Eyes, Ears and Heart
Matthew 13:1-23 NIV
Last year our Sunday messages went through a series of topics on a closer walk with God that taught us how to be better disciples of Jesus.
You may or may not have realized it but for 30 weeks that is what I spoke about. It was my prayer that these messages would encourage and challenge you in your faith journey as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Many of those messages were about how we thought about God our Father and our relationship to Him. They also talked about our actions and behaviours as Christians and how we could learn to be more Christ-like in the things we do and say. The last section of those messages were about how to apply our thinking and our actions into our everyday living. How to be more like Jesus.
This year I intend to take you on another journey with Jesus as we sit at His feet and examine the “Parables of Jesus”. In them we’ll discover what Jesus describes as “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven”.
Through Jesus Parables we learn how to take what is developing within us as Christian character to the next level. We dear Saints are involved in a lifetime experience as we follow Jesus. Ours is not just a Sunday experience but an every day journey of transformation. Jesus wants to take us from what we are and turn us into what God desires us to be. Our best self if you will.
Through Jesus Parables we will be given “knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven” not the kingdom of this earth. The knowledge that will be imparted to us will come from the Lamb of God Himself.
This knowledge is being revealed to those of you who are seekers of the deep spiritual truths of God. Last week we meet some of these seekers at the Jordan River where John the Baptist pointed out the Messiah to them.
Andrew and John are just two of the seekers we will sit beside as we join Peter, Mark, Luke and Matthew and the rest of Jesus disciples. We’ll join them in this journey of discovery that will open our eyes, ears and hearts to the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven.
As Jesus tells us in today’s parable we will receive a blessing if we open our eyes, ears and hearts to His truth. Matthew 13:16
In the Parable of the Sower Jesus unlocks the secrets for us and explains why some of us will receive this knowledge and others will not. The thing that separates peoples understanding of Jesus Parables is not the language He uses but the heart of those who are listening. Matthew 13:15
Andrew and John were seekers because they had open hearts to the things of God. They were at the Jordan River listening to John the Baptist and his message before Jesus was pointed out to them as the Lamb of God. I know today we often hear and sometimes in accusatory tones that we Christians need open minds. But listen to what the scriptures say…
Matthew 6:21 New International Version (NIV)
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Jesus words not mine.
And again…
Romans 10:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Clearly God desires to speak to our hearts first. Once we receive it there it can be more fully understood in our minds.
Jesus said…
Matthew 22:37 New International Version (NIV)
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
Here Saints is the first key to being a seeker. Our hearts, souls and minds must be filled with the desire to love our God completely. Unreservedly.
We cannot sit at Jesus feet with hearts, souls and minds that are partially in love with our Heavenly Father and partially in love with the world.
If we do this then our eyes will not be opened fully to see the truth Jesus reveals and our ears will not be opened to hear the hope of Jesus message and our hearts will be divided concerning the love our Father seeks to pour into us.
Dear ones these instructions for understanding the Parables of Jesus may seem simple but I tell you it will take effort on our part and discernment.
Jesus lays out the enemies to our understanding for us.
They are:
Matt: 13:18 the evil one (NIV); the wicked one (KJV) = Satan - Takes by force
Matt: 13:21 Trouble/persecution because of the word = (Divine expression) Depth of our faith
Matt: 13:22 Worries of this life; cares of this world -job, position, popularity Unfruitful
The deceitfulness of riches (false impressions) CHOKE – slow death
Saints you may ask yourself why are these “mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven or secrets of the kingdom of Heaven” being assaulted with such ferocity?
Our enemy the Devil/Satan/Lucifer has been in the Kingdom of Heaven.
He had an honored and trusted position there. He knows how wonderful it is and he cannot go back ever and he wants to keep you and me from having it since he cannot.
He is jealous of our salvation.
He lost his place because of covetousness – he wanted to be God, he wanted to sit on the throne of God and rule Heaven as its King.
Satan wanted the praise, the adoration, the worship that was due only to our Heavenly Father.
For these reasons he lost his high place of honor and was cast out of the heavenly realm and fell to the earth.
Isaiah 14:12-17 Describes his fall.
Saints, Jesus is revealing to us the secrets or mysteries of the Kingdom of God in the truths that are in His parables. Let us open our eyes, ears and hearts fully to His truth so that we might become the good soil He talks about.
Matthew 13:23 New International Version (NIV)
23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
While we have breath in our lungs let us fruitful disciples for the Lord – Amen.
