The Kingdom is the Source of True Joy (Matt. 13:44-46)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/30/2022 10:19 AM

 

My Worship Time                                             Focus:  “The Kingdom is the Source of True Joy”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Matt 13:44-46

 

            Message of the verses:  “44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

            We can see from the highlighted words in verse 44 that it was in joy that the man sold all he had in order to buy the field which held the priceless treasure.  I believe that it is true that joy is a basic joy in every human being and is the desire that all the others either directly or indirectly serve.  MacArthur writes “We like to eat because food brings joy and satisfaction to our palate and a good feeling and health to our bodies.  The desire for money is primarily based in the joy we hope to find in the things money can buy.  Fame, power, knowledge, and all other things we long after are desired for the joy it is hoped they will bring.  Even the miser, who seems to love money for its own sake, hordes his possessions for the joy the hording brings.  Some people thrive on misery, because they find joy in feeling sorry for themselves.”

 

            Now as we look at the different types of things that bring joy to use as humans that are listed in the quotation above one thing is for sure and that is that all of those joys are temporary and are for the most part disappointing.  You set your heart on buying the car of your dreams and then after you have had it for a while the newness of it wears off and that joy that you had in anticipating that new care leaves too.  The only true and eternal joy is the joy found in Christ and His kingdom, and the reason is because man was made by God for Himself.  Human satisfaction can be found only in God’s divine provision. 

 

            Let us look at a rather long quotation from the 15^th chapter of John where Jesus will teach us about joy.  “1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”  John 16:24 says “24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”

 

            John writes the following in his opening of his first letter “These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete” (1 John 1:4).  Paul writes in Romans 14:17 “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

 

            MacArthur concludes this section by writing “True joy comes only in the discovery and appropriation of Christ and His kingdom through trust in Him.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Perhaps the greatest joy that I was involved in that has to do with the kingdom of heaven is to lead someone to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  God has given me the privilege of doing this on a number of occasions and the result for me was great joy.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet. 3:15).

 

4/30/2022 10:47 AM

 

           

The Kingdom is not Sperficially Visible (Matt. 13:44-46)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/29/2022 9:10 AM

 

My Worship Time                                         Focus:  “The Kingdom is not Superficially Visible”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Matt. 13:44-46

 

            Message of the verses:  “44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

            I want to first look at Luke 17:20-21 which gives the answer that Jesus gives the Pharisees when He was questioned about when the kingdom of God was coming:  “20 Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21  nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.’”  MacArthur writes “The kingdom will not be observable until Jesus returns and establishes His millennial rule over the earth.  At that time He ‘is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels,’ and men will ‘see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom’ (Matt. 16:27-28).  But the present kingdom ‘is not of this world’ (John 18:36).

 

            Now we want to look at what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”  In 2^nd Corinthians Paul further explains “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  Now here are the reasons that these verses were used in this section of our SD for today:  “Even when the truth of the gospel is clearly presented to him, the natural man cannot see it.  As long as he resists the moving of God’s Spirit on his heart, he cannot see past the spiritual blinders Satan has placed over his eyes.  He is completely content to seek his ephemeral (fleeting) pleasures and the things that can never satisfy, considering the trinkets of the world to be of great value and the gospel of salvation to be worthless.”

 

            MacArthur quotes an unknown author who writes “Under the form of a man, under the privacy and poverty of a Nazarene, was the fulness of the Godhead hidden that day from the wise and prudent of the world.  The light was near them and yet they did not see it.  The riches of the divine grace were brought to their door and yet they continued poor and miserable.”

 

            Salvation is the greatest treasure that there is and yet it is not obvious to men, and it is therefore not something that they will naturally seek.  People do not understand why it is so prized by Christians, and further do not understand why Christians give up so much, and what they give up can be their self-dependency, sinful pleasures, and sometimes even their social, political, and economic freedom and welfare in order to gain what seems to be so little.  Unbelievers cannot understand why believers willingly live by standards of ethics and morality that go against man’s deepest drives and lusts.  We have spoken about Matthew 7:14 when we were in that chapter, but it is a good time to repeat that verse now “The narrow gate and the hard road lead out into life and only a few are finding it” (Philips). 

