The Heaton File

Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:57-58)

How Old Is Jesus?

The gospel writer Luke is an eminent historian of the highest quality. His story of Christ is considered a masterpiece of investigative research that was careful with the depth of attention given to details of the life of Jesus. Only in the gospel of Luke is the age of Jesus revealed when the Lord began His ministry. Luke writes that Jesus was about thirty years of age when He began a public ministry that would last for less than three years. While we are never given any concrete descriptions of what Jesus looked like, Luke offers a glimpse into the imagery of the Christ as He was seen by His fellow Jews. Near the end of his ministry, the Jews remark that Jesus was not yet fifty years old when He claimed to have known Abraham. It could be conjectured that Jesus looked much older than His age due to his rigorous work of teaching, healing, administering, and facing His ultimate death on the cross.

After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus taught some very hard lessons about the will of the Father. The Jews were increasing their pressure upon Him and the Lord knew the time of His departure was quickly coming. His teaching offended many of the disciples and they turned and walked away from Jesus. The Jews were seeking ways to kill Jesus. His brothers did not believe Jesus was the Christ. There was confusion to whom Jesus of Nazareth was whether He was the Prophet or the Christ or another man. The Jewish leaders rejected Jesus and tried to trap Him when they brought a woman caught in adultery before Him. Failing in their attempt, they sought the more to kill Him.

The Jewish leaders continued their attack on the teaching of Jesus. They said Jesus had a demon because He appealed to Abraham as proof of His character. Was Jesus making Himself greater than Abraham? It was obvious that Abraham had been dead for many centuries and yet Jesus claims to have known the patriarch. The Lord told the Jews that Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to the coming of Christ and he saw it and was glad. This puzzled the Jews because they looked at Jesus and considered he was not yet fifty years of age so how could He have seen Abraham? Jesus explained that before Abraham was born, Jesus existed with the Father. He said that He was the I AM.

To call oneself I AM was to invoke the imagery of God. When Moses was told to go to the Hebrews in Egypt, he was told to tell them the name of the Lord was I AM WHO I AM and that I AM has sent him to lead the people. The name I AM articulates absolute, and therefore unchanging and eternal Being. Jesus claimed to be I AM saying that before Abraham was, He existed. All the Jews could see was a man in His thirties who looked like a man in His fifties claiming to be someone thousands of years old. They took up stones to throw at Jesus for claiming to have literally known Abraham. Sadly, what they could not see was the real age of Jesus. He was without number of days and years. In the body, He was in His thirties but in reality, Jesus was eternal. John would write that Jesus was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among men and they beheld the glory of the only begotten of the Father but most men could only see a man in His thirties.

Jesus must be seen for how old He really is. He is not a historical figure that lived two thousand years ago who went about doing good and performing miracles but the Son of God who looked down upon a space of nothingness void of God’s love and watched as the Father created the heavens and the earth. Jesus formed Adam from the dust of the ground because He is God. He has no age. Unbound by the fetters of time, Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Knowing how old Jesus is will help a man see that God so loved the Lord He gave His only begotten Son for the redemption of man and that this same Jesus is coming back for the final day of reckoning. Before Abraham was, I AM.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

A Sinner Is A Dirty Sheep

Looking across a green field dotted with sheep is a beautiful pastoral image of peace, serenity, and contentment. Sheep are docile creatures that exhibit a character of quietness. The unassuming nature of their small bodies exhibits a defenseless animal needing the care and protection of a shepherd. Images of sheep fill the pages of the Bible. David wrote a powerful psalm of the relationship of the sheep to its shepherd as a graphic image of man’s relationship to God. Jesus would use sheep to show His love and care for humanity and His divine willingness to give His life for the world as the sacrificial shepherd.

Without understanding the nature of sheep, the full meaning of God’s parabolic use of sheep to describe men is lost. They have a form of beauty about them but sheep are filthy, dirty, and smelly animals. Sheep are prized for their wool but what is prized about them is what makes them one of the filthiest animals on earth. Lanolin is secreted by the sheep to help protect the animals from the weather. Combining this with the wool also makes the wool a magnet and prison for everything the sheep come in contact with. Everything clings to the wool of the sheep from dirt, grass, manure, and anything else found in the field. David describes the sheep lying down in green pastures but he did not mean outdoor carpet. The ground is filled with all types of bugs, worms, debris, weeds along with mud, dirt, and animal refuse.

