A SCENARIO of FOUR SEEDS – (based on Matthew 13:1-23)

The evangelization of the world is the Great Commission as commanded by the LORD Jesus Christ before His ascension into heaven (MATT 28:19-20; MARK 16:15-16). The Gospel is going out by various means today: television, radio, Internet, printed materials in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, Gospel tracts, as well as Evangelistic Crusades and street witnessing.

As the Word of God proceeds and reaches the hearts of people, there are different responses and specific causes for each response. In Matthew’s Gospel Ch. 13 (also MARK 4; LUKE 8) our LORD describes these causes and effects for us.

Its worthy of note that of the four different scenarios depicted only one of these brought forth good fruit; in all of the other cases, the seed was unfruitful. This should be a warning and an admonition for us as God’s children, particularly for those just starting out in the faith ("babes in Christ" 1 COR 3:2; 1 PET 2:2). We must make sure that we tend the ‘garden of our heart’ to be sure it is properly tilled, weeded and protected from those elements that would prove detrimental to good and healthy growth.

PRODIGAL SONS - Part 2 of 2

We have two sons in this story of the prodigal son (singular) and it is my contention that in a very real sense, there were actually two prodigal sons. The younger son made the bold and unwise decision to leave his father, his family and the blessed life in which perpetual relationship, not merely provisional riches were forsaken.

The elder brother is the focus on the second half of this article.

To any that would observe this young man, he was doing everything right. He, compared to his younger brother, exhibited nothing but commendable behavior and was no doubt, readily received by family and friends (and presumably by the LORD Himself) as an honorable man.

Yet just as the Word tells us that man looks upon the outward, the LORD looks upon the heart (1 SAM 16:7); no one really knows the human heart (not even The Shadow!) as our LORD knows the human heart and all of its ways (JER 11:20;17:9-10).

TWO PRODIGAL SONS - Pt. 1 of 2

We have all read about the prodigal son, but have we considered that there was actually more than one in the biblical story as told by the LORD in LUKE 15?

First of all, let’s look at what the word “prodigal” means. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, prodigal is defined as:
“Rashly or wastefully extravagant; marked by rash or wasteful extravagance; a prodigal life. Giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse; one given to wasteful luxury or extravagance.”

That certainly would seem to apply to the younger son of the father in this parable; but what about the elder son who remained with his father? How would he be considered as a ‘prodigal son’?
That we shall see, but let’s have a look at this parable and examine what it reveals.

The Prodigal Son Parable
LUKE 15:11-32 
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

Just prior to this parable the LORD gave a few other parables, and the two immediately before the prodigal son were the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. In both cases the shepherd and the woman found that which was lost. Likewise the younger son was lost but then was found (LUKE 15:32) and so the end of the stories are blessings indeed.

The GIFT Under The TREE - The One Neglected Annually

MATTHEW 2:10-12
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy,
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

As the year draws to a close, we are once again anticipating another celebration of the birth of Christ - even though we who are well versed in the Scriptures know that He was probably born either in late Spring or early Fall, depending on which source is cited. Nevertheless, December 25th is recognized the world over as the day of Christmas.

What is becoming less recognized is the One for Whom we set this day as special. Too much of Santa Claus, too much of Frosty and Rudolf; too much of glistering trees and wreaths, mistletoe and holly - and of course WAY TOO MUCH of commercialism and "buy, buy, BUY! On sale now! And get these while they last!"

REAL CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN

There is an old expression, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

This means different things to different people, I'm sure, but to me, this says that as things on the surface of our real world changes, the heart of what 'makes it tick' doesn't change at all.

Another SMOKE SIGNAL: A HOPE BEYOND AS WELL AS FOR LIFE

Some see hope as wishful thinking; a yearning for the improbable with little chance of it ever happening. Some cling to hope that is false and disappointing, leaving a person dejected, disillusioned and bitter. There is much about this world that can cause one to feel disappointed, disillusioned and bitter.  

I was such an individual once. I was born with multiple deformities and health issues that left me a weak and inept child that had few friends, was ridiculed and mocked in school, never excelled at much of anything and felt the nevertheless up-beat and happy child that I was slowly wither away until all that was left was a hardened, bitter, vindictive and lonely person.

I needed answers in life, and sought out spiritual wisdom.

I was born into and raised as a Roman Catholic, but what answers they provided were superficial; the entire event of the Mass was one repetitive Sunday after the next with very little variation. It was ritual, but no reality of the spiritual sort for me.

