Life is the Kingdom of Heaven

The Kingdom of Heaven PARABLES

Mat 13:31  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:
Mat 13:32  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.

A grain of mustard seed is tiny.
Sown in a field.
Once grown from the tiny seed, the mustard tree it becomes is huge.

The kingdom of heaven once sown in a heart encompasses the entire life, leading to eternity!

Christ must be a huge part of our lives! He must be our lives!

Mat 13:33  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.

A little bit affects a lot.

The kingdom of heaven brought to us by ONE will fill all the hearts of the many who will be Christ's.

Mat 13:44  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.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN- treasure hid in a field

The kingdom of heaven is worth EVERYTHING!
The kingdom of heaven is more important then anything else, because the kingdom of heaven is CHRIST.

Mat 13:45  Again, the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Mat 13:46  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN- merchant finding a great pearl
That pearl means everything!

Our Savior is stressing the importance of the kingdom of heaven.

We treat it as part of our AFTER life, and after life that is NOT Biblical. We treat it as something not to be too overly concerned about and the truth of the matter is, it should be the ONE thing we are MOST concerned about right now, while we live!  Our life must be Christ's NOW, not in the last five minutes before we take on death's sleep, or the last five years of our lives when we feel we've reached an age that dying is almost certain.  We can't have Christ for a few hours on the weekend and holidays, but then forget about Him. The kingdom of heaven, our Christ is EVERYTHING!


Mat 13:47  Again, the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Mat 13:48  Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
Mat 13:49  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
Mat 13:50  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - a net

A net trapping good and bad.  Just as there will be those who believe they are Christ's, that they believe that the Kingdom is theirs, they'll cry  'Lord, Lord,' and He'll tell them He never knew them,  they have a pretense of being Christ's but it's not a reality. They'll be in the net and at the end of the world the good in the net of the Kingdom of Heaven will remain, the bad will be destroyed.

Mat 13:51  Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

Mat 13:52  Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Things old and things new.

The old testament pointed towards the Messiah, the new Testament reveals the Messiah.

The old and the new- all are of the Kingdom of Heaven- Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

Why do we believe Heaven isn't something that should occupy our  thoughts constantly? Why do we believe that it shouldn't be important, life important right NOW!

Have you thought about the Kingdom of Heaven today?  We should think about it, everyday. EVERYDAY!

Please Lord, help us to LIVE with the Kingdom of Heaven paramount in our minds, in our lives!

By YOUR GRACE and LOVE, LORD! All by YOU!

Until the End of the World- God's People and Satan's Are Together

The KINGDOM of HEAVEN IS...

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  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?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30  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.

Jesus explains the parable-

Mat 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mat 13:35  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.

Secrets kept from the foundation of the world!

Mat 13:36  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.

Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the KINGDOM; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41  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;
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the KINGDOM of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Sower of good seed- Son of Man.
The field- the World.
Good seed- the children of the kingdom.
Tares - the children of the wicked one/Satan.
Harvest- the END of the WORLD.
Reapers- the angels.

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field
Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man

The kingdom of heaven is LIKE a man sowing good seed in his field.
The kingdom of heaven IS the Son of man.

The kingdom of heaven is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

And the kingdom of heaven is our Lord, sowing good seed.

The good seed are the children of the kingdom.

We, who would be Christ's, are seed sown by Him.  He takes us in His hand, He sows us in fertile ground, we take root, we are nourished, we grow up into Him, and when we are full grown at the end of the harvest we will be HIS.

Farmers cannot sow seed for a harvest and leave their crop unattended.  If a crop is left unattended it can succumb to weather, vermin, disease. Sure, sometimes there isn't a whole lot a farmer can do against some of those things- severe droughts can tax even the deepest of water sources; a plague of locust, unstoppable; an infectious blight of an unknown strain, all these things can and do happen. However a good farmer will do all in their power to nurture their crop, not expecting to plant and disappear and then come back to harvest a crop left unseen.  A good farmer will even have workers tending the crop if he doesn't do so personally. A crop can be the livelihood and sustenance for a farmer, to be inattentive would only encourage his own ruin.

Our Savior does all He can do to tend to the crop He's planted. Our Savior will never leave us unattended. Our Savior is ever ready to protect us, to help us even as we have tares growing up all around us. Living in this sin-filled world, filled with the willfully wicked, we truly are growing up among those that would destroy us.  If we are NOT Christ's then we are Satan's. Too many want to believe that they are on neutral ground- neither Christ's or Satan's, as if there were some other choice.  These people are exceptionally blind, refusing to see, holding fast to their deadly delusions.

