The Spirit indwelling an individual occurs at the time of the birth from above ( Cor. 3:16; 6:19 ). The individual is immersed in the Spirit, which places him in" in Christ", making him part of the one new man and Abraham's seed, because Christ is Abraham's seed (cf. Matt 3:11; 1 Cor.12:13; Gal.3:26-29 ).

But the filling of the Spirit is another matter entirely. The filling of the Spirit occures subsequent to the indwelling of the Spirit and may or may not occur in a Christian's life.

The filling of the Spirit is connected with receiving the Word of God, and, at the same time, allowing the indwelling Spirit to lead the individual into all truth. The filling of the Spirit is conected with Christian maturity. The two go hand - in - hand in this respect. From a Biblical standpoint, the more a person matures in the faith the more he can be said to be filled with the Spirit.

Note parallel verses in two companion epistles, Ephesians and Colossians, relative to the filling of the Spirit:

"And be drunk not with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord ( Eph. 5:18,19).

" Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" ( Col. 3:16 ).

In Ephesians , Christians are commanded to be filled with the Spirit; and in the parallel section in Colossians, Christians are commanded to let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly in all wisdom. The latter relates how the former is accomplished.

Thus , the importance of spiritual growth unto maturity in this manner cannot be overemphasized. Spiritual growth unto maturity is inseparably related to the filling of the Spirit, a necessity for Christians if they would be properly prepared for meeting Christ at his judgement seat and attending the marrige festivity.

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My problem is why did the father not send for the elder son in the field. He told his servants to do a lot of things, but never thought to send for the brother.

He had to come home and see all that was happening. I would have been upset.

The father did not think of the older son.
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i dnt agree with ur points...... they are well thought of but not agreeable... how could you question the bible?

only in heaven will we find the answers for such questions so why waste energy that you could use to praise GOOOOOOD now!!!

think about this....
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My conscience simply will not let me solicit the friendship of someone (saved or unsaved) just to realize some financial gain for myself or the ministry. The thought of it is completely contrary to what God has been teaching me about what reaching out in true love really is. I can't think of a more selfish way to use somebody.

Partiality and favortism is at the very heart of our sinful nature--entertaining people for whatever benefit they can provide. That is precisely the 'old man' I want to see crucified.

Thank God that He (God) did not do that to me, leaving me an example to follow. Just when I had nothing to offer Him, He saved me:

"...because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN TRANSGRESSIONS..." (Ephesians 2:4)

"You see, at just the right time, when we WERE STILL POWERLESS, Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6)

One of my favorite scriptures that almost always causes me to well up in tears is Luke 14:12-14 (THIS is the very heart of God!)

"...When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, OR YOUR RICH NEIGHBORS; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, INVITE THE POOR, THE CRIPPLED, THE LAME, THE BLIND, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, YOU WILL BE REPAID AT THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS."

God, create in me THIS kind of love that you might be glorified and my joy will be complete.

"...the ONLY thing that counts is faith EXPRESSING ITSELF THROUGH LOVE." (Galatians 5:6)
















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Yes, the symbolic name of the younger son is Ephrahim. The older's name is Judah.

Selah,
Donimus
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The second message is more complete, it has more to it at the bottom!
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there is no biblical name given. Maybe its better that . Many of our names could fit into the story We may not have done exactly what he did but, how many of us have been foolish and wasteful with our lives then come to our senses
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In reading again the articles found below, I am going to attempt to prove that Jesus was talking about a PRINCIPLE and not sin, as many seem to think that leaven represents. My concern is that if this idea of leaven pertaining to sin is not purged (no pun intended) from believers hearts (and yes sometimes it does pertain to sin but not in this instance) then a lot of the teachings of the Kingdom will go unrecognized.

An example: if the leaven being hid in meal pertains only to sin hidden wherever, the church, society, etc., then how does it relate to the other parables that are related to good things?

Luke 13:
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure HID in a field; the which when a man hath found, he HIDETH, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that FIELD.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Notice the words HID, HIDETH, and FIELD. Aren’t those words that are found in the parable of the leaven and the dough?

Luke 13:
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and HID in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Might the field (in verse 44) be the dough-the meal (the heart)?

Now, where is the “TREASURE” in sin? Where is the “PEARL OF GREAT PRICE” in sin? You would think that if this idea of leaven being sin were true, then the scripture would have to read something like this:

The Kingdom of God is like unto a man walking through a field, upon which he stepped in something…So he bought the field! (Lorde, lorde, lorde, it waz nassy.)

Joking aside, it doesn’t fit. Sin does not fit in with the whole of the parable teaching. Treasure, and Pearls of great price are BLESSINGS-GOOD THINGS. They’re not foul and putrid things as these people believe they are (I realize they haven’t given it much thought).

Can you see how you can take a wonderful idea and turn it into a real stinker?

The dough, the meal, the field, the ground-in this network of parables-is the heart of a man. THERE’S A TREASURE HID IN YOUR HEART. And it’s worth “SELLING ALL THAT YOU HAVE, TO AQUIRE IT” (paraphrased).

Look at this scripture.

33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

People think that this is difficult to understand because it’s filled with idioms and metaphors. But if you understand that Jesus is talking about the same idea here-what goes into the heart, gets radiated to the world around us-if done properly, then you can see how that it’s about a principle that can work either way. In the good direction or bad.

The light in this instance is the heart of a man. It’s the part of us that retains spiritual vision. That’s why Jesus likened it to an eye. But this eye can radiate things good and bad. “as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light”.

Mathew 13:52
Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Matthew 12:35
A good man out of the good TREASURE OF THE HEART bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the EVIL TREASURE bringeth forth evil things.

Once again, it’s the principle. We can deposit things in our hearts good or bad. And our hearts radiate it forth to the world around us good or bad, light or darkness.

Jesus said how great is that darkness!

If the human being was designed to carry about this inner light, “let your light so shine” and yet darkness gets injected into it, you can see how that it’s almost a double negative. A light bulb that can radiate darkness-hey a “black light”-just kidding.

