relationships (Matthew 13:1-58) To Actually Know

(Matthew 13:1-58)

1 On that day Jesus had gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. 9 The one who has ears, let him hear.”

10 And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

     ‘You shall keep on listening, but shall not understand;
     And you shall keep on looking, but shall not perceive;
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
     With their ears they scarcely hear,
     And they have closed their eyes,
     Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
     Hear with their ears,
     Understand with their heart, and return,
     And I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. 20 The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

To understand how fair the Lord is, there are few truths that bear remembering.  God desires that all come to know Him personally.  God never forces anyone to love Him back, or to obey.  It is all our choice, and because God is sovereign (omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient), He already knows who is going to believe in Him.  AND - God is fair, and therefore gives everyone fair opportunity to make a decision regarding one's eternal destination.

If God's salvation were so easy to understand, there would be too many people who would just be going through the motions without realizing that they were not actually saved!  Christianity is not a religion!  It is not about following a bunch of do's and don'ts with hopes that one might earn their way to heaven.  It is all about having a close, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!  As God's word so very clearly says:

(1 John 5:13)  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

(John 17:3)  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

relationships (Matthew 12:46-50) Family Unity

(Matthew 12:46-50)

46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] 48 But Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

From scripture, we know that Jesus' brothers only became believers after His death and resurrection.  I mean, can you just imagine growing up with a brother who was PERFECT in everything, all of the time???!!!  And I can just hear the parents saying to all the other children:   "You should listen to your brother!" and "Why can't you be more like your brother?!" so... I'm pretty sure the brothers resented Jesus, and were most likely embarrassed by Him.  And NOW, here was their Brother - going around like He's God or something - and "creating scenes" and "making enemies" with the spiritual leaders!

Of course, Jesus was and is God!!!  And the spiritual leaders decided to see Him as their enemy, instead of who He really was.  Meanwhile, the brothers didn't yet want to acknowledge that Jesus is the Lord and that they needed Him.  In this moment, they were only thinking about themselves, and trying to take control.  Well, if Jesus wouldn't listen to them, surely they would listen to Mom!  After all, God's word tells us to obey and honor our parents!  So, they most likely convinced Mary to go with them in order to convince Jesus to stop all of this nonsense and craziness.

While Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a righteous woman, she was still born a sinner in need of a Savior, and once a believer, she would have still needed the Lord's help and guidance, just the same as everyone else.  So even though she was already a believer, it seems that in this moment, she too decided to go against God's will, thinking that they knew better and could sway Jesus away from what He was doing and what He came to do.

Culturally, what Jesus said would have sounded so disrespectful.  But Jesus knows the big picture, and lets us in on it.  While we are told to love all people, and respect and honor our parents, and submit to all believers, and obey and submit to all authorities... it is only "unto the Lord".  This means that if anyone tells us to do something that is against God and His will, we should not follow those instructions, but instead, obey the Lord.  The Lord God and His will should always come first.  And this shouldn't even just be at the top of our lists of hierarchies, this should be our firm foundation.

As believers... 

(1 Corinthians 6:17) ...the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him

Because we are in a personal relationship with the Lord, forever joined to Him, this means that He goes with us wherever we go and whatever we do.  And whatever He says, it is to our benefit to listen to Him, and then ask Him to do it with us!  Also, we are to meet with and work with our fellow believers, who are also in one spirit with Him!  Jesus provides a wonderful spiritual family!  Are they perfect yet?  No!  But iron sharpens iron.  

We are to be involved, to serve, teach, equip, fellowship and encourage one another so that we are all striving together to be steadfast in our personal walk with the Lord.  And when we corporately experience unity in God's Spirit, we will all be moving in the exact same direction!  Just like when family members respect, obey and honor their parents and the family is NOT dysfunctional - imagine how functional our spiritual family can be when we all respect, obey and honor our heavenly Father!

relationships (Matthew 12:43-45) Finding and Holding on to Hope

(Matthew 12:43-45)

43 “Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

In a big general sense, even as Christians, when we allow a bit of evil into our lives, it will beget more evil.  When we think it is okay to let one little sin slide in, we will find ourselves sliding down a slippery slope, sinning more and more.  Although, we should know that it is not a sin to be faced with temptations, since Jesus faced every form of temptation and yet did not sin.  But if and when we become obsessed with whatever it is that we are being tempted in, that is the same as coveting, which is a sin, and it is most beneficial to confess this to the Lord, because He is able to deliver us from that.

It is also important to know that as believers, because we have God's indwelling Holy Spirit, we cannot ever become demon possessed, but we can very definitely become oppressed!  As we let sin into our homes and lives, this is like an invitation.  Demons will also attack those who are steadfast, and people or organizations who have a strong impact, influence and outreach.  If and when we find that we are experiencing this darkness (which comes to deceive, distort, divide and destroy), ask God to deliver us from evil!  After all, He is omnipotent and more powerful than all powers put together!  

