2819 Church - WISDOM AND WONDER | Why All The Secrets? | Matthew 13:1-17 | Philip Anthony Mitchell

Episode Date: January 4, 2025

In the Season 2 premiere of WISDOM & WONDER, Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell walks us through Matthew 13:1-17 to uncover why our Lord Jesus taught in parables. Welcome to the official Youtube channel for 2819 Church. This channel features powerful and life-impacting messages from Philip Anthony Mitchell and guest communicators. As you listen to these sound biblical messages you can expect to be challenged, stirred, matured and inspired in your faith and walk with God. For more information about us visit 2819Church.org.

Now if you believe he can't fail, somebody give him a thunderous applause in this room. Come on. Somebody praise the Lord Jesus right now. If you believe that he cannot fail, hallelujah! If you believe he cannot fail, give him praise in this house right now. Come on, open up your mouth and give him praise in this house. Hallelujah! come on open up your mouth and give him praise in this house hallelujah you know you serve a God that cannot fail somebody praise him in this house this morning hallelujah

hallelujah Jesus the word is in you praise him somebody praise him Jesus, the Word of God. Praise Him. Somebody praise Him. Come on. Praise Him. Let your praise be your testimony. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Somebody shout hallelujah! Hallelujah. Your word.

Hallelujah. Somebody shout hallelujah. Somebody shout hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Look at me. Listen to me carefully. Listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me when God is working on your behalf

he cannot fail and when you think he's not working on your behalf he cannot fail when he answers prayers he cannot fail and when he seems to not answer prayers, he cannot fail. He'll never fail you. When he's speaking or when he's quiet, on the mountaintop or on every valley. No matter where he is in your journey, he cannot fail you. You understand that? But let me go deeper.

Let's talk about your failure. It's all a matter of your perspective. I made a decision a long time ago with all my mistakes and your perspective. I made a decision a long time ago with all my mistakes. And with every time I've fallen. And with all of my failure.

I could do one or two things with them. It's your choice. Okay. I could even make them coffins that kill me on the inside. I can make them classrooms that train me to live better on the outside. It's either your coffin or it's your classroom. You either let it kill you or you let it teach you. So that way you have no losses you only have lessons

who am I talking to I don't have losses I have lessons and even in those lessons God shapes character he perfects faith he gives us wisdom Greater experiences

So as long as I'm breathing And I'm on my way to glory I refuse You heard what I said here? I refuse To let circumstances Attacks Oppositions Problems Failures You heard what I said here? I refuse to let circumstances, attacks, oppositions, problems, failures, not even the devil can steal this praise. Now somebody give it to him like he deserves.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Not even death can steal this praise. Somebody shout! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Lord!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah. All right. I want y'all to do something revolutionary. Watch. Watch. It's easy to be excited when things are going your way get a flashback over all the hell you've been through

the scars on your back all you've learned and how you've seen God faithfulness and I want you to give him a praise for the hell that you've been through 1, 2, 3 praise him And I want you to give him a praise for the hell that you've been through. One, two, three. Praise him! Woo!

Woo! Hallelujah! I've been through hell, but I survived. I've been through hell, but I survived. When we see you, we see the face of grace all over you. Woo! Somebody say, you look like your father or you look like your mother. I look like Grace. This is what Grace looks like. This is what Grace looks like.

This is what grace looks like. Woo! This is what grace looks like. Now somebody give Jesus a hand clap of praise. This is what grace looks like. God is faithful. You'll just dab up the person next to you and then take your seat Anybody glad to be in the house of the Lord this morning? Thank you. Well, if you're here for the first time, we want to welcome you to 2819 Church.

We want to welcome all of our digital disciples and to all of our guests. And if you're in this room and you're an unbeliever, you're not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, we welcome you. We know that you're in the room. You can belong before you believe. You can keep hanging out before you believe. We're just so glad that you're in the room. And I get to, I'm about to say this for the first time. Welcome to our 9 a.m. gathering.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh my goodness. I want to give a special shout out to a woman I've known since she was in the womb. Changed her diapers. Carried her around with me. Drove her around in the car. Fed her milk. My goddaughter, Sakai, is in the car fed her milk my goddaughter