I think this will serve as food for thought for now. But just remember that the Scribes and Pharisee’ probably seized upon this (idea that leaven is always bad) and thought that they knew what he was saying, and yet they really didn’t. The Kingdom principles are hidden FOR us, not from us. For we are the good hearted ones desiring to hear.

May God bless.





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This short parable contains a significant and salutary warning to us all not to lose sight of God in a world of rampant materialism. For our purposes, the parable can be seen in two contexts: the context in which it was first applied, and the context in which we find ourselves today.

The first context is the Graeco-Roman world in which both the historical Jesus and the Gospel writers existed. It was a world in which the major power of the age (Rome) dominated the region. Palestine was subject to Roman rule, and subject too to the trade and economic practices which had brought great wealth to a very few, and deep poverty and suffering to a great many. Given the Roman control of the economic and fiscal life of the region, it became the goal of some individuals who aspired to wealth, to work within that political and economic system, to achieve this. But, as is so often the case, this form of materialism could so easily become a self-destructive process, in which the rights and dignity of the poor was trampled upon, and the pursuit of gain became the only goal.

These individuals propped up the totalitarian Roman political system by failing to recognise the basic human dignity of their fellow human beings, and recognising instead only the need for more and more individualist material gain. And in doing this, God became forgotten. Love of God became replaced by love of individual gain and materialism.

Now this materialism could take many forms. In the parable, the easiest form to understand is employed - a wealthy man stores up more wealth, hoarding from his successful produce a great store of goods and materials with which he sought to enrich himself. But he loses sight of the point of life in this pursuit of gain. He thinks only of himself. He does not of share his good fortune with the poor and the downtrodden. Above all, he refuses to think of the only individual relationship that matters ultimately. He forgets about God. So when he faces a sudden, unprepared death (which is implied by verse 20), the emptiness of his relationship with God is revealed in all its bleakness.

And the context for today? It is interesting that this parable seems to have attracted the fewest comments so far. Is this because we are uncomfortable to condemn materialism as much as we were prepared (rightly) to condemn the Communism of the previous decades? I think so. I think the Western world especially is guilty of an individualist materialism which sees the pursuit of individual gain and wealth as the only "worthwhile" thing to do, and which deliberately forgets God.

Today's materialism takes many forms - financial, sexual, political, and emotional, to name a few. What this parable teaches us is that we should think about sharing our wealth and striving for a common good, and, above all, to remember God, who is the source of all goodness, and who will call us to account at a time not of our own choosing. Have we lived in a way that puts God first, or have we ignored that relationship, choosing our own individual materialism instead?

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Very recently I had two opportunities to talk about the parables of the kingdom of God with friends. It amazes me how dull of hearing people can be. They look at you like you’re from another planet (huh?). As if to say why on earth would anybody show such an interest in the words of Jesus (kingdom parables)? It reminds me of the old expression “batting their eyes like a calf with a new gate”. WHY you might ask? You REALLY have to ask?

The creator was talking about MANIFESTATIONS!

Mark 4-22 for there is nothing hid, which shall not be MANIFESTED; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

Look at what dictionary.com says that manifest means:

Manifest
adj : clearly apparent or obvious to the mind or senses; "the effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields"; "evident hostility"; "manifest disapproval"; "patent advantages"; "made his meaning plain"; "it is plain that he is no reactionary"; "in plain view" [syn: apparent, evident, patent, plain] n : a customs document listing the contents put on a ship or plane v 1: provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes; "His high fever attested to his illness"; "The buildings in Rome manifest a high level of architectural sophistication"; "This decision demonstrates his sense of fairness" [syn: attest, certify, demonstrate, evidence] 2: record in a ship's manifest; "each passenger must be manifested" 3: reveal its presence or make an appearance; "the ghost manifests each year on the same day"

Look at what the last sentence says.

“Reveal its presence or make an appearance; "the ghost manifests each year on the same day".

Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus Christ-the miracle worker, God almighty, was walking around in a physical body teaching people how he was doing his miracles via the kingdom parables?

“HE THAT HATH EARS TO HEAR LET HIM HEAR”

Isn’t that what a “manifestation” is? A miracle? I realize holy Joes will lament “NOW THAT’S GOING TOO FAR! But is it? If a ghost were to “appear” before you right now, wouldn’t that be a miraculous experience? Wouldn’t it be a “manifestation”?

Now, there’s more to it. Jesus was doing his miracles by the HOLY Ghost, but how do you think he got the Holy Ghost? How about by these teachings of the Kingdom?

By the latter definition of manifestation found above; couldn’t we conclude that Jesus merely obtained a “manifestation” of the Holy Spirit?

I believe that everything that we will ever need or obtain from God in reference to the fulfillment of his word is routed through the teachings of Mark chapter four.

And people wonder why I spend so much time pursuing understanding into the teachings of the Kingdom of God.

I WANT GOD MANIFEST IN MY LIFE!

Is that really that hard to understand?

And yet people are clueless as to the fact that there is a system laid down by Christ whereby we can tap into these things, calling them into existence (make them a reality).

But it doesn’t come from crying and whining and asking for Manifestations.

DID YOU GET THAT!

It comes from HIDING the things that we want, within our hearts. We do the “hiding” (planting, sowing, covering, “keeping secret”, it’s the idea of planting a seed) and God “rewards us openly”…-MANIFESTATION.

I have heard Godly people pray and make the biggest blunder possible in prayer. They use the word manifestation. THAT’S A NO-NO (it will produce fear. “Hiding” produces faith-now you know where fear comes from).

Learn the secret of humility. HIDE his word in your heart and keep it hidden (the opposite of manifesting it-in and of ourselves-as though we could-PRIDE). So that God-through the seed planting, cultivation, process, CAN reward you openly.

Have you noticed that everything in the teachings of the Kingdom seem backwards of the way that we do things? Actually we’re the backwards ones.

