Bro Gary Sunday Morning 6/26/11

Bro Gary Sunday Morning 6/26/11

Mat 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

Mat 13:35  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Mat 13:36  Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

In Vacation Bible School this year the value of the Parables was very edifying.  Not just one but many of them spoke to me.  There is such depth in the parables.  God chose to use VBS to begin in my mind the knowledge of the value of the parables.  I could only scratch the surface of what there is to learn from the parables even if I taught on them every service for the rest of this year.  Gold has value in this time world, but the value of the parables is greater than that.  It is of eternal value.

Matthew recorded 20 parables of Jesus Christ.  Mark recorded 8 and Luke recorded 25 parables of Jesus Christ.  John didn’t record any parables and yet John 10 is a wonderful account of the shepherd and the sheep.  You might wonder why each recorded different things.  There are different ways of making the same expression that bring different emphasis of the text.  Not only is the Word of God applicable for a different day, it is for us to be applied now.

Jesus used parables as an earthly account to teach a heavenly message.  He valued the easily understood to teach the deep truths of Christ.  Where ever you are in life, as you look into the scriptures, you will see yourself where you are. 

May we be challenged to not just get the message from the parable, the text, or the Sunday school hour but to get the deeper message that God wants to convey to our heart.  There is a depth of satisfaction through God, the Holy Spirit, and His son, but we will only receive more as we hunger for more.  We will only receive a spiritual depth as we desire to go past what we have been given. 

 I have nine benefits of the parables in my notes and I’m sure that there are many more.

First isn’t it wonderful that before we were ever here, someone had us on His mind and in His heart and with His eye upon us.  He had His ear toward us such that He chose the very King of kings, the very greatest teacher that already knew the treasures of Heaven, the one that has all wisdom, all knowledge, and all understanding to come to earth to bring salvation to us.

He understands what men have spent much time trying to understand throughout creation.  He understands everything fully.  Men cannot figure out all that is in water and why it does what it does.  Most of us only grasp that our body craves water. 

He knows everything, He knows everyone that has ever drowned in the river out there.  He knows where Moses is buried.  He chose to look upon us.  He chose parables as His teaching tool.

The second thought on the value of parables:  It brings from darkness to light.  All of us that have reached an age of accountability remember when we reached an age where we understood rebellion and sin.  We knew that we should not do whatever it was and we chose to do it anyway. 

I still remember when I stole that cookie from the jar.  Even before my mother found out what I had done, I felt darkness in my soul.  Before you get saved and understand how to stay saved you go on in darkness and sin begins to get easier. 

Jesus taught us that men that sat in darkness saw a great light.  This is true still today, the word of God when it comes by when you’re in darkness of sin or don’t understand what God wants to teach you, when Jesus comes by it becomes clear and you say, “I see.”

The third benefit of the parables: it brings from bondage to liberty.  Bondage is a common denominator in the world today.  The devil is the author of all bondage. 

God has rules and there are truths that draw a strong line.  All of us that are able bodied have a definite line drawn that if you don’t work you shouldn’t eat. 

We can be delivered from the bondage of our minds being full of evil thoughts.  The only way to break that is to come to the light of the gospel.  It teaches us what to think on. 

The forth benefit:  It brings from unbelief.  Unbelief is strong and you know without me telling you how strong it is.  That nut that killed that little lady over in Superior and took her into the woods and buried all but one foot, was crazy to think that he wouldn’t be caught.  How crazy unbelief makes a person when they think that they would be happier if they took someone else’s life. 

How crazy to think that serving God is hard.  If God would require not wearing jewelry, what is so hard about that? 

I’ll tell you what is hard and that is having a defiled conscience.  That is tough to deal with.  I told a man recently that was in the area visiting his daughter, “I see you’re trying to be a good father.”  He looked away and said, “I don’t know about that.”  Guilt is a terrible thing to carry.  If you fathered a son or daughter you are accountable before God for taking care of them.  Unbelief causes people to think that it so tough. 

I’ve had struggles with doing what was right, but the difficulty was me.  It wasn’t God. 

The fifth benefit: it brings from blindness to vision.  People standing in the market place saying, “I piped and you didn’t dance.”  This is just how people are. 

Sixth the parables bring forgiveness where there was guilt.  It is wonderful that you can be forgiven this morning; the terrible load of sin can be taken away.

Seventh, it brings peace in the midst of turmoil.  There is so much turmoil in the world today.  There is a spirit that has gone out from the beast and the image that keeps people constantly in turmoil.  There are some that are worried about how plastic is going to contaminate everything and others that don’t want you to drill oil for fear that we’ll run out and plastic will not be able to be made anymore.

