End of the age
Consider growing a garden of flowers. First you start off with good seed and good soil, you plan where to plant the seed considering: the climate, the location, how much direct sunlight is required, how much water is available. Having planned everything just perfectly, even the season in which to plant the seeds, you water the plants on schedule and the seed takes root and begins to grow.
This is an example of the care that God has taken with every life.
As time passes and the plant begins to grow, nearby seeds also begin to grow. But the plant is protected and allowed to mature.
The workers in the field come by periodically providing good labor to help the plant flourish and grow: providing fertilizer, removing bugs and nearby weeds.
And as the plant grows strong, it has strength from its youth to spread out its leaves and remain focused on the sun. Drawing its energy from the sun, it becomes beautiful and produces flowers.
But as it grows, the visits from the workers from the field grow fewer and fewer and the plant is left to its own survival.
Weeds lurk nearby, as close by as the plant allows, in any small spot of sunlight near its roots. Soon these weeds compete for the same resources as the plant. At first they grow just nearby, maybe just shadowing a leaf or two, but soon they shoot up as tall as the plant or nearly as tall as the plant, and soon shade out the sun all together. The roots once strong now become weak due to the loss of energy found from the sun. Next the weed moves closer to the roots, and soon surrounds all the roots, blocking any nourishment to the plant all together.
Consider this. The plant is you. God provided good things for you to grow. The workers are your parents or the people who raised you. The workers are those who come to you to teach you of sin and the way of God. The weeds are sin in your life. If you stay focused on the sun (the son of God, Jesus) you will remain strong and will flourish and bring forth flowers in season. If, however you let sin linger in your life, it will first diminish your energy. Then it will take your focus off of the Son, further depleting you of energy. Soon sin will be so entangled in your life that only a worker with skill and care will be able to remove the sin from your life that has ensnared you. Take advantage of the worker. Know that nothing is more powerful than God. Know that He created everything and knows everything and nothing can surprise Him. There is no sin that He cannot handle. He is the skilled worker that can remove the sin from your life. The One that can skillfully separate the sin from your life that you may live. The one that can nurture you again to your full strength. The one that can give you new life.
Christworks is just one worker in the field. I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity, as the next may come at a time too late!
Both the old testament and the new testament give witness to the end of the age. A time when everything will be revealed. Even the reason why we are asked to come to God by faith alone. But, Is it truly by faith alone? Do you hear the Spirit calling you as you read these pages. It is the Spirit of God asking for you to invite Him in. Each man is given the free will to accept Him or reject Him. Its your choice. And know that you are making a choice today.
Jesus told us of the parable of the sewer in the field:
Matthew 13
1On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
10And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"
11He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;15
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.Their
ears Bare hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’
16
But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.18
"Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."24Another parable He put forth to them, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."’"31Another parable He put forth to them, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."33Another parable He spoke to them:
"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."34All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
"I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world."
36Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
37He answered and said to them:
"He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!44
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.45
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.47
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."51
Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
52Then He said to them,
"Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."53Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" 57So they were offended at Him.
But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." 58Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.The above parables tie together everything given to you here in this Beginners section. It is now time to choose. And know that you make a choice today.