The Divine Monarchy - Dr. Fred Price - April 28th, 2024
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00:00 Make your way to Romans 14, chapter 14, and find the 14th verse.
00:09 I tell you what though, it is always good to dwell in the presence of brethren.
00:18 And I did miss you all.
00:23 Romans 14, 14, we'll continue on with our lesson, the divine monarchy, which is a lesson
00:32 on the kingdom of God.
00:34 The kingdom of God.
00:35 Romans 14, 14, when you find it, just pause there for a second.
00:43 Let me go over a couple of thoughts, discoveries as a result of our previous two messages.
00:52 As we know, things we're going to be reminded of, number one, to see the kingdom of God,
00:59 I must be born again.
01:02 In order to see the kingdom of God, I must be born again.
01:10 The kingdom of God in heaven has always been, during the ministry of Jesus, was drawing
01:21 nigh or near.
01:25 As a result of His finished work and us as believers in Him living under the new covenant,
01:34 the sphere of His rule is present now, and the earthly habitation will be at some point
01:44 in the future established.
01:49 This is necessary to receive the kingdom, a mindset change.
01:57 The kingdom of God can be preached.
02:02 Not only can it be located, but it can be preached.
02:06 It can be explained and testified of.
02:09 The kingdom of God can be taught.
02:14 And lastly, there are numerous things that pertain to the kingdom.
02:20 Numerous things that pertain to the kingdom.
02:22 Let's go where we ended last time we were together.
02:25 I'm sure you're there by now, Romans 14, 14, which reads, "I know and am convinced by the
02:34 Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself, but to him who considers anything
02:40 to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
02:45 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love.
02:51 Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.
02:55 Therefore, do not let your good be spoken of as evil."
02:59 In the early part of this chapter, Paul addresses the day, and he addresses food, he addresses
03:09 things that could be contentious based on which believers are present.
03:19 There are some of us mature in the faith.
03:21 There are some of us who are young, immature, or neophytes in the faith.
03:27 And Paul talks about the inexperienced one who may be a bit overzealous and may consider
03:33 some things to be sin.
03:36 Things that really aren't sin.
03:38 But they may see them as sin and may even see some of the things you've been doing,
03:44 you who are mature and seasoned in the faith, as sin.
03:47 Paul says these are things that we should not judge each other about.
03:52 These are things that we shouldn't be contending about.
03:55 However, if these things causes your brother to stumble, then refrain from it.
04:04 Not for the rest of your days, but in the moment, depending on the setting or the context.
04:12 So that's what he's elaborating on here.
04:15 And then we get to verse 17.
04:18 Let's read 16 again.
04:19 It says, "Don't let your good be spoken of as evil."
04:22 Again, don't grieve your brother because of something as simple as food.
04:30 Now look at verse 17, "For the kingdom of God is not," is not what?
04:39 It's not eating and drinking.
04:42 The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but here is what the kingdom of God is.
04:52 Righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
04:59 Where I see righteousness, where I find it, where I see joy, where I find it, where I
05:05 see peace, where I find it, that is the kingdom of God.
05:10 You and I, when we became born again, we became the righteousness of God.
05:16 Is the righteousness of God in this place this morning?
05:20 Is the righteousness of God anywhere in this sanctuary?
05:24 Well I am witnessing the kingdom of God.
05:28 The kingdom of God is righteousness.
05:31 Is anyone experiencing the joy of the Lord?
05:34 I am witnessing the kingdom of God.
05:38 Is anyone's heart guarded by His peace?
05:42 I am witnessing, I am experiencing, you are experiencing the kingdom of God.
05:48 We're living it out.
05:49 Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 4.
05:56 And let's see what else we learn of this kingdom that we are in because we are born again.
06:07 If you're born again, you are in the kingdom of God.
06:13 1 Corinthians 14, chapter 4 that is, verse 14.
06:21 1 Corinthians 4, 14.
06:23 Paul says what he says, "I don't write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children
06:29 I warn you," Paul writing to Corinthian believers.
06:32 He says, "For though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have
06:38 many fathers.
06:41 For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
06:46 Therefore I urge you, imitate me."
06:49 Not only is Paul writing to the saints at Corinth, he's writing to those called to be
06:54 saints.
06:55 And he says, verse 17, "For this reason I have sent Timothy to you who is my beloved
07:00 and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere
07:08 in the church.
07:10 Now some are puffed up as though I were not coming to you, but I will come to you shortly
07:14 if the Lord wills, and I will know not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power."
07:23 Look at verse 20, it reads, "For the kingdom of God is not."
07:29 We read that in Romans 14.
07:31 Romans 14, 17 told us that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking.
07:37 Rather it is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
07:42 But Paul is about to tell us something else the kingdom of God is not and then tell us
07:47 what it is.
07:49 What does he say here in verse 20?
07:50 He says, "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."
07:57 Here's another way of looking at it.
