Today we are looking at the same title, but slightly different. So, we are still looking At Kingdom Structure and Formation, but the Part 2 of it. It is similar to the part one but today we are looking at something different about kingdom structure and formation. So, by way of title, we are looking at kingdom structure and formation part two, and we are going to start our observation from Matthew 13. Jesus spoke certain parables about the kingdom, and they were so vital and important and meaningful to this conversation. Because if you don’t understand what the kingdom of God represents, and what it stands for, it is difficult for you to function as a citizen in that kingdom. So, it is important for us to understand the formation of the kingdom we are in and the structure of it.
So, in this kingdom, you have been born into and conveyed into this kingdom. Hitherto every man born into the world is born by default into the kingdom of darkness, because of what happened in Genesis. When the devil came and spoke into the ears of Eve about the things God has given them as instructions for their living, and Eve saw that the fruit was good for the eyes, it was attractive, it was something that could make one wise and she went for it. And that point when she gave it to her husband with her and that sin, that disobedience happened, the devil made man to transfer their right and the kingdom they have to him. So, at that point, man lost the kingdom. The kingdom of God that was given to man was lost because at the end of that we realized that God chased them out of the garden, and He put the cherubim at the entrance, meaning that man was denied access. And God said lest they lay their hands on the tree of life.
So, there is something about the tree of life, there is something about the garden of Eden, that presupposes and makes us to understand that, that was the beginning and the genesis of the kingdom of God on the earth. Jesus now making us understand, because Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes, by the time we see it, one of the things Jesus said in verse 34-35 of Matthew chapter 13; All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
So, for this Scripture to be fulfilled, and in the fulfilment of this Scripture, Jesus will always speak to the multitudes in parables. So, Jesus spoke certain parables in this Matthew 13, but our focus this morning will be on the parable of the wheat and the tares, the parable of the dragnet, the parable of the mustard seed, the parable of the leaven, the parable of the hidden treasure, and the parable of the pearl of great price. We are going to dwell on that and will see the interconnectivity that occurs within these parables. So, we are going to start reading first the parable of the wheat and tares. Matthew 13:24-30.
“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.”
Please let’s pay attention to this.
“So, the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Now we are going to read the interpretation of this parable from verse 36.
“Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.”
Who is the Son of man? Jesus Christ. He who sows the good seed is the Son of man, its Jesus Christ, the field is the world. So, Jesus is now breaking down the parable, helping us to understand the kingdom. It says the one that sows the good seed is the Son of man, the field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. Jesus was plain with His disciples; He made His disciples understand what the kingdom stands for and what actually happens in the kingdom. He said the field is the world. And remember when He said the Man that sowed, He sowed good seed. So, Jesus Christ actually sowed sons of the kingdom into the earth. When the earth was formed and all that God did, God sowed. Let us cast our minds back to Genesis.
When the field of the world was created, remember God made the heaven and the earth, the earth was without form, something happened, but God re-introduced light into the earth, He put structure around the earth, He gave the earth form. Remember that Bible says; God created a garden eastward in Eden, then He put the man. So, God sowed a good seed into the garden of Eden. Remember that. Because, while we are reading this, let us not be too quick to create a disconnect. All Scriptures explain themselves. And that’s why Jesus was saying to the Pharisees, He was saying to them that all Scriptures speak of Me, there is no Scripture from Genesis to revelation that does not point to Christ. If you don’t see Christ in any Scripture from Genesis to revelation, there is an issue. It is because you have not allowed the Holy Spirit to show you Christ, because that is His responsibility. The Holy Spirit will come and reveal Christ to you whether you are reading Genesis or you are reading Leviticus or you are reading Numbers, or you are reading Ezra. The Holy Spirits responsibility is to reveal Christ to you, from the pages of the Scriptures. That’s why the Bible says; the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. Who is life? Jesus said I am the way; I am the truth and I am the life. So, life is Christ, He will show you Christ, He will reveal Christ to you.
So, this Scripture and what we are reading here is what happened in the beginning. Remember John 1:1 the Bible says; in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. It says by Him all things were made, nothing was made outside of Him, in Him all things consist. So, we understand that Jesus was there at the beginning when God created everything. So, when Jesus was saying that the Son of man is the sower, He is the one that sows the good seed, what is He saying? He is saying that when Adam was sown in the garden of Eden, it was Christ that sowed him there. So, Adam was a good seed, but something happened along the line, and that is what Jesus was making us understand from this parable, He said while men slept, “the enemy” and He said the enemy here is the devil. God sows good seeds, and every seed that God sows that Christ sows are the sons of the kingdom. And He said the enemy came and sowed tares. So that is what the enemy did lurking around Eve, making sure that he planted tares.
