 Welcome back after the break. Just before we went for our break, we began looking at kingdom culture. We were looking at the facets of kingdom culture, and the first one is a culture of honor. So we looked at, you know, when we honor some, why do we honor somebody? The valuable, okay, and also who and what they mean to us personally, and also because of who they, who God has placed them in our lives. Okay, someone who is, you know, leading God's people well, somebody who's laboring in the word doctrine. Okay, so we honor them. Okay, when you honor somebody, how do you treat them? How do you act towards them? What is our natural instincts when we, when we want to give honor to somebody? We greet them. How do you show them respect? Okay, do you obey whatever they say? Be mindful of what you say. Not obeying whatever they say. Okay. Okay. How do you show the reverence in your attitude? How? How polite? How do you show polite? You just stand up. You wish them the way you speak to them, the way you stand in their presence. The way you serve them. Okay, listen to them. You applaud them sometimes. Yes, you don't backbite them. Exactly. Yes. You don't backbite. You don't do anything that will defame them or will destroy their reputation or their character. Okay, so you even give into their lives, whether it's financially gifts, whatever. So that's where you serve people and you also honor them. Okay. You know, when you honor somebody, you receive through that life. Okay, you receive through that life. So like Prince was asking me just before we went for a break. You know, ma'am, why do we have to give double honor to those who are leading God's people well, who are preaching and teaching the word and a doctrine? Why do we have to give them double honor? Because we receive from their lives. Okay. Like Pastor Bill Johnson, you know, he said in one of his sermons, you know, that Elisha was trained by Elijah. Okay. And Elisha received a double portion of the anointing that was on Elijah and Elisha did more miracles than Elijah did. But then when John the Baptist came, who was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, he came in the spirit and power of Elijah or Elisha? Elisha or Elijah? He came in the spirit and the power of Elijah, not Elisha. So Pastor Bill Johnson says, why not Elisha? Even though he had double anointing, he did more miracles than Elijah. Why did he come in the spirit and the anointing of Elijah? He is a teacher. He is the initiator. He is the father of the movement. He is the father of the movement. Okay. So we see that God places honor on the one who paid the price to sow the seeds, to pioneer a fresh move of the work of the Holy Spirit or the fresh move of the work of God. So that is why we give double honor and it is not partiality. Okay. So doesn't mean that we give double honor to only those who are preaching and teaching and pastors and evangelists and all of those things. And we give less honor to those believers in the church. Doesn't mean that we're showing partiality is because we are receiving out of their life and their ministry. So like we read in Matthew chapter 10 verses 41 and 42, can somebody read that? Matthew chapter 10 verses 41 and 42. Matthew chapter 10 verses 41 and 42. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, surely I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. Yes. So when you honor a prophet, when you honor righteous man or a disciple, you who are disciples for the kingdom of God, you receive that reward. You receive from there, anointing from their revelation. Okay. You receive a reward that represents who they are. They represent the kingdom of God, they represent the king, you receive their reward. So that is about the culture of honor. Okay. A culture of selfless giving. Okay. So we also see that, you know, the kingdom culture is described by a giving that is selfless giving of what? resources, talents, kills, your finances, your encouragement, anything else and everything else. So what are the characteristics of selfless giving? What are the characteristics of selfless giving? Not expecting anything in return, very important. Always thinking of others. What else? Doing it cheerfully, not a lot of compulsion and being forceful, being spontaneous in your giving and your doing, it basically comes from your heart. Okay. So how do we see selfless giving? How do we know somebody is giving selflessly? When you see them giving happily and doing it joyfully? Joy and not no demand and no kind of irritation. Not for seeking attention. Yes. You're not looking for attention or applause for appreciation, but you're looking, you're serving behind the scenes. Even what you are doing goes unnoticed and unappreciated. You're just doing it because you have that selfless giving, the selfless love. Okay. And the selfless giving is seen as a characteristic of kingdom culture. So if we are people who are looking for appreciation, applause, you know, some people say, I did so much. It worked like a donkey. No one appreciated me. No one even applauded me. No one even came and said, thank you. You know, then you know that they are not selfless in their giving. They're not just actually serving God, but they just want, they're doing it partially as serving God, but most of it because they want to be identified and known. Okay. And also how do we identify selfless giving? Okay. Out of love. How do you know they're giving out of