The Marriage Supper for the King’s Son

Matthew 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son.”

This is one of the parables Jesus taught. The lesson to learn is that all that are invited to come are going to be responsible for the invitation, and what they do with it.

Let us consider the parable:
Matthew 22:3-4 “And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Again, he sent forth other servants saying, Tell them which are bidden, behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.”

It was common in those days to send two invitations.
One, to notify the guests of the wedding day, and time.
The second, when things were ready, to collect the guests.

Now the Ministry of Jesus Christ was given twice.
One time to the Jewish Nation, which rejected Him.
The second, when the servants of Christ are sent to the individuals of the world with the Gospel.
All things are ready. Come.

Now for the Nation of Israel:
Matthew 22:5-7 ” But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
And the remnant took his servant and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and sent forth his armies, and destroyed the murderers, and burned up their city.”

This happened in the destruction of Jerusalem, under Titus, when God punished those who rejected, and crucified His Son.

And now for the world’s hearing of this invitation:

Matthew 22:8-10 “Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

Here the commission of Christ before He ascended is foretold.
His servants would go into all the world, preaching and teaching the gospel.
( Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
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 alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”)

Both good people would hear and come to Christ; and so would bad people, hear and come to Christ.

Christ will be honored. The effectual call of the Holy Spirit, by means of the Gospel,
has gone throughout the world, and brings all who will, to come to Christ.

All those who come, are given the robe of Christ’s righteousness.

And for all the guests at the wedding feast, they would have been provided garments of beauty for the occasion.

Matthew 22:11-14. “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Then said the king unto the servants, Bind him and hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen.”

This man didn’t have a wedding garment; which would have been provided to him; so he was asked, Why?

He should have. They were there, and given to all who were bidden and brought in.
So why didn’t he?
The only answer is that he refused to put it on.
Would he thank a king for the privilege of being invited to his son’s wedding supper, by refusing the garment offered; by going in to sit down, in his own street clothes?
And by refusing the wedding garment, wasn’t he telling the king that he thought nothing of the invitation?

No one can come to the Wedding Supper of our Lord and Savior, if they are not clothed with His righteousness. (Revelation 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.)
To “come” in your own works, or in your own goodness; is the greatest insult.

The call: “Come, for Christ has died and raised again to save us”, has sounded through the ages. But you must receive the provision, or refuse it.

For those who come to Christ, simply to get heaven, and not to be saved from their sin; will find that the garment of self-preservation will not be recognized by God.
The garment of self-righteousness will not be recognized by God.
The garment of self-expression will not be recognized by God.
And the garment of self-will will not be recognized by God.

In His Son, God has provided all things for our place with Him. What will we do with our invitation?

The Scribe Which Is Instructed Unto the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 13:52 ” Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

We are starting this blog for Christians. To strengthen and encourage God’s people to seek, and trust the Lord.
All given with the prayer that they meet the need of those who read them.

We believe that one of the greatest needs of this Church Age is to understand and Have Christ’s kingdom come within the heart of each of His own.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.”(KJV)

Notice it is “in earth”, not on it.
This is His Personal Kingdom coming with in your life. When you make Him King, and He reigns there.
When we are born again (John 3:3, 7) and “ye must be born again”….we enter His kingdom as His citizens. But it is only when we are obedient to His laws and ordinances that we make Him King in our lives.

If we are still “running the show” ; He is not King, Personally.
“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done.”
When this becomes a fact in our everyday lives, we are subjects of that Kingdom, and expressions of it:
Our Wills are His, and are then empowered to do His Will.
For it is then, He sits on the Throne of our Hearts.

Not that we make others do His Will….but that WE DO HIS WILL.

Then HIS KINGDOM HAS COME ….WITH IN US.

It is a great feeling to come to the place where the arguments WITH GOD, end; and the Holy Spirit–instead of correcting , empowers to go forward in peace, joy and faith.

AND HOW SHALL HIS KINGDOM COME?
Luke 18:8 “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?”

