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Matthew 13 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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0:00Matthew 13:1
0:02That day Jesus went out of the house and
0:05was sitting [music] by the sea, and
0:08large crowds gathered to him. So he got
0:11into a boat and sat down, and the whole
0:13crowd was standing on the beach. And he
0:16spoke [music] many things to them in
0:17parables, saying, "Behold, the sewer
0:22went out to sew.
0:24And as he sowed, some seed fell beside
0:27the road, and the birds came and ate
0:30them up. Other seed [music] fell on the
0:33rocky places where they did not have
0:36much soil. And immediately they sprang
0:39up because they had no depth of soil.
0:42But when the sun had risen, they were
0:44scorched because they had no root. They
0:48withered away. Others
0:51fell among thorns,
0:53and the thorns came up and choked them
0:56out. Others fell on the good soil and
0:59yielded a crop, some 100fold, some 60,
1:03and some 30. He who has ears to hear,
1:08let him hear.
1:10And the disciples came and said to him,
1:12"Why do you speak to them in parables?"
1:16Jesus answered to them, "To you it has
1:18been granted to know the mysteries of
1:21[music] the kingdom of heaven, but to
1:24them it has not been granted."
1:27So right here, we know that the kingdom
1:28of heaven is a mystery and that some
1:32people aren't seeing it and some people
1:34are seeing it. So any model of the
1:37kingdom that isn't a mystery isn't
1:39Jesus's kingdom because his is a
1:42mystery. Something needs to happen to us
1:45in order to open our eyes to this
1:47spiritual kingdom. It's not of the
1:50flesh, and we can't discern it with the
1:51fleshly mind.
1:53To you, it has been granted to know the
1:55mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but
1:56to them it has not been granted. For
1:58whoever has, to him more shall be given,
2:02and he will have an abundance. But
2:04whoever does not have, even what he has,
2:07shall be taken away from him. Therefore
2:10I speak to them in parables because
2:12while seeing they do not see and while
2:14hearing they do not hear nor do they
2:16understand. In their case the prophecy
2:19of Isaiah is being fulfilled which says
2:22you will keep on hearing but will not
2:24understand. You will keep on seeing but
2:27will not perceive. For the heart of this
2:30people has become dull. With their ears
2:33they scarcely hear, and they have closed
2:36their eyes. Otherwise, they would see
2:38with their eyes, hear with their ears,
2:41and understand with their hearts, and
2:44return, and I would heal them.
2:47But blessed are your eyes, because they
2:50see, and your ears because they hear.
2:53For truly I say to you that many
2:54prophets and righteous men desired to
2:57see what you see and did not see it and
3:00to hear what you hear and did not hear
3:02it. In this Jesus is telling them the
3:06kingdom is a mystery. It's only
3:08spiritually discerned.
3:10And he's telling them that he's speaking
3:14in parables
3:16because he's not wanting to fight with
3:19their carnal minds. He's wanting to put
3:21the truth out there only for those who
3:25have a heart to see it, have a heart to
3:28understand it. In this quote from
3:30Isaiah, he tells us that the people have
3:34the appearance of seeing, but they don't
3:37really see spiritually. And they have
3:38the appearance of hearing, but they
3:40don't really hear what God is saying.
3:43And he finishes it by saying
3:46that they don't understand.
3:49But how does he say they don't
3:50understand? They do not understand with
3:54their hearts.
3:57There's the root of the problem. He's
3:59already said in the previous chapter
4:01that a good man out of the treasure of
4:04his heart brings forth good. But there's
4:06something wrong in their hearts. There's
4:09no amount of knowledge that can fix
4:11that. There's no amount of seeing that
4:12can fix that. There's no amount of
4:14hearing that can fix that. Until the
4:17heart changes and you turn, you repent
4:20and come. You can't understand how
4:24you're supposed to understand. So the
4:27parable of the swer is a parable of the
4:29different kinds of hearts that do not
4:32receive what God is bringing. It's the
4:35seeing, hearing, understanding that is
4:39all starting with a bad heart, with a
4:42resistant, judgmental, arrogant heart
4:45that is not open toward God. Yes, we
4:48need understanding, [clears throat] but
4:49understanding only comes when the heart
4:51changes.
4:53Then Jesus begins to explain the parable
4:56of the swer.
4:58Hear then the parable of the swer. When
5:01anyone hears the word of the kingdom and
5:04does not understand it,
5:07the evil one comes and snatches away
5:09what has been sown in his heart. This is
5:12the one on whom the seed was swn beside
5:14the road. So Jesus says he does not
5:17understand it. But why does he not
5:18understand it? He's already told us that
5:20it's because of their heart. And here he
5:23tells us that the seed was sown not in
5:25the mind but in the heart.
