Introduction to the Parable of the Sower

Bill Woody

The Parable of the Sower • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

Matthew 13:1–9

0 ratings

· 1,435 views

Notes

Transcript

Introduction to the Parable of the Sower

Text: Matthew 13:1–9 (KJV 1900)

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying,

Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Introduction:

* We are now dealing with the first of 8 parables that Jesus gave on the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven.

* I want to remind you that both phrases “the Kingdom of God, and “the Kingdom of Heaven are referring to the same thing, are used by the Gospel writers interchangeably.

* We will, in our next sermon deal with the details of this first of the kingdom parables, The parable of the Sower, but this morning I would like to deal with the main theme of the Kingdom parables of Jesus.

* This first parable is the introduction Jesus used to start his discussion of the Kingdom of God, and we will see that this first parable, the parable of the Sower, is that unlocks the understanding of the rest of the kingdom parables.

* Now I want you to jump down with me on our text chapter, Matthew 13, to verse 18, where Jesus explains for his disciples the meaning of the parable of the sower:

Matthew 13:18–19 (KJV 1900)

18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom,

* Now let’s stop here for a minute. Here is the key to all of the kingdom parables.

* The message and theme of the 8 kingdom parables is found right here in this verse.

* The seed that the sower is sowing, the sower being Jesus Himself, is the seed of the “word of the kingdom.”

* If you will remember from last week, the Bible says that John the Baptist came preaching “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”

* What Kingdom of God? What kingdom were John the Baptist and Jesus, and the 70 that Jesus sent out to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God, what kingdom were they talking about?

* Well if you had been a Jew, listening to Jesus give the parables of the Kingdom of God; you would have understood that Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God referred to by the Prophet Daniel in Daniel 7:9:

Daniel 7:9–14 (KJV 1900)

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

* Jesus said in our text in Matthew 13:19, “When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom…”

* Jesus and John the Baptist came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and of Heaven.

* When Jesus came and presented himself as the Messiah to Israel, He came preaching the “gospel of the kingdom.”

* The Jews rejected the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

* Because they had rejected the kingdom of God offered by Jesus, Jesus returned to heaven to wait until the time of the end of the world.

* Jesus is now in heaven waiting for Israel to repent of their rejection of the “word of the kingdom.”

Matthew 24:14 (KJV 1900)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The Progressive mention principle

* This morning’s sermon will be a teaching sermon, where we will take the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven, and try to discover together what God has revealed in the Bible about the kingdom of Heaven, or the kingdom of God.

* What is the Kingdom of God, and what does the Bible teach about the kingdom of God?

* Now at this point I must remind you of something that we covered on our Wednesday night Bible studies about how to interpret the Bible.

* Do you remember when we talked about the Progressive Mention Principle?

* This is the principle by which God makes the revelation of any given truth increasingly clear as the Bible proceeds from its beginning in Genesis until it ends in the book of Revelation. (Hartill)

* As you study through the Bible, God begins with the basic truths, like where we come from, and why do we have a sinful nature- and progressively ads to those basic truths as you progress through time in the Bible.

* God first introduces the basic truth, and then progressively fills in the details.

* To understand what God would have us to know about the kingdom of God, then we will have to follow this basic Bible truth as it develops though the pages of the Bible.

First Progressive Revelation about the Kingdom of God- The Bible is a tale of two kingdoms

* The Bible is the tale of two kingdoms and it all begins with Genesis 3:15. Genesis 3:15 is the key verse of the entire Bible.

Genesis 3:15 (KJV 1900)

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

* Thus begins the story of two kingdoms, The Kingdom or “seed” of Satan, and the Kingdom, or “seed” of God.

The second Progressive Revelation about the Kingdom of God- Satan’s organized Kingdom

The Kingdom of Satan

* Now let’s take a look at the Kingdom of this world, the kingdom of Satan.

The first account of the organization of the Kingdom of Satan- Babylon:

Genesis 10:32–11:9 (KJV 1900)

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

11 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

* In the City of Babylon, under the rule of Nimrod the predecessor of the Anti-Christ of Revelation, Satan becomes the God of this world and introduces to mankind false religion and the Corrupted worship of the Zodiac,- the worship of the heavens.

* This became the beginning and the root of Pagan worship.

The third Progressive Revelation about the Kingdom of God- Jesus explains that Satan is the King, or ruler of the world.