07:59 The kingdom of God is not in fruitless or idle speech, but in demonstration of power.
08:07 Of course, the kingdom of God is in words of power as well, and demonstration of power
08:14 should follow powerful words.
08:17 But in idle, lazy, or useless words alone, the kingdom of God is not, but it is in power.
08:26 And those of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus, we have been given his power.
08:31 We have been given his authority.
08:33 Exousia, we have the authority of Jesus Christ.
08:39 Please grasp that and don't ever let it go.
08:42 I have and I walk in the authority of Jesus.
08:49 But not just the authority of Jesus, but the dunamis or ability of the Holy Spirit.
08:55 That is the power that we have been called to operate in and to walk in and that is the
09:00 kingdom of God.
09:03 Let's keep going.
09:06 Go to Matthew chapter 12.
09:10 We want to see what the kingdom of God consists of.
09:15 Let's look at some of these things that pertain to the kingdom of God, because the kingdom
09:21 of God is our world, saints.
09:26 We might live in this world, or we might live on this world.
09:31 Let's go with on this world.
09:32 We're on this planet in which the system is governed by the adversary, but we are not
09:38 of the adversary system.
09:40 We are of a different system.
09:43 And that system is the kingdom of God.
09:45 And the kingdom of God is wherever the saints of God are.
09:51 Wherever I can find the church, I can find the kingdom.
09:56 Matthew 12 and locate verse 12, verse 22.
10:06 When you have it, say I have it.
10:07 Matthew 12, 22.
10:11 All right.
10:15 It says, "Did one was brought to him."
10:19 Who was what?
10:20 >> Demon possessed.
10:21 >> Demon possessed.
10:22 Demon possessed.
10:23 Blind and mute.
10:24 The blindness, the mute state, clearly in this case was the result of the demon.
10:43 The scripture says, "And what did Jesus do?"
10:49 And what are you and I supposed to do when we encounter someone demon possessed, blind
10:52 and mute?
10:54 In the name of Jesus, we're to heal them.
10:57 So what did Jesus do?
10:58 He healed them.
11:00 So that the blind and mute man both what?
11:03 Spoke and saw.
11:07 And all the multitudes were amazed.
11:10 And they asked the question, could this be the son of David?
11:18 Now when the Pharisees heard it, I told you before, Pharisees are always lurking.
11:32 Pharisees are negative.
11:37 They are, they are anti-God.
11:42 And they are anti-you.
11:43 And they are always going in the opposite direction that you're going in.
11:51 When the Pharisees heard it, what did they say?
11:54 This fellow, he doesn't cast out demons except by one name, one entity.
12:05 By Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.
12:11 The Pharisees, after witnessing Jesus, cast out a demon causing one to now see, causing
12:21 one to now speak.
12:24 The Pharisees said he did that by the power of Beelzebub or Beelzebub.
12:32 Well who's Beelzebub?
12:33 That name is a bit creepy.
12:36 It's a bit disturbing.
12:38 I don't like how it sounds.
12:43 Now many immediately say the devil.
12:47 And they're partly right in the sense that Beelzebub's power comes from the devil.
12:57 And ultimately the devil is the ruler or the prince of demons.
13:03 But the Pharisees, whether they realize it or not, they specifically called out one of
13:12 Satan's generals, Beelzebub.
13:17 Who is Beelzebub?
13:18 Well the God or deity actually goes by the name of Zabub.
13:26 And the Canaanites worshipped him.
13:28 And Zabub was known as the deity of the high place or the deity of the heavenly place or
13:38 the God over things that fly.
13:41 That was Zabub.
13:43 The Beel or Baal in front of Zabub means Lord of.
13:49 So Beelzebub is the Lord of things that fly or the Lord of things in high places or the
13:55 Lord of the high place.
13:58 That's Beelzebub.
13:59 Now the Jews, the Jews mocked Zabub and said he's the Lord of the flies or the Lord of
14:05 the dung.
14:06 You all know what dung is?
14:09 Or the Lord of the dung heap where the flies would gather.
14:15 But the Canaanites worshipped a deity who was the Lord of the high place or the Lord
14:20 of high places.
14:22 A pagan deity.
14:23 Well all pagan deities submit to Satan.
14:27 All pagan gods and goddesses work for the devil.
14:32 So when they said he cast out demons by the power of this pagan deity, this pagan God,
14:39 and then called that pagan God the ruler of the demons, they were being very meticulous
14:46 but ultimately this power, demons and Beelzebub can be attributed to the adversary, the devil.
14:55 Well verse 25 says what?
14:56 Jesus knew their thoughts and he said to them, always correcting their errant doctrine,
15:06 their fallible beliefs.
15:08 He always had to correct their interpretation and understanding of the law.
15:13 And here is another case where he has to correct them.
15:16 He says, he says every kingdom divided against itself is brought to what?
15:22 Desolation.