The GOD of BALANCE - Based on various Scriptures for this topical study

In PROVERBS 11:1 it states:

A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

And in PROVERBS 20: 23 it also says:  

23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.   

Everywhere we look, we see and understand that God is a God of order, and balance; justice and fairness; grace and truth. He is a God of peace as well as a God of design. Such things as injustice, deceit, lawlessness, chaos, oppression and iniquity are an offense to Him. Those words spoken in Proverbs testifies that during times of commerce in Israel when trade was going on between people in business, goods were measured in scales and the weights used to measure the weight of product were sometimes false weights that claimed to weigh so much, but in reality weighed far differently. Basically there were dishonest businessmen who were ‘ripping people off’!     
God declares such things as an abomination – that’s very strong language for God to use and yet it demonstrates how the LORD sees things that are not balanced or in harmony with the order that He Himself created, physically as well as spiritually and morally and legally.

Consider the account in Genesis during the creation week:

GENESIS 1: 1-2

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The word for “darkness” can mean simply that – darkness. But it can also refer to destruction, misery, death among other things. The fact that the earth was “without form” and that this darkness was apparent shows that at the beginning, things seemed to be very much out of order. A rather strange idea when one considers how orderly God really is – why would things start out in such a chaotic state? Why didn’t God create everything in a state of perfect order to begin with?


Interesting questions to be sure, but ones that we must forego in this study so that we can focus on other things; suffice it to say, that God throughout this time of six literal days of 24 hours each (Ex. 20: 9-11) gradually increased a state of order, replacing the disorder of this primordial world. Everything was eventually tuned to an extremely finely tuned balance - so much so, that scientists who propose the idea of evolution as being scientifically valid are hard pressed to explain what they call 'the anthropic principle'; that is, the idea that everything seems tuned to the exact specifications and parameters in order for life, and specifically mankind to live on the earth. If any of these specifications was not tuned precisely as it is, then life would not be possible on this planet! Wow, huh?
Each evening and day of these six days in which God worked in establishing His order of creation was a time in which disorder was exchanged for that which God called “good”:


“ . . . and God saw that it was good . . . ” – vs. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25. Then on the sixth and final day of creation, God created His ‘grand finale’ by making man and on that day of completion, after fashioning Adam from the dust of the earth:


GENESIS 1: 31

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Upon completion of His creative work, it states that God rested (ceased) from His work, having completed His order. In Hebrews 4 it further states that God rested:


HEBREWS 4: 4-5, 9-11

4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Just as God rested in His creative work, once He completed His redemptive work on the Cross, dying for the sins of the world (propitiation in atonement) He likewise rested in that there was nothing more that needed to be done in order to provide our salvation. The order of salvation was completed and any that enter into this rest of redemption enjoys this order established by God through the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
It wasn’t until the day that Adam and his wife Eve fell into sin by succumbing to the temptation of Satan in the eating of the forbidden fruit that chaos and disorder was introduced into God’s perfect creation of order.

One could justifiably refer to this time as a ‘new world order’ that actually started in heaven when Lucifer rebelled against the order that God established by an attempt of usurping God’s authority with an authority of his own. For this, Lucifer was cast out of heaven and became Satan who then seduced man into sin and thus, brought about the disorder that has been a curse upon this world ever since!
We see this disorder as it effects nature: earthquakes occur when the tectonic plates that make up the earth’s crust shift and expand due to seismic, molten pressures: a kind of geologic storm.

We also see it in meteorological storms like thunder storms, tornados, and hurricanes when massive weather fronts of warm and cold air masses collide, accumulating vast amounts of water vapor and electrons resulting from violent weather.

Interestingly enough, when the LORD Jesus spoke of “earthquakes in diverse places” (Matt. 24:7) as one of the signs of the last days, the word used for earthquakes in the Greek is seismos and it not only refers to earthquakes but also tempests and storms of the meteorological sort; the fact that these phenomena of disorder and imbalance are increasing is noteworthy as part of the “birth pangs” bringing in the last days!


However, just as the LORD brought order from disorder and chaos in the creation, the LORD Jesus Christ brought order to the storms that the disciples suffered while traversing the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 14: 22-33; Mark 4:35-41).
The kingdoms of the Gentile nations are often portrayed in Scripture as the sea roaring (Isaiah 57:20), tumultuous and without order, chaotic in fact. Kingdoms in scripture are also referred to as mountains, such as the kingdom of heaven for example (Dan. 2: 35, 45).

