Surveying the Kingdom
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: I want to begin the message this morning in maybe a strange way. I want to begin with a principle of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is a fancy word for how to interpret the Bible. One of the principles of hermeneutics is that many stand alone stories may be teaching one larger truths.
An example of this is in the Gospel of John 7, 8, and 9 teaches about spiritual blindness. The people, Pharisees, are as spiritually blind as the man born blind in chapter 9. Its a warning to us to open our eyes and see Jesus for who He is — God incarnate.
This morning I want us to look at another series of stories that drive home some clear principles of the kingdom. Look with me in Matthew 13. Here we find a series of parables. Any one of these parables can stand alone, but together they teach us the mysteries of the kingdom Matthew 13:10-11.
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
Let’s list and describe the parables.
The Parable of the Sower
The Parable of the Sower
Seeds
Soils
Distractions/demons
Fruit
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares
Seed/Sowers
Counterfeits
Two Kingdom growing together
A future judgement
The Parable of Mustard Seed
The Parable of Mustard Seed
Small beginnings
Healthy Growth
A Safe Haven for the weary.
The Parable of Leaven
The Parable of Leaven
Exponential Growth
Supernatural expansion
The power of the Gospel
The Parables of Treasures
The Parables of Treasures
I have heard these parables explained many different ways, but these are parables of believers.
Faith
Hope
Love
These found what their soul longed for and gave their lives to the Savior.
This is the good soil.
It reminds us that God wants our whole heart!
The Parable of the Dragnet
The Parable of the Dragnet
Coronation of the Kingdom
Every kind will be gathered
The heart will be tested
God will sort through believers and non-believers.
He will harvest the grain and burn the chaff.
The sure foundation of God has this seal. God knows those who are His.
So, What is the Message of the Kingdom?
So, What is the Message of the Kingdom?
To the Servant, The Principle of Sowing.
To the Servant, The Principle of Sowing.
The message of the kingdom is to be shared with confidence.
There are seed and opportunity abundant.
Some will hear, some won’t.
Some will endure for a season but eventually demonstrate that their heart doesn’t belong to God.
But, our job is not determining the soil; it is to sow seeds.
The Gospel is to be shared non-stop until Jesus returns. Don’t grow weary of sowing, because without sowing there is no harvest.
To the Church, The Principle of Growing.
To the Church, The Principle of Growing.
The church and kingdom are growing.
The Word of God will not go out void.
But the church is not yet pure.
The church will have counterfeits that Satan has planted.
It will have those who have heard yet not decided and the enemy trying to steal the seed.
It will have those who have heard but not received because they love the world and riches.
It will have those who have heard but not fully committed and grown their faith.
It will have those who have heard but don’t love God enough to endure hardship.
It will have those who have heard, received, believed, grown, and produced fruit.
Why do we have all the disunity and chaos that we see in church today? Because the church is growing, but its growing in a world that is decaying.
The church needs to remember this.
To the Believer, the Principle of Harvesting.
To the Believer, the Principle of Harvesting.
One day, and not very long, the kingdom of God will be ushered in. The Kingdom of God will appear at the coming of Jesus Christ and this world will fade away.
The mountain will be laid low.
The earth will tremble
The Kings of the earth will be humbled.
The Scoffer will be silenced.
The hypocrite will be terrified.
The wealthy will feel destitute.
The proud will feel for the first-time unworthy.
The wise in their own eyes will feel foolish.
And those who have laid down their lives for the glory of God will rejoice.
The church will shout because she will become spotless because the King of Glory will rip up the tares and preserve the wheat. He will separate the goats from the sheep. He will sweep His net across the earth and separate believers from non-believers.
The church will hear come into the joy of the Lord and those who played, postponed, pretended, and poisoned will hear DEPART FROM ME YOU WORKERS OF INIQUITY I NEVER KNEW YOU!
The wheat will be put in the barn and the chaff will be burned.
What a day that will be When my Jesus I shall see, And I look upon His face, The One who saved me by His grace. When He takes me by the hand and leads me through the promise land What a day a glorious day that will be.
Oh believer take heart. One day God will settle all the accounts and every enemy will be destroyed. And we will find that all the trials of this life were but a momentary affliction compared to the eternal weight of glory.
One last principle of the kingdom we see in chapter 13 of Matthew.
One last principle of the kingdom we see in chapter 13 of Matthew.
To the Hearer, The Principle of Treasuring.
To the Hearer, The Principle of Treasuring.
Jesus gives two parables in this dissertation on the kingdom of God, gives two parables about treasures.
The hidden treasure and
The pearl of great price
Both parables are about someone finding something that brought so much joy that they sold everything that they had to purchase it.
Some present the purchaser as Jesus because he laid everything down to redeem us. And there is nothing wrong with that interpretation. A parable is a parallel and there can be many applications, but…
All of these parables are about true believers and counterfeits, or those who come close but fall short of true saving faith. So, it stands to reason that these two are also about those who are a part of the kingdom and those who aren’t.
The point is those who have discovered someone not something who is worthy of everything they have is the true believer.
The true kingdom citizen has found in Jesus what the soul longs for. They have found a relationship that satisfies their every desire.
One who removes every fear, that free from every guilt and stain.
The true kingdom citizen has given up their lives so they could save it.
They have truly done what is most beneficial for their souls. They have found true life and liberty.
They have tasted and experienced something worthy of their complete devotion.
They are lovesick for Jesus.
You may say, how can I know if I am part of the Kingdom?
You may say, how can I know if I am part of the Kingdom?
You know when you find a treasure.
You know what its like to fall in love.
You know what it is like to desire something more than your next breath.
We all long for those feelings. We long for something that will make us feel that way.
When it is missing we feel the void and frustration that it leaves behind.
Have you ever fell for Jesus this way? Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good?
If not let me tell you nothing else will satisfy.
If you have tasted but have allowed lesser thing to rob your affections, you are a disgruntled, unsatisfied Christian that needs to repent. You’re running on your own steam and its exhausting.
