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Q4 The call to the Great Banquet when we extend the invitation to those around us, sounds like urgency, seriousness, excitement, joyous, happiness, and honored of the graciousness of God. As servants of the Lord, we are aware of the urgency of our mission. We need to urge the people of the importance of their spiritual lives and where they are to be when the final day comes. They need to surrender their lives to Jesus in order to be enjoy the Kingdom of God. It is by God's grace that we are called to the feast in the Kingdom of God. Therefore, we should stand firm in our faith and be ready in answering His call.

Q3 Jesus was so harsh with those who made excuses when called to follow him because they gave lame excuses, their spiritual lives are not in order and they are not fully and ready to commit themselves to do God's work and prefer to put other responsibilities before Christ. Every call from God is urgent because Jesus' calling is 'now' not later or when one feels like it. God wants willing and committed people to carry His message on the Kingdom to others. Our excuses seem so trivial when offered to Jesus because we lack faith. We have placed other priorities before Jesus. We treat Jesus as second class and at convenience. When we feel like it, when we are ready then we will follow Him even though we profess we are followers of Christ but our hearts are somewhere else. What a shame not only to Jesus but to ourselves also.

Q2 'Grace' is a gift from God. He has given us (the common people) a chance to experience His bountiful feast. It is through His grace that we have a chance to be invited. The less fortunate are always the one who are rejected by society but with God's merciful love, they are being called by God. Through this evangelism, God's abundant love and salvation have been poured into them. It is vital that one must be in the banquet and be able to share in the feast God has prepared for us. As children of God we need to live holy and Godly lives and be ready to look forward to the day of Jesus' second coming. For once the door is closed we might not have the opportunity to be saved.

Q1 In the Parable of the Great Banquet, the original guests comprise of the Pharisees' Socially prominent guests all experts of the Law, the Jewish people of high status and the learned ones. The later invited guests are the poor, the down trodden, the crippled, the blind, the lame and the Gentiles. These are the one who cannot repay. To 'compel them to come in' means to really encourage and urge them to come as poor people are not accustomed to such lavish banquet, especially to enter into a rich man's place. It is up to the individual response if one wants to be saved and enjoy this lavish banquet. God's invitation is genuine and it is of great importance for we do not know when the time and day we will be called home. We need to be ready for Him.

Q4 Every one of us will face our judge when we die there is no doubt about that. When we face Jesus we will have to be accountable for all our deeds and through our faith and obedience we hope to have our names written in the book of life. God loves His faithful and obedience children and will reward them. The only reward one hope is to enter into the Kingdom of God and live happily and peaceful together with all the angels and saints and be united with our creator.

Q3 As children of God, all of us need to remember that all resources come from God. From nothing we come and from nothing we are to return. So no matter how successful one is all the fruits of our labors belong to our creator. Jesus is the main body and we are all parts of the rest of the body doing the work according to which part we belong. Thus we are part of the independent entrepreneurs. We as stewards are to take full responsibilities of what God has instructed us to do. After all God has given us the gifts and 'talents' to start with. A self-made person has ego and only think that all achievements are from his own effect. He will only think of himself (the "I") first and not care for others. Whereas a steward steward is only a servant and will give glory to God for all his achievements for depending on God everything is possible.and guided by His Spirit he will definitely succeed nobody how weak he is.

Q2 The factors that make up a person's "ability to carry out something" are our willingness, faithfulness, commitment, responsibility and accountability. We are made out of nothing and everything is from God. Those who succeed not necessarily be the most talented because this is not what God sees it. If God wants to use us, He will supply us with all the necessary talents. All we need to do is trust in Him. As we are of the flesh we have lots of commitments. Work constrain, family, availability and not using the gifts given to us for His greater glory.

Q1 God is our provider, everything comes from Him. For me "Talents" to me represent "Spiritual gifts". God is our creator and knows us well. He gives His spiritual gifts to each individual according to their needs to build the Kingdom of God. There are varieties of gifts. If we desire these gifts we need to pray for them and God will give us to help in our spiritual growth. I am very happy when I received the gift of prophecy from God. Empowered with this prophetic gift I can pass His message and be His instrument to His people. Every Christian needs daily to sink into the word of God and the Bible is the only source where God will speak to us. As a disciple of God I have given myself to Him in service in Church, community, society, at place of work and everywhere I go. God created me out of nothing and through Him I depend on. If God is with us who can be against us. For nothing is impossible with God. In return to Him, all I need to do is to manifest the gifts He has given to me to help build His Kingdom here on earth.

Q4 The Kingdom is compared to a mustard seed or a yeast which is small in size. Through it's influences, it grows to become large and power. As God closes the big entrance door, He leaves only the side door open which is small and narrow. This is to test the faithful of their allegiance and obedience and to learn the cost of entering it. God the Father is a very generous God. He invites all His people to taste His lavish banquet He has prepared for them. However, there are few takers. He is selective because the faithful need to go through His test by entering through the narrow gate. Those who can pass and live up to His criteria are allowed to enter.

