Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the vine-dressers) Part 1.
Christ is still speaking to the chief priest, the elders and the scribes. They came to him seeking to know of his authority to teach the people. They were indignant. They were angry. They were unbelieving. He wanted to heal them. He wanted to open their eyes. He wanted to bring them from the darkness into the light. He spoke to them directly but they could not and would not open themselves up to understanding. So now he tells them of a parable.
"Hear another parable. There was a man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge about it, and dug a wine vat in it, and built a tower; then he let it out to vine-dressers,
and went abroad. But when the fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the vine-dressers to receive his fruits."
Now this is a simple parable that tells of a home owner, a land owner who built a vineyard on his property. He traveled abroad and while away he leased his property to workers who were supposed to take care of it while he was away. Think of it this way, you own a house and decide to fix it up to rent out to a tenant. You do a great job of repairs on your property so that the new tenant will enjoy it. You spend a good sum of money to complete the repairs so that the house will have a good market value when finished. You have taken every precaution to select a good tenant who will pay on time and will take care of that which you value so much.
This is how the parable begins. It wants to tell itself so that the chief priest, the elders, and the scribes can completely understand its meaning. They have heretofore declined to be opened, to hear the words, to let the light come in. But Christ continues to provide opportunities for them to see, to understand, to be healed.
The same is true today. We are given opportunity after opportunity to be open, to understand, to have the truth come to us that we may be healed. It took some time for me to understand, to be open. I had to be beaten down to the point of depression, to the point of despair. In my state of submission, evil came to me and whispered to me to end it all. It wanted me to give up, to believe that there was no redemption for me, no forgiveness for the sin that I had continually committed.
Through all this Christ held my hand. He did not let go of me. He continued to walk with me no matter where I went. And it came the time for me to listen to his voice, to be open, to follow his words that I might be healed. And so it was. I came to understand. I came to know. I asked for forgiveness. I begged to repent. I wept for all the sins in my life that I had committed. And I turned away from the abyss and turned back to him.
You can too. This is my gift to all who will listen, to all who will hear, to all who will be open to understand who they are in the eyes of Christ who died that we may have life again. We are precious in his eyes and he will not let go of his precious children. Come! Speak to your heavenly Father. Tell him your pain. Open up to him with your sorrows and he will fill you with the joy of heaven. You are his creation, his love. He will hear you. Patience is the key.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ . The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
Christ is still speaking to the chief priest, the elders and the scribes. They came to him seeking to know of his authority to teach the people. They were indignant. They were angry. They were unbelieving. He wanted to heal them. He wanted to open their eyes. He wanted to bring them from the darkness into the light. He spoke to them directly but they could not and would not open themselves up to understanding. So now he tells them of a parable.
"Hear another parable. There was a man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge about it, and dug a wine vat in it, and built a tower; then he let it out to vine-dressers,
and went abroad. But when the fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the vine-dressers to receive his fruits."
Now this is a simple parable that tells of a home owner, a land owner who built a vineyard on his property. He traveled abroad and while away he leased his property to workers who were supposed to take care of it while he was away. Think of it this way, you own a house and decide to fix it up to rent out to a tenant. You do a great job of repairs on your property so that the new tenant will enjoy it. You spend a good sum of money to complete the repairs so that the house will have a good market value when finished. You have taken every precaution to select a good tenant who will pay on time and will take care of that which you value so much.
This is how the parable begins. It wants to tell itself so that the chief priest, the elders, and the scribes can completely understand its meaning. They have heretofore declined to be opened, to hear the words, to let the light come in. But Christ continues to provide opportunities for them to see, to understand, to be healed.
The same is true today. We are given opportunity after opportunity to be open, to understand, to have the truth come to us that we may be healed. It took some time for me to understand, to be open. I had to be beaten down to the point of depression, to the point of despair. In my state of submission, evil came to me and whispered to me to end it all. It wanted me to give up, to believe that there was no redemption for me, no forgiveness for the sin that I had continually committed.
Through all this Christ held my hand. He did not let go of me. He continued to walk with me no matter where I went. And it came the time for me to listen to his voice, to be open, to follow his words that I might be healed. And so it was. I came to understand. I came to know. I asked for forgiveness. I begged to repent. I wept for all the sins in my life that I had committed. And I turned away from the abyss and turned back to him.
You can too. This is my gift to all who will listen, to all who will hear, to all who will be open to understand who they are in the eyes of Christ who died that we may have life again. We are precious in his eyes and he will not let go of his precious children. Come! Speak to your heavenly Father. Tell him your pain. Open up to him with your sorrows and he will fill you with the joy of heaven. You are his creation, his love. He will hear you. Patience is the key.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ . The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
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