32. Kingdom Stories

Prayer

Introduction

The Twilight Zone… episode: “Eye of the Beholder.” Stories designed to make you scratch your head and say, “Huh?”

Sometimes, Jesus told stories like that, called parables. If you’ve ever read a parable and thought, “What in the world does that mean?” you’re not alone. Many of the people Jesus told the stories to had the same reaction.

A parable is a story that makes you scratch your head and think.

Matthew 13:10 (ESV): “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Why would Jesus teach in a way that makes us scratch our heads?

Where in the Word are we?

Act 1: God Establishes His Kingdom

Act 2: Rebellion in the Kingdom

Act 3: The King Chooses Israel

Act 4: The Coming of the King

Act 5: Proclaiming the Kingdom

Act 6: The Return of the King

The Parable of the Sower

Why should we read the parables? Read Matthew 13:1-23 (MSG)

Parables don’t give us the answers. But they point us to the One who answers. Parables aren’t the destination. They’re road signs along the way.

Exposition

Matthew 13:10-14… You won’t understand the Truth of God’s Word until you’re ready to search for Truth.

Matthew 13:13… “This is why I tell stories: to create readiness…” To challenge you to think. To spark your curiosity. To give you a puzzle that needs solved, a treasure that needs found.

Illustration: I love the Sherlock Holmes stories… He understands that the searching is part of the solution.

Application

The process of searching for Truth leads us to something far more valuable than an answer. It leads us to the One who answers, to Jesus himself.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.

Give a man an answer, and he has one answer. Teach a man to search for Jesus, and he finds all the answers he’ll ever need.

Being a disciple of Jesus is not about being a mature Christian. Being a disciple of Jesus is about being a person who has learned to search for Jesus every day. What are you searching for?

Parables reveal the condition of our hearts and the contradictions in our lives. Parables show us where we’re at with God and where our lives are inconsistent.

Exposition

Parables reveal the condition of our hearts (Matthew 13:18-23).

Different soils, different people, different hearts, different responses to God’s Word.

How do you receive and respond to God’s Word?

Dismiss it? Hear it but not do it? “That person sitting next to me really needed to hear that.”

Is following Jesus like going to the gym in January?

Do you cultivate life with Jesus together as the family of God?

Parables reveal the contradictions in our lives (Matthew 13:15). These people are God’s people, but they can’t see God!

Examples & Applications

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) — Treat your worst enemy the way you would treat your favorite neighbor. But we help our neighbors and do nothing for our enemies.

The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12) — The man whose harvest was abundant, so he built bigger barns, only to die that night. The lesson is that the meaning of life is not found in the abundance of possessions or wealth. I might say I believe that, but do I live that way?

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18) — This teaches us about the importance of forgiving others, especially because we have been forgiven by God. But how often do we fail to extend forgiveness and choose instead to be offended and seek retaliation?

The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18) — Jesus leaves the 99 in search of the one lost sheep. This reveals God’s heart for the lost. But how often do we even think about the people next door who don’t know Jesus?

The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) — There is no sin too great for Jesus to forgive. No matter how far you’ve run away from God, he’s right there waiting for you to come home. Do you believe that?

Meditation and Communion with God (Scattering the Seed)

The gospel of Jesus is about running. It’s about sin and grace, and both are about running.

Sin is you running away from God.

Grace is God running after you and intercepting you to save you from self-destruction.

Questions for Contemplation

Where in your life are you running away from God?

How is God intercepting you?

Are you able to see his “interference” in your life as his grace to save you from self-destructive behavior?

Ask God: What would you have me do?