{"id":3745,"date":"2020-06-12T06:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T11:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/?p=3745"},"modified":"2020-06-12T07:39:44","modified_gmt":"2020-06-12T12:39:44","slug":"word-pictures-of-the-church-the-kingdom-of-god-heaven-continued-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/word-pictures-of-the-church-the-kingdom-of-god-heaven-continued-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Word Pictures of the Church – The Kingdom of God\/Heaven (continued)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We are continuing to look how the Church and the Kingdom of God are synonymous. Remember, Jesus used it in a more narrow sense as He was referring to the rule and reign of God in the lives of His followers.  In that light, the Kingdom of God is synonymous with the Church.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We are continuing to look at some of the parables Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God.<\/span><\/div>\n
We looked at two which had to do with the value of having the Kingdom.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Now, we look at\u2026 <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2. The Expanse of the Kingdom <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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These parables stress the vastness of the universal or worldwide kingdom made up of people from all nations.<\/div>\n
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1.) The Yeast<\/div>\n
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Matthew 13:33 (ESV)<\/span><\/div>\n
33 He told them another parable. \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.\u201d  (This parable is also told in Luke 13:20)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The leaven or yeast in this parable represents the Kingdom of God. The point about the yeast is that it permeated and leavened all of the dough into which it was placed. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This represents the universal nature of God’s kingdom. It is a worldwide kingdom, a kingdom spread through all the earth.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2.) The Mustard Seed<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Matthew 13:31\u201332 (ESV)<\/span><\/div>\n
31 He put another parable before them, saying, \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.\u201d   (This parable is also in Mark 4:30-34 and Luke 13:18-19)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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With this simple fact (that from a small seed a large plant can grow), Jesus illustrates the spreading of the gospel throughout the world.  The Kingdom of God (the large plant) grows from the planting of the gospel in hearts of men. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The word of Christ from small beginnings can cause enormous growth and have influence attracting people to Christ from near and far. This is represented by the birds coming to nest in the branches.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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3.) The Sprouting Seed<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mark 4:26\u201329 (ESV)<\/span><\/div>\n
26 And he said, \u201cThe kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God is shown in this parable. The kingdom is of God, not of man. How does the gospel seed sprout in the hearts of men and cause them to bear fruit for God? <\/span><\/div>\n
It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We cannot make the Kingdom of God by our own effort. All we mortals can do is plant the seed God gives us and wait for God to make it grow. We can nurture the sprouting seed, but it is God who gives the increase.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Our part, God\u2019s part, Their part.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This is but a few of the many parables Jesus told to explain the kingdom.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We will wrap this study up with these simple Scriptural truths\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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3. Additional Kingdom Truths <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1.) Our daily prayer should be for God\u2019s rule and reign on earth to match His rule and reign in heaven.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Matthew 6:9\u201310 (ESV)<\/span><\/div>\n
9 Pray then like this: \u201cOur Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2.) Those who undergo persecution for living right before God reveal their destiny.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Matthew 5:10 (ESV)<\/span><\/div>\n
10 \u201cBlessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness\u2019 sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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3.) The difference between a worrisome life and life of peace is our Kingdom focus.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Matthew 6:31\u201334 (ESV)<\/span><\/div>\n
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, \u2018What shall we eat?\u2019 or \u2018What shall we drink?\u2019 or \u2018What shall we wear?\u2019 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 \u201cTherefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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4.) Only the poor in spirit enter into the kingdom.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Matthew 5:3 (ESV)<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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We are continuing to look how the Church and the Kingdom of God are synonymous. Remember, Jesus used it in a more narrow sense as He was referring to the rule and reign of God in the lives of His followers.  In that light, the Kingdom of God is synonymous with the Church.   We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3745"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3748,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745\/revisions\/3748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southsidealive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}