The Million Dollar Story There was once upon a time man who had a real good friend.

These two enjoyed the fine fellowship of one another and talked all the time. They would set for hours on end and talk about things from the economy to planting gardens, to building barns etc. they would always meet up town in the heart of the city at a small General Store that was always brewing fresh coffee, Hot apple cider and and hot boiled peanuts. The two were always the best of friends and always talked of such things like Honesty, Character and Truth and never ever telling a lie to anyone, especially to one another. This is what they based their many years of friendship on, Trust, Intergrity and helping your neighbor. They believed in helping your neighbors and to putting others before self. Now these two men were from different walks of life, but found a common goal and likeness of one another and both were very wise and good conversationalist and knew a lot about many things. Both of these men were Bible believing Christians and of good moral character and had a good name in the town. One was a rather common farmer we will call Clyde, the one was a very retired business owner who was trying to finish selling his company. As usual the morning time would find them laughing and talking and sharing stories. One day as they were talking the farmer said to his friend something concerning how people are just not honest with one another and tell tales to get their way or what they want. Well each one would take turns buying the coffee or peanuts of the other as a sign or token of their friendship, but the business man was usually without money more than the farmer and the farmer paid for his friend more so through the week and then the business man would on the weekend get the cash for the week that he owed the farmer and pay him in full. Every now and then the business man would happen upon some extra cash and pay for their time together. Well this was one of those days after a couple of weeks the farmer was about to pay and the business man said No, wait I got it today my friend, and the farmer said, Oh you must have won the lottery and gotten you some money and laughed and the business man said, with a smile, today is a good day my friend, I have a million dollars in my pocket and I feel really good today so let me pay for it this time. His friend kinda puzzled said, you mean you have the money in your pocket to pay for this, and the business man said, yep, got me a cool million and God has really blessed me and I got it in my pocket so we are find. Well his friend was appalled knowing this man did not have a million dollars in his pocket and was yet adamant about the thing and fully expected him to believe it. Well the farmer was torn up and was hurt that his best friend would lie to him after all the good times together. So the farmer excused himself and left rather abruptly and the business man turned around and his friend was gone. He thought now he was just here and we always bid one another good bye till the next day but he was gone and could not be found. So as usual the business man would go to town the next day and his friend the farmer was not there. He tried calling and nothing. He thought well he might be sick, so he thought I will give it another day. So he waited two days and nothing from his friend. This really puzzled him. The farmer sat at his house and was hurt and torn to pieces to think that his best friend would lie to him so easily and would take their friendship so lightly. He thought, wow after all this time my best friend is a liar and the truth is not in him and he thought I will not fellowship him anymore, I mean we had always spoken about truth and doing what was right and the integrity of a man is all we have, to trust one another and take them at their word. He just sat and cried.

Well on the third day coming to the General Store and his friend the farmer not there, he said, I will go and visit him at home as something must be terribly wrong or something has happened that he not be here with me as at other times. So he jumped in his truck and off he went, down through the valley, crossed the graves bridge that went over skunk water creek and flew through possum hollow and passed old man Luscious slaughter house and there just passed the cross roads was a narrow dirt road that went to the farmers place and he left quite a dust trail getting there as it just seemed he could not go fast enough. He almost slid in his drive way side ways and hopped out of his car and ran to the locked screen door and there sat on the porch, all alone his best friend. The Business man said well where have you been and why you sitting here for? The farmer would not so much as tilt his hat his way in acknowledgement. He said what is the matter what ha happened why are you not talking to me? The old farmer said I do not talk to liars now go away. The Business man was stunned at his attitude and remark, he said Friend I have never lied to you to this day and I will never lie to you, why would you ever think such as that about me? The farmer said, Now look here, you know just as good and well as I do that you told me a ball faced lie the other day, now don't you deny it! The Business man said, What, and began to scratch his head underneath his hat and said, Friend have you lost your mind, I did not lie to you, now tell me what is this really all about. The farmer said, now you told me you had a million dollars in your pocket when you went to pay for the meal we had and you know as good and well as I do you did not, nor do not have a million dollars in your pocket! His friend, kinda chuckled and said, Uh yes Sir I certainly did have it and I have it even now as we speak. This enraged the farmer as He was about to outst this man from his property. The business man said, now hold on a minute and let me explain and he reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet and then pulled out his brand new ATM Debit card. He said Friend, This card right here in my hand is a brand new ATM card issued to me by my bank because I finally sold my business to a man who bought it for well over a million dollars and I told the banker, look here now, I want to be able to get any of this money at any time I want to whether you are closed or not, I might have an emergency sometime and you be all closed up early and you know I hate checks and I only carry around cash on the weekends to pay my friend back for the meals we share, so my banker issued me this Debit card so I will always have access to my million dollars anytime and see here friend, this card can get me anything I want by simply swiping it at the place of business and it is attached to my millions, and me and you can go the the bank right now and I will get the banker himself to show you This card is my account with a million dollars in it. The old farmer sat there a minute and twiddled his fingers and then reached up under his hat and began scratching his head and said, Well I will be, looky there, you was not lying to me after all, I simply in my own ignorance did not understand you and thought you to be a man of no integrity and a liar and I have gone now these two days and not spoken to you and thought ill and evil of you. The farmer stood up, unlatched the screen door and invited his friend inside for a fresh cup of coffee and said my friend, can you ever forgive me for wronging you as such I have? The business man smiled and said of course I will, but you never did me any wrong to start with, see you was the one who did your self wrong. There has never been nothing between me and you to this day on my part, but you did this to yourself. You must forgive but yourself as I find no fault in you my friend. So they shook hands and embraced one another and said, We will never speak of this again and they sat at the old farmers table laughing and talking and were once again the best of friends. The two got up and said lets go back to the general Store and make up for lost time and so they got into their vehicles and off they went laughing and happy all the way. Now for the Moral of the Story:

