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Issue No: 877 Published: 13 Aug 2018
WHOSE CHURCH IS IT ANYWAY? Part 54
THE CHALLENGE OF..... LIVING THE KINGDOM LIFESTYLE
THE PARABLE OF THE TENNANTS
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ”‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. (Matthew 21:33-46
Under the Old Testament church, in the form of the Tabernacles of Moses, and the Temples that followed, the priesthood was primarily responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of the people. God entrusted His church to the Jews, more specifically, to the priesthood. This parable talks about how the leadership, in particular, rejected and killed the prophets that God had sent over the centuries to provide correction and direction to the people. Being a prophet in Old Testament times was a high risk occupation! Stoning was a common fate! E.g. Zechariah.
21 But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s temple. (2 Chronicles 24:21)
Planting a vineyard is an expensive business and it takes time for the vines to mature and provide a good harvest. This is the nature of business. Take for example, on a much shorter time scale, the establishment of a 'Seekers Megamart'. It costs us $20,000 to set up a new shop. We need a weekly turnover of $4-6,000, depending upon location, to make it economic. We do not expect to start out with that turnover, but over a period of a year, with staff training, publicity and word of mouth, we expect the turnover to approach that level. At the one year point, we will make a decision as to whether to continue in that location, or not.
God was a lot more patient than me! His trainers were killed on a regular basis by the religious management! So, in a last ditch effort to get the 'spiritual vineyard' back on track, He sent Jesus, His son. We know the result. Jesus foretold that He was going to meet a similar fate as had the prophets earlier. The time of decision had come. The kingdom of God was to be transferred from Jewish to gentile custody. The Jewish religious leaders were finally held accountable for their actions over the centuries. Custody of the church has been placed in gentile hands until there is a reconciliation of believing Jews and gentiles at the end of the age. The 'playing field' has changed. Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. He is now our sole intercessor with God. No longer do we approach God through a priesthood (or 'pastorhood'). We are PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE for our OWN SALVATION, past, present and future. The kingdom of God is available to, and must be sought by, each one of us individually. For the kingdom of God is not found in a building or denomination, but within the individual believer.
20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-1)
As leaders we need to be very aware of this New Testament reality and be extremely careful not to become de facto priests. We can help point the way, but no-one can come to Jesus through us. It is between the individual and Jesus.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
Likewise, it is the role of leadership to train the people to do the work, not to take it all upon ourselves.
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4:11-12)
It is only when leadership truly understand and applies this principle that we will come into end time unity.
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)
I know it seems impossible. I realise it is our natural inclination to want to take on people's burdens. Being real, it feels nice to have people reliant upon us! But it is not the way of God for these days. We need to be so careful that we do not now suffer the same fate as the priests of the Old Testament, through disobeying God's instructions.
(Continued next week)
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Parables by the Lake(Matthew 13:1-35, Mark 4:1-34, Luke 8:4-18)
Told from a boat anchored away from the shore, out there because of the size of the crowd.
Parable of the Sower(Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-29)
“As he was sowing, some of the seeds fell on the path. The birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on stony ground where there wasn’t much earth where they sprouted quickly. The sun rose and scorched them and they withered because they had no roots. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked them. Still other seeds fell on good soil. They produced a harvest—some one hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what had been planted. Anybody who has ears should be listening!
The disciples asked why he spoke in parables.
“You’re privileged to have revealed to you the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but they’re not given such insights,” “Those who already have will have more given to them, more than enough. But those who don’t have, whatever they have will be taken away from them. That’s why I speak to them in illustrations. For even though they see, they do not see; and even though they hear, they do not hear; nor do they understand.
“The prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in them: ‘Even though you hear, you won’t understand, and even though you see, you won’t perceive. They have a hard-hearted attitude, they don’t want to listen, and they’ve closed their eyes. If they didn’t they might be able to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand in their minds. Then they could return to me and I would heal them.’
“Your eyes are blessed, for they see. Your ears are blessed too, for they hear. I’m telling you, many prophets and good people longed to see what you’re seeing, but didn’t see it. They longed to hear what you’re hearing, but didn’t hear it.
“So listen to the story of the sower. When people hear the message about the kingdom, and don’t understand it, the evil one comes along and rips out what was sown in their heart. This is what happens to the seeds sown on the path. The seeds sown on stony ground are people who hear the message and happily accept it straight away. They last for a while, but because they don’t have roots, when problems and troubles come, they quickly fall away. The seeds sown among thorns are people who hear the message, but then life’s worries and the temptation of money choke the message so that they become fruitless. The seeds sown on good soil are people who hear the message, and understand it, and who produce a good harvest—some one hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown.”
