It seems that the world’s goods never completely satisfy us...
Text: Mark 4:1-4:20, also Matthew 13:1- 23
You find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and the price of gold falls. You strike oil, and the oil market deteriorates. Your ship come in, and it sinks in the harbor. There was another article, this one in the Colorado Springs Gazette by Michelle Singletary entitled, “How much is enough in the pursuit of money?”
She started by writing about Karen Hughes, counselor to President Bush, who decided to leave the White House so that she could return home to Texas and spend more time with her husband and teenage son. Turning down the pursuit of fame and fortune for family is a radical concept these days. Ms. Singletary quotes workplace consultant Pamela York Klainer from her book, “How Much Is Enough? Harness the Power of Your Money Story -- And Change Your Life.” In it she writes: “In our American culture money has moved to the center stage.” “Money, Klainer points out, ‘has gone well beyond its literal function as a way to provide for our essential needs and has become, in itself, an essential need. We’re working harder and earning more, yet we continue to be driven, restless, unsatisfied.’
Ms. Singletary also writes, “Klainer warns that for too many men and women vigorously pursuing money and success, work has become the center of their lives around which most other things --
friendship, volunteer service, spirituality and family needs -- revolve.”
As I study the Bible, I realize that a life structured in this way is actually inside out. Our Christianity should be the center of our lives, around which friendship, ministry, family needs, and work… revolve.
If “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth” are choking out your spiritual development,
you need to restructure your life. Stop making the pursuit of worldly wealth your highest objective and make the pursuit of spiritual riches your grandest goal.
Jesus said, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:31,33).
Let me add one more practical step to putting God first in your life: Start serving others. Get involved and get your focus off of your needs and start focusing on the needs of others for a change. It will totally revolutionize your life to stop worrying about yourself and start caring about and for others.
There’s a fable about a miserable rich man who went to visit a rabbi. The rabbi took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window. "Look out there," he said. The rich man looked into the street.
"What do you see?" asked the rabbi. "I see men, women, and children," answered the rich man. Again the rabbi took him by the hand and this time led him to a mirror. "Now what do you see?" "Now I see myself," the rich man replied. Then the rabbi said, "Behold….in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver representing wealth, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, but you see only yourself.
If you really want to have a spiritually productive life, you can have it.
One day a student came to Plato and asked him how he could come to have true knowledge and wisdom. The teacher told the student to follow him and he led him to the river. The teacher waded out into the river and called for his student to join him. When he did, the teacher told the student to dunk himself under the water. The student thought that this was a bizarre request, but he did as the great teacher told him. As soon as his head was under the water the teacher put his hands on his students head and held him under the water. The student fought desperately, but he was unable to break his teacher’s hold. The teacher held his student under water until the student began to weaken and lose his strength. Then he released him and the student shot up and began to gasp for air desperately.
The teacher said, “When you desire knowledge as desperately as you desired to breathe the air you just breathed -- then you shall find it.”
Jesus said something similar: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
If you truly want to live a spiritually productive life, then plow the soil and prepare your heart to receive God’s word, put down roots and persevere through the trials of life, and pull the weeds of worldly wealth and pursue spiritual riches instead. If you do these things then you will have good soil and the seed of God’s word will produce a bountiful harvest in your life. Jesus said that the harvest would yield “a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”.
When you make your life match God’s model, the results are miraculous. It’s basic. Start with the Word, then endless possibilities will open up for you as you gain more understanding and gain more openness to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Let us, be people who have ears to hear the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Showing posts with label parable. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parable. Show all posts
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Parable of the Sower (Part 4)
How is it that we, as Christians, are able to understand, discern and apply the Word of God in our lives?
Text: Mark 4:1-4:20, also Matthew 13:1- 23
How is it that we, as Christians, are able to understand, discern and apply the Word of God in our lives? Do you know? By the Holy Spirit. I hear and understand the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit I am unable to fully understand Scripture. By not being able to hear the Holy Spirit, I become distant from God, and my heart slowly becomes hardened and the good soil I once lived in becomes shallow or weedy.
We must be able to hear the Holy Spirit. Spiritual maturity it is not about intelligence, education nor the ability to analyze. Sometimes little children have a far greater understanding of biblical concepts than we do as adults.
Spiritual maturity is not the length of time you have been a believer, nor is it about the vast biblical or theological knowledge you have obtained, and it most certainly is not about a position obtained in the church such as deacon, elder or pastor. It is about hearing the Holy Spirit.
Well, what in the world are we to do? Because, the truth is that most of us are in rocky or weedy soil, aren’t we? Remember, we are not bound by fate, placed in one type of soil and destined to live out our fate. No, the condition of the soil can be changed, for the better. We need to build up our soil adding to the depth so we can have a full root system. We need to focus, remove the weeds of distraction. We can do this, we can make it happen. How?
How Do we Cultivate our Hearts For A Spiritual Harvest?
First, We NEED TO PLOW THE SOIL. (Matthew 13:3-4, 18-19). Remember, the first type of soil described in this parable is ‘the path’. Jesus is referring to people whose hearts are so hard that the truth of His word cannot penetrate their lives. Just as a seed cannot grow unless it penetrates the ground, so the seed of God’s word cannot grow unless it can penetrate the heart. Farmers can remedy this problem in their fields by plowing them. The plow breaks up the hard ground so that when the farmer plants, the seeds will be able penetrate the soil. Just like those farmers, some of us need to plow the soil of our hearts so that God’s word can enter in. We need to prepare our hearts to receive the word of God.
In 1 Peter 1:13 we are told that we need to “prepare your minds”. If you are going to get anything out of going to church on Sunday mornings, you must prepare your hearts and minds prior to the service,
just as the farmer must prepare his soil prior to sowing.
There are a few simple and practical things that you can do to prepare yourself for church.
First, get a good nights sleep. You’re not going to learn anything if you are too tired to stay awake and pay attention.
Second, ask God to open our hearts and give us understanding.
Third, seek to learn how what is being taught applies to your life and not the life of the person sitting next to you. Anytime you walking away from a message and thinking, “That was great. I hope so and so was listening, because they really needed that”. Anytime you walk away from a message thinking something like that, you have missed the entire point. The point of going to church and listening is to hear from God personally.
If you’re taking a look at your life today, and you’re realizing that you haven’t been growing spiritually, maybe it’s because you have been hardening your heart to what God has been trying to teach you. Just like the farmer and the path, God has been sowing seeds, but your heart has been too hard to receive them. It’s time to let God plow the soil of your heart today.
