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Advent Productions

The Parables

Benjamin Ng

The Four Grounds

Father in heaven, thank you so much for this time that we can come and study together.

Thank you Lord that we can take this time to open your Word.

Thank you for watching over us in this past week and we just pray that as we open this new series together, as we study the parables that are found in the scriptures, that you would please speak to our hearts, Lord.

Lead and guide us, oh Father, with your Holy Spirit.

And help us to understand the words that we're about to look at.

Well the first parable that we'll be looking at this evening is found in Matthew 13 it is the parable of the 4 grounds So let's go there shall we?

Matthew chapter 13 and we're starting in verse 3.

And he spake many things unto them in parables saying, Behold a sower went forth to sow and when he sowed some seeds fell by the wayside and the fowls came and devoured them up.

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth.

And when the sun was up they were scorched, because they had no root, they withered away.

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them.

But other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Let him hear." So this is the first parable that we'll be looking at this evening.

And this is a probably in 1 of the more common parables.

It's a long parable but it is certainly a very important parable for us to study here this evening.

And the disciples you know after Jesus that he shares his parable They come to ask Jesus a question in Matthew 13 verse 10 the very next verse the Bible says and the disciples came and said unto him why speakest thou unto them in parables?" And look this is a very good introduction into the series that we're starting here, the parables of Jesus.

Because you see This is the foundation as to why we must remember why Jesus spake in parables and he gives this reason.

And 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.

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance, but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaioth, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.

For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Now look, this is quite a lengthy answer and there's a few reasons as to why Jesus tells us He speaks in parables.

But the first reason is to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

And obviously the disciples, he was speaking to the disciples and he says, to you, you will understand.

And so, you know, Jesus used natural earth objects or natural lessons that you can find here out in nature or things that occurred naturally to illustrate his teachings about the kingdom of heaven to each and every 1 of us.

And it helps us to understand better these lessons so that we can remember it every time we look upon these object lessons or every time we go there it's easy for us to be reminded about the kingdom of heaven.

So Jesus speaks in parables to help us to better understand his teachings.

But there's another reason that he said as well.

He said, those that see, they cannot see.

And those that really hear, they cannot hear, neither do they what?

That's what Jesus said in those verses before that we just read.

It was to keep the truth from the enemy so only those that had spiritual discernment could understand.

Now why would Jesus want to keep the truth hidden from some people?

I mean wouldn't it be good for everybody to understand?

Well you see friends there are many insincere people that are not seeking for truth and so God allows only those that are sincere to understand so that it'll become apparent who are the true followers of Christ.

You see, spiritual things are spiritually discerned.

Not everybody can understand these parables, even though they read it, they understand the parable itself in terms of what Jesus was referring to.

In this case, we're studying about the 4 grounds.

So yeah, we see a person with seed, we see this and we see that, we see the different objects, but they might not understand what it means, you see.

And so there was, for those that have spiritual discernment, they can understand, But those that don't, they're coming with the wrong motive, the wrong desires, then God hides it.

He knows what the condition of our hearts are, you see.

So Those are the 2 reasons that Jesus gives.

And so, looking at this 4 grounds, the parable of the 4 grounds, let's go back and have a look at it because we read through it.

But let's just see what are the things that are common that are running through this parables.

When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked 1 and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.

This is he which received seed by the wayside." So this is the wayside, okay?

Now let's look at the stony ground Matthew 13 20 to 21 but he that received the seed into stony places the same is he that heareth the word and anon with joy receiveth it Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while, for when tribulation or persecution riseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

That's the interpretation, the application that Jesus is giving to us in the stony ground.

Now, the thorny ground, the third ground Matthew 13 verse 22, he also that receives seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becometh unfruitful and then lastly verse 23 but he that receives seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth some a hundredfold, some 60, some thirty." Now look, I know that I've gone through these verses of the 4 grounds very quickly.

We are going to come back and look at them in detail in just a little while.

But I wanted to run through that real quick because I wanted to ask you what is the common thread that we are seeing in every single 1 of the grounds?

They all represent us in some way shape or form right?

But there's 1 thing that definitely happens to these 4 grounds that we see all 4 no matter whether they're good or bad is they all receive seed.

The problem is not the seed when it comes to the parable of the 4 grounds.

Well, let's go over to Luke chapter 8 and verse 11.

And we saw that as we were reading through those 4 grounds, those 5 verses.

So when you receive the Word of God, what is happening to these grounds?

Every single time it says they hear the Word.

This is the common thing that we see happen to every single 1 of the grounds.

Now 1 thing important we have to understand in this sort of a background is look, this doesn't represent the whole world.

Because where do you hear the Word of God?

The seed is people hearing the Word of God.

So when I throw the seed out there, yes it seems to go everywhere but it's people that are hearing the word.

Now friends, does the whole world hear the word of God?