(Continued next week)
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OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
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THE KENYAN CIRCUMCISION TRADITION
Every 2 years, during August in this area, 10-13 year old boys are circumcised, as the rite of passage into adulthood. The traditional way is very expensive, due to the cost of the celebrations involved. So now, more people are choosing to have hospital treatment for round 10% of the cost, with a lot less risk of things going wrong.
The traditional dance. In this case the 2 young boys in shorts only, waving sticks, are accompanied by supporters, on the way to their Uncles place to pick up a free cow he is giving them to mark the occasion.
Dad and son in the hospital before the circumcision, hence the smile from the boy!
The instruments used to perform the 'dastardly deed'!
All hands on deck! Even the CO's (doctors) as well as me, were folding gauze pads. Circumcisions must be performed by men here.
The result of a botched job! The mud covered lad had to come to the hospital for remedial treatment.
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One key element here is the setting out in chronological order (as far as it is possible to do so) our Lord's words drawn from all the Gospels, and the elimination of repetition between Gospels.
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
367. FOR SALE - Free mansions in the sky. Over 1.5 billion sold but still a few left. All enquiries to Jesus.
428. Our human desire is 'to do', but God wants us 'to be'.
429. Our job is 'to be', so that God can use us 'to do'.
550. How is it that those who hate mice can still manage to operate a computer?
551. How is it that 'back seat drivers' usually sit in the front passenger's seat?
552. Heroism is in the eye of the beholder.
553. You may know how to get there but you first have to know where to go!
555. The quickest way to get feedback is to make a mistake.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
NEXT WEEK: 'POTTED' HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
This study will help you to understand your place in the God's church and hopefully, stimulate you towards to the place He desires you to be in Him. It's not about a particular church or denomination, but an offer to inherit His kingdom now.
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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. ***
QWIK QWIP: If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out.
171. Gee, thanks!
While working on a message the pastor heard a knock at his office door. "Come in," he invited.
A contrite-looking man in threadbare clothes came in, pulling a large pig on a rope.. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" asked the man with his hat in his hand. Wordlessly, the pastor indicated the chair and the man sat down in it gingerly. The pig proceeded to sniff around the office. With one eye on the animal and one on the man, the pastor folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward, curious to hear the fellow's story. "What can I do for you?
"My family is hungry," started the man. "So I stole this pig. But I feel that I have sinned. Would you please take it?"
"Certainly not," said the minister.
"Give it back to the man you stole it from, of course!" the pastor explained.
"I offered it to him, but he refused to take it. Now what should I do?"
"In that case," the minister said, "It would be all right for you to keep it and feed your family."
That seemed to settle things as far as the man was concerned. "Thank you for your help, sir." With a lighter step, he walked out of the office, leading the pig on the rope behind him.
Later that afternoon when the minister returned home, he said to his wife as he walked in, "Have I got a story to tell you."
"I have something to tell you first," she exclaimed. "Someone has stolen your prize pig!"
172. Sympathy
A minister joined a new acquaintance on the golf course, hoping to bring the subject around to church. The course adjoined a cemetery, and as they neared the next hole they observed a funeral procession coming down the road. As it passed their location the man stopped, solemnly removed his hat, and bowed his head till it passed. The minister, touched by his reverence, remarked, “I must say, friend. That was a most heart-warming display of sympathy. I’m touched by your show of respect.”
The golfer replaced his cap. “It’s the least I could do,” he said as he resumed rolling his golf bag to the green. “After all, she was my wife for 18 years.”
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A DAVID MUSING
This week I ministered at my first conference since I have been in Kenya. Many more are planned to follow, to get the word of the 'kingdom current' out to the people of the County of Bungoma where we live.
It was interesting to do it again after such a long break.
First of all, would my body stand up to it, for I have faced too many health challenges since shifting here to Webuye, Kenya. From three attacks of malaria, to tripping over stairs twice and chopping open my head n both occasions.
It did not too badly, standing up to 4 hours on my feet sharing with the enthusiastic people. Was pretty tired that night and the next day though. Need to add another 2 hour session yet! It will come.
What the day reminded me of most was the centrality of the cross to our faith, and our need to become like Jesus, living a life of sacrifice, as he did.
Current prosperity teachings and easy living in Jesus are simply not what the New Testament shares.
May we read and understand our Bibles and get back to the true heart of Jesus shown there.
Until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD
His servant and yours
David Tait
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