Because some of us will say okay when God knew that Adam and Eve were corrupted, why didn’t God just kill them, so that sin will just evaporate? Then God should now create another Adam and put in the garden. That is what Jesus is saying here, He said God didn’t do that. He said the enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of age, and the reapers are the angels, so whatever goes on in the field of the world, God is not ignorant of it. And who is the owner of the field? God. But there is an enemy, there is an adversary. So, the enemy called the devil are the ones that always comes and fight against the seed or tries to make sure that the seed that God has planted is not beneficial. And see what the Bible says; it says and the reapers are the angels, Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
Was it last week or two weeks ago I was reading a post by evangelist Mike Bamiloye and he was talking about the fact that he travelled to place for ministration, and when he got there, he started talking about the reality of heaven and hell, he said when he was done, he and his wife, the pastor called him aside and said he should not have said all those things, and he asked why? He said you have made the people scared. He said they need to be scared, that is real. That he is not even making them scared, that he is actually telling them the truth. And the truth should not make them afraid. It should make them make a choice. Then the pastor said no you should realize we have youths; we have teenagers in the meeting, you were talking about the gory and the scary part of hell, he should have just spoken about heaven and leave hell aside. And he said he looked at him and said these teenagers and youths that you are trying to excuse from the reality of hell are the same teenagers and youths that read Harry Potter, they watch Merlin, that are they not scary? He said he could not figure it out. He said it doesn’t just happen in one place, it happens in the body of Christ.
You know how if they want to say a news, they will say this picture will be disturbing, we just want to let you know that this pictures you are about to see is disturbing. We have come like that in the church where we sift out the truth, the once that we think that would be scary, we put it aside, then the one that we feel is pleasant, it is good, it makes everybody feel good, we say it. But is that the truth of the kingdom? No! Jesus made it clear, it says Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire. Jesus said it, they will be gathered up and burned in the fire. Who sowed the tares? The devil. And these seeds are the sons of the wicked one, are they not human beings? Yes, they are. But because they have allowed themselves to be tares and the reason is this; everyone sown by Christ is a good seed. Everyone sown by the devil is a tare, a bad seed. Jesus made it clear and that is how kingdom is. You can’t feign ignorance. You can’t be sown by the devil and expect that you will be in the barn of God, no! you will be gathered up and burned. That’s the reality of hell. So, there is no sugarcoating it. It’s the truth.
Jesus said they will be gathered and burned in the fire. So, it will be at the end of this age. So, there will come a time whether you like it or not when there will be judgement. When there will be a harvest of the field of this world, and there will be a separation between the wheat and the tares. It says gather up the wheat and put them in my barn. That barn is heaven. Gather the tares and burn them up, that’s what happens in hell. The son of man will send out His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom, now when we get to verse 41, we are now wondering, how comes Jesus is now talking about His kingdom. Gather out of His kingdom, why is He talking like that? In Daniel 7, Daniel saw a revelation let us read from verse 13.
I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man. Do we remember the Son of man in Mathew 13? I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given. Who is the Son of Man? Christ! To Christ was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, are we seeing it? nations, and languages should serve Him. Did we see the word should? Did you see will? No! It says should serve Him. That’s why Christ died, Christ died so that all nations and languages and people should serve Him. But are they all serving Him? No! His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom, the one we shall not be destroyed. That is the kingdom of Christ. Now in Revelation 11 vs 15, there was a loud noise in heaven, and they cried out, they said the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Do we understand it?
So, going back to Mathew 13 we will see what Jesus is now saying concerning His kingdom. We are reading verse 41, The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, every nation, people and language should serve Him. So, they will gather out of His kingdom, all things that offend.
So, what is Jesus saying? The field which is the world is actually the kingdom of Christ. Jesus the Son of Man and the sower, will continually sow good seeds in the world. And He said out of His kingdom all things that offend and those that practice lawlessness. He has planted good seeds and the devil has also sown tares. But let the wheat and the tares grow together. And that’s what we are experiencing. If the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, how come there is wickedness? How come there is lawlessness? How come people are just doing anyhow? How come there is so much going on that is so bad in the world. See what the Bible says, it says; the Son of Man will send out His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom, “gather out” all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness, there will be a separation; between the wheat and the tares. This is the reality of the kingdom.
