Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
What are we to do about wicked people and wicked times? In the first part of the scripture for this lesson, Jesus told a parable about the kingdom of heaven. In verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight, the servants asked their owner what they should do with the weeds in his field. How often have people asked what they should do with the weeds they see in their communities? How often have people asked what they should do with the weeds they see in their families? How often have people asked what they should do with the weeds they see across the world? The owner told his servants in the parable to let the weeds grow with the wheat. Then at harvest time, the weeds would be separated from the wheat. The disciples didn’t fully understand what Jesus was saying in the parable. In the second part of the scripture for this lesson, Jesus explains the parable about the kingdom of heaven. The good seed are the children of God, children of the kingdom that Jesus has planted. The bad seed are children of the devil. Some people aren’t aware of this fact. There are people that have fully devoted themselves to the devil. They are unlike those that haven’t decided one way or the other. They are not going to be converted to follow Jesus Christ. At the end of this age, it is sooner than some would like it to be, Jesus will send angels to gather all the wicked people and everything that causes sin. The angels will throw them into everlasting fire. Those that are children of the kingdom will remain and will be like the sun in the kingdom of heaven. In our lives on this earth and during this age, we must stay focused on Jesus. It is easy, too easy to look at what someone else is or isn’t doing. That isn’t our responsibility. Children of the kingdom need to live life pleasing to God and obedient to him. It is up to Jesus to send angels to separate the wicked people from the righteous people. We, the children of the kingdom, are not to judge whether someone is a child of the devil or just lost. We are here to live a life that shows the goodness of God and his wisdom. In times like these, stop watching the news. Stop it. In times like these, stop looking at social media. Stop it. In times like these, stop gossiping about what someone else did or didn’t do. Stop it. Children of the kingdom will not convert those that are lost to become a child of God by acting like the world. We can’t encourage or lead a person to choose Jesus if we are angry, hateful, spiteful, depressed, anxious, frustrated, slanderous, two-faced, lying, deceitful, judgmental, unforgiving, unwilling to be merciful, envious, lustful, and filled with what we see and hear in the world. It’s time to stop living like a citizen of this world, this nation, this state, this city, and it’s time for the children of the kingdom of heaven to start living like it. Stop talking about it and start living it. Words are no longer needed or wanted. Pretty words, slogans, and mantras to live by are everywhere. Action speaks louder than words. Are you currently living like a child of God or a child of the devil? Is your life filled with the hope that comes from being part of the kingdom of heaven?
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Revelation 22
In verses one and two it describes the river of the water of life and the tree of life. Once again mankind will have access to the tree of life. We currently have access to the water of life through believing in Jesus Christ, per his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. Mankind hasn’t had access to the tree of life since Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. There is great news about the tree of life in verse two. The leaves on the tree of life will heal the nations! There have been too many calls for peace in different countries around the world and at different times over the course of mankind’s history. All the feuds, rivalries, abuse, prejudice, and unrighteousness that has broken families, communities, and nations will be healed. This is part of the great news about the kingdom of heaven and why it will be unlike any human kingdom we’ve ever known. All the nations will be represented in the kingdom of heaven. People that look different, talk different, act different, and live different will be members of the kingdom of heaven. God and Jesus will live with us because their thrones will be in the city. Another great thing about the kingdom of heaven is that the curse mankind has been under will be over. Way back in Genesis 3, mankind was cursed for the sin Adam and Eve committed. Women were cursed in two ways for the sin Eve committed. First, they would have pain when giving birth to children. In the kingdom of heaven that won’t happen. Second, women would desire their husband, but he would rule over them. In the kingdom of heaven relationships are different. Jesus said in Matthew 22 that people won’t marry each other or be given in marriage after they are resurrected. For all the women that are fighting for equality, there will be equality in the kingdom of heaven. For all the women that are fighting for equity, there will be equity in the kingdom of heaven. For all the women that are tired of living in a man’s world, that will be over in the kingdom of heaven. Men were cursed in two ways for the sin Adam committed. First, the ground would be cursed, and it would take men hard work to get food from it. Second, men would eat their food from the hard work they did up until they died. Over the years, men have lied, cheated, and killed to live an easier life. Over the years, men have worked hard, kept their head down, and made as little waves as possible to live an easier life. For all the men that are tired of disappointment from their work in life, that will be over in the kingdom of heaven. For all the men that are tired from working hard and not gaining anything of value for it, that will be over in the kingdom of heaven. For all the men that are tired of working hard only to die and have someone else benefit from it, that will be over in the kingdom of heaven. In the kingdom of heaven, Jesus will reward us based on what we have done with our lives now. Are you trying to make a better life by yourself or with Jesus and God? Is the life you’re living one that Jesus will reward? Revelation 21
