St. Matthew, Chapter 21, verses: 43a; The Kingdom.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Application of the parable) Part 3. 

The leaders, the priest, and the elders are being told by Christ their fate.  Those who would corrupt the fruit for their own desires are being given a warning.  They are the ones who were put in charge of the vineyard.  They are the ones who were supposed to till the soil and trim the weeds so that the fruit would grow uninhibited.  But they saw the fruit as their own.  They saw the fruit as an opportunity to fulfill their own dreams of wealth and power.  So they cultivated and prepared the fruit so that it would provide them with the desires of their heart, all in the name of the Lord.

Israel was a chosen people.  They were special in the eyes of the Lord.  He came down from heaven to provide for them, to care for them, as a mother hen would care for her chicks.  Yet they rebelled.  They decided their own rules and laws contrary to the laws given them by the Lord.  Their leaders became filled with power and pride and considered themselves above the Law of the common man.  So Christ told them:  "Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you." 

Our religious leaders have a special place in the heart of God.  They are the ones we look up to.  They are the ones that we turn to for guidance.  They provide us with our daily lessons that instruct us how to live.  We follow their example in all that we do.  We are the sheep and they are the shepherds.  We hear their voice and we follow.  God has called them to lead us and to guide us along the way.  He has given them special training and leadership skills.  And they are the vine-dressers that bring forth the fruit from the vineyard.

Do we know who we are?  Do we know that we are the sheep?  Do we believe that our leaders are the shepherds that we are to follow?  Or are there doubts as to who leads us and the example that they give?  Pray that you may know the truth of who you are.  Pray that your eyes may be opened as to who leads you and how you follow.  Pray that you may see the light that is within you and know that you are the beloved of God.  Then you will know the truth of who you are and where you belong. 

God will send you the Advocate.  The Advocate will lead you and guide you to find the place where you belong.  He will show you that place where you can grow and become the fruit that your Father has planted within you.  You are a child of God and his love is within you.  He will provide.  He will protect.  He will show you the way to a new path in life that you may live according to the abundance that he has given you.  Look around you and see.  Is this the place that you want to be?  Do you yearn for something more?  Pray that he will guide you!  Pray that he will show you the way!  Pray and listen for his guidance for he will hear you!

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. 

St Matthew, Chapter 13, verse: 28 - 29, The Kingdom of Heaven: An Enemy has done this.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the weeds) Part 4. 

How does the kingdom of heaven have weeds?  This is the question that was asked by the servants that worked the fields of the kingdom.  Christ is telling the people about the kingdom.  God's kingdom is vast.  He owns the universe and in this universe are untold riches and wealth.  Wealth in this kingdom is so vast that the mind of man cannot conceive of its magnitude.  And in this vast universe Christ has given life to mankind that we may enjoy the wealth of the universe for all eternity.  Yet within the kingdom there are weeds.  This is unnatural.  It is unheard of, since God did not sow weeds in his fields.  He sowed good seed and the servants want to know how this has happened.  Christ tell us through this parable,  He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' 

An enemy of the kingdom has come and planted weeds in the field.  An enemy of the kingdom has come and corrupted the field with this planting.  So, the deed is done.  The weeds are planted.  And what needs to happen next.  Are the weeds to be rooted out?  Are the servants to go one by one and pull up the weeds?  Are they to rake the soil that they may comb out the weeds, pulling them out by the roots so that the seeds are protected.  The servants ask the question, 'Wilt thou have us go and  gather them up?'

The response to the question presents a problem.  If the weeds are pulled, will the seeds and the resulting plants be injured?  Will the rooting out of the weeds leave the plants damaged preventing them from bringing forth fruit?  If the weeds remain will they have a dramatic impact upon the plants, thereby damaging the fruit?  Weeds are destructive.  They often grow faster than the plants they surround.  They attach themselves to the plants and encircles them with their tendrils, using their tendrils as steps of a ladder to grow upon the plants they encircle.  Soon the plants are overwhelmed by the weeds and the fruit of the tree is destroyed.  What does one do?  Christ tells us that the Lord told his servants,  No,' he said, 'lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.

So we live among the weeds, as it is in the kingdom, it is today.  We grow and the weeds grow with us.  How do we protect ourselves against the growth of the weeds?  How do we stop the weeds from taking over the plant and damaging the fruit.  The precious fruit of the kingdom may be attacked if not watched.  The precious fruit of the kingdom may be damaged if the weeds are not kept away.  The precious fruit of the kingdom could be choked and prevented from coming forth if we do not beat back the weeds.  It is a daily battle.  It is an hourly challenge.  It requires constant vigilance.  But we are not alone for we have the servants who watch over us.  We have the servants who will protect us.  We have the servants who will fight back the weeds to allow the seeds to bring forth fruit.  And then we have the almighty weed killer, the Holy Spirit that is within us, keeping the weeds from taking hold of us.  Do you have your weed killer with you?  Does he reside in you?  Do you remind yourself daily that he is with you?  Come, Holy Spirit, bring your light into my life!

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 30, Choose your side: Gatherer or Scatterer.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 5. 