Sakai is in the building would y'all just help me honor her over there no more milk she's a beautiful young lady. She lives in North Carolina, and she's in town this weekend. She pulled up on us, so we're so thankful to see her. We are in season two. We are in season two of a series called Wisdom and Wonder. We are walking through the book of Matthew together. Matthew was an outcast Jew who lived in the first century A.D. who was converted to Christianity by the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

He wrote the book that bears his name and placed first in the New Testament. It was used by followers of Christ for 1,700 years to ground them in discipleship and we are studying that book together as a church and wisdom and wonder we're walking through Matthew chapter 12 through 20 and then next year we will finish Matthew with with what I think are some of the most powerful chapters in the New Testament and for for all my note takers, today we'll unpack together Matthew chapter 13, verses 1 through 17. We're just going to tag a title to this text. Just call it, Why All the Secrets?

Okay. Okay. Why all the secrets? Why all the secrets? And before we jump into the proclamation of God's word I want to say to you that my aim today is to just lay a foundation just to pour a concrete slab and then in the weeks following in this second season we're going to build on that concrete slab so what you're going to get today is just a foundation do you understand that and then what we're going to get today is just a foundation. Do you understand that?

And then what we're going to do following today is we're going to construct a house of theology upon the foundation we're going to lay today. Does that make sense to everybody? You pray for me as I pray for you. Eternal God and ever wise Father our discomfort for your glory my discomfort for your glory what can we say but thank you that this room is almost completely full at 9 a.m. Get you up.

You're moving and you're working in these last days. Using us as a great sickle to chop down the harvest in our city. Across the country and around the world. Spirit of the living God, I pray you would give me strength. I am weak. I am only a man. I pray you would give me strength

to communicate the truths of these eternal scriptures and that you would move up and down each row, up and down each aisle and arrest the attention of the sons and daughters, even arrest the attention of the sons and daughters, even arrest the attention of the unbeliever. May the kingdom of God increase before this time is over.

May you give us understanding. May you minister to our heart today. May we lean in not to be entertained, but for teaching. And I'm praying over my family that you would deepen their love for the scriptures, that you would deliver them from the love of men and the love of clever words and the love of man-made doctrine.

But God, I am praying before them that you would deepen their love for the knowledge of the word and not just for clever sayings that in these last days while there is a famine for the word we pray we will be lovers of these holy

scriptures and lovers of teaching help us now in the mighty I feel the spirit and majestic feel the spirit, and majestic and the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you agree with that prayer, would you just say amen?

And amen. And amen. Amen. Why all the secrets? Family, in the early 1940s, humanity was dripped by a global conflict that we all know called World War II. At the center of that war was a great military leader, but a man with an evil character named Hitler, who led an alliance of three nations, Germany, Japan, and Italy, and what was tagged the axis of evil. And Hitler, this great military leader, and this man with the evil character,

he set out to conquer the nations of the world with lies, pay attention, and with violence. As Hitler set out to conquer the nations, he was met, watch this word, with resistance by another alliance, an alliance of nations who, although they did not agree about everything politically, some democratic, some communist, yet they had, watch, a common adversary.

I'm going somewhere with this. And for the sake of saving the world from the tyranny of that common adversary, an alliance of other nations came together to bring resistance to Hitler and the axis of evil. And in a battle that lasted some years of world war ii that second alliance would eventually watch overthrow the axis of evil and we know that world war ii would come to an end when our nation dropped two atomic bombs on the nation of japan y'all remember that

as things are in the natural so they are in the spirit. And that what happened in World War II to me as a student of history and the word is a perfect picture of something that is happening right now in the unseen realm of the spirit. That the scriptures give us a peek or window into unseen realm. That God taught us that there was an angel called Lucifer. That serpent of old who was cast down from heaven into the earth. He became Satan. And the devil. And with a coalition of fallen demons,

they set out to conquer the world with lies, pay attention, and with violence. And from the very deceit of Adam and Eve in the garden, you say, well, I don't believe in that. Jesus did. And from the very deceit of Adam and Eve in the garden, Satan has been deceiving human beings from the beginning

and has been trying to dominate the world with violence. It is the kingdom of darkness. Pay attention. That access of evil in the unseen realm that has bring pain to humanity, wars, death, and famine, sorrow, and bloodshed, sickness, and disease, sin, and all the things we're dealing with that human beings despise, all of that is being influenced by our sinful nature, a fallen world, a Genesis 3 world, and is being inspired by Satan and the unspiritual axis of evil. Do you understand that? The scripture calls the devil the god of this world, and it is he who influences human beings systems alliances all around the globe has he's trying to lie to human beings deceive human beings and bring hell and death to human beings do you understand that that is the kingdom of darkness it is alive