And, as you can well imagine, plowing is not always a pleasant experience. God needs to break up the hardness in your heart and it might hurt a little, but the results are well worth it.
Second, YOU NEED TO PUT DOWN ROOTS. ( Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21). The next type of soil that Jesus speaks of is rocky. It is important to understand that the real reason the plant dies is not because of the trial of the scorching sun, but because it doesn’t have deep enough roots to deal with the trial.
The same trial that destroys one plant will prove the quality of another plant. Everything depends on the roots. If the roots are shallow, the plant will be scorched and die. However, if the roots are deep,
the plant will survive and its very survival proves that it is a strong, healthy plant.
We need to put down roots so that we can persevere in the face of difficulties. The reason that so many Christians wilt when they face the scorching heat of trials and tribulations is that they have shallow root systems. The Bible teaches us that it is very important that we “keep hold of the deep truths of the faith” (1 Timothy 3:9).
That is why Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be “rooted and established in love” (3:17). A shallow Christianity simply cannot survive times of trouble.
Is your Christianity shallow or deep? Are the troubles of life knocking you out or making you stronger?
Let me share a secret with you : You cannot go too deep. No matter how much you have grown in the faith, you still have more growing to do. There is no such thing as having arrived spiritually.
So, a quick review…
The first thing is to go to church. The Bible actually tells us to not skip…“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing...” That's from Hebrews 10:25. We are not to skip church because God knows that we can’t grow alone; we cannot flourish in isolation. We need each other’s love, encouragement, and support. We need to follow in the footsteps of more mature believers as they follow Christ. We need to experience corporate worship and hear the Word of God proclaimed.
Next, read the Bible and pray every single day. God is a person, and you can’t grow in a relationship with a person without spending quality time with them. Prayer and Bible study are having a conversation with God. God speaks to you through the Bible and you speak to Him through prayer.
There has probably never been a divorce in history in which one of the key problems wasn’t communication. When communication is cut off there can be no meaningful relationship. We must communicate with God every single day. And, do what God tells you to do. There is no quicker way to stunt your spiritual growth than through a lack of obedience.
And, remember, disobedience isn’t only doing something wrong; it is also not doing what you know you are supposed to do. If you have not been growing spiritually, and God’s word has not been producing fruit in your life, then you need to plow the soil and put down roots.
But, there is also one more thing you need to do. And that is that YOU NEED TO PULL THE WEEDS. (Matthew 13:7, 22). The third type of soil that Jesus spoke of was thorny or weedy. The thorns grow up quickly and they choke out the plants. The weeds consume the water and nutrients that should be used for the plants nourishment and so they die.
These thorns represent the cares of life and the desire for wealth, which choke the Word of God out of the lives of many people. The pursuit of worldly wealth consumes the energy that should be used in the pursuit of spiritual wealth and we die spiritually.
There was an interesting article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. It was an interview of six top executives, all of them making six-figure salaries. That means, that they made somewhere between $100,000 and $1 million a year. Most of us would think, “If I made even $100,000 a year, I would be in great shape. No worries, and no problems.” But in the interview each was asked, “What is your greatest fear?” Each of them answered pretty much the same way, using different words. Their greatest fear was that they would not have enough.
Then they were asked, “How much is enough?” they always answered, “a little more.”
Hmmm... How much is enough? How much is that? What do your fear?
[conclusion tomorrow...]
Text: Mark 4:1-4:20, also Matthew 13:1- 23
How is it that we, as Christians, are able to understand, discern and apply the Word of God in our lives? Do you know? By the Holy Spirit. I hear and understand the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit I am unable to fully understand Scripture. By not being able to hear the Holy Spirit, I become distant from God, and my heart slowly becomes hardened and the good soil I once lived in becomes shallow or weedy.
We must be able to hear the Holy Spirit. Spiritual maturity it is not about intelligence, education nor the ability to analyze. Sometimes little children have a far greater understanding of biblical concepts than we do as adults.
Spiritual maturity is not the length of time you have been a believer, nor is it about the vast biblical or theological knowledge you have obtained, and it most certainly is not about a position obtained in the church such as deacon, elder or pastor. It is about hearing the Holy Spirit.
Well, what in the world are we to do? Because, the truth is that most of us are in rocky or weedy soil, aren’t we? Remember, we are not bound by fate, placed in one type of soil and destined to live out our fate. No, the condition of the soil can be changed, for the better. We need to build up our soil adding to the depth so we can have a full root system. We need to focus, remove the weeds of distraction. We can do this, we can make it happen. How?
How Do we Cultivate our Hearts For A Spiritual Harvest?
First, We NEED TO PLOW THE SOIL. (Matthew 13:3-4, 18-19). Remember, the first type of soil described in this parable is ‘the path’. Jesus is referring to people whose hearts are so hard that the truth of His word cannot penetrate their lives. Just as a seed cannot grow unless it penetrates the ground, so the seed of God’s word cannot grow unless it can penetrate the heart. Farmers can remedy this problem in their fields by plowing them. The plow breaks up the hard ground so that when the farmer plants, the seeds will be able penetrate the soil. Just like those farmers, some of us need to plow the soil of our hearts so that God’s word can enter in. We need to prepare our hearts to receive the word of God.
In 1 Peter 1:13 we are told that we need to “prepare your minds”. If you are going to get anything out of going to church on Sunday mornings, you must prepare your hearts and minds prior to the service,
just as the farmer must prepare his soil prior to sowing.
There are a few simple and practical things that you can do to prepare yourself for church.
First, get a good nights sleep. You’re not going to learn anything if you are too tired to stay awake and pay attention.
Second, ask God to open our hearts and give us understanding.
Third, seek to learn how what is being taught applies to your life and not the life of the person sitting next to you. Anytime you walking away from a message and thinking, “That was great. I hope so and so was listening, because they really needed that”. Anytime you walk away from a message thinking something like that, you have missed the entire point. The point of going to church and listening is to hear from God personally.
If you’re taking a look at your life today, and you’re realizing that you haven’t been growing spiritually, maybe it’s because you have been hardening your heart to what God has been trying to teach you. Just like the farmer and the path, God has been sowing seeds, but your heart has been too hard to receive them. It’s time to let God plow the soil of your heart today.