Another characteristic of sheep is that unlike some animals such as the feline species, sheep cannot clean themselves. David said sheep must be led by still waters because sheep are so skittish and nervous. Fast running water would scare the sheep. If they fell in there would be no hope. The wool would burden them down and their short legs cannot swim. Only at the moment of birth is a sheep clean but afterward, his whole life is consumed with living with dirty wool. Adding to the complex nature of the sheep is the have an incredible smell. Without cleaning themselves, they carry their filth with them.

There is a reason God uses sheep to describe the plight of humanity. If a warrior was choosing an animal to be his symbol of courage, he would select a lion, a bear, or an eagle. The Vikings would have never had a sheep as their emblem of power. You will not find among the Roman Legions a shield bearing the mighty sheep. The sheep is a dirty, filthy, smelly, dependent animal that has no natural defenses and cannot care for himself. They are completely helpless just like the one who looks after them. The problem with the pride of man is that he thinks he is a roaring lion when in reality he is nothing more than a baying sheep. That is all he can be and will ever be. The greatest achievement a man can have is only heard as the voice of a sheep. Nothing more.

Sheep are dirty. All men are dirty because of sin. A man enters the world pure and clean but then begins to wallow in the filth of the world. Everything about the world sticks to him and in time he becomes a smelly and dirty creature. The key to the imagery of man being a sheep is that he cannot clean himself and he cannot protect himself. Jesus came as the Lamb of God to take away the filth of man and to clean Him in the living water. The wisdom of men, riches, honor, and power cannot save men from sin. Without the cleansing blood of Jesus, Christ man remains a filthy animal. The sacrifice of Jesus was not from the will of man but the will of the Father. Nothing man could do would save Him but God gave the world His only begotten Son so they could be clean.

Many passages speak of men as sheep. Do not be fooled into thinking these are creatures you would want to bring home and make pets. These animals are detestable for their filth. Sin must be recognized for what it is. All men are sinners, undeserving of God’s grace, and should face the wrath of God. There is nothing beautiful about sin. It makes the soul of man loathsome in the eyes of the Lord. Grace, mercy, and love come from the hand of the sacrificial Shepherd who died on a Roman cross to clean those who come to Him. Only by the power of God will sin be removed. Without that spiritual bath, man remains a dirty sinner. Check yourself – what do you smell?

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Maintaining Continuity

At the end of a cinema production is a long list of cast, directors, producers, and staff at every level involved in putting together the movie or show. Rarely noticed yet one of the most important roles in any production is the people assigned to script supervision or continuity. In the modern world of film, the task of maintaining a uniform story with scenes being done many times is a daunting job. Shooting a part of the story can take many days. If careful attention is not given to the costumes, makeup, jewelry, props, and structure of the movie, obvious contradictions will creep into the final cut. When an actor holds a glass in his right hand and the scene is repeated over a period of time, someone must make sure each scene the glass is in the same hand. The job of the script supervisor is to maintain the continuity of the project.

There is a whole discipline given to inconsistencies in movies where obvious errors were made. In the classic film The Wizard of Oz, when fighting the trees Dorothy is first wearing her Ruby slippers but in the next a pair of black shoes. The cameraman took a larger frame than expected. Andy Griffith, starring in the television series The Andy Griffith Show, is shown wearing his pants leg inside his boots but in the next scene (in an obvious hurry to put his boots on), the pants leg is outside the boot. John Wayne and Robert Mitchum made a classic movie in 1967 called El Dorado where Mitchum’s character was shot in the right leg and Mitchum used a right-handed crutch, but Mitchum switched the crutch to the left side in the scene where he drives the wagon. During the shooting of the final scene, Wayne mentions the inconsistency, and both Wayne and Mitchum walk down the road in the final scene with their crutches under the wrong arm.

Keeping continuity over months is an impossible task with small errors creeping into any production. There will always been inconsistencies because man cannot keep pace with the ticking clock and remember every detail and catch every variation that easily finds its way into production. Imagine trying to be the script director or the person in charge of continuity for a production that takes nearly 1500 years to produce? If the best script director in the business of movie-making can’t produce a film with zero mistakes, consider how universally impossible it would be for one book to come together after 1500 years and find its completeness as one unit. The Bible is that book and God is its author.

