The Key to Unlocking Mysteries

How many of you like a good mystery? Well like you I like a mystery as long as I am reading about one or watching a depiction of one. BUt I don’t so much like mysteries that revolve around me or my family.

How many of you at one time or another have asked yourself? If God then Why? that is if God does in fact exist,. then why did this happen. If you have never asked that before, just wait you will, or two you just are not willing to be honest with yourself. I told you last week that god is a God of mystery, to an extent, except that for which he has revelaed of himself in scripture. But in scripture we find that God is a God that dwells in a secret place, that means He’s not easily found. And we find in scripture that there are many mysteries, why does God allow things continue to go on? Why doesn’t hhe just destroy the devil? Why did He allow this person to live , while this person died at an early age. The Bible is replete of mysteries, the human condition is riddiled with mysteries. history is plagued with mysteries, But this God of the Bible knows and understands all mysteries. And the bible is replete with stories full of mystery that depend on the reveler

In Daniels time, the King Nebudchanezzar had a strange dream that rattled him to the core, and He summoned every sorcerer, magician, and wise man that was across the entire Babylonian providence, and He not only wanted them to give the interpretation of the dream he had, He also wanted them to describe the dream itself. And this vicious King was so shaken by the dream that He was ordering the exceution of these magicians, sorcerers and wise men who could not tell him both the dream and the interpretation of the dream. But thankfully there was a man that knew God that was able to stand in the King’s way

Daniel

Daniel 2:17–18 ESV

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:27–28 ESV

27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:

There was another mystery concerning God’s own people the people of Israel, after they rejected their own messiah and the glory of Israel disappeared, and to the Apostle Paul this mystery was revealed

Romans 3:25 ESV

25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Romans 11:25 ESV

25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

You see up until the New Testament The Jews were the only chosen of God, but through their unbelief that opened up the gates of mercy and salvation to the rest of the World and Paul follows this up in

Ephesians 3:6 ESV

6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Death was a mystery, that was until one came out of the grave and gave new hope to humanity

1 Corinthians 15:51–55 ESV

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

1 Cor 15:

Mystery of Lawlessness

But most of our questions about God revolve around this other mystery, And it is the mystery of Lawlessness, because this mystery is when hells full artillery is leveled against us, and something tragic, evil, some of the most unthinkable evils come about and then we question God, but God tells us that there is even a mystery to that. A mystery to us and not a mystery to him.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 ESV

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

2 Thessalonians

This is the hardest one when this Spirit of lawlessness visits our own home. When someone dies unexpectantly, when out of no where someone that we love and trust damges us in the worst of ways, when a spouce is found out in an adulterous relationship.

Hre is the important thing, is God told us that there is a mystery of sin, but God has a plan

Even the cross was a mystery,

Ephesians 1:7-

Ephesians 1:7–10 ESV

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

THEOLOGY

providence- Providence is basically God’s provision for the needs of men on time.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Biblical Meaning of Providence

The word providence means literally “to see before,” and therefore by implication to do something about the situation.

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD MEANS HE PROVIDES IN WICKED AND IMPOSSBLE SITUATIONS. he has the popwer to raise the dead and make the heart whole again. he has the power to thwart the plans of Darkness and overthrow wicked peaple at the snap of a finger at the height of their Rule!!

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Providence. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1792). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

From the Blood of Able to the millions of babies that have been sacrificed at the altars of abortion… God provides for His people, He guides protects and overthrows. And even though the storms of this life may have blown you off course, it may jsut be that in god’s providence He has you right where He wants you!!!! Thats a real good spot for an amen!!

Do you wnat to get in on this mystery with God? Listen He dwells in the secret place, and does not reveal great mysteries to people that treat his word like yesterdays newspaper!!

In fact his providence is especially evident in thos e that have a close personal relatiohsip

THE MYSTERY OF THE SOWER

Last week we looked at a parable of the Sower, and in the parables Jesus is revealing spiritual mysteries with down to earth stories… Remember Jesus is the God man. He is the revelaer of great mysteries. He is The Word of God. He is the Light of man. Her is mans cure for his diseases, He is mans enabler for His paralysis. He is the calmer of storms and the lover of souls..... and His teaching though mysterious, both reveals and conceals. He reveals to those that love him, obey his word from the heart, But He concelas to those that treat him like that buddy that you have that you don’t really have any respect for.

And in the parable of the Sower we saw why some people respond to Jesus the way they do, Why some openly reject him. Why some people walk with him for a while , and they seem like they are doing so good, but they have a superficial and shallow relationship to the Lord and they walk away. By the way there is always collateral damage when someone walks with the Lord and then walks away. May I tell you that the ones that have the true thing aren’t one that prayed a prayer when they were ten and then never served the Lord after that. But scripture makes it abundantly clear that the ones that are truly save dare the ones that endure to the end. The endure through the good times and the bad. They endure when the skys are blew and when they are circling with

1 John 2:19 ESV

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Nw we are going to look at another mystery, that the Lord reveals in the Parable of the

THE WHEAT AND THE TARES

Have you ever been to church and encountered hypocrites? I would imagine that you have, every church has them, even the sweetest of churches have them. Even Jesus had one in his group named Judas

Matthew 13:24–30 ESV

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Matt 13

Now again this parrable has to do with truths that are concealed to those on the outside but revealed to those on the inside. NOw this parable the sower is out sowing

This parable speaks of hypocrisy, pretenders that get mingled in with the church of Jesus Christ. It is the message of the Kingdom. And while men slept,,, and enemy comes and scatters weeds among the good seed.

