MUSINGS ON THE KINGDOM - PAST, FUTURE AND PRESENT

KINGDOM PRESENT - THE KINGDOM PARABLES

The Parable of the Sower

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, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him 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—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” (Mark 4:1-20)

Today we move from the soils to the crops. Interestingly, seed sown in the good soil does not all produce the same crop. That means, not all Christians are the same!

In our democratic world, where one man has one vote, we are taught that all we need to do is to 'come to Jesus' for everything to be prosperous and wonderful now, then fly off to our heavenly mansion without suffering any tribulation, to live as Jesus does, in paradise! Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but I trust you get the point! The equality of all Christians is a view widely held in the church.

But it is not Biblical!

As we have also seen in the Parable of the Talents, we are all given talents, to which we respond in different ways. In the Parable of the Wedding Feast too, we are required to keep our lamps topped up with oil in order to receive our reward.

The reality is, as Jesus explains, that there are 30, 60 and 100 fold Christians. Yes, there are different 'performance levels' and rewards according to what we have done for Jesus. We are simply, not all the same.

27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. (Matthew 16:27)

We all have the same, free salvation, but will be judged according to our works.

11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:11-14)

And again;

7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. (Ephesians 6:7-8)

We are to go 'all out' for Jesus.

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-4)

Finally, we have the final promise of Jesus, as given to John in Revelation;

12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (Revelation 22:12)

Are you a 30, 60 or 100 fold follower of Jesus? For we are able to determine our own reward!

(Next week we will complete this parable by looking at how the crops apply to the church as a whole.)

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FROM THE WORD

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”" (Matthew 16:24-8)

On Divisions in the Church

"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." (1 Corinthians 3:1-23)

"“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”" (Revelation 22:12-16)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

FAITH AND WORKS

691. Man is made to work – but not all the time!

692. Show me faith. Show me works. And I will show you a faith that works.

693. Building faith takes time but good works are always ready and waiting.

694. How much faith does it take to do good works?

695. People come, people go, but needs go on forever.

696. Works reflect the light of Christ in us to a dark world.

697. Faith reflects our place in God, works reflect God’s place in us.

698. Faith is internal, works external.

699. Works are the reflection of our faith to a disbelieving world.

700. Works are the single most convincing expression of our faith.

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CRANWELL'S CARTOON

15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! (Joshua 6:15-16)





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TUESDAY TEACHINGS

THIS WEEK: THE POWER OF THE CALL continues...

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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES

***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***

*** "Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others." ***

222. APPLES AND COOKIES
Children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples.

The nun made a note, "Take only one: God is watching."

Moving through the line, to the other end of the table, was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A boy wrote a note, "Take all you want: God is watching the apples."

221. A CHILD'S PRAYER
Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer.

His mother was pleased. "If you ask God to help you not misbehave," she said, "He will help you."

"Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me not misbehave," replied Johnny. "I asked Him to help you put up with me."

220. WANT TO BE MARRIED?
A wedding was planned immediately following the Sunday morning service. After the benediction the minister was supposed to call the couple to be married to the front of the church for the ceremony.

Unfortunately, his mind went blank, and he couldn't remember their names. So he asked for "those wanting to be married" to come to the front.

Nine single ladies, three of them widows; four widowers; and six single men came forward immediately.

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: What literary sisters used male names when they published their novels?

ANSWER: The Bronte sisters - Charlotte, Emily, and Anne - used male pseudonyms Currer Bell, Ellis Bell, and Acton Bell starting with the same letters. It was normal in earlier time periods for female writers to adopt male names in order to be published. (Their writings certainly ‘rang a bell’ with their readers!)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Which American first lady carried a gun in her purse?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

193. THIRSTY
A loss of 20 percent of the body's water results in certain and painful death. Ordinarily the body cannot go more than a week and a half without water; the longest recorded time anyone has gone without water is eleven days. (‘Man does not live by bread alone’ – needs water too!)

194. MUCH LOVED
The name of the popular tropical houseplant, the ‘philodendron’, comes from the Greek word ‘philodendros’ meaning ‘loving trees’. (Grow well with a bit of love!)

195. SENSITIVE CHEEKS
A human can detect the wing of a bee falling on our cheek from a height of one centimetre. (Certainly can when the bee is attached!)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

RECLAIMS

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BIBLE QUESTION - WHERE IS THE QUOTATION FROM?

7) You are my witnesses.

