Series:Revive the Church
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God is the God of revelation(Jn 1:1).
He reveals Himself in His time and according to His ways(Jn 1:14; Gal 4:4-5), and
To those who love Him, He reveals Himself all the more(Jn 14:21).
Though religion and philosophy seek deity,
Because they do it according to the ways of man,
God hides Himself infinitely from them.
The Word(logos, the self-manifestation of God) is God.
It was determined before the creation of the world that
He would reveal Himself(1Pe 1:20).
Hence, when the time fully comes, He surely reveals Himself.
Faith is receiving this as-is(Jn 1:20), and
The life of this faith is carrying out the word as-is and bearing fruit(Mt 13:23).
In the Old Testament times,
God gave the word through angels, i.e., the Law(Ex 3:2, Ex 3:4; Ac 7:53) and
The Tablets inside the Testimony of the sanctuary
Reminded the Israelites that God spoke to Moses, to them.
The prophets were those to whom the word of the Lord came(1Sa 3:1, 1Sa 3:9; Jer 1:4) and
They prophesied what they heard with their ears –
Yet it was not the truth(Mt 13:17).
In the last times, the Word who was with the Father in the beginning(Jn 1:1, 1Jn 1:8)
Became flesh and He is the Only Begotten Son(Jn 1:14), and
He said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days”(Jn 2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would reveal God and His will.
As such, He spoke the words of the Father, which are the truth(Jn 12:50).
While heaven and earth will pass away, His words will never pass away(Mt 5:18, Mt 24:35).
Furthermore, His words will judge in the last day(Jn 12:48).
As a kernel of wheat, Jesus fell to the ground and died(Jn 12:24).
And as He died, He said, “It is finished”(Jn 19:30), declaring that He:
1. Laid down His life to gain it and fulfilled the Father’s will(Jn 10:17-18);
2. Condemned the origin of sin(1Jn 3:8); and
3. Sowed His blood on the fields of souls so that they would receive redemption, life, resurrection and eternal life(Mt 20:28; Jn 12:24).
Jesus sowed in tears but reaped with songs of joy:
The Father raised Him and He ascended to the heavenly throne.
The Holy Spirit comes to those born again of
Not perishable seed but of the imperishable seed, His blood(Mt 13:38; 1Pe 1:23) and
He speaks to the churches today and warns to him who has an ear to hear(Rev2-3).
The kingdom of heaven is like a farmer sowing his seed(Mt 13:1-23).
The seed is the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, the message about heaven, i.e., the gospel.
Whether he bears fruit or not is determined by
The ears that hear, the nature of his heart.
The fields that cannot bear fruit are:
1. The path – trampled by arguments, distractions etc;
2. Rocky places – cannot overcome tribulation, persecution or burden; and
3. Thorns – cannot lay down the temptations or the worries of reality.
However, the field that bears fruit is good soil:
The heart that hears the secrets of the kingdom of heaven and
Immediately takes action.
Those who bear fruit will be blessed and given eternal life,
While those who do not bear fruit will be cursed and thrown into the fire in the end(He 6:7).
O Lord,
My flesh is an opportunity, a brief season to sow.
Let me not waste this time.
Rather, let me spend it to sow and bear fruits.
Lord, give me, my family and church
The ear that hears the word! Amen.
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