Matthew 13 contains a number of kingdom parables which we have looked at previously, so we will skip them this time. However, the introduction to the parables is important for us to comprehend, if we truly desire to seek the kingdom.

It raises the question, "How developed are our spiritual eyes?"

We are so privileged and blessed to live in this time of history when we, through Jesus, have the potential to understand, at least a part of, the spiritual dimension that exists hand in hand with the natural world in which we live. One day we will understand it all.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. (1 Corinthians 13:9-10)

The Jews, before Jesus, did not listen to God's voice, as spoken through the prophets. Jesus quotes Isaiah in our key passage here.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. (Matthew 13:14-15a)

Jesus came as the final prophet, to place God's understanding within us. The passage continues.....

Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' (Matthew 13:15b)

Can we then truly concur with this statement of Jesus?

16 But blessed are your (MY) eyes because they (I) see, and your (MY) ears because they (I) hear. (Matthew 13:16)

In this humanistic world in which we live, the very existence of the spiritual is ridiculed if not completely denied. There is a spiritual battle going on in the world.

9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"- 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:9-16)

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this, for I am aware that many of us have lost our spiritual understanding in this modern world. The church has become purely a social club for so many. I quote from a letter sent to me by a friend of mine. I am sure he will not mind me using it, for he makes this point far more effectively than I could.....

Last evening, I gave a music program to xxxxxxxxx church in a nearby city. I played 10 songs during an hour's time. With each song, I edify the music with scripture and a brief message. If not that way, then the music is just music. It broke my heart to find another church community that's just another "country club" congregation. Most of the time, their eyes lit up with each message between the songs, but they found scripture to be like an unknown language. These poor people gathered around the buffet like dogs on a deer carcass...but spiritually, they were starving and homeless. I have no idea how strong the churches are in NZ, but America's Christian establishments are giving way to "New Age" type of worship. "If it seems right, I might be" Having said this, please keep me in your prayers...! I need divine strength, health, wisdom and all of the provisions to speak to America in the way that God has asked me to. I give my presentations to so many churches like this one.

My friend, so many of us are being led astray by the world, denying the reality of the understanding and spiritual power of Jesus. May we repent before it is too late!

As Jesus said to the churches in Revelation.....

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

Wisdom From the Spirit

352. The closer I get to God, the more I realise how big He is and how small I am.

353. While God graciously accepts me as I am, His desire is for me to become more like Him.

354. When God moves, the results are beyond our imagination. Why then do we try and do His work ourselves?

811. Sanctification is 'the means', holiness 'the end'.

After becoming a linguistic master, he sits down in the library and begins to pour over every version of the Bible, working back from the most recent "Easy reading" to the original script. All of a sudden there is a scream in the library.

The angels come running to him, only to find the Pope huddled in a chair, crying to himself, and muttering, "An 'R'! They left out the 'R'."

God takes him aside, offering comfort and asks him what the problem is. After collecting his wits, the Pope sobs again, "It's the letter 'R' ... the word was supposed to be CELEBRATE!

338. MONKEY TALK
Two monkeys were discussing the theory of evolution while they passed the time in their zoo cage. Finally, one turned to the other and said, "Tell me; am I my keeper's brother?"

337. GOLFING ON SUNDAY
Bill Jenkins served as a deacon in a very strict, fundamentalist church. Skipping church to play golf would be considered a grave infraction, especially for someone in leadership. But the urge was greater than his ability to resist, and Bill found himself at the golf course on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning.

Nearing the end of a very enjoyable 18 holes of golf, Bill suddenly heard a voice from heaven calling out his name. "You may receive either a blessing or a punishment. Which will it be?" "Well, of course a blessing," Bill answered. "Then you may ask for one blessing, what will it be?" "Oh, I would love, just one time, to get a 'hole in one'".

So Bill teed up, took a few practice swings, and sent the ball soaring toward the next green. To his great delight, the ball bounced at the edge of the green, and slowly rolled to the flag and dropped in." "Thank you, thank you", Bill shouted toward the sky. "Well actually," the voice responded, "You asked for a blessing, but you have received a punishment instead."

ANSWER:
It's not a trick: they really do swallow the sword. It's not easy though. Sword swallowers must relax the throat muscles and keep them completely relaxed while the sword is inside. The swords are dull, but without a steady hand - or sword - they can do damage to the throat, oesophagus, or stomach. (Wouldn't want to sneeze half way!)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
In terms of chemical composition, what substance does human blood most closely resemble?

SOME FUN FACTS

70. SEX BY STRESS
A survey conducted at Iowa State College in 1969 suggests that a parent's stress at the time on conception plays a major role in determining a baby's sex. As expected, the child tends to be of the same sex as the parent who is under less stress. (Shouldn't we all be boys then? Okay - sorry!)

71. OH, COLOGNE!
Cologne, the mildly perfumed toilet water also known as eau de Cologne, has been made in Cologne, West Germany since 1709. (The first bottled water?)