 

          As we look at the full value of the pearl it may not be evident to the average person, and I have to say that it won’t be evident to most unbelievers, as they look at it, but as believers who realize the importance of that pearl as it represents the greatest gift of all, their salvation, whey will understand and see the great beauty of it.  Now it is true that many people have passing admiration for Jesus and the gospel but are totally unaware of the supreme and priceless gift that could be theirs in belonging to Him.  These people see the pearl in plain view, but to their worldly eyes it has very little worth.  We will close with some verses from John’s gospel chapter one and verses nine through eleven:  “9 There was the true Light which, coming into

the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”  John is talking about the Jews in verse eleven, the ones who mostly did not receive Him.  However if you are reading this SD and don’t understand the greatest value that the pearl represents, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit of God will open your eyes to understand the greatest truth ever known, and that is Jesus Christ loves you, and it is His desire to save you from your sins and take you to heaven to be with Him.

 

4/29/2022 9:42 AM

PT-2 "The Kingdom is Priceless" (Matt. 13:44-46)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/28/2022 9:02 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  PT-2 “The Kingdom Is Priceless”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matt. 13:44-46

 

            Message of the verses:  “44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46  and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

            We begin with a quotation from John MacArthur’s commentary:  “The blessing of being a child of God through faith in Christ is utterly priceless, more valuable than all the possessions the richest man could acquire.  There is absolutely nothing to compare to it in worth and beauty because it is ‘an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away’ (1 Pet. 1:4).  It is forgiveness, love, peace, happiness, virtue, purity, righteousness, eternal life, glory, and more.”

 

            Here is a story about a man who had 300 million dollars and owned 180 newspapers, now one can tell this story is older because the newspaper business is certainly not what it use to be, and also 300 million dollars in today’s world is really not as impressive as what it used to be considering that Twitter was just bought by the richest man in the world for 44 billion dollars.  So the numbers are inflated, but the story still goes on today as this man Robert Herbert Thompson was asked if given the opportunity to buy the New York Times would he do it and his reply was “I’s mortgage my soul to buy that paper.”  The truth is that if they could, many people would do just that in order to achieve the possessions, fame, or power for which they lust.  The truth is there will come a man, the Antichrist, who will in a sense own the whole world, but will lose his soul and end up in hell.  The world is looking for a man like that right now, and I believe that this man is now alive somewhere in Europe. 

 

            The truth is that the value of God’s kingdom far exceeds that of all earthly riches and advantages together—and would still exceed them in worth even if they brought the satisfaction of the promise, and that will not really ever happen.  Yet God offers His priceless kingdom to any person, no matter how poor, or how insignificant, how sinful, who trusts in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  The price is the same for everyone and that is all that they have as illustrated in these two parables.  For those whose hearts are genuinely turned to Christ, whatever values they have clung to in the past will be exchanged eagerly for this priceless treasure.

 

            Lord willing we will look at “The Kingdom is not Superficially Visible” in our next SD as we continue to look at meaning from these two parables. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to say that in the first parable that I was like that man who seemingly stumbled onto a priceless treasure even though he was not looking for it and he bought the field in order to get that treasure.  On January 26, 1974 I seemingly stumbled onto the greatest treasure in all the world, and that was realizing that I was a sinner as I listened to cassette tapes on the end times and realized that I needed the Lord and found the greatest treasure anyone could ever find.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today Trust the Lord that through the filling of His Holy Spirit I will live for the cause of Christ this day and every day.

 

4/28/2022 9:27 AM

 

PT-1 "The Kingdom is Priceless" (Matt. 13:44-46)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/27/2022 9:10 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  PT-1 “The Kingdom is Priceless”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 13:44-46

 

            Message of the verses: “44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

            The idea of being priceless is that salvation is worth selling everything that you have in order to possess in order to receive it.  I am not saying that you can buy salvation, the truth is that is the most valuable thing that a person can ever receive.

 

            MacArthur writes “A major diamond mining company in South Africa specializes in mining certain coastal areas where the rough gems have been deposited below some fifty or so feet of stone, gravel, and sand.  After giant earthmovers remove the cover layers, the diamond-bearing conglomerate is dynamited and then excavated by hydraulic water pressure.  Using large nylon brushes, workers sweep out all the crevices and hollows to be sure nothing is lost.  The loosened conglomerate is then pounded, crushed, washed, and sifted to discover every possible diamond.  It is estimated that some 180 million parts of earth are processed to yield one part diamond.

