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The Kingdom of Heaven Part 3

We're called to preach the Kingdom of Heaven is Near With Authority

Preach means – to proclaim, to announce or to spread the message.

Try and lose the image of a preacher in a church because this isn’t what Jesus is talking about. Here he’s specifically sending his disciples into the Israelite world / marketplace to share the message that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

Preach with Exousia
Matthew 10:1,7,8
1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
7As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

What is the Kingdom of Heaven Like?
Matthew 13:31He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.
Matthew 13:33He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Matthew 13:44”The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

1. A Planted Mustard Seed
Matthew 13:32
32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”

Small Seed
Big Plant

The common mustard of Palestine is the Sinapis nigra.
It’s also true, that the black mustard seed in Israel will typically grow to heights of 3.7 meters, or twelve (12) feet) -- plenty large enough to hold “the birds of the air”.

Jesus is in effect saying, don’t despise small beginnings. The kingdom of heaven is a small beginning, Him, but has had a huge outreach and offers a habitation for all society. There is a place for the believer to function and flow in the kingdom.

Where does the seed exist?

In our hearts
When we first came to Christ we had a seed of the kingdom in our hearts. If we protected, cultivated and nurtured that seed, we would allow that seed to grow and take over a larger part of our thinking, attitude, priorities, lives and time.

The parable of the Sewer
Matthew 13:18-23
4 types of soil or heart conditions to receive the seed of God’s word.
The Path symbolizes people who hear the word of God but don’t understand or comprehend it. V.19
The Rocky Places symbolize people who hear the word of God and receive it immediately with Joy. But because they have no root , when trouble or persecution comes they immediately fall away. V. 20,21
The seed that fell among thorns symbolizes a person who hears the word but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out the word making it unable to produce fruit. V. 22
The seed that fell on good soil symbolizes a person that understands the word and produces a crop 30, 60 or 100 times what was sown. V. 23

A quick question?
What type of heart do you have?
Are you bearing fruit?
If not, what should you do?

Nurture the seed. Try and understand the Word of God, prepare for difficulty, deal with worry, anxiety, and stress over finances. Study the word, get training in soul winning.

Where does the seed exist?

Outside our hearts
Luke 6:45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

This kingdom seed gets spread through our communication.

By our actions
By our attitudes
From our mouth to the hearts of others

2. Yeast worked in
Matthew 13:33
He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Different Illustration similar Meaning
Something small Yeast effecting the whole.
A little bit of yeast when it is worked through the dough effects the entire loaf.
The Yeast represents the kingdom of heaven in the heart or in the world.
The dough represents the individual heart of an individual and/or the entire world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jwV8OVCKnk&feature=related
Short video of yeast being worked through dough.

• 
  Properties of Yeast
  Yeast, is used in baking as a leavening agent, where it converts the fermentable sugars present in the dough into carbon dioxide. This causes the dough to expand or rise as the carbon dioxide forms pockets or bubbles. When the dough is baked it “sets” and the pockets remain, giving the baked product a soft and spongy texture. The use of potatoes, water from potato boiling, eggs, or sugar in a bread dough accelerates the growth of yeasts. Salt and fats such as butter slow down yeast growth. Sugar and vinegar are the best conditions for yeast to ferment. In bread making the yeast respires aerobically at first producing carbon dioxide and water. When the oxygen is used up anaerobic respiration is used producing ethanol as a waste product however this is evaporated off during the baking process.

3. Hidden Treasure
Matthew 13:44”The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Treasure – something of great worth or value.
Hidden – being out of sight or not readily apparent : concealed
Suppose one day your walking around with a metal detector. While scanning for metal in Cushman you find $10,000,000.00 worth in Gold Bullion. Wouldn’t you try and hide the gold and then figure out who owned that land? Then offer them a fair price for the land. If they wouldn’t sell it to you wouldn’t you offer more? Wouldn’t you sell everything you own, if you had to, to acquire that land?
When a man finds this treasure he hides it again.
Why would he hide it again? Because he wants to secure his legal right to the treasure.
He doesn’t want someone else to get it.
In order to do this he has to sell everything he has. In other words he has to seek first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness according to Matthew 6:33.

What does Matthew 6:33 Promise the believer who puts God’s Kingdom first?
To meet the believers needs.
Clothes
Food & Drink

What does Mark 10:28-30 promise the believer who leaves everything to follow Jesus?

28Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29”I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.

What you give up for Jesus he’ll return to you 100 times as much in THIS PRESENT AGE
Homes – Places to live, investment property
Brothers – Spiritual and Natural Relationships
Sisters – Spiritual and Natural Relationships
Mothers – spiritual and Natural Relationships
Children – Spiritual and Natural Relationships
Fields – Businesses

This re-prioritizing of his life is a direct result of his understanding the worth of the treasure or the worth of the Kingdom of Heaven relative to his current worth.
Notice that the man in the parable JOYFULLY sells all that he has in order to buy that field. Why is he joyfully giving up all his worldly possessions?
Because he’s found something that is MORE VALUABLE.