The lines are being drawn.  The battle continues.  The sides are chosen and the players know the stakes at hand.  Christ has given the Pharisees the run down on his prophecy of what is about to happen.  They listen and are astonished that such a man, a man in their eyes and not the Messiah as they see it, would give such a statement to them, the men of authority, the men of power.  Christ told them that the kingdom of God was upon them and they did not see it.  He told them that there will be plundering because the strong man had been bound and all his treasures would be taken from him.  

Christ was speaking to the Pharisees and he was speaking to their counsels , the devil.  He was giving notice that he came to plunder.  He was giving notice that he came to take back the treasures that were stolen from the kingdom.  He came to separate the good from the evil, the just from the unjust, the damned from those who would be saved by his actions.  let nothing or no one get in his way.  For he brought the sword of God with him.  He brought the sword that would cut, the sword that would slash, the sword that would slice to the bone.  Christ came to bring victory to the house of God and to restore what was taken by force.

He told the Pharisees,  "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.   So the Pharisees knew without a shadow of a doubt where they stood.  They knew that they did not follow Christ.  They knew that they were against him, for he sought to take away their power over the people and spoke directly against their teachings.  So they knew that they were against him and being such, they knew that they were there to scatter.  For they wanted to divide the people.  They wanted to turn them away from Christ.  They wanted to be the leaders of the people.  They wanted the people to follow them and not Christ.

Give God the glory for he is worthy of the glory.  Give God the praise for he is worthy of the praise.  Unity in Christ is our desire and our future.  We desire to be one in Him and being in Him we are one with each other.  Yet we have those who would scatter, in our churches, in our towns, in our villages, in our homes, in our markets, at work, at school, wherever we are.  We have those who would seek their own praise and their own glory instead of giving it to God.  Do we go to church to scatter or to gather?  Do you go to church to be with Christ or to be against Him?  For in our churches, in our synagogues, in our chapels, we are one in union with Christ. 

There are many Pharisees in the midst of the believers.  There are those who would scatter for their own glory.  There are those who would scatter for their own gain.  There are those who would scatter for their own praise and yet they are not worthy.  And praise be to God that there are those who gather.  There are those who, through their efforts, others are brought into the church.  There are those who, through their sacrifice and their devotion, work to build up the church.  And they are the ones who are with Christ.  They are the ones who love Christ.  They are the ones who have the spirit of Christ within their hearts and know him.  Be not deceived.  There are workers in the church who work to build up the kingdom but they do not know Christ.  He does not live within them, for they work for their own glory and edification.  Give God the praise that all things work for the good.  Be not a scatterer but a gatherer with Christ.  Be with Him and not against Him.  The battle continues, even within you.  Come, join the army.  Which side do you choose? 

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 28, The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 3. 

So the Pharisees wanted to fight.  They wanted to cast doubt upon Christ.  They wanted to create suspicion upon his name.  Consulting with their partners, the devil, they came up with the thought that Christ was a partner with Beelzebub.  And they spoke it to him.  But Christ refuted them and schooled them on what they were doing.  He told them that a house divided will not stand.  He told them that if he was under the power of Satan then how is it that their children were able to cast out demons calling upon the same power that he did.  He told them that because their children believed in that same power, they would be the judges of the Pharisees at the day of judgment.

Christ was meek.  Christ was mild.  But the Pharisees wanted to battle so Christ brought them to the battle.  He spoke to them the words that ran ice chills down their backs.  He told them, "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."   This was a chilling thought.  The kingdom of God had come upon them.  They then had to understand what this meant.  They had to know that they then were fighting with God.  They then had to understand the consequences of their actions, the consequences of their words. 

The thought came and the next thought was that of the demons pulling them back into the pit of their reality, telling them that this could not be.  The demons had them to think that the Spirit of God was not upon this man and the kingdom was not upon them.  The demons told them that these were the ramblings of a possessed man and that they should find some way to get rid of him.  For the people did not see as they saw.  The people did not understand as they understood.  The people did not know as they knew.  So they continued to battle, blinded by the reality that stood before them, Christ Jesus, the Messiah.

Are you blinded by the reality of the world and unable to see the reality of the kingdom?  Are you in the world, unable to let go because of the fear spoken to you by the devil?  Christ wants you to let go.  Christ wants you to let God.  Christ wants to demonstrate to you the awesome power of his love for you.  But you can not experience it until you let go, until you let God direct your life.  When you express you release of the world and speak your dependence on God, the miracle begins.  Once the miracle begins your life will not be the same again. 

The demons will try to pull you back.  They will bring you doubt.  They will try to bring you fear.  They will try to turn you back.  But those who persevere will begin to see the change.  They will begin to know in little ways that God provides.  They will see the miracles taking place before their eyes and the kingdom of God will be upon them.  Patience is required.  Perfect patience is needed.  For a ocean liner is not turned around on a dime and your destiny will not be changed over night.  Walk the path with Christ and he will provide.  Seek the knowledge of the Holy Spirit and he will guide.  Know the words given by Christ and God will protect and provide.  God loves you!