LIVING IN HEAVEN NOW
Matthew 13:24-33
THE PLANTING OF GOSPEL SEED
V:24-25. " Jesus presented another parable to 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 tares among the wheat, and went away. "
A. Jesus is the good seed.
1. The field is
the world.
2. God so loved
the world that He sent His Son, Jesus to preach the Gospel truth.
3. God's grace and
mercy is bestowed upon His people.
4. He grew up the
Nation of Israel in slavery.
a. God freed Israel
b. God's
commands are the seeds of righteousness.
B. From the beginning, God made man in His own image and
likeness
1. Man was made
free from sin and unrighteousness.
2. Satan the enemy
of God corrupted the mind of man with deceptions and
lies about
God.
C. When the Word of
God is not kept close to our hearts, we can become sleep
in the spirit
of God.
1. When we don't
know the Word of God for ourselves, we can easily be
deceived by the
outside influences of Satan.
2. The enemy of
God speaks the Word without the spirit of God.
3. The enemy of
God speaks the Word without the love of God.
D. We need to understand that Heaven is the Word of God.
1. In the
beginning was the Word and the Word was God and Word was
with God and
Word became flesh and dwelled among us.
2. Matthew 4:17 states, " From that time Jesus began
to preach, and to say, Repent: for
the kingdom of
heaven is at hand."
3. It was Satan
himself, the prince of darkness who corrupted the Word
in the mind of
man.
THE CORRUPTION OF THE GOSPEL SEED
V:26-28 "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain,
then the tares became evident also.
27 "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him,
'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The
slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?"
A. You know a man by the fruit he bares.
1. You know a man
is corrupted by his actions against God.
2. God planted the
truth, but Satan planted lies and deceptions.
3. God presented
us with His righteousness.
4. We allow
ourselves to be corrupted by the evil around us.
B. Satan presents himself as an angel of light.
1. Our knowledge
of the Word become corrupted when it is considered
with selfish
desires.
2. Inside the
Church will be people with different backgrounds, knowledge
and
teachings.
3. It is job of
the preacher and the teachers to teach Word of God without
any
alteration.
C. There will be people in the Church who hold on to
doctrines that are not of
God.
1. Our job as
preachers and teachers in not to eliminate those who preach the
untruths, but
to educated them in the truth of God.
2. In a growing
Church, there will always be people with different levels of
spiritual growth and maturity.
3. We should
never shame a brother or sister because they are immature in
the Word.
4. We should also
understand that there will be those who come in the Church
who are not
interested in the truth.
a. We cannot
tell who God has predestined to be part of the body of Christ.
b. We are not
the judge or the jury.
c. Our job is
to encourage everyone in the Lord
DON'T LET YOUR WORDS AND ACTIONS DISCOURAGE OTHERS
V:29 -30 "But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering
up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in
the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the
tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my
barn."
A, God made us all,
the good and the bad.
1. All have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.
2. We grow up in
the mist of the evil in the world.
B. We have a choice to accept Christ as our personal Savior.
1. Those who
reject Christ live along with those who claim Jesus as their
redeemer.
2. All of us will
have to give an account of what we have done on earth at
day of
judgment.
3. Those who
accept Christ by faith will enter into Heaven.
4. Those who
reject Christ will have an eternal home in hell.
C. We have no idea
who will accept Christ before they die.
1. Our job is to
proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone.
2. On the cross,
Jesus gave us an example of a man who accept Him
as Savior
while he was dying.
THE GROWING OF GRACE
The Mustard Seed
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, "The
kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his
field;
32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is
full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE
BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES."
A. The Gospel of Jesus Christ started small.
1. Jesus started
His teaching with His twelve chosen disciples.
2. After His death
the Gospel exploded.
3. After Peter's
first sermon, 3000 people accepted Christ.
4. The number of
disciples grew to 5000 after Peter's second sermon.
5. The Gospel of
Jesus Christ has been preach around the world.
B. There is no limit to the effect of the Gospel on the
people of the world.
1. We may not be
able count the number of disciples of Jesus Christ.
2. The number of
disciple will continue to increase until the day Jesus
returns to
get His Church.
C. Every believer can take refuge in the Lord. Psalms 7:1
1. Every believer
is under the protection of the Lord.
2. Every believer
is under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.
3. As we study the
Word of God, it is the Holy Spirit that give us
understanding.
THE CHANGE INTO THE LIKENESS OF GOD
The Leaven
V:33. " He spoke
another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which
a woman took and
hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened."
A. The Life of a Christian, is constantly being transformed
into the image of Christ.
1. Leaven effects
the entire composition of the dough.
2. Like wise, the
Word of God changes the mindset of the believer.
3. The Word of God
transforms, regenerates and enlighten those who
study and
meditate on it.
B. The Word is hid in the minds of believers and made known
through our
words and
actions.
1. God's grace and
mercy is unlimited to the Church as a whole and
to every
individual believer.
2. It is by His
grace that we were predestined to be in the body of Christ.
3. God's mercy
continues to cover us.
THANK GOD FOR OUR HOME IN
HEAVEN
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
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