5:28It's your feelings. It's your emotional
5:31commitments. It's your heart that's
5:33wrong. And when that changes, your mind
5:37turns on and you get it.
5:40The one on whom seed was sown on the
5:42rocky places, this is the man who hears
5:45the word and immediately receives it
5:47with joy.
5:50Yet he has no firm root in himself, but
5:54is only temporary.
5:57And when affliction or persecution
5:59arises because of the word, immediately
6:01he falls away. This is a manleaser.
6:06The first one is the callous heart. He's
6:09emotionally dead. And so the word of God
6:12just bounces off. The second one is a
6:14manleaser.
6:16Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Oh, that was so
6:18incredible. Thank you for that message.
6:20Woo. That that really blessed me. But
6:23there's no firm root. It doesn't work
6:28down into the depths of every part of
6:30his life. It just lives in the
6:33shallowess of his thoughts, of his
6:35moment, of his emotions.
6:40And when persecution comes, that joy is
6:44blown away. That joy withers. When it's
6:46hard, when people lie about you, when
6:49you face the opposition of the enemy,
6:53you lose that joy you once had.
6:56and the one on whom seed was sown among
6:58the thorns. This is the man who hears
7:01the word and the worry of the world and
7:04the deceitfulness of of wealth choke the
7:08word out and it becomes unfruitful.
7:12There are two things that choke the word
7:14out in this case. It tries to coexist
7:17with other priorities.
7:20It's a seed among. And the two things
7:22it's among are worries and wealth.
7:26And those two things cannot coexist with
7:29the seed. And it's not just wealth. It's
7:32the deceitfulness of wealth. It's
7:35treating wealth as an answer, as a
7:38grace, when it is not. It's allowing
7:41yourself to be deceived into thinking
7:43that wealth is what you need instead of
7:46God and grace and truth are what you
7:48need. Those
7:51two things, those worries that occupy
7:54your affections, your thoughts, your
7:56words, that anxiety that bends you to
8:00its purpose.
8:02That is going to choke out what the word
8:05wanted to accomplish in you. And it's
8:07it's going to stay there for a while,
8:09but it's not going to bring forth fruit.
8:12And the other thing, treating wealth
8:14like it's grace, that's the
8:16deceitfulness of riches. it's it's going
8:19to choke it out. You're going to chase
8:21after wealth like it's the seed of
8:23promise instead of cultivating the word
8:27like it's the seed that's supposed to
8:29bear fruit unto life. And the one on
8:32whom seed was sown on the good soil.
8:34This is the man who hears the word and
8:37understands it. Why does he understand
8:39it? Because he doesn't have the
8:42condition of heart that causes him to
8:44not understand it. He doesn't have the
8:47worries. He doesn't have the
8:48deceitfulness of wealth choking it. He
8:51doesn't have the fear of persecution.
8:54He doesn't have the hard pan,
8:57emotionless,
8:59tough guy image. He doesn't have any of
9:01those things. So, it falls into the soft
9:05soil of a plowed heart
9:08of an uprooted will that's left the
9:11heart soft for God.
9:14And the one on whom seed was sown on the
9:17good soil. This is the man who hears the
9:19word and understands it. Who indeed
9:21bears fruit and brings forth some
9:24aundfold, some 60, and some 30. It all
9:28starts with the heart. Jesus presented
9:31another parable to them, saying, "The
9:32kingdom of heaven may be compared to a
9:34man who swed good seed in his field.
9:38But while this man was sleeping, his
9:40enemy came and sowed tears among the
9:43wheat and went away.
9:45But when the wheat sprouted and bore
9:47grain, then the tears became evident
9:50also. The slaves of the landowner came
9:53and said to him, "Sir,
9:55did you not sow good seed in your field?
9:58How then does it have tears?" And he
10:01said to them, "An enemy has done this."
10:05The slave said to him, "Do you want us
10:07then to go and gather them up?"
10:10But he said, "No,
10:13for while you are gathering up the
10:15tears, you may uproot the wheat with
10:18them.
10:20allow both to grow together until the
10:22harvest. And in the time of the harvest,
10:25I will say to the reapers, first gather
10:28up the tears and bind them in bundles to
10:31burn them up, but gather the wheat into
10:34my barn. And this is a scenario where we
10:39are the seed and we are planted with
10:42other false witnesses.
10:45People who are in the church who are
10:47among us in our faith and are not for
10:49real.
10:52A tear looked just like wheat. But at
10:55harvest time, the wheat would bow its
10:57head with the weight of the grain that
11:00was in it. But the terror would stand
11:02straight up because it had no substance,
11:04no reality, no grain or weight of honor
11:07inside of it.
