Bro Gary Wednesday PM 6/22/11

Bro Gary Wednesday PM 6/22/11

A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  There are probably more parables in the New Testament than there are in the Old Testament.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have parables of Jesus written.  Matthew records 20, Mark records 8, and Luke records 25. 

In the Old Testament there are remarkable parables called proverbs.  One of them:

2Ch 7:13  If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

2Ch 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

This shows the attitude of God to always help His people.  He told Solomon in an audible voice that His ears, His eyes and His heart would all be toward him if he would serve Him.  This is a marvelous promise.

2Ch 7:15  Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

2Ch 7:16  For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

Isn’t this wonderful?  His ear is listening for us, His eye is watching out for us.  Yet God is always fair.  He told Solomon that if they turned toward idol worship:

2Ch 7:19  But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

2Ch 7:20  Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.

2Ch 7:21  And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?

This is a parable or often referred to as a proverb in the Old Testament.  We know in gardening that when you want to remove a weed unless you get the root, you will have the same plant back again.  It is tough to get the roots out. 

If you take it in your heart to reject God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, (You cannot reject one without rejecting the other: ‘If you deny the father than you deny the son.’), then you will be plucked up by the roots.  We don’t want to go that way.

The first parable that is recorded that Jesus spoke is:

Mat 7:24  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:

Mat 7:25  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.

Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Every parable used in the Vacation Bible School showed that there is a lot more depth to these parables than just a little story.  It is an earthly story with a weighty meaning.  We are as a wise man that built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came. 

There will be literal storms and people that are not built on a rock and with a foundation that is higher than the water level can reach will be moved off of their foundation by the flood.  So is it for you and me in our spiritual life.  There will be storms.  We want to hear and do His sayings so that we will have a house that will stand when the floods come.

People that believe in God and are Christians will have storms; so will people that are idol worshippers or don’t believe in God.  Storms will come to all.  The only way to miss being in the storm is to die at infancy. 

The floods beat upon the house.  All of us like to enjoy the peace and tranquility of serving God, but one thing that will make us enjoy it more is to have a few storms.  Unless you have problems once in a while, you never appreciate how good things are. 

Perfect families are only in stories.  We need to thank God for what we have.  When things get tough in our family, we need to be honest with ourselves and with others.  I’m shocked at how when things are falling all apart you ask how people are doing and they say, “Things are all great.” 

Things are not always great.  People are hurting deep inside.  If we want God to hear prayer, you need to be honest with His body and let people know that you need prayer. 

We are blessed to have our very own bible.  The children that left VBS with their very own bible wanted to sleep with the Bible and half of them couldn’t read.  Blessed are they that hear and do His sayings.

The Bible tells us to study to be approved a workman that needs not to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of Truth.  We need to have not only the ability to make noise but also the ability to listen and let someone tell you something.  We need to be so that even a little child can teach us.    Everyone that hears and doeth the commands of God shall not will be likened to a foolish man that didn’t build his house upon a rock. 

The Sermon on the Mount was given upon a small hill north of the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus was in the beginning of His ministry.  The first thing He said was, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” 

The first requirement for God’s eye to be toward us is for us to be humble.  Heartache comes to all of us and it is not just death that brings mourning.  When you see individuals making bad decisions, making choices to do drugs, moving towards any bad lifestyle, or choosing things that will destroy them mentally, it causes you to mourn because you know that God has a good design for that life.

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  There is no broken heart that God cannot heal.  He can heal every broken heart.  Where can people go when they need comfort?  Only to God.  It is wonderful to have God to go to. 

When parents bring children into the world and their children choose a path that brings constant grief, the only place for them to go is to God.  Blessed are the meek.  Help us to walk humble before God because if we take heed to the Word of God then we will be as a wise man that built his house upon a rock.  Whose house fell not because it was founded upon a rock.