72. TRANSPARENT SPIDERS?
Spiders have transparent blood. (Always wondered why they seemed bloodless when squashed!)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

RAPTOR

A - Egyptians
B - Assyrians
C - Philistines
D - Amorites

Source: www.biblequizzes.com

!!!!!! There's more to life than increasing its speed.

!!!!! Good parking places are always on the other side of the street.

!!!! Consistency isn't always good especially if you're consistently wrong.

!!! Whenever you need something you can't find it, if you don't need it, it's all over.

!!! When you have a pain someplace, everyone will hit you on that spot.

!! Air driers in public washrooms will shut off just as they get warm enough to do any good.

187. BY THE WAY.......
By the way, I know the guy who wrote these 9 puns. He entered them And one other in a contest. He figured with 10 entries he couldn't lose. As they were reading the list of winners he was really hoping one of his puns would win, but unfortunately, no pun in ten did.

188. FORE!
A priest rushed from church one day to keep a golf date. He was halfway down the first fairway, waiting to hit his second shot, when he heard the familiar "FORE!" and a ball slammed into his back.

Soon the golfer who had made the drive was on the scene to offer his apologies. When the priest assured him that he was all right, the man smiled. "Thank goodness, Father!" he exclaimed. "I've been playing this game for forty years, and now I can finally tell my friends that I've hit my first holy one!" - Stan "The Punster" Kegel.

189. LOST IN THE DESERT.......
There are two Mexicans who have been lost in the desert for weeks, and they're at death's door (which is just outside Guadalajara). As they stumble on, hoping for salvation in the form of an oasis or something similar, they suddenly spy, through the heat haze, a tree, off in the distance. As they get closer, they can see that the tree is draped with rasher upon rasher of bacon. There's smoked bacon, crispy bacon, life-giving juicy nearly- raw bacon, all sorts.

"Hey, Pepe" says Don Pedro. "ees a bacon tree!!! We're saved!!!"

"You're right, amigo!" says Pepe.

So Pepe goes on ahead and runs up to the tree salivating at the prospect of food. But as he gets to within five feet of the tree, there's the sound of machine gun fire, and he is shot down in a hail of bullets. His friend quickly drops down on the sand, and calls across to the dying Pepe. Pepe!! Pepe!! Que asa hombre?"

With his dying breath Pepe calls out.... "Ugh, run, amigo, run!! ees not a Bacon Tree"

It is now applied to preachers who focus on the punishment aspects of the Word, or any fiery speaker who talks about a bad end for wrongdoers.

In today's world your cell phone is so much more than just a phone; it's your Internet, your television, your video game. And now... it's even your Bible.

In 2008, the folks at Lifechurch.tv in Edmond, Okla. created a free Bible application called YouVersion that you can download to your iPhone, Blackberry, or mobile device.

Developers had expected around 70 to 80,000 people to sign up in the first year. Instead, they got 80,000 people in the first three days!

"Quickly, we looked at those results and said, 'Okay, God's definitely up to something here,'" Bible app creator Bobby Gruenewald said.

Bible App Revolution

Today, more than 19 million users have downloaded the Bible app to their phone or mobile device. More than 3.7 million have installed within the last 60 days.

Gruenewald said that the Bible App is doing for the Bible what the printing press did 500 years ago.

"I try to not use the word revolution lightly, but with seeing how God has used it over the last few years, I can honestly say we're in the midst of a revolution as it relates to scripture engagement," Gruenewald said.

"And what we found is that if we can just make the Bible free, easy for people to read, and easy for people to share, via Facebook and Twitter and these social networks that are on line, that it's very very viral," he continued. "And people love to engage with the Bible and share it with others."

How It Works

To download the Bible app to your iPhone, users can just go to app store on iTunes or wherever you can download apps.

Type in Bible and you'll see the icon that looks like a Bible.

Once you've downloaded the Bible app, you can jump to any book of the Bible. You can even decide which Bible reading plan you want to participate in.

You can also choose which version of the Bible you like. As of now, there are 50 versions available, from King James to The Message.

People CBN News spoke with who use the YouVersion Bible app say it's completely changed the way they read the Bible.

"Just a few weeks ago I was standing in line at Walmart and I thought this is the perfect opportunity for me to go ahead and do my Bible reading," Sheila Vance said. "So I sat there and read it right there in the Walmart line."

Biblically Engaged

"I'm really big into social media," Bible app user Phillip Singleton said. "So really, YouVersion has become part of my testimony because I'll take my daily reading and I'll share it."

"And I'll get responses from friends or maybe even people I don't know because of a re-tweet or something like that," he said.

"My relationship with God has just been able to come first, I can just carry Him with me, His word is just always with me," another user Stacy Rosete said.

"I was on a reading plan and I'd fallen off, hadn't read it in a couple of days," Jason Marshall explained. "So, I got an email from YouVersion saying, "Come on! let's pick it back up, you can do it, you can even start over if you'd like."

"It's a really cool feature and has really impacted me from a consistency stand-point," he said.

Reversing Bible Illiteracy

Gruenewald said that with the Bible now as close as your phone, he's hopeful this new technology will help reverse the trend of less Bible reading.