This is “on the earth”.
There are some who believe that His Kingdom will be brought in, when enough of His Own are praying for it.
I do not know if that is true.
But I do know that readiness for His return will be conditioned by prayer:

Luke 18:1 “And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
Jesus speaks here, of the closing days of the Church Age. Just before He returns. Just how the times will be, and just what we should be doing about it .

Luke 21:28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.”

Everyday we hear and see more of what Jesus said would happen….happen.
And what are we to do about it? Hide our heads….Act out…..wring our hands in fear?
No! That is not it!!
Look up! Lift up your heads!
1st turn your eyes away from the world-system.
2nd be actively seeking the joy and peace of God for each situation you need to go thru, till He comes.

We should rejoice in seeing these come to pass , even as Jesus said they would.
We should be praying. “Amen! Even so Come LORD JESUS”
And we should be “loving His Appearing”. For there is a Crown of Righteousness laid up for all who Love His Appearing! (2 Timothy 4:8)

Luke 18:2-7 “Saying, there was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Tho I fear not God, nor regard man;
Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says.
And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, tho He bear long with them?”

If this were a Roman Judge (the Jews were always in 3’s). He would not care much for the needs of a Jew. Especially one of no importance, like a widow. For she could do him no damage!
But she kept coming back! She was often in his court!

Now he feared not God nor regarded man.
So anything he did , would be on a personal level….without thought of anything or anyone else.
Not because of pressure from someone or something.

But she kept coming! Avenge me of mine Adversary!
This is not a request for punishment of her Adversary.
But for a Decree, issued by this Judge, that would give her PROTECTION from his injustices.
To keep him from harming her.
LIKE A RESTRAINING ORDER ISSUED TODAY

Luke 18:5 “Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

“She weary me”; Literally means. “She give me a black eye”
Her always appearing there , in his court, might ruin his reputation!
People might get the wrong idea about him.

This Judge acted from only self-involved motives.
From this consideration–alone–he thought it best to avenge her.

And our Lord said “Hear what the unjust judge says”
Because the Lord Jesus wanted to show that all the judge’s motives were personal…yet what she sought ; she got.

Then our Lord Jesus contrasts the unjust judge and God. Shall not GOD surely do right?
Shall He not avenge His own elect? From their Adversary?
And how are we to ask?

Luke18:1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
Faint means to weaken in purpose, or spirit; to languish; TO JUST GIVE UP.

When we pray, we ought to believe that God is going to hear and keep at it until we know He does.

Luke 18:7 “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, tho he bear long with them?”

We are not what we ought to be in this Age; yet He bears long with us.
Wanting us to be other than we are ….to enjoy the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit’s enablement. To get us out from the Adversary’s injustices. To know the power of life (abundant life) as obedient subjects of His kingdom now.
Loving us, rebuking us, and chastening us that we might become full sons.

Luke 18:8 “I tell you (and this is the Lord Jesus speaking) that he WILL avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?”

Yes, He will avenge us…speedily.
“Heavenly Father, Avenge me of my Adversary!”
This is like a restraining order, remember; against our Adversary , the Devil.
To keep him from hurting us.
And we should always ask for such decrees against our Adversary.
He will not only issue such Decrees, He will do so speedily.

Yet , Jesus asked; “shall he find faith on the earth?” Not that He doesn’t know….but to AWAKEN US to the VERY DANGEROUS TIME IN WHICH WE LIVE.

There are temptations, cares, enemies of God, worldly pleasures, evil companions, …..
All of them can be used by our Adversary to “hurt us”.
To keep us from entering into God’s Best for us.

The Devil seeks to defeat every child of God….not in Salvation.
But in Progress.
To keep them children , when they should go on to maturity in the faith.

To keep them self-centered, instead of Christ-centered; That will devour up a whole lifetime of works and attitudes.

Shall He find “faith” on the earth?
This faith here is (in the Greek “pistis”). Conviction of truth or the truthfulness of God. Reliance upon Christ for salvation and CONSTANCY IN SUCH PROFESSION.

Do you TRUST Christ for Salvation, but not for today?
Shall we not all apprehend that for which we are apprehended of Christ Jesus?

Has the Church ever had so much riches as it has today?
With so little results?

