 Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining class. Shalom to all of you. Welcome to all our in-person students and our online students. Thank you, Ravili, Nina, John, Jack in, and Shivkumar for joining class this morning. And also, welcome to our e-learning students who will be listening to the lecture later on. OK, before we continue looking at the parables, stories that Jesus taught us, we all love stories. So today will be more like a story time and just learning the truths from those stories, the revelatory truths from the stories. We'll just pause for the word of prayer. So can one of you please lead us in prayer, please? Prince, you'll pray? Thank you. Amen. We were looking at chapter 7, Kingdom Parables. And we were looking at some of the important truths about why Jesus spoke in parables. So we looked at John chapter 3, verses 9 to 13. And we tried to lay a foundation about why Jesus spoke in parables before we explored the first parable, that is the parable of the soul. Or before we look at the parables that Jesus taught, we thought we will lay a small foundation. So we looked at John chapter 3, verses 9 to 13, where Jesus is having a conversation with whom? Nicodemus. And so what was the concern that Jesus was raising with Nicodemus, OK? But what was the concern? Of course, he's sharing the truth with him, but what was the concern that Jesus had? He's sharing with him some important truths about the Kingdom of God. But what was the hindrance in the conversation? He was not able to understand the teachings, OK? So Jesus is telling him that I'm explaining you things from the natural and you're not able to understand it. So if I'm telling you things from the spiritual world, from the world I come from, from the Kingdom of God, from the Kingdom of Heaven, how are you going to understand it, OK? So then he goes on and we looked at certain truths that in Matthew chapter 13, verses 10 to 17, OK? Why Jesus spoke in parables? Why did Jesus speak in parables? OK, so what does he tell his disciples? He says, Jesus says that to the disciples, the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven has been given to them, OK? Which means what? Yes, the grace has been given for them to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom, OK? So this he's talking in context of the disciples. He's telling the disciples that to you has been given the mysteries of the Kingdom. Matthew chapter 13, verses 10 to 17. Meaning, what is he meaning by this? He's saying the grace of God has been given to all of you to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. But what did he say regarding the general public? They have yours, but they cannot hear. They have eyes, but they can't see. They have hearts, but they cannot perceive or they cannot understand the mysteries of God, OK? So how is Jesus going to explain to them the truths, the mysteries, a revelation of the Kingdom of God to them? Through the parables, OK? So in order to bridge this gap, OK, in order to communicate to them the mysteries of the Kingdom, Jesus is saying, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to speak to them in parables. And what is parables? OK, earthly stories. He's taking stories from our world and helping us see things from his world, OK? So he's taking scenarios or case stories, so to say, from our world that we can see, that we relate to, that we can understand. And using those stories, he's going to reveal to us some spiritual truths or the important revelations of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. Or he's helping us see things in his world, even as we look at things from our world. So even as we look at things in the natural, he's going to reveal the spiritual truths or the spiritual things to us, OK? And another thing he pointed out in the same Matthew chapter 13, 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, OK? So what did Jesus mean by saying this? We looked at this last week. He was doing a recap. 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. So what is Jesus trying to say here? Can you take the mic, please? OK. Whatever the Lord is revealing to us, we should build on it. We should give attention to that so that the Lord will give you more. If you are taking it lightly, the chance of... Yeah, what is given to you, the little that is given to you will be taken away. So he says, in the Kingdom of God, you know, if you have more and you're going for more or you're desiring for more, then what will you have? Abundance, OK? If you have little and you're not doing anything about that little, whatever little you have, even that you would lose it. So Jesus is saying, here's something very important about the Kingdom of God, and he's talking about this in the context of revelation, OK? The context here is about revelation, OK? It's not talking about your finances or your property or the money or something. He's talking here about revelation. And he's saying all this is concerning in the context of understanding the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, OK? So if you got revelation and you're going after more or you're desiring after more, then God is going to give you abundance, but if you're not doing anything with what you have already received, what you have, OK, with the little revelation that you've got, then you are at a risk. What is a risk? You cannot get more, but what little you have, you risk losing even that little that you have, OK? So we need to take, you know, concerning the revelation, we need to take the mystery to the Kingdom of God very, very seriously. So God, when God reveals to us truths or revelation from His word, mysteries from His word, we need to take it very, very seriously. Because if you take it seriously, then we are going to and we want more, we desire more, then we