PARABLES of HIS GREAT TEACHING

The teachings of Christ is so awesome that it goes beyond any human logic which is why we need to be determined to seek the rich wisdom of His Life-Giving Word to receive it only by faith and refuse to simply rely on our own understanding (Prov 3:5,6). We need to be asking Him to reveal the deeper meaning of His Word every time we look to read and study His Word because it is the only eternal life-line that our souls require. I realize how His Word is proven over and over again, when we take more time to seek His Word, He reveals the in-depth riches of what He is saying. Prov 14:6 tells us that knowledge comes easily to the discerning (those who will take the time to study and meditate on His Word). One of the parables Jesus was talking about is the Pearl of Great Price (Matt 13:45). When I think of what He is trying to tell us, Christ talks about being that "Pearl of Great Price". In this parable, a wise person understands that having a deeper relationship with Him is far more valuable than any tangible material things or relying on our own intuition. This person even goes to the point of choosing to replace everything that interferes with their relationship with God, taking every thought and/or belief that goes against Gods Word and chooses to obtain the heart relationship with Him instead. When a convinced sinner sees Christ as the gracious Saviour and invites Him to be his/her own Lord of their lives, everything else becomes worthless in order to have this rich relationship with Christ. They understand that a real relationship with Jesus is priceless to the point that everything else is worthless. Even to the point of getting rid of everything just to have that wonderful rich relationship with Christ (selling everything he has just to get that Pearl of Great Price). Another parable I always like talks about the Wedding Banquet (Matt 22:2-13). Again, even though I knew about this parable, this doesn't mean I fully understood it. Like anything He teaches, God reveals a deeper truth to His teaching when we will take the time to seek, just like seeking treasures and finding the Pearl of Great Price that was hidden in a field. Therefore, to find any hidden treasures, it takes time. Prov 2:1-7 is also a great passage that talks about gaining this valuable insight about taking time to seek Gods hidden treasures of His wisdom by having that reverential fear of Him. There is a lot more to the parable of the Wedding Banquet when I think about it more and more. The banquet He invites us to reveals first that what He offers to us is by far the BEST. When you think of a banquet, it is a type of formal event that has the best of everything (ie: silverware, cutlery, fine linen, finest crystal and the best choices of the abundance of prepared foods imaginable). Going to a cafeteria, lunchroom or having a buffet will never compare to having that feast that only a banquet offers. I like the fact that when He talks about giving a Banquet, this is an indication that He always only offers us THE VERY BEST that far exceeds any other type of event. This is comparing that what He offers (Banquet) will always far exceed what the world could/would ever offer to any of us. The sad reality I find is that many Christians remain a "cafeteria style" christian by only picking and choosing what they want to hear while not fully surrendering to His will and His way. The only way we can ever experience by enjoying that Banquet the Lord offers us is fully choosing Him and feasting on His Word, receiving what He tells us and choosing to live how He tells us to live above all else. When I go further to read about a person who goes into the banquet without wearing the wedding garment, Jesus mentions to His Disciples that this person is cast out where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 22:11-13). I thought this was harsh and didn't quite understand this particular verse and why He would mention this. Again, I believe that many verses may not be clearly understood when we just skim over them and fail to take any time seeking Him to gain further understanding. When I thought of this more and more, I believe He is telling us that in order to be wearing the proper Wedding Garment, it is about putting on Christ (just like a garment). In Romans 13:14, He tells us to put on Christ (Wedding Garment) and make no provision for the flesh, which I believe means to say (that seeks to satisfy self at the expense of having a richer relationship with Him). We are told to strip off the old nature and put on Christ in its place, which again means to ask His help to remove every form of character that fails to represent Him favourably in our lives. Before we put on the nature of Christ, I believe we have to first of all strip off the old nature. I believe we often try to put on Christ without stripping off our old nature in the first place which doesn't work (Eph 4:22,23; Col 3:9). It's like sweeping dirt under a rug instead of getting rid of the dirt in the first place. God sees those who have put