So, those who are practicing lawlessness, even though they are pretending as though they are good seeds sown by Christ, that day there will be a separation. And it said and will cast them into the furnace of fire. The reality of hell. He will cast them, you not mine. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous, the good seeds, the sons of the kingdom, Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. They will shine. This is our experience, in the kingdom. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. So, when we declare the kingdom of God, when we go out to preach the kingdom, this is what we preach. The reality of the wheat and tares, the reality of the time that will come, that there would be a separation, the wheat will be gathered into the barn of God, the kingdom of our Father. And the tares will be bundled up and burned.
That is why Apostle Paul will say we are afraid of the wrath of God, because we have seen it. That is why we preach to men, repent, change your ways, change your lawlessness, change your practices, because as merciful as God is, He would not allow the wheat and the tares to be harvested together. We can be growing together now does not mean that we will be harvested together. The harvest will mark the separation. We might be growing together, just like the rich man and Lazarus. They were growing living together on the earth, but when harvest came, and the rich man died, and Lazarus died, the Bible says; Lazarus was carried to the bosom of our father Abraham. He was taken to the barn. And the rich man was bundled up to burn. This reality is the reality of the kingdom and that is how it is structured. Let’s see the parable of the dragnet in that same Matthew 13:47-50.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Jesus helping us to understand again, when we talking about the kingdom of heaven, this is the reality of it. Like a dragnet being cast into the sea, all manner, it catches all manner of things, but there would still be a separation. We must not be ignorant of it; this is the reality of the kingdom. Let’s go and see the parable of the mustard seed because that’s where we are going to pay a bit of attention this morning. Matthew 13:31-32.
“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
Now Jesus haven shown us the structure and the separation that will happen, always in the kingdom, that in the kingdom, allowance will be given for a time, for all the wheat and the tares to come together and there will be a separation. He now said see, the reason why many people will want to see the kingdom, and there is no comeliness to this. What is it about the kingdom of heaven? He said it is because it is like a mustard seed. Have you seen a mustard seed before? It’s very tiny. But one thing about the seed is that, a seed carries within itself a new life. When you see any seed, inside the DNA of that seed is a new life. So, a seed has a capacity of regeneration. And that’s why Jesus said unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone.
So, the seed has to be sown, and that’s why almost all the parables that Jesus spoke, about the kingdom, He was always mentioning seed and sowing. Because this is the realities of what happens to us when we come into the kingdom. We accept the kingdom as a seed. He said the kingdom is like a mustard seed. Which the man took and sowed it into His field. So, when you accept the kingdom, you must accept the kingdom as a seed and that seed must be sown into your life and the Bible says that unless that seed dies the regeneration capacity of that seed, is not possible. Take a seed and put it in a very beautiful jar and place it in your house, even though that seed carries a lot of capacity, nothing will happen.
The seed will just be there. Try it You did not sow it, you just put it in a transparent jar and you say I want to see what will become of this seed. And you put it inside an empty jar, and you place it in your house. Nothing will happen. And that’s why Jesus is always talking about sowing the seed. At the beginning of Matthew 13 Is the parable of the sower. It says and the sower went out to sow. So, the structure of the kingdom is like a seed. But it does not stop as a seed, but what will make the kingdom stop as a seed in your life is because you did not sow it. Unless you sow the kingdom, it does not produce. Jesus said it is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed. That place is so important.
Which a man took and sowed into His field. So, we can all carry the kingdom of God, and say I am a kingdom citizen, you need to sow your citizenship. Your citizenship is a seed. Unless it is sown it abides alone, it produces nothing for you. Which is the least of all seeds but when it is grown, so it will grow. Because it is sown. If it is not sown, it will not grow. So, you sow it so that it grows and it will be greater than the herbs, and it will become a tree so that the birds of the air can nest on it.
I want to show us a Scripture in 2 Corinthians 9:10. Now [g]may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown. Not the seed that you have, you can have a seed and not sow it. You can have a seed and not sow it. He will multiply the seed you have sown. We remember the scripture were apostle Paul said, I Paul plant, Apollos waters but God gives increase. If Paul did not plant God will not give increase. It says; and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. “supply and multiply the seed” see it, He supplies the seed-the kingdom, and multiply it because you have sown it.
