Hardman Truth – Page 10

Dragnet

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” — Matthew 13:47-51.

Men, “The Kingdom is like a dragnet.” The net was cast into the sea and it gathered of every kind. The whole catch is drawn ashore, and afterwards is sorted. The good is gathered into vessels and the bad is thrown away as it will be at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the wicked from the just and cast them into the furnace. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. This net is cast over and catches “fish” of every kind, without discrimination. Jew, Gentile, young, old, male and female, good and bad will be hauled in. Angels will do the sorting.

The sea is the world. The net is the gospel of Jesus and of the Kingdom. This net of the gospel will reach every nation and tongue. All will be judged by the blood of Jesus. Angels will collect those who accept His payment over our lives into “vessels” and those who have rejected will be discarded into a place of fire, crying and hostility.

Jesus asks the disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered “yes”.

Have we understood these things? What is your answer?

We are continuing to draw nearer to “shore” where the sorting time shall begin. Some argue that it may have already be beginning. Could this be the time Jude 22-23 speaks of “snatching some from the fire”? Be it by compassion or by fear, compel men appropriately since the time of sorting is in fact coming

Move forward, men, testifying of His gospel in our time. Bad can be turned to good even while we are hauled ashore, perhaps even while the sorting has begun. But once a judgment has been rendered there is no appeal. We who believe and love as Jesus loves should be compelled to action by these parables.

Let’s go to work.

Vance Durrance

Shelter

Another 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, which 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.” — Matthew 13:31-32, NKJV.

Men, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed”. Jesus speaks another parable. The mustard seed is the smallest of herb seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than all the herbs and becomes a tree where birds come and nest. This tree is a refuge, it provides covering and safety, it provides comfort and vantage.

Coming to the empowering knowledge of Kingdom principles is like growing into a fruitful tree. Kingdom principles give answer to many questions about how to live out the Father’s will here on earth. Living out Kingdom principles in a world of false worship will no doubt make us stand out among other “herbs” or weeds.

There are refuge, empowerment, protections, and privileges in the great tree of Kingdom function. Living out Kingdom principles is recognizing spiritual attack and settling our hearts to say “I will dwell in the secret place of the Most High. I will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say, Lord, You are my refuge, and I will trust You. You will deliver me.” Ps. 91.

While many in the world are tormented by worry and anxiety over day to day issues, Kingdom citizens know how to access His peace, and take confidence in His promises. The world of “birds” and men recognize the value of coming to an immovable tree instead of a smaller herb which can’t give shelter during calamity. Anxious people come to immovable people for comfort and stability while the winds of calamity blow through their lives and circumstances. The mustard tree receives the same rain and wind as other herbs, but can withstand a flood and torrent by its deep roots in the Kingdom principles.

Move forward men, rooted deep in Kingdom function. Stand out among less established men. Be available to those needing refuge from storms. Grant protections through prayer to those who come upon you during attack. Be visible to those searching to grab hold of truth like a weary bird in a wind storm. Let Jesus make you into a shelter where He can be found.

Vance Durrance

The Amen

“The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.” –Revelation 3:14b

Jesus is THE “faithful and true witness.” A witness speaks of what they have seen and heard. A faithful witness is one who speaks truthfully and completely about their personal encounter of which they have intimate knowledge. Jesus stands out as THE embodiment of what a witness IS. He spoke boldly of what He knew—for He was no liar (John 8:55). He came from heaven (John 8:14,22) and testified to the truth (Joh 18:37) and to the very glory of God (Joh 14:9). Therefore, those that recognize Christ as these things (Joh 14:6) and have believed and received His testimony (1Jo 5:10), are now HIS witnesses (Act 26:16) who openly and completely share (by word AND deed) His glorious truth with the world (Act 1:8).

“It is one thing to speak about God in words, maxims, precepts; it is another thing to show us God in act and life. The one is theology, the other is gospel,” (MacLaren’s Expositions).

Deadly Chokehold

foursoils

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
— Matthew 13:7.

Men, a sower is scattering seed. Some has now been cast among thorns. These thorns spring up and choke the good seed out. Jesus explains in vs 22, he that receives seed among thorns are like those who hear the Word but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word and he becomes unfruitful.

We know the passage “you cannot serve God and money” in Mathew 6:24. We do our best to compartmentalize our lives into manageable sections. We have our work face, our church face, and our families often get whatever is left, after we spend time with the peers. We are not called to compartmentalize. We are called to “die to self daily” in surrender to the One that matters.

While at church do we discuss work and the topic of the day until the show begins. The cares of this world are choking the life out of what the Holy Spirit is trying to accomplish within us. Do we spend more time surfing information sources regarding the issue of the day than we do searching His Word for truths that apply to our daily growth regardless of season?

If this is you, you sir, are being choked by thorns. If the latest over hyped calamity takes your attention away from His Word planted within you, you sir are choked. If working overtime to buy the latest toy or gadget commands your time, you sir have fallen victim to the deceitfulness of riches.