The Sowing of the Tares

Matthew 13:25 ESV

25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

Who is the enemy? Well again this is one of those parables we do not have to guess

Matthew 12:38–39 ESV

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Matthew 12:38-3

who is the one that is sowing these Weeds? Well it is the devil

Matthew 13:38–39 ESV

38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Matthew13

Why? Why is the enemy coming in and sowing weeds among this church? Well the answer is queiet simple.... It is the only battle strategy that the devil has. Jesus said upon this rock i will build My church and the gates of hell cannote stand against it. Can I tell you that the devil is afraid of the church of Jesus Christ. He has been defeated by our king. and the King has placed His spirit within us, and there is nonthing that can stop the Christian that has His eyes focused on Jesus

Can I tell you that men may slepp but God does not, and God have mercy on people that come in and begin to cause drama, and problems inside the church. I fact God will not show mercy to these people unless they repent. People that come in and cause young Christians to stumble. People who badmouth the ministry in the background.

The Growing of the Weeds/ Show Pictiure of THE Grain and the Weeds

Matthew 13:27–30 ESV

27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Matthew 13:

What does the Lord do? Tell them to go on a witch hunt and uproot people? No, He says let them grow side by side. Because these are people and you or I don’t know what is in someones heart. And when we go and try to remove people and do this and that, we will uproot some of the wheat and some of the tares will stay.

What to do with hypocrites in the church? The Lord knew that people would have a hard time with this one. Can I tell you what not to do? When you encounter a hypocrite inside the church, do not stop being apart of the church. You will not be able to stand before God one day on the day of judgment and say, well God I never served you well, because there were just too many hypocrites at that church.... He will probably say well you kept going to Walmart

What to do with hypocrites in the church? The Lord knew that people would have a hard time with this one. Can I tell you what not to do? When you encounter a hypocrite inside the church, do not stop being apart of the church. You will not be able to stand before God one day on the day of judgment and say, well God I never served you well, because there were just too many hypocrites at that church.... He will probably say well you kept going to Walmart

Yes God its because they kept rolling back their prices.... And God will say yes but there were hypocrites there.... Can I tell you that God rolled back some things.... He rolled back that Stone that was at the grave of Jesus Christ. He will roll back some shame and guilt

Some of the best people that I have ever met, by far have been in the church, the body of Jesus Christ. By far hands down. I have met some of the greatest people that have been deeply touched by the Spirit of God. Some of the worst people, that I have ever met have been inside of the church. Now what is the deal? Well the deal is, the devil has always known that he cannot defeat the true church, the body that is made up of individuals who have the Spirit of the Living God.

Listen a counterfeit doesn't doesn’t prove something. Counterfeits inside the church doesn’;t disprove the church. People only counterfeit something that has value. I mean people don’t counterfeit toilet paper, they counterfeit $100 bills.

Matthew 13:36–43 ESV

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Matthew 13:36

You will be known by your fruits/ Picture of the Tares and the Wheat.

When you don’t see a professing Christian bearing any fruit… Fruit oif Love eace, patience Kindness goodness, and self control, but all you see is bitterness, anger, self indulgence, wickedness, you need to beware, because that person will cause you problems.

Show pic of wheat and tares before Grain is developed

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive II. Expect Many Church Members to Be Hypocrites

So in this parable, you have three basic thoughts. You have the sowing of the tares, the growing of the tares, and the knowing of the tares. The sowing of the tares: the devil did it. The growing of the tares: the hypocrites and the Christians are side by side, and they grow together. The knowing of the tares will come at the end of the age. The lesson: Don’t expect everybody to receive the gospel. Number two: Don’t get discouraged because of hypocrites in the church—just don’t do it. It doesn’t prove the gospel is false—not at all.

A counterfeit is the greatest compliment that anything that is real could have. Why do people counterfeit hundred-dollar bills? Because, evidently, a hundred-dollar bill is worth something. They don’t counterfeit gum wrappers. You see, the counterfeit is a testimony to the worthwhileness, the validity, of the real.

Show pic of wheat when it develops grain

THE KNOWING OF THE WEEDS

Matthew 13:40–43 ESV

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Matthew 13

Jesus said you will know them by their fruit. Listen Christianity is not something that you have to try and push around. There should be a supernatural growth . As we abide in Jesus Christ. The only way to tell wheat from weeds is the wheat produces a grain and there is a harvest time. There is comeing a day when the truphet of God will preced the coming of the Son of God. And when He comes, he will not be the lowly Carpenter, that was nailed to the Cross, He will be the exalted Saviour the King of angel armies, and the angels will go forth and gather the weeds, and gather them for judgment in the Lake of Fire. And the true children of God, will be gathered into the Kings house