The Men Who Wrote Scripture Were Led by the Spirit
Read previous post, The Men Who Wrote Scripture Were Not Inspired by God.
When Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16, literally, that all Scripture is θεόπνευστος (theopneustos), or “God-breathed,” it does not mean that the human authors were “inspired” but that the Scripture itself, the product was, as we have been taught to say, “inspired.”
But how did the divine Word come to us from the inner being of God, as he breathed it out? If 2 Timothy 3:16 speaks to the product, then 2 Peter 1:21 speaks to the process.
“For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” A more exact rendering of the Greek form of the second clause would be, “… but by the Holy Spirit being carried/led, men spoke from God.” In other words, the Holy Spirit was the divine Agent who carried or led or conducted the authors of Scripture so that what they were writing was God-breathed Scripture.
The Greek participle translated “carried” (φέρω, pherō) simply means to bring something like an object or a message (hence, “carry”) or lead someone from one place to another. But because the word “spirit” can also mean “wind” or “breath,” authors have sometimes suggested that Peter is thinking that the authors are like ships driven by the Spirit who filled their sails.
John MacArthur is relying on this tradition when he explains,
As those godly men were carried along by the Holy Spirit, He superintended their words and used them to produce the Scriptures. As a sailing ship is carried along by the wind to reach its final destination, so the human authors of Scripture were moved by the Spirit of God to communicate exactly what He desired. In that process, the Spirit filled their minds, souls, and hearts with divine truth— mingling it sovereignly and supernaturally with their unique styles, vocabularies, and experiences, and guiding them to produce a perfect, inerrant result (Strange Fire, 2013, p. 223).
Amen to that!
But, still, the idea of men being led by the Spirit to write God-breathed Scripture does not tell us much about how that process took place. Many people, I think, imagine that the Spirit’s “filling their minds, souls, and hearts with divine truth” means that these men simply sat down one day with a blank papyrus roll and filled it up with what the Spirit was whispering in their minds. But if we read the Bible carefully, we discover that the process was a lot more complicated and sometimes messier than that. For me, it raises a lot of questions about the process.
I often wonder, for instance, when reading a beautifully constructed, rhythmic psalm in the Hebrew language, with perfect parallelism, how many times the author said to himself in the composition process, “No, that phrase doesn’t work” or “that word doesn’t fit” and change the text. (Have you ever tried to write poetry?) And then there are the acrostic psalms (Psalms 9, 10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 145) or the acrostic book of Lamentations. What masterful works of art! In Psalm 119, for instance, there are 22 stanzas, one stanza for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the 8 lines in each stanza starts with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet that stanza represents. (In Psalm 119:1–8, all of the lines start with the Hebrew letter aleph; in 9–16, all start with bet; etc.) If you have taken at least a year of Hebrew, you should try reading Psalm 119 sometime and see how inventive the author is in order to make the whole psalm read this way. Just as in English, some Hebrew letters are harder to start sentences with than others. How many times did the psalmist pace the floor, trying to think of a word that starts with a rarer letter? Did he ever call out to his wife, “Honey, what’s another word that means …?” Or maybe there were a group of godly scribes who collaborated on the project. And then, how did this particular psalm come to be organized in the book of Psalms, so that we have a collection of 150 psalms in the canon in that particular order?
What about that prophecy in Jeremiah 36 (LXX 43) that Baruch wrote as Jeremiah dictated it? King Jehoiakim cut up that scroll three or four columns at a time and threw them in the fire as they were read to him. So Baruch had to write the lines again with “many similar words added to them” (Jer 36:32). Which part of that prophecy is in Jeremiah? Was the first scroll God-breathed Scripture? Was the second version identical to the first?
What about Daniel chapter 4, which appears to be written by King Nebuchadnezzar himself! Did Daniel simply take a copy of Nebuchadnezzar’s proclamation and put it in his book of prophecy? Did he edit it first? Did he combine the letter with some of his personal knowledge of the situation?