love? How do you know they're generous? They don't expect anything back. When we see people who are just giving all of their time, resources, their opportunities, their success, they invest just the time and energy in serving people and furtherance of the kingdom of God, we see that they have selfless giving. Okay. Yes, we saw the, see the lives of so many missionaries and that is totally just selfless giving. Okay. And it's not giving that, you know, we're receiving back in return. It's a kind of giving that where we expect nothing back. Okay. From those who have received from us, but we know that we will receive a reward in due time. Okay. And that is a kind of giving that is motivated by love for God and for his people. Okay. So that is a kind of culture that we have to have in our homes, in our families, in our relationships, in church, wherever we go. Imagine if you have this kind of culture of selfless giving, you know, just giving, giving, giving and not expecting anything in return, even when you're condemned, even when you're put down, you just love, you just give, you know, you just care, you know, it will just make the other person know, you know, how, you know, what kind of a person you are, what kind of kingdom culture you have, they will really be able to see God in your life. Okay. It's a kind of giving that is motivated by the words of the King when he said in Matthew chapter 25 verse 40. Can somebody read that piece? In Matthew chapter 25 verse 40. So Nina John says, there may be sacrifices involved. I can't say there may be, there is sacrifices involved. There will be sacrifices involved. And sometimes the sacrifices can be really painful, really difficult, but then you just experience the righteousness, peace and joy of the Lord. And it makes a sacrifice really worth it. Yes. Matthew chapter 25 verse 40, can somebody read that please? And the King will answer and say to them, surely I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. Yes. She did it as much as to one of these, these of my brethren, you'd have done it to me. So what did we do? Even just give a cup of cold water. You know, it is just doing it for the King. And it's just so difficult, so hard sometimes. And it's just the grace of God and it's the love of God. And that is why we're saying kingdom thinking, kingdom lifestyle translates into kingdom culture. We have not reached that kingdom culture of a selfless giving. We need to check our kingdom, whether we have kingdom thinking and kingdom lifestyle. Okay. It's also a culture of daring faith. You know, people culture that is characterized by people who have daring faith, who, the people who stand strong in troubles, tribulations, adversity with a smile on their face and joy in their hearts. Okay. The smile on their face and joy in their hearts. Even that smile and the joy can be, can be painful, but it's just because the peace and the joy of the Lord that is so evident in their lives. It's also a daring faith where people step out of their boat. So to say, you know, in their everyday life and their risk takers. They don't mind putting their reputation on the line and seeing God's kingdom come his will be done. They're not, you know, they don't hesitate to put even their lives on risk. They're very daring. They're very bold to just go out and do what God has called them to do. So they're motivated and what is their motivation to take this daring risks? Faith. Faith that God will be glorified at all costs. Okay. I might look at like a fool. I might look stupid. I might look like somebody who's just falling down at this person. But you know, I'm just doing because God can be glorified at all costs. Okay. So God is looking for people with this kind of faith. Okay. And why? Because he knows that this kind of faith is going to advance the kingdom of God. So we have to have bold, daring faith. Take the risks, do what we need to do, you know, to just love God and to see his kingdom further and move and grow and, you know, God to be glorified at all costs. Okay. So if we have this kind of faith, wherever God has placed us, you know, it is going to bring about the kingdom, presence, the kingdom reign and rule, the kingdom culture. Okay. It is this kind of faith that is going to bring about healings, deliverance, miracles, science and wonders to take place. Why did the early church have great science miracles and wonders that they witnessed because they had daring faith? Okay. Selfless giving. Remember, they sold off everything, came and gave it to whoever had the need. And also there was honor. Okay. We don't see that honor nowadays in church, whether it's one believer against the other believer, we don't see the selfless giving. We don't see this daring faith. Okay. And daring faith to the extent that even when they are persecuted, what did they do? They didn't go and run and hide. They started wherever they went, wherever they went, they preached the gospel. So they spread out from Jerusalem, but wherever they went, they preached the gospel with great science miracles and wonders. Okay. Not only those who are apostles, but those who are also just like Philip went to Samaria, did mighty science miracles and wonders. The whole town was rejoicing, celebrating, filled with the joy of the Lord. Okay. So when we have, so many people say, why don't we see this kind of science miracles and wonders in our church? Why? We don't have the kingdom culture. What