The Business man is symbolic of God The farmer is YOU You at one time had fellowship with God and you were the best of friends as we say. You relationship was based on trust and the desire for good to one another and for others. The business man had retired and had need of nothing, He sold His business in a sense the same way God retired from dealing with the Jews and He gave that Kingdom to another who purchased it with his own blood. You are the poor farmer, you have to perform the works of the law and till the ground to make ends meet as to your flesh, but your spirit and heart loves the fellowship you find at the General Store which is typical of heaven. One day a Word came from God to you that you did not understand and thought him to be a liar, especially when he said, Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, else you will die. So when the business man said he had a million dollars in his pocket he was telling the truth, but to his friend the farmer he had told a lie, so here is the great mystery of how truth was changed into a lie. It was truth to the Businessman the same way Gods WORD IS Truth! But if you do not understand it or cannot comprehend it then in your ignorance which is darkness you then do the only logical thing you say, well he is lying and YOU changed the Truth of God and YOU turned it into a Lie, How? By one simple thing...Unbelief ! Because you was ignorant or in a state of childlike innocence you did not understand and leaning to your own understanding ands thinking you knew something, when you did not know something as you ought to have known, you reasoned there is no way he has a million dollars in his pocket, it would not fit, even if he had hundreds. But it was truth nonetheless. So the farmer which was you, was then cast out of heaven You was cast out of the light and truth and friendship of the businessman or God. YOU cast yourself out by unbelief! See it was just like the Bible says, According to YOUR Faith...so be it unto YOU, not me, but You! The Business man was telling the truth but the farmer leaned to His own understanding, His serpent being his own carnal mind deceived him and caused him to be cast out of fellowship with his rich friend. This is exactly what happened in the Garden and what happens to you every day if you believe or doubt the Word of Truth. The Minister preaches to you the Word of God, if he is a true child of God then the Bible says it is not the Minister speaking but God so you either believe or doubt his Word. Do you believe the Word or is your Serpent deceiving you? So God, just like the Business man could not find his friend and said, Adam where art thou, where are you Adam? So just like Jesus died on the cross and has waited on you 2 days and the 3rd day he found you and brought forth the Revelation of His Word to you, then light came forth and you comprehended and now you understand the great Mystery of God and by that faith and by that new found understanding, you are back in the good fellowship of your friend or God and the Bible says God has translated you BACK to heaven at his coming and it says We are they that dwell in heaven and we have found fellowship again and our friend or Christ has returned to us and lives within our own hearts as the farmer removed the veil between Him and His Friend by unlatching the screen door and inviting God into His home as to his heart to sup with Him and then they were back in heaven. The only middle wall of partition was the unbelief the farmer had in his one time friend, but because he did not believe his friend then the farmer lost fellowship with him and Jesus said, I came to seek and to save that which was lost, as the business man did to the farmer. See you was in heaven with Christ before the world ever was and by your own ignorance and child like state of innocence you leaned to your own thoughts and turned the truth of God into a Lie, because to the farmer the friend was lying. But see how the loving friend returned as a comforter and revealed and led his friend into all truth and restored that which was lost in the garden and brought home a prodigal son? I hope this blesses you in Jesus name! PHN