Coming to the New Testament, how did we get the Gospel of Matthew? Ancient sources (Papias, Irenaeus, Origen, Jerome) believe that Matthew originally wrote his gospel in Hebrew or at least in a Hebrew dialect (Aramaic), but we have ancient manuscripts of Matthew only in Greek. Ancient sources also tell us that Mark composed his gospel from listening to Peter’s preaching and taking sermon notes (Papias, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Clement of Rome). Luke confesses in his introduction that he composed his gospel through compiling sources and appears to rely on previous Gospels, maybe Mark or Matthew, basically doing the work of an ancient historian (Luke 1:1–4). We can discern, for instance, that Luke likely interviewed Mary, the mother of Jesus. How else would he have known about the intimate meetings Mary had with Elizabeth, Anna, and Simeon, or what Mary was thinking about in her heart (Luke 2:19, 51)? Also, when Luke writes Acts, he is obviously relying on second-hand reports as well as personal experience as he travels with the apostle Paul and invests in the ministry (see the “we” passages in Acts 16:10–17; 20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–37; 28:1-16).
And what about the letters of the apostle Paul? All of them were written in response to situations that came up in the life of the church or to individual leaders in the church. Was Paul aware that he was producing Scripture? Paul did not even write these letters himself, but dictated them after the conventional fashion (cf. Rom 16:22), then took the stylus in hand to write his own greeting at the end of the letter (noticeable, for example, in 1 Cor 16:21–24; Gal 6:11–18; Col 4:18; 2 Thess 3:17–18). Then, if Paul followed the normal convention, he would have examined the letter and asked the scribe to produce a duplicate so that he would have one to keep and one to dispatch. In some cases, Paul perhaps did not bother or have time to make a second copy, which may be the reason we are missing two of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians (mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9 and 2 Cor 7:8). When Paul asks Timothy to bring him the “rolls” and “above all the parchments,” the former may refer to the Hebrew Scriptures while the latter may refer to Paul’s own letter collection. The word “parchments” (μεμβράναι; membranai) referred to loose-leaf sheets which may have contained the copies of Paul’s letters. Peter seems to recognize a letter collection of Paul (“all his letters,” 2 Pet 3:16). These observations are what we would expect if Paul wrote letters the conventional way. Did he know he was writing Scripture? If he retained a copy of his letter, was the copy he retained identical to the one he sent out? And which was considered the autographa (the “original,” God-breathed Scripture), and which was the copy?
That God used this kind of “occasional” activity to breath out his divine Word is really remarkable. B. B. Warfield comments,
“If God wished to give His people a series of letters like Paul’s, He prepared a Paul to write them, and the Paul He brought to the task was a Paul who spontaneously would write just such letters” (The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, 1948, p. 155).
We could continue to go down this road of Scripture-writing history and talk about John the apostle who was instructed by the Lord Jesus himself to write the things he was hearing and seeing. And this would turn us back to the many instances of amazing visions and other means by which God spoke through his writing prophets in the OT.
There are many questions that will remain unanswered. But one thing we do know for certain. Whatever the exact process, whatever the situation, however the men came to write God-breathed Scripture, the Holy Spirit superintended the process so that we would have exactly the Word God wanted us to have.
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Praise the Lord Jesus Christ
Many people say that the Bible was written by man, well they are right, to a degree, but this is not entirely true. It was written and penned by men under the influence of the Holy Ghost.
Sits been a decade now that our Lord began writing a new chapter in my life, I began starting my days exactly as Jesus did. What was th3 very first thing that Jesus did each an$ every day? He woke up way before day break and went out and found an isolated place in which to pray so, not to be disturbed or interrupted while He spent time with our Heavenly Father, preparing Himself for what the day had in store for Him, so He would have strength to endure the temptations and so He could overcome them.
Here is what our Lord had share with me and I titled it, HOW TO WALK COOSER TO GOD AND HAVE GOD WALK CLOSER TO YOU.
HOW TO DRAW CLOSER TO GOD AND GOD CLOSER TO YOU
IN SEVEN STEPS
. STEP ONE
Begin our day exactly like Jesus did, (Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35), waking up anytime after midnight,and start making sure that your sins are confessed, if they are not, confess them to the Lord.
STEP TWO
FIND AN ISOLATED PLACE TO PRAY, IN WHICH TO NOT TO BE DISTURBED OR INTERRUPTED
wake up way before day break like Jesus did early in the morning, then He went out and found Him an isolated C placewordplace to pray so not to be interrupted or disturbed, I believe Jesus is showing us just how sacred our time is in prayer with the Lord.