15:23 That means a kingdom divided will come to an end.
15:28 He says in every city or house divided against itself will what?
15:32 It won't stand.
15:33 A divided house can't stand.
15:35 Husbands and wives, a divided house can't stand.
15:40 We must be on one accord.
15:44 In the context of marriage, if the husband's hearing from the Lord and following the word,
15:50 then the Bible says wives submit to your husbands.
15:53 In the context of the body, the Bible says submit to one another.
15:58 A house divided will not stand.
16:03 So what does Jesus say?
16:04 He knew their thoughts.
16:05 He says, okay, you say that this miraculous feat was done by the power of Beelzebub, the
16:13 ruler of the demons.
16:15 You Pharisees are saying that I, Jesus, cast out a demon by the power of the ruler of demons.
16:23 Well let me school you on something.
16:25 Every kingdom divided will be brought to desolation and every house divided will not stand.
16:32 If Satan casts out Satan, look at that.
16:38 The Pharisees said that the power displayed through the ministry of Jesus was the power
16:45 of Beelzebub to rid away demons.
16:49 And Jesus says if Satan casts out Satan, that tells me then that Beelzebub is submitted
16:55 to Satan.
16:56 It also tells me that demons are submitted to Satan, which is why he says if Satan casts
17:02 out Satan, look at what he says.
17:04 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.
17:10 How then will his kingdom stand?
17:15 Now do you realize what we just read?
17:19 Do you understand what we just read about the bad guy?
17:27 That as evil as he is, as wicked as he is, as heinous and as sadistic as he is, his kingdom
17:38 has order.
17:41 Jesus just said it.
17:43 If Satan casts out Satan, well his kingdoms can't stand.
17:47 Do you believe that the devil can afford for his kingdom to fall?
17:55 Now we know his kingdom will fall.
17:59 We know his end, but right now based on the work he's doing in the earth realm, he can't
18:06 afford to have a divided kingdom.
18:10 So even though in the kingdom of darkness, it's probably the case that no demon or no
18:18 angel can trust each other.
18:24 And they know who the devil is, but they're submitted because the kingdom of darkness
18:31 has their own greater good.
18:34 They have an end game.
18:36 Again, we know how it turns out for him, but the devil is still working his plan and working
18:42 his agenda and therefore he cannot afford for his kingdom to be divided.
18:48 My goodness, that tells me there's no insubordination in the kingdom of darkness.
18:55 Sadly there's insubordination in the church, but the devil has no insubordination in his
18:59 kingdom.
19:03 There's insubordination in the family of God.
19:07 There's insubordination in the nuclear family committed to God, but none in the kingdom
19:12 of darkness.
19:15 That's actually sad.
19:17 Nevertheless, Jesus says again, a kingdom divided is brought to desolation.
19:23 A house divided will not stand.
19:25 If Satan casts out Satan, how can his kingdom stand?
19:29 But he can't afford for his kingdom to fall, not right now.
19:35 And then he says this in verse 27.
19:37 I used to wonder when I would read this, what Jesus was really saying.
19:42 And then illumination came.
19:44 He says, "And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?
19:54 Therefore they shall be your judges."
19:56 Who's he talking to?
19:57 He's talking to Pharisees.
19:59 Pharisees who were strict adherents to not only the law of Moses, but also oral tradition.
20:07 That was the problem with the Pharisees.
20:10 The Pharisees equated the oral traditions of their fathers with the word of God.
20:16 In other words, they added to.
20:20 And that's a dangerous thing to do, to add to the word of God.
20:24 And then make what you've added to the word of God equal with the word of God.
20:28 And that's what the Pharisees had a habit of doing.
20:31 So Jesus asks the Pharisees a question.
20:34 He says, "A kingdom divided can't stand, but let's say I am casting out demons by the power
20:42 of Beelzebub.
20:44 By whom do your sons cast out demons?"
20:47 Why does he bring this up?
20:50 It's a reminder of in Acts 19, the seven sons of Sceva and the Jewish traveling exorcists
20:59 who wanted to exercise demons by the Jesus whom Paul preached.
21:04 You all recall that.
21:07 We exercise you by the Jesus Paul preached.
21:11 The demon said, "I know Jesus and I know Paul, but I don't know you."
21:19 That demon possessed man jumped on them.
21:23 They had no legal right to use the name of Jesus because they didn't know Jesus.
21:30 But in addition to that, if you look throughout the law, you see no authorization for exorcism.
21:39 What was a Jewish exorcist?
21:41 According to the law of God, there would have been no such thing, which means their exorcism
21:46 rituals would have been borrowed from the heathens.
21:49 Their practices would have been borrowed from the heathens.
21:52 So what's Jesus saying?
21:53 "Y'all telling me I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub?
21:56 Y'all ain't even supposed to be exercising demons, but since you do, by whose power do
22:01 you and your sons cast out demons?"
22:05 That's what he was saying.