I want to read it again. Now may He-Christ, who supplies seeds to the sower and bread for food, “supply” He is the supplier and multiply the seed. So, you can say supply the seed and multiply the seed you have sown, and increase the food of your righteousness. So, we must sow the kingdom. 1 Peter 1:23, it is important we understand this because this is the hall mark of the kingdom. If we don’t the kingdom, we don’t know what we have been called to, and we might just live our lives like that. And that is why God is so particular about our understanding of the kingdom.
It says; Having been born again, not of corruptible seed like what we read in Matthew 13 about the parable of the wheat and tares. but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides [m]forever. Haven been born again, you are transformed, you are regenerated, by a seed. So, what God did with you and I, came via a seed. God planted His incorruptible seed in our hearts, He sowed it, that is why when Jesus was talking about His death, He likened it to a grain of wheat that dies that is sown. We are all harvest of Christ, why because Christ was sown. The same way God sows the sons of the kingdom, as a seed in the world. You are a seed of God; you must be sown. Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides in us.
So, the word of God is a seed that has been sown in our hearts. Last week we were looking at the formation of the kingdom, and when we were looking at putting on the whole armor of God. it says; the word of God is the sword of the Spirit; by which we fight. The word is also a seed by which we live. Everything that we live by is produced by the word. The word is a seed, so when the word is sown in our heart, the word gives us a body. Let’s see 1 Corinthians 15:38. “And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body”
How does God give a seed a body? By His word. God gives it a body as He pleases. So, if God wants to sow sister Tosin as a seed, God puts His word on Her life and say you will become this; God has given her as a seed a body. So, God gives a body as He please to each seed its own body. So, God gives it a body, how does God give us a body in the kingdom, by His word. So, if God wants to sow you, He will put His word over you and sow you as a seed. That is like God saying I want you to be sown as a seed of excellence, you are going to show forth my excellence in my generation, that’s the word of the Lord, it has given you a body.
Now if that word that you have received, all you do is to put that word in a ward robe, write it beautifully in a journal, and say the Lord has said concerning me, that I am going to show forth His excellence, if you don’t sow that word and sow yourself to fulfill it, it won’t happen. So, it is important that we understand that the word of God is what gives us body. To be sown as seeds on the earth. The kingdom is not about sowing money; it is about sowing men who carry the word of God. Many people have limited the kingdom of God to sowing money, no! the way the kingdom is structured and formed, the word of God is the seed that is sown in the kingdom.
So, for you to be sown as a seed in the kingdom, you must carry the word of God. you cannot be sown as the son of the kingdom if you are not carrying the word of God. so, it is about sowing men that carry the word of God. when God wanted to sow Catherine Kulman as the revivalist, God gave her a body by His word and sowed her. God dint have to give the world one million or one trillion dollars. God gave men. The kingdom is not about sowing money; it is about sowing men that carry the word. If you are a carrier of the world of God, you will be sown as a son of the kingdom in the field of the world. It takes you carrying the word, becoming the body of the seed of God.
So, all the things that God has been saying to you in your secret closet is not that God is making you feel good, feel excited, what He is doing is that He is giving body to your seed. When God was going to give body to the seed of Christ, He sent angel Gabriel to speak to Mary. And the angel came and said blessed are you amongst women, something will be born of you, the seed of the Lord, what made Mary conceive Jesus was the word. The word is the seed. How does God communicate His will into your Spirit? It is by the word. It is the communication of the word. He communicates His Spirit into you and gives you a body for the seed.
A seed carrying within itself a new life. So, you are not carrying that life before until the seed came. So that word made you, it gave you a new life, it regenerated you, you are hitherto not doing that thing, but you started functioning like that because the word of the Lord came. Who was Elisha before the word of the came to him? He was a business man. And God said to Elijah go on your way anoint this, anoint that, anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat. That word gave Him a body. He said He will be a prophet in your stead. That word was hanging over Elisha until he actually allowed himself to be sown. That’s why Jesus said those that love their lives will lose it. I want us to see that Scripture in John 12, so that we understand how we sow our lives as a seed.