will have abundance, OK? And then what else does he say? If you take these mysteries and you desire for more, you understand these mysteries, you're going to receive abundance. What else are you going to receive, he says? What does he tell the general crowd? You know, I speak to them in parables. If they get to understand what I'm saying, and he says, they get past their blind eyes and their deaf ears and their hearts and they're able to understand and get what I am saying, what will happen to them? They will be healed, yes. They will be converted. They will repent. They will experience my healing. They will experience my salvation. So what is the point here? The point here is so when you get an understanding of the revelation of God, it not only opens your life to receiving more or abundance of it. It also opens up your life to the working of God. OK, so you see how important it is for us to read God's word, to understand, you know, and to receive it. Because only when we read God's word, when we understand the mysteries, when we receive those truths, it's going to convert us. It's going to cause us to repent. It's also going to bring about salvation. It's going to bring about healing. And it's also going to open up your life to the working of God. OK, thank you, Nina. John, she says, those who appropriate the truth revealed more will be given. OK, so here we see it's so important for us to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God, understand the secret truths regarding the kingdom of heaven. And it's important because we must enter because that must enter in our lives before we can begin doing the work of the kingdom. OK, God wants us to invest in understanding the mysteries or the truth in his word. OK, so we need to get our priority right or we need to put it in right order. Once you get an understanding of the mysteries, you pursue the mysteries. And when you get the understanding of the mysteries, it opens up your life for the saving, healing, and the delivering work of the Lord Jesus Christ or the delivering work of God in our lives. So we need to get our order right or priority right. First, you need to pursue the mysteries of God. You have to understand the mysteries of God. And once you get an understanding of the mysteries of God, it opens up your life to the saving, healing, and the delivering work of God in our lives. And then we looked at the parable of the... Sorry, before that, there's another thing that we looked at in Matthew chapter 13. OK, what does it say in Matthew chapter 13 versus 34 and 35? Can somebody read that please? Matthew chapter 13 versus 34 and 35? Matthew chapter 13, 34 and 35. All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables and without a parable, he did not speak to them. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world. So now the other foundation that we can lay regarding parables is this that when Jesus was speaking the parables, he was actually doing what? He was fulfilling the prophecies. But what we need to also see is that these parables are now unveiling to us the things that are hidden from the beginning of time. So yes, he spoke in parables to fulfill the prophecies, but what we also need to see is that these parables are now unveiling to us things that were hidden from time past, from the beginning, from the very foundation of the world. So within every parable is not just a story that we can enjoy, but there is some hidden truth, deep revelation or deep hidden truth. So that is what I left you with a challenge last week saying that we would have heard these parables many times as children, even in churches, many of them preach these parables. When we were in Sunday school, we would have colored these parables. But this morning, let's look at it in a sense that what is the deep revelation or the deep hidden truth that I can receive about the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven from these parables. So we want to get a grip of the mysteries. We want to get a grip of the truth, the hidden truth, since the foundation of the world. And you can tell God, God, open my eyes to see the deep truths in your world. Open my ears to hear what you are speaking and open my heart to understand, to perceive the mysteries and how your kingdom is working so that I can receive healing, wholeness, deliverance, even as I look and study your parables. So the intent of these parables that you're going to study is not just because you have to sit in this course or you have to study this course, but we can look at it differently saying, God, even as I am studying these parables, I want to receive your mysteries. I want to understand it so that I can receive healing. So I can receive your deliverance. So I can receive your provision. So that is the intent with which we need to begin looking at the parables, some of the parables that we will be studying and that is what we need to go after understanding and also saying, God, I want to experience your working in my life. So can we do that this morning? Just deep down in our hearts can we just say that prayer and we can begin looking at the parables. So last week, we began looking at the first parable. What was the first parable? The parable of the sore and the seed. Now, the parable of the sore and the seed is the parable of the kingdom or the king's word. So the seed is the word of the kingdom or it is the king's word and is recorded for us in Matthew chapter 13 and also in Mark chapter 4 and Luke chapter 8. So we read through Matthew chapter 13 versus 18 to 32 last week. So Jesus tells the people this parable and were they able to understand the parable? No, okay. So the disciples come to him afterwards and say, can you please explain the parable of the sore to us? Because this is the first parable that Jesus is speaking to them. And so he goes on to explain the parable of the sore to them. Okay, he says in verse 19, let's look at verse 19. Can somebody read that please? Verse 19. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom. Yeah, so here he says, anyone who hears the word of the kingdom, okay? So the parable of the sore or the seed is the word of the kingdom. It's the king's word. It is what the king of this kingdom has spoken. It has to do with God's word. And so Jesus is saying, listen, I'm revealing something to you about the kingdom of God. And it is a very familiar story. It's about a farmer going to sow his seeds, which I'm sure it's all around them. They can see it all around them. So he's saying that the parable of the sore has to do with the word of the kingdom, the king's word, what the king has spoken or the word of the king, okay? So he says that, you know, God's word is the word of the king. It's the word of the kingdom. And it is his primary way of working in his kingdom. So how is, what is the primary way that God works in his kingdom is when he releases his word, when he speaks his word. So he says, when the word is spoken, when that word is spoken, that word can fall on, the seed has to fall where? On the ground. So what is the ground here? Our hearts, okay? So he says, when he releases his word, that word has to come onto the ground or into the ground, which is your heart and my heart, okay? So when the king wants to do something or he wants to work something, what does he do? He just releases his word, the word of his kingdom. And when he releases the word of his kingdom, his intention is that his word will come and fall on the good ground, that is our hearts, okay? But Jesus is saying, I want you to understand a couple of things. I want you to understand a few things. Even as I release this word, even as this word goes forth, there are some things that will hinder this word, which will affect it from fulfilling what that word has gone forth and what God has spoken into our lives. So the king can speak into our lives, but there are some things that can hinder that word from affecting us or hinder that word from coming into fulfillment or hinder that word from coming into its divine destiny and its divine purposes. So what are those things? The first thing he says is they are the birds of the air, okay? So he says Satan is like the bird of the air who comes and takes away that word, okay? He wants to come and take away that word, sorry. Why does he want to come and take away that word? He knows the power of the word, okay? Purpose in your life, yes, very good. He does not, he knows that it will fulfill the purpose of God in your life. He does not want that word of the king to become an experience in our life. Because when that word comes into our life, we can experience the word in our life and he doesn't want us to experience that word because he wants us to live in his lies, right? In his lies and his deception. He's the father of lies. If we look at our, if we look at our own lives, if we examine our own lives, if you examine our own thoughts, most of it is what? They're believing the lie of the enemy, right? I'm no good, I'm stupid, I'm not intelligent, I can't do anything properly, I always fail, I can't be a good mother, I can't achieve this in life, I've been a failure, nobody loves me, nobody cares for me, I'm not a worthy person, I'm not a valuable person, I can't be this, I can't be that, the constant things, I'm always sick, I can never receive healing, I can never do this, no one can speak nicely to me. All of those things are lies of the enemy. So he's wanting to just remove that seed so that we don't experience God's word in our life because he knows God's word is powerful. And when that word comes into our life and we understand that mystery, when we receive it, it's just going to be so powerful and his work in our life is totally nullified, okay? So what will allow Satan to rob you of the word that the king speaks over your life is he says, he comes and takes away that word, okay? So when you don't understand, when does he come and take away the word? When you don't understand what God is speaking to you, when you don't get the revelation of what God is speaking to you. Remember you said when you, it'll be given to you but if you understand, pursue, if you get a hold of that revelation, you will get more abundance but if you don't, whatever you have, you risk losing it. So this is the risk of losing it because Satan will take away that word, okay? So the important thing is for us not to just read God's word, not just to sit in service and just listen to what the pastor is saying or not just sit in class here and just attend the lecture but to understand the deeper truths, understand the mysteries and that is why you and I need to pray like the psalmist prayed, said God open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things of your word, okay? Look at what the psalmist says, God open my eyes that I may see wondrous things or wondrous truths from your word. What does it mean? It means that God, you're telling God, God, I just want to go past the letters that I read. It's not just a ritual that we read God's word every day. So you're saying, God, I just want to go past the letters. That means I just don't want to read what is there, okay? And make sense of what is there. I want to get a deeper understanding, a deeper truth, a deeper mystery of what is in it because when I read it, when I understand it and I receive that mystery, it will ensure that it will produce what you want to produce in my life, okay? So it's important that we understand what we are reading. And if you don't understand what we are reading, what happens? Satan has a freedom, the liberty to come and take away what is sown. If you don't act on what the pastor