 

            “Though written at least three thousand years ago, Job’s description of man’s tireless quest for riches sounds amazingly contemporary:

 

‘Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where they refine gold…Man puts an end to darkness, and to the farthest limit he searches out the rock in gloom and deep shadow.  He sinks a shaft far from habitation, forgotten by the foot; they hang and swing to and fro far from men…Its rocks are the source of sapphires, and its dust contains gold.  The path no bird of prey knows, nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it…He hews out channels through the rocks; and his eye seems anything precious.  He dams up the streams from flowing; and what is hidden he brings out to the light.  (Job 28:1, 3-4, 6-7, 10-11).’”

 

            Now as we can see from these quotations that it surely takes a lot of effort to mine, refine, cut, polish, mount, sell and to buy precious stones and metals, however none of them offers anything truly worthwhile or lasting.  These things cannot heal a broken relationship, they cannot give peace to a troubled mind, or forgive a sinful heart.  These things offer little for the present and nothing for eternity.

 

            Job goes on to say “But where can wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding?  Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.  The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’  Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed as it price…Thus it is hidden from the eye of all living…God understands its way, and He knows its place…And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding’ (Job 28:12-13, 21, 23, 28).”

 

            I will close with one more quotation from MacArthur’s commentary, and then Lord willing, we will continue looking at this very important subject in our next SD.

 

            “On the immeasurable worth of the kingdom of heaven, the nineteenth century Scottish preacher Thomas Guthrie wrote, ‘In the blood of Christ to wash out sin’s darkest stains, in the grace of God to purify the foulest heart, in peace to calm life’s roughest storms, in hopes to cheer guilt’s darkest hour, in a courage that defies death and descends calmly into the tomb, in that which makes the poorest rich and without which the richest are poor indeed, the gospel has treasures greater far than east or west unfold, and its rewards more precious are than all the stores of gold’”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In remembering all those who have lost their lives for the cause of Christ, they all realized that their salvation was worth more than anything on this earth has to offer.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Lord will give me the courage to stand up for the cause of Christ each and every day.

 

4/27/2022 9:39 AM

PT-1 "Lessons from the Parables" (Matt. 13:44-46)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/26/2022 9:54 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  PT-1 “Lessons from the Parables”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 13:44-46

 

            Message of the verses:  “44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

            From these two parables, “the pearl of great price” and “the hidden treasure” we will be looking at six valuable lessons about the kingdom, and therefore about salvation: it must be personally appropriated, it is priceless, it is not superficially visible, it is the source of true joy, it may be entered from different circumstances, and it is made personal by a transaction.

 

THE KINGDOM MUST BE PERSONALLY APPROPRIATED

 

            The title above is the central truth of these two parables.  It is not obtained by natural inheritance, as one automatically becomes a member of his parents’ race or a citizen of their country.  Both of these parables center around a single individual who sacrifices all that he has in order to personally obtain that which has become so greatly, so immeasurably valuable to him.

 

            We know that the Lord is the One who is ultimately in control of all that goes on, on planet earth, and so this means that we are under the Lord’s ultimate control.  I know some may not agree with that but we read in Paul’s letter to the Philippians that there will come a day when everyone will bow down to the Lord because He is the Lord of all.  Some will have already done this while in this body on this earth, but those who have not will do it in a body suitable for eternity in hell, a body that will not burn up.  The choice is up to everyone. 

 

            We have talked about this before, but when a person is born they are born with a sin nature, and thus Satan has a temporary and limited power over the world, and that means over the unbelievers.  I am not saying that all unbelievers are under Satanic control to the extent of being possessed with one of his demons, but just under the control of the world system, headed by Satan, but ultimately God is in control. 

 

            John MacArthur writes “An unbeliever who associates with believers can benefit from many blessings of the kingdom because of that association.  Nevertheless, although an unbeliever may attend an evangelical church, enjoy biblical preaching and be a professing and baptized member of a church, he is not a citizen of the kingdom.  Such superficial and nongenuine ‘sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness,’ where ‘there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matt. 8:12).