22:07 "Therefore, they shall be your judges."
22:10 Now let me correct you, Pharisees.
22:12 I cast out demons by the — your translation may read the finger of God, which is the Spirit
22:22 of God.
22:23 Jesus said what?
22:24 He said, "I cast out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit."
22:29 Now that same Jesus called us as his believers, his church in the earth realm, to do the same
22:38 thing.
22:39 He said, "In my name, they will do what?
22:40 They will cast out demons."
22:43 We saw Paul in Acts chapter 16, verse 16.
22:46 He cast out of a girl a spirit of divination.
22:50 Paul cast out demons.
22:52 The apostles, they cast out demons.
22:56 We're supposed to do the same thing.
22:57 If we encounter demons — don't go looking for demons — but if we encounter demons,
23:03 you cast them out.
23:06 See that's the thing.
23:09 Another nugget about this 27th verse is that they were in awe as to how rapid the exorcism
23:15 was.
23:18 The Jews had no business practicing exorcism in the first place, but what they did practice
23:22 was a long, drawn-out ritual.
23:26 And those rituals were practiced by a number of heathen nations.
23:31 And those practices, or inspiration of those practices, found themselves in the practices
23:38 of the Catholic Church.
23:39 That's why their rituals are so long and drawn out.
23:44 You don't have to go through any of that to cast out a demon.
23:48 With power and faith in the name of Jesus, you tell it to get out in the name of Jesus,
23:54 and that's it.
23:56 And they saw Jesus, in a moment, cast out a demon.
23:59 They said, "Wait a minute, that was too fast.
24:02 That was too quick.
24:03 This man must be up to something, and that something must be no good.
24:08 He must cast out demons by the ruler of demons."
24:11 The ruler of demons permitted him to allow those demons to exit quickly.
24:17 They were in awe as to how fast Jesus freed this person from demonic possession.
24:25 But see, what they didn't know, they didn't know how frightened demons are of Jesus.
24:31 Petrified of Jesus.
24:33 And they should be petrified of you and I as well, in the name of Jesus.
24:37 They're not petrified of Fred because Fred is Fred.
24:40 They're petrified of Fred because Fred belongs to Jesus.
24:47 They were petrified of Paul because they knew Paul knew Jesus, and Jesus knew Paul.
24:56 In the name of Jesus, out.
24:59 That's our exorcism ritual.
25:02 In the name of Jesus, out.
25:07 He said, "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, or if I cast out demons by the finger
25:14 of God," which means if you and I who believe in Jesus also cast out demons by the Spirit
25:21 of God, then what does the rest of the Scripture say?
25:24 "Horrorly, the kingdom of God has come upon you."
25:30 Oh, so when demons are cast out, that's the kingdom of God in operation.
25:39 Not only demons being cast out, but when the blind see, and the deaf hear, and the mute
25:47 speak, and the dead get up, and the cancer leaves, and the diabetes leaves, and the high
25:54 blood pressure leaves, when all of that departs, I am witnessing with my very own eyes the
26:01 kingdom of God.
26:02 That's the kingdom of God.
26:06 The kingdom of God is not just the place or domain of God in heaven.
26:12 That is the kingdom of God.
26:15 The kingdom of God is not just limited to the space in heaven that God occupies.
26:22 The kingdom of God is wherever the king is.
26:25 You tell me where the king is.
26:27 Where is he?
26:28 He's in my heart, is he in your heart?
26:31 Okay, well there's the kingdom of God.
26:34 And everywhere you walk, you take the king with you, which means you take the kingdom
26:38 of God with you wherever you go.
26:42 The kingdom of God is the sphere of God's rule.
26:48 The book of Matthew uses kingdom of heaven 32 times, but five times it uses kingdom of
26:53 God.
26:54 Now, in a, in a, in a vast number of instances between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, kingdom of
27:01 heaven and kingdom of God mean the same thing.
27:04 But there is a distinct difference between the two.
27:07 Again, God sits on a throne and Jesus is at his right hand.
27:12 Where?
27:13 In the actual kingdom of heaven.
27:16 So there is a kingdom in heaven.
27:21 So the kingdom of heaven then is the kingdom of God.
27:26 But I submit to you that the kingdom of God is not limited to the location of heaven.
27:34 The kingdom of God is there, the kingdom of God is here, the kingdom of God is here, the
27:41 kingdom of God is there, the kingdom of God is wherever we are.
27:46 Because wherever we are, there is the king.
27:48 You tell me where the office of the president is.
27:51 Where is the office of the president of the United States?
27:54 Is it limited to the White House?
27:57 No.
27:59 If the president is on Air Force One, where is the office of the president?
28:04 If the president is at Camp David, where is the office of the president?
28:09 Wherever the king is, there is the kingdom of God.
28:15 Go to Mark 4.
28:21 It's time to really live like kingdom citizens.
