Month: March 2020

Pray! Don’t Procrastinate — Lessons from Luke 12 — Francis Chan Christ’s Crazy Love Ministry

1. Prayer

LUKE 12:6-10

6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two [b]copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Confess Christ Before Men

8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. 9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

2. Priority

Jesus Teaches the Fear of God

LUKE 12:4-5

4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

3. Presence

Luke 12:11-12

11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

4. Peaceful Heart

LUKE 12:22-34

Do Not Worry

22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why [d]are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not [e]arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek [f]the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

5. Prepare

Luke 12:35-40

Parable for Preparation at Christ’s Arrival Again at Armageddon

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant

35 “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would [g]have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

6. Practice Versus Preaching — Put Apart False Teaching: Pharisee Hypocrisy

Luke 12:12-3

Beware of Hypocrisy

12 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the [a]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

7. Pay Attention Now – Peace with Jesus

Luke 12:57-59

Make Peace with Your Adversary

57 “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”

8. Peace? No! Partition— Division & Discernment of Christ

LUKE 12:49-53

Christ Brings Division

49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Perils of Procrastination

LUKE 12:54-55

Discern the Time

54 Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

Are we managing our God-given time well?

A Fair Day’s Work — Parable of the Vineyard Workers Mt 20 #5

Matthew 20 New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Vineyard Workers

1 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 

Matthew 20:1

2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage[a] and sent them out to work. 3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’

“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

Matthew 20:2-15

16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Matthew 20:16

References & reflections

[1] https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/parable-vineyard-workers.html
[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-laborers-vineyard.html
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Workers_in_the_Vineyard
[4] Vineyard costs, where are the lessons? Where is wisdom? https://vineyardandwinerysales.com/newsletter/napa-and-sonoma-county-real-estate-market-elements-vineyard-values-and-wine-grape-prices/

A Fair Day’s Wage — Parable of the Vineyard Workers Mt 20 #4

Matthew 20 New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Vineyard Workers

1 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 

Matthew 20:1

2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage[a] and sent them out to work. 3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’

“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

Matthew 20:2-15

16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Matthew 20:16

References & reflections

[1] https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/parable-vineyard-workers.html
[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-laborers-vineyard.html
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Workers_in_the_Vineyard
[4] Vineyard costs, where are the lessons? Where is wisdom? https://vineyardandwinerysales.com/newsletter/napa-and-sonoma-county-real-estate-market-elements-vineyard-values-and-wine-grape-prices/

Vineyard Ventures, God Our Guardian and Gardener — Parable of the Vineyard Workers Mt 20 #3


Matthew 20 New Living Translation (NLT)

PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD WORKERS

20 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 

2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage[a] and sent them out to work. 3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’

“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

Matthew 20:2-15

16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Matthew 20:16

REFERENCES & REFLECTIONS

[1] https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/parable-vineyard-workers.html
[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-laborers-vineyard.html
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Workers_in_the_Vineyard
[4] Vineyard costs, where are the lessons? Where is wisdom? https://vineyardandwinerysales.com/newsletter/napa-and-sonoma-county-real-estate-market-elements-vineyard-values-and-wine-grape-prices/

Unemployment — Parable of the Vineyard Workers Mt 20 #2

Matthew 20 New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Vineyard Workers

1 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 

Matthew 20:1

2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage[a] and sent them out to work. 3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’

“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

Matthew 20:2-15

16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Matthew 20:16

References & reflections

[1] https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/parable-vineyard-workers.html
[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-laborers-vineyard.html
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Workers_in_the_Vineyard
[4] Vineyard costs, where are the lessons? Where is wisdom? https://vineyardandwinerysales.com/newsletter/napa-and-sonoma-county-real-estate-market-elements-vineyard-values-and-wine-grape-prices/

Anxiety & Financial Peace — Peace is Not Circumstantial, It’s About Faith! — Feeding of 5,000 Miracle Story — Francis “Fish-o-Filet” Chan Christ’s Crazy Love Ministry

Stand Firm in the Lord

…5 Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Poor Widow’s Offering

(Mark 12:41-44)

1Then Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.a

3“Truly I tell you,” He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

(Matthew 14:13-21; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15)

30Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. 31And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

32So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place. 33But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them. 34When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

35By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. 36Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.”