Has the Devil lied to you telling you something of this life is more important than something in the kingdom?

If he can get you to prioritize this life over the age to come he can hinder your 100 fold blessing.
Come to the altar now and let the Lord speak to you about it. Let the Lord deal with your heart.

Jubilee Family Church

Make a Difference

I don't normally do this but I want to encourage you to watch this video. It is deeply moving. I encourage you to take 5 minutes to watch it. It is life changing and priority shifting.

It's about the power of believing in someone.

Click Here to watch the video

Jubilee Family Church

Israel in the News

To Visit Rabbi Dale Cohen's Website, Click Here


Rabbi Dale Cohen shares with us some relevant truths for Israel and the United States.

Jubilee Family Church

The Kingdom of Heaven (Part 2)

Enjoy the video on the Kingdom of Heaven

Preach means – to proclaim, to announce or to spread the message.
Try and lose the image of a preacher in a church because this isn’t what Jesus is talking about. Here he’s specifically sending his disciples into the Israelite world / marketplace to share the message that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

Preach with Exousia
Matthew 10:1,7,8
1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

1. Humility is Key to Kingdom Greatness
Matthew 11:11
I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Humility
1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive 2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission.
Jesus Exemplifies the Least in the Kingdom of Heaven

Philippians 2:3-11
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Humility checks our motives
We are instructed to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
We’re to be others focused

1. God First
2. Others Second
3. Self Third

Don’t drain your tank!
Hebrews 5:7 (Amplified)In the days of His flesh [Jesus] offered up definite, special petitions [for that which He not only wanted but needed] and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him Who was [always] able to save Him [out] from death, and He was heard because of His reverence toward God [His godly fear, His piety, in that He shrank from the horrors of separation from the bright presence of the Father].

Jesus acted like a Man even though he was also God
Shouldn’t we, if we’re really good at something be humble. Not blowing our own trumpet saying, “Notice Me!” or “Hey, I’m good at this” or whatever.

How much more should we be humble since no one can say that they are in very nature God in the way Jesus was.

Remember the song, “Lord it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” Jesus was able to do it, and because of that, in the kingdom of Heaven he was given the highest name in all the universe. King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Anybody want a promotion?

In the Kingdom promotions come because of humility.
Humility Brings Obedience
When we’re truly humble we obey a higher authority.
When we obey this higher authority, if this authority is righteous, we position ourselves for a promotion.

Humble Obedience Glorifies our Heavenly Father.

When we, like Jesus, humble ourselves before God and walk in obedience to his commands we bring glory to God the Father.
Obedience = Glory
Not to take away from music, a shout and a dance but Obedience brings our Heavenly Father Glory.

2. Be Forceful to hold Kingdom
Matthew 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

Matthew 11:11 the verse before the force verse talks about humility. Men forcefully humbling themselves like John the Baptist is the way to take hold of the Kingdom of Heaven. The way to apprehend kingdom power for yourself.

3. Use Vision to determine actions
Matthew 13:11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

In the Kingdom it’s important that we use vision to determine our course of action and not just respond to circumstances as they come to us.
Jesus vision for the world caused his disciples to be an extension of himself. This was his focus and everything else he did was secondary. Not unimportant just secondary.

With no vision the people perish
Ministry can easily become a plate spinning exercise.

Is Jesus purposely speaking to the crowds with veiled or dark speech? Speech that is hard to understand? Yes He is!
Why would Jesus not be clear in his message to the people who were coming around to listen to him?

Jesus teaching method required a person to ask questions or walk away confused. Jesus purposed to have relationships with a few people who he was going to entrust the mission of world evangelization to.

Men were Jesus method.

Matthew 13:12-14
Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: " 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

Kingdom dynamic of the rich in God getting richer in God and the spiritually poor staying spiritually poor. Laziness is not rewarded in the spiritual realm.
If a person wants to be spiritually rich they must dig into God’s word to find truth and revelation that set’s them free and gives them wisdom.

4. The Parable of the Weeds
Matthew 13:24-30
24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "

The parable is a Kingdom of Heaven parable.
The parable is of the harvest of the souls of mankind.
The servant harvesters are angels.
The weeds are the wicked
The stalks of wheat are the righteous
The two grow together so that the wheat can come to full maturity without being uprooted by the destruction of the weeds.

It’s interesting that the wicked are first tied in bundles and then burned
Then the wheat is collected and stored in the barn.

We don’t know when the Lord will return but we know that we’re one day closer today than we were yesterday
We know that the Lord will return at a time when we don’t expect it.
We know that many of the things that need to happen prophetically have already happened.

Will you be tied up and burned?
Or will be collected and stored in the Barn?
If you’d say today that I think I’d be tied up and burned that can all change. Today if you’ll open your heart and ask the Lord to come in, by faith. You can be considered a righteous person by God and be saved on Judgment day.

Jubilee Family Church