are the kingdom culture we don't have? There's no love. There's no honor. There is no daring faith. Okay. So next it brings us to kingdom culture. Okay. We see Philip, when he went to Samaria, he spoke about the name of Jesus and the things concerning the kingdom of God and what happened? Unclean spirits left the lame walk. You know, people were whole and what did it cause among the people? Unity. They're rejoiced. They're rejoiced. Rejoice means what? Righteousness, peace and joy was there very evident, which is the characteristic or characterizes the people who live in the presence or who live in the kingdom of God or people who live in the midst of the kingdom of God. So righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit is characteristics of people who live and experience the kingdom of God in their midst and nothing can steal this joy and we saw this even in the early church, nothing, whether it's persecution, slander, you know, whether people put you down, talk behind you, you know, gossip or you humiliate you, criticize you, you know, whatever, you know, you're not going to lose the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is expressed not only in our smiles, in our cheerful laughter, but also this calm sense of assurance and peace in the midst of any and every situation, no matter what the situation is. Okay. And it's also the ability to be light, the ability to be light, even when the, you know, things of this world can be so, you know, weighing upon you can be so overpowering you, can be so saddening, you know, you can just have the joy of the Lord. You can have, you know, this calmness, this assurance, this overwhelming peace, okay. And only this peace and this joy will, you know, will infiltrate and bring about a sense of unity and oneness and fellowship in our, in our gatherings, okay. It's also the peace and joy, the righteous peace and joy, which will bring about, you know, a kind of force that will, you know, get us to all stay together and stick together in spite of persecutions, in spite of difficulties, in spite of hardships, even when the things of this world are pulling us apart, even when the forces of world are coming against the church, advancing against the church, you know, it is this peace, it is this righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit that will help us to stay together and stick together and also bring about unity and fellowship in the body of Christ, okay. So if, like we read in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 8, can somebody read that? 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 8, 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 8, can somebody please turn in your Bibles and read? 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 8, whom having not seen you love, though now you do not see him at believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Amen. So kingdom culture is an environment of such joy inexpressible and full of glory, okay. So joy that is inexpressible, you can't just express this joy by this joy is there and it is a, it's an environment that you will just experience the glory of God in its fullness, okay. So that is another characteristic of the kingdom culture or that is another facet of the kingdom culture. So what are the facets so far we saw? Selfless giving, selfless giving, culture of honor, selfless giving, bearing faith, righteousness, peace and joy, okay. Okay, and the last one is a culture of invading earth, okay. Now kingdom culture is incomplete without you know heaven, manifestation of heaven here on earth because we are praying what? Your kingdom come, you will be done on earth as it is in heaven and we also we see Jesus come in and assuring the kingdom of heaven which means what? Whatever is in heaven he is bringing it here he is assuring it here he wants it to be part of the the culture and the lifestyle that we are living here on earth, okay. So it is actually releasing sorry it's actually releasing here on earth what is in heaven okay. And it's also doing God's will here on earth as it is in heaven, okay. It's not God's will for anyone to be lost but to save and also it is God's will that people be healed, demons be cast out and the captives being set free everyone here the good news of the gospel okay the hungry to be fed the naked to be clothed the widows and the orphans to be cared for those who are mistreated, abused you know to receive help and hope, okay. So this is heaven invading earth that means whatever is not in heaven there's no poverty, there's no sickness, there's no shame, there's no abuse there is no sadness, there is no murder whatever you know we see that kind of culture of heaven invading here on earth kingdom culture will be an environment where all of these things will happen. So who brings about this? We, yes we are people who are kings and priests we are the people who have to speak into our lives, into our situations, into our relationships you know where we see this kingdom culture invade our lives and our relationships and our church and our families okay. Any questions on kingdom culture? Online students anyone has any questions any thoughts anything you like to share all of you are very quiet no questions yes I'm just asking like if the statement is correct like what I'm saying like if there is kingdom culture then there will be a revival rate yes there is a kingdom culture there will be surely a