
[Matthew 24:33 look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption (deliverance) is drawing near…that the Kingdom of God is at hand.” This is where things change from The Kingdom of Heaven to The Kingdom of God!
v. 29-31…Parable of the Fig Tree as a sign.
v. 32…“…this generation (those living in that definite time period of time) will not perish and pass away until all [‘all these things taken together’ – Matthew 24:34] has taken place.”
v. 34-36…Alert – “…be on your guard…hearts be overburdened and depressed…worldly worries and cares…of) this life, and (lest) that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose; for it will come upon all who live upon the face of the entire earth. Keep awake then and watch at all times…praying…strength and ability…escape all these things that will take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man.”
[Matthew 24:37-39, “…days of Noah…eating and drinking (business as usual), marrying and being given in marriage until the (very) day…and did not know or understand until the flood came…”… 24:44, “…give strict attention, be cautious and active, for you do not know…day (…near or remote)…house be undermined and broken into…you also must be ready therefore]
About This Blog…
June 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
November 3, 2008, I attended a celebration gathering in Little Rock with Chuck Pierce, a national/international prophet, who has been leading a number of us in the state over the past year or so in identifying & removing the spiritual strongholds over our state. He remarked that the next step was for believers to get together in communion gatherings. I sensed a witness in my spirit that this was what the Lord had already been trying to tell me.
After the elections I sensed that we had turned a sharp corner & had now entered into an entirely new era. The Lord gave me an operative phrase that was to characterize & pre-occupy our focus & lifestyle: “How shall we NOW live? Where to from here?”. I also sensed that, at that Churck Pierce meeting God had expanded my ministry to include a commission & anointing as a forerunner to help prepare the believers for the End Times.
A passion developed deep within me to begin blogging on the subject. I started doing so on an existing minstry website, www.restoration101.org, but it soon became apparent that this was a much bigger project, and needed elbow room & a venue of it’s own to grow & develop. So here we are. Check the “How Shall We NOW Live?” page often, as I will attempt to write as much & often as possible.