11:10And so Jesus is saying that people can
11:12lose out and lose the kingdom because
11:14they were planted really close. They
11:16were close friends with another believer
11:19who is a false witness, who wasn't
11:22really converted, who didn't really love
11:24the Lord, whose heart was in the wrong
11:26place. And so he says people are going
11:29to ask, should we go through and try to
11:30pull up these tears? He says, 'N no,
11:32you'll uproot the righteous. So he's
11:34telling us that God's going to allow
11:36some who are not sincere to coexist with
11:39us.
11:41And in the end, he's going to gather up
11:44those whose heads were not bowed first
11:47and he's going to burn them
11:48[clears throat]
11:49in the fire.
11:51He presented another parable to them.
11:53This whole chapter of Matthew 13 is what
11:57is the kingdom? What is the kingdom? And
12:00Jesus is telling it in these snapshots.
12:03It's like this, it's like that. It's
12:05like this. These are all metaphors and
12:07no metaphor is perfect, but they're all
12:09giving us a different angle on how the
12:11kingdom works. He presented another
12:13parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of
12:15heaven is like a mustard seed which a
12:18man took and swed in his field.
12:22And this is smaller than all other seeds
12:24when but when it is full grown it is
12:27larger than the garden plants and
12:29becomes a tree so that the birds of the
12:32air come and nest in its branches.
12:35So in this he's saying that the kingdom
12:37of God is the principle of start small,
12:41start with something tiny but grow it.
12:45We live in a world of instant
12:47gratification. We live in a world where
12:49we want what we want and we want it now.
12:52But he's giving us an agricultural
12:54process of cultivation.
12:57And he's saying the change that you seek
13:00in your life, the change that you want
13:01to be in your world, it doesn't happen
13:04by snapping your finger or making a
13:05decision. It happens like farming, plant
13:09something, water something, tend
13:11something. And it takes months, it takes
13:14time, it takes patience, it takes
13:16inputs. And he's saying the kingdom is
13:19that way. When the kingdom starts, you
13:21barely notice it. But if you don't
13:23uproot it and you don't plant it in the
13:25wrong place,
13:27then in time it's going to become
13:28something very, very strong. Christians
13:32oftenimes want big splash. They want
13:36crusades and they want celebrity status.
13:41They want notoriety. They want
13:43publicity.
13:45But Jesus wants faithfulness. He wants
13:48someone to believe in the change he's
13:50worked in their heart and just cultivate
13:53it until it turns from the smallest to
13:56the biggest plant in the garden.
13:59And he spoke another parable to them.
14:01The kingdom of heaven is like leaven
14:04[clears throat] which a woman took and
14:05hid in three pecks of flour until it was
14:08all leavened. All these things Jesus
14:11spoke to the crowds in parables.
14:14And he did not speak to them without a
14:16parable. This was to fulfill what was
14:19spoken through the prophet. I will open
14:20my mouth in parables and will utter
14:22things hidden since the foundation of
14:25the world. In all of the parables, he's
14:28telling us that the kingdom is like
14:30something very tiny.
14:34It's not the big crusade. It's not a
14:38white horse and a general marching into
14:40Jerusalem. It's an inner change, but it
14:43can become the biggest thing that's ever
14:45happened in the history of the world if
14:48you believe in it, if you cultivate it.
14:51Then he left the crowds and went into
14:53the house. And his disciples came to him
14:55and said, "Explain to us the parable of
14:57the tears
14:59of the field." They didn't like that
15:01one. That made them worry that there
15:03might be some in their midst who weren't
15:06real, who weren't faithful? And was
15:09there one in their midst who was a tear?
15:13And Jesus said, "The one who sws the
15:16good seed is the son of man, and the
15:19field is the world.
15:22And as for the good seed, these are the
15:25sons of the kingdom.
15:28And the tears are the sons of the evil
15:32one.
15:35And the enemy who swed them is the
15:36devil, and the harvest is the end of the
15:38age, and the reapers are angels.
15:42So just as the tears are gathered up and
15:45burned with fire, so shall it be at the
15:48end of the age. The Son of Man will send
15:51forth his angels, and they will gather
15:53out of his kingdom
15:56all stumbling blocks, and all those who
16:00commit lawlessness,
16:03and he will throw them into
16:04[clears throat] the furnace of fire. In
16:06that place there will be weeping and
16:08nashing of teeth. Then the righteous
16:11will shine forth as the sun in the
16:15kingdom of their father. He who has
16:18ears, let him hear.
16:21Everything that offends,
16:24he's going to gather out the tears. And
16:26he calls them those that create
16:28stumbling blocks for others.
16:31Those that said things that made the way
16:33of righteousness harder to do. Those
16:36that rationalized disobedience.