John 12:24-25. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it reproduces, it is regenerated, it produces a new life, it produces much grain. Jesus now said this immediately after that, He who loves his life will lose it, see he who loves his seed, wants to put it in a transparent glass, wants to be looking at it, refusing to be sown into the ground, how do you grow? So, Jesus said those that love their lives, protect it, shield it, they hide it, they don’t want discomfort, they don’t want to be associated with anything that will give them discomfort, it said those that love their life, they will lose it, and he who hates his life, allowing his life to be sown, God said go there, you go there. Apostle Paul was such a man that His life was sown.
When the prophet came and say this is how they are going to tie the owner of this girdle, if he enters Jerusalem. He said see I am not only willing to be bound; I am also willing to die. That’s sowing. He said I am ready to give my life for this gospel. He said I count everything as dung, as rubbish that I may gain Christ. That’s sowing. So, Jesus said he that hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. So, we must sow this life, the body of the word that God has given to us must be sown. It must be sown, seeds are to be sown, they are not for decoration. It is important we understand this. We can go back and read the parable of the leaven.
That is very tiny yeast but it makes the whole dough to rise. That’s how the kingdom of God is. We might not see it; it looks very harmless. It’s about a choice, how difficult is it for you to make a choice. When you woke up this morning, didn’t you make a choice of having your bath? Was it difficult? Do you hear a voice from heaven saying go to bathroom and have your bath? No! you made that choice. The same way you will choose the kingdom. That’s how it will be, you have to choose the kingdom. And if you see in the parable of the hidden treasure. It says a man found a hidden treasure, it says he went to sell all that he had and he bought that field. That’s how we should treasure the kingdom. That’s how we must guard the kingdom.
Guard it jealously. That’s why the Bible says; seek first the kingdom of God. So, the arable of the hidden treasure was telling us how the kingdom of God should be paramount in our hearts. Seek first the kingdom, sell all you have to buy it. Jesus said don’t lay for yourselves treasures on earth, but in heaven where moths cannot destroy, where thieves cannot steal, He said because where your treasure is there your heart will be also. If you treasure the kingdom, you will seek it first. You will sell all you have to buy it. That’s what the Lord is saying to us. Same thing with the parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the pearl of great price. It said the kingdom of God is like one that has found a pearl of great price and he sold everything to purchase it.
It’s a choice, what have you found in the kingdom? The Bible says taste and see that the Lord is good, if you have tasted and see that the Lord is good, abandon everything and follow God. When Jesus turned to the disciples’ after he made a hard saying and the multitudes left Him, He said will you also go? They said to whom shall we go? You are the one that has the word of eternal life. We have found a pearl of great price with you. We have found a treasure hidden we will sell all that we have. And that’s why they were bold to say to Christ, we have abandoned all and followed you, what shall we have? We treasure the kingdom, we have abandoned all and we have followed you, what shall we have? This is the reality of the kingdom.
Religion is different from kingdom, when you find kingdom, you know you have found a treasure. It is greater than silver and gold. You know you have found something that is eternal in value. Everything Jesus said in Mathew 13, we can go back and read it from verse one to the end. Read every of those verses and understand what Jesus is communicating to us about the kingdom. The structure and formation of the kingdom is different, it is like a seed, it looks insignificant. When you become born again it looks as if nothing has changed, you are still the same person, but God is working in you. Bible says it is God that is at work in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. As He is guiding you, as you are making choices according to His will, you are becoming a tree that the birds of the air will come and nest on. He is establishing you.
It looks as if your life is not amounting to much now, keep investing. Keep sowing, the harvest is coming. In the kingdom the Bible says don’t despise the days of little beginnings, it will always start small like a mustard seed, but it will grow if you can sow it. So as the Lord is giving you those words and you are confessing it. And you are speaking them by faith, you are building, God is building with you. Don’t let the devil lie to you. Because eve did not understand that God was working in them. The devil came and lied to her and she lost the treasure. The treasure of the kingdom. That’s what the devil keeps doing. He knows that you have found a pearl of great price, a hidden treasure, so He will always lurk around to make sure you lose it. Don’t lose the kingdom, if it’s your treasure guard it. Guard it with your life, you have found the kingdom of Christ, guard it, hold it dare.
I want us to pray and ask God for grace, the grace to seek first the kingdom of God, the grace to hold dare, to treasure what we have found in Christ. We receive in the name of Jesus.