right now it is all around us It's in our social media, in our television. It is in our schools. It is saying, trying to redefine marriage, trying to redefine the things of God. Come on. You're going to talk to me, trying to teach us. It's okay to kill babies in the womb. It is the devil that is deceiving human beings. This ain't Republican or Democrat. This is the kingdom of darkness. And I came to awaken you this morning that all around you is a cosmic warfare. We are in a battle right now as I'm talking to you. That's why Paul said to Timothy, not to be caught up in the affairs of this life so you can please the one who has enlisted you, watch, as a good soldier.

He called Timothy a soldier, watch, as a tagline to let him know, Timothy, my sister, my brother, we are involved in warfare. Demons in the earth. They influence psychics in the earth. And fortune telling in the earth. And horoscopes in the earth. And lies in the earth. And crazy husbands. And crazy wives. And crazy friends. And some of the people you see walking the street acting crazy. They're not on drugs.

They're full of demons. It's not heroin. Some of them talking to themselves. They're full of demons. They are what? Prisoners of war. Pay attention. But there is another kingdom.

That the scriptures have been talking about for thousands of years. That the prophets prophesied about that a day is coming when another kingdom would come into the world. It would come into the world small like a seed in Israel. It would grow into a mighty oak tree. It will resist the kingdom of darkness.

And watch, and it will keep expanding in the hearts of men watch until it overthrows the kingdom of darkness is when revelation tells us when the second kingdom wins its battle the lion will lay down with the lamb the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God the abode of God would come down and be with men that there is a cosmic warfare happening right now in the spirit all around you that's why some thoughts you have are evil and did not come from you

and then some thoughts come from the Holy Spirit that reminds you to cast that thought down don't nobody want to talk to me. And because the second kingdom is in battle with the first kingdom a lot of us don't even understand that our Christianity is really a walk of not only joy righteousness and peace but it's also

a walk of warfare. See, righteousness, and peace, but it's also a walk of warfare. See? And if you don't understand that, you won't even understand Christianity properly. You think you're just saved, and you come into church services, and you're sitting in the 9 a.m., and you're acting like there's not a kingdom of darkness trying to destroy your marriage, destroy your children, war it against your mind, war it against your heart. You think it's all roses. And a lot of us who are Christians are so blind because we don't read the scriptures. We don't even know we're in a warfare. It's a warfare that's being fought for the souls and hearts of men.

Listen to me carefully. That's why prayer is an act of warfare. Specifically intercession. That when we're praying for the salvation of others, that's an act of warfare. Specifically intercession, that when we're praying for the salvation of others, that's an act of warfare. Gosh, watch. When demons are being cast out of bodies, that's an act of warfare.

We're setting prisoners free when that happens. That's an act of warfare. When we're winning souls to Jesus, that's an act of warfare. We're opening up prison doors with the preaching of the gospel. We're telling prisoners, walk out of those doors. So winning souls is an act of warfare. When we declare truth across social media

and a generation dominated by the kingdom of darkness, that's an act of warfare. And so any advancement of the kingdom or the church or adding a second gathering to make room for more souls these are acts of warfare watch pay attention see and when you understand the scriptures you understand Jesus more better. See, you think when Jesus came preaching, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, you thought that was a speech. No, Jesus came to inaugurate the kingdom of God. That in Christ, his incarnation, his birth in the first

century AD, Jesus came in the earth to bring into the earth the manifestation in full force of the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, that from the time of Jesus, from the days of John the Baptist, that's why you read the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by, where you think that came from warfare right and so because some of us don't understand that we see the ministry of Jesus wrong you think when Jesus was healing people he was being kind it's gonna make sense in a second you think his healing miracles was just an act of benevolence. Are miracles acts of benevolence? Yes.

Was that the main reason Jesus was healing? No. Jesus was healing because his miracles, according to the Old Testament, was acts of warfare. It was supposed to be a sign to the nation of Israel that through his miraculous power, he was, watch, overthrowing the power of darkness. That through his miracles, he was showing Israel that the kingdom of God has come in full force. And it was stronger than the kingdom of darkness. So where Satan had bodies captive, Jesus was setting them free.