The Wheat and the Tares

Father in heaven, thank you so much for this time that we have to come and study your word together.

We ask, O Lord, that you please be with us, that you'd guide us with your Spirit, that you'd lead us into all truth, And help us, O Lord, to understand these most precious and important words that you've stored up for us today.

The parable that we'll be studying this evening is the parable of the wheat and the tares.

And we're continuing from the few weeks ago when we studied it because it's in the same chapter, it's in the same book.

And this chapter and book it continues contains actually quite a few parables but we are going to get right into the parable right now.

Let's read Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 and 25.

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.

But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

So the parable begins with a man who went out and sowed good seed in his field, but what happened?

While he was sleeping, an enemy would come and sow tares amongst all the wheat, amongst all the good seed that had been sown there already.

And straight away we need to define a few things here already.

And also what does the good seed and the bad seed, the tares, represent?

You know it's important to let the Bible define itself before we jump to conclusions.

Because you see, this is not what you think it is if you had followed from the previous parable that we studied.

The previous parable that we studied, the seed was the Word of God.

This is why we need to let the Bible define itself.

And so it's correct, it's correct for that parable, but this 1 already is different.

Let's go to, pardon me, let's go to Matthew chapter 13, verses 37 to 38.

He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world.

The good seed are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked 1.

So the man who sows this good seed, who is that?

The Bible says there that the field is the world and the good seed they are the children of the kingdom.

Now obviously that is God's people on earth, not in heaven because the seed is sown in the field which represents the earth, right?

And lastly the tares or the weeds, they represent the children of the wicked 1 and we know that that wicked 1 can only be referring to 1 being, 1 person, that is the devil and Satan.

So right away we see a split, a division on the earth.

It's the 2 groups, those that are of Christ and those that are of the devil.

Let's continue on in Matthew 13, verses 26 to 28.

But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field?

And he said unto them, An enemy has done this.

The servant said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

So friends, as the good seed grows and finally it comes to full maturity or it begins to show signs of bearing fruit, the servants are shocked because they see weeds that are growing up amongst them.

And so they ask the master, how come there's weeds?

However, the servants, they're ready to go in and separate out each other the good seed from the bad seed, the wheat from the weeds or the tares.

Because they want to make sure that the wheat can grow up properly.

But before they can make a move, what does the Master say?

Matthew 13 29-30 But he said, Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

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.

You see the master says don't root up all the weeds.

Yes they're bad but don't root them up yet.

In case while you root them out, while you take them out, all those all those good seed where the roots have already been intertwined, they might also be rooted out as well.

He said leave it there until the harvest and it's then that he would send reapers into his field and separate the 2 types of plants that had been growing there.

The weeds that would be bundled together and then be burnt, and the wheat would be gathered where?

So friends, what does the harvest and the reapers represent?

Well, in Matthew 13 and verse 39, the Bible says this, The enemy that sowed them is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.

You see, the harvest represents the end of the world, the second coming, and even the third coming.

Yes, the Bible actually talks about a third coming in the book of Revelation where they would eventually then be burned or thrown into the lake of fire.

Now, look, the main point of our focus in this parable is the wheat and the tares.

It is the 2 groups of people that are currently living on this earth before Jesus comes for a second time.

So what is the difference between the children of the kingdom and the children of the wicked 1.

Maybe it is identifying, well I shouldn't say maybe, it is definitely identifying which group we belong to.

So Let's have a look at the children of the kingdom versus the children of the devil or of the world or those wheat, pardon me, those tares.

Let's go to Matthew chapter 18, talking about the children of the kingdom.

Matthew 18 verse 3, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

The children of the Kingdom, they are those that are truly converted.

Well, before we answer that question, let's have a quick look at the children of the world or of that wicked 1.

Let's read in 1st John chapter 3 and verse 10.

1st John 3 10 the Bible says this, In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil.

Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

The children of the devil are those that don't do righteousness.

Outwardly, you can see the differences between these 2 groups of people.

Somehow we know that as we look at this, we see it's opposite, the children of the wicked 1, compared to the children of the kingdom.

So meaning, if you are truly converted, if you truly are part of the kingdom of the children of the kingdom, then it is something to do with righteousness, something also to do with your actions.

It's not just a state of mind, but the change in the heart and mind, yes, it will lead to a change in actions as well.

A reminder, I don't believe that we're saved by works.

But a person who thinks that they're converted, that they're changed, that they are experiencing righteousness and living a righteous life, is not just in here but it's also actions that are evident on the outside for themselves to see and even for others to see as well.

The children of God they are different in their actions to the children of the wicked 1, the devil.

The Mustard Seed and Leaven

Father in heaven, thank you so much for this time.

Thank you for this week that you've seen us through and so many blessings have come as a result of it.

And Lord, as we come now to study your Word, we are careful to make sure that we ask for your Holy Spirit because He is the only 1 that can lead us into all truth, to teach us from the word that was inspired by Him Himself.