Why is it we see so little Reality in a Christian’s Profession?
I don’t know…but I am sure it is a matter of the Heart.

I believe that today many claim the Promise; without having the corresponding experience of that Promise.
They honor the Word, while rejecting the living LORD of that Word.
As Israel of old, they draw near with their lips, to God; but their hearts are far from HIM.
For I believe it is a matter of the heart. Who or What do you love?
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”
What “life” will you have?
1 Peter 1:3 ” According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, thru the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue”
He “hath given”. Then why don’t we have it in practice?
Because the PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST COSTS US . He wants to “COME” and reign in our lives, with that joy and power that comes with HIMSELF.

What takes 1st place in your life?
To what do you give final obedience….for surely this is your God.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven”
He is King. But is He my King? Is He your King?
Who sits on the throne of your heart?

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

He stands ready to do. To do for you. And Jesus has said God will issue such Decrees against our Adversary when we cry unto Him.
So where does that place us?
And just what kind of Christians ought we to be; with so much offered?
He is King….Will you make Him your King?

Blessed

Psalm 65:4 “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”

Blessed means twice happy!

God sees us blessed; How do we see ourselves, in His work?

When He chooses us, He causes us to draw near to Him. Would we resist that drawing?

When I was first brought back into the right way, after wandering away from God; I was in awe, that He loved me enough to welcome me back.
My thought was to grow closer to Him. Nearer, Nearer, I prayed. That is what I want.

The song of Nearer My God to Thee, seemed to play in my head, often.
“Even though it be a cross that raises me…”.
The “pig pen” of the world I had experienced; I wanted the “home” of closeness with God.
Blessed I was, and am, for God’s mercy to me.
This Psalm typifies God’s great arms. Drawing us, even when we run away.
Calling us, even when we have refused before.

“We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,”
For Christians, the closer we get to the Lord, the more satisfied we are. The further away from God, the more opportunity for things to come in between us. These cause barriers.
The barriers we place, between the Lord and ourselves, cause discontent.
And discontent is to be dissatisfied.
And when we are dissatisfied, we start looking for other things.
There are many temptations in the world, the best place to be safe is in the holy temple of fellowship and nearness to the Lord.

Blessed is the one who is close to the Lord.
Blessed, also, is the one who is given opportunity to get near to the Lord again.

Most blessed is the one who never looks for any other satisfaction,than in Him.

The Potter, and the Clay

Jeremiah 18:5-6 “Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,
O house of Israel, can not I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord, Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

Paul says the same thing in:
Romans 9:20-21 “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?”

This is not our bodies; yes, they are all different, but God is speaking of molding our souls. God has used every experience of our lives to shape our souls.
Our souls are that which makes us unique. They are a gift from God that no other creature has.
Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

The soul is the apartment of self-consciousness. It is where our personality is. There, our individual character is formed, and rules our thought life, our emotions, our will, our conscience, and our social interactions.

When we are born again, we are given the blessed privilege of having the Holy Spirit come and dwell with us, for Christ said He would not leave us comfort less, He would come unto us.
John 14:16-18 “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

As Christians, Paul is saying that as God’s “clay”, we need to accept what we are, how we are, and, even, where we are, and then be reconciled to Him in them.

How much of our discontent lies in this.
God wants to make us a vessel unto honor, and has given us His Spirit to enable and mold us:
2 Timothy 2:20-21 “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

To move forward with God, you must be in your place before Him. To know that He is there with us, because He loves us.
So many people say, “God knows best”; yet doubt every time trouble comes. They are anxious, burdened, and worried. (Haven’t we all experienced this doubt?)

But we are called to “possess our souls”.
Luke 21:19 “In your patience, possess ye your souls.”

We are to gain, by subjection to the Holy Spirit, real power over our affections:(Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 23:26 “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”)
Our thoughts:
(1 Peter 1:13 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”)
And wills:
John 7:17 “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whither it be of God, or whither I speak of myself.”
For it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we possess our souls.

