St Matthew, Chapter 13, verse: 24 - 25, The Kingdom of Heaven: the Good Seeds.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the weeds) Part 1.  

The people are astonished.  Christ has spoken to them about seeds and fruit.  He has predicted that some seeds will produce 100% of the time, some 60% of the time and some 30% of the time.  But the question remains, what happens with those that do not produce 100%?  What happens when the fruit is only being produced 60% and the other 40% of the time it is not producing?  Is this an unprofitable tree?  What happens to the one that is only producing 30% of the time and the remainder of the 70% of the time it is not producing?  Is this a tree that is fruitless?  Can we see the parallel in our lives today?  Are we only fruitful in church?  Do we show our fruit only around our christian brothers and sisters and not at other times when we are out in the public?  

Christ wants us to be fruitful at all times, 100%.  He wants us to provide fruit of love, and of peace and of joy, and obedience.  He wants us to produce fruit of patience, and meekness, and humility so that those who are hungry may partake of the fruit of the kingdom from our trees through the grace of God.  The harvest is great but the workers are few.  The needs of the people are many but few are the ones who will satisfy those needs.  We live in a world that is not of the kingdom.  We live in a world that is selfish, and greedy, and lustful, and vain, and filled with its own passion.  But we do not feed those who hunger for the fruit of life given by Christ.  Sure there are churches, and religious programs, and outreach ministries, and pastors and priest, and teachers.  But these are few to feed the multitudes of  hungry. And these are only brought forth into the public places and not into the hearts of men. 

Christ wants us to have the fruit of the kingdom in our hearts.  Christ wants us to live in him and he in us that no matter where we go he is with us.  Produce the fruit of the kingdom.  Christ tells us a story, another parable of the kingdom of heaven.  He says,  "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;  but while men were asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away."     

The kingdom of heaven is in our midst for the sower has come and planted the seed.  But the evil one has come also and planted his weeds.  And the weeds grow everywhere, all around us.  The weeds are in our schools, in our work places, in our homes.  The weeds are in our churches, in our market places, on the streets, everywhere we may go.  There is no escape from the weeds.  They will grow and we will grow, together.  But we have a weed killer.  We have a trimmer that will take down the weeds in every nook and cranny where they grow. 

We must take our weed killer with us.  We must be prepared to use it at all times.  If we do not then the weeds will overtake you when you are without your weed killer.  For our weed killer should be within us.  It should be within our hearts wherever we go.  This way we are protected at all times against the weeds of the evil one.  Do you have your weed killer?  Did you leave your weed killer at home?  Did you leave your weed killer in the church on Sunday?  Are you unprotected out in the open, surrounded by the weeds of the evil one?  Come, seek the weed killer of all times.  Roundup Weed Killer has nothing on him for he exterminates all weeds.  He will rid you of all the weeds of the evil one and protect you against further attacks.  Will you let him in?  Will you live with Him?  Will you let him protect you?  All that is needed is to surrender and believe! 

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 22 - 23, The Battle continues: The Possessed Man.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Pharisees ascribe a miracle to the devil) Part 1. 

They mistake his meekness.  They mistake his mildness.  They underestimate his authority.  They do not understand who he is.  The prophets have spoken of Him.  Isaias has written of Him.  They have read of Him in their synagogues.  They have known of Him for ages.  But they do not know Him when he came.  They did not see Him when he was before them.  They did not hear the words that were spoken to them.  They were blind.  They were deaf.  They were dumb.  And the battle continues.

St Matthew tells us,  "Then there was brought to him a possessed man who was blind and dumb."   The lost souls continue to come and Christ continues to take back what was stolen.  He continues to bring souls to God through his miracles.  He continues to win the battles with the demons who had taken possession of the hearts and minds and souls of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  They brought them from all over.  They brought them from far away  towns and villages.  They brought them from nearby cities.  They brought them from across the Jordan because the word had spread of the kingdom.  And the demons gathered together to stop it.  

"And he cured him so that he spoke and saw," St Matthew tells us.  He opened his eyes and cleared his tongue and the man spoke again.  After years of oppression, after years of dominion, after years of pain and suffering, he spoke.  He saw.  And the sight that he saw was glorious.  He saw his redeemer.  He saw his salvation.  He saw with his first sight the Savior of the world.  And the crowd rejoiced with him.  The crowd stood in awe.  The crowd gave glory to God that such a one had come among them.  But the Pharisees gathered in counsel to plot against.  The Pharisees gathered in counsel with evil to determine how they would bring him down.  The Pharisees gathered in counsel to sacrifice the lamb and fulfill the prophecy.   "And all the crowds were amazed, and they said, "Can this be the Son of David?"  

