DEFINITION OF TERMS

HOLINESS
SANCTIFICATION
HOLINESS, HOLY, SAINTS.

Photo shows the age old method of sowing seed by hand, in Biblical lands.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “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. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:1-9)

Jesus spoke to His followers in parables. The parables contained 'hidden' messages that were, and still are, applicable to believers. Unbelievers do not understand them.

This parable was one of the few Jesus explained, which shows its importance. In the following verses Jesus explained the differences between the types of soil. Crucially however, he left meaning of the final part, the real point of the parable 'a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown', for the Holy Spirit to reveal to us.

The main point of the parable was this. Although all the 'Christian' seed is sown in the highly fertile good soil, some produces a 30-fold crop, some a 60-fold crop and the remainder, a stupendous, 100-fold harvest. So the real question is, “What causes or determines the differences in the harvest?” Here, Jesus is saying not all Christians are the same, but that some bear more fruit, or grain in this case, than others. This is the ‘Kingdom’ truth He was truly revealing.

Viewing cropping in the natural, we can see that of the four elements that make a crop successful, two can be immediately ruled out. For it is all good seed. And the 'soil' is of the same fertility for all the ‘Christian Harvest.’ So that leaves two remaining requirements of ‘Crop Care’ and ‘Acts of God.’

Acts of God, or circumstances beyond our control, of God making some more fruitful than others, has a certain appeal as an explanation. Personal responsibility for our actions, or often, inaction, is absolved. It's always convenient to blame our lack of performance in life on God. Although it's true that the ‘Gifts of the Spirit’ are given out in differing quantities and type as God pleases, we all have equal opportunity to develop the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ in our lives! We decide to produce a 30 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold harvest. Yes, the harvest in this parable is about fruit, not gifts.

This leaves the one remaining element of ‘Crop Care.’ Here the analogy with the natural breaks down a little. For instead of the farmer in the natural looking after the crop to achieve an even result overall, in the spiritual we, the seed, are individually responsible for the production of our own fruit. We must fertilize and water, that is to nurture, the spiritual seed planted in us at the time of our salvation, to produce our 30, 60 or 100 fold crop.

Yes, it is the development of the Fruit of the Spirit in our life that brings us to maturity, that determines of the size of our spiritual harvest. It is through the development of the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives that we can attain a 100-fold crop, the picture of holiness.

Jesus made the point that not all would attain holiness. For many will limit themselves to 30-fold or 60-fold harvests. But to grow to maturity, to come to holiness, a 100-fold crop is required. Therefore holiness is not desired or attained by all believers.

Occasionally, the Lord uses a verse to summarise His teachings. We have such a verse in Revelations 12:11, spoken by Jesus through the apostle John.

The verse succinctly sums up 'the Way' of our Christian walk, and its result - overcoming satan. For satan can only be overcome by the holy. Those who have put the ways of man aside to 100% walk in the ways of God.

The truths 'hidden' in God's Word are amazing. We just need to dig deep to discover them. As with holiness, this takes time and application. A process, lasting a lifetime.

HERODION

Viewed from the north from more than five miles away, the volcano-shaped mountaintop created by Herod dominates the skyline. The powerful appearance of this fortress is even more amazing when you consider that there was a circular palace coming out of the inside of the “cone” and rising more than 45 feet above it. Furthermore, the eastern defensive tower rose an additional 50 feet.

Nearby, the modern-day city of Bethlehem sprawls on the Judean hills. It is clearly shadowed by Herod’s magnificent creation. It is ironic that the king represented by the awesome fortress was insignificant in comparison with the King in the manger of Bethlehem barely three miles away.

The hills in the foreground give way to the barren wilderness mountains where the Herodion stood. This helps to explain the fact that both the shepherd (such as David and the shepherds of Jesus’ birth) and the farmer (such as Boaz and Ruth) were found in Bethlehem. The shepherd normally pastured sheep along the edges of the wilderness, coming to the fertile farmland after the crops were harvested.

Exactly where the shepherds were on Christmas is unknown, but it is certain that they could see the Herodion. Did they find it strange to pass such a palace to find a king in a manger? If so, it was God’s way of asking them to trust his word rather than how the situation appeared to them. That is always the call of God to the believer: “Accept my truth and serve me as I ask, even if it doesn’t seem the better way.”

Source: http://www.followtherabbi.com