Not just to be kind, but as a display of biblical prophecy being fulfilled, that now a greater force has come into the world. The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, in the body of Jesus. Watch, every time he cast out a demon, every time he won someone to the kingdom, he was, watch, acting with warfare.

So his healing was just not only to be kind. That's why he goes down to the pool of Bethesda and he steps over sick bodies and he just walks up on one man who had been there for 38 years. That's why he walks up on a person who was born blind and when he opens the eyes of a man who was born blind, they said, we had never seen anything like this before in world history. Why? Because he was testifying the kingdom of heaven has come that's why his very first sermon was repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand that in christ was the inauguration in the earth watch of the full force of the kingdom of heaven and from the days of john the

baptist through the days of jesus and to the very moment we're sitting right now until we all die and sit at the hearts and in the minds of men until god has watched harvested i like that word all of those who belong to him are you listening to me i'm serious this morning are you listening to me? I'm serious this morning. Are you listening to me? I'm trying to deliver you from your little cupcake, pansy waist, pixie dust, your little devotional, your little two points in a poem, whack, weak Christianity. Your little soft American Christianity. When I kneel to pray, I wage war.

When I preach, I wage war. When we call sinners to repentance, we wage war. This ain't no American Christianity. Wake up. I feel the spirit of God. So everyone in this room who are saved, watch, watch, pay attention. You were delivered out of the kingdom of darkness.

It's all in the Bible. And you were brought into the kingdom of light. It's all in the scriptures. You pass from death to life. From darkness to light. From being blind to being able to see. Oh yes. Oh yes. Pay attention. And most of us, our Christianity is whack. Watch. I don't care.

I'm telling you to your face. Your Christianity is whack. You know why? Because you don't care I'm telling you to your face your Christianity is whack you know why? because you don't understand the kingdom you're in you don't understand how it affects your prayers your life your movements and because you don't understand the kingdom you're in

you're like a person with an inheritance that don't know how to open it and you want your little soft sermon no wake up pay attention so in the first century AD, pay attention. The Lord Jesus Christ, he left for us an archive of encrypted teachings about the operations, the functionality, the power of the kingdom of heaven. And he encapsulated those encrypted teachings in this word we call parables. Two words in the Greekreek para and balo put it together means to throw alongside in greek which means jesus took kingdom teachings and threw them alongside simple stories called parabolo, parables, that have been, watch, encrypted and preserved in the New Testament of the Scriptures.

Now, Jesus was not the first person in the world to teach in parables. Solomon taught in parables. It's in the book of Proverbs. Stories that have deeper meanings. And other people taught in parables, it's in the book of Proverbs, stories that have deeper meanings. And other people taught in parables stories that have deeper meanings. But what separated Jesus from other men is that he exclusively at one point in time in his ministry, let's just say the second why why Matthew chapter 13 verse 1

that same day Jesus went out of the house what house was he in the house we preached about last week where he's inside of the house. What house was he in? The house we preached about last week, where he's inside of a house with his disciples, teaching his disciples. Who's outside? His mother and brothers are outside the house.

Unbelievers are outside the house. The believers are inside the house. So there's a crowd of unbelievers. We are outside of the house. Do you see that? It says that same day, We are outside of the house. Do you see that? It says that same day Jesus went out of the house and he sat down by the sea, which was probably Galilee, and great crowds gathered about him. These are crowds of unbelievers, seekers, disciples, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.

I like that. He sat down and taught while they stood up. Maybe I should sit down and teach whole crowd stood on the beach. I like that. He sat down and taught while they stood up. Maybe I should sit down and teach and you stand up. Let me rest and you stand up. Right? And he told them many things in parables saying, a sower went out to sow. Stop. I want to draw your attention to the second word or the third word in verse number one of chapter 13. The same day. The same day. This is very important.

Matthew put that in there on purpose. To let you know that something happened on this day. It could have been a Sabbath day. It could have been an average day. I'm not sure. Some scholars believe it was a Sabbath day. But for whatever reason, watch, on this day, the ministry of Jesus had a shift. Jesus went from preaching straight doctrine, like the Sermon on the Mount to only preaching in parables. In fact, verse 34 of Matthew 13 said, he will not speak to, well, let me just paraphrase.