* Jesus knew much about the kingdom of Satan:

Luke 10:17–18 (KJV 1900)

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

* When fell from Heaven and was cast out into the Earth, the Bible also tells us that Satan brought with him to the earth a third of all the angels in heaven.

Revelation 12:3–4 (KJV 1900)

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth…

* Jesus knew that Satan was jealous of God’s most precious creation, mankind, and was determined to separate God from mankind.

Revelation 12:12 (KJV 1900)

12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

* The Devil, Satan, was cast out of heaven down to earth and has deceived this world and became their God.

* Listen to the words of Jesus concerning Satan becoming the god of this world in II Corinthians 4:2:

2 Corinthians 4:2–4 (KJV 1900)

3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

* Jesus taught that since the fall of Adam and eve to sin, every man, woman, and child has Satan as his father and is part of the kingdom of Satan.

* Listen to what Jesus told the religious rulers of his day in John 8:42:

John 8:42–44 (KJV 1900)

42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.

He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

* If there is any doubt in your mind that all the kingdoms of this world belong to Satan, then listen to what the Bible says in Luke chapter 4 and verse 5:

Luke 4:5–6 (KJV 1900)

5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

* Jesus did not deny the claim that Satan made that all the kingdoms of the world belong to him.

The fourth progressive revelation about the Kingdom of God- The birth of the Messiah, the King of the Kingdom of Heaven

* The book of Revelation is the story of how the resurrected Jesus Christ will take back the rightful ownership of the earth from Satan and take his rightful place as the Creator, the redeemer of the earth, the King of Kings who will rule this earth with a rod of iron and a kingdom that will never end.

Isaiah 9:5–7 (KJV 1900)

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The fifth progressive revelation about the Kingdom of God- The Promise of a 1000 year reign of the Messiah on the throne of David

Revelation 20:1–6 (KJV 1900)

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

* The result of the rule of Satan over this world has been a procession of wicked, cruel, murdering kings and governments- plagued with pestilence, disease, poverty, and bloody wars.

* We read in Psalm 2 the following words:

Psalm 2:1–12 (KJV 1900)

1 Why do the heathen rage, And the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, And cast away their cords from us.

* The primary interpretation of Psalms 2:1 is speaking of the millennial reign of Christ when he rules the nations of the earth with a rod of iron just after the battle of Armageddon.

* Even though this passage speaks mainly of the end of the millennial reign, it still applies to the world we live in today because the Devil knows that the return of Jesus to judge the world is at hand.

* Jesus said in Matthew 24:6:

see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

* We are now living in the days just before the return of Jesus. Jesus called this time in which we live “the beginning of sorrows”

* The beginning of sorrows is the time just before the Antichrist reveals himself to the world and sets up his “One World Government.”

* With breakneck speed, the God of this world, the Devil, is preparing the world for the rule of the Antichrist and his “One World government.”

* We live in very uncertain and frightening times.

* This world desperately awaits the coming of the kingdom of God!

* Jesus said in our text in Matthew 13:19, “When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom…”

* Jesus and John the Baptist came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and of Heaven.

* When Jesus came and presented himself as the Messiah to Israel, He came preaching the “gospel of the kingdom.”

* The Jews rejected the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

* Because they had rejected the kingdom of God offered by Jesus, Jesus returned to heaven to wait until the time of the end of the world.

* Jesus is now in heaven waiting for Israel to repent of their rejection of the “world of the kingdom.”

* Jesus said in Matthew 24:14:

Matthew 24:14 (KJV 1900)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

* In Matthew 24 Jesus that that at the end of time, there will be time of great persecution, and great tribulation, that will bring Israel to its knees in repentance.

* In that time, after Jesus had gathered his church to him in Heaven, the book of Revelation says that there will be 144,000 Jews travel the entire earth once again preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

* In that day they will pray and beg for the Jesus they crucified to come back to the Earth and own Him as their King.

Zechariah 13:8–9 (KJV 1900)

8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, Two parts therein shall be cut off and die;

But the third shall be left therein. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, And will refine them as silver is refined, And will try them as gold is tried: They shall call on my name, and I will hear them:

I will say, It is my people: And they shall say, The Lord is my God.

Zechariah 12:8–14 (KJV 1900)

8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; And the house of David shall be as God, As the angel of the Lord before them.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, That I will seek to destroy all the nations That come against Jerusalem.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The spirit of grace and of supplications: And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, And shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, As the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; The family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart;

The family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; The family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, Every family apart, and their wives apart.

