THE ALMOND TREE

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-the almond trees remind us that God is watching over His Word and promises to fulfill it

-the almond tree blooms the earliest (mid Jan to Feb) but they fruit the latest 

   -the farmer have to patiently wait.. until it seems like hopeless, the fruit appears

-it takes 40years for God's Word to come to pass

3 lessons we can learn from almond tree 

1. Trust God - His promises never fail

-Gods promises will surely come to pass 

   -Though may take time and comes in surprising way

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-God is true, He is dependable, reliable 

2. Tarry in faith - preserve patiently in hope 

-faith and patience 

-eagerly wait and be patience at the same time

   -not too eager till lost hope, not too patience till indifferent 

-pressing on, refusing to give up till God's promises come to pass 

-the only way to patience is wait

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3. Trust God's timing - His timing is perfect

-Aaron - long delay

Moses - promises came immediately, dont limit on God 

-Jeremiah - promises come to pass only 500years only 

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GOD IN THE CHINESE CULTURE & FAMILY

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-human in one language uses grass and clay to build a tower 

-God took the dust from the ground and breathe and put them in a garden

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-God and human sharing a loving relationship 

-naked 

-adam was naked after eating the fruit, and was guilty

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-a mark in the brother 

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-lamb over me, Jesus is the lamb

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-filial piety is one of the Chinese culture

-only if the person can love their family then can love others

-Jesus too take filial piety seriously.. He make sure that His mother is taken care of after His death 

-filial piety can be abused, but God should be the head of the family 

-parents don't shame, show favourism to children 

Exasperate = crush 

-dont make children bitter... By comparing, putting pressure and stress 

-parents authority to children is from God, it's not unlimited... Parents is just a steward

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true disciples of Jesus

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-we must obey Jesus command

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4 questions

1. Are we walking the path of the crowd or the path of a disciple?

-path of crowd is for own benefit, follows history 

-disciple path is to follow the teacher, writes history 

2. are we living a life if self-denial

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3.

-everyone wants a comfortable life... But we have to take up our cross 

   -sacrifce our time, money for the glory of God

4. are we truly following Jesus 

-we must fix our eyes on Jesus only

   -not fix our eyes on money or fame 

-if we had received any applause, we have to give they glory to God 

   -we can't achieve anything without God 

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