Moses lived 1400 years before Christ and penned the first five books. Over the next millennia plus years, nearly 40 men from different parts of the globe, living under extreme conditions varied by the time and place they lived, penned 61 more books. Many of these authors never knew one another. They came from all walks of life. Moses was a Hebrew raised in the palace of Pharaoh, highly educated and orator with wealth, honor, and power. He killed a man and fled the country becoming a shepherd for forty years. Called by God to lead His people, Moses became the leader of the great nation of Israel. A shepherd boy named David became the King of Israel authoring many psalms that bear his name. Amos was a herdsman, Daniel a slave to the Babylonians who served in the king’s court, Ezekiel a priest, Nehemiah a cup-bearer to a Persian king, Matthew a hated member of the Roman tax collection, Peter a fisherman, and Paul a Rabbi.

The story of the Bible comes from the wilderness of Sinai, and cities like Babylon, Jerusalem, Rome, and cities across the Roman Empire. Hebrew, Chaldean, and Greek make up the language of the Bible. The Bible deals with thousands of controversial subjects covering matters of law, history, poetry, biographies, narratives, and prophecies. There is unity in its doctrine, purity in its ethics, and confirmation in its detail. The key is the question of continuity. No man could have maintained the purity of the Bible message that began 3500 years ago. The Bible is the declaration of the mind of God preserved and maintained by divine will to be His word. There is more evidence for the validity of the Bible than any book written by man. God maintained the continuity of the Bible so that all men in every generation can know one thing: His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. (Proverbs 16:4)

God’s Purpose

It is hard sometimes to see the forest for the trees in the unfolding events of life. The challenge of humanity is to remember that all men live in a cocoon of time limiting their sight to what lay before, what impact the day has, and all that is found in the promise of tomorrow. All the pursuits of life can only be measured by one generation and then another generation comes along. With each passing lifetime, everything changes, and what was done in the past is forgotten. Heroes of today are hailed and honored but then pass to the annals of history as a dust-covered memory or decaying monument. The wisdom of man is limited to his existence. This is not the case with the Lord Creator.

Everything in the world is made for the purpose and design of God. Only He can see the broad canopy of man’s history experiencing every part of the victories and failures of humanity. Nations rise and fall by the will of the Father. Armies come and go but the power of God rules. Natural calamities fill the world with destruction bringing misery. Diseases spread across the face of the planet. Great discoveries are made through the inquisitive eye of brave explorers. Incredible achievements are made in science, medicine, and technology. There is a wealth of things that a man will experience in a lifetime and one thing remains constant. With all the changes and upheavals and victories of the existence of man, the Lord continues to work out everything to its proper end and for His own purpose.

What men forget is the world does not revolve around their existence. The Sun is the center of the Solar System but the system where planet Earth is suspended is not in the center of the universe (not even in the Milky Way). Man’s tragedy is to convince himself the world serves his purpose and his domain. In the beginning, God gave man dominion over the world but what man forgot is his life is held in the hand of his Creator and all things he has comes from the providential care of the Father. The world was created for the purpose of God. Man was created for the purpose of God. Only God is the center of the universe. Everything in life will find its proper end through the working of the Lord. His eternal principles are the foundation of everything. Nothing is lacking.

When the heart of man understands his place and the eternal dominion of God, he will find greater happiness and fulfillment in life. Pride is an insidious parasite that destroys the soul of man because he thinks he is bigger than God. Knowing that everything is for the purpose of God and not man will help the frail worm called humanity to enjoy the blessings of a benevolent caregiver and provider. Selfishness, pride, arrogance, and self-pity are dismissed before the throne of Him who purposes everything to His glory. It becomes easier for men to trust in God when they realize who rules in the affairs of the world. Riches mean little, personal gain is defeated and the haughty pride of human wisdom is replaced with the glorious knowledge that God rules in all things so that His glory will shine.

