Good morning everyone from Hawaii to all points of the world, The Church Ministries can enter an estimated 100 countries around the world with the help of all our brothers and sisters and a pure act of God to put us on all the major search engines across the world. I praise God for that, and I wish to thank all the brothers and sisters at google who has given us the best representation of The Church Ministries with a following of 80 pages listed, and how people can access all or most of the Sunday sermons and they are free to use anytime for any church or discipleship or Sunday school training, or with any newsletter for church bulletins and anything that would advance the cause of the love of God and Jesus Christ. We all welcome you and we are happy to say this is our 51st Church Service, even though we opened the church in August 27th 2003, it took a few months to build the base pages and to construct a basic learning tool within. So we welcome all visitors, and return visitors and our members. We will be continuing on with the Parables of Matthew 13, and we shall focus on the effects of the third parable this Sunday. I am just happy to announce that no matter what happens with my health I will continue to praise the Lord for all the things I can do, and that I am still able to give the bread of life to this vast amount of people with so many locations, across our planet. So let us all take a minute and praise God for all the blessings He has showered upon us all. I always wanted a local church building with a combination mission, but God has other plans for this church, I feel He wants it to be separate and set apart, so we will continue with the love and compassion our Jesus has taught us all.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen Matt. 28:19-20 KJV
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:15-16 KJV
Yes bothers and sisters we are following what Jesus wanted us to do, and with the technology today we can do great things for the Kingdom. Most computers today auto automatically translate in to the language that the computer was purchased, and I have not received one letter were any country or any pastor or minister has had any problem having difficulty with the translation, so let us praise God for that!
Dear Heavenly Father, as we open today with our prayer to You, we all come forward seeking love and peace of mind. I come to You with all who are gathered here today. We all need you Father, You are so abundant in goodness and truth, we pray Father that we all come to You in purity and we ask that the Spirit of the Living God come upon us all and anoint us with true harmony and openness to here Your word and teachings. Have mercy on us all, Father as we approach the throne of grace, as we gather here today to worship You in Spirit and in Truth please forgive us of all our sins and sanctify us, and make us holy, so You see us as One. Father through this week we have come through many obstacles, we have all been going through all kinds of different tests or trials. Sometimes we become distressed but only You Lord can bring us the light that explains all we don’t understand. Father, grant us the grace to forget about the hurts and pain, the misconceptions, and bring us the abundant life of service to You and all your people. Show us how to use your gifts, so we can bring happiness to You and this church. Please climb deep within all our souls, cleanse us and open us up to Your love this day and forever.
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Matt. 13:31-32 KJV
He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." Matt. 13: 31-32 NIV
Now we know in these two simple scriptures that many commentators have taken this Parable completely apart which has undertaken much misrepresentation of many different laborers. Jesus is giving us a teaching here, and it seems a lot of people have explained the total opposite of what this Parable truly means. The main cause of this mistaken interpretation may be tracked down back to a wrong understanding of the expression ( kingdom of heaven ). Individuals who have unsuccessfully figured out their definition of this term should really examine the parable just a bit more and maybe explore it in just a bit more detail.
The admired and up to date explanation of this parable is that it is meant to proclaim the glorious success of the Gospel. The reasoning is that of the (mustard seed) is considered as a representation of the quick moving addition of Christianity and the extension of the Christian Church. Starting immaterially and unclearly, its size has increased enormously, until finally it shall cover the earth. Let us first show how weak and unfeasible this interpretation is.
First, we must examine these seven parables that they form part of one joined and complete communication with a precise teaching and must essentially be consistent and harmonious all the way through. As a result, it is obvious that the third Parable cannot conflict with the teaching of the first two. In the first Parable, instead of drawing a picture of a field in which the good seed took root and thrived in every part of it, our Lord pointed out that most of its soil was poor, and that only a partial percentage grew an increase. Besides, instead of promising that the good ground part of the field would yield greater and greater returns, Jesus announced that there would be a decreasing harvest as time went on (some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty). In the second parable, our Lord revealed the field as overgrown with weeds, and stated that these should continue until the harvest time, which Jesus defined as ( the end of the age ). This proves the fact beyond all doubt the evil consequences of the devils work, and positively forbids the expectation of a world won to Christ during this present fullness of times, Jesus plainly warned us that the evil effects of Satan’s labors at the beginning of the age would never be fixed. I am not the type to say never, but we also have to look at the crop as a whole and it seems that it is shot already. Plus the fact in this third Parable can not teach us that the traditions of man have already caused a great mistake and can not be removed or changed back.