Mark
1:35
King James Version
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Luke
5:16
King James Version
16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
And we begin our day in worship and praise unto the Lord, and make sure we confess all of our sins even the most secret of sin, unto our Heavenly Father, just to ensure we have no unconfessed sins, so satan and his host of demons doesn’t have any legal right to us, and that
STEP THREE
Do what (Hebrews 4:16) says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Worship and praise the Lord. Then while we are in the third heaven, from this position in Christ, we are up above all Principalities, Powers, Rulers of darkness, and all spiritual wickedness in high places. From that position in christ they are under our feet, Then you can call satan up, and command satan and his host of demonstrators not to steal one word of God’s word out of our heart this whole day in the name of Jesus Christ!
STEP FOUR
Start asking God to give you the endless desires and endless cravings for His word, in the name of Jesus Christ! And then worship and praise Him and thank Him for doing it.
STEP FIVE
Ask the Lord to allow every word that is His word to be planted and rooted in your heart like a tree that is planted beside the rivers of waters , to never be uprooted in the name of Jesus Christ!
STEP SIX
Worship and praise the Lord and thank Him for all that He has done and is doing in the name of Jesus Christ!
STEP SEVEN
PUT ON A CD, that has God’s Word being spoken such as the BIBLE on CD’s
and begin listening to them, and asking God to allow every word that you hear that is His Word to be planted and rooted in your heart just like a tree that is planted beside the rivers of waters, to never be uprooted in Jesus Name.
Now this is a win win situation, satan can not steal God’s Word, and God is sowing and planting His Word in your heart.
For those who say the Bible is written by man, yo can not go wrong following these instructions, and I have yet to see anyone who can speak against these instructions given my by the King
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ
Began this practice each and every day just after midnight giving me the full twenty four hours, and I did this for 10 to fourteen hours a day every day for two years and ten thousand hours.
What I was doing I had not a clue, but what was I doing? I was putting God first spending my entire days listening to God’s Word, building my faith (Romans 10:17).
On September 18th, 2013 I had a massive stroke that should have killed me, but God’s wasn’t wanting me to die, He was wanting to teach me something, when we get out of our love walk with anyone, it is a sin and it opens a portal from the demonic realm into our life, giving satan and his host of demons legal right to come into our life to kill, steal, and to destroy our flesh (John 10:10).
This is my testimony that God gave me, and I saw and experienced first hand myself what it is like to be paralyzed. And unable to dress quickly without difficulties.
9/21/2013.
“ THE STORY ABOUT MY MIRACLE”
(2 Timothy 6:12 says the only Fight we have is to “Fight the Good Fight of Faith” (James 1:6-7) says to ask in faith nothing wavering, (doubting), and we are also instructed to have the child-like faith,
Just what is the child-like faith? Have you ever noticed how a child will believe whatever you tell it. This is the faith that Jesus is referring to where we will believe His word with no wavering of any kind, you can take God’s word and guarantee anyone that God will do exactly what is written in His word, and He will. I guarantee you He will. This is faith, when you can guarantee God will do what He said He will do in His Word.
I was left paralyzed from a massive stroke back on September 18th, 2013. And here is the kicker, I had been spending 12 to 16 hours a day in God’s written word, and listening to Pastor Thurman Scrivner’s unique way of teaching God’s word, and I was following these five step principles.
FIVE-STEPS
. STEP ONE
Begin our day exactly like Jesus did, (Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35), waking up anytime after the midnight,and start making sure that our sin are confessed, if they are not, confess them to the Lord, so we wake up way before day break like Jesus did early in the morning, then He went out and found Him an isolated place to pray so not to be interrupted or disturbed, I believe Jesus is showing us just how sacred our time is in our prayer life with the Lord.
Mark
1:35
King James Version
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Luke
5:16
King James Version
16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
And we begin our day in worship and praise unto the Lord, and make sure we confess all of our sins even the most secret sin, unto our Heavenly Father, just to ensure we have no unconfessed sins, so satan and his host of demons doesn’t have any legal right to us, and that
STEP TWO
Do what (Hebrews 4:16) says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
While we are in the third heaven, from that position in Christ, before we leave, we call satan up, and we command satan and his host of demons not to steal no words of God out of our heart this whole day in the name of Jesus Christ!