on Christ (wearing that wedding garment) and those who have not put on Christ. Just like when the Master notices the one person who is not wearing the Wedding Garment. When I think of this, it seems that this may be an indication that a person who thinks he/she will be invited to the Wedding Banquet will realize later that he/she is not welcome because they failed to live for Christ by being True Representatives for Him. God Himself knows who truly belongs to Him or not and those who try to enter in the banquet will be found out by the Master (God). Don't be caught thinking that a person is automatically invited to the Gods Wedding banquet and realize when its too late that He will cast you out from attending this time of celebration. If this was never the case, why would He have indicated this portion as part of His parable? This may be an indication that many Christians may not be properly prepared by not wearing that Wedding Garment. We are reminded in 2 Peter 1:10 to be certain that our calling and election is sure. Therefore, we are not to take our place as Christians for granted. The title of my Blog is called "Hope in God". But having this true hope in Him only comes to those who truly put Him first in their lives and live as though He is the "life-line to our very souls". No one can expect to receive the Hope of His promises if we are not going to allow Him to truly be our Lord in the first place. May we be that Bride that is prepared to receive that coming Bride-Groom (Jesus) so we will be welcomed into the great day celebrating with Him in that Wedding Banquet that He talks about (read Matt 25:1-10 about the 5 wise virgins who were ready). We cannot be fully prepared without His help. He will help us if we will only ask His help in the first place and for Him to help prepare our hearts to meet Him when He should return which many of us believe this is the generation that will experience His soon coming. He never forces His agenda on anyone, He only waits to those who ask and invite His help. Have you asked Him to help you be continually be prepared so you can attend His Wedding Banquet? Will He notice you wearing Christ (the Wedding Garments) or not? Let's have that Hope in God by inviting Him to help us be all we can to be Representatives of His Goodness and be fully clothed with Him. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Ministry Encourager Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/

KINGDOM of GOD - Parable of Leaven

Blessed Children of the Most High, I like to continue going through each parable that Christ likens to the Kingdom of God. I find this series interesting that Dr/Pastor Ralph Wilson has put together. I like to share some thoughts again I believe the Lord is putting on my heart (as I always like to acknowledge Gods goodness and never take any credit for anything He inspires me or leads me to do in the first place). It's amazing that God can give one sentence and we can make it an entire message to give Hope and meaning to what He is saying. An example is we read in Matt 13:33 He talks about the Kingdom of God is likened to mixing the dough until it was all leavened. This leavening agent is like a yeast that causes raw dough to rise. In the Old Testament, God often told the Isrealites to refrain from eating anything leavened (Exod 12:14-20) which was a form of sin and hypocrisy (1 Cor 5:6-8; Matt 16:5-12). In the Old Testament, it was a sign of keeping the law that was written. In the New Testament, Christ talks about the leaven as not necessarily keeping the law by doing, but keeping the commandments and His doctrine within our hearts instead because we now live under Grace. In Matt 16:5-12, Jesus talks to His Disciples about being aware of the yeast of the Pharisees. They thought He was talking about actual bread when Christ is actually talking about the false teachings of the Pharisees (vs 12) because they felt righteous by keeping the Law rather then believing Christ. Christ often confused the Pharisees. As one example of many, He taught them that it was better to do good then to just follow a bunch of rules and regulations, like saving a donkey from the well on the sabbath day (Luke 14:5). The Pharisees thought they were justified by keeping the law while forsaking what was really important. The yeast of the Pharisees were much different from the Yeast of Gods Word. The parable about the Kingdom of God being like dough that was mixed and leavened, I like to think of this as a symbol and sign for the important of Unity and Doctrine. In order for the mixture to be leavened, it has to mix together with the Yeast of following Gods teaching (not the yeast of anyone elses teaching). This reminds me that when we make up the Church, we need to mix with one another and be of one mindset (Phil 2:2) because we follow Christ and not just some form of doctrine because Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life (John 14:6) and there is no other way that we can ever inherit eternal life. Also in this simple parable, this tells me that when