"My perspective is not that we can just turn the tide a bit on that trend, but I actually believe it's possible we can have the most Bible engaged generation in history," he said.

Currently, the Bible app is in English, Spanish, and Norwegian.

"No, I'm not Norwegian," the blonde Gruenewald joked. "But we have partners in Norway that helped us who were passionate about bringing it to their language."

"But this year, we are looking at adding eight major languages in addition to those three." he added. "They will also be adding to their small staff to help service the current 19 million Bible app users worldwide."

Engaging with Scripture

Gruenewald said he's humbled by the great success God has given them and excited about the future.

"But now that we've seen what God's done with it, from taking it from its humble beginnings to 19 million people that are actively engaged and reading God's word on a daily basis, our eyes and our faith are set on what could be," the Bible app creator said.

"Could we see a half billion people, could we see a Facebook size generation of people that are engaging with scripture and not just trading photos and posting on each other's walls?" he wondered. "Is that possible to see today? And we really believe it is!"

INTRODUCTION

I became acquainted with David Tait when he did the Word of Life Bible and Discipleship Training Course in our church in 1991. His wife Kathy had completed the study the previous year.

Our association grew into friendship and then in 1994 David and Kathy joined our church (Abundant Life Community Church, Tauranga). Since then they have continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. They have learned to be content, regardless of the state they are in, whether having much or little.

During this time David has experienced remarkable business success and then seen a complete reversal of those fortunes. However his giving nature has not been affected by his circumstances. His desire to bless others through what he has experienced is reflected in this book, 'Eagles Fly High!'

David has set out this book as a journey of his discovery of truth. He weaves this truth into practical illustration to help the reader identify with his walk in God. He has a unique ability to write about his relationship with God as seen in his everyday observations of himself and the environment around him. David's pragmatic approach to life is shown in the way he presents his stories in parable form (and for those who may struggle with the interpretation, he gives the meanings of the key symbols at the end of the story).

The central theme of 'Eagles Fly High!' is the scripture from Revelation 12:11 - "and they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death". This is a three-part process leading to full maturity in the believer's life and can be paralleled with the three Feasts of the Lord - Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, as well as the three areas of Moses' Tabernacle - the Outer Court, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

David's desire is that all Christians understand and progress toward full salvation in Christ as revealed through these Old Testament pictures of New Testament truth.

I commend this book to you as a means of helping you to understand the journey in Christ that is before each one of us. May you be enthused and encouraged as you travel along the pathway that David maps out before you.

Mike Cullen
Senior Pastor

RECOMENDATIONS

FAITH BIBLE COLLEGE
Welcome Bay Tauranga

4th March 2001

Dear David
I do want to thank you for sending a copy of your manual 'EAGLES FLY HIGH'. It is obvious that you have done tremendous research on the subject you cover and I want you to know that I think it is a great work.

I trust that there will be a real demand and that many people will be blessed by reading and studying the same. It is most wonderful subject and very dear to my heart as it is the subject that I have ministered on also for a number of years now.

I do pray that the Lord will continue to inspire you to produce manuals like this as the material is so beneficial for the people of God. Thank you so much for sending me a copy. I trust that we will have the opportunity to meet together. If you are ever out and about our way do call at the College, we would love to fellowship with you.

May this be the greatest year of your life thus far in the purpose of God David and may you find Him granting you the very real desire of your heart this year.

Sincerely in Christ

Des Short

PRINCIPAL

CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTRE
AUCKLAND

12th June 2001

Hi David
Pastor Paul de Jong has asked me to write on his behalf a big thank you for the complimentary manuscript of 'Eagles Fly High'. It is so valuable to get our teaching notes into print. You have turned out a fantastic job. I trust the second half of this year to be the best to date in your Christian ministry.

Keep writing.

Yours in Christ,

Dave Beaumont
Discipleship & Development
Christian Life Centre Auckland

Reference Bruce Patrick Auckland Baptist Tabernacle for Eagles Fly High

Dear David,

My apologies. I suffer from a previously undiagnosed rare disease known as Occupational Orientation Preoccupation Syndrome, or OOPS!!! Because of this I omitted to write to thank you for the copy of Eagles Fly High sent last December. It's a great effort, full of interest. I hope you find it useful in making disciples. There's a vacuum of discipling in many churches, and every effort is an advance!

Thanks again,

But could I keep my priorities right?

BUSY, BUSY

Lots of perspiration,
But no inspiration.
So please bear with me,
Until I'm set free!

Another shop to open this week,
The toilet there, it does leak!
So many things there are still to do,
While also to God, to remain true.

When you are expanding in the business
Tis easy to get taken over by busyness
Take a rest David, seek the Lord,
With Him do now strike a chord.

What is my priority?
Who gets seniority?
It's so very very easy to go astray,
In the good intentions of the day.

Tomorrow I will take time out to preach,
Maybe the message, it will me teach!
God can grab our attention,
In ways we never mention.

But we can put things right with the Father through Jesus. And He will forgive and forget. Do you need to do that today?

Until next week___

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: PARROT