And, as you can well imagine, plowing is not always a pleasant experience. God needs to break up the hardness in your heart and it might hurt a little, but the results are well worth it.
Second, YOU NEED TO PUT DOWN ROOTS. ( Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21). The next type of soil that Jesus speaks of is rocky. It is important to understand that the real reason the plant dies is not because of the trial of the scorching sun, but because it doesn’t have deep enough roots to deal with the trial.
The same trial that destroys one plant will prove the quality of another plant. Everything depends on the roots. If the roots are shallow, the plant will be scorched and die. However, if the roots are deep,
the plant will survive and its very survival proves that it is a strong, healthy plant.
We need to put down roots so that we can persevere in the face of difficulties. The reason that so many Christians wilt when they face the scorching heat of trials and tribulations is that they have shallow root systems. The Bible teaches us that it is very important that we “keep hold of the deep truths of the faith” (1 Timothy 3:9).
That is why Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be “rooted and established in love” (3:17). A shallow Christianity simply cannot survive times of trouble.
Is your Christianity shallow or deep? Are the troubles of life knocking you out or making you stronger?
Let me share a secret with you : You cannot go too deep. No matter how much you have grown in the faith, you still have more growing to do. There is no such thing as having arrived spiritually.
So, a quick review…
The first thing is to go to church. The Bible actually tells us to not skip…“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing...” That's from Hebrews 10:25. We are not to skip church because God knows that we can’t grow alone; we cannot flourish in isolation. We need each other’s love, encouragement, and support. We need to follow in the footsteps of more mature believers as they follow Christ. We need to experience corporate worship and hear the Word of God proclaimed.
Next, read the Bible and pray every single day. God is a person, and you can’t grow in a relationship with a person without spending quality time with them. Prayer and Bible study are having a conversation with God. God speaks to you through the Bible and you speak to Him through prayer.
There has probably never been a divorce in history in which one of the key problems wasn’t communication. When communication is cut off there can be no meaningful relationship. We must communicate with God every single day. And, do what God tells you to do. There is no quicker way to stunt your spiritual growth than through a lack of obedience.
And, remember, disobedience isn’t only doing something wrong; it is also not doing what you know you are supposed to do. If you have not been growing spiritually, and God’s word has not been producing fruit in your life, then you need to plow the soil and put down roots.
But, there is also one more thing you need to do. And that is that YOU NEED TO PULL THE WEEDS. (Matthew 13:7, 22). The third type of soil that Jesus spoke of was thorny or weedy. The thorns grow up quickly and they choke out the plants. The weeds consume the water and nutrients that should be used for the plants nourishment and so they die.
These thorns represent the cares of life and the desire for wealth, which choke the Word of God out of the lives of many people. The pursuit of worldly wealth consumes the energy that should be used in the pursuit of spiritual wealth and we die spiritually.
There was an interesting article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. It was an interview of six top executives, all of them making six-figure salaries. That means, that they made somewhere between $100,000 and $1 million a year. Most of us would think, “If I made even $100,000 a year, I would be in great shape. No worries, and no problems.” But in the interview each was asked, “What is your greatest fear?” Each of them answered pretty much the same way, using different words. Their greatest fear was that they would not have enough.
Then they were asked, “How much is enough?” they always answered, “a little more.”
Hmmm... How much is enough? How much is that? What do your fear?
[conclusion tomorrow...]
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Parable of the Sower (part 3)
Let's continue the parable and pick up with the weedy soil?
Text: Mark 4:1-4:20, also Matthew 13:1- 23
Could the weedy soil be you? Verse 19 describes the lives of these people: “but the worries of this life,
the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” What weeds do in a garden is they not only crowd out the desired plants, but they also sap nutrients for growth. The result is a plant that becomes sterile, or gives a low yield.
We all know what the weedy life is like; we live it don’t we? Life is full of things that have to be dealt with. And, we deal with them, knowing that we need to spend some time working on our relationship with Jesus. But by the time we get there, we are too tired. We think, maybe tomorrow; and slowly the weeds start to take over.
Then, just like those other people who dwell in the rocky ground, we become people who used to be able to hear the Word and apply it, but now we are so busy, we just never get there. It’s not that we don’t want to do it, we just cannot get there.
Do you see what is happening here? We are owned by our activities, our hobbies, our work, our possessions, our things; they have mastered us, they choke the spiritual life out of us. We weedy people have difficulty with spiritual priorities, the worries of life. We are torn in a different direction than where God is directing and this brings us discontentment. There is just too much to deal with!
One of the first things to suffer is our attitude toward God. The worst thing is these people have great difficulty obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit. So the frustrations of life start to pile on. They cannot discern what is God’s direction when important or urgent decisions enter their lives. They lack answers to fundamental ethical questions. They may even follow the morality of society, not only out of ignorance, but because of the inability to impose spiritual self control, faithfulness, gentleness in life’s everyday situations.
In other words the fruits of the Spirit are no longer increasing in their lives, because they are being chocked out by weeds.
On to the good soil...
This soil produces thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. The average yield for Palestine was between 10-100 fold. 100 fold was not miraculous, but it was at the high end of the scale. 100 fold isn’t some unattainable yield that only super Christians can produce, 100 fold is the normal yield from the blessings of God on our life, blessings received through hearing and applying the Word of God.
We see in Genesis 26:12 that Isaac planted crops in the land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. Isaac wasn’t a super human, he just received a normal blessing from God.
The production is the fruit of the spirit, it is the scale of the increase of these things in your life. A person with a heart of good soil is interested in God’s Word, open to the benefits of God’s Word, convicted by God’s Word, and seeks to minimize sin in their lives through God’s Word. Do you see a pattern here? If you didn’t catch it, it’s God’s Word.
In verses 11 and 12 Jesus says, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!” Jesus is referring to Isaiah 6:9-10, it reads, He said, “Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
And He is also referring to Ezekiel 12:2, “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.”
Jesus is saying that those who cannot hear the Word of God and apply it are not denied the possibility of belief, but are excluded from the opportunity of being further instructed as long as the disobedience continues. So, a person may believe, but they are no longer open to instruction from the Word of God.
Here in the Isaiah passage, we see the prophet saying, in effect, “go tell my message, but don’t expect anyone to listen to it.”
Those living in hard, rocky or weedy soil can make themselves incapable of hearing the Word of God.