3 The guests from all over the world for the great "feast in the kingdom of God" are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; all the prophets; people from north, south, east and west; the Jews and Gentiles and all the faithful believers of Christ. The sinners, and the anti-Christ. They were excluded because they could not repent of their ways and still want to live life their own ways and be influenced by the world.

Q2 Jesus characterizes the entrance to the Kingdom here as "narrow" to emphasize on how one has to struggle to strive and enter. Many people "try to enter and will not be able to" because there are conditions attached to it. The Kingdom of God requires repentance and change of heart. All one needs to do is to be faithful and obedience to the teachings of God. People delay entering until it is too late is because they are not willing to repent and give up their old ways of living and still want to be influenced and cling to the world.

Q1 The point of the Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven is that the Kingdom of God may have small beginnings but with a large endings. The Kingdom of God may begin small and insignificant but in the end it will grow and become large and powerful as emphasized by these two Parables. This is encouraging to Jesus' disciples when they later witnessed the spread of Christianity all over the world. Jesus comes for the poor and the down trodden. If we have Jesus in us, everything is possible with Him. As faithful disciples of Christ, we will eventually inherit the Kingdom He has promised us.

Q4 The Lord's Prayer was the first prayer Jesus taught His disciples and us to God the Heavenly Father. Every word we utter in the prayer is a dialogue with God. Therefore, we need to be sincere about it otherwise we are making a mockery out of it and it will be thrown back onto us. As it is said, 'what you reap is what you harvest.' No, forgiving in order to be forgiven is not a kind of "righteousness works." Relationship is always a two way traffic. If we confess we love God and want to be His children, then we need to live life right with God. We need to let go of the bondage to sin and hate and be free to enjoy the privilege God has for His children. Sin is the non-acceptance of our relationship to God as Creator. As sin distorts our relationship and friendship with God, repentance must come from an inner willingness to mourn for the wrongful act, to return to the known will of God, and to walk in God's good company.

Q3 Jesus is not actually frightening us with this statement but rather cautious us because He knows we are stubborn people. As a loving God, He wants us all to be saved and enjoy the Kingdom He has prepared for us. He has to be serious in order to get through to us. "Forgiveness" is a foundational principle of the Kingdom. It is the criteria needed to enter into the Kingdom. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is what forgiveness is all about. To reconcile men with God.

Q2 The purpose of contrasting the huge debt with the small one is not about the amount that counts but what results out of it eventually. Will there be forgiveness on the involved part. Will he be able to let go and let bygone be bygone. Our debts are more to the King. As we are of the flesh and are weak, every day we tend to sin against God whether commissioned or omission. When hurt by our fellow men. The King was insulted because as a merciful King, he has forgiven the unmerciful servant who in turn expect him to do the same with his fellow servant. Instead he did the opposite thus invoking the wrath of the King.

Q1 Figuratively. "7" is a very significant number to us Christians. Therefore, forgiveness of others is always endless, even though 7 may be considered maximum we need to go beyond that. If we sinners on our part need endless forgiveness from God, our Father how much more do we need to forgive our brothers and sisters for the wrong they have done to us.

Q4 This verse is so famous because it has spelt out clearly God's love for mankind and how He has sacrificed His only Son for our salvation. This is God reaching out to us sinners and telling us that there is hope if we but believe in Him. The pouring out of His tremendous love for the redemption of mankind. The merciful god, an ever loving and forgiving God. If we but only believe that is the only criteria God is asking of us, then salvation is ours. God wants to gather all His people back into His Kingdom. As a Father, He cares for His children and not one of His will be perished and ended up in hell and be tortured there. As Jesus said that He will leave the ninety nine sheep and go all out to search for the one lost sheep and bring it back to safety and heaven will rejoice over the repentant sinner. God has given us a free choice. It is our choice to live eternal life with God in His Kingdom or perish and ends up in the fire of torment in hell.

Q3 "Born of water and the Spirit" , means Spiritual birth. 'Water' refers to cleansing and purification. Through baptism, water is used to wash away all our past sins and also to regenerate and prepare us to being a new person belonging to God. 'Water' is a necessity in life. In God's tern water is always refer to cleanliness. If we say we belong to God someone pure and holy, we need to cleanse ourselves and be presentable properly in His sight. Thus water in baptism is getting rid of all our sins and be made anew. To start afresh with God. When a child is born he has to go through all the process of growing up and be educated properly. He has to equip himself with all the knowledge taught to him so that he can excel well in his academic skills. All these need the guidance of the parents, teachers and tutors in order to achieve good results and have good status in life. Armed with all these knowledge he is confident of himself and has advantages over others when he goes out into the world to face challenges. Likewise in the Spiritual sense, when we are cleansed and purified, prepared by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we too can be made a new creation and be ableto walk in the way of God and be pleasing to Him so that we can enjoy the privileges of the Kingdom which God wants His people to inherit.