In the biggest sense, regarding these verses, when we repent and ask God into our lives, He gives us His indwelling Holy Spirit who seals us, and remains with us for eternity, to protect us, guide us, empower us, as well as convict us when we stray.  And let us not deceive ourselves.  We will stray.  But God already knows this, and that is why He also offers us His grace, and is so very patient with us.  But also know that our heavenly Father, who loves and cares for us, will discipline us.  While we can never lose our salvation, when we stray, He will allow consequences into our lives.  

When we quench His Holy Spirit within us, we will feel alone and abandoned.  Of course, as His children, the Lord will never leave us, but He will allow us to feel a lonely, hopeless, helpless despair, because without His help, we are helpless.  If He just continued allowing us to feel His joy, hope and peace, and all other blessings, we would most likely continue on in the sinful lifestyle that we have fallen into.

Since He is a loving God who desires to have a close relationship with us, He wants us to continue looking into His word and going to church and Bible studies so that He can talk to us.  He wants us to continue praying to Him for everything so that we have a constant dialogue with Him.  And He wants us to continue trusting in and relying on Him for His guidance, help and strength, so that we can experience and enjoy His friendship and great blessings.

relationships (Matthew 12:38-43) Do We Want to Know?

(Matthew 12:38-43)

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

When God in flesh is right in front of someone - talking to them and performing miracles and speaking truth - and THEN they ask for a sign - clearly, their eyes and ears are not opened.  People deliberately shut themselves off to the truth because they have no desire to see or hear it.  It's fascinating how that works!  I know that I've done this sort of thing on various topics or at various times, simply because I selfishly want to see what I want to see.  And even in praying, how often have I asked for something because I WANT it, while I should be seeking out what I need.  In fact, very often, the things we want, are the very things that will hurt us.

Even though Jonah didn't want to go preach to the people of Nineveh, because those people were enemies of Israel, God knew what was needed.  But Jonah either thought that he was going to be wasting his time and/or thought he was putting his life in danger by going to them... or even worse, thought that if they should repent, God would save them - those people that Jonah saw as unworthy enemies.  But we all fall short of God's glory.  Jonah wasn't any better or worthier to be saved.

Now, while Jonah suffered for 3 days and nights in the belly of a big fish because of his own sin of disobedience, Jesus suffered and died, and was buried for 3 days and nights, because of all our sins.  And just like the Lord delivered Jonah from the fish's belly, so that he could then obediently do as the Lord asked, the Lord can deliver anyone who repents of their sins so that we can then obediently do and live as the Lord asks.  In the Lord's forgiveness, we die to sin, and in the Lord's righteousness we live through Him.  Because of what He accomplished in His death and resurrection, we can have victory over sin and death.

Just like the Queen of Sheba who traveled a long distance, from Ethiopia, just to hear God's wisdom from the mouth of Solomon, and believe, those who seek out God's Truth and embrace it, will be saved.  It doesn't matter who we are or what color our skin is, God came in flesh to pay the price of all sin, for all people, of all time, all to His glory.  It is our choice to want to open our spiritual eyes and ears to find and know His truth!  And in His truth, most importantly, we find a loving, personal relationship with the Lord God, Himself!!! 

relationships (Matthew 12:30-37) Choosing a Side

(Matthew 12:30-50)

30 The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

33 “Either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. 35 The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. 36 But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

The one unpardonable sin is to reject Jesus and His salvation, which comes with His forgiveness of all our sins (past, present and future), as well as eternal life, and His indwelling Holy Spirit, who seals us, and changes us from the inside out.  Then, when believers stand before the Lord at the Bema Seat to be judged and rewarded for the good deeds we have done with right motives.  We will not be judged according to our sins, because they have all been forgiven, and the Lord chooses to remember them no more.

Those who have rejected the Lord, and never received His forgiveness of sins, and do not have the Holy Spirit, have chosen to live by their own works.  Therefore, when they stand before the Lord at the White Throne Judgement, they will be judged and punished for the sins they have committed.  Understand, the Lord doesn't want to punish anyone, but desires that all come to know Him.  But because He is love, He does not force anyone to love Him back.  Even once someone decides to become a believer, He does not force anyone to be obedient.

Now, looking back at verse 30, it very clearly says, "The one who is not with Me is against Me..."  One cannot be an unbeliever and know and serve the Lord.  God is holy and cannot have a relationship with sin.  The one who is still a slave to sin, will not understand the Lord or His way.

It is also important to note that this verse does NOT say - the one who is with Me is not against Me - because the Lord knows that believers will stray and fall into sin.  I've even seen how Christians will fight for their personal preferences, to the point of causing divisions and scattering believers, either to other churches, or, even sadder, to just give up in their walk with God!  If and when we do that, we must realize that we are actually doing the work of Satan!  So then when we sin, as we are God's children, He will discipline us.  This isn't a bad thing.  