“There is a way that seems right unto man but the end thereof is death”...

“The first will be last and the last will be first”.

These are the “secrets” that Jesus came to bring to light. And yet Christians are more interested in Hollywood than they are in obtaining the ability to manifest Gods word to the world around us. I know people that will give you the biggest grinniest smile when talking about a Hollywood production (just for fun tell them that there’s full backal nudity and watch that smile grow). But if you ever mention the word of God they’ll turn that smile upside down (I call it the baby diaper look i.e. an imaginary baby diaper beneath the nose). They’ll “manifest” the spirit of sourpuss. No excitement. No glee. NO NOTHING!

Why is that? That’s not right. AND THEY JUST DON’T GET IT. That’s what Jesus called hard heartedness (seeds that fell upon the rock). And they could just decided to HEAR what Jesus is saying but no. Hollywood’s better apparently

Weather you believe that a manifestation is a miracle or not it doesn’t matter. But if something appears out of the blue and it’s a good thing, then I’m going to want more of the same. And THAT IS A MANIFESTATION.
.
What if you had a whole body of believers that had this ability to produce fruit unto God in this way and instruct others as to how to do so as well? Wouldn’t that be wonderful? But instead of learning what Jesus taught (this is what HE chose to teach), we’re out fussing about water baptism, or weather you can have a swig of beer. Dear Lord (lamenting vehemanently)!

But as long as we’re going to blind as bats, I guess we’ll be experts on water baptism.

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Emilee, I have just come across this site as I gave a children sermon on having the faith of a mustard seed. If you still have this picture that you mentioned above, would you email it to me? It is amazing that these trees grew so large in the days Jesus was here on earth and we never hear of a mustard tree. I would find this very amazing to see one. Thank you so much for your time. God bless!
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my wife and i are retired and during a recent discussion we each commented that we had never seen a mustard tree nor a picture of one. if you have a picture i would appreciate very much seeing it.
thanks!
john
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Go to the church where you received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and ask them to explain it further. Tongues is a devine language that God understands. A direct communication line to him that the Devil can not understand. Also, check out..
http://www.bible.com/answers/ahsbaptiz.html
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The bridegroom,Jesus Christ actually comes(Raptures) the Wise righteous (born again) New Creatures! In fact, this passage says that after trying to buy oil from the wise virgins, the foolish virgins had time to go to the marketplace in pursuit of the oil(Matthew 25:9) Similarly in (Revelation 3:18) the Laodiceans are a picture of the foolish virgins left behind! They are told to go,and buy gold tried in the fire,and to buy white raiment.

[Matthew 25:9]

[Matthew 25:9] But the (wise)answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and (buy for yourselves.

Revelation 3:18

I counsel thee to (buy) of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and (white raiment) that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and (anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see)

The white raiment represents the robes of righteousness that these foolish virgins will have to obtain in the tribulation. The fire of the furnace of tribulation that these Laodicean, foolish virgins will go through will motivate them to be on fire for the Lord. The heat that they go through during the tribulation, will skim off their impurities, purifying them, and qualifying them to join the Bride for the Judgment Seat of Christ and Marriage Supper of the Lamb as the Wrath of God falls on this earth.

Door is associated with the rapture. In this verse Matthew 25:10 when it says the door is shut, the rapture of the Bride is over and the door or gate into the New Jerusalem at that time is shut.

Door in Greek can be seen as Portal,

Notice the Door is open in Revelation 4:1,and Matthew 25:10 shares the Bridegroom(Jesus Christ) came,and those who were Ready(Wise)Lamps Lit,and filled with oil(Holy Ghost) went in with him to the Marriage,and then the Door was shut.

2 Samuel 22:29

For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

Proverbs 21:20

(There is treasure to be desired) and (oil in the dwelling of the wise) but a foolish man spendeth it up.


The foolish neglect the Word of God. The Foolish become deceived by man made religion,and fall for the ways of the world(back sliding,and lukewarm)

God is preparing His bride,His righteous born again New Creatures for the rapture and the wedding of His Son. The day is coming, in our lifetime! Some will be taken, but many will remain to suffer God's wrath.

Jesus tells us to pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen.(Luke 21:34-36)

Luke 21:34-36

(And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares)

35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36(Watch ye therefore) and pray always) that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

king Jesus Christ prophetically warned, Take heed to yourselves, lest at anytime your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting (overindulgence)and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, so that day come upon you unawares.(Watch ye) therefore, and (pray always) that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things .

(Luke 21:34-36) Here, in praying always, it is the Christians that are instructed to be sober,and not to be overtaken with overindulgence and the cares of this life,not just the unbeliever (1 Thessalonians 5:6-8) First, note that unbelievers do not believe.

Secondly, unbelievers do not pray,and Worship God! nor will they pray always,and Watch which is an explicit Christian directive for saved Christians to be Watching in preparation for King Jesus Christ! Lest That Day overtake them unawares.

We must continue to share,and teach the Powerful Gospel with anyone,and everyone at all Times!

One must remember to Pray the Back sliders,Lukewarm,and unbelievers Wake up(Romans 13:11)get Saved,and abide in King Jesus Christ!