We have to consider the stature at this point, selected by Jesus should at least unveil the misleading notion of the accepted interpretation. Jesus would never have picked a mustard-seed, which afterwards became a tree, ever rooting itself deeper and deeper in the earth, to portray that people whose calling, hope, citizenship, and destiny is heaven bound. Jesus has continually over and over confirmed that His people were not of the world. Once more, a great tree with its towering branches speaks of fame and a superior manner, but what happened to meekness, humbleness and suffering which are to present a portion of the New Testament saints of God, not prominence and adoration. The more any Christian church climbs the ladder of worldly fame the more it goes under spiritually, and some people just don’t realize it but I would say many times it is true. Our Christian heritage that is represented by this tree is not our people who are aliens and pilgrims down here, but a system whose roots lie deeply in the earth which points toward at greatness, importance and development in the world.
Next our Jesus here describes this herb as a giant monstrosity. We also well know that many men will deny this relevant fact. And we can have disagreement here and there but we still have to look at our Lords words and they are absolute. Jesus makes no hesitation and gets to the point that this mustard seed when it is grown it becomes the greatest among the herbs and becomes a tree. We all know that herbs are a completely different type of specimen then a tree. Plus the fact that their stems never get a woody type of intercellular substance and they only live to develop flowers and seeds. Now we have to understand that this herb becomes a tree, so it develops into something unknown and strange to its very nature and structure. The whole analogy is unnatural and abnormal and I can not figure how people can not pick this up as being indifferent. It does set the stage of a different color with the saints of God as a symbol of something that is a different form.
We know that the soil of Palestine is a good-natured soil for the growth of mustard, and that it is easy for it to develop into large size shrubs. We understand that clearly the field all through (Matt.13) is the world, so is the world a favorable place for growth of that kingdom which Jesus seriously and expressly said He was not of this world. (John 18:36). Is this world, where the flesh and Satan unite in opposing all that is meaningful and the way of Christ and His interests so in essence; is this an agreeable soil for Christianity? Either the world must cease to be what it is, (the enemy of God), or the seed must change its character, before the one will be favorable to the other. And this is just what our Parable does teach, the herb becomes a tree.
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." John 18:36 NIV
Now we get to the birds, the (birds) lodging in the branches of this tree makes altogether totally against the normal interpretation. If we compare scripture with scripture it will be found that these (birds) symbolize Satan and his agents. Let’s comfort our people, we don’t want to confuse anyone by the fact that the dove, and in some passages the eagle, represents that which is good. That which we must now attempt to define is the actual word (birds) or better (fowls) as the Greek word is cause to be in (v 4). In Genesis 15:11 we are told that the fowls came down upon the carcasses the bodies of the sacrifices and that Abram drove them away. Here, beyond a doubt, they anticipated the efforts of Satan to render null and void the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, but this the Father predicted Abraham’s senses and was prevented.
And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. Gen. 15:11 KJV
Plus in Deuteronomy 28:26, where we have the curses which were to come upon Israel for their disobedience.
And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. Deut. 28:26 KJV
In this Parable it should be obvious to all of us, which our understanding of this parable pivots upon a correct interpretation of its three vital figures: the (mustard-seed), the (great tree) which sprang from it, and the (birds of the air) which came and lodged in its branches. Now we have to look at each one and see what each one stands for.
The last time the term occurs in scripture is in Revelation 18:2, where we are told the fallen Babylon becomes:
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Rev. 18:2 KJV
But we do not have to go anywhere else we can stay right in the book of Matthew 13 itself to discover what Christ referred to under the figure of these birds. The Greek word in (v32) is precisely the same as that which is rendered fowls in (v4), So in the Greek the birds and the fowls are exactly the same word and then they are explained in (v19) as the wicked. How, then, can this great tree represent the true Christian Church, while its branches afford shelter for the devil and his ambassadors? Hello!
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Matt. 13:32 KJV
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Matt. 13:4 KJV
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. Matt. 13:19 KJV
the birds
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the fowls
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peteinon
the wicked
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poneros
Coming now to the positive side, if we let scripture interpret scripture, the great tree is easily identified. in Daniel 4:10-12
Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. Dan. 4:10-12 KJV
The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air- you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth. Dan 4:20-22 NIV
Who cannot fail to see that we have in this vision of Nebuchadnezzar the key to our parable?
In Daniel 4:20-22 we have the inspired interpretation of the vision: Thus, the tree was a figure of a mighty earthly kingdom or empire.
The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth.
Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. Dan. 4:20-22 KJV
The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air- you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth. Dan 4:20-22 NIV
Again, in Ezekiel 31:3-6 we have the same figure used
Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest; it towered on high, its top above the thick foliage.
The waters nourished it, deep springs made it grow tall; their streams flowed
all around its base and sent their channels to all the trees of the field.
So it towered higher than all the trees of the field; its boughs increased and its branches grew long, spreading because of abundant waters.