            “As Paul reminded his Jewish brethren, ‘They are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s racially, nationally, and religiously—full identified with God’s chosen people in those outward ways—and yet have no part in the true, spiritual Israel.  In the same way, a person can be born into a family who traces its church membership back for many generations, and yet have no part in Christ’s true church.  Although it gives many advantages, even being born into a family of godly believers does not make a person a Christian.  To be saved, he must make his own decision to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.”  I have heard it said that God does not have any grandchildren only children.

 

4/26/2022 11:32 AM

 

 

Parable of the Pearl of Great Value (Matt. 13:45-46)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/25/2022 8:55 AM

 

My Worship Time                                             Focus:  “The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 13:45-46

 

            Message of the verses:  “45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

            The Greek word for merchant is emporos and this means that he was a wholesale dealer as he would buy and then resell merchandise.  This man would travel around the country to find some things to buy and then he would sell them in order to make a profit.  I guess that we could say that this man’s main line of purchases were pearls, as he would seek very fine pearls.  MacArthur writes “Diving for pearls was extremely hazardous, and many divers lost their lives or ruined their health in obtaining the oysters that contained the beautiful gems.  The fact, in addition to their scarcity and natural beauty, made pearls extremely precious.”

 

            In the ancient world pearls were the most highly valued gems and were often bought as an investment, similar to diamonds are today.  This investment could be kept in a very small place, not like investing in land or houses.  It could be concealed in one’s clothing while traveling or buried in a field for safekeeping, as we saw in the previous parable.

 

            As one studies the end times in the Word of God they will find that in the book of Revelation that the twelve gates that John saw in Revelation 21:21 found in the New Jerusalem were made of a single pearl for each gate.  (Must have been a big oyster.)

 

            Pearls in ancient times were kind of used like diamonds are used in today’s world, as the wife of the Roman emperor Caligula often wore a vast fortune in pearls in her hair and on her ears, neck, wrist, and fingers.  Cleopatra is said to have owned two extremely valuable pearls, each of which would be worth several million dollars in today’s market. 

 

            MacArthur writes “When the merchant came across one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.  Obviously the merchant considered that particular pearl to have been worth more than all his other pearls together, because they would have been included in the sale of all that he had.

            “Because the emphasis of these parables is personal appropriation of the kingdom of heaven, the message is obviously one of salvation.  In this context, the kingdom of heaven represents the saving knowledge of God through trust in His Son and all the benefits and glory that relationship brings.”

 

            In our next SD we will look at some lessons that we can learn from these last two parables, and that will take several days.

 

4/25/2022 9:15 AM

 

           

Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matt. 13:44)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/24/2022 8:01 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matthew 13:44

 

            Message of the verse:  “44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

 

            Jesus again is talking about something that was very familiar in the culture that He was living in, as He takes a simple story using it to make spiritual points.  One may not think about finding treasure in fields in today’s life, at least not living in our country, but people did that because they did not have banks like we have today.  Banks with security deposit places in them which can be rented in order to put valuables into. 

 

            Now it was because Palestine had been a battle ground for hundreds of years, families would often even bury food, clothing, and various household objects to protect them from plundering enemy soldiers.  Josephus writes “The gold and silver and the rest of that most precious furniture which the Jews had and which the owners treasured underground was done to withstand the fortunes of war.”

 

            With all of this said the ground around Palestine became a veritable treasure-house sometimes deported to a foreign land such as Assyria or Babylon—the treasure would be forever lost unless someone accidentally discovered it, as occasionally happened.

 

            So as we look at this parable we see that this is what happened as the fate of this man found treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again.  This man just stumbled upon a great treasure and so he hid it again and then he goes to the owner in order to buy the field from him, but before he could buy it he had to sell everything that he had in order to have enough money in order to buy the field.

 

            MacArthur writes “Many Christians are embarrassed by this story, thinking Jesus used an unethical act to illustrate a spiritual truth.  It seems to them that the man was obligated to tell the owner of the field about the treasure, since it was on his property and therefore rightfully belonged to him.

            “The point of the parable does not involve the ethics of what the man did but rather his willingness to sacrifice everything he had in order to possess the treasure.  But what he did was not unethical or dishonest.