The greatest reminder of the purpose of God is found in Jesus Christ. It was not the will of man that brought the Son of God to earth. There was no human wisdom in a poor carpenter from Nazareth dying on a cross outside Jerusalem that will tickle the fancy of men. When the church was established no government could imagine the expanse of one kingdom that would dominate the world until the end of time. Everything is for the purpose of God. Jesus died to save all men. Simple. Clear. Demonstrative. Eternal. Jesus Christ is the answer for the sin of mankind and the demonstration of the eternal purpose of God’s glory for His creation. The church rules in the hearts of men as the measure through which men are saved. Death is the final reminder that all things are to the glory of God. No man can stop death but one man defeated death. Men fear death but those who see the purpose of God welcome death. All things are purposed for the will of God. Until the heart surrenders to this word, there can be no joy and no hope. Obedience to the purpose of God brings eternal life.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

No Need To Make Disciples

A disciple of Jesus is someone who follows Jesus and seeks to learn as a student from the teacher. These were learners desiring to know the heavenly message of the one they called, “Rabbi.” It was not uncommon for men to have a company of disciples around him. Teachers were highly considered in ancient times drawing many to their doctrines and beliefs. The philosophers had their disciples as well as the Jewish Rabbis including the many disciples of John the Baptist and Jesus. After His resurrection, the Lord instructs the eleven to go into all the world and instruct men on how to become learners of the way, disciples of the truth, and seekers of the life found in Jesus Christ. This was a key component of the growth of the church to evangelize the world with those who would follow Jesus.

Two thousand years have passed since Jesus gave those instructions to the early disciples but something has changed. Men are not making disciples of every nation. Multitudes of souls are being lost because they are not disciples of Jesus Christ. The instructions of Jesus are not being followed in the modern religious world and the reason is clearly seen in the doctrines of men. There is no need to make disciples because men have rejected the command of Jesus. The Lord told the eleven to go into all the world and they did. These men sought to make disciples of everyone they could find that would hear the truth and multitudes turned to the Lord. Many churches today claim they are going into all the world to make disciples and they are. They are saying the message of Jesus is being proclaimed to make men followers of Christ and they call themselves Christians. Sadly, they are only disciples of the false teaching taught by religious groups that deny the clear statement of Jesus is what makes a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus told the men to go into all the world, make disciples of every nation, and to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Almost all religious groups today deny salvation in baptism. If men will not baptize in accordance with the word of Christ, disciples cannot be made. In truth, the teachings of men have made of no effect the word of Christ to disciple men. There is no need to disciple all nations if one is unwilling to teach the whole counsel of God. The only thing that is left when the whole truth is not taught is a misguided individual who thinks they are saved when they are not. Satan knows full well that when he convinces men to believe in God and almost do what the Lord commands rejecting baptism as necessary for salvation, he has gained a foothold in the heart and draws it closer to condemnation.

There is no need to teach men a perverted gospel. It is difficult to understand how a simple, plain, and clear statement of Jesus can become so misguided, misused, and ignored as the religious world has denied the necessity of baptism. This does not deny grace, mercy, love, truth, righteousness, and a host of divine attributes that bring a person into a covenant with Christ. What is lost in the white noise of religious error is there must be a point – a moment in time – an instant in the eternal cosmos – when a person is born again into the kingdom of Christ. That moment is found in the waters of baptism. Without obedience to the divine plan of God to wash away sins in the blood of Jesus Christ buried into His death, there will be no and there can be no salvation and remission of sins. Jesus told the disciples to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them under the authority of the Godhead. The historian Luke records in the Acts of the Apostles they did exactly that and multitudes became Christians. Are you a disciple of Jesus?

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3)

Reading, Hearing, And Keeping

The revelation granted to the apostle John was marvelous imagery of divine knowledge declaring the glorious victory of righteousness against the forces of unrighteousness. His book the Revelation is the message of the Lord to persecuted saints giving them hope and promise that all tears shed on earth and pain endured in life will be taken away by the power of God in the final day. There will always be controversy swirling around John’s revelation and many will misinterpret and abuse the apocalyptic language of this final message to mankind. The problem is found in forgetting to read the opening statement of John’s book when he exhorts his readers to do three things: read the revelation, hear the message of the revelation and obey what it says. If the Revelation is too hard to understand then no man can read it, hear it, and obey it. On the contrary, John says it must be received as a book that can be read, understood, and obeyed.

What John is asking of his readers is not unlike the task before every student of the completed word of God. The Bible contains sixty-six books of divine knowledge set forth over thousands of years by different men living in different times and cultures. It is a book that needs to be read. God will bless the heart that will open the book of books and read its message. From time beginning, the will of God has been revealed to the hearts of men who need the word to save them. In the last days, the Holy Spirit has made ready the printed book containing all the will of the Lord. There are no more revelations given to humanity than found in the Bible. The faith has been once delivered to the saints with no more declarations to be given. Until a man reads the word of God, he will not know how to be saved.