They asked Him, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denariif to give all of them bread to eat?”

38“Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them.

And after checking, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

39Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

41Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.

42They all ate and were satisfied, 43and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44And there were five thousand men who had eaten the loaves.

REFERENCES & REFLECTIONS

[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/tithing-debt.html
[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/tithes-and-offerings.html

Levitical Laws: Land Transactions — Return of Property — Old Testament Times’ Real Estate Leviticus #4

Return of Property

Leviticus 25

13In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property.

14If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of one another. 15You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining. 16You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests.

17Do not take advantage of one another, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

REFERENCES & REFLECTIONS

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_(biblical)
[2] http://dailytruthbase.blogspot.com/2011/10/leviticus-24-27-blessings-or-cursings.html
[3] https://bible4ejournaling.home.blog/2019/10/16/leviticus-22-27/

Sacred Donations — Valued Dedicated Property to the LORD — Old Testament Times’ Real Estate Leviticus #3

Why 20%?

Rules about Valuations

Leviticus 27

22Now if a man consecrates to the LORD a field he has purchased, which is not a part of his own property,
23then the priest shall calculate for him the value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the man shall pay the assessed value on that day as a sacred offering to the LORD.
24In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was bought—the original owner of the land.
25Every valuation will be according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.

references & reflections

[1] https://bible.org/seriespage/3-analysis-and-synthesis-leviticus
[2] https://cldibillings.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Tithe-Verses-and-NT-Giving.pdf
[3] http://awf.world/consult/the-laws-of-clean-and-unclean-and-their-relationship-with-the-concept-of-sacred-space/
[4] http://www.tithing-russkelly.com/id29.html

Appraisal 20% Payment — Property Management in Levitical Law — Old Testament Times’ Real Estate Leviticus #2

Why 20%?

Rules about Valuations

Leviticus 27

14 Now if a man consecrates his house as holy to the LORD, then the priest shall value it either as good or bad. The price will stand just as the priest values it. 15But if he who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will belong to him.

16If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportionate to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed.j 17If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your valuation.

18But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest is to calculate the price in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your valuation will be reduced. 19And if the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it shall belong to him.

20If, however, he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold it to another man, it may no longer be redeemed. 21When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it becomes the property of the priests.

22Now if a man consecrates to the LORD a field he has purchased, which is not a part of his own property, 23then the priest shall calculate for him the value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the man shall pay the assessed value on that day as a sacred offering to the LORD. 24In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was bought—the original owner of the land. 25Every valuation will be according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.k

references & reflections

[1] https://bible.org/seriespage/3-analysis-and-synthesis-leviticus
[2] https://cldibillings.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Tithe-Verses-and-NT-Giving.pdf
[3] http://awf.world/consult/the-laws-of-clean-and-unclean-and-their-relationship-with-the-concept-of-sacred-space/
[4] http://www.tithing-russkelly.com/id29.html

Tithing: Spiritual Tips — Leviticus Law — Holy Offerings

Instruction on Tithes

(Deuteronomy 14:22-29; Deuteronomy 26:1-15; Nehemiah 13:10-14)

30Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. 31If a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he must add a fifth to its value.

32Every tenth animal from the herd or flock that passes under the shepherd’s rod will be holy to the LORD. 33He must not inspect whether it is good or bad, and he shall not make any substitution. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute shall become holy; they cannot be redeemed.’”

Christ as the Fulfillment of Prophecy and the Law – Jesus as Our First Fruits Offering

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep”

1 Corinthians 15:20

REFERENCES & REFLECTIONS

[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/tithing-debt.html
[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/tithes-and-offerings.html

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