STEP THREE
Start asking God to give you the endless desires and endless cravings of His word, in the name of Jesus Christ! And then worship and praise Him and thank Him for doing it.
STEP FOUR
Ask the Lord to allow every word that is His word to be planted and rooted in your heart ike a tree that is planted beside the rivers of waters , to never be uprooted in the name of Jesus Christ!
STEP FIVE
Worship and praise the Lord and thank Him for all that He has done and is doing in the name of Jesus Christ!
This is my story,
I began waking up every day just after the midnight hour. way before day break, and I decided to start doing exactly what Jesus did, for it is written He is our example, whose footsteps we are to follow in
(1 Peter 2:21-24).
1 Peter
2:21-25
The Message
21-25 This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.
He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.
They called him every name in the book and He said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way.
His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.
1 Peter
2:21-24
King James Version
21 For even hereunto were ye called:
Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Now what is the very first thing that Jesus did each day? He got up every day way before daybreak and went and prayed, what was He doing? He was preparing Himself for what each and everyday had in store for Him, by refreshing Himself in the Spirit and in God’s strength, He was able to make it through each day without sinning. So what should our goal be? Do not sin.
I believe before I go much farther, I should explainjust what we all are up against, and face.
Ephesians
6:12
The Message
A Fight to the Finish
10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
Ephesians
6:12
King James Version
12 For we wrestle (means we struggle and war) not against flesh and blood (enemies), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Notice all of the descriptions are listed in their plural form, meaning more than one, this is describing a government, not just any government, but a satanic demonic government designed by satan and his host of demons, in an effort to do spiritual warfare against the saints, children of God (obedient believing believers). Also known to us as the demonic realm.
Anytime that we sin, we fall from grace down into satan’s snake pit, and we open a portal or a sin door from the demonic realm into our lives, and satan and his host of demons can enter through them into our lives,and they come to steal, kill, and destroy our lives.
Only by confessing our sins (1 John 1:9), can we close those open portals or sin doors from the demonic realm into our lives. Thank God for Jesus, He gave us a way out (1 John 1:9).
Learning how to pray in faith, is one of the most important necessities in our lives. God’s word is faith, and Without faith (God’s Word) it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
“STEP ONE”
So for two years, I did this along with, first making sure that all of my known and unknown sins were confessed, (because God can not hear the prayers of a sinner (John 9:31), and so I made sure all of my sins were confessed, and that no sin remained unconfessed or hidden of any kind, by doing this I had closed all of the portals or sin doors from the demonic realm, and satan and his host of demons legal right to me was broken.
Then I began doing what Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
NOTE: What does it mean to come boldly unto the throne of grace?
When you were a child, going to school, when you came home, how did you enter your mom and dads house? Did you knock on the door and wait for them to answer, or did you just open the door and walk on in? This is probably what most of us did, we came boldly into our house, because we knew that we belonged there. This is the way we are to come into the throne of grace. Bold as a lion, with no sin having our sins confessed,
Now when we come into the throne of grace, we are above all Principalities, Powers, and rulers of darkness, and every wickedness in high places, we are above them, and this is how we fight our battles.
We can not come into the throne of grace with out first making sure that we have all of our sins confessed, because God is a holy God. Then while there in the throne of grace, we worship and praise the king for everything He has done, and is doing.
While in the throne of grace, we are high above every Principalities, Powers, rulers of darkness, and every spiritual wickedness in high places. Here our enemy is under our feet, and he must be subject to us (they must obey us), (Luke 10:19-20).
Luke
10:19-20
King James Version
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
“STEP TWO”
Since I know that satan can and does steal God’s Word out of people’s heart, I wanted to see to it that this stopped 🛑 .
Matthew
13:19
King James Version
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
Mark
4:15
King James Version
15 And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
Luke
8:12
King James Version
12 Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
Then I would command satan and his host of demons not to steal one word of God’s written word out of my heart, this whole day in the name of Jesus Christ!
Because satan can steal God’s word right out of our heart, when we go to church, how many times have you ever heard a pastor command satan not to steal one word of God’s word out of anyone’s heart? Not many a one. And when the people leave, guess who is waiting outside the door? satan and his host of demons, and guess what they are doing? They are snatching God’s written word out of everyone’s heart, as they walk out the door.
