SUNDAY SERMON
John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.John 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.John 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
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Sunday Sermon videos-
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ca0x4k1to8l9xhb/6-17-18%20Sunday%20Sermon-%20Real%20Time.mp4?dl=0
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhjU0bnCgCoSKk8JV
ON VIDEO [Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post]
.Parable of the tree- Ezekiel
.A high- tender branch comes down
.It is planted [in death] and becomes a great tree
.A type of Jesus- came down from a high place- laid aside his glory- born of a virgin [dry branch] rose again- and ascended inot heaven
.This Branch spreads into the whole earth- the Kingdom come
.Kenosis
.Parables
.The message of the Cross is seed too
.What is the missing ingredient? I teach it at the end of the video- Sunday sermon- link above]
This Sunday I taught on the verses from the Mass [added below in the verses section as well]
From the prophet Ezekiel we read-
Ezekiel 17:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:
Ezekiel 17:23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
Ezekiel 17:24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
We call this a Messianic prophecy-
God will take a ‘high’ branch- a tender one- in verse 24 we read that this ‘dry tree’ will grow.
In Isaiah Jesus is the Root that springs forth from a dry ground-
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Speaking of his virgin birth.
In Philippians we read that Jesus left his high position of glory- and humbled himself and became obedient unto death- even the humiliating death by crucifixion-
Philipians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Philipians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Philipians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
So in this short passage from Ezekiel- we see Jesus coming down from heaven [the branch from the high cedar] we see him as being planted in the earth [his death] and then becoming the firstborn of the Kingdom- that branches into all the earth-
Which Jesus himself taught- in the next reading from the Mass-
Mark 4:30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
Mark 4:31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
Mark 4:32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
We know about the ‘mustard seed Faith’ but Jesus himself was the seed that was the ‘least’-
For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
His humiliation brought him from the top of the cedar- down to being planted in the earth- the seed that was the least.
He was the ‘seed’ that had to die- be planted-
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Yet- he sprouted forth from death- instituted the new kingdom of God- and as the prophet said- this kingdom has expanded into all the earth- and ‘all birds’ of many kinds [a reference that both Jew and Gentile would be ONE NEW MAN- no more ethnic divisions based on race or nationality] find refuge under its branches today.
The Psalm from the Mass was psalms 92- I did quote a few verses from it on the video-
But ended with what I felt was a better psalm that fit the image of a tree-
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Psalm 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Psalm 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
We too- as children of God- have the promise that we can become fruitful- our lives can bear the wonderful fruit of the Spirit.
We too can play a role in this ‘kingdom tree’-
But first- we too must be planted in the earth as the seed.
Die to ourselves- our own agendas of what we think the kingdom of God is all about.
Jesus set aside his glory- his privileged position of being equal with God-
Philipians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:Philipians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And died on the Cross- was planted in the earth- and then rose again.
We must first embrace the Cross- follow the true seed principle- bear our Cross.
Then after that- we can be like the tree the Psalmist spoke of- a tree- branch- connected vitally to the True Vine- and have an impact for the kingdom of God.
Like Jesus said- without him- WE CAN DO NOTHING-
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. [Some sites see here https://ccoutreach87.blogspot.com/2022/12/sunday-sermon-text_18.html ]
PAST POSTS [These are links and parts of my past teachings that relate in some way to
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