SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/26/2022 9:54 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “Lessons from the Parables”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
13:44-46
Message of the verses: “44 "The
kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and
hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and
buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking
fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all
that he had and bought it.”
From
these two parables, “the pearl of great price” and “the hidden treasure” we
will be looking at six valuable lessons about the kingdom, and therefore about
salvation: it must be personally appropriated, it is priceless, it is not
superficially visible, it is the source of true joy, it may be entered from
different circumstances, and it is made personal by a transaction.
THE KINGDOM MUST BE
PERSONALLY APPROPRIATED
The
title above is the central truth of these two parables. It is not obtained by natural inheritance, as
one automatically becomes a member of his parents’ race or a citizen of their
country. Both of these parables center
around a single individual who sacrifices all that he has in order to
personally obtain that which has become so greatly, so immeasurably valuable to
him.
We
know that the Lord is the One who is ultimately in control of all that goes on,
on planet earth, and so this means that we are under the Lord’s ultimate
control. I know some may not agree with that
but we read in Paul’s letter to the Philippians that there will come a day when
everyone will bow down to the Lord because He is the Lord of all. Some will have already done this while in
this body on this earth, but those who have not will do it in a body suitable
for eternity in hell, a body that will not burn up. The choice is up to everyone.
We
have talked about this before, but when a person is born they are born with a
sin nature, and thus Satan has a temporary and limited power over the world,
and that means over the unbelievers. I
am not saying that all unbelievers are under Satanic control to the extent of
being possessed with one of his demons, but just under the control of the world
system, headed by Satan, but ultimately God is in control.
John
MacArthur writes “An unbeliever who associates with believers can benefit from
many blessings of the kingdom because of that association. Nevertheless, although an unbeliever may
attend an evangelical church, enjoy biblical preaching and be a professing and
baptized member of a church, he is not a citizen of the kingdom. Such superficial and nongenuine ‘sons of the
kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness,’ where ‘there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matt. 8:12).
“As
Paul reminded his Jewish brethren, ‘They are not all Israel who are descended
from Israel; neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s racially,
nationally, and religiously—full identified with God’s chosen people in those
outward ways—and yet have no part in the true, spiritual Israel. In the same way, a person can be born into a
family who traces its church membership back for many generations, and yet have
no part in Christ’s true church.
Although it gives many advantages, even being born into a family of
godly believers does not make a person a Christian. To be saved, he must make his own decision to
receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.”
I have heard it said that God does not have any grandchildren only
children.
4/26/2022 11:32 AM
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