Also we must continue to share,and teach that the Christians need to (Wake up) (Watch)and (Abide) in our wonderful King Jesus Christ!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I ask you please read the webpage called(Rapture of his Bride) on the website www.raptureprophecy.com




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I too, don't beleive in 'skateboard salvation', which by that I'm assuming you mean that you're saved until you sin, when you lose your salvation and fall off. From there, you have to get saved again, and so on. My ministry (Greater Grace World Outreach) is all about the finished work and eternal security. Once we're saved, that's it. No questions. One question I had when I was first saved was like, how can I am some serial killer who was once saved when he was young, end up in the same place? There's two answers to that: one, sins are forgiven. plain and simple. they are completely erased from his life as they are from mine. and two, we have heavenly awards. if we are saved, but don't live the christian lifestyle according to God, we will still get to heaven, but may not get the same heavenly awards as someone who followed God completely. it's like cable, there's regular cable, and then there's the package deals that are extra. anywho, i guess this doesn't really have to do with the mustard seed, but it needs to be said.
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The parable of the mustard seed continues with the same central thoughts set forth in the previous parable, the parable of the wheat and tares. Fruit-bearing remains at the forefront [v.31], as well as Satan's contining activity as he seeks to stop Christains from bearing fruit
And the method which Satan uses as he seeks to stop Christians from bearing fruit, revealed in the previous parable, is through sowing tares among the wheat. Then the parable of the mustard seed reveals that which would happen because of this activity of Satan.
In this respect, the parable of the mustard seed is simply a commentary on the previous parable, providing additional explanatory help. The mustard seed is seen growing after an adnormal fashion, showing Satans success in stopping Christains from bearing through causing an unnatural devoloping so abdormally that it eventually became a tree; and this tree is seen to be of such a nature that" the birds of the air", indivduals doing the work of Saten, found a lodging place in its branches[v.32;cf.vv.4, 19.] Thus the third parable, continuing the thought from the second parable, presents the tares being quite effective. They are seen deciving Christians to the degree that they bring about an unnatural growth in Christendom, resulting in unfruitfulness, barrenness; and the matter is carried to the point that, in the end, the tares even found acceptance among those whom they had decieved. Through producing an unnatural growth in Christendom-- one in which they themselves could find acceptance-- the tares stopped Christians from bearing fruit. The destruction has to do solely with [ The Word Of The Kingdom], the subject matter at hand. Then the tares were able to simply settle down in that which they had produced.
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Selvino,

You can contact me or you can enroll in World Bible School over the internet at http://www.wbschool.org/

Thanks

Jason
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My heart goes out to Edwin who reached out and helped accident victims and became a victim himself. Edwin, I do not believe that this is God's perfect will for your life -- to serve time for giving of your time, talents and the love of God in your heart to help someone. Certainly we can see the hand of the enemy in this. I will pray and ask God to turn this thing around, to cause you to find favor and to reward you for your efforts to walk in love. I believe in prayer and I know that prayer changes things. Begin to speak a positive message of change. Know, by faith, that God has not forgotten you. He will save you and deliver you from this cruel thing that has happened to you. In addition to that, He will reward you for the 10 years you have spent fighting this thing. He will reunite you with your wife and cause your life to be filled with abundance. I decree it in the Name of Jesus!
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I think that we can overthink this....Is it truly the belief of the majority of Christians that you have to "believe" the right things and say the right things in order to be "saved"?
John the Baptist said the Kingdom was at hand...Jesus said the Kingdom is HERE. We need to live the examples set forth by Jesus...love our neighbor....and to have faith LIKE Jesus, not necessarily IN Jesus.
To say that a modern day Jew is not "saved" is neurotic and egocentric. Why do we believe that Jesus is the Son of God....Our Lord and Savior (both are words taught by the Augustinian Roman empire, not by God)...and that He died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins? Is it so that we get to go to Heaven? Or are we a bit deeper? Is it because we wish to live the love that Jesus taught and that we understand that Jesus died BECAUSE of our sins...not FOR them. Grace ceases to be grace once we place conditions on it.
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I would like to see a picture of a mustard tree
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First, to fully understand what was happening, let's look at why the events in this parable happened the way they did.

It was common practice in these times that if a person owed somebody else, the person they owed was allowed to sell him, and his family, as servants until the debt was paid off. Here's another example of where it happened, this one in the old testament. 2 Kings 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. A more detailed description of this practice is found in Leviticus:

LEV 25:39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:

LEV 25:40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee.

LEV 25:41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

LEV 25:42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.

LEV 25:43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear thy God.

LEV 25:44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

LEV 25:45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

LEV 25:46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor.

So this is what we see happening at the beginning of this parable. There was the servant of a man who owed his master a debt, and he was unable to pay it. The master did what was common in that time....prepared to sell him, his family, and his possessions in return for the payment owed. The servant begged for more time, and his master had compa/s/sion. He could have just had *some* but and gave him more time to come up with what he owed, but instead he had TOTAL compa/s/sion, and forgave the amount owed.

The amount forgiven was approximately $16,180,000.

After he was forgiven, this servant then went to one of his fellow workers who owed him (approximately $14). He choked him and demanded his payment. His fellow worker requested the same thing the servant had requested.....more time to pay what he owed.

You'd think that a man who'd just been forgiven an amount that nobody at that time would have been capable of paying off would understand and be compa/s/sionate towards another in the same position...and this wasn't even CLOSE to the same amount! Yet he didn't...he was angry and unforgiving, and had the man imprisoned.

When his master found out what he had done, he reminded him of his previous debt, and wondered that the servant didn't have the same compa/s/sion on his fellow worker.

The master then reinstated the debt. I'm not sure what the tormenters were...I'd guess it was worse than being sold, unless it means the same thing. Someone else can jump in and explain this part.

Anyhow, the moral of the story? Do unto others as you'd have done to you! Christians, you have been forgiven a debt you could have never paid. In comparison to that, how hard can it be to forgive your fellow men offenses against you?

Chrys _________________ Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth.


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Hi

My name is Brooke Wren and I was wondering if you
Could send me out some information about Tropical or
Exotic Fruits plus some information about that particular
Fruit. If you could that would be Fantastic but if you can not
Please e-mail me and tell me.


Thank You,

For listening

Brooke Wren

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im about to take my GCSE in RE could someone please give me the basic meaning of this parable?Could someone get back to me ASAP via my email address cheridane@hotmail.com as my exam is only in a coupple of days! Thanx!!!
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The evil one spoken of in the beggining
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who is the fig tree, isit the nation of Israel as a whole which was born in May14th. 1948 or is it of Jursalem recaptured in 1967 durning the 1967 war
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All we have to do to recognize the leaders of the Church Growth Movement each as a "Rich Fool" of Luke 12 : 16 - 21 is to conceive of the harvest of fruits as a harvest of followers. Most church expansion projects never had the approval of God. They result in stringent budgets and stinginess.