In verse one we are given a fact that we must accept for the rest of the chapter to be believable. A new heaven and new earth are coming in the future. So many people are worried about the fate of this earth because of climate change. So many people are worried about the fate of this earth because of the sins of mankind. So many people are worried about the fate of mankind because of the changing world superpowers. This first verse confirms that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. When we believe in Jesus and become children of God, we become heirs of the new heaven and new earth. Children of God do their best now with what they have, because they know better is coming in the future. Verse three and four give two very encouraging facts about the kingdom of heaven that is coming. First, God will dwell with and lead mankind again. In the beginning, Adam and Eve dwelled with God in the Garden of Eden. After they sinned, God separated himself from mankind’s sins. Adam and Eve were banned from the garden and no longer had access to the tree of life. God still had a relationship with mankind, but it wasn’t as intimate as it was before mankind sinned. The kingdom of heaven will be a return to an intimate relationship with God that no one has experienced except Jesus. Second, God will comfort his people. He will wipe tears from their eyes. The old order of things will be gone. There are consequences to sin. In the kingdom of heaven, there will be no sin to cause painful consequences to God’s children. There will be no more pain. There will be no more families separated. There will be no more death. There will be no more horrible events that cause people to mourn. Children of God are overcomers. There will be a lot that children of God are called to overcome in this earth before the kingdom of heaven begins. There is a lot that children of God have already overcome in this earth. When they do overcome and are in the new heaven and earth, they will drink from the spring of the water of life. In verse eight, there are those that will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Those that are cowardly, unbelieving, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, practicers of the magic arts, idolaters, and liars will be sent to the lake of fire which is the second death. There will be no more night in the kingdom of heaven. God will be the light and Jesus will be the lamp in the new Jerusalem which will be the main city in the kingdom of heaven. The gates of the new Jerusalem will stay open, because nothing impure will ever be allowed in. Only people that have their name written in the Lamb’s book of life will be allowed in the kingdom of heaven and the new Jerusalem. So many people are longing to belong to something great. That is why there is as much division among mankind as there is right now. We all think one thing or another is great. A time is coming when people will realize that the kingdom of heaven is the greatest thing a person could belong to. A time is coming when people will realize that to be part of the kingdom of heaven it will require them to become a child of God. A time is coming when people will realize that to become a child of God it will require them to place their faith in Jesus Christ and be born again by the Holy Spirit of God. A time is coming when the words written in this scripture will be fulfilled. I pray you will be in the kingdom of heaven when it does. Are you living your life the best you can with the Holy Spirit’s help? Is your name in the Lamb’s book of life? Matthew 5:3-12 NIV
Jesus proclaimed certain individuals were blessed in these verses. When we read the gospels and consider what the people of Israel were going through at the time he proclaimed these blessings, it shows us that Jesus cared about their present situation and their future destination. A lot of the people that listened to Jesus and followed him were not living life on easy street. The entire nation was under the Roman Empire’s rule and there was a wealthy class of Israelites that were profiting off the misfortune of their neighbors. In verse three Jesus said those that are poor in spirit are blessed. It takes honesty and humility to admit we are poor in spirit. When a person is able to admit they are poor in spirit, they are able to admit they aren’t perfect. They can admit they don’t live life pleasing to God all the time. They can admit that at their best, they don’t come close to the glory of God. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is for people that can admit their need for God and his spirit in their lives. It is by God’s spirit that we can live as the best version of ourselves. We receive his spirit through faith in his only son Jesus the Christ. In verse ten Jesus said those that are persecuted because of righteousness are blessed. At that time, there were plenty of people persecuted by the Romans. In today’s world, there are plenty of examples of people that are persecuted also. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is for those that were persecuted because of righteousness. We have to admit and acknowledge that some persecution is the consequence of unrighteous decisions/choices people have made. Only God’s spirit, the Spirit of Truth, can help us live a life of righteousness. It isn’t mankind’s standard of righteousness that Jesus was talking about either. Jesus was talking about God’s standard of righteousness. In verses eleven and twelve, Jesus said those that are persecuted because of him are blessed. Jesus knew what people were going to say about him and do to him. He also gave his followers words of hope before the bad times came. Jesus said great is the reward in heaven for those who follow him. His original listeners and followers needed hope in something greater than their nation and the Roman Empire. Their lives were not as good as or better than the lives their ancestors lived when the nation of Israel was first established in the Promised Land. Jesus was that hope they needed. He spoke blessings over their lives, because they were in need of those words from God’s only son. He comforted them and helped them see that the way they lived in the present, would pay off for them in the future. Those words Jesus spoke to them thousands of years ago are the same words we need to hear today. So many people are depressed, anxious, worried, stressed out, and hopeless with our current situation in our nation and world. Even today, when people live like Jesus talked about in verses three through twelve they are blessed. The same hope for the kingdom of heaven that helped the Israelites, which placed their faith in Jesus, make it through the bad situations they faced can help all of us make it through bad situations we face. How often have we heard blessings instead of cursing in bad times? Are you looking forward to the kingdom of heaven that Jesus talked about? |
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May 2024
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