Victory Outreach Cape Town

The Kingdom of Heaven is like?
Matt 6:31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Many love the king but don’t understand the ways of the kingdom:

Matt 13 Jesus has 7 different parables where he mentions “The Kingdom of Heaven is like”.

Matt 13: Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables,

The first thing that is very important for us to acknowledge and understand is that Jesus communicated these spiritual truths of the kingdom of God in the form of parables.

Parable – Natural illustration that communicates a spiritual truth

Jesus did not teach in parables to confuse or condemn the people. Rather, He sought to excite their interest and arouse their curiosity. These parables would give light to those with trusting, searching hearts. But they would bring darkness to the unconcerned and unrepentant.

Matt 13: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

I. God the Father is the farmer

1.  The farmer is committed to the success of the farm
2.  The farmer is personally involved with soil

The farmer plants seed in the present foreseeing what will happen in the future.

II. Seed the word

Life in the seed

Heb 4:12 12 for the word of God is living and active.

In Ezekiel 37 the prophet spoke the word and the dry bones came back to life again.

Ezekiel 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

III. Soil the heart

There was nothing wrong with the seed but it was the condition of the soil that would make the difference in the life of the individual.

1. Heart that doesn’t understand (Matt 13:18-19)
2. Shallow heart (Matt 13:20-21)
3. The distracted heart (Matt 13:22)
4. The fruitful heart (Matt 13:23)

We need to stay prayerful so that God the farmer is able to continually cultivate a healthy condition of our hearts.