Our Lord and Saviour never will forgive the stingy, domineering practices of the Church Growth Movement leaders toward His needy folk, who were commanded by Him to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking (Matt. 7 : 7 ). The Judgement of the Good and Evil Servantis in Charge is coming right up! (Matt. 24 : 45 - 51 ) Should these judgements occur on this earth, the evil servants will be most thoroughly chastened with amputations, assignments of their portions with the hypocrites, rejections of pleadings with weeping and gnashing of teeth, and floggings according to their former knowledge of their moral wrong before Christ, and only if afterwards they repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour for real.

Jesus Christ will demand their lives, whether in heaven after the Rapture after complete world evangelism this very winter or on earth to prod His people to get it done for His Name's sake (Matt. 24 : 14 , 34 ). If as I expect it happens here, the evil servants in charge of their fellowservants, now known by honorable titles, will lose their livelihoods, their wealth, their good names, and flesh off their own bodies to their Judgements (Matt. 24 : 45 - 51 ). There is no need to murder the evil servants to make them likened unto the Rich Fool. What good is a large church or an ample bank account in time of need of physical restoration of amputated and destroyed arms or genitalia? Yes, many pastors and ministers and most psychiatrists shall live on earth with such mutilations unless world evangelism be complete by next Passover because I have made these requests in prayer with faith and another brother in Christ and thanked God for this vengeance in place of the deliverance I needed.

You see, I have been atrociously harmed by the church expansion project of Twin City Bible Church in Urbana IL in progress in 1993 under pastors who ducked the heat from the next pastor of Newchurch for turning me away in need, but turned me over to needless, hostile psychiatry through his lies of more blatant need than the truth. Only after Psychiatry wracked my body and wreaked the havoc to shipwreck my career path did I quit TCBC with a statement in pubic, "YOUR church isn't loving." I have requested fifty million dollars in writing from later churches in my walk with God and told them to complain to TCBC to beg for the money if the local congregation could not afford it. The evil servant at TCBC cajoled each that I liked him and convinced them to try to keep me and conform me to contentment. It was hard to learn to quit each. Since then, in 2001, in order to protect their wealth and flesh from my demands in the name of Jesus Christ, TCBC resorted to worldly lawyers to protect their wealth, names, and flesh. Judging from the Word of Jesus Christ as I have taught it in my postings on the Parables of the Ten Virgins, Pounds and Talents, and the Unjust Steward, the defenses of all churches such as TCBC will soon fall to the judgements prophesied by our Lord Jesus.

The needy people persecuted as mentally ill who were referred to psychiatry, sinful and worldly as it was, never will allagree together to forgive the evil servants in charge of churches to avoid. These mentally ill Christians good as sentenced to psychiatris maltreatment include many martyrs like me, called by Jesus Christ (Matt. 7 : 7 ) to keep on asking for gifts, to keep on seeking to find, and to keep on knocking expecting the door to be swung open, and to continue to press our luck when we failed to understand the trouble we were in with the pastors. If we "mentally ill believers" were spoiled rotten brats converted as adults to Christ, Jesus knew, and if we were wrong to persist for fear of reprisals (Matt. 7 : 6 ), upon our repentance Jesus wishes to avenge us upon the evil servants because He will not turn back time and will not intervene miraculously to heal us and set our lives straight. His will is that His people minister unto our needs, yet for us with severe grievances against evil servants in charge, we are called to keep our complaints out of the ears of the evil servants in charge as best we can.

It is such martyrs as I whose forgiveness every currently evil servant in charge needs to earn in deed and in truth, rather than by domination, in order to escape the finding of evil culpability as servant in charge and the judgement of loss of life, say vitality, of the rich fool (Matt. 24 : 45 - 51, Luke 12 : 20 ). These martyrs consist mostly of people who will never again return to the church of the evil servant for worship, not of the supporters whose presences enrich the church under an evil servant. If you happen to be such an evil servant in charge now, you have to make complete amends to every such individual still alive at your Judgement to be found good. It is too late for Bill Meier, evil senior pastor of Twin City Bible Church, who repeatedly refused to beg for tens of millions of dollars in amends and falsely claimed my admiration only to get judged through my telephone call in 2001. He shall suffer and endure his Judgement as an evil servant, and his expensive home church will not avail him. What a perfect example of the Rich Fool!

In order to get the boards and committees who hire and fire staff to wake up and take control as masters of their servants in charge under Matt. 24 : 45 - 51, I need to teach them, and they need newly resurgent faith to entrust the master with all his goods and sweeping authority to execute Jesus Christ's utterly corporal sentences. God is omnipotent and can bring this about. When the mentally ill who nowadays never return for worship find sympathy from the boards, many martyrs may ask that the entire congregation sell everything they own and donate the proceeds. My actual request in May 2001 of TCBC was that the entire congregation, one by one, either (1) if unbelieving, swear that Jesus Christ never had any power whatsoever to save souls or (2) if believing, sell everything they own and give me the proceeds and ask another nearby church to sends them out to Turkey to spread the Gospel and yet another amputation from the Meier family for each member or attender who does neither. In order to obey Jesus Christ, now extremely scarce sympathy toward such crazy-sounding requests will be required of the boards who hire and fire pastors or ministers.

The wealth of the evil servants in charge (Matt. 24 : 45 - 51 ) and their supporters, the rich fools (Luke 12 : 16 - 20 ), and of their expansive churches, is stored up for "who"-soever dare keep on asking when it becomes tolerated, such as the most determined mentally ill in Christ (Luke 12: 21 ). The needs and requests of the martyrs such as I are to be squared off against the faith of the churches. Boards and committees which run churches claiming faith in Christ cannot continue to turn the needy away and proclaim faith in Christ indefinitely. Time is long in coming and has almost come for the judgement to befall the Church Growth Movement!