revival revival there is we can't say there is no revival there is revival in the sense that God does not hold us accountable to what happens in the whole setting of an environment or in the whole family but if you in your family are desiring more of God more of his truth more of his revelation you are passionate about God you are seeking God then there will be a revival in your heart God will not stop that revival because others in your family are not walking in the same pace or in the same level that you are or desiring God in the same intimate way that you are so also in the church you know we can't say for example if we know in a church if the pastor is we know is not living according to God these standards there are some ways he's gone away so it doesn't mean that those who come to church are not going to experience God's healing and power and receive his word receiving encouragement peace and joy they'll come back the same way no it's a place where the Holy Spirit will work and minister in their lives so yes the Holy Spirit will admonish and correct the pastor but if he's not at the cost of that pastor he's not going to let others suffer right he is a good shepherd he cares for all of us he will minister to to them so yes there will there is a revival that happens but we can't see a big call we can't see a widespread revival in the sense of mighty move of God unless people come into that culture where they are really living that kingdom culture and then you can see like that like the early church at that strong kingdom culture so we see that spread yeah but that does not mean that we don't desire we still earn we still cry out we still pray we still pray for our leaders our pastors and for our churches to come to that place yes good question very good question anyone else okay if we there's no more questions we'll move on to the next interesting chapter kingdom parables where all of us love stories okay and kingdom of God is you know such an important subject in the Bible from the very beginning till the last chapter the theme that runs throughout is the kingdom of God and we already saw it in chapter one right right in the beginning Genesis chapter one till the end the last chapter we see that God wants to establish his kingdom where people will inherit his kingdom okay we see even the closing chapters of the Bible that Jesus sets up his own kingdom where he is going to be the king of kings and the lord of lords and he's going to extend his kingdom and his kingdom is going to be without any limit and no end okay but when Jesus came to the earth when he was teaching us about the kingdom he spoke to people in parables okay and he spoke many parables to communicate what to communicate the kingdom of God to communicate the hidden truths concerning the kingdom of God the hidden truths the hidden revelations concerning the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven so we look at some of these parables and we'll try to understand what is the hidden truth the hidden revelation that God wants to communicate to us okay so we see that parables reveal mysteries or hidden truths concerning the kingdom of God so let's turn to our Bibles and look at John chapter 3 verses 9 to 13 we'll just lay a foundation before we explore kingdom parables okay we're just laying a foundation we're looking at John chapter 3 verses 9 to 13 okay so can somebody read that please did you miss answered and said to him how can these things be Jesus answered and said to him are you the teacher of Israel and not know these things most assuredly I say to you we speak what we know and testify what we have seen and you do not receive our witness if I have told you earthly things and you do not believe how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things no one has ascended to heaven but he who comes from heaven that is the son of man who is in heaven what did you read again reading about Nicodemus okay sorry I just got carried away okay so you know Jesus in this is having a conversation with a very learned man okay and who is this learned man Nicodemus is a scholar he's a very learned man and he goes to Jesus and Jesus explains to him that he has to be born again so Jesus is using something from the other world that of natural birth to tell Nicodemus something about the spirit something about the need to be born from above and is Nicodemus able to understand this no he's not able to understand okay so in verse 9 Nicodemus answers Jesus what does he say how can these things be so Nicodemus is basically telling Jesus you know Jesus what you know I can't just get understand what you are saying or I can't get what you are saying and what does Jesus answer him he says we speak what we most assuredly I say to you we speak what we know and testify of what we have seen and you do not receive our witness if I told you earthly things and you do not believe how will you believe if I told you heavenly things and then he says no one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven that is a son of man who is in heaven so he is telling Nicodemus you know Nicodemus is saying you know I can't understand what you are saying and Jesus is telling him I have talked to you about what earthly things and you cannot understand me you can't follow me what will you do if I told you about heavenly things how are you going to understand it okay and Jesus is saying I am the only one who can tell you about these