A - Isaiah 14:10
B - Ezekiel 34:8
C - Nehemiah 8:4
D - Isaiah 44:8

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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""

!!!!!!! If you think this is a free country, try to park your car somewhere and see what happens.

!!!!!! Bureaucrats write memoranda both because they appear to be busy and because the memos, once written, become proof that they were busy.

!!!!! Having a green thumb doesn't necessarily mean you are a good gardener; you could simply be a lousy painter.

!!!! Reason to smile: Every seven minutes of every day, someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring.

!!! The reason computers can do more work is they don't have to stop and answer the phone.

!! The only time a windshield wiper will work properly is when it's holding a parking ticket.

! People are never too busy to tell you all they have to do.

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PETS RULE

32. VIOLIN PRACTICE
Little Harold was practising the violin in the living room while his father was trying to read in the den.

The family dog was lying in the den, and as the screeching sounds of little Harold's violin reached his ears, he began to howl loudly.

The father listened to the dog and the violin as long as he could. Then he jumped up, slammed his paper to the floor and yelled above the noise, "For pity's sake, can't you play something the dog doesn't know?"

33. BE YOURSELF
President Calvin Coolidge once invited friends from his hometown to dine at the White House. Worried about their table manners, the guests decided to do everything that Coolidge did. This strategy succeeded, until coffee was served. The president poured his coffee into the saucer. The guests did the same. Coolidge added sugar and cream. His guests did, too. Then Coolidge bent over and put his saucer on the floor for the cat.

34. TEACHER'S PET
On a special Teachers' Day, a kindergarten teacher was receiving gifts from her pupils. The florist's son handed her a gift. She shook it, held it overhead, and said, "I bet I know what it is, some flowers."

"That's right" the boy said, "but how did you know?" "Oh, just a wild guess," she said.
The next pupil was the candy store owner's daughter. The teacher held her gift overhead, shook it and said, "I bet I can guess what it is, a box of candy." "That's right, but how did you know?" asked the girl. "Oh, just a wild guess," the teacher said.

The next gift was from the son of the liquor store owner. The teacher held it overhead, but it was leaking. She touched a drop of the leakage with her finger and touched it to her tongue. "Is it wine?" she asked. "No" the boy replied, obviously delighted that he was the first student to at least temporarily defy the teacher's apparent insight.

The teacher repeated the process, touching another drop of the leakage to her tongue. "Is it champagne?" she asked. "No," the clearly delighted boy answered. Once again the teacher tasted the leakage and finally ,"I give up, what is it?"

The boy enthusiastically replied, "It's a puppy!"

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BIBLE TRIVIA (Manners and Customs - Clothing and Accessories)

JEWS ALWAYS WORE A TURBAN IN PUBLIC.

At certain times of the year it is dangerous to expose the head to the sun's rays. It was made of thick material and wound several times around the head. Both Job and Isaiah mention the use of a turban as a headdress. (Job 29:14)

Adapted from: '1001 Surprising Things You Should Know About The Bible' MacGregor & Prys

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Evangelist purchases freedomEvangelist Purchases Modern-Day Slaves

by Felica Mann, Charisma Online

Imagine children as young as 4 and 5 years old being forced to work 14- to 16-hour days making bricks, cigarettes, rope and textiles, then being forced to beg strangers for food in order to eat. This is the picture of slavery in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

“It’s a pretty harsh and brutal environment,” says evangelist Bruce Ladebu, founder of the Children’s Rescue Initiative (CRI), which has been purchasing the freedom of these victims. “The children never have any time off. They worked from sun up to sun down.”

Many have been enslaved because of debts accrued by their parents. Armed with guns and money, Ladebu and the CRI team go into these slave areas to purchase children and sometimes entire families for anywhere between $200 and $1,000 per child or family.

“We freed a family recently of seven,” Ladebu says. “The debt originally was $500 and three generations of people had to work to pay it off.” CRI bought the entire family from the slave owners for $1,000.

After the team rescues these children and families, they provide them with shelter, food and an education. The organization has funded three orphanages and seven Christian schools. They are raising money to buy farmland, cows and chickens to feed the victims.

Ladebu, who also travels the world as a revivalist and founder of Forerunner Global Ministries, says his main objective is to show the love of Christ to as many as possible. “In reaching out to help child slaves, hungry orphans or street kids, we are reaching out with the love of God,” he says.