Yours in Christ,

+++ Kevin Douglas Rosenberg
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Would you please send me a copy of that picture? If it's good, I'd like to use it for my sermon on Sunday.

Mike
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Yes, they came up for pay at the same time, but they didn't all work the same number of hours. Some worked the full 12 hours, some came at the eleventh hour and only worked one. The complaint was that the ones who came in late were first in line to get paid and they got a penny, so the ones behind them that had worked longer hours figured they would get more and they didn't, they got the same amount.
"Is thine eye evil, because I am good?" Seems it would mean that he was saying that they were upset because he was generous with those who only worked an hour and gave them the same pay, so they were lookin' at him like that was a bad thing.
I'd relate it to us by saying that those who have been Christians a long time might get upset that new Christians get blessings and are received as brothers and sisters as much as those who've been in the family for years and years.
The point would be that all of our work is for Christ, and we are as precious and equal in his site and of value whether we've been working for him all of our lives or for just one day. :)
Chrys
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the smallest seed;becomes the largest tree.
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One thing I am reminded of while I was reading through your messages was, not hiding the lamp under the bowl, but letting the light shine. Does everyone remember the concept of not hiding the light and letting our light shine? The last servant was scorned because he had buried into the world whatever the master had entrusted.
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Leaven is always represented as a bad thing in the Bible and in the context the women also. I think this is sin and false teachers being in the church and the church growing into something it shouldn't be.

To GOD be the glory

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I don't fully undertsand this one.... God calls these people at diffrent times, and gives each person the same reward for thier diligance, I understand that, but I do not understand the lines:
(15) Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
(16) So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Were all not called and chosen? They all were rewarded. Why was he calling those questioning him evil? Was he calling them evil? What is this about first and last? Did they all not come up for pay at the same time?

Can anyone help me out with this one?

--Asherea
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Hi'! I believe the parable of the ten virgins is about the pre-trib rapture of the Saints right after the antichrist comes on the scene.The wise Virgins get to go in the rapture,and the un wise stay here.They are still virgins so they are christians,but they were not ready.They are still saved but they cannot go in the rapture.If they were ready they could go,so this is a message to us all to be ready.Does the Bible tell us that the world will know who the antichrist is?Who will know when the antichrist is on the scene? I feel that the Bible is telling christians that they may be able to know when he first begins his leadership,and who he is.The world will think he is great and that he is good,but only christians could know the truth about him when he first appears on the scene.I believe the rapture is coming very soon.Let us all pray for each other day and night so that we will all be ready,o.k?I love you all though I do not see you! I love you because Jesus loves you and because we share the same Lord Jesus,and we share the same family through him.Please be blessed,and May God bless you all greatly,in his name,amen.Loving Jesus,Diane
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Is it truly possible to be called in a spirtual way for something, I have had such vivid color dreams of christ, I had a feeling of some presence pulling me, I had such a increadible felling of such great love and happeness flow through me i just would have died if i stayed in that state. I seem to know a thing, not just knowing it but know it as an absalute, then ill see it or live it, but the knowing first. I fell im being pulled, i cant stop if i wanted to, i cant shut up eaither, im driving my family nuts on realigion Sheryl stewart
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Not much is said about what the prodigal son LOST in the process of riotous living. He was restored to his father but the son who was faithful retained more than what the prodigal did. Remember, sin always take sus farther than we planned on going, it keeps us longer than we planned on staying, and it costs us more that we planned on paying.

The scars of our indulgent living sometimes remain, ( ie: consequences of the sin such as pregnancies, jail, diseases, health issues, etc.) but God is the ever loving and faithful forgiving Father who restores us and helps us deal with the consequences.....Praise God for His awesome love!
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Please send me the picture of the Mustard Tree. I would like to use in a presentation when we dedicate our community garden in May 2009.

Thanks so much. May God continue to send us all blessings!
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The main subject is about growing and bearing fruit. Other places in the bible talk about fruit of the Spirit. Other places talk about backsliders, who hear the word of God, live by it, but then start to sin again. Thats the soil (heart) that receives the word among thorns, other places Jesus talks about thorns being the fruit of evil on trees. The 2nd soil is the person who goes through persercution, Jesus said we will all be persecuted John 15:20 - Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.", those people are beat up or sent away from everyone and hate them, they can't handle it, so they turn from the faith, and become unfruitful. May grace be with you.
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Praise God.
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The mustard seed is seen growing after an abnormal fashion, showing Satan's success in stopping Christian from bearing fruit through causing and unnatural growth in their ranks. And not only so, but the mustard seed is seen devoloping so abnormally that it eventually becomes a tree; and this tree is seen to be of such a nature that " the birds of the air ," individuals doing the work of Satan, found a lodging place in the braches .

