weekly sermon

1-27-08

What Does It Mean To You?

Matthew 13:1-50, "(1)The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. (2)And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. (3)And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; (4)And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: (5)Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: (6)And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. (7)And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: (8)But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. (9)Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (10)And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? (11)He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (12)For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. (13)Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. (14)And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: (15)For this people's heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (16)But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. (17)For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things] which ye hear, and have not heard [them]. (18)Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. (19)When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. (20)But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; (21)Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. (22)He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. (23)But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (24)Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which 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 blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. (27)So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? (28)He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? (29)But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. (30)Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. (31)Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: (32)Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. (33)Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. (34)All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: (35)That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. (36)Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. (37)He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; (38)The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one]; (39)The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. (40)As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. (41)The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; (42)And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (43)Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (44)Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. (45)Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: (46)Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (47)Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: (48)Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. (49)So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, (50)And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 5:2-11, "(2)And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, (3)Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (4)Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (5)Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (6)Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (7)Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (8)Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (9)Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (10)Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11)Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."

Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:"

Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

First go back and read the above passages again before we get started. Now that I have you completely confused as to why I quoted all these particular verses, let me clear it all up for you.

I was listening to a minister on the television the other day preaching his message to his congregation and it really got me to thinking. I pulled a few passages of scripture out of the Bible that some of you may already know. I used these passages because they all could be a sermon of some kind or another. They are very memorable passages, ones that most of you have heard many times I am sure.

I myself have performed messages on most of the scriptures I have just quoted that meant one thing or another. When I started looking at these verses, I realized that when I read one, it meant something to me, of course. Then I realized that it meant something to me that was totally different than the last time I read it. I started thinking, when you preach a message to a group of folks, what it means when it leaves your mouth to you, may not be what it means to someone you are preaching it to. It may have as many meanings as there are folks at your service. I can take a passage of scripture and preach it this Sunday, and whatever is going on in your life at that particular moment is affected. But if I give that same sermon a month from now, it could mean something totally different to you, because something different is going on in your life.

I am a firm believer that the Bible speaks to you and gives you advise accordingly. The passage you read at that moment will help you with what is happening to you at that moment. That same passage will help you again at a different time with whatever is happening to you when you are reading it at that moment.

The passages I quoted above were just chosen randomly and have no purpose to this message except to show you that if you read them now compared to reading them in the past, they mean something totally different. They will also mean something totally different in the future if you read them again.

I say all of what I have said for this reason. No matter what passages of scripture you go to they can mean one thing at one time and something completely different at another time, except for one.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

From the beginning of time until now, God loved the world so much that He gave us His ONLY Son. Jesus loved us so much that He died for our sins, just for us. All you have to do is believe and you are saved.

Read the above three sentences one more time, I do not want you to get confused. God loved us, Jesus died and rose for us, and now all we have to do is believe.

Talk about a simple statement that NEVER waivers. This passage has meant the same since God first breathed it to be written until now.

There is one reason that John 3:16 will never change and always means the same thing no matter when you read it, Hebrew 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

We can all go back and read the teachings of the first passages I quoted and really get a great sermon from God out of them, that will mean something completely different from me reading the exact same thing. But for God to love us as much as He does, to do what He did for us, that verse will never change or fade away.

The passage from John 3:16 shows us true love, and what should be our true salvation. If you have never received Christ as your personal saviour then read John 3:16 many times so that you truly understand what you receive from that verse. You can also say this short simple prayer with me.

Dear Lord, come into my life and forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.

If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.


 

With Love in Christ,

Pastor Stone