He only spoke to them from that day forward. I mean, let me just read it to you because you don't believe me. Matthew chapter 13 verse, me, Holy Spirit, verse 34. It says, all these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables, indeed, he said nothing to them. He said nothing to them. He said nothing to them without a parable. Okay, go back to verse 1. So after this day, this same day, the ministry of Jesus had a shift. He went from preaching open doctrine, watch, open truth.

This is so powerful, watch. He went from preaching things that are clearly seen to everybody, watch, it's so powerful, to only preaching in parables. So he went from talking truth to public, to the public, to saying, you know what? I'm done talking like that.

From this moment forward, I'm only going to talk to people in parables. So if I'm you, I'm asking a question of the text. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Why? I'm teaching you how to study right from the platform. Ask questions of the text. Why is Jesus preaching the parables? Let's go back to verse one, right? No, let's go to verse three. Then he tells them the parable of the sower, okay?

A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell along the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them out. And other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear. Now, I am not going to touch this first parable today. We're going to unpack this parable next week.

In episode two of season two. Because, thank you for the cliffhanger. Shameless plug. Watch. Because the Lord will go on to explain this parable, but I'm only laying a foundation. I don't want to teach about parables until you understand why he taught parables. Does that make sense? So today we're only talking about why.

And then next week we'll start to unpack them one after the other. Does that make sense to you? The only thing I will say about this parable right now, pay attention, is that Luke, a physician and a historian, wrote in the gospel that bears his name, he recorded that Jesus said, pay attention, that if you don't understand this parable, the parable of the sower, you cannot understand any of the others. So that this parable is a key that unlocks understanding to the others. It is the doorway through which we understand the others.

So he says, until you understand the parable of the sower correctly, you cannot understand all of the other parables. Do you understand that? So let's bypass this parable and go straight to verse 10. Y'all ready? Then the disciples came and they said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? There's the question. Why all the parables, Lord?

Why all the secrets, Lord? Notice the disciples came to him. Watch, I love this. And asked the Lord a question. Now, everybody pay attention. At other times in the scriptures we see the Lord getting frustrated with the disciples for asking questions. Like y'all dudes have been with me all these years and you don't understand this? Watch. But watch this. But then in his frustration, you know what

he says next? All right, let me explain to you the parable of the sower. Everybody watch. If they did not ask the question, we would not have a recorded explanation. Where am I going with this? That sometimes you get wisdom from being inquisitive. And there is a lot of us who are robbing ourselves of wisdom because we don't ask the right questions of the right people. I have learned as an older, wiser brother in the faith that you gain more knowledge, more wisdom when you learn to ask questions from people who are older than you, who are wiser than you, who have more experience than you. And there's some of us who are so prideful, we try to figure out everything on our own,

and so we keep bumping our heads up against brick walls because our pride won't allow us to ask questions. Fear won't allow us to ask questions. Only a foolish man learns everything by experience. But those who are wise will learn from the successes, the failures, and the experience of other people. This is the beauty of mentorship. Mentorship is the speed of advancement without the pain of experience. Mentorship is the speed of advancement without the pain of experience if i can teach you in five minutes what it took me five years to learn it helps you to go further faster

you may need to ask questions of someone younger than you you may need to ask questions of someone older than you. Let's start from the top. You should not be afraid to ask God questions. This has been a struggle for me my whole walk with the Lord. I have such deep reverence for God that I almost never question anything that he does. I know I'm not the only one. That stuff be happening in your life is just my wire. The devil. I got to get naked in front of y'all. the only one that stuff be happening in your life is just my wire the devil is i gotta get naked in front of y'all devil is a lie

i have such reverence for god that sometimes I'm afraid to ask him questions. It's like things happen and you want to ask him, but you don't. Like he can't read your mind. Like your thoughts are silent. Like anything you think, you're hiding it from God. Your thoughts are just as loud to him as your words. Can I help somebody today? The Lord is not afraid of your curiosity.

It does not mean you will get an answer, but he's not afraid of your questions. Lord, why did this happen? Why did I have to go through that? Why did that person walk out of my life? Why did you take me from that church and put me in 2819? Lord, why are we sent in to add a second gathering? Like, it's okay to ask the Lord questions.