            “In the first place, it is obvious that the treasure was not hidden by the present owner of the field and was unknown to him.  Otherwise, he would have retrieved it before he sold the field.  The man who bought the field obviously knew the owner was not aware of the treasure or he would not have offered to buy the field, knowing the treasure would not be included in the deal.

            “In the second place, rabbinic law provided that ‘if a man finds scattered fruit or money, it belongs to the finder.’  If a person came across money or other valuables that were obviously lost and whose owner was dead or unknown, the finder had the right to keep what was found.

            “In the third place, the basic honesty of the man is testified to by the fact that, had he been dishonest, he would simply have taken the treasure without any thought of buying the field.  But he did not even use part of the treasure to buy the field; rather, the sells all that he has, and buys that field.”

 

            I thought it best to quote from MacArthur in order to better understand the parable, and I may do the same thing in our next parable, and then after that there will be a time when we can learn lessons from both of the parables we will have looked at as they are similar in meaning.

 

4/24/2022 8:24 AM

Intro to "Entering the Kingdom" (Matt. 13:44-46)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/23/2022 10:29 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  Intro to “Entering the Kingdom”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 13:44-46

 

            Message of the verses:  “44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

 

            45  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46  and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

            Before we look at the introduction to these verses I have to say that while I was listening to the sermons that go along with each of these parables I realized exactly how it was that the Lord saved me which I will explain as we go through these two parables.  All I can say is that it was very exciting to me to hear how it happened as far as seeing it in the first of these two parables.

 

            MacArthur writes the following as he begins his introduction to these parables:  “In the first four of the eight kingdom parables in Matthew 13, Jesus focuses on men’s various responses to God’s kingdom, on its present coexistence with Satan’s kingdom, and on its power and influence in the world.

 

            “A basic question that would naturally have arisen in the minds of Jesus’ hearers was, ‘How does one become a part of God’s kingdom?’  ‘Are people simply born into it, like they are born into citizenship of their country?’  they wondered.  ‘Or is it like being a Jew?  Are we, as Jews automatically citizens of the kingdom because we are descendants of Abraham, or must we do something else?’

 

            “In this third couplet of parables, the Lord teaches about appropriating the salvation and thereby becoming a citizen of God’s kingdom and a member of His family.”

 

            I hope that this is all very exciting for you, as perhaps you are reading this Spiritual Diary and are not really sure that you are a part of the true kingdom of God, yet wish to be a part of it, but perhaps you don’t know how.  The truth is that we are all children of Adam, and we all have Adam’s sin nature which makes us sinners.  We sin because we are born sinners, and sin has caused us to be separated from God.  The best news or as the meaning of the gospel, the good news is that God sent His One and only Son to planet earth to take our place on the cross so we can become true children of God and have a right relationship with Him.  Jesus died for both our sin nature and the sins we commit on a daily basis.  Realizing that we are all sinners then one must confess that to the Lord and thank Him for dying for you and invite Him into your life to be your Lord and Savior.  Truly believing this will change your eternal home from hell to heaven.

 

4/23/2022 10:45 AM

 

           

PT-6 "The Intepretation of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares" (Matt. 13:34-43)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/22/2022 10:00 AM

 

My Worship Time         Focus:  PT-6 “The Interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 13:34-43

 

            Message of the verses:  ““34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable, 35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD." 36 Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 "Then THERIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

 

            We begin today what I think will be the last SD on better understanding what the Parable of the Wheat and Tares means.  We begin by talking about when our Lord Jesus Christ returns and He will “come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds” as seen in Matt. 16:27.  The angels then will deal “out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” quoted from 2 Thess. 1:8-9.

 

            MacArthur writes “Fire causes the greatest pain known to man, and the furnace of fire into which the sinners are cast represents the excruciating torment of hell, which is the destiny of every unbeliever.  This fire of hell is unquenchable (Mark 9:44), eternal (Matt. 25:41), and is pictured finally as a great ‘lake of fire which burns with brimstone,’ (Rev. 19:20).  The punishment is so fearsome that in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

            There are some people today who believe that hell will be a place where those going there will be able to continue to do their “thing” while believers in heaven will be doing their “thing.”  This is not true at all as hell is a real place where the suffering will go on forever as there will be no pleasure in hell of any kind of degree, only torment, “day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10).