we don't mix and we keep to our separate little groups, we don't allow the Yeast of Gods teaching to work properly for the Church in order to rise. When you bake a bread, you need to mix all ingredients thoroughly and add the yeast in order for the dough to rise to its fullness in order to have its best effect. Otherwise your dough will remain stagnant if the ingredients are not well mixed. Therefore, this is telling me that we need to mix with one another and come to the place and understanding that "WE NEED EACH OTHER" and see our need for each other to be of one mind by only allowing the Yeast of Gods Word be our Doctrine which is how the Church is able to grow (rise). Just like the ingredients that don't mix or allow the yeast to have its full effect, you can't expect to enjoy the freshness of eating bread the way we like to eat fresh bread. It's the same as this parable tells us. When we don't mix well (not being unified with one another by following what God teaches us), and not allowing the fullness of Gods Word (His Yeast) within us, we cannot expect the Church to grow either. Like I mentioned, it's amazing that God can say so much in one sentence. I believe I only scraped the surface of the full meaning of this short parable and I am certain there is much more to say about this. Understand this, that Christ speaks in parables so that those who have a heart after Him and will spend time seeking Him and His leading are the only ones who grasp the true meaning of the parables. It has to do with our heart towards Him and not being an intellect (read Matt 13:10-17). The ones who don't allow Him to have any place in their hearts don't ever receive the richness of His wisdom and knowledge for them. Allow God by asking Him to move your heart to reverently fear Him to keep His commandments (Eccl 12:13). When we do, He promises to reveal the secrets and richness of His Kingdom to you when your heart is right towards Him (Matt 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10). I welcome any further comments you may have concerning this. God bless to All. Richard Poulin Answers2Prayer Ministry Encourager

The Kingdom of God - Part 2

Dearest Saints, As a continuation of what I started a couple of topics ago, I continue to think alot about the Kingdom of God and all the parables Jesus talks about that is likened unto the Kingdom of God. I do encourage any feedback you may have because I don't confess to have all the answers, but I like to share what I believe God is telling me. I am eager to share this because He talks so much about what the Kingdom of God is about. And knowing that when He talks so much about any subject (including this particular one), it is something we need to pay close attention to and not take lightly. When we read in Matthew 13, some of the parables He likens the Kingdom of God include: a. Seed that fell on different kinds of soils (vs 4-8) which He further explains in vs 19-23; b. Parable of the wheat and darnel (vs 24-30), which is further explained to the Disciples in (vs 36-41); c. Parable of the Mustard seed (vs 31-32); d. Parable of the leaven dough (vs 33); e. Treasure buried in a field (vs 44); f. Search for precious pearl (vs 45,46); and g. Parable of the dragnet (vs 47-52). There are also some found in Chap 25 that talks about the 5 foolish virgins and 5 wise virgins (Matt 25:1-12), using talents (vs 14-30) and the parable concerning being invited to His banquet (Matt 22:2-13). I find when I study certain scriptures long enough, I get excited about knowing how He is so faithful to reveal insights when we will take time to seek. He proves His Word to tell us that when we seek, we are able to find what we are searching for (Matt 7:7). In a nutshell, when Christ talks about the Kingdom of God from all the parables, I believe He talks about a great separation from those who are committed to following Him and those who choose not to. God is quite clear telling about the results of the rewards of being Children of God and the destructive results of those who forsake Him and choose not to follow Him. The first parable about the seed falling on different soils are well explained, so I won't go into detail. But I like to explain further about the wheat and tares. For those who are in the farming business, you know all about this. The wheat is a useful grain that stands in a field straight up (compared to those who look up to God who set their eyes and heart upon Him). The wheat is compared to His Children. On the other hand, the darnel (children of the evil one) are the ones whose heads are bent over and looking down (which is another form of those whose love, cares and affections are on this world) who doesn't bother to look up to God when they should. The wheat are His Children who look up to God and are useful for the Kingdom which is the grain that feeds and nourishes peoples physical needs. The darnel is a weed that is anything but useful. This is compared to those who are useful for Gods use (grains of wheat) and those who are of no use to God when we choose not