Can I go deeper? Those of you always praying for mentors, but you don't know how to use them right. You pray for mentors, and then you get mad when they don't call you. Because you don't understand the mentor-mentee relationship. The onus is on the mentee to pull on the mentor. And the more you pull on the mentor, the more you get wisdom from the mentor. So you get more poor from your poor. Go ahead and put that in your IG story. You get more poor from

your poor. The more you poor, the more you receive poor. P-O-U-R. You learn more from asking questions they got children you got babies ask questions they've been in ministry 20 years you've been saved for half a year ask questions they've been studying the scriptures for three decades you know two verses ask questions you learn one verse and you have whole theology whole doctrines but you're too prideful, ask questions. You learn one verse and you have whole theology, whole doctrines,

but you're too prideful to ask questions. So you mad at mentors or you either blind to the gifts God put in your life and the people who have more wisdom and experience than you, don't matter what their age, but you're either blind to the gifts God put in your life and the people who have more wisdom and experience than you don't matter what their age, but you're too prideful to ask questions.

So if you want to glean from mentors and people, you need to learn to be, watch, inquisitive. My sister, my brother ask questions I want to say one more thing you listening I'm just trying to help you when I come into the presence of people

who are either older and wiser than me I don't use that time to talk about me who might want to hear about you and what you did what you built. And that is so foolish that some of us do that. You come into the presence of someone who's wiser than you and you spend all that time talking about you. The conversation is over and you learn nothing.

When I, Philip Anthony Mitchell, come into the presence of people who are older or wiser than me or have more experience than me, I listen, I pull, I ask questions. I'm trying to learn. I know what I know. I want to know what you know. I already know what I know. It's not going to help me talking about me. It's going to help me asking you what you know. Why do you speak to them in parables? Verse 11, and he answered them, to you, that is plural in the Greek, it has been given to know the what? The what? The what?

The secrets of the kingdom of heaven. But to them, it has not been given. So right here, Jesus gives us two of what I think are three reasons he spoke in parables. Can I unpack the first two for you? The first two is reveal and conceal. To give revelation and repudiation. What does that mean? He's speaking in parables first to reveal.

Watch. What does that mean? He's speaking in parables first to reveal. That what Jesus does in speaking in parables is take the riches, the truths about the kingdom of God. He encrypts them in these parables. And then to his followers, he reveals to them the truths about the kingdom in these simple stories called parables so he takes powerful theological truths about the kingdom you live in the kingdom you're going to end up in glory in and he encrypts them in these stories and then to his followers watch only he reveals to them the secret, mysterion in Greek, the mysteries of the kingdom. So he does that first to reveal. He teaches in parables and explains them to his followers to reveal truths about the kingdom. Watch.

But what about the parables that he did not explain? Watch. If you are saved, you and you know the scriptures and you have good Bible teachers, you and you only will still know the mysteries of the kingdom. Why? Because watch this. All of the parables are about the gospel, salvation, and the kingdom. This is going to make sense. How many? All of the parables about the gospel, salvation, and the kingdom. They are not stories about all these other things you're trying to make them. So it's like in Matthew chapter 25, when we get there, you're going to read about the parable of the 10 virgins. And bad teaching would take the parable

of 10 virgins and try to use it to make a story about sexual immorality. So we hear about the 10 virgins and we try to handcuff people into being holy. The purpose of the parable of the 10 virgins was not for morality. The purpose of the parable of the 10 virgins was about readiness. 10 virgins, five got oil, five don't have oil. The master leaves. This is the parable. They fall asleep. They hear a loud noise. The master is coming. The five with oil are ready. The master says to the five with oil, come into my kingdom that has been prepared for you. The other five looks at the first five and says, oh my gosh, we can't get in.

Give us oil. They say, no, we don't have enough for you. If we give you oil, we won't have enough for us. The master turns to the other five virgins and says, I never knew you. Depart from me. You didn't have oil. You wasn't ready. See?

And if I understand salvation and the gospel and the word of God, then I understand that parable is about readiness when Jesus comes. That the oil represents those who were saved, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the other virgins were people who were hanging around God. Because they both was, the kingdom of heaven is like, but they never really was born again. So when the sound came and Jesus returned,

they were not ready. They wasn't ready. The parable has nothing to do with morality. Has everything to do with who's going to be ready and who's not. He's trying to wait till next Sunday to get ready. Like tomorrow's promise. Like today ain't the day of salvation. And when you feel God tugging on your heart, that is the moment to repent.

