Jesus told many parables, in this article I am not going to cover them all, but only look at three of them and look at the Christian faith and your position in the body of Christ.
The four soils
A farmer went and sowed seed and it fell on four types of soil. One lot of seed fell on stony ground where it was quickly picked up by the birds. We have all seen this type of Christian, saved at a convention and you are happy for them and then two weeks later they don't want to go to church with you. Within six months they are in a worse state then the first.
The second lot of seed went on shallow ground and when troubles come the shallowness of the root did not hold them. Once again a person is saved and yet without a good grounding in the doctrines of Christ and a solid foundation they might fall away when trials come to test their faith.
The third seed fell on ground that had thorns. Jesus said the thorns choked the plants from growing and stopped them from bearing fruit were the cares for riches and worries for the world. These people are saved but bear no fruit because of the world.
The word of God says that the people who love the world are enemies of God.
James 4:4
4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. The Word God also says when we enter the life committed to Christ we should act as a soldier and come away from the world.
2 Timothy 2:4
4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. Paul warns Timothy that people who desire to be rich can be severely tempted and can even drown people.
1 Timothy 6:8-11
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Jesus Himself said that it easier for a rich man to enter heaven then a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
Paul commended Timothy to teach the rich to be rich in good works.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
One way to test what hold money has on you is to tithe 10% and give extra to the poor. If you are doing that you are storing up a good foundation, if you are not, you are not.
Jesus said the seed that fell amongst the thorns bore no fruit. Jesus spoke about people who bore no fruit. He said that they would be gathered and thrown into the fire.
John 15:5-6
5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. And Jesus said if you love him you will keep his commands
John 14:15
15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.
Jesus says the person that does not obey Him does not love Him
John 14:24
24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me. Jesus said in the Gospels that we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. We are called to deny our flesh and walk in the Spirit. The flesh lusts after all sorts of things. The message has it this way.
1 John 2:15-17 (The Message)
15-17Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world-wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important-has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out-but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. The New King James says:
1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The weeds that choke out the third lot of seeds and stop them from bearing good fruit is the world and its ways. We need to come out of the world.
Then there were seeds that fell on good soil that produced a good crop that re-produced itself some thirty times some sixty and some a hundredfold. Some people think that good fruit might be the fruits of the spirit and yet re-production having an impact on others salvation and others growth in the kingdom is also what this verse is talking about.
These fruit bearing Christians will be called sons of God and be welcome guests at the wedding supper.
The Wise and Unwise virgins
If you were part of a troop of virgins waiting to be married to a King we can most assuredly say that you are born again. If you were not going to marry the King and go to the palace with Him to live out your days why else would you be there. And He wouldn't be some unknown King to you, He would be a King that you know and trust.
Jesus has many in His body but there are few wise virgins out there waiting with expectation for Him and living their life like He is just on the door. You only have to see where they are putting their money to see how many trust the Lord of the Harvest with their money.
I was speaking to a self confessed Christian and asked him if Jesus was 15 miles away and was just now beginning to travel toward where we were right now, would it be time to be going to club to get one more beer or would it be time to be waiting patiently and looking for the car. The Holy Spirit told me to tell him where the car was going to pull up and inform him that it was only going to stop for 10 seconds enough for him to get in.
He didn't know what I was getting at.
The Christian church are out at the bars having a drink with the world and not waiting with expectancy and in this they are burning up the midnight oil and not reserving enough for their lamps.
I asked the young man how could He get in Jesus' car if He couldn't see Him and right at that moment Jesus appeared behind the man in a vision and I told him Jesus was behind him and asked him if he could see Him.
The guy was too drunk to comprehend and I had a good chat to the friend before I left with Jesus and went for a chat with Him and some other visitors from heaven.
Are we really wise?
Jesus said that mankind can predict the weather and yet they can't seem to see the coming of the Lord. The wise weren't even that wise even as they did not have enough oil to share with their friends.
I wonder what the people selling oil were in that story? Churches? Pentecostal Churches? I wonder if it came with a DVD and a weekend retreat and seminar with a healthy wealthy and wise secrets to inner peace and prosperity in the modern world package theme?
Have you enough oil in your lamp?
Have you fruit?
Are you sowing into the kingdom of light or into the kingdom of consumerism?
Have you shared your oil this week with another?
Are you ready to meet Jesus in the next month?
Or week?
Remember the unwise did not go to the party.
The Prodigal Son
Jesus told a story about a son that asked his father for all his inheritance and then went off to parties with prostitutes and drank and had a life of fun until his money ran out. Then reduced to working feeding pigs which for Jew would be a disgusting job as they aren't kosher, he finally came to his senses and went home to say sorry to his father and ask to be a servant.
When he got near home his father ran to meet him and took off his signet ring and gave it to him and gave him a robe to put on and put on a BBQ with a fatted calf.
It's not the prodigal son this article is about.
The older brother of the prodigal son comes in from a days work and sees that a party is going on and asks what the occasion is. His father with joy tells him that his brother was lost and now is found and its time to have a good time and celebrate. The older brother is indignant and refuses to come into the party. In the last days God is going to do a mighty work and raise up a church among the prodigals and do mighty signs and wonders on earth through this group of people with bad histories. The established church in this last hour are going to be in large part an indignant older brother and refuse to join in the party choosing instead to call it a cult.
Will you be an older brother and refuse to come into the party?
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