Notice that in the Old Testament passage from Isaiah, it says that we may be healed, and in the New Testament passage from Mark it says that we may be forgiven. This is because the forgiveness of Jesus will bring healing to us. If we are not open to being instructed by God’s Word, the same thing can happen to us that happened to many who eagerly followed Jesus: John 6:60-6 says, “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” Then, “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
Let us also notice that each failure occurs in the maturing process. This is primarily about spiritual maturity. People with rocky or weedy soil start off well, but then fail to mature.
[more...]
Text: Mark 4:1-4:20, also Matthew 13:1- 23
Could the weedy soil be you? Verse 19 describes the lives of these people: “but the worries of this life,
the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” What weeds do in a garden is they not only crowd out the desired plants, but they also sap nutrients for growth. The result is a plant that becomes sterile, or gives a low yield.
We all know what the weedy life is like; we live it don’t we? Life is full of things that have to be dealt with. And, we deal with them, knowing that we need to spend some time working on our relationship with Jesus. But by the time we get there, we are too tired. We think, maybe tomorrow; and slowly the weeds start to take over.
Then, just like those other people who dwell in the rocky ground, we become people who used to be able to hear the Word and apply it, but now we are so busy, we just never get there. It’s not that we don’t want to do it, we just cannot get there.
Do you see what is happening here? We are owned by our activities, our hobbies, our work, our possessions, our things; they have mastered us, they choke the spiritual life out of us. We weedy people have difficulty with spiritual priorities, the worries of life. We are torn in a different direction than where God is directing and this brings us discontentment. There is just too much to deal with!
One of the first things to suffer is our attitude toward God. The worst thing is these people have great difficulty obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit. So the frustrations of life start to pile on. They cannot discern what is God’s direction when important or urgent decisions enter their lives. They lack answers to fundamental ethical questions. They may even follow the morality of society, not only out of ignorance, but because of the inability to impose spiritual self control, faithfulness, gentleness in life’s everyday situations.
In other words the fruits of the Spirit are no longer increasing in their lives, because they are being chocked out by weeds.
On to the good soil...
This soil produces thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. The average yield for Palestine was between 10-100 fold. 100 fold was not miraculous, but it was at the high end of the scale. 100 fold isn’t some unattainable yield that only super Christians can produce, 100 fold is the normal yield from the blessings of God on our life, blessings received through hearing and applying the Word of God.
We see in Genesis 26:12 that Isaac planted crops in the land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. Isaac wasn’t a super human, he just received a normal blessing from God.
The production is the fruit of the spirit, it is the scale of the increase of these things in your life. A person with a heart of good soil is interested in God’s Word, open to the benefits of God’s Word, convicted by God’s Word, and seeks to minimize sin in their lives through God’s Word. Do you see a pattern here? If you didn’t catch it, it’s God’s Word.
In verses 11 and 12 Jesus says, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!” Jesus is referring to Isaiah 6:9-10, it reads, He said, “Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
And He is also referring to Ezekiel 12:2, “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.”
Jesus is saying that those who cannot hear the Word of God and apply it are not denied the possibility of belief, but are excluded from the opportunity of being further instructed as long as the disobedience continues. So, a person may believe, but they are no longer open to instruction from the Word of God.
Here in the Isaiah passage, we see the prophet saying, in effect, “go tell my message, but don’t expect anyone to listen to it.”
Those living in hard, rocky or weedy soil can make themselves incapable of hearing the Word of God.
Notice that in the Old Testament passage from Isaiah, it says that we may be healed, and in the New Testament passage from Mark it says that we may be forgiven. This is because the forgiveness of Jesus will bring healing to us. If we are not open to being instructed by God’s Word, the same thing can happen to us that happened to many who eagerly followed Jesus: John 6:60-6 says, “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” Then, “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
Let us also notice that each failure occurs in the maturing process. This is primarily about spiritual maturity. People with rocky or weedy soil start off well, but then fail to mature.
[more...]
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Parable of the Sower (Part 2)
We will pick up today by looking at the farmer in our parable.
Text: Mark 4:1-4:20, also Matthew 13:1- 23
The farmer is God. He scatters the Word of God on the hearts of people. The condition of the hearts of people are represented by four types of soil: Hard soil, rocky soil, weedy soil, and good soil. The soil also determines the quality of spiritual yield in our lives.
At first glance it may appear that the farmer is being careless; that he wastes his valuable seed in unproductive areas, but this is not so. In first century Palestine the seed was scattered first, then, the soil was plowed to work the seed into the soil.
The farmer is not careless at all, the Word can grow in all of these types of soil. The hard ground, or path, is a trail through his field made by people or animals. Of course he is going to spread seed here,
he will plow through it later. But notice, before he can get to the plowing the birds take the seed. In verse 15, we see Jesus saying this very thing, "the birds represent the activity of Satan against the kingdom of God." His reference is to the activity of Satan and is a continuation of the theme from the previous verses in chapter three. We must keep in mind that Jesus has come to earth for a reason. Jesus has come bring the kingdom of God, which is growing and pushing out the kingdom of Satan.
Another lesson we learn from this parable is that a heart that is hard like the pathway resists cultivation. It is not that it can’t be cultivated, it can; but it is very difficult. So, the chances of the seed being taken away are very high. But you know, the farmer will be back to sow again.
Many of us have friends or family who have hard hearts. Whenever we bring up the subject of Jesus they get angry, they mock us, they turn away and our hearts become heavy. But, over the years some of the most difficult, some of the most hard-hearted people have given their lives over to Jesus.
On to the rocky ground...
This is not ground covered in rocks, but ground that has rocks a few inches under the surface. It is thin soil, but looks like any other soil before plowing. The trouble begins later after the seed takes root. The roots cannot go very deep, because although the soil looks like any other soil, it is in fact hard, like the soil on the path and the result is that the plants become parched, wilted, and unproductive.
Could this be you?
This is a person who goes to church, has made a commitment to the Lord, they certainly believe, but deep down inside, they know, most of it is for show. The rocky ground is a reference to superficial adherence to the Word of God. It means I hear the Word, but I do not apply it to my life very well.
There is an unwillingness to endure, in difficult times, as a Christian. This person might be embarrassed at work or other places about being a Christian. This person doesn’t live their life any different than they did before becoming a Christian, except that they might go to church.
What we see here is that the Word of God cannot penetrate to a deeper level of understanding. The Word, which they used to understand, is like an enigma, a puzzle, a mystery. Those planted in rocky soil desire to hear only what feels good, what will encourage them, they want to walk away from a Sunday Morning service inspired, and are disappointed if the Sunday was a “downer”.