To Yield to the Holy Spirit is true freedom; for it places Him first.
It is His Will you want, and by that will, you are enabled to bring your soul under subjection to Him and yourself.
There is always trouble here, in this world; but as you yield to the Holy Spirit, the influence of the trouble is less, and less. His power to help, strengthen, and encourage is more and more.

He is the Potter, we are the clay.
Yielding to Him we have liberty, and begin to have the fruit of the Spirit working in us and through us.
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Let us yield; or give in; or submit; or surrender; all terms which mean that for us, Christ will choose.

Sanctification is not imitating Christ; but Living by Christ’s Life.

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Sanctification is the setting ourselves aside to God.
Sanctification does not require us to fulfill the will of God as He makes it known to us, without the power to do so.
That would be like the Egyptian taskmasters which required Israel to make bricks without straw. (Exodus 5:9-11)

Instead, Sanctification is the growing life of Christ, in our life; whereby we experience by His Holy Spirit, the holiness, patience, love, peace, and power over the enemy of our souls; that is in Christ.

When Paul said:
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life that I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

This is what he meant. That the life he used to live as the self-righteous Pharisee was over. He saw himself dead in Christ’s death.
“Good riddance” was probably his thought, for the life he had before, did not bring him closer to God, though he worked hard at it.
He also saw that now he lived by Christ’s life. That the life of Christ was so powerful that, not only himself, but everyone who trusted in Christ, could have His character formed in them.

For some time after being born again, I prayed about sanctification.
I had thought this must be some sort of holiness experience, which we have at some altar; or with some crisis experience in our lives.
Years ago, a man was teaching a Sunday School class about:
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

And, if no one else got the message; I did.
This was the means of being sanctified.

I was to deny myself.
We think, that when we talk of denying ourself, we mean: just not doing what we want. We think it means denying things in our life.

When Jesus speaks of “denying ourself”, He means denying our intention to rule our life. And denying every way it shows up in our lives.
It is not just things we deny, but ourselves we deny.

If I wanted to follow the Lord, then I must co-operate with God, when He shows me His will. I must put aside my thoughts in the matter and do what He commands.
I must be honest about my attitude toward what He shows me, and ask for the power to change.
But again, Christ does not demand that we do His Will, without His enablement.

Christ has given us His Holy Spirit, not only to indwell us, but to give us the grace and power we need.
That power comes from our Risen and Glorified Christ. He has all spiritual blessings for me in Him, in Heaven.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”
Ephesians 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”
They are there in Christ, for us.
But how do we get them down here into us, especially in these circumstances?

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”

Notice, it is “in earth”, in us.

This is the means whereby we receive into our lives what Christ has for us.
As we yield to His authority in our lives, we become ambassadors of His Kingdom, and authority, here.

Sanctification is the setting aside of ourselves to God, for sacred use.
It is the practical work of having Christ’s Kingdom come within our hearts, and lives.

Where He rules, there is peace, joy, patience, and all the characteristics of Christ, in our lives.

Are You Listening?
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him, and he with me.”

To answer the call of Christ in this Laodicean Age requires not an answer of words, but an answer of a life open to, and receptive to Him.

What is sup in this verse? It means fellowship, which is the reaction of a love relationship. The Creator having fellowship with His creature.
We forget that God is God.
At the head of this church letter, He calls Himself the Amen.
And He is the only one who can say Amen, or so let it be, to any plan, or suggestion, or purpose.

Then He calls Himself the Faithful and True Witness.
He is Faithful, never letting the Purpose for which we were created, out of His sight.
And therefore, He truly tells us how we are, so that we can, if we will, bring ourselves to Him, so we can be made what He wants us to be.
He is a faithful and true witness to His church, as how they are.

Then He is The beginning of the creation of God.
When God created: Christ as the Man, Christ Jesus, was His first thought.
For He knew the world, by Adam’s sin, would be lost without providing a Savior.
So, before anything was created; God the Father, and God the Son entered into the Everlasting Covenant.
God promised Christ that if He would come, and die on the cross as the Perfect Man, then He would raise Him up from death, and give Him a people which would love and obey Him.