heavenly things why he yes he has come down from heaven he is not just coming down from heaven to the earth but also there is another fact that even though he is here physically on the earth he is also connected spiritually or in his spirit man he is connected with the father who is in heaven and so he is saying I am the only one who is able to tell you things about the unseen things about the unseen realities about the unseen kingdom of God and so you know he is saying how will you understand so here now basically Jesus is faced with a challenge what is the challenge Jesus is facing he is trying to make them understand things in their own world and they are not able to understand then how are they going to understand when he is talking about heavenly realities heavenly things okay so you know he is having a challenge here in his communication he basically had to communicate to people like you and me about unseen realities things about the kingdom things about the world that he has come from and you know sometimes he is just speaking to us about these very things you know in our own world and we are not able to understand so to bridge this communication gap you know what is Jesus going to do he is going to speak in parables okay so he is going to talk parables so when Jesus began to do that he is doing what he is basically telling stories from our world that unveil mysteries of his world basically he is telling stories that we will relate to in our world understand in our world that will reveal you know untold mysteries or realities or truths or revelation of his world and that is what parables are parables are basically stories from our world that helps us to see things into the heavenly world or to get an understanding of things concerning the kingdom of God okay so many times as when Jesus was speaking in parables he would say you know know this or know what my kingdom is like you know the kingdom of God is like or the kingdom of heaven is like and then he would tell us something from our world with the intent that we get an understanding of the mysteries the truths the realities of his world but he will start by saying the kingdom of God is like okay and then he will come back to our world and then he will help us to get an understanding of his world so we are going to look at Matthew chapter 13 where we have a list of many of his parables okay but we look at Matthew chapter 13 verse 10 to 17 can somebody read that please Matthew chapter 13 verse 10 to 17 and the disciples came and said to him why do you speak to them in parables 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 for whoever has to him more will be given and he will have abundance but does not have even what he has will be taken away from him therefore I speak to them in parables because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear nor do they understand and in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says hearing you will hear and shall not understand the seeing you will see and not perceive for the hearts of these people have grown dull their ears are heard 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 but 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 desire to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it Amen thank you so the disciples are saying Jesus why are you speaking to us in parables we are just not able to understand so Jesus is seeing their frustration their disappointment and he is saying you know don't worry because what has been given to you to you has been given the mysteries of the kingdom meaning Jesus is telling his disciples my disciples God has given you the grace for you to know the mysteries of the kingdom so be encouraged don't be disappointed don't be frustrated you know because to you God has given you know the grace to know the mysteries of the kingdom that is why when everyone was trying to figure out who this Jesus is they were trying to place him some said that he was John the Baptist some says he was a prophet some says he was Elijah and other said other things but what did the disciples say you are the Christ the son of living God why because why why was it given to them because it was given to them to know the hidden truth of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but he said you know for you is given the grace to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but he said you know the general public the people the crowd that come to listen to me they have eyes but they cannot see they have ears but they cannot hear and they have hearts that they cannot understand the mysteries of the kingdom so in order for me to bridge that gap for me in order for me to communicate to them the truth the mysteries and revelations of the kingdom that I come from the kingdom of God the kingdom of heaven here's what I am doing what am I doing I'm speaking to them in mysteries okay I'm taking stories from their world to help them see the things of my world and that is why I'm using parables and he's saying in that process of giving them an explanation of the stories from their own world you know he's saying that they would know how the kingdom of God works okay and he says you know but in that process of giving an explanation to his disciples Jesus is also telling them something he's telling them you know how the kingdom of God works if you have given you're going to be receiving more okay so he's giving them he's giving his