Remember, Christianity is all about having a personal relationship with the Lord, because He loves us, and desires that we continue to return to Him and His word, because He has a much better way, and we will see that it is so very worth it!  And because of His grace, patience and faithfulness, we can never lose our salvation.  But since He wants us to return to Him, confess, and continue on in growing closer to Him, in our disobedience, He will allow us to feel loneliness and despair.  Even though He will never leave us, if we choose to stray, we are the ones who are walking away from this most precious relationship of peace, joy, certain hope, wisdom and strength.  Therefore, it is up to us to once again seek after Him!

When we return in obedience, we will once again experience the Lord.  The more we experience the Lord, the more we look to Him.  The more we look to Him, the more He works for us, in us and through us, to be more and more obedient, fruitful, and helpful in serving Him and others with good deeds!  Good deeds that are done with right motives, are those which are done in God's love, strength and in His righteousness, all to His glory.  This is what it means to be with the Lord!

relationships (Matthew 12:22-29) Eternal Victory

(Matthew 12:22-29)

22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and could see. 23 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 And knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if by Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

If someone is possessed, and someone manages to exorcise a demon, if one hasn't filled their soul with the Lord's indwelling Holy Spirit, it remains vacant.  And we see in the coming verses (in Matthew 12:43-45), that then seven more demons will move in, making their situation even worse.

The Lord God (Jesus) is more powerful than all powers put together.  Therefore, those who want to be set free from Satan's kingdom, which is to be a slave to sin and death, can put their belief and faith in the Lord Jesus!  Only because of Jesus' work on the cross, and only through Jesus, can we be saved and set free from sin.  

In our salvation, we are then sealed with God's indwelling Holy Spirit, so that we cannot ever lose our salvation, but have eternal life!!!  And in a personal relationship with our heavenly Father, in His love, peace, joy, hope, strength, wisdom, help and guidance... because of His victory over Satan, sin and death, we have the victory, all to His glory.  We belong to His kingdom, and we are part of His spiritual family... forever!

relationships (Matthew 12:9-21) In Goodness and For Goodness

(Matthew 12:9-21)

9 Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. 11 But He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16 and warned them not to tell who He was. 17 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;
     My Beloved in whom My soul delights;
     I will put My Spirit upon Him,
     And He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
     Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 A bent reed He will not break off,
     And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish,
     Until He leads justice to victory.
21 And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

We can see how society will often place more value on animals, as well as place more value on their personal agendas, while disregarding and discarding people.  But when we look back at how and why God created all things, we can see the difference, as well as remember our purpose that the Lord has given us.

In chapter 1 of Genesis, we see that only mankind is created in the Lord's image, and we are assigned a purpose to oversee everything that God has created...

(Genesis 1:26-28) Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

In chapter 2 of Genesis, in a recap, the Lord tells us exactly how He created us.  God spoke everything into existence - except for mankind - whom He formed from dust, and then breathed life into us!!!  This is very personal and intimate!!!  Just like when we are in very close proximity to others, when someone is standing in our "personal space", we can feel their breath... 

(Genesis 2:7) Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.

And we were not just given a purpose, but a higher purpose, because the Lord's intentions are that He desires to have a personal relationship with us, and in that, He wants to do life WITH us.

(Colossians 1:15-16)  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: 16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

As well, in our salvation, the Lord God secures us for eternal life, so that we cannot lose our salvation!  He adopts us forever, as His beloved children!  Therefore, He doesn't just want to help us, He wants us and asks us to rely on Him for everything, all for His glory and to His glory!  He is so, so very good - and "good" all of the time! As we allow our heavenly Father to continue working for us, in us and through us, others will see His love, goodness and power!  

Very importantly, it should not be about what we think God wants us to do and then expect God to completely support us in those efforts.  We should be asking Him for His guidance and insights as to what He wants us to do, and then ask Him to guide and empower us in carrying that out!  In this way we can serve Him and others, as He gifts and equips us in His love, goodness and strength!  

(Isaiah 43:6b-13)

6   ...Bring My sons from afar
     And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

7   Everyone who is called by My name,
     And whom I have created for My glory,
     Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

8   Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
     And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
9   All the nations have gathered together
     So that the peoples may be assembled.
     Who among them can declare this
     And proclaim to us the former things?
     Let them present their witnesses so that they may be justified,
     Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
     “And My servant whom I have chosen,
     So that you may know and believe Me 
     And understand that I am He.
     Before Me there was no God formed,
     And there will be none after Me.
11 I, only I, am the Lord,
     And there is no savior besides Me.
12 It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
     And there was no strange god among you;
     So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
     “And I am God.
13 Even from eternity I am He,
     And there is no one who can rescue from My hand;
     I act, and who can reverse it?”