There are multiplied warnings numerous places in Scripture concerning false teachers who would arise and teach " perverce things," Particularly related to the faith," THE WORD OF THE KINGDOM". And these false teachers would arise, not from the world, but from Christendom itself. These false teachers would arise from the ranks of Christians, in the Churches( Acts 20:29-32; cf. 1 Tim.4:1-3; 2 Tim.2:8,18; 3:7,8; 4:1-4; 2 Peter 2:1ff; Jude 3ff ).
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I know what it is like to be the Prodigal child who is too ashamed to approach our Father's home...and yet, when my soul heard my Father's silent prayer calling me back; I ran.
Indeed my Father welcomed me, and blessed me incredibly...which only caused me to shed endless tears of gratitude...a very different person than I had been when I was a "loyal church member"...this time, each tiny gift of bread or water, each stone on my Father's property was sacred to me...this time I took NOTHING for granted. I was so thrilled to be in the presence of my Father's home once again.
However, my elder brothers and sisters could not help but whisper about me, and none visited my home when I lived nearby. This hurt deeply, but I could understand.
I continued to pray with tears of gratitude each day, in a way that I never knew how to pray before...over the years, my tears melted away the residue of resentment I felt towards my elder brothers and sisters in the church, and I began to feel deep compassion for each one of them... and found myself praying that my tears of gratitude and of repentance could be used by our Heavenly Father to wash away the resentment in my elder brother's and sister's hearts...so that there is no resentment or sense of separation left...so that we are of one heart in front of our Heavenly Father...
I pray this not only for my own situation, but for the drama of elder and younger brother being played out in the middle east right now. If the Jewish people has been able to recognize Jesus and to embrace him as the King of Kings (instead of killing him, as Cain killed Abel); Jesus would have unified the Jews and their brothers, the Palistines long ago.
I agree with the writer, that our Heavenly Father is looking for both brothers to love one another with tears of gratitude while in the presence of our Lord.
Thank you, and Happy Father's Day,
Annie
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Ok I do attend a catholic high school but I'm not that knowledgeable on this stuff so I have a question is somone could answer it quickly.........
True or False .... The message of Jesus given us in the parable of the Prodigal Son is God's unconditional forgiveness.
Thanx
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I agree with you! The fowls of the air are from Gen 1:20-21, 31 where God, who is Love, brought forth the fowls of the air to fly in the firmament of heaven and God saw everything that he made and behold it was very good. (Why would a good, loving God create evil birds to fly in His heaven? He did not.) Why would anyone want to take a symbol of inspiration, love and protection such as birds reflect and want to see them as they are described but once in the Bible as unclean, foul and hateful? There are so many inspired references to wings, brooding, flying, nest, eagles that are beautiful in the Scriptures. I'd rather take the inspired Word of the Bible. Mustard seed and leaven are synon. and both small but growing and changing into good, useful things. The woman hid the leaven in three measures of meal---modes of human thought. Meal in the Bible stands for healing. The leaven is NOT that of the hypocritical Pharasees but of God's Christ, Truth. This leaven of Truth is changing the whole of thought until the whole of evil thought is leavened--changed into Truth. The grains of mustard signify this growth of Truth too, until the leaves of the tree of Truth are used for the healing of the nations--knowing the Truth that makes us free----free from what? A lie. Truth always frees us from lies. Truth never frees us from itself! Only, only from lies. The devil is a liar and the Father of it and abides not in truth. John 8:44
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It's not a parable about literal money. Like Jesus speaking to Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus is using the literal, physical world--the things we can understand--to explain the spiritual. Over and over again in the scriptures God uses analogies and metaphors and the like to teach unseen, spiritual principles to the earthbound minds of fallen men.

"I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?" (John 3:12)

Maybe this proverb sums up the parable of the talents:
"The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment." (Proverbs 10:16)

Even if the parable of the talents had a literal meaning there is nothing wrong with putting our "money to work" (vs. 16). Playing the market is only one way of bringing increase to money. You can buy things and sell them at a profit, or produce products to sell at a profit as long as we do it honestly and don't violate any of the Lord's commands.

"Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth."
(Proverbs 10:4)

"He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgement." (Proverbs 12:11)

"Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow." (Proverbs 13:11)

"The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight."
(Proverbs 11:1)

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First we have to know where the Kingdom of God is on this earth.

Luke 27:21 For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.

Every believer of Jesus has the kingdom of God in our hearts. It is not in the church, or in a building or in a ministry. It is in the hearts of men.

So the kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed sowed in our hearts. Remember it is greatest amongst all herbs and can grow into a tree so that the birds of the air can come and find solace and refuge on its branches. Remember Jesus said in John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches."

What is this mustard seed in our hearts?

Matthew 17:20
I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.'

So here it refers mustard seed to faith.

This is interesting. The Word of God says faith as a mustard seed. The Word of God never says faith like the small size of a mustard seed, which is often preached. Therefoe faith is like the total characteristics of the mustard seed. Size is only one small part. If we preach on size alone, then we miss the whole point.

The total characteristics of the mustard seed can encompass the following:
1) Althought smallest seed of all herb plants, it can grow the biggest.
2) Its branches give birds of the air a resting place.
3) Mustard is an easy crop to grow.
4) Mustard greens are an excellent source of vitamins A, B and C.

So when we receive Jesus the faith in our hearts as a mustard seed can easily grow into a spiritual giant. And the birds of the air (the people who are directionless in their spiritual life who come across our path) can find our testimony and sharing of Christ that they will come to a place of living spiritual life.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. It is really our close relationship with Christ (praying, reading and hearing the Word) that easily makes our faith grow, even though we are a nobody, because that faith will grow very fast and very big in next to no time so that we can be a blesssing to others. And nothing will be impossible because Jesus is behind every miracle.

Remember you can be highly used by God to reach out to the troubled and unsaved.