Why do you think that so many can not even remember what the preacher preached on that day? Because our enemy stoled it out of there heart just like it is written in
Matthew
13
New Living Translation
“Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed”
1 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.
2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat.
Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.
3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
“Listen!
A farmer went out to plant some seeds.
4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock.
The seeds sprouted quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.
8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!
9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets [mysteries] of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
👉 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge.
But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
👉 NOTE: what Jesus is saying right here in verse 12.
13 That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’ [Isaiah 6:9-10]
Isaiah
6:8-10
New Living Translationn
8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to these people? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
9 And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people,
‘Listen carefully, but do not understand.
Watch closely, but learn nothing.’
10 Harden the hearts of these people.
Plug their ears and shut their eyes.
That way, they will not see with their eyes,
nor hear with their ears,
nor understand with their hearts
and turn to me for healing.”
👉 [Go and say to this people, / ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. / When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.’ / For the hearts of these people are hardened, / and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— / so their eyes cannot see, / and their ears cannot hear, / and their hearts cannot understand, / and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.”]
[Compare Matt 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; Acts 28:26-27]
Mark
4:12
New Living Translation
12 so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:
‘When they see what I do,
they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say,
they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me
and be forgiven.”
Luke
8:10
New Living Translation
10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God.
But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:
‘When they look, they won’t really see.
When they hear, they won’t understand.’
Acts
28:26-27
New Living Translation
26 ‘Go and say to this people:
When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
27 For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’
Continue
Matthew
13:16-58
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:
👉 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the
message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it.
👉 Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted
in their hearts.
20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long.
They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for
believing God’s word.
22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word,
but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and
the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.
23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and
understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a
hundred times as much as had been planted!”
“Parable of the Wheat and Weeds”
24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer
who planted good seed in his field.
25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds
among the wheat, then slipped away.
26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted
that good seed is full of weeds!
Where did they come from?’
28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest.
Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and
burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
“Parable of the Mustard Seed”
31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.
32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants;
it grows into a tree, and birds (birds are actually evil ones) come and make nests in its branches.”
“Parable of the Yeast”
33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a
woman used in making bread.
Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour,
it permeated (spread throughout, pass through) every part of the dough.”
34 Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the
crowds.
In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables.
35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:
“I will speak to you in parables.
I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.” [Psalms 78:2]
Psalm
78:2
New Living Translation
2 for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
Matthew
13:36-58
“Parable of the Wheat and Weeds Explained”
36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”
37 Jesus replied, “The Son of Man [is a title Jesus used for himself.] is the
farmer who plants the good seed.
38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the
Kingdom.
The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.
39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the world, [end of age] and the harvesters are the
angels.
40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the
end of the world.
👉 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his
Kingdom,
👉 everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
👉 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom.
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
“Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl”
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a
field.
In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get
enough money to buy the field.
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice
pearls.
46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and
bought it!
“Parable of the Fishing Net”
47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the
water and caught fish of every kind.
48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and
sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.
49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world
👉 The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous,
50 👉 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
51 Do you understand all these things?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in
the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom
new gems of truth as well as old.”
“Jesus Rejected at Nazareth”
53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that
part of the country.
54 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown.
When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said,
“Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?”
55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his
mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
56 All his sisters live right here among us.
Where did he learn all these things?”
57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
👉Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”
58 And so he did only a few miracles there because 👉 of their unbelief.
“STEP THREE”
Then I began to pray and ask God to give me the endless desires, and the endless cravings for His word, in the name of Jesus Christ!
“STEP FOUR”
and then I asked God, to allow every word that is His word to be planted and rooted in my heart, like a tree that is planted beside the rivers of waters, to never be uprooted in the name of Jesus Christ!
“STEP FIVE”
Then I began to worship and praise The Lord for all that He has done and I’d going to do, and then I would thank Him for doing it, in the name of Jesus Christ!
So then in those two years that had passed, God had been preparing me for this step into the faith realm. And On September 18th, 2013 I had taken that step into the faith realm.