28:25 See, a kingdom citizen may encounter a challenge in life, but a kingdom citizen will remind
28:35 themselves of—that's right, I'm not of this world.
28:39 That's right, I'm—I've got to remind myself.
28:44 I live under a different system, governed by a different set of rules and regulations.
28:55 Mark 4, find verse 1.
29:00 Oh, the word is exciting.
29:05 Look at verse 1.
29:07 Mark 4 says, "And again he began to teach by the sea.
29:11 And a great multitude was gathered to him, so that he got into a boat, and he sat on
29:15 it in the sea, and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea."
29:19 I think we should give that a shot.
29:21 One Sunday we should have church at the beach.
29:23 I'll be in the boat, in the water.
29:27 You guys cover the shore.
29:29 Look, he's in a boat, and sat on it in the sea, and the whole multitude was on the land
29:39 facing the sea, and the podium was in the water.
29:42 He says, "Then he taught them many things by parables, and he said to them in his teaching,"
29:50 he said what?
29:51 "Listen."
29:52 Listen, that's the problem.
29:59 Some of us actually do a good job of hearing, but we fail at listening.
30:07 You can hear a sound.
30:10 What was that?
30:11 Did you hear that?
30:13 What was that?
30:14 You heard something, you're curious as to what it was.
30:18 You now begin to listen to see if you can locate exactly what it is.
30:23 We got the hearing part down.
30:25 We hear all kind of stuff.
30:27 We don't always hear clearly because we're not always listening.
30:30 Jesus said what?
30:31 He said, "Listen."
30:32 He said, "Listen, behold, a sower went out to do what?"
30:38 Makes sense that a sower would sow.
30:40 Any sowers in this place?
30:42 I'm a sower.
30:43 Sowers sow, that's what sowers do.
30:47 Well, a sower went out to sow, and it happened as he sowed that some seed, it fell by the
30:51 wayside.
30:55 You'll see why I pray every single week that our hearts are hearts of good ground and not
31:01 the other three Jesus is about to identify.
31:06 Look at this first one.
31:08 It happened as he sowed that some seed fell by the wayside.
31:11 Well, what happened when it fell by the wayside?
31:13 The birds came and they devour it.
31:17 Uh-oh, seed's gone.
31:19 It's gone.
31:22 Some fell on what?
31:24 Stony ground.
31:26 Some fell on stony ground where it did not have much earth, and immediately it sprang
31:30 up because it had no depth of earth.
31:35 That's too soon.
31:37 But when the sun was up, it was scorched, and because it had no what?
31:41 No root.
31:44 It withered away.
31:45 And some, well, some seed fell among the thorns.
31:51 And the thorns grew up and choked it, and well, it yielded no crop.
31:57 Ah, but other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased,
32:06 and produced some what?
32:08 Thirtyfold.
32:09 Some what?
32:12 Sixtyfold.
32:13 And some, a hundred.
32:16 Now watch this, thirty is harvest.
32:25 Sixty is harvest.
32:29 But a hundred is more.
32:32 And what does a hundredfold actually mean?
32:36 Manifold.
32:39 His maximum or multi.
32:43 Some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred.
32:45 And he said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
32:54 Let him hear so he can listen.
32:57 Verse 10, "But when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parable.
33:10 And he said to them, 'To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.'"
33:16 To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.
33:23 All right, if we focus in on the twelve, it had been given to them.
33:30 He spoke in parables because it wasn't for everyone's ears.
33:34 Which is why he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
33:39 The parables weren't for everyone.
33:44 He says, "But to those who are outside, all things come in parables so that," what?
33:51 "Seeing they may see but not perceive.
33:54 And hearing, they might hear it but they don't," what?
33:58 "Understand lest they should turn and their sins be forgiven them."
34:04 Oh, oh, okay.
34:08 So anyone bucking against the ministry of Jesus, coming against and standing against,
34:14 would most likely be those who would not turn and then have their sins forgiven them.
34:21 Well verse 13, "He asked them, 'Do you not understand this parable?
34:27 How then will you understand all the parables if you don't understand this parable?'"
34:34 He says the sower does what?
34:37 Sows the word.
34:38 Well, let's use this real life illustration that we have right in front of us.
34:45 In this case, I'm the sower, sowing the word.
34:52 It says that these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.
34:58 When they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in their
35:05 hearts.
35:06 Any wayside folk in the room?
35:08 Any wayside folk?
35:09 Good, I'm glad no one is claiming that.
35:16 Now unfortunately, unfortunately, you don't have to raise your hands.
35:19 All we have to do is look at your life.
35:24 But for the sake of this illustration, we now know who the wayside, not west side, we
35:33 know who the wayside folk are because the wayside people, the wayside hearts, the word
35:42 is sown.
35:44 But immediately, Satan comes and he takes away what was sown in their hearts.
35:49 Think about that.
35:50 Think about how many people have heard the word and it produces nothing.