He lives today and we do not see Him.  He speaks today and we do not hear Him.   He loves today and we do not love Him.  What is it going to take for our eyes to be opened, for our ears to be cleansed, for our hearts to be receiving, for Him to come to us?  Will it take disaster?  Will it take loss?  Will it take pain and suffering for us to know Him?  Will we not know Him willfully?  Will we not seek Him knowingly?  Will we not love Him fully?  For he calls to us daily.  He seeks us always.  He loves us continually.  He protects us forever.  He is our God.  He is our Father.  He is our brother and sister and mother.  He is Christ Jesus.  Come know Him, today!  Seek Him, now!  Love Him, forever and he will love you.  The battle continues.  On which side will you be?

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 19, The Prophecy Fulfilled.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mercy of Jesus) Part 3. 

The battle continues and the prophecy is fulfilled.  It was written of Christ before he came.  It was told of his miracles before he was born.  It was spoken of his meekness before it was known.  For the Spirit of the Lord was upon him and he was the chosen one.  He was the Christ.  They did not know.  The Pharisees plotted against him.  They did not know.  He was the Lord of the Sabbath.  They did not know.  He was greater than the Temple.  But he was meek as a lamb.

Christ continued to preach and heal and perform miracles.  He did not shout from the rooftops.  He did not preach in the streets.  He did not debate with the elders.  For he was meek and mild of manner.  It was written of him by Isaias, "He will not wrangle, nor cry aloud, neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets."   For the Spirit of the Lord was upon him and he preached the good news of the kingdom of heaven.  He declared judgment to the Gentiles who were in need of judgment.  For the Gentiles had seen injustice far too long.  They had been downtrodden.  They had been the recipients of injustice.  They had been without hope for too long. 

Christ came meek and mild.  He came to restore that which was taken away.  He came to give life to the dead that they may have life eternally.  He was a quiet man.  He was a man of easy demeanor.  He was a man without hatred or fear and he demonstrated to his disciples the ways of the kingdom which they were to preach after the completion of his mission here on earth.  The prophecy was fulfilled.  For it was written of the type of man he would be.  It was spoken in the scripture of his actions.  And he came to fulfill the writings of the scripture.

Can we say the same of our spiritual leaders today?  Are they meek?  Are they of mild demeanor?  Do they cry aloud in the streets, in the synagogues, in the churches?  Do they wrangle with their fellow man to prove a point, to win an issue, to be correct?  Do they know the Spirit of the Lord?  For Christ said, "Come, take my yoke for it is light and his burden is easy."  The Spirit will teach all to those who seek Him.  The Spirit knows all and will reveal all to those who want more than this world has to offer.  Come!  Walk in the Spirit! Take up the yoke of Christ and receive his blessings.  

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 20-21, The Hope of the Gentiles.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mercy of Jesus) Part 4. 

The prophecy of Isaias continues.  For it was written of Christ before he came.  It was foretold of his actions before he was conceived.  It was read in the synagogues of his purpose before the Pharisees were created.  He would be meek.  He would be mild.  He would be merciful to the people.  It was written,  "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoking wick he will not quench."  

He was the quiet one.  He was the soft spoken one.  He was the loving one.  Yet the battle continued and Christ continued to take back the souls of those lost.  He continued to preach the gospel of the kingdom.  He continued to perform miracles, heal the sick, raise the dead, make the blind see, the lame walk and cast out demons.  This was his mission.  This was his purpose.  This was what he came to earth to do.  Yet with the mighty power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit he was merciful.  He was meek.  He was gentle as a lamb.

But he came to bring victory.  He came to being battle.  He came to separate the good from the evil, the saved from the damned, the just from the unjust, for they all lived together in one place.  He brought the sword of the Lord.  He spoke the words of the kingdom.  He brought life for the people.   And, "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoking wick he will not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory." 

For he came to bring judgment.  He came to bring life.  He came to bring battle upon the dark forces of evil and his was the victory.  Christ presents such a stunning picture so different from what we exemplify and what we see today in our spiritual communities.  He had the anointing of God upon him, yet he did not use it.  He had the beck and call of legions of angels yet he did not need them.  He had the watchful eye of God the Father upon him and God was pleased with his actions. 

Is God pleased with our actions today?  Will he know that we do his bidding or the bidding of the world?  For without our awareness of Him then our actions are not of his bidding but are of those of the world.  But with our conscience knowledge of his being with us, his walking with us, his living inside of us each day, each minute, each hour, we can know that what we do, we do for his glory and his honor.  Even our prayers speak of his kingdom and his honor and his glory.  So let us us our daily actions to come closer to God and to acknowledge his presence in our lives.  It is not enough to believe in God.  One has to know in God.  One has to act in God.  One has to live in God.  For in God there is no want.  For you in God, there is no desire for earthly things.  For you in God there is no fear, no doubt, no anxiety, no failure.  There is no failure in God and neither will there be failure in you.  "For in his name will the Gentiles hope."