People who have hearts of rocky soil have great difficulty following up on instruction from the Word,
they are people who once could hear the Word, but have become deaf to the Word.
Here’s one way we can check to see if we might be this type of soil: Look at Galatians 5:22-3, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”
These are fruits of the Holy Spirit seen in the life of all Christians. If you are growing and maturing as a Christian, you should see these things increasing in your life. I’m not saying you will, in any way be fully there, but you should have more self control than you did before you became a Christian, and five years from now you should have even more self control. If these are not increasing in your life, this is deadly serious, you may be living in rocky soil; or perhaps you are living among weeds. For along with the rocks, weeds can stop or slow spiritual growth stifling the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.
For several years I lived in a very hot and dry climate. And in a hot, dry climate, a lawn needs deep watering. A quick 10 minute watering would produce grass that would dry out in the heat of August, as the roots could only find water near the surface. But a 20 minute watering would force the roots deeper and produce a lawn that could tolerate the trials and suffering of the intense heat of August.
This applies to us as we work with the Word of God. A quick glance or reading of God’s word will not help us in difficult times, but a deep soaking will bring our spiritual roots deep into Him and we will be able to live through difficult trials.
Without deep roots, we soon lose sight of God. We may get to the point where we wonder if He is even there anymore.
[more...]
Text: Mark 4:1-4:20, also Matthew 13:1- 23
The farmer is God. He scatters the Word of God on the hearts of people. The condition of the hearts of people are represented by four types of soil: Hard soil, rocky soil, weedy soil, and good soil. The soil also determines the quality of spiritual yield in our lives.
At first glance it may appear that the farmer is being careless; that he wastes his valuable seed in unproductive areas, but this is not so. In first century Palestine the seed was scattered first, then, the soil was plowed to work the seed into the soil.
The farmer is not careless at all, the Word can grow in all of these types of soil. The hard ground, or path, is a trail through his field made by people or animals. Of course he is going to spread seed here,
he will plow through it later. But notice, before he can get to the plowing the birds take the seed. In verse 15, we see Jesus saying this very thing, "the birds represent the activity of Satan against the kingdom of God." His reference is to the activity of Satan and is a continuation of the theme from the previous verses in chapter three. We must keep in mind that Jesus has come to earth for a reason. Jesus has come bring the kingdom of God, which is growing and pushing out the kingdom of Satan.
Another lesson we learn from this parable is that a heart that is hard like the pathway resists cultivation. It is not that it can’t be cultivated, it can; but it is very difficult. So, the chances of the seed being taken away are very high. But you know, the farmer will be back to sow again.
Many of us have friends or family who have hard hearts. Whenever we bring up the subject of Jesus they get angry, they mock us, they turn away and our hearts become heavy. But, over the years some of the most difficult, some of the most hard-hearted people have given their lives over to Jesus.
On to the rocky ground...
This is not ground covered in rocks, but ground that has rocks a few inches under the surface. It is thin soil, but looks like any other soil before plowing. The trouble begins later after the seed takes root. The roots cannot go very deep, because although the soil looks like any other soil, it is in fact hard, like the soil on the path and the result is that the plants become parched, wilted, and unproductive.
Could this be you?
This is a person who goes to church, has made a commitment to the Lord, they certainly believe, but deep down inside, they know, most of it is for show. The rocky ground is a reference to superficial adherence to the Word of God. It means I hear the Word, but I do not apply it to my life very well.
There is an unwillingness to endure, in difficult times, as a Christian. This person might be embarrassed at work or other places about being a Christian. This person doesn’t live their life any different than they did before becoming a Christian, except that they might go to church.
What we see here is that the Word of God cannot penetrate to a deeper level of understanding. The Word, which they used to understand, is like an enigma, a puzzle, a mystery. Those planted in rocky soil desire to hear only what feels good, what will encourage them, they want to walk away from a Sunday Morning service inspired, and are disappointed if the Sunday was a “downer”.
People who have hearts of rocky soil have great difficulty following up on instruction from the Word,
they are people who once could hear the Word, but have become deaf to the Word.
Here’s one way we can check to see if we might be this type of soil: Look at Galatians 5:22-3, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”
These are fruits of the Holy Spirit seen in the life of all Christians. If you are growing and maturing as a Christian, you should see these things increasing in your life. I’m not saying you will, in any way be fully there, but you should have more self control than you did before you became a Christian, and five years from now you should have even more self control. If these are not increasing in your life, this is deadly serious, you may be living in rocky soil; or perhaps you are living among weeds. For along with the rocks, weeds can stop or slow spiritual growth stifling the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.
For several years I lived in a very hot and dry climate. And in a hot, dry climate, a lawn needs deep watering. A quick 10 minute watering would produce grass that would dry out in the heat of August, as the roots could only find water near the surface. But a 20 minute watering would force the roots deeper and produce a lawn that could tolerate the trials and suffering of the intense heat of August.
This applies to us as we work with the Word of God. A quick glance or reading of God’s word will not help us in difficult times, but a deep soaking will bring our spiritual roots deep into Him and we will be able to live through difficult trials.
Without deep roots, we soon lose sight of God. We may get to the point where we wonder if He is even there anymore.
[more...]
Monday, April 11, 2011
Parable of the Sower: God's Power (Part 1)
There are about 40 parables attributed to Jesus. Today we will start exploring one of them, the Parable of the Sower.
Text: Mark 4:1-20; also found in Matthew 13:1- 23
"Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
"9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” 10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
A middle-aged man was distraught over his wife’s stubborn refusal to admit she had a hearing problem.
One day he asked his family doctor for advice how to convince his wife that she has a hearing problem. The doctor promptly told him that when he got home he could confirm the hearing problem by opening the front door and from there asking his wife what’s for dinner. Then the doctor said, if she doesn’t answer, move closer to the kitchen. Repeat the question again, and if she still doesn’t answer, move right up to her ear and whisper in it, “What’s for dinner, honey?” In this way, the doctor assured him, she’ll have to admit she has the problem. So the man raced home with joy in his heart and opened the front door. “What’s for dinner, honey?” he asked. His wife made no reply, so he moved closer to the kitchen and asked again. “What’s for dinner, honey?” Again, nothing was said. When he looked into the kitchen, sure enough, there she was at the kitchen counter. So, he tiptoed over to her and whispered in her ear, “What’s for dinner, honey?” She turned and looked at him straight in the eye:
“For the 3rd time, I said, we’re having MEAT LOAF!”