Christ gave this parable so those who would see, could see, and the rest would not understand.

Do you see?

Do you understand?

Wheat or tare?  Two choices.

Please Lord, let us be YOURS- good wheat sown by YOU, growing in YOU, harvested by YOU.

Please Lord, let us NOT forget that the wheat and the tares grow together right up until the end of the world, right up until You return.

Bless us, Lord, keep us IN YOU forever! Protect us from all the tares that would destroy us, that would encourage us to leave You.  Let us every be with YOU.

By YOUR GRACE!
By YOUR LOVE!
By YOUR MERCY!

Always, YOU!

Heart Soil for the Seed of the Kingdom

The Parable of the Sower- (A Parable of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN)

Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

Listen to this parable-

We know what a seed sower is, right? I mean we know how and why they sow seed.  Let's imagine it for a moment. A farmer carrying a sack of seed on their back slung so they can reach inside and grab a handful of seed, tossing some of the seed to the ground WHERE he wants the seed to take root and grow into a plant.  He doesn't sow recklessly, the seed is important, it means his livelihood, his food source. He wants each individual seed to be fruitful, to grow, to produce the plant he needs it to.  With this in mind...

Mat 13:19  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.

Not understanding the word of the kingdom-allows the wicked one to steal away the seed that was sewn in the heart.   The kingdom not understood, this causes the seed to fall to the side of the heart, it's not on fertile ground. Satan will do all he can to cause the seed that is sewn to make it anywhere but the heart. Satan knows if the seed isn't in the heart it won't grow to its fullest, it won't produce the fruit necessary.

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21  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.

Receiving the seed, not rejecting it. Receiving the seed but NOT into the soft, nutrient rich ground of the heart, but rather in a hard stony place. One who hears the message of the Kingdom of Heaven with joy, but does NOT let the message of the Kingdom settle into their hearts. No root is allowed to grow.  If the message of the Kingdom of Heaven is not in our hearts growing, then whenever problems arrive we are offended, we let evil grow in our hearts- wanting to render evil for evil because we are offended rather than filled with the compassion of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Mat 13:22  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.

Receiving the seed of the Kingdom of Heaven, hearing the word, but again not letting it into the heart but rather outside the heart among the thorns. The thorns are the CARES of this WORLD, the DECEITFULNESS of RICHES. These thorns choke the message of the Kingdom of Heaven and it cannot live.

Mat 13:23  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.

Hear the word of the kingdom of heaven, understand the word of the kingdom of heaven, bearing fruit, bringing forth that which is worthy for the harvest. The fruit grown from the seed planted in the fertile ground of our hearts will produced a unique seed. Like a Dandelion gone to seed, the seed flies off on the wind to produce more fruitful plants.  We are to spread the news of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

More tomorrow by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

May we fill our hearts with God's truth, with His love, with His Salvation- the Kingdom of Heaven!

Parables, Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, Conversion, Healing.

Jesus spoke in a lot of parables… why?  Let the Bible and Jesus, Himself answer that question...

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  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.
Mat 13:12  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.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  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:
Mat 13:15  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.
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  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.

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They seeing- see not.
They hearing- hear not.

Without the ability to truly comprehend, you cannot understand.

Ear dull of hearing.
Eyes they close.

This is a purposeful, willful desire to remain ignorant to the truth. Those who do this, those who choose to be ignorant, choosing to ignore the truth, they cannot understand no matter what it spoken to them. Jesus spoke in parables and those who desired understanding of those parables would get it, but those who chose to remain in ignorance would do so as well.

It's hard to imagine anyone truly wanting to remain ignorant, isn't it? Why would someone not desire the truth?

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Loving evil prevents a person from comprehending the truth.

People who love evil- whether it is the evil of selfishness, the evil of covetousness, the evil of lying, the evil of hatred, the evil of not forgiving, the evil of pride, the evil of self absorption, the evil of … you name it, the evils in our world are seemingly endless.  Any cherished evil, no matter how huge or how small is enough to keep a person blind, willfully blind.

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Mat 13:11  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.

The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

We can know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, it is ours to understand if we love truth rather than evil.

Loving truth.

Hating evil.

Mat 13:15  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.

Hearts waxed gross.
Ears dull of hearing.
Eyes they have closed.

People LOVE their evil! 

People do NOT want to be healed!