 

            Here is the last words of explanation from the lips of our Lord and it is positive, beautiful and it is hopeful:  “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”  Let us now look at Matthew 24:31 “"And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”  After that the very long awaited, long-appointed and long-postponed kingdom of righteousness, in which there will be no evil people and no evil deeds or even thoughts will arrive.  I have studied what will happen during the end times as long as I have been a believer and here are some of the things that I have learned.  At this time we are living in the church age, or the invisible kingdom with our Lord ruling from heaven.  It began in the 2^nd chapter of Acts and will end at the Rapture of the church, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  Very soon after that the Antichrist will arrive and make a peace covenant with Israel for seven years which begins what is called the Tribulation period.  At the end of this seven year time of horror the Lord will return as seen in the 19^th chapter of Revelation.  He will then stop the battle of Armageddon and begin the process of separating the sheep and the goats.  The sheep will go into the 1000 year kingdom with Christ ruling from David’s throne in Jerusalem, and the goats will go into a place of torment, but I don’t believe it is hell at this point.  The devil and his demons will be there and so as this time begins there will only be believers.  As the kingdom goes on children will be born and they too will need to be saved as they are all born with the sin nature that all of us are born with.  Some will not become believers and at the end of the 1000 year kingdom Satan will be released and there will be a short battle, and they will be defeated.  It is during what the Bible calls “The Great White Throne Judgment” that all unbelievers will be resurrected to stand before God.  They will all have a resurrected body and they will all then go into hell as there will be a need of a new body so the flames of hell will not consume them.  After that according to 2 Peter the entire universe will be what I like to say, will be uncreated and then will come the New heaven, new earth and the New Jerusalem and this is where eternity will begin and go on forever.  As mentioned hell will be a real place and so the way to avoid hell is to realize that you were born a sinner and that you sin and that Jesus Christ died for you, and so believe this confess you are a sinner and you sin and then invite Jesus to come into your heart and save you and then this will change your eternal destination from hell to heaven.

 

            Lord willing we will begin to look at Matthew 13:44-46 in our next SD as MacArthur entitles this 35^th chapter in his second volume of his commentaries on Matthew “ENTERING THE KINGDOM.”  We will begin with a very short introduction.

 

4/22/2022 10:32 AM

PT-5 "The Interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares" (Matt. 13:34-43)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/21/2022 10:12 AM

 

My Worship Time      Focus:  PT-5 “The Interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 13:34-43

 

            Message of the verses: ““34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable, 35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD." 36 Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 "Then THERIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

 

            We have been discussing why it would have been wrong for the slaves of the landowner to try and remove the tares before they could all properly be identified, and as we move on with this subject I want to begin with a quotation from John MacArthur’s commentary on this subject.  “In addition to the fact that the church age is for evangelism and not judgment, Christians are not qualified to infallibly distinguish between true and false believers.  Every time the church has presumed to do that, it has produced an ungodly bloodbath.  When the fourth-century Roman emperor Constantine required every person to make a profession f faith in Christ on pain of death, he succeeded in killing many true believers who refused to submit to his spurious brand of Christianity.  During the Crusades of the Middle Ages, unbelievable brutality was committed against non-Christians, especially Muslims and Jews, in the name of the Prince of Peace.  During the inquisitions in reaction to the Protestant Reformation, countless thousands of Christians who did not submit to the dogma and authority of Roman Catholicism were imprisoned, tortured, and executed.”

 

            The church age is not the age of God’s judgment, and certainly not of judgment and execution by the church.  While on earth, we saw the Lord Himself not lift a finger against His enemies, and I suppose for the most part they were all Jewish, as the Jews used the Roman Empire to have Christ killed. As we look at the events of the Last Supper we see that although Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him, He offered the first sop as a gesture of love and a final appeal for belief as seen in John 13:26.  While on the cross Jesus offered forgiveness for those who had put Him there as seen in Luke 23:34.  If Jesus did these things of forgiveness how can we, as His followers not do the same.  In this present age, believers are not God’s instruments of judgment and destruction but of truth and grace.  As a true believer we are not to have hearts of condemnation to the unbeliever, but we are to have compassion for their souls.