We see in verse 9 Jesus saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This of course is about the hearing and understanding of spiritual matters. Those who cannot hear, do not get it, and those who can hear, clearly understand. Most of the time we read through this parable and think to ourselves, “I’m so glad my heart is the good soil that Jesus holds up as an example of strong faith. I feel sorry for all those poor people, not like me, whose hearts are rocky, weedy or hard soil”.
It is very clear that the good soil are people who hear and understand the Word of God. It is also clear that the other soils are people who have trouble hearing the Word of God. So, when we read a passage like this, I think we generally see ourselves in the best light possible. You know, because we go to church, we know all about Jesus, and we believe. So we take comfort in our belief and move on to the next passage. This is a mistake!
Do not make the assumption that your heart is the good soil simply because you believe. Notice that the twelve closest people to Jesus, the people who Jesus called, the people who were believers, the twelve disciples are so stumped by the parable that Jesus has to explain it to them in detail? The twelve disciples, at this point, cannot possibly be good soil, because they do not understand. If the twelve disciples are not good soil, what makes us so quick to think that we are good soil?
In fact, we might just be a soil of lesser quality. I think, at least one of the things Jesus was trying to demonstrate is that while so many have been exposed to the Word of God, they still fail to live productive spiritual lives. In this parable Jesus compares our lives or our hearts to various types of ground on which seed is sowed.
From this parable, we learn that the conditions must be right for God’s Word to produce a harvest in our lives. And we also learn that we must properly cultivate our hearts to ensure that the right conditions are present.
So, that's the question we're exploring this week. What kind of soil are you? And, more importantly for each of us, how can we work our soil so that our hearts become the good soil that Jesus seeks for us to be?
But the fact that the disciples don’t get it is actually good news for us. We see in verse 11 that Jesus tells them that the secret has been given to them. In effect, Jesus tells us that though the disciples do not get the parable now, there will come a time when they will get it, when they will understand it. So what was true for them, it also possibly true for us.
If you have ever done even a little bit of gardening, you know all dirt is not created equal. There is dirt, there is good dirt, and then there is extraordinary dirt. Sometimes you are blessed with great dirt and sometimes your dirt won’t even grow weeds.
When I lived in Michigan, near a lake, I was blessed with extraordinary dirt. My lawn was just phenomenal. I could take off my shoes and walk around barefoot, marveling at how thick and lush it felt. This was great, but I didn’t do anything to it, except mow it. I rarely even watered it. The lawn was so great not because of the care it received, (or in this case the lack of care). The lawn was great because it sits in good soil.
This is what we want for our spiritual lives. The more open your heart is to God, the better the soil is, the more our yield will be in our spiritual life.
I haven’t always had great soil. When I lived in Houston, the soil was bad, it was so dry and alkaline that only tough weeds would even dare to grow in it. It was nasty stuff, hard as a rock. You had to use a pick axe to get through it, and it turned to slippery thick mud when it rained. It was worthless. We'd buy piles of top soil just so we could grow something besides weeds.
Poor soil not only limits growth, but also produces frustration and anxiety for the owner. Frustration and anxiety are definitely not what we want in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Is it?
We are NOT merely victims of fate; that our cards are dealt. This is not what Jesus is indicating by this parable. Remember, the disciples did not get it; they could not hear and understand, but later were all saved, except maybe Judas, and the teachers of the law did not get it, but later even some of them were saved.
But, know that whatever type of soil your heart is that is not how it always has to be.
Tomorrow, we will take a look at this farmer.
[more...]
Text: Mark 4:1-20; also found in Matthew 13:1- 23
"Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
"9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” 10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
A middle-aged man was distraught over his wife’s stubborn refusal to admit she had a hearing problem.
One day he asked his family doctor for advice how to convince his wife that she has a hearing problem. The doctor promptly told him that when he got home he could confirm the hearing problem by opening the front door and from there asking his wife what’s for dinner. Then the doctor said, if she doesn’t answer, move closer to the kitchen. Repeat the question again, and if she still doesn’t answer, move right up to her ear and whisper in it, “What’s for dinner, honey?” In this way, the doctor assured him, she’ll have to admit she has the problem. So the man raced home with joy in his heart and opened the front door. “What’s for dinner, honey?” he asked. His wife made no reply, so he moved closer to the kitchen and asked again. “What’s for dinner, honey?” Again, nothing was said. When he looked into the kitchen, sure enough, there she was at the kitchen counter. So, he tiptoed over to her and whispered in her ear, “What’s for dinner, honey?” She turned and looked at him straight in the eye:
“For the 3rd time, I said, we’re having MEAT LOAF!”
We see in verse 9 Jesus saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This of course is about the hearing and understanding of spiritual matters. Those who cannot hear, do not get it, and those who can hear, clearly understand. Most of the time we read through this parable and think to ourselves, “I’m so glad my heart is the good soil that Jesus holds up as an example of strong faith. I feel sorry for all those poor people, not like me, whose hearts are rocky, weedy or hard soil”.
It is very clear that the good soil are people who hear and understand the Word of God. It is also clear that the other soils are people who have trouble hearing the Word of God. So, when we read a passage like this, I think we generally see ourselves in the best light possible. You know, because we go to church, we know all about Jesus, and we believe. So we take comfort in our belief and move on to the next passage. This is a mistake!
Do not make the assumption that your heart is the good soil simply because you believe. Notice that the twelve closest people to Jesus, the people who Jesus called, the people who were believers, the twelve disciples are so stumped by the parable that Jesus has to explain it to them in detail? The twelve disciples, at this point, cannot possibly be good soil, because they do not understand. If the twelve disciples are not good soil, what makes us so quick to think that we are good soil?
In fact, we might just be a soil of lesser quality. I think, at least one of the things Jesus was trying to demonstrate is that while so many have been exposed to the Word of God, they still fail to live productive spiritual lives. In this parable Jesus compares our lives or our hearts to various types of ground on which seed is sowed.
From this parable, we learn that the conditions must be right for God’s Word to produce a harvest in our lives. And we also learn that we must properly cultivate our hearts to ensure that the right conditions are present.
So, that's the question we're exploring this week. What kind of soil are you? And, more importantly for each of us, how can we work our soil so that our hearts become the good soil that Jesus seeks for us to be?