It’s worth our time to consider that when the LORD returns in power and authority to this rebel planet as the Messiah of Israel, the following will take place:

ISAIAH 40: 1-5

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Just as mountains are portrayals of kingdoms, so likewise valleys are seen as places of death and oppression. There is a tremendous imbalance in the political and economic world today where the extremely powerful in government and business oppress those whom governments (and corporations as something ethical) are to serve and protect.

The masses can be seen as those dwelling in the “valley” (Psalm 23: 4).

Note also that once the LORD Jesus left the mountain of Transfiguration, He was met by none other than a father whose boy was oppressed by a demonic spirit (Mark 9: 1-27).


On that Day when the Messiah (the “stone cut without hands” as seen in Daniel chapter Two) comes to this world and sets up His kingdom, every kingdom based on iniquity, darkness, destruction, wickedness – essentially every kingdom and political power that’s within this world, will be cast down; and all who are righteous but oppressed and downtrodden will be exalted. Every mountain made low, every valley exalted . . . God's justice and balance in executing His Holy Law in this unholy world will know full fruition; as I am fond of saying, there is no such thing as eternal injustice!
For your consideration, from The RED PILL CONSORTIUM, here is an article based on ISAIAH Ch. 59 and the spiritual principles of truth and justice and how the decimation of these is leading to The Demise of a Civilization.

The very same idea is found in individuals who because of their pride exalt themselves while the humble remain in a lowly state. The Scriptures are clear that God ensures that a balance of justice will prevail in these matters of the heart:

LUKE 1:51-53

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

1 PETER 5:5-6

5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

(Also James 1: 8-10; 4: 10; Ps. 138: 6).

Interesting that every mountain and valley will be leveled during that time when the Earth is refurbished during the Millennial period, but there is one mountain that will never be made low:

ISAIAH 2:2-4

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

War is yet another example of imbalance and chaos, and yet when the LORD returns and enacts a final act of war against this rebel planet, its ruler (Satan, particularly embodied in the Beast of Revelation) and all opposing forces, there will never be another war ever again on the Earth (When Satan is loosed at the end of this period, it will hardly constitute a war, but a rout and a completion of the course of evil which will be excised at that time!).

In the Christian life, we can see an imbalance even here; we have our sinful nature, that we inherited from our father, Adam. Yet as Christians we also have the divine nature of Jesus and His Spirit that dwells within us.


ROMANS 5: 12

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

EPHESIANS 2:2-3

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

The holy, godly nature that is ours through the LORD Jesus Christ:

2 PETER 1:3-4

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

To the degree that we, as Christians, experience frustration, aggravation, dissatisfaction, anger, depression, ruinous impulses and other destructive emotions, we are experiencing the imbalance due to sin and for the believer, to gain the balance that God would desire for us, His children, we must put off these things much as it states in Colossians. Colossians chapter Three speaks of the beginning of the balance that God wants for us, starting right from verse 1 (actually the entire Bible is the Book of Balance as given us by our LORD):


COLOSSIANS 3: 1-2, 6-10, 12-16

1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

To achieve the balance of blessedness, we are to put off the things of the old man (our sinful nature) and put on the things of the new man (our new, heavenly nature):

6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

15 And let the peace of God rule* in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

* “rule” – as in to impose dominion; in this case, God’s order in our lives!

We see the same contrast in Galatians chapter 5:

GALATIANS 5: 19-21 and 22-23

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. See also 2 Cor. 6: 14-18.

How is this divine sense of balance even gained? One first must submit and surrender to the order of God through Jesus Christ and become born into the family of God and His kingdom, via the Cross of Christ:

GALATIANS 5: 24-25

24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk* in the Spirit.

* In order to walk properly without falling a sense of balance must be maintained.

The process of dying to self, by way of the Cross is an ongoing process whereby we slowly gain the blessedness of God’s beautiful balance as He intends for us in the Person of Christ Jesus. This is what enables us to walk in the Spirit even as we are born of God’s Spirit.

The second means by which we gain this balance, this order of God’s awesome state of being for us in by His Word: The Word of God is perfect, bringing the Law of God, the Order of God… the very balance of God which He intends us to be blessed with, into the hearts and lives of us, His children.

PSALM 1:1 - 6

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Read the entire Psalm and meditate upon it)

HOMEWORK: Examine the first chapter of the book of James and look for the ‘balance of God’ in these verses.