to follow Him. God cannot use anyone who is not willing to allow Him to be Lord of their lives. How can anyone be useful for His purposes when we don't allow Him to be Lord of our lives or submit our heart before Him in the first place? God even warns His own people who look back by setting their cares and affections on this world are not fit for His Kingdom (Luke 9:62). He needs our whole heart. An interesting point is when Christ talks in a parable about the Servants who were eager to pull up the darnel right away to burn them. Christ tells them not to pull them up because we may also pull up the wheat at the same time (vs 28-30). In other words, we need to learn to live together, but remain distinctly different from those who God sees as darnels (children of the wicked one) (vs 38). By pulling up the darnel, God was concerned about the well being of His own children who may have also been pulled up when He doesn't want that to happen. This also tells me that God uses the ungodly to keep us sharpened and prove our faith in Him when we deal with those who are considered wicked. How can we prove our love and faithfulness to Him when we want to always live the life of ease and be of no use to reach the lost? This tells me also that there is a danger when we only want to live in our little "Christian Groups", being totally separate from the world when we should influence them instead. Christ Himself says to the Pharisees when they scorned Him by associating Himself with sinners all because they kept themselves separate from sinners. He tells the Pharisees that it was important for Him to associate with sinners because they are the ones who He compares to them who are sick are the ones who need a Doctor, not those who are well (talking in a spiritual means) Matt 9:10-13. The Pharisees only hung within their own kind which meant they were of little use of having any positive influence on outsiders at all, which we are admonished to do. We need to be useful from what we learn about Christianity to bring this out of the Church walls and not just benefit our own selves. How can we influence those who are outside who need to be drawn into the Kingdom of God when we are only going to hang around those in our little Christian Groups? God is looking for those who will labour for the cause of souls and be useful, just like the wheat is most useful that benefits all (Matt 9:37). Christ tells us that the separation comes when He sends the angels to gather (vs 41) that will separate the darnel (children of the evil one) from the wheat (children of God). This also tells us that it is up to Him to send the angels to gather and separate, not for us to try and do (like the Servants wanted to do) simply because we would have made a mess and destroyed some of the wheat in the meantime. One of the things that separates the chaff from the darnel and the grains of wheat is that when the wind comes, the chaff that is useless is blown away and the grains that are useful are able to withstand the wind and falls into the grainery for further use. Notice that calmness doesn't separate the two as does when the winds blow. When storms come, this is often when you will notice the difference between those who are not of God and those who remain strong in Him. Too many people don't take His Word literally and think that He will save everyone just because He is a God of love. Our Bible does not say that. God is not only love above ALL else, but He is also a God who is Just and tells us plainly the Truth because He is love. It's because of His love for us that He often warns us with His Truth. So when He says there is going to be a distinct separation of those who are going to be thrown into the fire and those who are in right standing shine forth like the sun (vs 42,43), He means this. It may not be the nicest message, but it is the Truth because this is what He says. I love each of you enough that I am willing to receive any opposition about this just because it is based on Truth because it is in His Word. So when Christ talks about His Kingdom and for us to be fit for His Kingdom, lets invite Him to be Lord of our lives and allow Him to have ALL of Our HEART and not just part of us. Be encouraged to ask Him to make us as wheat by totally looking up to Him and setting our affections on Him and the things concerning His Kingdom. Just like wheat is the one that is nourishing in a physical sense, we whom are truly His Children will be able to equally nourish others (admonishing, teaching, being an encourager) that benefits others by being useful for Him, His use and to advance His Kingdom. To be most useful is to humble ourselves before Him, choosing to believe Him regardless of what we think and by allowing Him to rule our heart. I would like to continue further about the other parables and be fit for the Kingdom of God. I encourage anyone to share your comments anytime. May this be a rich blessing to all. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Ministry Encourager Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/