But the fact that the disciples don’t get it is actually good news for us. We see in verse 11 that Jesus tells them that the secret has been given to them. In effect, Jesus tells us that though the disciples do not get the parable now, there will come a time when they will get it, when they will understand it. So what was true for them, it also possibly true for us.
If you have ever done even a little bit of gardening, you know all dirt is not created equal. There is dirt, there is good dirt, and then there is extraordinary dirt. Sometimes you are blessed with great dirt and sometimes your dirt won’t even grow weeds.
When I lived in Michigan, near a lake, I was blessed with extraordinary dirt. My lawn was just phenomenal. I could take off my shoes and walk around barefoot, marveling at how thick and lush it felt. This was great, but I didn’t do anything to it, except mow it. I rarely even watered it. The lawn was so great not because of the care it received, (or in this case the lack of care). The lawn was great because it sits in good soil.
This is what we want for our spiritual lives. The more open your heart is to God, the better the soil is, the more our yield will be in our spiritual life.
I haven’t always had great soil. When I lived in Houston, the soil was bad, it was so dry and alkaline that only tough weeds would even dare to grow in it. It was nasty stuff, hard as a rock. You had to use a pick axe to get through it, and it turned to slippery thick mud when it rained. It was worthless. We'd buy piles of top soil just so we could grow something besides weeds.
Poor soil not only limits growth, but also produces frustration and anxiety for the owner. Frustration and anxiety are definitely not what we want in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Is it?
We are NOT merely victims of fate; that our cards are dealt. This is not what Jesus is indicating by this parable. Remember, the disciples did not get it; they could not hear and understand, but later were all saved, except maybe Judas, and the teachers of the law did not get it, but later even some of them were saved.
But, know that whatever type of soil your heart is that is not how it always has to be.
Tomorrow, we will take a look at this farmer.
[more...]
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Genesis 41:17-42:17; Matthew 13:24-46; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 4:1-6 (New Living Translation)
Old Testament text
1. We finished up last post with Joseph getting cleaned up to meet the Pharaoh.
2. Joseph gives God the credit for the interpretation and the warnings to Pharaoh. Giving credit to God may have been something he overlooked in sharing his dreams with is brothers.
3. The Pharaoh's dreams both have the same interpretation. Feast followed by great famine.
4. "The famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased." We have all been here at some point in our lives- either emotionally, physically, financially...Things seem so bad that we cannot remember a time when things were good. But if stop, think and look up from the muck, we can always think of a time when we felt more blessed. And we must maintain the hope that we will rise again.
5. It is said that hope is not waiting for God, it is waiting with God.
6. The basic plan to get through the famine is to store one-fifth of the crops during the good years. Pharaoh can see that Joseph is "filled with the spirit of God."
7. Joseph becomes second in command for all of Egypt.
8. Joseph is given a new name, Zaphenath-paneah ("God speaks and lives"). He is 30 years old.
9. He inspects all of Egypt. He has been given a God-inspired plan, but he takes the time to see what he has in the "natural world" to work with.
- Do we take the time to get prepared, to get educated and organized when we are given new projects? Yes, God helps us, but we have to do the work as well.
10. Two sons are born to Joseph
- Manasseh- "God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father's family"
- Ephraim- "God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief"
11. Everyone has to come to Joseph for grain. Eventually most of his brother's come.
12. Benjamin is left at home. Has he become the new "favored son"? Has Jacob learned nothing?
13. Joseph recognized his brothers immediately. He remembered the dreams he shared with them. Some of us might have taken this opportunity to "throw it in their faces." Joseph does not. But he does "make them sweat."
14. He sends for his younger brother, Benjamin. Is he checking the brother's story, to be sure that Benjamin is still alive?
Matthew text
15. The Son of Man is the farmer, the evil one is the enemy. We will all be sorted out in the end.
16. When we find the Kingdom of Heaven it is a treasure greater than any we can possess.
17. What do I think these parables mean in our everyday lives?
- The parable of the sower--> individuals repsond differently to the Word's invitation
- The parable of the wheat and tares--> the kingdom's citizens live among the men of the world, growing together until the time of God's harvest
- The parable of the mustard seed--> the kingdom begins in insignificance; its greatness comes as a surprise
- The parable of the leavening--> the kingdom is implanted in different "raw material" and grows to fill the whole personality with righteousness
- The parable of the hidden treasure--> the kingdom is hidden and for individual "purchase"
- The parable of the priceless pearl--> the kingdom demands abandonment of all other values
Psalm text
18. This is an incredible image of God.
19. The text says that he rides "mounted on a mighty angelic being (a cherub), he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind." It doesn't say anything about God having wings.
Proverb text
20. Get wisdom; develop good judgment.
21. Wisdom (and good judgment) will protect you.
See you next post...
1. We finished up last post with Joseph getting cleaned up to meet the Pharaoh.
2. Joseph gives God the credit for the interpretation and the warnings to Pharaoh. Giving credit to God may have been something he overlooked in sharing his dreams with is brothers.
3. The Pharaoh's dreams both have the same interpretation. Feast followed by great famine.
4. "The famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased." We have all been here at some point in our lives- either emotionally, physically, financially...Things seem so bad that we cannot remember a time when things were good. But if stop, think and look up from the muck, we can always think of a time when we felt more blessed. And we must maintain the hope that we will rise again.
5. It is said that hope is not waiting for God, it is waiting with God.
6. The basic plan to get through the famine is to store one-fifth of the crops during the good years. Pharaoh can see that Joseph is "filled with the spirit of God."
7. Joseph becomes second in command for all of Egypt.
8. Joseph is given a new name, Zaphenath-paneah ("God speaks and lives"). He is 30 years old.
9. He inspects all of Egypt. He has been given a God-inspired plan, but he takes the time to see what he has in the "natural world" to work with.
- Do we take the time to get prepared, to get educated and organized when we are given new projects? Yes, God helps us, but we have to do the work as well.
10. Two sons are born to Joseph
- Manasseh- "God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father's family"
- Ephraim- "God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief"
11. Everyone has to come to Joseph for grain. Eventually most of his brother's come.
12. Benjamin is left at home. Has he become the new "favored son"? Has Jacob learned nothing?
13. Joseph recognized his brothers immediately. He remembered the dreams he shared with them. Some of us might have taken this opportunity to "throw it in their faces." Joseph does not. But he does "make them sweat."
