THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 4
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (March 8, 2016)
“And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:...” (St. Luke 8:4-21, King James Version [The parable of the sower]).
Greetings In The Holy Name Of Jesus,
My sisters and brothers, Blessed art Thou, God our Lord, King of the Universe, Our Lord and Savior, who createst the fruit of the tree. Blessed art Thou, God our Lord, King of the Universe, Our Lord and Savior, who art good and art doing good. In the past weeks I heard the story of a young woman who missed her mother and when she was asked, If your mother were here, what would you do? The young woman replied, I would go to church with my mother (ABC, 2016). I, also, experienced moments of missing my mother, of the flesh, now deceased, while in church, when the pastor's wife chose some to embrace with a hug and I was one she chose not to embrace with a hug, so I thought to myself---openly pondering the feelings in my heart, not rejecting anyone, perhaps this young woman felt rejection from an embrace, a hand shake, a kiss, or an intimate talk, in fellowship, in the one body, either before church service or after church service.
The following day, on The Lord's Day, I chose to remain at home and I watched the five ministers I usually see and one of the five preached about technology and how easily accessible the preachings of so many ministers were, just as easily taking away the numbers sitting in the pews in the congregation who gather together in the local churches, to worship. The pastor of one of the five local churches spoke of a religious study conducted in a local church with a mission that hoped to make a difference in church service attendance that questioned members to discover the reasons why the one body chose not to attend church, opting to watch a televised ministry or internet ministry, instead. He said, one person said scheduling became a problem---noting when the schedule changed no notification by telephone, snail mail, email, text or visit was received by him to collect his input in the decision making process, so of course the feelings of “left out” came to my mind when I heard this reason. Another person said, “I asked the pastor to go see my cousin and he did not go.” I could not help but think whether he replicated the study done in this other local church especially since his last televised ministry sermon spoke on standing in the gap, with his members of the one body to ascertain a far better understanding of the ones God gave to him concerning church attendance at his location.
Most importantly, I reflected where the preaching of all five of the ministers took me in my heart and mind, wherein I resolved to think to myself that, in a corrupt world more information is not necessarily the answer for the fishing exploration or better yet to plant a good seed, only desired information charted in desired waters to receive desired fish or only information on fertile sections of desired ground to receive desired seed by the desired fish or the desired seed are not necessarily the answer as much as the expected generalized answer---a calculated outcome but Jesus specifically spoke to each problem, without prejudice so that the fish that received the seed grew in faith. Folks, we pick and choose outcome that are sometimes outside of our will and outside the will of God. Furthermore, my heart opened up to the young woman who missed her mother and who wanted to go to church with her mother. Must we all come to church with our mother? Also, my heart opened up to the man who committed to attend meetings “left out” of the decision making process at his local church, of which I felt no one wanted to feel “left out”.
We find in our holy gospel readings, Jesus did not think of any reasoning as petty or even immature---babyish, even condescending---not suitable to enter in thought processes of the laws or the thought processes of the grace of God. Jesus intimately ministered to the woman of Samaria commonly known as the woman at the well,
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“Jesus saith unto her, Go call thy husband, and come hither. The
woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou
hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; in
that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that
thou art a prophet” (St. John 4:9-15, 16-19, KJV [The woman of Samaria]).
Moreover, we find Jesus firstly gave the woman of Samaria the answer to her problem before he told her what her problem was---her truth---so that she might see he looked inside her heart and mind and he knew---he felt her feelings and offered to put the gift of God in her---the well of living water, springing up into everlasting life (verses 9-15) and the feelings she had that the Jews (Judah---those of Jerusalem---her kin through Jacob, who had no dealings with the Samaritans (Israel), was not a factor in whether she received the living water or not, for he did not respond to her comment about how the Jews and Samaritans [Judah and Israel] had no dealings with each other, for Jesus was of the House of David which came out of Judah and Judah came out of Israel (Jacob) [verse 12, for the well was given to them by Jacob].
More importantly, Jesus spake even to the women who ministered unto him, by parable:
A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell
by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air
devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was
sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And
some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it, and
choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and
bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things,
he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this
parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables;
that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not
understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of
God. Those by the way side are they that hear, then cometh
the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest
they should believe and be saved.
They on the rock are they, which when they hear, receive
the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while
believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which
fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard,
go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures
of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the
good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart,
having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with
patience. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covered
it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a
candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For
nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither
any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to
him shall be given and whosoever hath not, from him shall
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be taken even that which he seemeth to have. Then came
to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come
at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which
said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring
to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, My
mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of
God, and do it.” (St. Luke 8:4-21, KJV [The parable of
the sower]).
In closing, for as much as we take from those God blessed to make it appear as though they have not and as much as the devil taketh away the word of God out of the hearts so that the members of the one body will not believe and be saved, Jesus intimately deals with out problems or issues of division and bias, without prejudice so that he could put in us the living water and lead us to everlasting life---our gift from God. Is this not why Jesus helped the Canaanite woman, distant kin---not Jacob, who came to ask for help for her daughter who was “grievously vexed with a devil” (St. Matthew 15:22, KJV [the Canaanite's faith]):
“Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
But he answered and said. It is not meet to take the children's
bread, and to cast it to the dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord:
yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's
table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great
is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter
was made whole from that very hour” (St. Matthew 15:21-28,
KJV).
Let those in leadership, laborers take care of the people of Christ Jesus, as Jesus did---do it. To God be the glory. In the Name of Jesus.
Amen.
