The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…

  There is a King Who is planning a glorious celebration. The excitement has never been higher in the kingdom because the King’s Son is getting married. Everyone is making ready for the great day of the feast. The finest linens cover the tables and only the most expensive china will do. Crystal goblets and gold dinnerware are polished until they sparkle. Flowers of every kind adorn the dining hall. Special robes and sandals are placed for each guest to wear. The entire kingdom glistens with decorations for the great and glorious day.

The King sends reception invitations to all the prominent people of the land. To all the rich, famous and noble, their presents are requested by the King. The great day arrives and only a few people show up. The King is naturally upset, so He sends His servants to inquire as to when the rest of the guests will arrive. The King told His servants ,  Tell those who have been invited, ‘Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” Matthews 22:4 NASB

But none of those invited paid the King’s messengers any attention. They made light of His invitation. Some went to work their farm. Others went to their businesses, and some beat and killed the King’s messengers.  The King was so enraged that he sent His army to totally destroy these people and set their city on fire. The day is here the meal is prepared. The King sends His servants throughout the region to invite whosoever will to come. So the messengers went out onto the highway and the street corners and invited everyone they saw.

Some of the inhabitants of the land were good and others were evil, but the servants invited all they met to fill the wedding hall. The King looked over the guest in attendance and saw that  some were not dressed in wedding clothes. The King addressed these people and they were speechless in their response, so the King had them bound hand and foot, casting them into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.

The King is none other than our Heavenly Father, Almighty God. The Son is Jesus Christ, and the bride is the church that Christ has called His own. The wedding is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which will take place in heaven after the rapture of the church. The servants are the Old and New Testament Prophets who were beaten and killed at the hands of those who were in control of the earth at the time of their calling. Israelites were  primary the ones who beat and killed the prophets. They placed the blood of Jesus Christ on their hands when they cried, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” They ignored the Word of God like so many people do today and they refuse to give God His rightful do. The destruction of the city could be a reference to Titus destroying Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

The guest who were not dressed in wedding clothes are people who accept the invitation to eternal life, but get caught up in the things of this earth and do not develop a permanent relationship with God. We will learn more about the way people fall to the wayside later. The wedding garments are provided free of charge, and all the guests have to do is put them on. It grieved the King’s heart to see people dressed in their everyday clothes. This symbolism is important, because the wedding clothes represent the righteousness that Christ provided for us on the cross and is essential for salvation. The invitation goes out to whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. It does not matter if you have a bad or good reputation. Everyone is invited. This is how the gospel has been shared throughout the world. It has been preached on every highway and byway. It is an invitation to a formal state dinner. It is a joyous and wonderful event. It is an invitation to eternal life, heaven, and personal communion in the presence of God.

  Now there was a farmer who went out to his field and planted seeds. The farmer would take a handful of seeds and cast them about the field. On one edge of the field was a road, on another there was briers and weeds. Along another there were rocks that the farmer cast to the side when he cleared the field.  Now some of the seeds landed on the road and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on the rocky side of the garden. The seeds sprang up quickly, but because they had no depth of soil the sun-dried them up, and they died because they didn’t have any roots. Still others fell among the weeds and the briers and as they came up they were choked out. Then some seeds fell on good soil, and they yielded a bountiful crop, some producing thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold.

Please listen carefully. The seeds represent those of us who have heard the Word of God and have let out actions create the circumstances that lead us to the final conclusion of this life. This does not have to be our fate. God has paved a road which we can take to overcome any of the circumstances that have been stumbling blocks to our relationship with Jesus Christ. That road is daily Bible study and prayer. DBS&P. No temptation has been given us to overcome that is greater than the ability God. We have a Councilor that is capable of making changes in our life to avoid the sowers circumstantially broadcasting us into difficult situations. That Councilor and Comforter is the Holy Spirit of God.

Many of us hear or read the scriptures and don’t understand what they mean. Birds representing Satan come and snatches what has been sown in our heart .  This is the person, or seed, that was sown along the road. Those of us that were sown into rocky places hears the word of God and immediately receives it into our heart with joy, but because of the rocky soil when difficult times come into our life we fall away from fellowship with God. The person who’s seed was sown among the weeds, briers, and thorns are those of us who hear the Word of God, but lets the cares of the world choke us from becoming fruitful. Now those of us who were sown into the good soil develop a strong root system and become healthy and vigorous plants.  The parable of the mustard seed is a good example where the smallest seed of all becomes a tree bearing fruit as much as a hundred fold. The fruit is our service to God.  When we hear the Word of God, and believe, we bear much fruit and provide a service to our fellow-man.

A good example of the understanding we need of scriptures can be found in the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. He was reading the word of God and didn’t understand it, so the Holy Spirit placed Philip there as a hitchhiker. He took a ride with the Ethiopian and explained to him  that the Lamb that was led to the slaughter was none other than Jesus Christ.  Philip sowed the seed on good soil so the Ethiopian could be saved. The Holy Spirit has placed people in your life to explain to you the Word of God. He has placed churches and pastors all over this earth for you to receive the Good News, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If you are in an area where you do not know where to go to church or you do not have a Bible, please let us know. We will be more than happy to help you find your Phillip so you too can understand this wonderful salvation God has provided for us.

I would like for you to take a minute and look at this world from God’s perspective. He is sinless in every way, and to look at the horrible things that go on in this world hurts Him tremendously.  The hatred, murders, rapes, thefts, and lies that have over taken this world is all He can bear.  He has put together a plan of salvation to rid this world of the evil that destroys mankind.  His plan is not for everyone, but His call is for whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He makes avenues of escape for every one of us. It is up to us to accept and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and seek out those He has placed in our life to help us understand the plan of salvation.