The Vineyard Church

Matthew chapter 13 is full of parables, or short stories that illustrate a moral attitude or a spiritual principle, “…He (Jesus) told many stories in the form of parables” (Mt. 13:3). In this chapter Jesus tells parables about the sower and various types of seeds and soil, wheat and seeds, mustard seeds, yeast, hidden treasure and precious pearls, and then fishing nets. I don’t know about you, but I have struggled at times to understand what Jesus was trying to communicate with some of those parables! We are in good company … “His disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?’ He replied, ‘You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear’” (Mt. 13:10-12, 16).

Matthew chapter 14 tells us about the death of John the Baptist and miracles … the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water.

Acts 19-21 detail Paul’s Third Missionary Journey in which he travels to Ephesus, Macedonia, Greece, Troas, and Jerusalem. His trip is wrought with Kingdom excitement, including a riot in Ephesus and being arrested in Jerusalem!

Why is all of this important to us in the 21st Century? These passages of scripture challenge us to press into our relationship with Jesus, to know Him more, to better understand His teachings, and to apply them to real living in the here and now. We are called to be people of the Kingdom of God … who live by Kingdom principles … not only speaking Kingdom words, but doing Kingdom works! God longs to reveal to each one of us, the “secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven.” He calls us to listen closely to what is on His heart and mind, so that He can transform us more into His character, likeness and nature. How does this happen? I’d like to suggest that we utilize the acronym P.U.S.H. which stands for “Pray Until Something Happens” ~ let’s focus our prayers on becoming Kingdom people who exercise Kingdom influence on the greater Dayton area for His name’s sake!

Kevin Hoffman