35:53 Why?
35:54 Because immediately the adversary took it away.
35:57 Look at this.
35:58 It says, "These likewise are the ones on stony ground."
36:01 Pay attention.
36:03 "Who when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with gladness."
36:10 Immediately receive it with gladness.
36:12 "But they have no root in themselves, so they endure only for a time.
36:19 But when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, they don't hang in there.
36:29 They stumble.
36:32 Immediately they receive it with gladness."
36:35 I mean, how many people get so excited about the word?
36:45 Joy and gladness when they receive it.
36:48 But what happens?
36:50 There's no root.
36:52 There's no root.
36:54 And so because there's no root, what happens?
36:58 They endure for a little bit, for a short time.
37:02 But tribulation comes, persecution comes, they stumble.
37:06 It says, "Now these are the ones sown among thorns."
37:11 Right?
37:12 Is your heart wayside?
37:13 Is your heart stony ground?
37:16 Or is your heart thorns?
37:17 "These are the ones sown among thorns.
37:19 They are the ones, they hear the word, they hear it.
37:22 The cares of this world, the things of this world."
37:29 What happens?
37:30 "The deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things entering in choke the word
37:34 and it becomes unfruitful."
37:37 How many people, they hear the word, it comes in, but other stuff's coming in also?
37:44 And what happens?
37:45 It chokes up the word that came in.
37:49 Those are the thorns.
37:53 Heart condition wayside, heart condition stony ground, heart condition thorns.
37:57 Oh, but look at verse 20.
37:59 But these are the ones sown on good ground.
38:03 And this is why I pray every time we're together, that you all have hearts of good ground.
38:10 Because it says, "These are the ones sown on good ground.
38:12 They hear the word, they accept it, and they bear fruit.
38:16 And some might be 30, that's still bearing fruit.
38:19 Some might be 60, that's still bearing fruit.
38:22 Some might bear a hundred."
38:24 That's what we all want, the manifold.
38:27 We want the manifold.
38:30 Maybe on our way to the manifold, there's a some fold.
38:34 Thank God for the some fold.
38:37 Bottom line, they hear the word, they what?
38:41 Accept it and produce fruit.
38:48 Any good ground heart folk in the place today?
38:56 Verse 21, look at this now, we're talking about the kingdom of God.
39:01 "Also, he said to them, 'Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?
39:10 Is it not to be set on a lampstand?
39:14 But there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret,
39:20 but that it should come to light.
39:22 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.'
39:27 And then he said to them, 'What?
39:29 Take heed what you hear.'"
39:34 Take heed what you hear, Luke records it this way, "Take heed how you hear."
39:41 In other words, be careful what you hear and be careful how you hear.
39:45 Why?
39:46 Because with the same measure you use, it'll be measured back to you.
39:49 "And to you who hear, more will be given.
39:53 For whoever has to him, more will be given.
39:56 But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
40:03 What are we reading in these verses?
40:05 The proclamation of the kingdom of God, His rule and His presence.
40:09 Remember, the kingdom of God is His sphere of rule.
40:14 It's like bringing an oil lamp into a room.
40:18 The coming messianic rule of God does what?
40:23 It makes hidden things apparent.
40:27 It reveals the hidden things of the heart.
40:31 Why does He tell us to be careful or take heed what we hear and how we hear?
40:40 Why does He say, "With the measure you use?"
40:45 Measure refers to the attitude with which the word of Jesus is being received.
40:50 If the hearer embraces—now remember, He's talking to a specific audience, and the audience
40:57 He was speaking to, they didn't live under the covenant you and I live under.
41:03 Consider that.
41:06 If the hearer embraces Jesus' message of the kingdom in a rich and profound way, then still
41:10 more will be added to you.
41:13 That is, God will take up residence in that heart and give increased understanding and
41:17 blessing both in this age and in the age to come.
41:23 Look here in verse 26, it says, "He said, 'The kingdom of God is.'"
41:27 All right, we read what?
41:29 We read that the kingdom of God is righteousness, it is peace, it is joy in the Holy Spirit.
41:37 That's what the kingdom of God is.
41:39 We also read that the kingdom of God is not in empty words, but rather the kingdom of
41:45 God is in demonstration of power.
41:49 And where there is demonstration of power, there will be words of power, not fruitless
41:55 words but fruitful words.
41:57 So we could say that the kingdom of God is in fruitful words and demonstration of power.
42:04 When I see power on display, that's the kingdom of God.
42:07 When I see righteousness, when I see peace, when I see joy, that's the kingdom of God.
42:12 When demons are cast out, the kingdom of God has come upon us.
42:16 Well, we're about to read something else that Jesus tells us the kingdom of God is.
42:22 He says what?
42:23 "And the kingdom of God is as a man or is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground
42:35 and should sleep by night and rise by day and that the seed should sprout and grow.