John writes to the seven churches which are in Asia to read the revelation given to him. Knowledge is power and through the avenue of reading the message of God the faithful child of God will know things no man can know apart from divine revelation. Reading the Revelation is an incredible journey of imagery, beauty, fear, hope, and promise. Without reading the book, the message is lost. Why is it that a man knows so much about the Bible and yet never reads the Bible? Reading the Bible is that same voyage of imagery, beauty, fear, hope, and promise. There are so many wonderful passages found in the Bible and there are many terrible stories told. All of these point to the nature of God and the promised coming of His Son, Jesus Christ. To know God and to know His word, reading is the first requirement.

Reading the word is not all God wants of His people. Many will say the Revelation is impossible to understand. John says that it is a revelation that can be understood as he exhorts his readers to listen to the message. The trouble with the Revelation is the same challenge found in all of the Bible: it takes study, examination, discernment, thoughtful prayer, and asking for the wisdom of God. John’s message of the revelation is no different than the other books of the Bible that must be read and listened to know the plan of redemption. Hearing the word of God is to dive deep into the word and search out the scriptures to see what eternal gems are found on its pages. It does not require a college degree to know the word of God. Paul told the saints at Ephesus they could understand what he wrote down concerning the mystery long hidden. The Bible is a book ripe for the eager mind to hear the word of God and to know the will of the Father. Reading and hearing the word is how knowledge grows.

The final part of John’s three-point sermon is to obey the word. Keeping the word is the action of a heart open to the reading of God’s will and listening to the message of grace in God’s word. Without obeying the word men become hearers only and not doers as James says. Faith is incomplete without works. The Lord has always required men to obey His word. This obedience cannot come without the knowledge to know what to obey. Reading the word directs the affairs of men to know what to hear and upon that hearing act in obedience to God’s will. If there is no obedience there will be no salvation. John wants his readers to obey the revelation given to him by the Lord. The book of Revelation is a message expected to be followed by the will of God.

God will bless all those who read His word and listen to His message. The Bible is the way the heavenly Father has spoken to His children. He expects His children to obey His word. They cannot do that if they have not read the words of His will. Reading, hearing, and keeping are the requirements of knowing God. John said it can be done with the Revelation and that same formula can be used with the other revelations of God. Take the time to read the word. Listen to the voice of God as the word fills the heart. Remember that obedience is the fruit of reading and hearing the word of God.

Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, and spread its wings toward the south? Does the eagle mount up at your command, and make its nest on high? On the rock it dwells and resides, on the crag of the rock and the stronghold. From there it spies out the prey; its eyes observe from afar. Its young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there it is.” (Job 39:26-30)

The Birds Of God

Job was learning a valuable but hard lesson. To contend with the Creator and Maker of all things is to experience the wrath of a jealous God. Throughout the travail of Job’s experience of losing everything including his children, admonished by his wife to curse God and die and then to endure the hounding of three friends who comforted the righteous man with their stinging rebukes of divine judgment upon his sinful life, Job faced an angry God who came to him out of a whirlwind demanding an answer why he was rebuking the Lord God Almighty. It was almost more than Job could bear. There was sympathy for the plight of Job but he had forgotten who was in charge of the world and everything in it. In His rebuke of Job, God reminded Job of his place in the order of creation and how the Lord sustained everything in the world by His mighty power.

One of the evidence of the existence of God is found in creation. The sun rises and sets according to divine law, not the will of man. The animals were formed by the hand of God and serve His divine will. For example, the hawk and the eagle fly through the heavens as the Lord created them and designed them to endure great heights. In the busy pursuit of life, most men take little notice of the birds of the sky. Wrapped up in their world of human gain and profit, most men go through life ignoring the evidence of the Creator that fills the sky. Who made the hawk and the eagle to perch on lofty heights, and to pass through the heavens at incredible speeds with eyesight far beyond the ability of man to see? God is asking Job to stop and consider the birds of the heavens. Did the wisdom of man make them and cause them to be the regal birds of prey? Nothing man has done testifies to the majesty of the hawk and the eagle. So how can man contend with God? Job has no answer.

