THE FINAL FOCUS
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
In the last few parables we have looked at Jesus has begun to change that focus from the general sense of what the Kingdom of Heaven should look like to a picture of what we should look like in order to fit into the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 13 basically started us out with the message that God has brought through Jesus to us and how that message grows.The sower, the wheat and the tares,the mustard seed, and even the leaven dealt with growth and a caution from the beginning to be careful of the wrong kinds of influence. Matthew 13:44 reminded us that the Kingdom is hidden from us as men, and that we have to seek after it in the same way we seek after our relationship with God the Father. The Hidden treasure is a beginning of turning from what we should be looking for to that of preparing ourselves to be a part of it once we do find it.
In this change of focus it becomes very important for us to allow ourselves to play a role in each of these new parables. Suddenly the focus now becomes what we are doing to prepare our hearts to receive the gift that God has promised us would await those who genuinely sought after both the Kingdom and God the Father. This last Sunday we heard a message on the Pearl of Great Price, and in that was the question of what would you do to have the Kingdom of Heaven and a relationship with the Father? If there is something thing you would value more than what ever is in the center of your life now...I need to ask you what is it that is in the center of your life right now? For many Christians our response would be that God is in the center of our lives, and yet do our actions and life reflect that to be true? Many years ago I heard a man say this: " It does not take much of a man to be a Christian , but it does take all of him."
That becomes the theme of what Jesus begins to actually say in the next few parables we find at the end of Matthew 13:45 -52. with the parables of the Pearl of great price, the dragnet,and the Householder. How much of self are we willing to invest in our beliefs of the teachings of Christ? What will it take for us to be so convinced that like Paul we state in our heart "I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day". Once we have gotten there we still have another step to make; and it is the actual commitment of our lives to the Kingdom of Heaven and the Father. Much like the boy with the fish and loves we too know that we do not have enough to do the job, but it is the commitment we make of whatever we do have that helps us take that final step. This year it is more relevant than at any time in mankind's history that we get this right with God. We see the signs all around us of His return coming very soon. I stop to think of the few few months it took for the USSR to collapse before our eyes, and for the great treat of communism to have disappeared in the eyes of most people. The same thing can and will happen to this very country America, and that is the goal of the enemy. Everyday we see the enemy chip away at us more and more in our land and in our churches. It is time that we had a united focus...may you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
In the last few parables we have looked at Jesus has begun to change that focus from the general sense of what the Kingdom of Heaven should look like to a picture of what we should look like in order to fit into the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 13 basically started us out with the message that God has brought through Jesus to us and how that message grows.The sower, the wheat and the tares,the mustard seed, and even the leaven dealt with growth and a caution from the beginning to be careful of the wrong kinds of influence. Matthew 13:44 reminded us that the Kingdom is hidden from us as men, and that we have to seek after it in the same way we seek after our relationship with God the Father. The Hidden treasure is a beginning of turning from what we should be looking for to that of preparing ourselves to be a part of it once we do find it.
In this change of focus it becomes very important for us to allow ourselves to play a role in each of these new parables. Suddenly the focus now becomes what we are doing to prepare our hearts to receive the gift that God has promised us would await those who genuinely sought after both the Kingdom and God the Father. This last Sunday we heard a message on the Pearl of Great Price, and in that was the question of what would you do to have the Kingdom of Heaven and a relationship with the Father? If there is something thing you would value more than what ever is in the center of your life now...I need to ask you what is it that is in the center of your life right now? For many Christians our response would be that God is in the center of our lives, and yet do our actions and life reflect that to be true? Many years ago I heard a man say this: " It does not take much of a man to be a Christian , but it does take all of him."
That becomes the theme of what Jesus begins to actually say in the next few parables we find at the end of Matthew 13:45 -52. with the parables of the Pearl of great price, the dragnet,and the Householder. How much of self are we willing to invest in our beliefs of the teachings of Christ? What will it take for us to be so convinced that like Paul we state in our heart "I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day". Once we have gotten there we still have another step to make; and it is the actual commitment of our lives to the Kingdom of Heaven and the Father. Much like the boy with the fish and loves we too know that we do not have enough to do the job, but it is the commitment we make of whatever we do have that helps us take that final step. This year it is more relevant than at any time in mankind's history that we get this right with God. We see the signs all around us of His return coming very soon. I stop to think of the few few months it took for the USSR to collapse before our eyes, and for the great treat of communism to have disappeared in the eyes of most people. The same thing can and will happen to this very country America, and that is the goal of the enemy. Everyday we see the enemy chip away at us more and more in our land and in our churches. It is time that we had a united focus...may you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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