42:43 He himself does not know how for the earth yields crops by itself.
42:50 First the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
42:56 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle because the harvest has
43:02 come."
43:03 Let's explain this.
43:07 "As the farmer sleeps and rises, the fruit grows by itself.
43:13 Literally in the Greek, it means automatically.
43:17 Automati in the Greek.
43:20 It says that is without human effort.
43:24 Fruit for God's kingdom grows from soil that is hospitable to his word.
43:31 Again, what kind of soil is in you?
43:35 Is it wayside?
43:37 Is it stony ground?
43:40 Will I find the thorns in your heart or is it good ground?
43:44 If it's good ground, that's hospitable soil to the word of God.
43:50 It says fruit for God's kingdom grows from soil that is hospitable to his word.
43:55 First the blade, then the ear goes against the popular expectation at the time of Jesus
44:02 that God's kingdom would come suddenly and all at once.
44:06 I shared this with you before, that the kingdom of God comes in phases.
44:12 What did John preach?
44:13 The kingdom of God is near.
44:15 What did Jesus preach?
44:16 That the kingdom of God is near.
44:18 Then Jesus showed us things that when they occur are signs that the kingdom has come
44:23 upon us or that the kingdom is in operation.
44:27 Then when we get to the New Testament, Paul tells us what the kingdom of God is.
44:32 But then a time will come when Jesus comes back and he comes back with his saints to
44:38 set up his literal kingdom on the earth.
44:43 And those of us believers in the Lord Jesus Christ right now, we will come back with him.
44:49 Why?
44:50 Because we will be participants in the first resurrection.
44:54 And those who participate in the first resurrection receive glorified bodies, not just resurrected
45:00 bodies.
45:03 See a resurrected body will never die, but a resurrected body can feel pain.
45:12 How do we know this?
45:13 Because those who participate in the second resurrection will be destroyed by the lake
45:18 of fire.
45:21 Think about this.
45:22 This is how brilliant God is.
45:27 People who are in hell now, and it's sad that people are in hell now.
45:32 Hades specifically, you all remember Luke 16, the rich man and Lazarus?
45:37 Where did Lazarus find himself?
45:40 In the bosom of Abraham.
45:44 Where did the rich man find himself?
45:46 In torments, in Hades specifically.
45:51 Now, what part of Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham?
45:56 Spirit.
45:57 Spirit.
45:58 What part of the rich man was in Hades?
46:00 Spirit.
46:02 The bodies went back to where?
46:05 The earth, the ground.
46:08 So the spirit of the rich man was in torments in Hades.
46:13 But Hades isn't the final hell.
46:16 The final hell is called the lake of fire.
46:19 That's called Gehenna.
46:20 And you know what Jesus says?
46:23 That God will destroy both soul and body in the final hell.
46:30 Well, wait a minute.
46:33 If a body enters into a realm of fire, shouldn't it melt and cease to exist?
46:41 But not a resurrected body.
46:45 Resurrected bodies will be in hell, burning and feeling, but never being eradicated.
46:55 But those who participate in the first resurrection, like Jesus, will have their resurrected bodies
46:59 glorified.
47:00 Now, again, those who participate in the first resurrection, the second death or the lake
47:06 of fire can't touch us.
47:08 It can't hurt us.
47:10 And we won't find ourselves at the final judgment, the great white throne judgment.
47:15 But those who are in the first resurrection, you and I, and we're, remember, we're class
47:21 A. You got class A and you got class B. Those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
47:29 in this present age, we're a part of class A. So when the Lord, see before the Lord,
47:35 you all have heard me touch on this.
47:37 Before the Lord comes, he's going to first appear.
47:41 When he appears, the rest of the world isn't going to know.
47:44 That's the thief by night mission.
47:50 His feet are never going to touch the ground.
47:52 He's going to remain in the air.
47:54 The dead in Christ will rise first.
47:56 Whoever remains will be changed and we'll all be caught up to meet the Lord in the air
48:00 and we'll always be with the Lord.
48:02 That's at the appearing of the Lord.
48:05 Then where do we head?
48:06 We head to the Bema.
48:07 We head to get our rewards at the reward bench.
48:10 We find ourselves at the judgment seat of Christ.
48:12 That's a high day.
48:14 Everybody at the judgment seat of Christ is in heaven.
48:18 You don't go to the judgment seat of Christ to find out if you get in heaven.
48:23 If you're at the judgment seat of Christ, you made it in.
48:28 That decision is made when you're in your body on the earth, before you die or before
48:32 the Lord appears.
48:35 Now those of us who experienced that, we are, we are class A of the first resurrection
48:42 and we will remain in heaven for a period of seven earth years.
48:47 That's the tribulation.
48:49 The martyrs during the tribulation are class B of the first resurrection.
48:55 We read that in Revelation chapter 20 verses one through four, but then there are those
48:59 who participate in the second resurrection.
