Scripture:
Matthew 13:10-17 NKJV
[10] And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” [11] He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. [12] For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. [13] Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. [14] And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; [15] For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ [16] But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; [17] for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Observation:
Over the last several years what I have noticed is that the truth is not what people want to hear. But of course that’s spoken about in the Bible in 2nd chapter 4 and verse 3, but it’s easy to drive that point home and it has been done so many times right here in these. No one wants to hear that sin is bad, in fact I have actually heard a pastor stand on stage and say that sin is ok, and why? Because that’s what people want to hear, that’s what will fill the seats and the wallet. My prayers for the last several years is that I am not deceived. As we get closer to the return of Christ those who are deceived will deceive others and not even know it. The Bible says they will have a form of godliness but denying HIS real power. Over the last several days I have been thinking a lot about the slumber we have found ourselves in. It seems that the enemy has lulled us to sleep. But it seems like this is not a new problem. As I was studying this morning I found this jewel tucked right between one of my favorite portions of scripture. The parable of the seed sower and its exploitation. After Jesus gives a profound example of a farmer who sows seeds talking about the condition of the soil and how the seed is received, the disciples were curious so they posed a question, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” HIS response doesn’t need to be missed, but honestly I have never heard a pastor preach on it. Although it’s not the only place that it’s said in the Bible. It seems that most of the prophets were told that the people wouldn’t listen, Ezekiel chapter 2 verses 3 through 7, Jeremiah chapter 7 verse 27, and Isaiah chapter 6 verses 9 and 10. These are just a few examples. You see, my point is that people hear what they want to hear, and that’s the point of what Jesus is saying here as well as HE explains the reason HE speaks in parables. Verse 11 is a powerful example of that, as he dives into HIS answer, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” One thing I want to point out about that answer is that immediately after the portion of scripture that we are looking at this morning, we see that Jesus has to explain the parable that HE had just spoken to the disciples. They were interested and inquired of HIM, so of course HE is going to take the time to teach them. They wanted to hear, they wanted to know, they wanted to dig in, and so HE took the time to pour in to them. As GE continues to teach them, HE says, “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him. Now I have to say that almost seems unfair, but what HE is talking about is wisdom, and what HE is saying is if you want to know HE will teach you, and if you’re just barely interested and don’t take the time to dig in, you won’t find the answer. Sometimes I think it would be nice to write about the Bible all day, because I never seem to have the time that it requires to bring out what needs to be said. But I make my best effort. As Jesus explains the reason HE teaches in parables, what HE says is people hear, see and understand what they want to. Referring to an example that was placed at the beginning of this observation in the prophecies that Isaiah was given, “Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and “TURN”, so that I should heal the” now honestly I feel like the way this has been divided up in the newer versions of the Bible does not do it justice. I feel like it’s one teaching with a lot of meat that has been chopped into several pieces so that people can digest it, however I feel like it needs to be taken in all at once because the whole chapter ties into itself. As we bring this portion to a close, I feel like it’s important not to miss the final statement in this morning’s SOAP, “Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly,I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.“ The disciples were looking at and listening to GOD in flesh.
Application:
I’m a pretty firm believer in the fact that there are 2 ways to read the Bible. The problem is that most people read it in this way that I will explain. You can read the Bible to justify your behavior, and excuse away your sin. Therefore making the way you live ok in your sight, in fact the Bible says, “all a man’s ways “SEEM” right to him, but in the end lead to death.” You see we have been warned about that approach. What I want to tell you is that nowhere in the Bible does it teach that it’s ok to live in open sin. There are a lot of verses about the grace of GOD that get taken out of context and manipulated to justify our actions. Now listen I am not preaching sinless perfection, but what i am saying is sin should cause conviction in our lives. There is not one place that I have found in the Bible where Jesus says go ahead and live in sin, there’s not one place that Paul teaches that either. Yes Paul teaches a lot about grace, but he is very clear about how it should change a life not leave someone trapped. What I am saying is GOD wants us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, HE has given us HIS grace to draw us out of a life of sin, HIS desire is that we be conformed to the image of HIS SON, that’s the key, we are to become more like HIM as our relationship with HIM grows, the sin that is in our lives should become more and more repulsive. We should never be comfortable in our sin. Honestly it should make us sick to our stomach. My relationship with Christ has removed several things from my life, including people who said they loved me. Some are just ok with sin. I don’t want it in my life. The second way to read the Bible is the way we should read it, we should want our lives to change. I know most of us will read this message and see condemnation, and if that what you want to read that’s what you will read, but what is being said is that when Christ is truly the LORD of our lives we will allow HIM to sanctify us. HIS grace is designed to conform us to HIS image, HIS likeness, we are to become more like HIM daily. Here is the test, tell me one place where it is said that it’s ok to live in open sin. If you honestly seek the truth you won’t find it. The power of grace is that it transforms us, it conforms us. Things that were ok at the beginning of my walk with Christ are not ok with me now, HE is steadily sanctifying me to be more like HIM everyday. For that I am grateful. As HE trims the branches that don’t produce fruit others branches will grow. A big building full of people doesn’t impress me…..i follow the word not the herd.