disciples an explanation about how the kingdom of God works he's saying you know for those who have more will be given or there will be given abundance if you have little and you're not doing anything about that you will lose even what you have okay so what is Jesus trying to say here what is Jesus trying to say here he's saying something very very important about the kingdom of God he's saying you know as people who have special grace you've got revelation concerning the things the mysteries the truth of the kingdom of God and all this he's talking about in the context of understanding the mysteries of the kingdom of God so he's telling his disciples you've got the revelation and you're going after more and when you've got revelation and you're going after more what is God going to give you He's going to give you more and more He's going to give you abundance but you know if you got the revelation and you're not doing anything about that even that little revelation that you've got you know what are you in a risk of they're not you know the risk of anything more and you are also in a greater risk of losing the little that you have. So concerning revelation and concerning the mysteries or the revelation, the truths or the mysteries of the kingdom of God, Jesus is saying, hey, you have to take them very, very seriously. Okay. What do you need to take seriously? You have to go after more of the revelations of the truth of the mysteries of the truths of the word of God, and then you will have abundance. Because why? Because grace has been given to you as my disciples to understand the mysteries and the truth. So you already have it. So what should you do? You have to take it seriously, you have to go after more of it, and then you will receive abundance. But if you don't do anything with the little you have, your risk losing even the little that you have. Okay. So this one reminder to all of us, God has given us the grace to understand his mysteries, his understand his truth, but he will reveal more to us if we are more zealous, desperate, and eager and longing to receive more of his revelations, more of his mysteries, more of his truth. And then he also says another thing, Jesus tells his disciples, he said, listen, you know, if I can speak in parables and get them to understand what I'm saying, which means get past their blinded eyes, their deaf ears, their hearts that are not able to discern to understand by using this, by understand the mysteries of God, he's saying, by using these parables, I can actually get them, you know, to know what is happening in my kingdom. I can get them to accept the truth. I can get them to, you know, receive the gospel, you know, and when they receive the truth, when they receive the gospel through these parables, what is going to happen? They're going to change, they're going to get converted, they're going to get transformed. Okay, they're going to repent, and they're going to experience my healing, and they're going to experience my salvation. That means they're going to experience my so-so. Okay, so the point is this, you know, when you get an understanding of the mysteries of God, it opens your life up to the working of God. Okay, when you get an understanding of the mysteries of God, it opens your life to the working of God. So that is why Jesus is saying, hey, you have, as my disciples receive the grace, but the crowd, the people don't know, they have not received the grace, but you know, they have eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, hearts that cannot perceive. That is why I'm speaking in parables, and why am I speaking in parables to them? So that's taken here, understand, and when they understand, they're going to get converted, they're going to repent, they're going to change, they're going to experience salvation, and they're going to experience my healing. Okay, so the point is this, that when we have an understanding of the mysteries of God, it's going to open our lives up to the working of God, but the truth is that understanding the mysteries is very, very important. Understanding the secret truths of His kingdom is very, very important because only then can we enter into the fullness of what God wants for us, and we can do His work, we can pursue His kingdom, we can pursue the work of God in our lives and in the place that He has placed us. Okay, so we need to get an understanding of the mysteries, so you need to pursue the mysteries, and then you get an understanding of the mysteries. It opens your life to the saving, healing, and the delivering work of the Lord, or God, or the King of His kingdom in our lives. Okay, so in Matthew chapter 13, we'll continue with verses 34 and 35. Let's just read that, verses 34 and 35 please. Matthew chapter 13, it just continues to tell us in verse 34 and 35 what Jesus wants to say about parables, yeah. Matthew chapter 13, 34 and 35. All these things, Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables and without a parable He did not speak to them, but 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. Amen. So when Jesus was speaking in parables, what was He actually fulfilling? He was fulfilling a prophecy, okay. But we must also see this, that these parables are now unveiling to us things that were hidden from the time, from the beginning of time, from the beginning of the foundation of the world, okay. So when we read parables, you just don't read it as a story, but