Matthew 13:31-52 Mustard and Dragnets
So what is the Real kingdom of God and how do we live it out?
•The kingdom of God is quite simple- It’s the preaching of the Good news of Christs reign, rule and redemption of the world of its sin. This kingdom has rules and the ruler is Jesus
•Christ reign over all the earth- His RULE over every life that submits and Redemption over every life that repents- When THIS happens, people change, laws change, communities change- its slow- but it’s the way Jesus wanted it- Small beginnings to cultural change.
•Through the preaching of the word of God, holy living and witnessing, we lead others to Christ and the world “changes” little by little. Its not pretty- but its what Christ demanded
•Matthew 28:19-20 READ
•We are sojourners on this planet- awaiting for the arrival of Christ- and we want to gather as many souls as we can to go to heaven with us until his return. We want to preach his kingdom
•Every time we lead another person to the Lord we are growing the kingdom!
•Its very simple- Go and look what the people in the Bible did and you can see what we should be doing- we need to be preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins!
•Acts 28:31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
•In the book of Acts they preached repentance and forgiveness of sins. Simply- God will forgive you if you turn to him. Then you will be in God’s kingdom. Turn to him and live for him
•Five- Preaching. Worshipping. Fellowshipping. Giving. Serving. WITHIN THE CHURCH.
•People want the Kingdom of God to be a tangible rulership- They want to be in charge.
•Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.- A spiritual kingdom isn’t a political kingdom.
•1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
•Simply- the kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal, sovereign God over all the universe
•More narrowly, the kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority. – it’s not overthrowing worldly systems into Christian ones
•Those who defy God’s authority and refuse to submit to Him are not part of the kingdom of God; in contrast, those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ and gladly surrender to God’s rule in their hearts are part of the kingdom of God.
•In this sense, the kingdom of God is spiritual—Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), and He preached that repentance is necessary to be a part of the kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17).
•That the kingdom of God can be equated with the sphere of salvation is evident in this script-
•John 3:5-7 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter 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 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
•where Jesus says the kingdom of God must be entered into by being born again.
•Simply put- Those who think the kingdom of God is a political, physical or theocratic nation are sorely mistaken and biblically misguided- We should vote our Bibles- but that’s to be able to more effectively witness- its not to establish a Christian kingdom on this earth.
So now that we have an understanding of the kingdom of God- lets walk through these parables and try to apply them to our understanding of what the kingdom is.
- The Kingdom will grow
- The parable of the mustard seed and Leaven both have the same meaning in that something small becomes something big-
- The Kingdom of God started with Jesus, his disciples, and the kingdom will grow
- Very very prophetic- Christianity has grown from Jesus and 12 others to 2.2 billion by some estimates.
- That’s pretty good expansion. Those are good numbers- Read v 31-33
- The mustard seed is an example of a very small seed that turns into a very large tree
- We can all see that word picture- of something growing- specifically a tree- there’s a tree in my old neighborhood that I used to jump over that is now probably 50 feet tall
- I also bake bread– I used 1tbsp to 7 cups of flour and this stuff grows
- Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
- This is a Gospel truth from Jesus- and we have seen it come to fruition in our own lives-
- This church has grown from 6 to about 375. It’s what the Gospel does- it grows.
- And in that- lives are changed- people saved, relationships restored, God glorified.
- That the Kingdom will grow- means that we, as members of the kingdom must grow with it.
- Growing numerically without growing spiritually is not growing the kingdom-
- 2 Peter 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- When we learn from the word of God- and then apply it to our lives, we’re growing the kingdom- but we must be engaged with the process- we must be growing internally
- Are you deeper in Jesus? Trust him more, love him more, more peace, joy, patience?
- Luke 17:20-21’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
- Here’s where it gets good- Its not actually you doing it- its as you submit to the will and word of the Father that we become more like Jesus- but its HIM doing it within us on HIS strenght
- Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
- How tho? Trusting his word. Calling on his spirit. Praying and believing. Sacrificing more.
- Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
- That’s what he does! Its his kingdom- he is the one that does it- he is the one who makes it happen- not us- Young man- helping out- not helping- go and get the pizza- never was about me- it was about him growing me-
- What are you doing to help grow the kingdom?
- Are you on mission? Do you share your testimony, invite others to know Jesus? Bring to church? Do you support the work of the ministry of the preaching of the Gospel?
