MEM

Yeshua (Jesus) is the King of that Kingdom

Rev 1:1 … to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place…

Rev 1:3 NKJV Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Rev 1:6 (for) He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father…

Rom 12:4 For just as we have many members in one body … 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Rev 1:20 "As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Again, these seven churches represent one body in its entirety)

- The warning is clear and can be devastating:

• Removal of the lampstand
• The need to be tested with tribulation
• War with the King of kings
• Given what we really deserve (according to our deeds)
• Come upon like a thief
• Little power and the need for endurance (holding fast)
• Wretched - miserable - poor - blind

Last time we saw the faults within each church that needs to be rectified. Now we will look at a few parables of Yeshua (Jesus) that reflect our need to obey His call and warnings.

Yeshua came to bring salvation to mankind and raise up a people willingly obedient to God’s call. We are implying and assuming one understands these people are now, in-part, God’s Kingdom (His family). Once one acknowledges their need for redemption and repents, is baptized and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit - that person is no longer in bondage to Satan but has a new citizenship in a heavenly (spiritual) kingdom. That person (as an individual) is now called to witness, as an ambassador in this (His) Kingdom, to their new relationship with the King of the Universe, with the future of Everlasting Life.

Collectively these individuals are called the Church (assembly, the one body) and Yeshua is the head of that body. He (Yeshua) is preparing these individuals to participate in His soon coming reign on this earth. Not just an ordinary participant but as the bride to be of Christ (Messiah), dressed in His righteousness; to be a kingdom of Priest to God the Father (Rev 1:6).

We are going to present one portion of Scriptures that pertain to the above Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven) that Yeshua came preaching and teaching about. It is our hope to draw your attention to the parallel between Yeshua’s parables and the Revelation churches.

How might the comparison be made? Because the Revelation was written to the churches and His gospel parables most always say "… the kingdom of Heaven is like…" (Matthew) or "…Kingdom of God is like…" (As in Luke), because that kingdom is referring to His Church (the called-out ones)!

So, what are we saying? Yeshua not only came to pay the redemption price for all of mankind but to call and empower a group of people to reign with Him in the coming Kingdom reign. Therefore, the parables of the "kingdom is like" and the Book of Revelation was written for His called-out ones. Why? For us to hear and apply what is being taught so we can truly be worthy to be the bride of Messiah.

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The Parables of Yeshua (Jesus) in Matthew 13 (a sampling) to help His people to understand.

The Parable of the Sower (Bolding and highlighting by MEM)

Yes, you probably know this by heart and could even quote it. When we hear it our eyes glass over and our hearing turns off. But tell me dear brother or sister, how do you liken this to the Revelation given to the seven churches? Which part of the field are you as an individual or as part of a church assembly? Now try reading this with these churches in mind. (Revelation 2-3)

Matt 13:3 NAS And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

Matt 13:9 "He who has ears, let him hear." (Sounds like Messiah to churches Rev 2:17 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.)

Matt 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" 11 And He answered and said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 15 For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes Lest they should see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I should heal them.' 16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Mark 4:13 And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables?

Matt 13:18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.

Matt 13:19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

20 And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."

This is a message to four types of attitudes (mind set - heart) about people who hear the word of the kingdom (seed) but end up either bearing fruit or not. Note - they all hear!

Matt 13:24 He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' And the slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' 29 But he said, 'No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them.

Matt 13:33 He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened."

[In the Bible, leaven is almost always symbolic of sin. Like leaven that permeates the whole lump of dough, sin will spread in a person, a church, or a nation, eventually overwhelming and bringing its participants into its bondage and eventually to death (Galatians 5:9).] Think church at Thyatira.

Matt 13:34 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."

Matt 13:36 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.

Matt 13:40 "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.

Matt 13:43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (again, like Yeshua to the 7 churches in Revelation)

Matt 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

Matt 13:45 "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.

Matt 13:47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

Matt 13:49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matt 13:51 "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes."

From these few parables we can understand the body of church believers is a mixture of good and not so good; those indifferent and those seekers after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Be alert, keep seeking, knocking and asking - the Spirit of truth will lead us in the path of light, of righteousness, which is the way of life everlasting. Be ready and prepared to reign with the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Finally:

For the Church of God - pay attention, overcome and endure, be a kingdom of priests to our God.

John 8:12 … Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Matt 5:14 "You are the light of the world…

Proverbs 29:13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life,

"All that is in the world is vanity except to love God and serve him only."
-Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
- Helen Keller

How would you answer a sceptic?

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me."

"Exactly!"- affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

Not all items verified by MEM

Do you think that the world of commerce, finance, and investing is of this world rather than God’s Kingdom? I tell you that God’s people have a better temperament for investing than the children of this world, who seek what they may have and want it now. Investors must live below their means while they accumulate capital to work with. This requires self-denial, sacrifice, and patience for delayed gratification. Do you recall the parable of the talents, in which the master gave resources to his servants, and expected them to work and invest and trade to increase them? He was pleased with those who did. The main point was the spiritual application of this principle, but it works with monetary resources too.

You go to God with questions and you want answers. Would you be content for Him to provide this information with answers that are concise and direct? Yet what sort of answers do you get from Him? He spoke to people in parables to illustrate the principles of the Kingdom of God. Do you find that His counsel to you follows the same path, with more emphasis on spiritual principles and less on detailed information? You describe your faith in God as a relationship and you are right. Therefore, He responds to your questions in relational terms, discussing the values that are important in reaching a conclusion. He wants us to know His thoughts and heart that we may have the mind of Christ. You can exchange information with anyone, but you get Kingdom values only from The Creator.

(Adopted from a blog post by Dale Cresap)

Psalm 4:6 NKJV There are many who say, "Who will show us any good?" LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

Psalm 18:28 For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

Psalm 36:9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Blessed be YHVH (Genesis 14:20 And blessed be God Most High…)