Christ Jesus tells us here; what we are…lukewarm, and about to be vomited out of Him; so we will be without His sustaining.
He also tells us how we are…we are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. All of these things speak of a people, who are not letting Christ make them into what He has planned for them.
They think they are, but He says they are not.

Then He gives us very good advice.
Revelation 3:18 “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

In Psalms the Lord tells us that His counsel will stand. We can count on it , because we can count on Him. That He gives us the best counsel for our situation.
Psalms 33:11-12 “The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for His own inheritance.”
He tells us that the best advice for the strengthening of our Christian lives: Buy of Me.
We are not to buy salvation, no. But we are to buy the things He has already purchased for us, for our Spiritual Health.

You may ask, Why do we buy, if He has already purchased them for us?

We buy them…..of Him. Again, we are not buying Salvation….that is a free gift for all who will come to Christ as Lord and Savior. Once He is our Savior, we are to come to Him in faith receiving all He has for us. But if we refuse? They are set aside, till we….”Wake up”; and want them.
Often, since we have refused them before; He will see how much we want them; and this is when He requires that we “buy them”.
We buy them by Obedience to what He says. If we will Obey Him in these things, we prove that we really want His life and gifts.

We buy of Him the things that we have refused to use before.
Has He not offered the grace to grow and the power to do? Yet we have often prayed for these things, but not the way they come.
“Sorry, Lord, I’m going to refuse this gift, for now, because I don’t like the people I have to work with; no, no, I just couldn’t do it now”

If this is the way you treat your Savior; now you know why He says we are: “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked–not clothed with the righteous acts whereby we manifest His Light to the world.

So He says, Buy of Me. If you finally are willing to Obey Me as your Lord, and Savior; buy these things that I have for you by obedience to My Will.
Get them, and I will manifest Myself unto you in a special way, for you have finally opened your life to Me, as you should.

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

This is Fellowship with the Almighty Christ.
He knocks, and speaks to your heart.
Are you listening?

God’s Power for my Life
Ephesians 3:16 “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”
God’s Power is Almighty.
Here it says we are to be strengthen; not according to our measure…but according to His measure:
“According to the riches of his glory”.
In other words, God does not grant us His might by His Spirit to make us something; but to manifest His great grace.
And how much we need to be reminded that it is His might and grace within us, making us strong.

Ephesians 3:17 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,”
The Holy Spirit comes within our spirit at new birth.
But Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith, has to do with how much we love Him.

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
This has nothing to do with being born again…It has everything to do with the powerful presence of God in my everyday life, and circumstances.

We are to be rooted and grounded in love to Christ.
Rooted, so every wind that blows against us, does not move us from Christ and His Will for us.
Ephesians 4:14-15 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”
Grounded, so that the “house” we build upon the Rock of Christ, stands the test of life; My life.
Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

Ephesians 3:18 “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;”
We can not know the breadth, length, depth, and height of Christ’s love without the other Christians; But we can know our part of it.
The Church is to comprehend God’s wonderful purpose in the ages; God’s great plan, and we are to comprehend our personal part in it.

Ephesians 3:19 “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
This stresses the Spirit’s fullness has to do with how much we love Christ.
Do you love Christ Jesus?
Or have you “lost your first love”?
We are to know Him, whom to know aright is to have Eternal Life.
Eternal Life is a condition of life. It is His life in our life…it begins when we are born again…but never ends.
What is the condition of your life in Christ? How far have you come in your journey to find your place in His Will?

Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
He is able, but it is according to the power that worketh in us.

This the telling phrase.
What is it that hinders that power from working in you?
What selfish idea, or worldly allies, or remembered resentments, keep you from receiving all He has for you?
For He is able to do exceeding (overflowing), abundantly (more than we need), above all that we ask or think (His ways of deliverance, the means He uses, and His tender care are all above the low thoughts we often think of Him).

Paul wrote about this for himself:
Colossians 1:27-29 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
(This is God’s plan for Paul to do)
Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
(This is that exceeding abundantly above all that Paul asked or thought, for it worketh in him.)

What about us? Will we let Christ’s love fill our hearts , and let the Holy Spirit work in us that mighty power within us, and then through us in the work God has for us?

