Matthew 21 verse 18 – 22 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. ²⁰ And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” ²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. ²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

I read this passage recently and I was struck by the message in these verses.

The Lord Jesus was giving his disciples a practical life lesson with the fig tree. He was showing them and by extension is showing us, that if we are in Him, we can do the same things He did.

Matthew 2 verse 12 – 13, 19 - 23 (NKJV)

“¹² Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. ¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

¹⁹ Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”  ²¹ Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. ²³ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Our God is a God who speaks. He is always speaking. He speaks in many ways just so that He can reach us His own chosen ones. Why? Because He is Father who loves to communicate and relate with His children

One of the many ways He speaks is through DREAMS. Have you ever wondered about dreams? Yes, they are a tool He uses to reach us during that time of sleep and rest.

Luke 15 vs 1 – 7 (NKJV)

“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. ² And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man ^[a]receives sinners and eats with them.” ³ So He spoke this parable to them, saying: ⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine ^[b]just persons who need no repentance.”

Think about this, Jesus came for the lost. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. That was why “tax collectors and sinners” came to Him. The pharisees and scribes just could not understand this. They expected Him to only go near, or allow near Him the “righteous” So, He spoke this parable of the lost sheep to explain His mission.

Luke 14 vs 25 – 27 & 33 (NKJV)

²⁵ Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  ³³ So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

We are continuing to look at Jesus’s words in Luke 14. From verses 25, He says some really tough things and you can wonder, what does this mean? What is Jesus saying here? He is saying that even though our parents, spouses, children, siblings, and even our own lives are very important to us, He must be more important to us than any of these.

Luke 14 vs 16 - 21 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, ¹⁷ and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’

The man in this story told in the book of Luke by the Lord Jesus, represents God. God sent out an invitation to many people to come dine with Him, but each one responded with an excuse why they could not come. They basically said No to God On the face of it, all the reasons given were bonafide and legitimate reasons, but to God they were EXCUSES.