Eighth, parables bring industry instead of idleness.  If I could preach a message to open the mines and put the loggers to work, I’d preach it.  There is a message for us in Paradise about being busy for God.  I understand that you are busy.  I understand the industry of God.

Ninth, it brings security in the insecurity of life.  Whatever age you are, there will be mighty storms in life.  Unless you have allowed the teachings of the word of God and the teaching of the parables to have their proper place in your life, you will fall apart when the storms of life come.  If we fall apart in the storms God is witnessing to us that we are not on the rock.

Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

There is only one thing that will give us the trueness of God so that we can be the salt of the earth.  That is personally having become a new creature in Christ Jesus.  There are 1,000,000 religious people in the world today that are not the salt of the earth.  They have nothing to offer the hungry and thirsty soul.  They have no victory in their life. 

Without Jesus Christ and the reality of Him within us, not just a head-knowledge or a scripture-knowledge, we can go to the greatest place and we will have just taken a journey.    Jesus left us these parables that He wants us individually to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we have the realness in our life, and we have Him bringing into our life and soul real life. 

If we lose this reality, there are many spirits in the world today that want us to reach the place of “I know I’m saved and sanctified…”  More than talk it, walk it.  If we are saved and sanctified the first thing that we are going to want to do is please God, the second is to edify the saints, the third is to reach the lost. 

We need to forget about ourselves, our emotional world, and wanting to be so perfect.  Unless we’ve gotten rid of that then we are as salt without savor.  You will never have a utopia in this world.  If you’re self centered you will never reach people for Jesus. 

Three things salt does:  It preserves, it cleanses, and it savors.

It preserves, not pickled or pruned, dried up spiritually, puckered as a prune that is ninety years old.  It preserves us and we work to preserve the right principals.  True salt will want you to see little children protected.  Everyone that would abuse a child is hell bound. 

Parents take off your rosy glasses.  Don’t think that everyone around you is perfect.  Any man or woman that doesn’t work to preserve their children is a devil in skin.  It preserves the home, preserves the church, and it goes all through life preserving and protecting right principles.  People that have abortions and perform abortions and think that they are helping America are doing exactly the opposite.  It is hardening America. 

You need to preserve teachings what will protect our children, teachings that will preserve industry and preserve someone that gets a little age on them.  Salt will preserve the youth.  You see young people throw their life away.  They need love and someone to talk to them.  They need quality time.  Not two minutes and two popsicles. 

Salt cleanses.  First it works in us, cleans up our mind and our tongue.  It cleans up our library.  No smutty books in our library.  I don’t want books that have heresy in my library.  Know the truth and you will know heresy.  You’re cleansed from sin, from your nature and then you keep cleaning. 

Salt flavors.  How many of you eat your eggs without salt.  It is good to have something to say, but make sure it is salted.  There are some that could about say anything but when it comes to receiving something, it is something different.  Treat those that are 96 as you’d like to be treated when you’re 96.

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.   

We reach the place where we’re not looking for praise or the approval of men.  If they see something good in us it is because of God in us.

As Jesus looked over the multitude His heart went out to them, His eye went to them, and His ear was turned to them.  If we will obey Him, His heart, His ear, and His eye will be toward us.

I was thinking of this this week and Prayed, “Oh God help me to grasp your eye being toward me.”  The scripture came to me that He’d guide us with His eye.  You’ve been in a spot where you needed his direction and you thought, “Where is God?”  He’s thinking “Where were you the other day when all your day and thoughts were taken up with self?  You lost my eye because you were taken up with your own way.  Repent and I will guide you.”

God’s design is for us to know Him.  We’ve all failed.  It began with our fore fathers Adam and Eve.  Jesus came so that we could be the salt of the earth and a light in a dark world.  How do I get from darkness to light?  Thereis only one way and that is through Jesus Christ.

Luk 18:9  And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Luk 18:10  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

Luk 18:11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

Luk 18:12  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Luk 18:14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

When people get a religious spirit they look down on everyone else. 

Jesus told that the publican smote his breast.  He was really hurting inside from guilt, sin, and pain.  He said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”  Where ever we are is where we are.  If there is sin there then it brings pain. 

I may not know your sin and I don’t want to know your sin, but if there is sin there then there is no fellowship with God.  There is one pain that you will never come to terms with and that is to not have fellowship with God, to have the assurance of a new life and that you will live in heaven in eternity.  

Jesus said that the publican went down to his house justified rather than the other one.  If there is sin in your life then you need to pray.  The altar will not save you, it is just a good place to come and have others talk to you about how to get saved.  It is a place where you can meet God and God meets you.