            Believers of this age are called to preach and teach against sin and all unrighteousness, but as we do that, its purpose is not to judge but to win souls, it is not to punish but to convert sons of the evil one into becoming sons of the kingdom.

 

            MacArthur adds “In any case, the Lord makes clear that the separation of the wheat and tares of the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the evil one, would be only at the end of the age.  In the meanwhile they exist side by side, breathing the same air, enjoying the same sunshine and rain, eating the same food, attending the same schools, working in the same factories and offices, living in the same neighborhoods, and sometimes attending the same churches.”

 

            It will be the angels whom the Son of Man will send forth…will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. It is the entire earth that is seen here as the Lord’s kingdom, and truly He is the rightful monarch, and for that matter always will be.  It is out of His world the angels collect all stumbling blocks—the devil’s sons  who work against God and seek to cause many to fall into hell and those who commit lawlessness by disobeying God’s Word.

 

            As I desire to complete this section tomorrow we will begin by looking at what happens when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to planet earth as seen in Revelation 19.

 

4/21/2022 10:36 AM

 

 

PT-4 "The Interpertation of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares" (Matt. 13:34-43)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/20/2022 9:48 AM

 

My Worship Time         Focus:  PT-4 “The Interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 13:34-43

 

            Message of the verses: ““34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable, 35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD." 36 Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 "Then THERIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

 

            We want to begin this SD by talking about the “tares.”  Unlike the wheat the tares are the sons of the evil one, and of course that would be Satan.  I have mentioned a number of times that there are only two kinds of people living in our world today, the sons of the kingdom through faith in His Son or there are the spiritual sons of the evil one, simply by virtue of their sinful nature and unbelief.  Here is a list of references to see this truth:  John 8:44; Eph. 2:2-3; 1 John 3:10; 5:19.

 

            MacArthur writes “Jesus does not make the point in this parable, because it would not fit the analogy, but all good seeds were once tares; all the sons of the kingdom were once sons of the evil one.  To go beyond the scope of this parable, while still using some of its figures, it could be said that the primary purpose of the ‘good seeds’ in the world is to make converts of ‘tares,’ that they might also becomes sons of the kingdom.”

 

            In the parable we see that the enemy who sowed the tares is the devil, the evil one.  As is evident from the wording of the parable itself as seen in verse 25, sowed here carries the idea of thoroughness.  “25 “But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.”  Throughout history the tares have always outnumbered the wheat by enormous percentages; and some parts of the world seem to be totally sown with the seed of the enemy.  I am thinking about Asia as a great example.

 

            Now moving on we see that the harvest represents God’s judgment at the end of the age, when the reapers who are angels will execute judgment on unbelievers, just as the human reapers in the parable separated out the tares, which were then gathered up and burned with fire.

 

            MacArthur writes “So shall it be at the end of the age, Jesus explains.  The disciples were doubtlessly ready to put the sickle to the unbelieving tares right away, just as the landowner’s slaves were prepared to do (v. 28).  This was revealed as the attitude of James and John toward the unbelieving Samaritans when they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ (Luke 9:54).

            “In the parable we are told that ‘the wheat sprang up and bore grain, [and] the tares become evident also’ (v. 26).  Jesus does not elaborate on that statement, but in light of His other parable explanations, that aspect of the parable would seem to teach that most true believers can be identified by their spiritual and practical fruit (grain) and unbelievers by their lack of it.”  Now just to talk a bit more about that statement about fruit, fruit is the one thing that separates the believer from the unbeliever, and to find out if a person giving a testimony about their faith in Jesus Christ one of the things that can show if their statements are true is to see if there is any spiritual fruit in their lives.

 

            The slaves wanted to take out the tares as soon as they noticed them, but the landowner told them that they might take some of the wheat with the tares as seen in verse 29.  As observed earlier under the discussion of that verse, damage could be done to some of the good crop either because some plants matured  late and would be mistaken for tares because they did not yet have grain or because the roots were son intermingled that some good plants would be uprooted with the tares.  As stated earlier it is only by one’s fruit that will show whether or not they are a believer.  Again I can go to Ephesians 2:10 which shows that God in eternity past has given to believers works to do for the cause of Christ and those works can certainly be called fruit.

 

4/20/2022 10:16 AM