within each parable is a hidden truth, a hidden truth that was not unveiled to us from the beginning of time, from the foundation of time, okay. So I want to challenge us, you know, many of us have read these parables, you know, and we have looked at it as nice stories and some we have also colored it in Sunday school as the, you know, Sunday school children, children, church children, you know, and we've done all of these kinds of things with these parables. But you know, I want to challenge us, you know, if we look at these parables as kind of avenues of getting a grip of unseen realities, of understanding the mysteries of God. And if you will on purpose examine those parables and say, you know, look at what God is saying, then you know, you will understand what is revealing to you what he's telling you or what he is talking about the unseen mysteries of his kingdom, okay. So if you examine these parables and say, God, you know, what are you telling me through these parables, you know, God, I want to get a grip of the mysteries of your kingdom. I want to get a grip of the truth that is hidden since the foundation of the world. And you can also say, God, God, can you open my eyes and can you open my ears to understand my and my heart to perceive and understand these mysteries? Then I will know what you are trying to tell me and I will receive the working of your kingdom in my life. Okay. So even as we are looking at these parables, it's like you all to say this, you know, small prayer in your heart saying, God, you know, even as you are going to examine these parables, what are you telling me through these parables? I want to get a grip of the, your mysteries. I want to get a grip of the truth that has been hidden since the foundation of the world. Now God, open my eyes, my ears so that I can understand. I can receive them as mysteries. Then I will, I will be able to receive the working of your kingdom in my life. Okay. So I want us to go after these parables with that intent of receiving and understanding of the mysteries so that we can experience the working of God in our lives. Okay. Can we do that this morning? Or even as we are going to do it next week. Okay. And not just treat these parables as nice stories. Okay. Now there are many parables that Jesus communicated, talked about and communicated to us. We'll just look at a few of the parables. Okay. The first parable that he communicated to his disciples was that of the soar and the seed. Okay. The parable of the kingdom and the king's word, the soar and the word is the kingdom of God. Okay. So we're going to look at that. Can we read Matthew chapter 13 verses 8 to 23. We also see this in Mark chapter 4 and Luke chapter 8. Yeah. Matthew chapter 13 verses 18 to 23. Therefore, hear the parable of the soar. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was shown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulations or persecutions arise because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thrones is he who hears the word and cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, chokes the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty. Okay. So here, you know, the disciples come to Jesus and they say, you know, Lord, this is the first time that we are kind of hearing you talk to us in parables. So please help us to understand what you are telling us. Please explain to us the parable of the sower. And we see that these are goals about explaining the parable of the sower. Okay. So here he's basically talking about the kingdom of God and the parable of the sower has to do with the word of the kingdom. Okay. The seeds that is the word of the kingdom. Okay. So it is the, so what is this the word of the kingdom? It is the word of the king. What the king of the kingdom has spoken is the word of the king. And it has to do with God's words. And he says, I'm revealing to you something about the kingdom of God using the story that you are so familiar with. They're all familiar with, you know, the farming that is happening because everywhere they see his fields. And so he's saying, I'm talking about the sower who went to sow the seeds, but actually the seed is the word of the kingdom, the word of the king, the words that the king has already spoken in. And it has to do with the words of God. So he's talking about the word of the kingdom. And we'll stop here and we'll continue next class. Anyone has any doubts? Yeah. Parable we saw John actually chapter 13 10 to 17, the Jesus told to disciples that like, when they asked why you speak in parables, Jesus answered like to you, the mysteries of heaven was given, but for them, it's not that's why I'm talking in parables. But if we see, there are also times that disabled did not did not understand the parables and they came to Jesus and they asked, like, what is the meaning of it? So how we can tell it like their mysteries were given to them because there are times they did not understand the parable. Yes. The mysteries, the grace and the mysteries is given to them means they, Jesus is going to reveal the mystery to them. They have the opportunity to get, receive the understanding compared to the drought. Yes. Later on, yes. Yes. Yes. And so they're just learning the culture of understanding what Jesus is trying to say and how he's revealing the mysteries to them. Okay. Thank you everyone for joining class. I'll meet you next week. Have a blessed week. Thank you.