Source: CharismaMag.com

via OpenHeaven.com

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PAKISTAN

Dear Brother David,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

I have an urgent prayer request that I want to share with you as being our brother in Christ. It is so sad to tell you that a group of Muslim people came to attack on our church three days ago and they burnt Bibles and destroyed three Christian homes. A boy is injured and two people are very serious in hospital. We got emergency treatment for them. We are very much concerned about this incident. Police came and took control of it immediately. Christian people are very afraid and we know there is no positive response for Christian people However we are praying for those who are giving us trouble. This is against of God and satan is doing his work. Please pray for our safety and God's protection.

We need your prayers for those in hospital and a boy who is injured. This boy is unable to aford for the treatment yet. We have nothing to get treatment for this boy, even we need help for two other people in hospital. Please pray that God will help us. We have need of $140 for the hospital treatment for people in Hospital and this boy. I am sending a picture of a boy that is injured.

Thanks,

Sudheer Malle

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WAXING LYRICAL

Many expect life to be easy once they come to Jesus. But His life was not easy - and we are meant to be like Him!

LIFE'S ROSES AND THORNS

Life may be short,
It could be long.
Will we be caught?
Or end up strong?

Money comes,
Money goes.
We do our sums,
But no-one knows.

Healthy one day,
Sick the next.
For wellness we pray,
When ill - now vexed.

All's under control,
Now it falls apart!
We're first on a roll,
Then back to the start!

In God too, we must face this place,
For all's not smooth, in life's race.

Him we are called, ever to revere,
And in daily life, to persevere.

He hasn't promised a fine bed of roses,
Nor simple solutions, to all life poses.
For roses were created with thorns you see,
Representing life problems, for you and me.

Yet when we see the rose in triumphant bloom,
Its shining beauty overwhelming the gloom,
The thorns' pricks and scratches are all worthwhile,
Put aside, forgotten, when with pleasure we smile.

For there cannot be a rose, without the thorns,
So with trial and testing, we do lock horns.

In order to become the rose God wants us to be,
We must overcome the thorns of life, you see.

Then He will pick us, now His richest bloom,
Taking pride of place in His heavenly room.
Eternal blooms, never ever to fade,
For by His hand, we have been made.

When locking horns with our latest thorn,
Remember the rose - no, it does not mourn.
From glory to glory, we are being made,
The price of the Cross, now fully paid.

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A DAVID MUSING

There is always a cost to going away! Not monetary, but in time! Time taken before you go (such as preparing PGIM in advance) and when you come back, catching up on the things that you missed out on doing while away.

It wasn't until the middle of this week that things got back to 'normal' for me, whatever normal may be!

While money is 'flexible', both positively and negatively, time is 'fixed'. Of course, we can always learn to use it more efficiently, through delegation and turning off the TV! But ultimately, there are only 24 hours in the day, so we need to prioritise what we do with each one of them.

In today's world, the pace of life has become more frenetic and something has to give. Sadly, I would suggest, what so often gives way first, is relationships. Relationships take both time to build and maintain. In the natural, with our partner and friends, in the spiritual, with Jesus. In our instant world today, we are less and less prepared to make the sacrifice of time necessary to build meaningful relationships. Me as well as you!

We need to remember that both our eternal future, as well as present happiness, are largely determined by the sacrifice of time to build relationship.

How are your relationships today?

Until next week.......

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: MIRACLES

TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION' ANSWER: 6) A - Genesis 4:9

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ABOUT US

WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Hastings, New Zealand. A ministry dedicated to developing discipleship, fostering unity amongst God’s people to achieve the Great Commission, and in doing so, preparing for Christ’s return. It is securely based upon the foundational principles of the Apostles Creed while recognising the wide and rich diversity of beliefs amongst Christians in other areas. In accordance with the Lord’s direction, materials produced by the ministry are available, free of charge, to genuine enquirers upon request. The ministry is solely funded by donations, as the Lord provides. A list of materials available (plus some fun!) is obtainable and freely downloadable from our website
wwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.

Walking With Jesus Ministries
7 Bull Street
Ahuriri
Napier
New Zealand

Phone: (06) 835 0567 International (+64) 6 835 0567

Email: enquiries@wwj.org.nz
Web: wwj.org.nz

Our role is to bless and encourage those in ministry while promoting co-operation and unity of direction amongst the body of Christ, as emphasised 3 times by Jesus in His longest prayer, immediately prior to His arrest and crucifixion. "… so that they may be one as we are one." (John 17:12, 21, 23-4) Our website is currently being developed to encourage your participation one with another, to share resources, and to enable you to promote events and items of interest to the body as a whole – and have a smile while doing it!

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