The pride of man to contend with God is a futile attempt of a creature formed a little lower than the angels to stand taller than his Maker. From the beginning when Satan tempted Eve he first attacked the authority of God to deceive her to believe she was smarter than her Maker. She was wrong as was Adam. They both learned God still controlled the world and were expelled from the garden. Every attempt through the history of men trying to build towers to the heavens has been met with the mighty hand of their Maker, Creator, and Judge. Nations rise and fall but God still rules. Plagues sweep the world and generations come and go and life continues because everything is held together by the word of God. Man can’t destroy the world. No nation will rule the world and no man will become the world-wide tyrant. The hawk and the eagle remind humanity of who is in charge.

Uncertainty fills the hearts of a world overshadowed by a virus, political chicanery, civil unrest, and economic fears of what tomorrow will bring. There is a concern for how the church of the Lord will come out of these trials. One of the major impacts of the society of masks is how it has unmasked many weaknesses in the lives of God’s people and the local congregation. History will not be kind to this generation as they face the trials of life that have been common since Eden. It may do well to spend time outside looking at the birds of the sky how they neither plant seed, harvest nor store food in barns, and yet they are cared for. Does the hawk fly by my wisdom and does the eagle mount up at my command? No. I know who commands the birds and I know I am of greater value than the birds. God will take care of me. I will not contend with the One who made me. I will glory in His love and His grace.

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:11-15)

Where Are You In God’s Garden?

The world is made up of more than seven billion people. Since the beginning of time, untold billions of people have walked on the face of the earth. Generations come and go, nations rise and fall, and the character of humanity remains unchanged. Jesus taught in parables to show the lessons of the divine for the heart of the carnal man. He spoke a parable about a sower who went out to sow his seed. Each seed fell on different types of the ground resulting in different results. The first seed fell on the ways but was soon taken away by the birds. Some seed fell among ground compacted with rocks and because there was no depth to the soil, the seed sprouted for a moment and then withered away; there was no moisture. The third seed fell among good ground but there were too many weeds and thorns to allow the seed to flourish. As the seed sprang forth and began to grow, so did the thorns and was soon choked out. Only the good ground broken up with rocks removed and diligently cleaned of thorns produced crops a hundredfold. These four types of ground represent the four types of hearts found among the billions of souls that reside on planet earth.

Jesus taught the multitudes there was one sower who sowed the good seed. The purpose of the sower was to raise a crop for the abundance of the harvest. God created man for His glory to enjoy the abundance of His grace. Sadly, three types of people will never know the joys what God has promised. In the garden of God’s creation, some have hardened hearts of sin that have no interest, curiosity, or desire to serve God. Like the first ground, their spirits are hardened and covered over with the pleasures of sin and the deception of Satan. They hear the word of God and they see the power of God’s presence in the world and take no note or respond. The devil seeks the billions of souls who have hardened hearts of carnal frivolity or religious error so that he can increase his wealth of damned souls. The majority of the seven billion-plus people in the world are described by the wayside soil. They will be lost.

The second group of people in the world is those who see and hear the grace of God and respond in some small way. They receive the word with joy acting religious and believing all they have to do for salvation is a belief in God. Their lives are filled with the world while they give a small measure of attention to religion. Nothing in their life shows the love of God or His teaching. With a small smattering of religious zeal, they portray to the world the belief that one can serve God and mammon at the same time. They maintain a veneer of faith until it becomes too burdensome to serve the Lord and they quit. Their hearts are not in it and because of temptation fall away. They are lost.

When the seed falls on the good ground there seems to be hope. Unlike the wayside or rocky ground, the good ground has potential and hope. The seed penetrates the ground and begins to grow. What makes the third ground tragic is the seed begins to grow as it should but then thorns and weeds begin to grow also. A natural course of nature is that thorns and weeds are easier to grow than a good crop. Most weeds can grow anywhere in almost any condition. Not so with a good seed. It takes a lot of nurturing and care. In time, without the devotion of removing the thorns, the good seed is overtaken and choked out. Life can be like that and more so for the people of God. If there is one constant danger for the Christian it is not the persecution of others or fear of retribution. The greatest cause of children of God losing their souls comes from the cares, riches, and pleasures of life choking their hearts to where they do not grow. This is no different than the wayside soil or the rocky soil because all three of the soils end in destruction. Three different types of hearts yet the same end. They are lost.

