Parables About The Kingdom Of God (Part 1)

Aired August 9, 2008

Spiritual Warfare (Part 4)

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  1. Introduction
  2. John the Baptist’s view of the Kingdom of God
    1. Matt. 3:1-2, 11-15 1Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 11“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.12“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 13Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”15But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.
    2. Matt. 11:2-3 2Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples3and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”
      1. “How could Jesus be the bearer of the Kingdom of God while sin and wickedness are still here?”
    3. Matt. 11:4-6 4Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:5the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.6“And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
      1. A “mystery” ? something designed by God from creation but hidden from mankind until the appointed time.
      2. The Kingdom of God is to come in two stages!
  3. “Mysteries” about the Kingdom of God
    1. Matt. 13:3-11, 18-23
      1. Men and women can reject the Kingdom of God!
    2. Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43
      1. “You mean the Kingdom of God is here, but the evil age goes on?”
    3. Matt. 13:31-32 31He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;32and 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.”
      1. The mustard seed was a proverbial symbol of that which was tiny and insignificant .
      2. “Don’t let its apparent insignificance deceive you! There will be a time when this same Kingdom will become a great shrub!”
    4. The good news of the Kingdom of God is that men and women can be set free from the bondage of Satan!
    5. You must receive Jesus initially , but you also need to be submitting to Him daily!
  4. Conclusion

(Unless otherwise indicated all Scriptures verses are in the New American Standard Version.)