This is What the Kingdom is Like
The whole time the Lord Jesus was here on this earth, He represented His Kingdom in every way: through principles, laws, word and behavior. He never once misrepresented His Father, through word or deeds.
When speaking to the public, He often spoke in parables. There were many times He shared to them what the Kingdom was like. The disciples were somewhat perplexed concerning the parables. His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” He readily responded to them with this answer: He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables. For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
There are many people who aren’t ready to receive the Kingdom message for various reasons. Though we may not know, the Lord Jesus knows why! The Lord Jesus told them to listen to the parable of the sower.
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s Word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Now, re-read that passage several times and ask the Governor—the Holy Spirit—to enlighten your understanding concerning this passage. There are many who fall in the category of verses 20 & 21. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s Word. It is not enough to just hear and even read His Word, but to apply it to your lifestyle. It must become your life. In doing so you will view the world from a Kingdom perspective. Each time that the Lord Jesus made this statement “This is what the Kingdom is like” He was referring to a characteristic of the Kingdom. People on stony ground fail to dig into the Lord God’s constitution (His Word). They are like those who only attend religious services on Sunday mornings. Their emotions may be stirred when they hear the message, but they fail to apply it to their lives. Once again, you can’t find the Kingdom through a religious setting, only through His righteousness in His Word. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. NKJV
Now, let us view another parable concerning what the Kingdom of Heaven is like: Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
Again, this is another characteristic of the Kingdom. The farmer, planting good seed, is a citizen of Kingdom government. He is the man that is preaching and teaching the Kingdom gospel. The good “seed” is the Kingdom message, but the tares are those messages that are of a religious nature. Our responsibility is to keep preaching and teaching the gospel of the Kingdom concept, as Jesus preached. The King will handle all that other business when He returns.
“‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’” Those of us who are citizens of the Kingdom trust in the promises of the King, because we know that He always keeps His Word. Ambassador Paul made this statement: This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.
Here is another characteristic of the Kingdom. Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
Remember, also, it starts out very small but eventually grows so that it will make room for all to make their home in it: Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
Your place of safety and rest is in His righteousness, which is found in His Word. I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Matthew 13:10 Matthew 13:11-13 Matthew 13:18-23 Matthew 13:20-21 Matthew 6:33
Matthew 13:24-30 Matthew 13:29-30 Titus 1:1-2 Matthew 13:33 Matthew 13:31-32
Psalm 119:11 All NLT except where noted
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
When speaking to the public, He often spoke in parables. There were many times He shared to them what the Kingdom was like. The disciples were somewhat perplexed concerning the parables. His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” He readily responded to them with this answer: He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables. For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
There are many people who aren’t ready to receive the Kingdom message for various reasons. Though we may not know, the Lord Jesus knows why! The Lord Jesus told them to listen to the parable of the sower.
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s Word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Now, re-read that passage several times and ask the Governor—the Holy Spirit—to enlighten your understanding concerning this passage. There are many who fall in the category of verses 20 & 21. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s Word. It is not enough to just hear and even read His Word, but to apply it to your lifestyle. It must become your life. In doing so you will view the world from a Kingdom perspective. Each time that the Lord Jesus made this statement “This is what the Kingdom is like” He was referring to a characteristic of the Kingdom. People on stony ground fail to dig into the Lord God’s constitution (His Word). They are like those who only attend religious services on Sunday mornings. Their emotions may be stirred when they hear the message, but they fail to apply it to their lives. Once again, you can’t find the Kingdom through a religious setting, only through His righteousness in His Word. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. NKJV
Now, let us view another parable concerning what the Kingdom of Heaven is like: Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
Again, this is another characteristic of the Kingdom. The farmer, planting good seed, is a citizen of Kingdom government. He is the man that is preaching and teaching the Kingdom gospel. The good “seed” is the Kingdom message, but the tares are those messages that are of a religious nature. Our responsibility is to keep preaching and teaching the gospel of the Kingdom concept, as Jesus preached. The King will handle all that other business when He returns.
“‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’” Those of us who are citizens of the Kingdom trust in the promises of the King, because we know that He always keeps His Word. Ambassador Paul made this statement: This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.
Here is another characteristic of the Kingdom. Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
Remember, also, it starts out very small but eventually grows so that it will make room for all to make their home in it: Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
Your place of safety and rest is in His righteousness, which is found in His Word. I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Matthew 13:10 Matthew 13:11-13 Matthew 13:18-23 Matthew 13:20-21 Matthew 6:33
Matthew 13:24-30 Matthew 13:29-30 Titus 1:1-2 Matthew 13:33 Matthew 13:31-32
Psalm 119:11 All NLT except where noted
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
