Luke 17:20-37
This section of scripture starts off with Jesus answering a question the Pharisees had about the kingdom of God. They thought there was a specific time the kingdom of God would start. They were thinking about it like other kingdoms that men start. Jesus clarified that the kingdom of God is among them. Children of God make up the kingdom of God. This is good news for those who have been failed by the governments of this world. The kingdom of God is available for them to join right now. In verse twenty-two, Jesus switched and started telling his disciples what things will look like before he returns. In verse twenty-four, Jesus said he will be like lightning that lights up the sky from one end to another. No one will be able to miss when Jesus returns. He will be visible in the sky for everyone on earth to see. Jesus explained that people will live their lives however they want until his return. In verses thirty-two and thirty-three he warned his disciples and us to remember Lot’s wife. She couldn’t stand losing her old life and was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at Sodom. We must look forward and be willing to leave our old lives behind. Jesus has better prepared for us. It is good to lose our life for Jesus, so that we can save our soul. The disciples asked where the things Jesus said in verses thirty-five and thirty-six would happen. Jesus answered them with a wise saying about vultures and dead bodies. In Matthew 13:36-43, we read that Jesus will send angels to separate the children of God from the children of the devil. Vultures only go to dead bodies. That’s their responsibility. The angels Jesus sends out when he returns will gather those that cause sin and do evil and throw them into the lake of fire. That’s their responsibility. Wherever there are people in the world that do evil, they will be gathered by the angels and thrown into the lake of fire. How focused are we on the kingdom of heaven? How are we preparing for when Jesus returns?
0 Comments
Matthew 12:22-32
In times like these it’s important to go back and read the things Jesus did and said. In the scripture for this lesson, Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. The Pharisees, the religious leaders, claimed that Jesus was driving out demons through power from the prince of demons. Jesus told them in verse twenty-five that, “every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined.” The Pharisees refused to acknowledge that Jesus was doing the will of God and that God had granted him the authority to do what he was doing. Jesus plainly told them that they were wrong about him, because Satan isn’t going to drive out demons that are working in his kingdom. Jesus tells them in verse thirty, “he who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” There are lots of people claiming to follow Jesus. The proof of where a person’s faith is can be seen in how they live. Are they doing and saying things like Jesus? Are they helping people or hurting people? Are they working for the kingdom of God or the kingdom Satan has? Are they speaking against the Holy Spirit or letting the Holy Spirit guide them? Read what Jesus did and said. People need children of God to act like that today. People no longer need pretty words. Satan and his followers are busier now than they used to be. His time is getting shorter. Satan wants to prevent people from seeing the goodness of Jesus and proclaiming him as their Lord and savior. Children of God need to live in such a way that people choose to join the family of God and inherit the kingdom of God. Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our lives? How are we gathering people to Jesus or are we scattering them away? John 3:1-15
It is good to have a talk with Jesus. It doesn’t matter the time of day you have a talk with Jesus, just be sure to talk with him. There are questions that only Jesus can answer. In the scripture for this lesson, Nicodemus and Jesus had a conversation at night. Jesus declared that only people that are born again or born from above will see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus didn’t understand, so Jesus took the time to explain that there are two types of births. The first is natural. All people that are living have been born naturally. The second is spiritual. Some people that are living have been born spiritually. Jesus clarifies for Nicodemus that the way for a person to be born spiritually is to believe in him. Religion isn’t the answer. A lot of people will use religion as a tool, as a weapon, as a crutch, and as a scapegoat. Becoming a child of God and getting into his kingdom is not a matter of being religious. There are numerous groups of people that are religious but aren’t children of God or going to get into his kingdom. The answer for Nicodemus and for us is faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ is the way to become born spiritually and become a child of God. Children of God will inherit his kingdom that will come after this age ends. Is your faith or your religion more important? Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ during this year? Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
What are we to do about wicked people and wicked times? In the first part of the scripture for this lesson, Jesus told a parable about the kingdom of heaven. In verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight, the servants asked their owner what they should do with the weeds in his field. How often have people asked what they should do with the weeds they see in their communities? How often have people asked what they should do with the weeds they see in their families? How often have people asked what they should do with the weeds they see across the world? The owner told his servants in the parable to let the weeds grow with the wheat. Then at harvest time, the weeds would be separated from the wheat. The disciples didn’t fully understand what Jesus was saying in the parable. In the second part of the scripture for this lesson, Jesus explains the parable about the kingdom of heaven. The good seed are the children of God, children of the kingdom that Jesus has planted. The bad seed are children of the devil. Some people aren’t aware of this fact. There are people that have fully devoted themselves to the devil. They are unlike those that haven’t decided one way or the other. They are not going to be converted to follow Jesus Christ. At the end of this age, it is sooner than some would like it to be, Jesus will send angels to gather all the wicked people and everything that causes sin. The angels will throw them into everlasting fire. Those that are children of the kingdom will remain and will be like the sun in the kingdom of heaven. In our lives on this earth and during this age, we must stay focused on Jesus. It is easy, too easy to look at what someone else is or isn’t doing. That isn’t our responsibility. Children of the kingdom need to live life pleasing to God and obedient to him. It is up to Jesus to send angels to separate the wicked people from the righteous people. We, the children of the kingdom, are not to judge whether someone is a child of the devil or just lost. We are here to live a life that shows the goodness of God and his wisdom. In times like these, stop watching the news. Stop it. In times like these, stop looking at social media. Stop it. In times like these, stop gossiping about what someone else did or didn’t do. Stop it. Children of the kingdom will not convert those that are lost to become a child of God by acting like the world. We can’t encourage or lead a person to choose Jesus if we are angry, hateful, spiteful, depressed, anxious, frustrated, slanderous, two-faced, lying, deceitful, judgmental, unforgiving, unwilling to be merciful, envious, lustful, and filled with what we see and hear in the world. It’s time to stop living like a citizen of this world, this nation, this state, this city, and it’s time for the children of the kingdom of heaven to start living like it. Stop talking about it and start living it. Words are no longer needed or wanted. Pretty words, slogans, and mantras to live by are everywhere. Action speaks louder than words. Are you currently living like a child of God or a child of the devil? Is your life filled with the hope that comes from being part of the kingdom of heaven? |
AuthorPastor Chris Martin Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
|