Out of the four grounds, only one is the way to peace and happiness. The good soil is one that has been broken up from the wayside condition, rocks removed, and continued devotion to keeping the thorns out. Life for the child of God must follow the same pattern. Hearts that are not broken up from the hardness of the world will never grow. If the rocks of carnality and earthly pleasures are not removed the can be no joy of salvation. One of the best tools of Satan is to allow God’s people to serve righteousness but with the burdens of the cares of life. They become ineffective and weak. When the soil is cultivated daily to keep the cares of the world away there will be growth. Hearing the word of God with a noble and good heart will bear incredible rewards in life. Keeping the word brings joy and happiness.

Only 25% of the hearts of people in the world will be saved. Out of four grounds, only one will find eternal life. In the garden of God’s grace as He has given to all men His beloved Son; only the good ground will find joy in the day of harvest. The lesson of Jesus is clear: you are one of these grounds. There is not the fifth ground. Only four. Which ground are you?

Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.” (Jeremiah 18:18)

A Paperboy Named Jeremiah

In the final years of the kingdom of Judah, the prophet Jeremiah preached a message of doom for the holy city Jerusalem. The spiritual compass of the nation had become corrupt and the moral disintegration of the kingdom plunged headlong at a rapid pace climaxing in the arrival of the Babylonians and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. There was a brief respite during the three decades of Josiah’s reign but for all practical purposes, the mold of captivity had been cast long before. Jeremiah would live to see the nation destroyed and carried off to Babylon. He would spend the final days of his life in Egypt. As the “weeping prophet,” the son of Anathoth saw the hypocrisy of the religious and political leaders in Jerusalem as well as many false prophets.

The preaching of Jeremiah was bold and demonstrable. He would employ visual aids to bring home his message as breaking a potter’s vessel before the elders. His preaching troubled the religious leaders of Judah. They could not restrain the prophet from accusing them of apostasy, corruption, and oppression. Jeremiah would spend much of his life under the heavy hand of persecution but never waver in preaching the word of God. His critics sought ways to attack the prophet, to discredit him, and to bring him in disfavor with the people. They assembled to plot ways to stop Jeremiah. It was their goal to destroy the man of God. His preaching told of the doom of Jerusalem which the leaders of Judah denied could happen. Ignoring their sin of idolatry and the warnings of many of God’s prophets, the leaders believed they would never fall to the hands of their enemies. Jeremiah was a traitor because he did not accept the authority of the religious leaders preaching against their doctrines. His message came from God.

Seeking a way to destroy Jeremiah, his enemies began to spread rumors about him and to ignore whatever the prophet said. By discrediting him, the leaders tried to weaken the charges brought against them for their idolatrous ways. The land had filled with altars to idols and their wooden images by the green trees on the high hills which Jeremiah cursed. Worship had become a vain attempt to appease the Lord while the will of the people continued to steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal and walk after other gods. Trusting in lying words, the people would come before the Lord in His holy Temple and seek His blessings and call upon His name. Jeremiah condemned them harshly and the people resented him for it. Rather than heed the word of God they sought to spread lies about Jeremiah.

Preaching truth has always been a difficult and challenging work in a world filled with the carnal pursuits of human wisdom, recreation, pleasure, and the desires of the flesh. The word of Jeremiah was not his own. His message came from the will of God but the people would not accept it. This would not change the word of God and when the final stages of captivity came upon Judah and Benjamin, everyone could say that Jeremiah was right in what he preached – but it was too late. They attacked Jeremiah with lies and rumors and Jeremiah continued to preach the truth. He never swerved from walking the path of righteousness. Ignoring his preaching did not change the word of God. Jeremiah fulfilled his ministry in his work as God desired regardless of how the people responded. Spreading lies about him did not dissuade his zeal to preach the word.

Gary Ogden said that preachers are nothing more than paperboys. In days gone by, young boys would take up a paper route where they would sling papers onto the front porches or into the yards of subscribers. In a spiritual sense, a preacher has the responsibility to deliver the word of God accurately. He does not write the material, he cannot edit the content and he must make certain he delivers the paper in a godly manner. It would not do well to throw the paper through the front window. He must not throw it in the bushes where it is hard to find or in the water puddle where the print is blurred. The work of the preacher is to deliver the word of God to the threshold of the individual’s heart. Then, and only then, the action of the individual is to decide what to do with what has been received. If they ignore the word, their guilt is their own. Taking the word of God into their heart is what the Lord desires. If the paperboy delivers his paper in a good way, there can be no complaints. Spreading lies about a faithful preacher is sinful. Ignoring what the man says from the word of God will not change the word of God. Those who stand condemned are those who plot or devise plans to discredit the servants of the Lord. The days of Jeremiah are not unlike the days of the New Testament church.

Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. (John 7:14-18)

Whose Doctrine Are You?

Jesus did not fit the mold of a Jewish rabbi or teacher. He confounded the Jewish leaders with His skilled oratory and knowledge astonishing the multitudes with sermons filled with authority. The challenges brought by His critics were destroyed with a few words and later it would be said that no man taught like the man from Nazareth. Jesus was indeed a remarkable man whose doctrine was incontrovertible, consistent to every degree, and beyond the scope of human wisdom that no man could answer. This did not make Jesus the wisest man in the world because He had learned some great secret through the philosophies of men. He was not the Albert Einstein of His day who through intense scholarship developed incredible insights into the world. Jesus was a man filled with the doctrine of His heavenly Father. Often throughout His short life, the Lord would remind people that what He did and what He taught was not His own but the will of God. His doctrine was the doctrine of the One who sent Him.

The Jews recognized that Jesus was a man of letters. It puzzled them because Jesus had such a vast library of knowledge but He had never gone to school for formal education. Pedigree had so much to do with the credentials of a man’s teaching. If a learned scientist wants to put forth a certain philosophy of study, his background is examined to consider his qualifications for higher learning. Did this man attend certain schools that would offer validity to his findings and could he be trusted with his doctrine? They asked the same questions about Jesus. Did He attend the school of Gamaliel in Jerusalem where Saul of Tarsus had studied law? Had the man from Nazareth traveled to the great cities of the Roman Empire to examine the philosophies of the Greeks or Roman poets? None of these fit the mold of Jesus. He was from Nazareth and the son of a carpenter. In a cultural caste system, Jesus was a nobody but His teaching belied the forcefulness of His doctrine.

Jesus had come into the temple and began teaching the people. His doctrine was astounding. He taught the scriptures explaining the law and the prophets with boldness. What confused the Jews was a man of no letters explaining better than themselves the meaning of the words of God. When asked where He gained such knowledge, Jesus said His doctrine was not His own but the One who sent Him. There are two types of doctrines in the world: that which comes from the mouth of God and that which is born through the wisdom of man. The latter knowledge elevates the pride of man to believe he is so shrewd and filled with great wisdom. Men like Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Socrates were philosophers of men held in high regard. But Jesus was no philosopher of men. His teaching was the purest and wisest among all men that none could challenge.

Those who speak from themselves seek to elevate their own glory. When a man speaks the word of God he glories the Father. Jesus did not preach His own doctrine but the words of the One who sent Him. What made Jesus’ teaching so powerful was His reliance on knowing, understanding, and explaining the doctrine of His Father. As the Son of God, the doctrine of Jesus was the doctrine of the Father. While there is an obvious distinction between the ability of Jesus to teach the word of God and the ability of men to teach the knowledge of the Divine, the conclusion remains the same. When men make the doctrine of God their own, they preach Christ and not human wisdom. The study of scripture does not require a Ph.D. to understand and know its meaning. Anyone who spends the time and effort to examine the pages of the Bible will have a greater knowledge and understanding than the wisest of the world. The doctrine of God belongs to Him and it will infuse in the heart of the willing the knowledge of the eternal. Nothing is as great for a man to know than the doctrine of God. It answers all the questions about life and death and the nature of man. Education is a noble pursuit in the affairs of men. Knowing what the Bible says will give greater hope and blessing than any other message.

Every man follows a doctrine of some kind. For some, the doctrine of wealth, power, prestige, pleasure, and pride fuel their goals in life. Many seek all the wisdom of human knowledge to gain in a lifetime and then die. Solomon experienced all the temptations of humanity and found only vanity. Jesus made the doctrine of His Father His own. The greatest book that has been given to man lies unread, unchartered, and unused in the lives of God’s people and sadly the doctrine of the eternal does not abide in their hearts. Pursuing the pleasures of life the doctrine of carnality is all they know. Taking the time to open the Bible and learn the truths would change their lives immensely. Our lives reflect our doctrine. Jesus reflected the doctrine of His Father. Whose doctrine do you reflect in your life? You are either filled with the word of God or you are filled with YOU.