Randy Tan
http://geocities.com/whentheholyspiritcomes





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THIS PARABLE (PRODIGAL SON) IS NOT ABOUT POSESSIONS AND INHERITANCE BUT ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE RETURN TO HIS LOVE BY ONE WHO WENT HIS OWN WAY. THIS IS ALL ABOUT GODS GREAT LOVE AND THE ENORMOUS VALUE OF HIS SALVATION. GODS HEART FOR HIS CHILDREN. EVEN WHEN HIS CHILDREN TAKES WHAT GOD HAS FREELY GIVEN HIM, AND BLOWS IT TO A POINT WHERE HE LEARNS THAT EVEN THE SMALLEST OF GODS CRUMBS ARE BETTER THAN ANYTHING THE WORLD CAN OFFER. THAT THE WORLD'S OFFERINGS ARE AN ILLUSION INTENDED TO APPEAL TO OUR OWN SELF AND INDEPENDENCE APART FROM GOD. THAT ALL THIS WORLD AND ITS RULER (SATAN) OFFER, IS A LIE AND WILL RUN OUT ONLY TO GET US TO WORK ENSLAVED WITH THE PIGS. FOR WE LEARN THE SMALLEST OF GODS CRUMBS ARE AS BIG AS HE HIMSELF FOR HIS ENORMOUS LOVE FOR US WHO ARE HIS CHILDREN WILL HOLD NOTHING BACK FROM US. THE OLDER BROTHER CAN LEARN MUCH FROM THE YOUNGER BROTHERS CHOICES AND BAD DECISIONS. THAT GOD IS SO GOOD THAT EVEN HE, THE OLDER BROTHER, SHOULD REJOICE WITH HIS BROTHER IN THEIR FATHERS ENORMOUS LOVE. THIS IS ALL ABOUT OUR WONDDERFUL AND GREAT LOVE NOT ABOUT POSSESSIONS AND INHERITANCEE OF THINGS.
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How do you mean we need to identify the return of Christ with such a message?
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It seems by the way Jesus told the story, that one need not be a christian to inherit eternal life. Jesus was asked this question and after the parable answered " Go and do likewise". Now the good samaritan was not a christian, but a product of mixed interbreeding between jews from the Northern Kingdom and other people after Israel's exile. They were considered heretics. Yet, it was what was in the samaritans heart that was the focal point of the parable. To say that only christians ( only people who accept Jesus as their Lord and savior and accept that he died on the cross for their sins) are going to be saved, is in a way like, judging other people. And as you well know, Jesus clearly states "judge not, least you yourself be judged.
Amen and God bless everyone.
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The fig tree in this instance does represent us. ( In Gods Garden ).

Sometimes in life before we have excepted the Word of God we do not produce the desired fruit by God. (Compassion, kindness, wisdom etc)

In turn God "put shit on us" or fertilyzer. (A situation that stinks to us, but in turn allows us to grow spiritually.)

The Gardener, Jesus asks that God allow us to stay a little longer with the hope that we will one day fruit.

The fruit of God. - Gods Will.

If we fail to turn back to God and except His guidance, that we are indeed an unfruitful tree.

If this happens than we are not needed in Gods Green Garden.


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The Bible is its own interpreter. Rightly divide the word by taking proper consideration of other scriptures that provide the total picture of its true meaning. Maybe the key to the passage is found in verse 29:

"For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will will be taken from him."

Jesus used these very same words in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:12. And we know from that parable that the seed sown is the WORD OF GOD, the MESSAGE ABOUT THE KINGDOM (verses 18-23). Is the 'seed sown' and the 'talent entrusted' the same thing? I think so.
Both parables are about bringing increase to the knowledge of God in your life by acting on it--putting it to work. In fact we have an obligation to do so. Do other scriptures refer to knowledge being like money or something of value being given to us?

"What you HEARD from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Gaurd the good DEPOSIT that was ENTRUSTED TO YOU..."
(2 Timothy 1:13,14).

"...that they may have the full RICHES of complete UNDERSTANDING (knowledge), in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the TREASURES of wisdom and KNOWLEDGE" (Colossians 2:2, 3).

How would you bring increase to an amount of money entrusted to you?--put it to work--do something with it. Keeping it hidden in an old mattress won't bring any increase and your master will be disappointed with you. The very LEAST you could do is entrust it to someone else, like a bank, who would then put it to work and bring increase to it. They get the increase and you receive a pittance. The greatest return is realized when YOU put it to work (open a business, etc...). It's the same with the kingdom of God. There is a big difference between living out the will of God and sharing that knowledge with someone else.

Anyone who does not act on and retain the word of God--like hiding a talent in the ground or having the ravens snatch the seed away--will lose that knowledge and its eternal benefit, condemning themselves to the wrath of the one who gave it.

"...since they did not think it worthwhile to RETAIN the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind...(Romans 1:21, 28). "...darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance (lack of knowledge) that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts" (Eph. 4:18).

"That servant who knows his master's will and DOES NOT GET READY or DOES NOT DO what his master wants will be beaten with many blows...From everyone who has been given much, much will be damanded; and from the one who has been
entrusted much, much more will be asked". (Luke 12:47,48b)

All the rewards and benefits of good stewardship will go to the faithful:

"...do not throw away your confidence; it will be RICHLY REWARDED. You need to persevere so that when you have DONE THE WILL OF GOD, you will receive what he has promised" (Heb. 10:35, 36).

What are you going to do with the word of God?--discard it, or use it wisely by acting on it, bringing increase to it. It's a matter of turning a seed of knowledge into the visible, ripe fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22,23) or putting the riches of God's truth to work insuring your future, eternal security. You decide.

"Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly ACCEPT THE WORD PLANTED IN YOU, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS." (James 1:22).

"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but ONLY HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven...Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and PUTS THEM INTO PRACTICE is like a wise man who built his house on the rock...But everyone who hears these words of mine and DOES NOT PUT THEM INTO PRACTICE is like a foolish man who built his house on sand"
(Matt. 7:21, 24, 26).

What are YOU doing with the knowledge of God's will? Will you bury it, or act on it? Which one will bring praise from God on 'that day'?

"..find out what pleases the Lord...do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is" (Eph. 5:10, 17)

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I’ve read what you’ve written under the mustard seed and the leaven parables and I think I see the light…I think.

Correct me if I’m wrong but are you saying that Jesus taught two different analogies pertaining to the heart of man? The one likening it unto a garden in which the fruit are brought forth in relation to the seeds planted (ideally the Word)? And the leaven parable in which the heart of man would be like a lump of dough that the yeast of God’s word is “hid” in? It in turn manifests the fact that yeast was put in. Or it tells the story that something was “hid” in it. In other words “there’s nothing hid that will not be manifest”. Kind of like a candle shinning light (metaphoristically speaking). Is that right? Are these two parables saying in essence the same thing but from different angles?

Are you saying that THIS is Gods endorsed way of getting his Word manifest in our lives, or receiving a fulfillment of a biblical promise?

If that’s true, then do you have any idea how we “hide” the Word of God in our hearts? Or is it buried in metaphors that no one can figure out? Anything that you can share with me would be much appreciated.

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