All the birds of the air nested in its boughs, all the beasts of the field gave birth under its branches; all the great nations lived in its shade. Ezek. 31:3-6 NIV
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezek. 31:3-6 KJV
Thus a tree, whose wide-spreading branches afforded lodgment for birds, was a familiar Old Testament figure for a mighty kingdom which gave shelter to the nations. So it is in our parable. The tree represents earthly greatness, worldly fame, giving shelter to the nations.
The history of Christianity clearly corroborates all of this. In the beginning, those who bore the name of Christ were but a small group despised people. They were judged by worldly standards, Christianity was unimportant and unworthy of serious consideration. As we analyze this in general, its supporters were not men of prominent, culture, or worldly influence. There were few among the Lord’s little flock of outstanding genius or social importance; for the most part, they were not schooled, unclear, and poor.
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in his presence. 1Cor.1:27-29 KJV
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things -- and the things that are not -- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 1Cor. 1:27-29 NIV
So in the beginning at first the cause of Christ on earth was so insignificant and unimportant, it was an object of intense hatred to the devil. Satan launched his attack against Christianity he vented the full force of his fiendish malicious plans. Every weapon in his armory was employed in the effort to annihilate it. He stirred up men in authority and moved emperors to issue cruel proclamations. Property was taken away; Christians were captured, imprisoned, fined, tortured, and slain. Brutally and without end the devil continued to seek to blot out the name of Christ from the earth. But the more it was persecuted, the more Christianity thrived and grew.
So after the enemy having continuous failure, the devil changed his tactics. Failing to intimidate as the roaring lion, he now sought to make out as the subtle serpent. Concluding his attempt to attack from without, he now worked from within. In the first parable the assault was from without the fowls of the air catching away the seed. In the second parable his activities were from within he sowed his weeds among the wheat. In the third parable we are shown the effects of this. Satan now moved worldly men to seek membership in the early Christian churches. These soon caused the Truth to be watered down, discipline to be relaxed, that which repelled the world to be kept in the background, and what would appeal to the carnal mind to be made famous. Instead of fondness being set upon things in heaven, they were fixed on things below. Soon Christianity ceased to be hated by the non-motivated, so now the gap between the world and the Church was bridged.
Persecution died down, and the apparent cause of the unloved and rejected Savior became popular. The distinctive truths of Christianity were forsaken, the Gospel was adulterated, and the pilgrim character of professing saints came to a so called end. More and more the wise and great of this world were attracted. By the fourth century the heads of the Roman Empire, instead of hating Christianity, professed that it was a power for moral good in the governing of men, and so adopted it. In the days of Constantine the so called Church and the State united, and became a enormous political religious system. We do know, the courts of Caesar had not changed their nature, nor become like the little "upper room" in Jerusalem, where the lowly church of Christ, small as a grain of mustard, first assembled. It was acknowledgment of Christianity in itself which had changed. The lowly upper room had long been forsaken, and the honors of kings’ courts were in demand. And God granted their fleshly desire just as long before the Lord had given Saul to apostate Israel when they forsook the path of separation and wished to be like the surrounding nations.
Under these changed circumstances professing Christianity soon became great in the earth. Caves and caverns as places of worship gave place to expensive church houses and elaborate cathedrals. The ritual was celebrated with a corresponding splendor. Its gorgeous buildings and added additions, its impressive ceremonies, its self-important self-opinionated priesthood, all lured the un-redeveloped; and multitudes applied for baptism. More and more the leaders sought after worldly power, and more and more were their cravings gratified. In time this resulted as worldly-minded men were the ones who sought after and secured the highest offices. Therefore we find the birds, the agents of Satan, lodging in the branches of the tree; they secured the positions of power and directed the activities of Christianity. You see Jesus knew all of this was going to take place that is the reasons behind the parables in there order and sequence, with the words and the story carefully placed.
So as we can plainly see in the first three Parables of Matthew 13 an outstanding and sad calculation and the development of evil. So you see in the first Satan came and stole part of the good seed. In the second he is dabbling in the world of imitation. Now here in today’s lesson we are shown a hidden corrupted Christianity giving the evil one protection.