16:39And those whose lives were lawless. They
16:42never submitted to the way of the Lord.
16:45and they caused others to trip. They
16:47caused others to stumble.
16:51Everything that is a stumbling block,
16:54that is a a cause
16:57for making us trip in the rhythm of our
17:00walk up this narrow way that leads to
17:03life. That's a tear.
17:06But he's not done trying to describe the
17:08kingdom. He's just going to keep at it
17:10because the kingdom is a mystery and
17:12he's trying to open our eyes to it. The
17:15kingdom of heaven is like a treasure
17:17hidden in the field which a man found
17:19and hid again. And from joy over it he
17:23goes and sells all that he has and buys
17:26that field. It's you find something
17:29that's an answer and you say I'm I'm
17:33hiding this. This is special. But I'm
17:36going to sell everything I have to buy
17:40that place where I found what I was
17:42looking for. Again, the kingdom of
17:45heaven is like a merchant seeking fine
17:47pearls. And upon finding one pearl of
17:50great value, he went and sold all that
17:52he had and [clears throat] bought it.
17:54The kingdom of heaven makes you trade in
17:56all your gains, all you have, every
17:59possession, and say, "I'll give it all
18:01up. I want that righteousness, peace,
18:04and joy in the Holy Spirit. I want that
18:07power where the finger of God casts out
18:10the spirit and oppression of the devil.
18:14I want power to be free.
18:17Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a
18:19drag net cast into the sea, gathering
18:22fish of every kind. And when it was
18:25filled, they drew it up on the beach,
18:28and they sat down and gathered the good
18:30fish with containers, but the bad they
18:33threw away. So it will be at the end of
18:36the age. The angels will come forth and
18:39take out the wicked from among the
18:42righteous
18:43and will throw them into the furnace of
18:46fire. In that place there will be
18:48weeping and nashing of teeth. Have you
18:51understood all these things?
18:53They said to him, "Yes."
18:57And Jesus said to them, "Therefore,
18:59every scribe who has become a disciple
19:02of the kingdom of heaven is like a head
19:05of a household who brings out of his
19:08treasure things new and old."
19:13It's an interesting comment on the end
19:15there. He's saying
19:18probably to Matthew or someone in the
19:20midst who's going to be writing these
19:22things down. He's saying if you're a
19:26knowledgeable person and you hear what
19:30I'm saying, you're bringing out of your
19:32experience, the household of your heart,
19:36something new and something old.
19:39something new because God is giving you
19:41a whole new container, a whole new way,
19:44a whole new path, something old because
19:46it's faithful to what you studied in the
19:48scripture as a scribe. And it's
19:50consistent with all the law and the
19:51prophets.
19:53When Jesus had finished these parables,
19:55he departed from there. He came to his
19:58hometown and began teaching them in
20:00their synagogue so that they were
20:02astonished and said, "Where did this man
20:06get this wisdom and these miraculous
20:09powers?
20:11Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not
20:14his mother called Mary and his brothers
20:16James and Joseph and Simon and Judas and
20:19his sisters? Are they not all with us?
20:22[snorts] Where then did this man get all
20:24these things?"
20:26And they took offense at him. But Jesus
20:29said to them, "A prophet is not without
20:32honor
20:34except in his hometown and in his own
20:38household."
20:40And he did not do many miracles there
20:43because of their unbelief.
20:47There's several things that we can learn
20:49from this final section of Matthew 13.
20:54one, he comes to his hometown and they
20:58encounter the grace and anointing of God
21:00through his ministry and their first
21:02response is, "Wow, this is incredible."
21:06But then they start trying to fit him in
21:09to the categories they know, tying him
21:13to the family, and they say, "Wait
21:15[music] a minute, we know this guy." And
21:19familiarity breeds contempt.
21:22They try to bring him down to their
21:24level and before they know it, marveling
21:28turns to offense. Who does he think he
21:32is? And Jesus says to them that what
21:36they're doing
21:38is they're unable to honor him because
21:42he's from their town.
21:45You're less likely to recognize God when
21:47he speaks to you from a family member or
21:49a community member than [music] anywhere
21:51else because you don't have honor. You
21:55don't have awe.
21:57And he equates honor with belief. He
22:00says a prophet has honor everywhere but
22:03in his hometown. And then Matthew says
22:05he could not do miracles there because
22:07of their unbelief. showing us that if we
22:10want the miracles of God, we have to
22:13start with humility and honor. We can't
22:16say, "I know this. I understand this.
22:19Yeah, don't act like you're something
22:21special. Your brothers and sisters still
22:22live here."
22:24That's going to lead [music] to offense.
22:26That's going to lead to us losing the
22:29opportunity of the miracle that he had
22:31in mind when he visited [music] his
22:33hometown.

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