Humility: "Becoming as Little Children"

We are like little children of God?
God is our father in heaven. We are his children in spirit and here on Earth we are supposed to be humble to our Lord and savior like a small child is to his father.

How will the Lord help us receive the blessings he has promised?
The Lord has promised us that even though we cannot bear all things that he will lead us along the way. He has promised us over and over that we can have the riches of eternity, and all he asks is that we become as little children.
Most of the time the blessings seem far away, distant and out of reach. I think that an eagerness to achieve those things is childlike as well. Children want what they want, and regardless of deterrents they will not change their minds. 


How do we become as little children?
We must be submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him. 
A lot of times we hear these things and they have become so typical to hear that we forget their true meaning. It is about a general attitude of humility, and being able to listen. To truly listen and comprehend we have to be able to listen and be willing to adhere to those things.

Walking on the Sea: Faith's Miracle

The apostle's reaction to Peter walking on the water with jesus
- They thought that Christ was a ghost and they were afraid


Peter's response says several things about him
- When Peter heard Christ from the boat he asked "If it be thou, bid me to come unto thee on the water." I think this proved that he had faith, but at the same time it seems a little bit doubtful. He seems to have mixed emotions about trusting this person on the water.


Peter began to sink
- When Peter got out onto the water I think it hit him that the sea was raging, and the wind was blowing. He lost his faith because of the turbulence surrounding him.


Peter cries out help, Christ responds
- As soon as Peter begins to sink he calls out for Christ's help. Immediately Christ responds by giving him His hand. Matthew 14:31 expresses the immediacy of Christ's response.


The storms of our lives and the lesson the Peter teaches
- Peter teaches us an important lesson through his experience; the seas of our lives are often going to be turbulent, and our eye cannot always remain single to God. In those times it is crucial to ask for Christ's help. Without even thinking about it Christ thrust out His hand and lifted Peter back up out the sea and storm stopped. This parable is important because we have to be able to be able to ask, which is a lesson in humility for us. 

The Significance of Parables

1. What is a parable - A parable is a story that veils truth. This way those who hear it can find understanding which fits their own level of faith. So a parable is a story that has meaning only as far as we have faith.


2.   a) Describing the future growth of the church in context of scripture parables - The purpose of growth is to harvest; logic following the growth will continue until it is time to separate the wheat from the tares. At that point there will be a falling away. Until then, however, there will be growth.

      b) Why does our church send out so many missionaries? - Fishers of men. Like casting a net out into the sea to catch fish, the bigger the net the more fish one can catch. So naturally having a larger "net" of missionaries will make the catch much larger.
   
      c) How has our church grown so quickly when it relatively new, and started relatively small? - People will hold onto those things which are valuable to them. A small pearl of great price is worth more than all the other treasures a person has. So really the answer is testimony and faith. People can find truth and comfort in something, and that is a pearl of great price.


      d) Why do members fall away from the church? - Trials of faith can come in many forms, but they are meant to separate the wheat from the tares, the righteous from the wicked, and faithful from the faithless. 


3.   a) Sacrifices for the gospel - Many people give up friends, family, religion, and money in order to have their pearl of great price (the gospel). I have given up some of the above, but mostly friends. Religion teaches us to love our neighbor, but we should not let that drag us down to a level lower than we currently stand.


      b) Gathering the good, and casting our the bad - As with any mechanism, if there is a broken piece, or a piece that is not functioning properly it must be removed and replaced. A religion is a living breathing organism, and it is no different from a mechanism. The bad must be sifted from the good. As in the parable of the fishing net they will cast out a net for all, but they will cut away the bad so that it does not infect the good.

Miracles to Substantiate Faith

A majority of the time people spend a lot of energy looking for miracles to prove their faith isn't in vain. The great thing about the scriptures is that they give us the historical documents to strengthen our testimony. It would be a long and difficult road if we had no proof of deity. A lot of times we hear that faith is believing that which cannot be seen, but us humans are skeptics, and the Lord knows that. So he has provided us with many examples of incredible works of God.

	Miracles of the Lord	Who demonstrated faith
Matthew 8:1-4	Cured a man w/ leprosy	The leper
Matthew 8:5-13	Cured a centurion's servant	The centurion and his servant
Matthew 8:14-15	Christ healed Peter's mother in law	Peter and his mother in law
Matthew 8:16	Casts out evil spirits and heals many people	All those whoe asked  for Christ's help
Matthew 8:23-27	Calmed the seas	The disciples
Matthew 8:28-34	Casts devils into swine	The devils
Matthew 9:20-22	Cured a woman with plague	The woman who touched  his robes
Mark 5:25-34
Matthew 9:27-31	Cured two blind men	The blind men
Mark 2:1-12	Cured a person w/ palsy	The family and friends  of the person who had palsy