The sixth progressive revelation about the Kingdom of God- The New heavens and a new earth

Revelation 21:1–5 (KJV 1900)

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:

for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Conclusion:

* Have you like Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night, changed your citizenship from that of the default, a citizen of the kingdom of this world, satan’s kingdom.

1 John 5:4–5 (KJV 1900)

4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

* Jesus told Nicodemus that in order to change his citizenship from the Kingdom of this world, to the Kingdom of Heaven; he had to be born-again- by the work of the Holy Spirit of God in his heart.

John 1:10–13 (KJV 1900)

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

* Would you listen to the Holy Spirit and receive the world of the kingdom of heaven like that seed that fell on good ground this morning?

* If you have already chosen to receive the kingdom, which kingdom do you live for- the kingdom of this world? Or the kingdom or God?

I. The prophecy of the Kingdom of God:

The prophetic Dream of Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon

An Image that represents the Kingdoms that will rule the Earth

Daniel 2:31–45 (KJV 1900)

31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

MULTI–METALLIC IMAGE

FOUR BEASTS

NATIONS DESIGNATED

(Chapter 2)

(Chapter 7)

Head of Gold

Lion

Babylon

Arms of Silver

Bear

Media–Persia

Sides of Brass

Panther (leopard)

Graeco–Macedonia

Legs of Iron; Feet of Iron and Clay

Composite beast

Rome

* In the Days of the Forth and Last World Empire, Rome, the Kingdom of God will come.

44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:

and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

* This was also prophesied by the Prophet Jeremiah and Jeremiah chapter 23 beginning with verse 5:

Jeremiah 23:5–8 (KJV 1900)

5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

II. The preaching of the Kingdom of God:

* We read of the prophecies of the coming kingdom of God in the writing of all of the prophets of the Bible throughout the Old Testament, and then the New Testament opens up with the same truth- the Kingdom of God is coming!

* The last book of the Old Testament ends with the promise by god that before the end of the world He would send someone with the spirit of the prophet Elijah who will prepare the way for the coming kingdom of God.

* Listen to the words of Malachi the prophet in the last two verse of the Old Testament:

Malachi 4:5–6 (KJV 1900)

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, And the heart of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

* The New Testament opens with the birth of a man called John the Baptist who is sent by God to proclaim the coming kingdom of God.

* The progressive revelation of the truth of the coming kingdom of God is continued in the opening verses of the New Testament. Listen to the words of Jesus in Luke 16:15:

Luke 16:16 (KJV 1900)

16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

* The Apostle John opens up his New Testament Gospel with these words:

John 1:6–13 (KJV 1900)

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

* Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God:

Matthew 4:23–24 (KJV 1900)

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

* Jesus taught a series of parable about the nature of the kingdom of God:

Matthew 13:1–11 (KJV 1900)

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Matthew 13:24–30 (KJV 1900)

24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Matthew 13:31–32 (KJV 1900)

31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Matthew 24:14 (KJV 1900)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Mark 1:14–18 (KJV 1900)

14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

III. All three parts of the Godhead will be involved in the development of the Kingdom of God.

A. The Kingdom of God started with the work of the Holy Spirit.

* Jesus reveals that the Kingdome of God is a kingdom not of this world:

John 18:33–36 (KJV 1900)

33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 36 Jesus answered,

My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

* Jesus reveals that the kingdom of God begins as a work of the Holy Spirit of God:

John 3:1–16 (KJV 1900)

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

B. The Kingdom of God will fulfill all prophecy to the nation of Israel with the Kingdom of his son, Jesus.

Revelation 20:1–6 (KJV 1900)

C. The Kingdom of God will find its conclusion in the presence of God the Father in the New Heaven and new earth.

Revelation 20:11–21:8 (KJV 1900)

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Conclusion:

* Have you like Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night, changed your citizenship from that of the default, a citizen of the kingdom of this world, satan’s kingdom.

1 John 5:4–5 (KJV 1900)

* Jesus told Nicodemus that in order to change his citizenship from the Kingdom of this world, to the Kingdom of Heaven; he had to be born-again- by the work of the Holy Spirit of God in his heart.

John 1:10–13 (KJV 1900)

* Would you listen to the Holy Spirit and receive the world of the kingdom of heaven like that seed that fell on good ground this morning?

* If you have already chosen to receive the kingdom, which kingdom do you live for- the kingdom of this world? Or the kingdom or God?

Related Media

Related Sermons