Here is the detailed information of what occurred that day, early that morning I had been driving 20 hours none stop from Dallas, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona when I arrived at the shipper, I told dispatch I am finished I cannot go no more, I had to find someone to deliver the load I drove over 1,000 miles and was not legally allowed to drive that far but the company kept pushing me, and so I arrived at the receiver, dropped my trailer and told them they will have to find someone else to dock the trailer, because they would not take me right then. And I argued with the lady dispatcher, who was trying to make me deliver that load, and then reload for another 1,000 mile trip which I could not and would not do.
A little while later my physical expired the day before, so I had to find a place to take a physical. After finding a place my blood pressure was 272/180, and I had to get it down, so I called my friend Pastor Dave Rosenfield who prayed the agreement prayer (Matthew 18:19), and God restored my blood pressure to normal, and then I passed a physical for two more years.
Then later that day My left thumb began going numb, and then my left fingers, and then my hand, at that time I then realized what was happening, God was trying to tell me He wasn’t happy with what I was doing. Then my left leg went numb and my speech became distorted.
I got out of my love walk with my dispatcher, and that gave satan and his host of demons legal right to put some hurt on me, when I realized what was going on I resisted for a moment and then I realized this is the tactics of our faithful enemy, and I began repenting and confessing all of my sins, known and unknown, confessed and unconfessed, I was making sure that I broke any legal right satan had, closing every sin door that I had so opened, because I gotten into sin. Of course satan did not miss his opportunity to try and sale me a lie, and get me into fear. Not happening, I had been dwelling in the secret place of the most high up until the point in time where I fell from grace by getting into sin.
Then I did not get into fear, so I then went to sleep, and the next morning came.
I woke up still praying and I continued to repent and confess all I had done wrong. then I had the most difficult times trying to get dressed,
and then I had someone take me to the hospital, to see what all had been done.
After Checking in and being examined, the doctors came in and said that I had a stroke, and it was not a minor one, and I would have came in yesterday while I was having the stroke, they could have given me something to have reversed the effects of it. Since I didn’t there was nothing more anyone could do for me.
And that I would remain like this for the rest of my life. Well that was a shocker, but then I realized who it was speaking out of that doctor’s mouth was satan, and I replied;
You very well may have been able to have done something yesterday, and nothing today, but my Jesus is well able and He will do something today.
I then got my cell phone and I called
THE LIVING SAVIOR MINISTRIES
(940) 242-2106 (tlsm.org)
And left a message for Assistant Pastor Dave Rosenfield, and then God gave me my first miracle, Pastor Dave Rosenfield returned my call immediately before I laid down my cell phone, and I advised him of what had happened, and He stood on (John 20:23) and remitted my sins, in the name of Jesus. And then we prayed the agreement prayer (Matthew 18:19).
And our Jesus Immediately restored the use of my left leg.
The following Morning my friend Pastor Dave Rosenfield called me back and we prayed the agreement prayer (Matthew 18:19) Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth (meaning two believing believers on Earth, and we met this criteria ) as touching (means asking) anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. And immediately Our Jesus restored the use of my left arm.
then the following morning, Pastor Dave called me again, and we prayed the agreement prayer (Matthew 18:19) again, Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth (meaning two believing believers on Earth, and we met this criteria ) as touching (means asking) anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven,
and our Jesus Immediately restored the use of my left hand and my fingers. Then I flew to Dayton, Ohio where my mother came to pick me up, unaware of what God had been doing, and after arriving at mom’s, she walked inside and I walked over towards on the deck, and I raised my left arm and stretched out my hand and fingers as far and wide as possible, and I began worshipping and praising God and thanking Him for all that He has done. Then I said Lord, I want to thank you for (Mark 11:24), you said, what things soever you desire, I said, Lord, I desire to give you thumbs up, and you said, when you pray, believe that you receive, and you shall have. So I said, and I want to thank you for doing it.
This was not a speedy miracle but It rather took some persistence on my behalf and after about four to six hours of being persistent, Then our Jesus restored the use of my thumb and I gave God thumbs up!
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ!
So then I asked God, how am I going to be able to share what you have done with others if I can not speak clearly, and our Jesus restored my speech. In three months I was back driving a semi truck cross country, Now that’s my Jesus for you!
So I ask you what is impossible for our Jesus? NOTHING!
Thank you Jesus for this testimony, thanks for sharing , Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever
Praise Jesus! Thank you for sharing this!
This is great reading.