- Couple Sundays ago-$$ for bibles for Andrew braze for China.
The Kingdom will be a mystery
- Prophecy and the Parables 34 -35 READ
- Serving Jesus is a mystery- there’s so much about Him and his word that I’m still figuring out- I feel like I have a pretty good understanding- but I don’t know it all for sure.
- We spoke about this a while back and I want to revisit it (because Jesus did as well) but so much of serving God is predicated on your conversion- You have to be converted to be able to get this. You’re confused on both sides- if you know you get frustrated that other don’t and if you don’t you don’t understand what the big deal is.
- But this mystery part of serving God never Goes away and it has always been.
- Psalm 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,
- Ephesians 3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
- Those who embrace the story of the God of YHWH embrace mystery we don’t live in answers
- I am fine not knowing everything- wife movies- ‘he did it’ first 2 min. I want to be surprised.
- Yes- there are answers but there is some that is just a mystery that can’t be clearly articulated
- And that’s frustrating for the people that have a need for 100% but that’s not faith
- A lot of this comes from the enlightenment period of the 18th century. Thinkers moved from religious absolutes, to scientific absolutes and critical thinking. They believed that everything could be known and proved, and that which couldn’t was to be rejected- Skepticism was key
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
- I know what I believe, I talk to others that hold the same belief, but to those who don’t embrace it- it just seems like it’s a bunch of malarkey.
- And that’s a struggle for people of faith in this day and age- there’s faith- just not biblical faith, because biblical faith has requirements- people believe in A god and A heaven and A virtue
- Romans 16:25-26 READ
- Paul understood this mystery and he probably embraced it so deeply because he understood his sin so well. He had crucified Christians- now if you’re living in a false world of pretending you don’t need a savior, then yea, you probably wouldn’t embrace- but this mystery is REAL
- Forgiveness is real.
- Understand this- God speaks directly to those who are HIS and I’m GOOD living in the mystery
- Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Ephesians 3:5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
- Colossians 1:25-26 READ
- Embrace the mystery! Be Ok with not knowing- not having it all figured out- its not blind faith- its acceptance of your limitations- (Crystal and I being OK with not knowing all about ourselves- ‘know Christ and the power of his resurrection)
The Kingdom will be worth it
- Read 44-46
- Both of these parables have the same goal and function- selling all you have and buying
- The hidden treasure is- if you went and walked an acre and found a gold mine that was worth millions- you’d sell all that you had- and go and buy that field, because selling what you have would gain you more buy buying the other field- Same with a pearl- why wouldn’t you sell everything to get something more valuable? Everyone would- or should
- So the parable is- the kingdom of heaven is greater than everything that you could ever gain on this earth- so why wouldn’t you give up everything you have to gain what you get in the kingdom?
- Short answer- people don’t see it as valuable- but as a burden- a cost instead of a gain
- The Bible talks about this hidden nature of the kingdom- many wont see it-
Colossians 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. - Proverbs 3:7-9
- This is the meaning of Luke 18:23-24 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!
- It’s because they aren’t willing to give up their riches to get the kingdom- love it more!
- What is in the kingdom? Righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit. A good solid life in Christ- yes- there are challenges- but it’s a great life living in the grace of God-
- The God life is the best life- it really is- free from penalty of sin- love of God, direction, purpose, peace, provision, protection, you live according to the scriptures- you get the God life.
- Luke 14:33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
- Do you think its worth giving everything up to gain? Do you have that view? Are you willing to forsake all to gain all?
- What are you holding on to that is keeping you from experiencing the treasure of the kingdom?
- What beliefs are you holding on to that you need to let go? Do you see value in the kingdom?
- Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- The Kingdom of Heaven will be preached
- 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,
- This end of these parables- that Jesus- through the preaching of the word- would gather all types of people into the kingdom of heaven-
- Matthew 4:19Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
- And that’s our call! To preach the kingdom- its what Jesus talked about more than anything.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
- Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
- Acts 10:42 And He commanded us to preach to the people,
- Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
- READ Exodus 4:10-12 “Lord I am not eloquent”
- God empowers those who are submitted to his will! He will give you the power to SPEAK
- 2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
- You find ways to preach in your every day life- use what God gives you- lights- wife, neighbor-
- ‘better to live on a roof top than with a contentious wife”
- Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
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