People say they want to be healed but they don't.   People don't want to be converted because conversion means hating the evil in your life, despising the evil around you and all the evil in the world.  Our cherished sins are evil, all sins are evil. If we harbor sins, cling to them, not wanting Christ to forgive us for them, not wanting to repent of them, not wanting to go and sin no more- then we are intentionally keeping ourselves blind, deaf, and our hearts closed to the truth. We cannot be converted and healed by Christ if we love sin more than we love Him.

I'm not saying we won't sin, but encouraging it, accepting it without fighting against it and striving to keep from doing it, is all a part of cherishing it.

When we give in to the sins in our lives that are so easily besetting us, when we stop repenting and seeking forgiveness, we are giving into the despair that Satan wants us to give into. If Satan can cause us to stop seeking Christ and His forgiveness, His love, His righteousness, then we are lost.

No matter how often we sin, we can't give up!

Please, LORD, please let us have our eyes wide open! Please, let us have our ears open! Please, let us have our hearts open all to you!  We need you to convert us! We need you to heal us!

Your will, LORD, Your will. We would be YOURS and we would know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven!

All through your LOVE.

Jesus said, '...the kingdom of God is come unto you.'

Imagine living in a time when you are under the yoke of an unyielding tyrant of a ruler. I know we feel this way at times in our own government when we are forced, yes, forced to pay taxes, forced to get healthcare, forced to follow the rules of the government. But our being forced is NOTHING like living under the terror of a government that thinks nothing about crucifying you for minor offenses, and to show the strength of their power. Living under that sort of tyranny has to be awful in a way none of us in the United States can comprehend.

You live under oppression like that and you long for freedom from oppression. That longing becomes a hope like no other. That longing for freedom, to live without fear, becomes something strived for and something to  give your children, and they- their children.

The Jewish people had prophets from God and those prophets foretold of a Messiah, a coming King, a Savior who would bring them freedom to live without fear.  These people had this wonderful hope and were looking for the arrival of this Messiah.

When the Messiah came, the Jewish leaders didn't recognize Him because they had imagined Him so much different.  This was done by God for a reason, to let only those who desired God's truth to really comprehend, while all the pretenders would remain blind to the truth.

Those pretenders didn't realize their own blindness, they only saw others being what they believed was deceived and felt a need to set them straight.

A possessed man brought to Jesus-

Mat 12:22  Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Mat 12:23  And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Mat 12:24  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Mat 12:25  And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Mat 12:26  And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
Mat 12:27  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
Mat 12:28  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

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We can comprehend how some businesses, governments, kingdoms fall- history has shown time and again that often these are taken down from the inside, not the outside. People who are trusted betray that trust and that betrayal destroys everything.  When you have two opposing factions, either one of those factions can be can be destroyed by the other. It's a well known practice to bribe someone on the inside to help in the destruction. 

For the Pharisees to say that Jesus was working miracles by the power of the devil, healing where all the devil did was destroy was a huge matter. They were claiming that  Jesus who went about doing ONLY good, was doing it by the power of the devil.  Jesus was casting out the devil by using the devil to do the casting out.  And not only that, the Pharisees themselves having their own cast out devils were supposedly doing it by God.  They said Jesus was doing it by the devil, but their people by God, their lies were ludicrous.

Jesus called them on it. 

Casting yourself out is impossible.

Even when we loath ourselves we are still stuck with ourselves, aren't we?

Satan cannot cast out Satan.

Sure, Satan can take away any illness if he gives that illness in the first place, if it suits his plans. And sure there are plenty who belong to Satan who seemingly heal others and cast out demons, they're liars and they know they are liars. The truth of them can be found out easily enough when you take them to the word of God and compare their lives to the truth. If they are NOT following God's truth, all of God's truth, then Satan can use them if they reject the truth and willingly remain blind, tugging those blinders tightly over their eyes, their hearts. By their fruit you will know them, and the fruit is what they produce in their lives- THEIR LIVES- not only the deeds they do. There are plenty of evil men and women who are seemingly honest, loving, caring, good and their deeds only seem to prove this and yet behind closed doors they harbor great evil. Their hearts are dark and loveless yet no one can see it, God knows it, God knows the hearts. And while we are to recognize them by their fruits, all we see is good, their fruit appears good to us but it's spoiled. 

With this sort of deception out there, people are fooled.

Christ's entire life was on display. He was surrounded by His Apostles and many disciples all the time, hiding nothing. He took no bribes, no payment, no one could go to him and buy a miracle. Jesus lived His life in poverty. He had no home, no job for the three years of His ministry. Jesus wandered from place to place and lived a life without any frills at all. No Pharisee could point at Him and say, "Look, He lives like a king, He uses dark powers, He's a sorcerer." They couldn't do that because all He was, was completely self evident.  When they did lie and get Him condemned it was all lies, even the Romans saw through the lies and yet to keep peace they went along with the lies.