There are very real dangers and troubles in our world. A bad health report is a legitimate concern. But! If we allow that concern to steal our peace, we are choked by the cares of this world. Jesus offers peace through the struggle and storm, promising to never leave or forsake us. Jesus endures the fire with us. What if we spent more time learning the protocols that bring heavenly authority and power into our physical lives than worrying about matters otherwise beyond our control?

Move forward men, clearing thorns out of our gardens. Cut the noise down so we can see and hear Jesus in our lives!

Vance Durrance

What is Your Heart Full of?

Out of the Abundance of the Heart

From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man brings good things from a good heart. An evil man brings evil things from an evil heart. Matthew 12:34b-35

Men, again, Jesus speaks in binary terms. Before we can move forward in agreement, we must ask; who decides what is good? How do we define “good”? How do we qualify, validate or affirm “good”? We’d all get car sick spinning around the revolving wheel of relativity if we looked around us for an answer. Let’s agree to look up to Heaven and into His Word for absolute truth from a vantage above creation.

The Pharisees are at odds with Jesus and expressing hostility toward Him. They know the Law, but they don’t recognize the author. Psalms 119 is rich in what it means to align our hearts to the source of good treasure. From the beginning, a wealth of lessons pour out. “Blessed are those who keep His testimony, who seek Him with the whole heart.”

The Pharisees didn’t seek Him. They sought enough “word” to maintain a posture of religious authority for personal and political gain. They knew much about rules, legislation, and condemnation, but little about seeking Him with the whole heart.

The Pharisees were captives of their own hierarchies. The Lord told the captives through Jeremiah 29:13. “When you seek Me with your whole heart, you will find Me.” The Pharisees aren’t ready to seek Him. They are seeking their own self-righteousness. Is there any good in the treasury of self-righteousness? History has seen horrible atrocities committed from self-righteous hearts. What will be spoken of us?

Move forward men, Psalm 119:9-15. Cleansing our ways by taking head to His Word; Seeking Him with the whole heart without wandering from His commands. Let’s hide His Word in our hearts so we don’t sin against Him. Let’s learn from His statutes and declare His judgments with our mouths. Rejoice in His testimonies as much as in all riches. Meditate on His Word and don’t forget it. Psalm 119:18 – open our eyes Lord to the wonders of Your Law.

Vance Durrance

White Robes

“Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments…” –Revelation 3:4-5a

“And yet there was a salt in it, or it would have been rotten as well as dead,” (MacLaren’s Expositions). We do not know the value of living men among the dead, and what mercy they bring to a community which might be discarded if not for their preserving presence (Eze 22:30). And if you find yourself in such a position, take heart. Jesus is not just aware of the number of faceless subject, He knows your name. So there is a great reward for those “who have not soiled their garments,” who have not defiled themselves by idolatrous sin (1Co 8:7).

Sardis was known for its wool production and its dyes (especially red). Dyes and chemicals are often used to cover blemishes. But covering our sins does not remove them. Our pretty dyes may deceive the world and make ourselves presentable to them, but God is not impressed. Only God provides the garments necessary to enter the Kingdom (Mat 22:11-14). And we cannot earn them. To even attempt this is to make a god in our own image and serve it—which is idolatry.

Yet for those who trust in Christ, we will receive new garments of pure white (Rev 6:11; 7:9). Not blank and colorless, but the bright and illustrious dress of the heavenly state. Since we are united in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom 6:5), we will be clothed in the appearance of our King and model (Rev 1:13; 19:14). “We will be like Him” (1Jo 3:2). Although there is a huge difference between deity and creation, the chasm of separation between God and His image bearers is removed. Jesus is the perfect man—what man should have been and will be. Therefore, our future appearance mirrors His.

So why is this a comfort? What might we be missing if this does not trigger within us a desire for these future robes?

Billy Neal

House Divided

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? —Matthew 12:25-26 NKJV

Men, Jesus knew the thoughts of the Pharisees, who had grumbled that Jesus had recently relieved a man of a demon by the power of the ruler of demons. It already sounds absurd, so Jesus answered. A kingdom, city or house divided against itself can not stand. So if anti-Christ casts out anti-Christ, he is divided against himself.

Empires of heavenly, earthly or below, civics, marriages, even our own hearts are all subject to this simple concept. Working backwards through the list, homes divided in themselves end in divorce and bitterness. Local magistrates against themselves turn to lawlessness and dysfunction. Kingdoms against themselves end in civil war, all of which are costly in terms of resources and lives ruined.

A horse cannot be driven in two directions at once. There would be immediate conflict with the animal, but this is exactly what the Pharisees are claiming. The enemy has employed this tactic of turning a home or territory against itself for all time.

While Adam and Eve were in the garden, they shared their dwelling with the Lord God with unity and perfect peace. When the garden became divided, all of mankind fell thereafter.

America has incrementally devolved into a 2 party system. Each side against the other with the singular focus of destroying the opposing camp. While the camps bicker and recruit we are weakened and disabled from succeeding in any meaningful goal. While the world hurls accusations at an apparent opposing party, who is smiling? Who is lifted up? Who is winning? What is being lost? In your home, church, business, or affiliations who is winning/smiling?

