The World Cannot Hate You (Jn. 7:7)

Read John 7:7.

"The world cannot hate you."  What an indictment!  You have too much in common with the world because you love it and live out of its values.  The world looks at you, then at themselves, and sees little or no difference.  When you are properly living for Jesus, the world is going to be repulsed.  See also 1 Jn. 2:15-17.

The Parable of The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 6)

OBSERVATIONS (cont'd)  

• Don’t stop "fishing".
• Keep on casting the net and keep on pulling it in.
•  The more you cast, the more you’ll catch.
• Caution:  You might not like some of the stuff the net brings you!
• People’s “stuff” can be complicated.
• People can be mean.
• People are the reason Jesus died.

• You must warn the wicked (Ezek 33:1-9).
• They do not have to be separated from God and His people.
• They do not have to experience God’s wrath.
• Lyrics:  “Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it…”
• Really?
• You who have been rescued from the sea of recklessness should be concerned about those who haven’t been.
• Some of them are your family!

The Parable of The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 2)

JESUS TELLS A BRIEF STORY AND THEN EXPLAINS IT.

JESUS TELLS A BRIEF STORY (13:47-48).

• The net was cast (13:47).
• The net was filled (13:47).
• The net gathered “fish of every kind." 
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
• Good fish, bad fish
• Mild fish, strong fish
• Suckers, bottom feeders
• The catch was sorted (13:48).
• The good fish were kept aside.
• They were marketable and profitable.
• The bad fish were thrown away.
• They were useless:  “…but the bad they threw away”.
• It doesn’t say they threw them back.
•  If they weren’t acceptable to one fisherman, why would they be okay for another?

JESUS EXPLAINS HIS BRIEF STORY (13:49-50).

• Jesus’ explanation deleted two things.
• He did not mention the net.
• He did not mention the catch.
• Jesus’ explanation highlighted one thing.
• Jesus emphasized the separation.
•  The separation would be done at a certain time:  “So it will be at the end of the age…” (13:49).
• The separating would be done by a certain group:  “…the angels will come…” (13:49).
•  The separated would be damned to a certain place.
• It is a place of fire:  “… throw them into the furnace of fire…” (13:49).
•  It is a place of torment:  “… there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (13:50).

You Don't Belong

Photo taken at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA    4-22-16

What doesn't belong in this picture?  I'll give you a hint:  It isn't the sand or the picnic table.

What is a bright white windmill doing on a nice beach at a premier state park?  I don't know either. If you have the backstory, please clue me in. There should be a seagull or two in the air instead of a windmill.  If not a seagull, then a kite.

When you look at the world, what stands out?  If you are a believer in Jesus, the answer should be you.  You're not supposed to fit in.  This world is not your home.

• "For our citizenship is in heaven . . ." (Phil. 3:20).
• "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (Jn. 17:16).
• "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul" (1 Pet. 2:11).
• " . . . for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?" (2 Cor. 6:14-15)