Jesus said…

Mat 12:28  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

The kingdom of God- the way to God's kingdom was there!  Jesus used the power of God to fight against Satan's control over the possessed, over those afflicted by the evils of the Devil.  Jesus preached LOVE and all things pertaining to LOVE. The truth of God was all that came from Christ's lips. No lies, never a single lie came from Him. There was no coveting, no thirst for power at all.

The kingdom of God was there! The door was opened! The freedom land in sight! The WAY was illuminated! Jesus was preaching the Kingdom of Heaven and the eyes of the people were opening, hope was rising up within them. The kingdom of heaven was truly at hand! And ever since Jesus came to make the way available it has ever been available to us, never taken away, a door opened and not shut.

We are going to continue to study on the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, by the grace of our LORD.

We are going to keep praying for insight, for the spiritual sight we need to see only HIS truth and not be deceived by Satan's many lies and deceptions. 

Please, Lord, bless us! Love us! Help us to love You! Please let us learn as much as we can, as much as we need to of Your coming KINGDOM!

All by YOUR GRACE!

Desperate for the kingdom

Least in the kingdom.
Greater in the kingdom.

In the kingdom it will NOT matter which position you hold- the least or the greatest. There will be NO resentment at all whatsoever for anything. There will be no boasting, no vying for a higher position, none of that will exist.

When we read about being the least in the kingdom we know that position is one we would gladly take, just to be in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said this-

Mat 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John the Baptist, the greatest born among women. Yet-- the least in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist.

Why? Wouldn't we in our own intelligence place John right up there in the realm of the greatest to be in heaven? People, Bible scholars have interpreted this verse to mean different things.  I can't help but wonder if right then as Jesus spoke those words the greatest prophet ever to walk the earth was at that moment asleep in His grave, not in the kingdom of heaven yet at all.  And if John hasn't attained the kingdom, the least there WOULD in fact be greater than John because John had yet to go to the kingdom of heaven and will wait in His grave, asleep, until Jesus Christ comes again and raises the dead from their graves.  We know factually that there are people in heaven right now that have ascended to heaven- Elijah for one. And others God has taken.  Elijah didn't die, there was no grave for Him ever.  We know God has the power to take those special few to heaven, just as we know this--

Mat 27:51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mat 27:52  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

When Christ died many graves were OPENED. Why? Because the saints in those graves, those who died in the love of God and slept death's sleep, were awakened from that sleep! We don't know which ones, we have no way of knowing, and we know not ALL those who are God's were taken out of their graves and awakened because it says MANY, not ALL. These people who were awakened and taken out of their opened graves went into Jerusalem and MANY saw them. They weren't ghosts, they were real people, real bodies that could be seen. 

John was NOT in the kingdom.

Those who were in the kingdom, the least in the kingdom were greater than John because HE was not in the kingdom of heaven yet. He would sleep in His grave.

Of course, not all believe this is what is meant. 

Yet, John the Baptist, the greatest born of women the least in the kingdom?

The next verse...

Mat 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Wesley in His Bible Commentary wrote this-

'And from the days of John - That is, from the time that John had fulfilled his ministry, men rush into my kingdom with a violence like that of those who are taking a city by storm.'

Scofield in His Bible Commentary wrote this-

'It has been much disputed whether the "violence" here is external, as against the kingdom in the persons of John the Baptist and Jesus; or that, considering the opposition of the scribes and Pharisees, only the violently resolute would press into it. Both things are true. The King and His herald suffered violence, and this is the primary and greater meaning, but also, some were resolutely becoming disciples. '

Barnes in His Bible Commentary wrote this-

'And from the days of John ... - That is, from the days when John began to preach. It is not known how long this was, but it was not probably more than a year. Our Saviour here simply states a fact. He says there was a great rush or a crowd pressing to hear John. Multitudes went out to hear him, as if they were about to take the kingdom of heaven by force. See Mat_3:5. So, he says, it has continued. Since “the kingdom of heaven,” or “the gospel,” has been preached, there has been a “rush” to it. People have been “earnest” about it; they have come “pressing” to obtain the blessing, as if they would take it by violence. There is allusion here to the manner in which cities were taken. Besiegers “pressed” upon them with violence and demolished the walls. With such “earnestness” and “violence,” he says, people had pressed around him and John since they began to preach. There is no allusion here to the manner in which individual sinners seek salvation, but it is a simple record of the fact that multitudes had thronged around him and John to hear the gospel.'

