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THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN PART EIGHT: THE UNJUST SERVANT

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants." (Matthew 18:23).   Jesus uses this parable in Matthew's gospel to convey yet another lesson concerning the Kingdom of Heaven.  The opening verse (23) reveals that the king over this kingdom is one who takes "account of His servants."  Each servant is accountable to his own master, and it is our Lord who is our Master and who will be our ultimate judge.  "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." (Romans 14:10).  "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:12).    Interestingly, the Greek word which Matthew used in this verse, and was translated as "account" in most English translations, is logos .  We should be familiar with this Greek word because it is translated 218 times in the New Testament as "Word."   Logos is used in John 1:1, "In the beginni...
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THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN PART SEVEN: THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

"And the devil, taking Him [Jesus] up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.  If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." (Luke 4:5-8).   It is important that we understand the power that Satan has over the affairs of man.   Scripture refers to him as the "god of this world," (2 Corinthians 4:4) and the "prince of the power of the air." (Ephesians 2:2).   Before his rebellion against God, he was given dominion over the earth; but he was lifted up with pride, and challenged God's authority.   God then created man to ultimately have dominion over the earth.   God’s children will eventual...
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THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN PART SIX: THE LEAVEN AND THE THREE MEASURES OF MEAL

During the time that Jesus walked on the earth in flesh and blood, He taught many parables about the Kingdom of Heaven.   He wanted His disciples at that time (and all of His disciples down to this current age), to understand how the Kingdom works, and how we should function as citizens of that Kingdom.   The longer we consider God's Kingdom only as a place we will inhabit one day after Christ's return, the longer we hinder enjoying the blessings and power of that Kingdom in this life.   We are waiting for Christ to return, yes, but God is waiting for us to grow up into Christ and become the mature sons of God that He expects us to be (Ephesians 4:14-16).   "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness , looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God ." (2 Peter 3:11,12a).   In Matthew, we find a very simple parable that speaks of the mystical nature of the Kingd...
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