is preaching and teaching in church, you don't hold on to it, you don't write it down, you don't mull on it, you don't meditate on it, you don't give thought to it, Satan will come and take away what has been sown. That's why if we ask some of us, what did you read in your quiet time yesterday? We may not remember the full thing. Why? Because we just read it for the sake of reading it, but we have not kind of understood or we've not meditated on it throughout the day. So we have to be like cows. Why cows? Yes, they bring it back, regurgitates it and they bring it back and they keep on chewing on it and chewing on it and chewing on it and break it, break it, break it, break it down till their stomachs are able to digest. So that is what we need to do, okay? The reading God's word, there might be something that strikes you, but you need to hold on to it and think about it the entire day. That is what means you're understanding, you're getting deeper into understanding God's truth and that is when you will receive an abundance of the revelation. So sometimes when you hear men and women of God preaching and teaching, we can think, hey, I read the same passage, I didn't get all of these truths, where did they get these truths from? It's because they are looking deep into that passage. Even I'm sure you and I, when we have to preach God's word, we take a passage and we are trying to understand what should I preach, what should I teach? And then we receive so many truths and you're saying, hey, I never even thought about this. I've read this passage so many times, okay? So because why we are pursuing deeper truths from those passages, okay? So if we don't do that, Satan has the freedom to come and the liberty to take away whatever is sown in us, okay? So you and I, we need to pray and say, God, open my eyes that I can see, open my ears that I can hear, open my heart that I can understand, okay? And now we can also pray, God, remove the sleepy, added sleepy mode that I am in, give me freshness of spirit and mind to listen to your truths and to understand your mysteries, okay? And then he said, now there is the word when it comes into your life, you know, they can also be rocks, okay? So first we looked at the birds of the air that can come and take it away. And then there are rocks that can hinder the word of the king from coming into pass into your life. So today the king might be speaking something to you, okay? The word of the king has come forth, okay? And it's coming to you, okay? It could be in a written word, what you're reading from God's word, it could be a prophecy that somebody is, a prophetic word that somebody is speaking to you or it can be the Holy Spirit that reminds you of some words or the Holy Spirit is reminding you of a verse and speaking into your situation or your life in the present, okay? So the word in different forms of the king is coming to you, but there are rocks in your life, okay? That can hinder this word from being fulfilled. So what are these rocks? What are these rocks? Look at Matthew chapter 13, what does he say there? Verse 20, can somebody read verse 20? But he who received the seed on stonic places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yeah, 21 as well. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while for when tribulation or persecution arise because of the word, immediately he is troubled. No, he who? So what happens to the, what are those rocks? Tribulations, persecutions, hardships that we go through, okay? So when the seed or the word of God comes into your life in any of the forms that we saw, you know, does it bear root? Yes, there is a little root that comes up, but what happens when there is persecution, when there is affliction, when there is hardship, when there is trouble, what happens? But the word that the king has spoken will not allow that word, the rocks will not allow that word to affect your life or bring it into fulfillment. It will rob you of that word and that word will become very, very ineffective in your life, okay? So we need to be careful of the rocks, okay? There's nothing wrong with the word of the king that has come forth because it is a word of the king. It is his word, it is full of power. It will come to pass because what God says, you know, he says, my word that goes forth for my mouth will not return to me void. And there's nothing wrong with the word that the king speaks because it is the incorruptible word. It is the word that, you know, abides forever. Heaven and earth will pass away, but his word will never pass away. This is incorruptible word, it is this powerful word, but there are rocks in our life. There are afflictions, there are difficulties, there are persecutions that happens in our life and all around us. And that can withdraw that word that can produce in our life, okay? So we need to be careful that even when we go through difficulties, persecutions, we should never miss out on the word that God is speaking to us in that situation. Take hold of it. Don't look at those mountains, those giants, those circumstances, but hold on to God's promises, hold on to God's word, okay? And then he said, listen, there are also things called, we looked at the birds of the air, rocks, and then thorns, okay? Thorns are what? The cares of this world, the deceitful riches, the worldly desires, the lust for the things of this world. And he says, you know, if you allow these things to creep into your life, see, creep means what? Come slowly, it comes without you even knowing, okay? It will hinder the work of the king from being fulfilled in your life, okay? And then he says, finally, you know, depending on the condition of your heart, whether your heart is in a good condition, prepared to receive, to understand, to spend time, you know, the word of God that comes, it takes