14. He sends for his younger brother, Benjamin. Is he checking the brother's story, to be sure that Benjamin is still alive?
Matthew text
15. The Son of Man is the farmer, the evil one is the enemy. We will all be sorted out in the end.
16. When we find the Kingdom of Heaven it is a treasure greater than any we can possess.
17. What do I think these parables mean in our everyday lives?
- The parable of the sower--> individuals repsond differently to the Word's invitation
- The parable of the wheat and tares--> the kingdom's citizens live among the men of the world, growing together until the time of God's harvest
- The parable of the mustard seed--> the kingdom begins in insignificance; its greatness comes as a surprise
- The parable of the leavening--> the kingdom is implanted in different "raw material" and grows to fill the whole personality with righteousness
- The parable of the hidden treasure--> the kingdom is hidden and for individual "purchase"
- The parable of the priceless pearl--> the kingdom demands abandonment of all other values
Psalm text
18. This is an incredible image of God.
19. The text says that he rides "mounted on a mighty angelic being (a cherub), he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind." It doesn't say anything about God having wings.
Proverb text
20. Get wisdom; develop good judgment.
21. Wisdom (and good judgment) will protect you.
See you next post...
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Genesis 39-41:16; Matthew 12:46-13:23; Psalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 3:33-35 (New Living Translation)
1. The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did...the Lord is with us always, even when it doesn't look like we are being successful.
2. Potiphar was blessed because of his association with Joseph. Many times others are blessed through us, as we are through them. We are meant to be in community.
3. Joseph does not sleep with Potiphar's wife for a number or reasons.
- First, it would be a betrayal of his masters trust. What are we thinking when we betray other's? Are we thinking of the temporary satisfaction of some blinding passion? Are we thinking of the short and long-term consequences of what we do? The people we may hurt?
- Second, it is a sin against God. Remember, we haven't gotten to God's written Law, the Ten Commandments, yet. Moses and the written law are still ahead of us in our studies. But, someone has taught Joseph the basics of what God expects from us and what makes a man a man. And he has held fast to these values even in times of despair, and perhaps great temptation.
4. Joseph runs away. Frequently we forget the most basic approach to dealing with bad influences...move away, run if you have to!
5. In prison, the Lord was with Joseph.
6. Interpreting dreams is God's business. Joseph has finally learned that he is but a vessel for this "gift." We all have gifts and talents given to us by God. Do we use them to good purpose?
7. Patience in waiting on the Lord. It was two years before he was summoned to see the Pharaoh.
8. He's been in prison, and has to be cleaned up to see the Pharaoh. This passage reminds me of when Jacob' preparation to take his family home. He told them to bath, change their clothes. They were on their way to a "new life."
9. He has come to interpret the dreams of the Pharaoh. He rightfully gives glory to God. "It is beyond my power, but God can tell you..."
10. From Matthew, we are family. It is Christ that unites us.
11. The parable-
- Seeds on the footpath. The birds steal the seeds. We hear, but we make no attempt to understand. The evil one then comes to steal the seeds of faith from our heart and destroy us.
-Seeds in/on the shallow soil. Sprout quickly, but soon wilt in the heat / light of day. We hear and we appear to flourish quickly. But we lack deep roots (understanding) to sustain us. We fail as soon as problems arise.
-Seeds among the weeds. Our new found faith is choked out by worries. Once again, we lack sustenance prevail against our attackers.
-Seeds in fertile ground, produce abundant crop/harvest. These to Jesus represented the people who hear and understand.
12. "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand."
13. Psalm
- "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God."
- "When I awake. I will see you face to face and be satisfied." When I awake from this life. When I awake from stumbling around in the dark. When I actually open my eyes. When I begin to see and hear and understand. When I awaken, when I awaken, I will see you. But you've been there (for me) all along.
14. Proverbs
-The interpretation from The Message says, "...the fool gets the booby prize."
see ya next post
2. Potiphar was blessed because of his association with Joseph. Many times others are blessed through us, as we are through them. We are meant to be in community.
3. Joseph does not sleep with Potiphar's wife for a number or reasons.
- First, it would be a betrayal of his masters trust. What are we thinking when we betray other's? Are we thinking of the temporary satisfaction of some blinding passion? Are we thinking of the short and long-term consequences of what we do? The people we may hurt?
- Second, it is a sin against God. Remember, we haven't gotten to God's written Law, the Ten Commandments, yet. Moses and the written law are still ahead of us in our studies. But, someone has taught Joseph the basics of what God expects from us and what makes a man a man. And he has held fast to these values even in times of despair, and perhaps great temptation.
4. Joseph runs away. Frequently we forget the most basic approach to dealing with bad influences...move away, run if you have to!
5. In prison, the Lord was with Joseph.
6. Interpreting dreams is God's business. Joseph has finally learned that he is but a vessel for this "gift." We all have gifts and talents given to us by God. Do we use them to good purpose?
7. Patience in waiting on the Lord. It was two years before he was summoned to see the Pharaoh.
8. He's been in prison, and has to be cleaned up to see the Pharaoh. This passage reminds me of when Jacob' preparation to take his family home. He told them to bath, change their clothes. They were on their way to a "new life."
9. He has come to interpret the dreams of the Pharaoh. He rightfully gives glory to God. "It is beyond my power, but God can tell you..."
10. From Matthew, we are family. It is Christ that unites us.
11. The parable-
- Seeds on the footpath. The birds steal the seeds. We hear, but we make no attempt to understand. The evil one then comes to steal the seeds of faith from our heart and destroy us.
-Seeds in/on the shallow soil. Sprout quickly, but soon wilt in the heat / light of day. We hear and we appear to flourish quickly. But we lack deep roots (understanding) to sustain us. We fail as soon as problems arise.
-Seeds among the weeds. Our new found faith is choked out by worries. Once again, we lack sustenance prevail against our attackers.
-Seeds in fertile ground, produce abundant crop/harvest. These to Jesus represented the people who hear and understand.
12. "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand."
13. Psalm
- "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God."
- "When I awake. I will see you face to face and be satisfied." When I awake from this life. When I awake from stumbling around in the dark. When I actually open my eyes. When I begin to see and hear and understand. When I awaken, when I awaken, I will see you. But you've been there (for me) all along.
14. Proverbs
-The interpretation from The Message says, "...the fool gets the booby prize."
see ya next post
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