Balaam and his donkey.

The Children of Israel had come out of Egypt about forty years ago, and had finally come close to the border of Canaan, to enter into their inheritance.

But a King of the Moabites, became frightened because of their coming, and sent to Balaam to curse them, for he was known to hear from God; and to have his sayings come true.
Numbers 22:5-6″He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: preadventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.”
They come, and present a pretty lucrative package to Balaam.

So Balaam tells them he can do nothing except God says so. God tells him, he can not curse Israel because they are blessed by Him.

Balaam informs the men, and they go back and tell the King. But he thinks it is a ploy to receive a better offer. So he sweetens the deal, with position, and wealth.

They return, and instead of turning them away, because God has told him “these people are blessed”; he asks them to wait to see what God will say.
He wants to twist God’s arm about this. This is serious money, and prestige; and he does not want to refuse the job.

So God tells him, if they come for you, go ahead and go.
He did not tell him he could curse the Israelites, but to go ahead and go.
But he warns Balaam that he can only say what He gives him to say.

This He did to prove him. Would he obey God’s will or give in to the gain of the world. For he knew God would not curse Israel.

Well, Balaam gave in to the temptations of the world.
He got up early, saddled his donkey, as soon as they came; he was going. He would work something out.

Numbers 22:22-23 “And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.”

The Lord, Himself had talked to Balaam, so now he send a different messenger.
One Balaam would have to listen to.
First, there is the angel. Balaam, did not notice the angel or the sword. But his faithful donkey did. So she turns out of the way of the sword.
Had she continued, the angel would have slain Balaam.
Now this did not just happen once, but three times.
The second time in the path of the vineyard, where there was a wall on either side, and when the donkey saw the angel and the sword, she crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall, to save Balaam’s life.
Yet her thanks was a beating.
But on he goes. He is going to get that reward.

So now, the angel stood in a very narrow place where the donkey could not turn away. So the donkey fell down, instead.

Numbers 22:26-27 “And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled and he smote the ass with a staff.”

Numbers 22:28 “And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, what have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?”

God had this donkey talk to Balaam, which should have been a sign unto him. But he was set in his way of going….until…
Numbers 22:31-33 “Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
And the ass saw me and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.”

Thy way is perverse before me. This is the first time in Scripture that the term “perverse” is used.
It means to rush headlong. To precipitate, or to be rash.
Balaam was rushing headlong into the most dangerous situation of his life, and he did not know it.
He did not know it, because he was too caught up in the idea of prosperity and promotion.
He would die, to get this; and in fact, does, for God lets him go, but again warns him of saying only what he is given to say.

In fact, Balaam can’t curse Israel. In every instance, he blesses Israel instead.
Numbers 23:8 ” How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?”

Yet the love of the reward was such a temptation, that Balaam thought of another way of destroying Israel, and told it to the king. If they could not destroy by curse, or battle; then by temptation and sin, so God would destroy them.

Numbers 25:1-3 “And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bow down to their gods.
And Israel joined himself to Baal-peor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.”

It would seen Balaam’s scheme was working.
God had everyone that had been joined unto Baal-peor killed. That was 24,000.
But even in times of great temptation there are those who seek the Lord. He always has His remnant.
Numbers 25:11 “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned away my wrath from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.”

But what happened to Balaam? Did he get what he sold out for?
Evidently, for he was found with these kings when Israel was told to “Vex the Midianites, and smite them: for they vex you with their wiles,”

Numbers 31:8 “And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain namely, Evil, and Rekan, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.”

Was the riches worth the loss of all things?

Jude 11 “Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.”

Remember perverse means rushing headlong. When God speaks, we need to hear what He is saying, and then obey Him.
Greed for anything, is a terrible Master.

God’s mercy and His cleansing word, will help us with any temptation.
Hear Him.

The Man with the Withered Hand.

Matthew 12:9-10 “And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
And behold, there was a man who had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? That they might accuse him.”

Jesus had been on a teaching tour through the cities of Israel. And now he was come to their synagogue.

The Pharisees had laid a trap for him, in the appearance of a man with a withered hand.

