janel
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Posts posted by janel
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Q4. Call to the Great Banquet
in 10. The Call to the Kingdom (Luke 14:12-24; 9:57-62)
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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.