49:03 This is how we know their bodies can feel pain.
49:06 Those who participate in the second resurrection will appear at the great white throne judgment.
49:12 And if their names are not found in the Lamb's book of life, they will be told to depart
49:18 in everlasting fire, where their resurrected but not glorified bodies will burn forever
49:24 and they'll feel it forever.
49:27 Those who are at the great white throne judgment and their names are written in the Lamb's
49:32 book of life will join those of us who participated in the first resurrection to live in the holy
49:39 city, New Jerusalem.
49:41 But here's how you know that they who participate in the second resurrection don't have it as
49:47 good as us who participated in the first part of the resurrection.
49:51 Because even in New Jerusalem, when there's no more devil and there's no more death and
49:55 there's no more sin, the Bible says the tree of life provides leaves that will produce
50:02 healing.
50:03 Now, why would anybody need healing in New Jerusalem?
50:07 What those leaves ain't for you and I.
50:11 Those leaves are for the ones who in the second resurrection do find their names in the Lamb's
50:18 book of life.
50:20 But those healing leaves will be for them.
50:22 They will not be for you and I.
50:24 You and I who participate in the first resurrection, we will rule with Jesus for 1000 years in
50:32 his literal earthly kingdom.
50:36 We will rule with him.
50:38 We will judge the nations with him.
50:41 We will judge angels.
50:44 That's you and I.
50:45 That's what we participate in.
50:49 Those who believe, and not only those who believe, but also those who overcome.
50:55 Meaning what?
50:56 You will not allow anything to cause you to depart the faith.
51:01 You will not allow anything to cause you to stray away.
51:05 You will not be like Demas and love the world and forsake your brethren.
51:11 You will not go after the way of Balaam and forsake God.
51:15 That's those of us who overcome.
51:18 That's what we participate in.
51:21 Okay, watch this.
51:24 So those are the phases of the kingdom of God.
51:27 But some people thought it all was gonna hit at once.
51:31 So the wording, "first the blade, then the ear," that went against the popular expectation
51:38 at the time of Jesus that God's kingdom would come suddenly and all at once.
51:43 They said whoever this Messiah is, when he comes, he will immediately remove the Romans
51:50 and restore us, Israel, to our rightful place.
51:52 Well that didn't happen, and a good majority of Israel said, "well he ain't the Messiah."
51:56 But they didn't understand that the kingdom manifests in phases.
52:03 Right now, those of us who live under the new covenant, we are experiencing the phase
52:07 of what?
52:09 Not the literal kingdom yet, but we are past the point of the kingdom drawing near.
52:16 We are living in the kingdom.
52:18 Again, wherever the citizens are, there is the kingdom.
52:24 Jesus teaches that the messianic rule of God commences inconspicuously, grows slowly, right,
52:33 but steadily in the midst of much adversity, and it reaches its glorious culmination point
52:40 at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
52:44 This is why we read, "first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain."
52:50 The kingdom of God is like first the blade.
52:54 The kingdom of God is like then the, then the what?
53:01 Then the head.
53:02 The kingdom of God is like then the full grain in the head.
53:08 The kingdom of God is advancing.
53:12 The kingdom of God is expanding.
53:15 It will culminate at a later time.
53:20 And you and I, not only will we live in that culminated kingdom, but we will rule in that
53:27 culminated kingdom.
53:31 The kingdom of God is as if.
53:34 Look at verse 30.
53:37 He says, it says, "then he said, 'well to what shall we liken the kingdom of God?
53:43 Or with what parable shall we picture it?'"
53:47 Matter of fact, let me go back to this 29th verse.
53:51 You see where it says, "he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come."
53:57 The sickle and the harvest are metaphors for the last judgment.
54:02 But the sickle is also symbolic of something.
54:07 Say it again.
54:08 Reaping.
54:09 Reaping.
54:10 Matter of fact, we learn, and I'll close here.
54:17 We learn in the scripture from the words of Jesus that angels or certain angels are identified
54:25 as reapers who will reap souls.
54:29 Y'all ever heard of the grim reaper?
54:34 Well the grim reaper is always pictured as this skull face cloaked in a black robe, holding
54:40 a sickle reaping souls for death.
54:46 And the grim reaper is real.
54:51 And he has reaping angels under his authority.
54:56 Well you have other reapers who reap souls for the kingdom.
55:01 But then you have the final reaping and the final judgment.
55:08 A harvest of souls.
55:11 The final harvest of souls will come at the great white throne judgment.
55:15 These will be the last of those who enter into the glory of the Lord.
55:21 Thank God again that you and I will not be there.
55:26 We won't be in the great white throne judgment line.
55:31 We'll be witnessing it with the king.
55:36 Because we who are part of the first resurrection, again the Bible says the lake of fire has
55:40 no power over.
55:41 The second death has no power over.
55:45 Okay, we'll pick up next time.
55:48 Father, we thank you for your word.