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Cultivating Seeds Of RighteousnessOn last LORD’s Day, we learned that Jesus taught His disciples the parable of the sower as the key to acquiring understanding from all parables, which is an essential element in coming to understanding of the knowledge of His Kingdom. This week we shall continue to examine this marvelous form of teaching used by God throughout the Old and New Testaments as an explicit method of dispensing spiritual knowledge to those who are truly seeking a closer walk with the Most High God through His Perfect Son Christ Jesus. Have you ever taken time to ponder the extremely complex things that God created to provide for us very basic things we enjoy in everyday life like fruit, vegetables, a cool breeze, or even a slight tan? Listen in as Pastor Landis sheds some light on this magnificent work of God in our study called: “Cultivating Seeds Of Righteousness” |
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| Old Testament Scripture Reading: Isaiah 48:1 – 18 (NASB) |
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Isa 48:1 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel And who came forth from the loins of Judah, Who swear by the name of the LORD And invoke the God of Israel, But not in truth nor in righteousness.
Isa 48:2 “For they call themselves after the holy city, And lean on the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is His name.
Isa 48:3 “I declared the former things long ago And they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
Isa 48:4 “Because I know that you are obstinate, And your neck is an iron sinew, And your forehead bronze,
Isa 48:5 Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’
Isa 48:6 “You have heard; look at all this. And you, will you not declare it? I proclaim to you new things from this time, Even hidden things which you have not known.
Isa 48:7 “They are created now and not long ago; And before today you have not heard them, Lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
Isa 48:8 “You have not heard, you have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously; And you have been called a rebel from birth.
Isa 48:9 “For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off.
Isa 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Isa 48:11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.
Isa 48:12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.
Isa 48:13 “Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.
Isa 48:14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he shall carry out His good pleasure on Babylon, And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
Isa 48:15 “I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have called him, I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.
Isa 48:16 “Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
Isa 48:17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.
Isa 48:18 “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
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| New Testament Scripture Reading: Mark 4:24 – 34 (KJV) |
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Mark 4:24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
Mark 4:25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
Mark 4:26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
Mark 4:27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
Mark 4:28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
Mark 4:29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
Mark 4:30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
Mark 4:31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
Mark 4:32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Mark 4:33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
Mark 4:34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. |
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| Transforming Power Statements:
#1) There are many things that go on behind the scenes that are being done by God that we raerly ever even think about, that theologians have attributed to the providence of God as He works all things together for good them that love God who are the called according to His puropse.
#2) Although we may not even know all about those things that are mostly far out of our control, we are able by faith to learn to trust God for all that He has promised and do all diligence on our parts to attend to the things that God has revealed in His Word so that we can be fellow workers with Him in the fulfillment of His plans.
#3) The cross of Christ is perhaps the greatest of all mysteries the world has ever known, because all that was going on seemed to be out of order and yet God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself by His shed blood for the redemption of all who believe, therefore let us learn the parable and cultivate the seeds of righteousness from God’s Holy Word so we can grow in personal holiness. |
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