At the end, all will be amassed into 2 camps. That of the enemy and that of the Lord. Is your pride at war with Jesus in your own heart? Who will win? What will that look like at the end?

Move forward men, considering THIS DAY, who will we serve? Where will the division end for us? Where will we stand among our sphere of influence? Incorruptible Jesus or all else that is perishing?

Vance Durrance

Promise of Authority

“To [him who conquers] I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.” –Revelation 2:26b-27

The awesome authority that has been promised to the Son of God (Psa 2:6-9), is promised to be shared with the sons of God (Luke 22:29-30; Gal 3:26; Rom 8:19). Does this not echo earlier promises by Jesus:

“I tell you the truth: In the age when all things are renewed, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” –Matthew 19:28

I have so many questions on this… but what I do know is that Christ said His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), and those before us who held assumptions to the conquering of earthly empires were called by Christ, “foolish” and “slow of heart” (Luk 24:25). I know that this authority is not taken by the sword (Mat 26:52) or won by bowing to wrong (Mat 4:8-10). In fact, every time the church has grasped at the world’s power, she has been disciplined by it.

“Make all allowance that you like for the vesture of symbolism, the reality that lies beneath is that Jesus Christ, the truth, has pledged Himself to this, that His servants shall be associated with Him in the activity of His royalty,… which we only spoil when we try to tear apart the petals which remain closed until the sun shall open them,” (McLaren’s Exposition).

In the mystery of this pronouncement to the future position of faithful followers of Christ, know this: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,” (1Co 2:9).

“No matter how we are suffering, no matter how we are persecuted, no matter how we are marginalized, our identity is not in whatever is happening to us right now. Our identity is seated at the Right Hand of God,” (Russell Moore).

How might knowing our future position change the way we manage mistreatment and persecution?

Billy Neal

Who Do You Follow?

who do you follow

But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? — Matthew 12:3-4 NKJV

Men, Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees about His disciples plucking grain to eat on the Sabbath. Jesus reminds them of an occasion where King David and his men ate consecrated bread from the temple when they were hungry. 1 Samuel 21 records the incident. David and his men were not condemned by the Law in that time.

Over time, more and more rules had been applied. Jesus points back to precedent in defense and likewise challenges their authority to make such an accusation. In effect, Jesus is asking them why they have over stepped their authority beyond what the Law holds into account. Jesus could make the claim, “if David could get away with it, why can’t I?” Jesus was expressing His own authority from greater than His own lineage back to David.

In a time where men tremble when approached about some matter of the Law, Jesus is bold, and making reasoned arguments, turning the accusation around into more direct matters of the heart inside the Pharisees. Jesus truly is the great Defender.

Imagine the deer in the headlight look upon the disciples faces, and the panic they may have felt. They may have been stuttering among themselves wondering how they might answer. Jesus answered their accusers.

Most all of us can point to a time where we were questioned about what is lawful for a “good Christian”. We are often scolded by church goers for embracing the liberties granted to us, warned about maintaining good perception, challenged when we dare step out of approved ministerial procedures.

Overbearing rules are everywhere, even into our own time, cutting into our effectiveness and distracting from the focal point of our faith. Yes, guardrails are reasonable for the young in faith. But let’s teach our young in faith to seek first the Kingdom. Jesus is our authority, advocate and defender.

Move forward men, with focused attention on Jesus. Listen for His voice. Are we following rules, or following Jesus? Who is your God? The principles or the Person of Jesus?

Vance Durrance

Legacy

legacy

Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” — Matthew 11:20-24 NKJV

Men, Jesus closes vs19 saying “wisdom is justified by her children”. Another translation says “wisdom is vindicated by her deeds”. In other words, the wise have not refused John or Jesus, but have come to repentance. From there, Jesus rebukes the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. He tells the multitude that it will be better for the towns of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom which were known as wicked places that had been judged by God. Each of these towns and the deeds done in them routinely could warrant a deeper look.

In general, Jesus has performed a number of miracles in the rebuked towns, but He was not acknowledged and the people did not repent. Jesus says that if those same deeds had been done in those cities which had long ago been judged they would’ve repented in sackcloth. Not so for the cities Jesus has personally visited and Jesus is disgusted with their hardness. Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom had all disobeyed God’s law and Word and they were punished. These current 3 cities have witnessed the Word made flesh, dwelling among them and have refused all opportunities to be made right.

When Jesus said “Woe to you (the rebuked cities) He was declaring a warning to them. These cities have had greater opportunity to come to salvation but refused. How much opportunity have our cities and nation had? If we are judged incrementally by the opportunities granted, how bad will it be for our cities and people? What judgment awaits our own lands? Move forward men, acknowledge the truth granted to us and believe Him. Don’t miss an opportunity to repent and turn even the smallest, most private things over to His hand. The evidence is sufficient for our acceptance of His Word.

How will we be known, to history and to heaven? Decide well.

Vance Durrance