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The kingdom of heaven.

The wonders of the kingdom are beyond our full comprehension. It is to be DESIRED greatly! The kingdom of heaven- perfection in ALL things, in ALL ways.

We need to earnest seek the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Daily we should be contemplating the kingdom of heaven as the hope our Savior came to give us.  Our Savior died for us, died so we could inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Something so incredibly valuable as that is something we must LIVE for. Eternity with Jesus Christ in His Heavenly Kingdom- this is our HOPE, our life now and everlasting.

Do we seek the kingdom earnestly enough? Do we want the kingdom with a real desperation?

IS the kingdom of God REAL to us?

By the grace of God may it become real to us! Our Lord died so we could have the kingdom!

Please LORD, we would have YOU, and in having YOU, have the kingdom you came and preached to all.

By YOUR LOVE!

The way to the kingdom is for the living

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:8  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

To the Jewish people, to God's chosen people, people who had a history of men of faith giving their lives to God. These people suffered through much but were rewarded with much. Given a Moral Law, they were told they had to agree to the Moral Law, and they AGREED. Once that agreement was made it was forever. When they failed to uphold their agreement they were punished- over and over again. They'd repent and then fall away again.  This was their known history.  They forever remain God's people, but what state they remain in is up to them.

Jesus wanted His Apostles to go to the Jewish people and PREACH- THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.

He wanted the Apostles to open up the eyes of the people to His truth, the truth of the KINGDOM of HEAVEN.

He also wanted them to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils.

The kingdom of heaven.

Let's read some verses on heaven from the Old Testament-

Psa_22:28  For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.

Psa_45:6  Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

Psa_103:19  The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Dan_2:44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Gen 28:12  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
Gen 28:13  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed
Gen 28:14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Gen 28:15  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Gen 28:16  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
Gen 28:17  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Deu_10:14  Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.

1Ki_8:27  But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

1Ki_8:30  And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

1Ki_8:32  Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

1Ki_8:36  Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

1Ki_8:39  Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

1Ki_8:43  Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

1Ki_8:45  Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

1Ki_8:49  Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

1Ki_22:19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

Neh_1:5  And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments

Exo 25:8  And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exo 25:9  According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Exo 25:40  And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

Heb_8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

*******

I'm going to stop right there for now. I took a verse from the new testament and tied it into the old testament verses above it.

The point I think I need to make is that the Jewish people of Christ's day, KNEW the God of HEAVEN. They KNEW that GOD had a throne in HEAVEN. They KNEW that God had a TEMPLE in HEAVEN that their TEMPLE was patterned after the TEMPLE in heaven. 

The KINGDOM of HEAVEN was NOT unknown to them!

Daniel spoke --

Dan_2:44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

The Kingdom of Heaven was known.

Jesus came and brought the message that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand- meaning, the WAY into the kingdom of heaven was being made. The kingdom of heaven was a real place.  The kingdom of heaven was a place that Jesus was making available to all.  The kingdom of heaven through Christ. 

Yes, some people believed the kingdom of heaven was to be set up right then on earth, that Jesus was going to make an earthly kingdom such as the kingdom of mankind, having a king to bring all into submission. Rome would no longer rule over God's chosen people. Caesar would no longer rule, but Christ.  They were wrong. Christ's kingdom was NOT of this world!

Christ's words-

Joh_18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

His kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, is where HE would ascend and where He would take us upon His return if we are found in Him, known by Him, loved by Him.

Jesus sent His Apostles to preach the kingdom of heaven at hand to the Jewish people. Jesus wanted ALL to have a chance to obtain the kingdom of heaven, and He still wants ALL to obtain the kingdom of heaven.

The truth, God's truth.  We know it, we are told it, the truth is available for all to know if they choose. The kingdom of heaven is available for all to obtain, it is REAL.  It's not some spirit world filled with the ghostly spirits of all the dead, that is NOT what Christ preached, and He would have preached that, if it were so.

Thy kingdom will COME.  We pray it, but we imagine the kingdom is come to the dead, not that God's kingdom is coming to RAISE the dead, and RAISE the living all found in Him at His appearing!

Please LORD let us believe in Your kingdom as a reality, something to be found NOW.  The way to the kingdom is for the living to find now. The reality of the kingdom to be had at Your second coming.

Please Lord, bless us, keep us, love us, know us! Mercy, Lord, Your mercy! Your grace! Your righteousness! Your forgiveness! All in YOU LORD, all in  YOU!