root. And when you receive that word, it retains, the word will retain in your life. When you believe that word, it will retain in your life and it will bear fruit, okay? It will bear fruit 30-fold, 60-fold and a 100-fold, but that depends on the condition of your heart, okay? So here is a mystery of the kingdom of God that Jesus is revealing, how the king works by his words, okay? So he's basically talking about how the king speaks, how the king reveals truths is true and how he reveals what is going to happen in his kingdom or in our life is true, words. And then he says, you know, how, what are the things that would choke that word from coming into fulfillment and how we need to be careful, okay? So if you want God's word to work in our lives, he says, you know, we need to be diligent, sincere to receive, okay? He says, when he speaks to you, it is with the intent that he wants to work something in your life, okay? The word is coming to you. It is the word of the king, the word of his kingdom and every word that the king speaks into your life or for his kingdom is designed to produce in your life, okay? But we need to be careful of the birds, the rocks, the thorns, because they have the potential of hindering the word of the king and hindering the word of the kingdom to be fulfilled in our life, okay? And what does Jesus say? If you understand this parable, what does he say? You will be able to understand all other parables. What does Jesus mean by saying this? If you understand this parable, you'll be able to understand all other parables, okay? This is the basic foundation. This is how the kingdom operates. This is how the king works in his kingdom to the word of God, okay? You need to use a mic, yeah. If we understand it, we can understand. If you understand, you can understand other parables also maybe like they will get to know, yeah, how to take that parable as a word and apply it. Okay, you will understand how to take that parable as a word and understand it, okay? It's a key to understand all the other parables. Okay, it's a key to understand, but what is the key? So he's saying, if you can understand this natural story, it's a natural story that you see, okay? A story from your world and a story from your world that is communicating a powerful truth or a mystery from my world, the world that I come from, the kingdom of heaven. And if you take the word seriously, okay? Then you know what you're able to, that you will be able to understand all other parables. So if you take the word seriously, then you will be able to understand all other parables that Jesus says I am going to tell you about. So the key point here is we need to take God's word seriously, okay? Because Jesus was going to be preaching and teaching a lot of things to them. So he's saying everything I'm preaching and teaching is truths or mysteries from the kingdom of God. And I want you to take those truths of what I am teaching, the words that I'm teaching, I wanted to take it seriously because this is the word of the kingdom. This is the way God is going to be working in your life, okay? And you don't see the book of, the word of God very, very lightly, okay? And if you treat it lightly, you're not allowing the king to work in you because he works in you through his word, okay? Which is his seed, which he releases in your life and in my life. And we need to take it very, very seriously and allow his seed to be sown into our hearts so that we can bear fruit, okay? Then he told another parable about the good seed and the tears in Matthew chapter 13, verses 24 to 43, okay? So can somebody please read Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 to 43. Another parable he spoke, he put forth to them saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept his enemy came and sowed tears among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tears also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tears? He said to them, an enemy has done this. The servant, the servant said to him, do you want us then to go and gather them up? But he said, no. And lest while you gather up the tears, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, first gather together the tears and bind them in bundles to burn them, but rather the wheat into my barn. Another parable he put forth to them saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Another parable he spoke to them, the kingdom of heaven is like a lemon, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all livened. All of these things, Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables and without a parable, he did not speak to them. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things, kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house and his disciples came to him saying, explain to us a parable of the tears of the field. He answered and said to them, he who sowed the good seed is the son of man. Oh, okay. The field is a world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tears are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tears are gathered and burning the fire, so it will be at the end of this age, a son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as a son in the kingdom of the father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid. And for joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant. Okay, thank you. So here we see in Matthew chapter 13, verse 24, Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in the field, okay? So he goes on to say another parable and he says another story about the kingdom of God and he's revealing something about this unseen world that Jesus is coming from. And he's saying, here's what is happening. He says, a man goes out to sow good seed in his field and the enemy also comes quietly, silently, maybe the night and also