Q2 In order to enter the Kingdom, one needs to be born anew by water and spirit, thus making one a child of God. By water one is baptized and all his past sins are washed clean. By the guidance of the spirit one will not tend to sin further as God's seed has remained in him. Nicodemus misunderstood "born again" and took it in the literal sense. However, Jesus meaning on 'born anew and from above' is from God. 'Born again' may be a bit confusing as what Nicodemus had in his mind if taken in a literal sense. "Born anew' may sound like given a second chance. It also sound like God is giving you another chance when He is such a loving and forgiving God. However,to be "Born from above" is the best because when one hears the word 'above' one will associate it with God the most High. Since God has given us this gift to be children of God and if we declare that we belong to Him, then the word 'above' truly makes us want to belong to someone great or divine. We feel privilege to be called His children and enjoy His Spirit in us.

Q1 The nature of the Kingdom of God is a gift from God. We need to be born again of water and spirit in order to inherit it. The Kingdom needs to be spiritually discern until and unless God enables one to see it. It needs to be spiritually entered, so one needs to be changed spiritually. One also need to believe and be aided to search further for it. Although Nicodemus believed and acknowledged that Jesus' miracles were from God, he did not totally understood the Kingdom which Jesus was talking about. That is why he came to Jesus at night to seek further clarification. He took it in the literal sense.

Q4 The value and worth of the Kingdom is like the precious treasure or the pearl which is priceless and worth every effect to make sacrifices in order to achieve it. As Christians, this is the most valuable asset which is worth more than anything this world can offer. It is God's gift and graces to His people. We are tempted to value it so little because of our greed and the worldly influences and our mind is crowded with the cares of the day and take things for granted. Out total surrender and focus on Jesus, our daily stripling of self from all material influences and spending more time in prayers. By my living my Christian life, sharing and allowing the friend to experience the love of God in a personal way and on God's promises to His people.

Q3 Poverty and self-sacrifice is an inadequate religion because as followers of Christ,one has to unload oneself completely bare and give our total all to God. One must have a sincere heart to want to surrender to God. Since the rich young ruler has personally asked for eternal from Jesus and since Jesus' heart goes all out to him, Jesus wanted him to experience the life style of the Kingdom here on earth like His apostles. To gain eternal life and experience the life as a disciple which ultimately leads to the Kingdom and eternal life. He was foolish to reject because he cannot let go of his enormous wealth which is a bondage to him.

Q2 Jesus' mission is to save souls. Being compassionate in nature Jesus heart goes all out to the rich young ruler and knows that in order to save him, he needs to divest himself of his fortune for he cannot have God and money in the Kingdom. Money is always the bondage to those who are weak. We need to choose between God and money. This is especially troublesome to those who are extremely rich. For they have to forgo their life style and way of living. The scary part is that they might be asked to give up the same thing as the rich young ruler. "Money is the root of all evil" as the saying goes. If one is obsessed with it then one's focus is on the wrong thing and may lead to disasters. Wanting all his ways; be lord over others and not caring for the unfortunate. All blessings come from God and need to be shared with others otherwise it may lead to downfall in his spiritual life and eternal Kingdom.

Q2 Jesus' mission is to save souls. Being compassionate in nature Jesus heart goes all out to the rich young ruler and knows that in order to save him, he needs to divest himself of his fortune for he cannot have God and money in the Kingdom. Money is always the bondage to those who are weak. We need to choose between God and money. This is especially troublesome to those who are extremely rich. For they have to forgo their life style and way of living. The scary part is that they might be asked to give up the same thing as the rich young ruler. "Money is the root of all evil" as the saying goes. If one is obsessed with it then one's focus is on the wrong thing and may lead to disasters. Wanting all his ways' be lord over others and not caring for the unfortunate. All blessings come from God and need to be shared with others otherwise it may lead to downfall in his spiritual life and eternal Kingdom.

Q1 The two Parables are treasures that are so priceless that one needs to go all out to own it, even to the extent of selling all the properties one own just to process it. The joy of such treasures are beyond comprehension. The main point is that one should not let go of such rare treasure. It is hard to come by and it is not every day that such treasure would fall from the sky. To own it is the greatest joy in life. We need to value the treasure with great care. To a poor man such opportunity is like striking a lottery and need to protect it with every effect. There will definitely be a change in one's life after owning such treasure but one must bear in mind our humble root and to reach out to those who are not so fortunate and to share the blessing with others.