And so Lord, please grace us with thy presence now.

Well as I said we are continuing our series the parables of Jesus and this evening we are going to start by looking at the mustard seed and the leaven and this this parable is also found in Matthew chapter 13.

There are quite a number of parables in Matthew 13 and we're going to be staying there and these 2 parables are really kind of short.

But let's start by focusing on the first of the 2 parables talking about the mustard seed.

Okay, so let's go to Matthew 13 verses 31 and 32.

This is what the Bible says, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 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." So this first parable is the parable about a mustard seed.

And what do we understand about the mustard seed from here in this passage?

It says it is the smallest of all seeds and it truly is.

You see the mustard seed it really is a very very very small seed.

It's only about 1 millimeter in diameter.

So if you put on your hand it's really a very small speck of a seed not comparing to the different seeds that we have here in Malaysia.

Even the rambutan and the lychee and all these seeds they're very big and you can't eat them.

These if you chew on it you know even the mangosteen it's very bitter you can't bite on it.

It's a very big seed but the mustard seed it is a very small seed and yet the Bible says that when it grows up you know you planted the ground and it grows up it grows to 1 of the largest trees amongst all of the herbs And you know it's a rather large tree, it's a bush, and you know, so from such a small tree, it grows to something that is so large to the extent that even the birds make their homes in the branches.

Now other facts about the mustard tree or the mustard seed, this is some of the facts.

And It takes about 80 to 95 days to become a full tree, which means it grows quite rapidly.

Now look, I'm just going based upon research, I don't have any personal experience in the mustard seed and the mustard tree and how fast it grows, but apparently it grows quite rapidly.

So something about the kingdom of heaven can take place quite rapidly, quite quickly.

But now let's continue our study, shall we?

Let's go to that second parable in verse 33.

Another parable spake he unto them, The Kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in 3 measures of meal till the whole was leavened.

Now leaven is a substance that we put into dough And we know this today as yeast.

It makes this little small thing to rise.

And so of course when you bake the yeast, the bread has lots of holes in it and so it's light and fluffy right?

If you don't put yeast in it it becomes it stays as it is and it's a very heavy type of bread.

But do you know that yeast or leaven it must be left in ideal conditions in the dough?

So this yeast, it must be put, well in the parable, it's put into 3 measures of flour.

They say that 1 measure is about 14 liters.

And look, for those that have baked before, you know that you don't need to put in a lot of yeast to make a bread rise.

You can just put these little small packets into a piece of dough and that whole thing becomes leavened, right?

And so the Bible says that this yeast is put into 42 liters of flour and it has the ability to affect every part of the 42 liters of dough to make it rise.

So something so small is able to have such a great impact on something so large in such a short amount of time, even shorter than the growing of a mustard seed into a tree.

But you know you see that there's something common about these 2 parables that we're looking at.

They're both illustrating the kingdom of heaven, but they demonstrate how something so small can, at least for the mustard seed to grow into something so big, and then with the yeast, something so small, put into something so big, 42 litres of dough, can make it rise and can affect it in such a short space of time.

For the tree, it grows up very quickly, short space of time, but of course compared to 11, which is even faster, probably a few hours short space of time, it's that catalyst that makes it to rise up very quickly.

So we are seeing there's this parallel, there's this connection between these 2 parables, that Jesus uses these 2 illustrations illustrating the kingdom of heaven for a very important reason.

But friends, before we continue, I want to ask you, What else is the kingdom of heaven connected to?

Because Jesus is trying to illustrate about the kingdom of heaven here.

Well, let's go to another passage found in Luke 17.

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The kingdom of heaven is not always talking about heaven up there.

Not the place where God has prepared mansions for us and is waiting to come and bring us back there, right?

No, the Kingdom of Heaven sometimes it illustrates how a person can be ready for the Kingdom of Heaven.

How our citizenship into heaven is really dependent upon and decided upon what we do on earth today.

Not necessarily anything external but what's happening within our hearts.

You see coming back to the the illustration the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven, first let's look at that mustard seed.

Friends, what does the mustard seed represent?

And whilst this is talking about a different parable, it's easy to connect it with what we're looking at today here with the mustard seed.

So yes, the mustard seed can also represent the word of God.

But friends, what else does a seed represent in the Bible?

Let's go to Galatians chapter 3 and verse 16.

The Bible says this, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.

He saith not, And to seeds as of many, but as of 1, and to thy seed, which is who?

So the seed, yes, represents the Word of God, but the seed can also represent what?

The seed put into our heart, the Word of God being put into our heart, and Jesus Christ dwelling in our hearts as well.

It's the work that Christ wishes to do within our hearts today.

You see friends, yeast, it has this catalytic effect.

It has this ability to speed up the process of something that needs to be done.

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