sows bad seed alongside the good seed, okay? Then all of a sudden the seed sprouts and there is crop that is coming out. And what does the man find out? He finds good things, the good plant growing, but he also finds the weeds that are growing alongside the good crop, okay? So his workers, people working for him come and say, can we go and clean up the field right now? And what does the master say? No, don't do it, okay? Why shouldn't you pull out the weeds now? It'll also uproot or destroy the good crop, okay? So he says, let them grow together and at the end of the age, which means what? The harvest time comes, he says, I will send my reapers and what do my reapers do? They will sort out the good crop from the weeds and what is going to happen? They will burn up the weeds, okay? So he says, you know, he comes back into the house and his disciples where they're able to understand this, parable, no, okay? So they come to him and say, please explain to us this parable, okay? So Jesus is saying, this is something very familiar story from your world that I've taken, okay? And they say, yes, Jesus, we understand the whole thing about farming, okay? We understand about the weeds and the good crops, but what is the spiritual truth that you are trying to convey to us, okay? So Jesus says here is the spiritual truth. He's saying the man who sowed good seed is whom? Yes, the son of God or the son of man and that is Jesus Christ. And who are the good seeds? Yes, we, the sons and daughters of the kingdom of God. So you and I are good seeds. You and I are sons and daughters of the kingdom of God and God has sown us where? In the world, he has sown us in the world. So we need to begin to perceive and we need to begin to look at ourselves as what? As good seed, yes. As good seeds as sons and daughters of the kingdom of God, as good seed in this world that God has sown us here in this world, okay? And are we alone in this world? Only good seeds in this world? No, there are also bad seeds. There is even a devil that is sowing bad seeds which are water, wicked people. So we are in the midst of even wicked people. Okay? There are wicked people all around. But why has God sown us here? In the midst of wicked people? To extend this kingdom? Okay? Okay, it's not God who sown us in the wrong place. Okay? But why has God put us here in this world? Why doesn't he take us away? We have to live for God. We have to fulfill his purpose here on earth. What is his purpose? To bring his kingdom here on earth. Is Asher his kingdom here on earth? Make his kingdom manifest here on earth as it is in heaven, okay? So we have the kingdom mandate on our life. What is the kingdom mandate? We saw, we studied it, chapter one and chapter two. At this kingdom come his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So we are here to release the kingdom of God amidst a wicked generation, okay? So we need to see ourselves as sons and daughters of the kingdom of God. We need to see ourselves as good seed, you know, working in an environment that God has put us in. So, you know, whether you are at the workplace, okay? Whether you are at home, you know, you are living in a locality, you're living in a community, you're living in an apartment, you know? There are people who are wicked around you, okay? So we don't focus on those bad seeds, we don't focus on the wicked people, but we need to understand why we are here, okay? Why has God placed us at such a time as this in this time and season over here? So even where you are living, you're home, you know, whether you're living in a hostel, but you're living in a locality, God has put you there for a significant purpose and a reason. And what is a significant purpose and reason? To extend His kingdom in that place, in that space, in that environment, okay? So God wants His kingdom to grow, to thrive, to flourish in the place that He has planted you. Whether He's planted you in the business field, you're a businessman, businesswoman, you're working in a corporate, you're working in an office, you're a teacher, you know, you're a preacher, you're a student, even as a student, God has placed you because He wants you to grow, thrive and to flourish in the place that He has placed you, okay? So we need to see ourselves as good seed. Yes, there are bad seeds that the enemy comes and sows, and but we as sons and daughters of the kingdom of God, you know, we are in a position here to manifest His glory, to manifest His glory so that His kingdom, culture kingdom, lifestyle, His kingdom values, His kingdom presence can invade in and through our lives, through the people that we reach out to, through the people that we come to contact in. And then He continues the story, He says, you know, at the harvest time, and what is the harvest time resembling here? The end of age. So the reapers are whom? The angels, they're going to come, they're going to separate the sheep and the goat, they're going to separate the good seed and the bad seed, okay? They're going to sort it out and the end is coming and Jesus says, I will vindicate the good seeds, but the bad seeds will be dismissed. That means they'll be thrown into the lake of fire, okay? And then He uses the same truth, okay? Now not in farming, but He uses the same parable, the same truth, and He brings out another story. What is that? Parable of the? No? No? Not leaving. The same context. Good seed and bad seed. The same context, He tells another parable. The fishing story, the dragnets, the parable of the dragnet, the fishing story, Matthew chapter 13, verses 47 through 50, okay? We'll stop here, we have one more minute, okay? So He brought out the same truth, brought out the same truth using the fishing story, Matthew chapter 13, verses 47 through 50. Okay, we'll stop here and then we'll continue after the break.