St Matthew, Chapter 20, verse: 1, The Kingdom of Heaven and the House-holder.

Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 1.  


Christ told his disciples what hinders anyone from entering the kingdom of heaven.  He gave them examples and details so that everyone would know what to do and what not to do.  In this new chapter he gives another example of the kingdom of heaven.  He compares the kingdom of heaven to a house-holder.

He tells his disciples:  FOR the kingdom of heaven is like a house-holder who went out early in themorning to hire laborers for his vineyard .   It is in this comparison that Christ tells his disciples that the kingdom of heaven is like a person who owns property and needs help to maintain it.  The house-holder hires laborers to maintain his vineyards and the kingdom of heaven hires laborers to maintain its children.  The kingdom of heaven is a living entity.  It is God's creation.  It has needs that must be met in order for its crop to flourish.

Christ uses this example to further illustrate to his disciples and to us how the kingdom works.  He wants us understand.  He wants us to know.  The kingdom is seeking laborers.  The kingdom wants you and me.  The kingdom owns the property of God and is looking for those who would work the property for a reward.  The doors are open and the laborers are few.  The work is plentiful and the harvest is ripe and ready for the picking.  Are we willing?  Are we ready?  Do we have the skills to get the job done?  Christ is calling us to come and work with him to get the job done.

Can you go?  Can you work?  Are you willing to work for the reward that is open to you?  We work here on earth for the rewards that are given to us.  We are given money that we use to buy the things that we want.  Christ calls us to the work in his vineyard.  The kingdom of heaven calls us to work in its vineyard.  What will be our reward for the work that we do?  Will we be given paper money that we can use in the here and now?  Will we be given something else that is more precious than paper money?  What will that be?  What will we receive?  What is more precious than the money we get today?

Is life everlasting more precious than paper money?  Is life everlasting more valuable than gold, or silver, or diamonds, or any other thing that we hold in high esteem today?  The kingdom of heaven calls us, just as the world calls us.  Which one will we choose?  Some know of the call.  Some don't.  Some are lost and do not know that they have a choice.  Some know that they have the choice and choose not.  That decision is ours and ours alone to make.  But the call is still there.  The kingdom calls,  will you answer.  The kingdom calls, do you hear.  The kingdom calls, will you ignore the call.  Christ is waiting.  Come!  Heed the call and come work in the vineyard for the kingdom of heaven.  The reward is greater than anything that you will receive here on earth. 

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 and 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 19, verse: 25a, The hearing of the disciples.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The danger of riches) Part 3.  

The rich young man was saddened by what Christ told him.  And now Christ speaks the words of truth about the kingdom of heaven.  There is a transition.  There are requirements that must be met.  Each person entering the kingdom must meet the standards.  Death starts the process.  How one lived his physical life determines the criteria.  And the examination at the entrance will set the stage for life everlasting in the kingdom or.

These are the truths that Christ wants his disciples to understand about the kingdom of heaven.  The spiritual kingdom is not like the physical kingdom.  You cannot buy your way in.  You cannot force your way in.  No amount of power or influence will guarantee your entrance.  For what we do on earth will determine if we are eligible to enter.  And Christ gave his disciples a simple example to demonstrate what criteria is used.  He told them that it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  The disciples, hearing this, were exceedingly astonished.

Just as the rich young man was saddened when he heard Christ's words about selling his possessions, the disciples were astonished when they heard these words.  For it was in the hearing that they did not understand.  It was in the hearing that the meaning was lost.  It was in the hearing that the mind transformed and transposed those words to resonate to heartfelt doom.  All want to be rich.  All want to enjoy the pleasures that come with wealth and riches.  This is what we are given to believe and know from birth.

We see everyday those with wealth and how they are able to live.  We hear everyday of those with riches and how they are able to do the things that everyday people dream about.  Everyday we are told about the lives of the rich and famous, the movie stars, the sports stars, and those of wealthy origins.  And our minds are transformed from where we are into where we would like to be.  So the disciples were exceedingly astonished as we are today with these words.  Yet it is these words that are meant to astonish.  It is these words that are meant to shock.  It is these words that are meant to open our hearts to provide us with the opportunity to see the truth of who we are and what we are given to believe. 

What do we believe?  Do we believe that there is a heaven?  Or do we believe that we are in heaven now, on this earth, and we should live forever here?  Do we fear what comes after death?  Are we afraid of that which we have not been given, that which is foreign to us?  We have been given the here and now.  The world gives us this each day.  We are not given what comes after today, what comes after death, what comes after the physical life.  That information is not published.  That information is not talked about on the talk shows in the lives of the rich and famous.  For that has not been given to us to know as we know the world.  It has been given for us to believe. 

Christ came that we would have life everlasting.  He came to teach us of his Father and our Father, the Creator.  He came to demonstrate his love for us.  And he came to pay the penalty for our punishment.  All this and yet we do not know who we are.  All this he gave to us and we cannot see who we are.  All this and we are blinded by the glitz and glamour that the world offers to us if we only go to sleep in the world and do not seek the spiritual.  Each of has the key to reignite the life that Christ has given us.  All it takes is an open mind and an open heart.  All it takes is a desire to know him who has loved us from the beginning.  Seek that which is within you.  Knock on the door of your heart and open it to the love of Christ and he will come to you to let you know of his love and the love of the Father .  For no one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a measure, but puts it on a lampstand so that all who enter may see.  Christ wants to light your lamp so that you may see the truth of who you are in him.  Come!  Light your lamp and you will be astonished at who you are in him!

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 and 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.