Dear Loving Father, as our closing prayer today we want to continue to be servants for the rest of this week. Please Father, help us to deny ourselves, and continue on to please others, and forget about pleasing ourselves. Please Lord; help us to continue to add value to others. Please teach us to be strong against all mistreatment, and continue to have a loving heart to forgive all of the wrongs that are placed before us. Please let us continually look to Jesus as our model and King. Please keep our hearts and minds open for new learning and teachings. And please Lord let us pursue the harmony of relationships as we walk with You this week, and continue to pursue unity and peace with all mankind. Till next week, we pray in Jesus Name, Amen and Amen
We open with the element of Christianity and as we celebrate two important holidays and the holidays are Thanksgiving and Christmas and the are tucked so close together in our calendar, I look forward to the latter months of the year for these special holidays, as you all know that holidays came from the words holy days, but to many others the holy days are forgotten and some of the meanings that are so deep seem not to exist the way they were introduced. Traditions of men have added so many different aspects to our holy days, like the football games, stuffing ourselves with food and drink and different names such as Turkey Day, it seems are holy days to some are not so holy anymore. “Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always); Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]; Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].” (1Thes. 5:16-18) Our joy and prayers, and thankfulness should not change with our circumstances or feelings. We are to follow these three commands joyful, prayerful and to be thankful, often can be quite hard for some in this day and time. But when we actually do follow the commands of our Lord and stand fast to what God says we do see people and lifestyles in a new perspective. All we have to do is follow God’s will and many of us find it easer to be joyful and thankful. We all can find all different times to pray, even if it is done in spur-of-the-moment or a minute here and a minute there, but it does not say forget about our base time or to forget about our true time in our prayer closets with the Lord. In the scripture Paul was not teaching us to thank God for everything that happens to us, but “in” everything. Evil does not come from God so we are not to of course thank God for the evil. But when evil strikes we can still be thankful for Him being there right with us, and all the good that will happen through all the sorrow. I know when many are feeling down or going through some sort of pain or combinations of different hurts, it does become hard to pray, and those are the times when it is so most important to pray, to forget about the sorrows and look into the positive realm, and express the thankfulness of the things that you have, and the gifts that God has given you. It is written that all things do work out for good if we love him and are called by him. We must Thank God not for the actual problems but to be thankful for the strength the perseverance the patience, and endurance that He is building in all of us, to get through all the different experiences that lay ahead. You can count on God being there and His perfect love will always see it through. So we continue with joy even at the moment it might be sorrow we are to give our mighty planer of our lives thanks and through prayer we can express it to our God of grace and mercy.
The next question are we celebrating this holy day the way the Lord wants us too, with prayer and joy and being thankful to our Lord? Or have we fallen into the world and its traditions. Are we just concentrating on food and the turkey and to eat and drink and experience games and socializing.
In the winter of 1620 as an assumption on Nov. 21 Gregorian calendar, or Nov. 11th Julian calendar (Pilgrim), our Captain of the Mayflower was Miles Standish arrived at Plymouth harbor otherwise known as Cape Cod, or a plantation in the vicinity of Plymouth and just north of Cape Cod, there was more than to be expected besides the breaking down of trees and trying to construct homes on the shore side, and trying to harvest food, and many other complications and sickness was occurring. By springtime five of the 18 wives of the married couples survived and the Captains wife did not make it. Miles and Rose had all these hopes and dreams for the new world. They had to continue to locate wild food like berries and vegetables, plus hunt game and fish to eat. The survival rate they ended up with was 52 colonists, many were women and children. So in the fall between Sept. 21st and Nov. 11, in 1621 before there was a Thanksgiving there was a harvest celebration that lasted three days, even though they had hurts and pain and they had to live with the deaths of half there people including 13 men’s wives plus all the other devastations, they still wanted to celebrate. It also seems if it wasn’t for the Wampanoag Indians they all would have died. Still they got together and still thanked God for what they had and accomplished as Pilgrims in the first Thanksgiving celebration which they shared with about 90 of these Indians. They were able to communicate because there was one man named Squanto who was a member of the Patuxet Tribe who knew English from association with earlier explorers. Chief Massasoit contributed at least five deer, and the rest of the menu is still very unsure. We do know there were four men that went fowling and gathered many ducks and geese, and we have found out latter that there were wild turkeys. Plus also on the menu were eel, clams, mussels, lobster, leeks, plums, cod, bass, and barley. Plus the feast did include entertainment and recreation. It is like what we were just talking about they lived a hard life and still yet learned to give thankfulness, truly from the heart for the things they had, they did not dwell on the many hardships they went through to establish a new world for their families, and many were shattered, I call those people the true element of thankfulness. These Pilgrims survived and lived through a great expectation maybe that is why we today are so thankful. The only proof we have is a letter written by Edward Winslow and he mentions some of the food and activities, then there was a book written by William Bradford 20 years later and was missing for almost a hundred years. President Lincoln made Thanksgiving a National Holiday in 1863 as the last Thursday in November, and called it: “a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.” then was changed by President F. D. Roosevelt to the forth Thursday in November 1939 and wasn’t approved by congress till 1941.
The Church Ministries wishes to thank Providence Baptist Ministries (PBM) for the care, direction and permission and notes of A.W. Pink in conjunction with the public domain Christian Classics Ethereal Library. www.pbministries.org/PBMDTP/desktop_publishing_main.htm