To have a deformity in Israel, was to be disgraced, for it meant that sin was somewhere in the family of the person. This man had sinned, or someone in his family had sinned, and he was being punished for it.

So the Pharisees asked a question, that they thought was pretty straight forward.
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?
The Sabbath was the day of rest. A day which should be spent in contemplating God, and His Word. A day of fellowship with others of His people.

They were to do no work on the Sabbath, or it would be defiled.
But what is work, and what is mercy?
Jesus points out the difference.

Matthew 12:11-12 “And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
How much then is a man better that a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.”

Would you save you one sheep? Your only sheep?
This is interesting. Jesus does not say one out of a hundred. Or a thousand.
But one.
That is exactly the way He feels about us. If He only came to save one, He would have.
We are that one. The man with the withered hand was that one; and He would save us, and He would save him.

So His question to the Pharisees was really: would you, save the one sheep you own; would you save your livelihood?
The answer He gave; of course you would.
Therefore, since you would save your one sheep on the sabbath, I will save this one man on the sabbath.

Also notice, the way He talked of the sheep: “if it fall into a pit”. Are we not also ready to fall into a pit, without His Salvation?

Christ’s answer was God’s Character. The Sabbath was made for man to have rest with His God. It is lawful, then to do well on the sabbath days.

Matthew 12:13 “Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.”

This man may have been a tool of the Pharisees to use against Jesus, but heard enough to know that the mercy of God was being extended to him.
But it would cost him something.
It would cost him embarrassment.(And how many of us would be stopped right here?)
He would have to show his deformity for all to see.

It would also cost him the company of these people. For to be obedient, would show that he believed Jesus. This was dangerous, as these people were influential.

So, here is the choice: Jesus, and God’s mercy; or his normal existence, but accepted by the religious rulers.
Which would he do?
“And he stretched it forth.”
His choice was Jesus, and obedience. For it, he was healed.

But Jesus was also offering mercy to all those in the synagogue: including those Pharisees.
Matthew 12:14 “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.”
Their choice was to keep the life and influence they had; not to yield to the mercy offered.
How much they lost by their choice!

Jesus talked of saving the “one sheep”, because each of us are that one sheep.
He came to save us: from the guilt of sin, the power of sin, and one day from the presence of sin.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Ask, and You Will Receive.

Luke 11:9 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
The disciples have just asked. “Teach us to pray” after seeing Jesus pray.

Then Jesus tells the story of the friend who comes at an inconvenient time. “At Midnight.” (Luke 11:5-8)
He has company. Someone who has come from a long journey and is in need of bread. But the one housing the man, has none to give.
So he goes to his neighbor and knocks.
“Forget it…it’s midnight, I am in bed, and I’m not getting up!” Is basically the word given the knocker.
But he keeps knocking.
So, not because he is his friend (he might not be, after this); but because he kept knocking; he opens and gives what he has asked for.

Then Jesus says, the way to get from God is the same:
Ask, like you really need it.
Seek, like you really want the reply.
And knock, till the answer comes.

When we come to God to pray, Jesus is saying that we should come, believing God will hear, and expecting that He will make known His will.
Ask, and you will receive. Ask till you receive an answer as to what and how you should ask. (How many times we think we know what we need, but as we are praying we receive what we really need to know or have answered.)

Seek, till you get the means of getting your petition answered. (Sometimes there is a verse to claim, or a prayer promise to use: Hebrews 4:16, 1 John 5:14-15)

Then knock, using those means, till you get the answer that you were seeking.

Just to be clear, “means” are those parts of the promise that we must use:
Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy ladened, and I will give you rest.”
“Come unto me”, is the means; His rest is the promise.

When Jesus healed the ten lepers: (Luke 17:14) “When he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”
Jesus healed them by His word, but only as they went to do as He said. That is the means.

Luke 11:10 “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

As Christians, our lifeline is prayer.
Paul said:
Philippians 4:6-7 ” Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Prayer gives us that peace in all situations, so we can be without the care which burdens.
The promise is: you will receive, find, and have an open door set before you.
The means is: ask, seek, and knock.