So watch. So for all of us who are saved, filled with the Spirit, we have the Scriptures. As long as we have the body of the Scriptures, we understand all the secrets, the mysterion of the kingdoms of heaven. You understand that? Reveal. But the other reason for the parable was to conceal. Now, this blows my mind. Everybody hang on. This rocked me. I'm thinking to myself, everybody watch. If I'm the Lord and I want people them to know watch why hide it from them let's go old testament come back new testament in the old testament in the proverb it says it is the glory of god to conceal a matter but it's for kings to search them out so god finds glory in hiding things from certain people who was outside the house when jesus walked out

unbelievers and he said to them i only speak to them from now on who was outside the house when Jesus walked out? Unbelievers. And he said to them, I only speak to them from now on in parables. Why would he do that? See, this is why you got to connect the whole book. What happened in chapter 12? All of his teaching rejected by the Pharisees and religious people. All of his miracles, watch, rejected by the Pharisees and the religious people. They went so far as to say, all your power, that's from the devil.

Now, watch what Jesus does. Okay, well, since you categorically reject my teaching, you categorically reject my teaching you categorically reject my power you go so far as to say I'm full of the devil from this day forward no more straight truth for you because you reject me I change the way I talk to you

that because they rejected Jesus, he changed the way he talked to them. That means the concealing of the parables was a type of judgment against their radical rejection of him. So the parables are not stories just to make things clear. The parables are stories as a form of judgment to make things more confusing for those who reject the Lord. That in your rejection of the Lord, I will teach you in such a way that you will not trample my truth.

You're going to value my truth that I'm going to lock it away from you in parables since you reject me watch you remain dumbfounded and stupid and void of that kingdom knowledge the parables is a form of judgment against those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ so that the unbeliever will read them and not understand them. But for us who are in the kingdom, the mysteries, the mysterion, the secrets of the kingdom have been revealed to us. God.

But not to them. So don't preach, let's tell parables in our sermons to make it easy for people to understand. No, the parables are there as a form of judgment so that they don't understand. Like a couple weeks ago, my wife and I and three people from our church traveled to Florida for a funeral. To be with a sister who was Haitian. When we go to the funeral, they're speaking everything in French.

When the pastor gets up, he starts speaking in English first. All of us is like, yo, we can understand, good. For an hour they've been singing songs in French. When the pastor gets up, he starts speaking in English first. All of us is like, yo, we can understand. Good. For an hour, they've been singing songs in French. And then he, in the middle of his sermon, he switched to French. And now we're sitting there, we can't understand. Everybody in the room can understand. They're shouting with the pastor. They're saying amen. They're going ham, but we're the only ones who can't understand. We would be equivalent to those who rejected Jesus, who started speaking in a way we could understand, switches to a language they can't understand, and now only the disciples in the room can understand, but those of us who are outside of Haiti, we could not understand.

Although a whole gathering of people are going with the pastor, it's like disciples and Jesus. We who are like the unbelievers sitting on the road, we're looking at each other like we can't understand. We're pulling out our phones trying to get translators so we can figure out what he's saying. Why? Because now our lack of understanding is fueling in us only one or two things. Either anger and we walk away. Our lack of understanding is only going to fuel two things. Either anger and walk away or a type of hunger to say, I need to know. I need to know what this man is talking about. Wow.

I need to know what he's talking about. So my lack of understanding as an unbeliever either says you know what's through god or makes me hungry to say i need to know this god that y'all keep talking about it either fuels hunger or deeper rejection but the parables are for therefore for revelation and repudiation the parables are a form of judgment ask me for evidence ask me ask me for evidence. Ask me. Ask me for evidence. Ask me. Come on, ask me. Ask me for evidence that the parables are for judgment. The evidence is the very next verse. Come on. verse 12 for to one who has more will be given and he will have an abundance but from the one who has not even what he has will be taken away you know what that is that is judgment but the

lord is saying there are two categories of people the one who has and the one who has not. Who is the one who has? Christians, followers of Jesus, disciples. He says, whatever they have, what knowledge you have now of God, it will expand and increase. As you learn the word, learn the parables, your knowledge of God, your knowledge of the kingdom, your wisdom in God, the secrets of God, they're going to increase and expand in your heart. You will be walking around full of wisdom and you'll be wise about the things of God. But for those who do not have, those who reject God, even the little they have will be taken away. What does that mean? That means I was raised in a Christian home, watch, but I reject Jesus. I reject God. So even what I learned about prayer,

I won't use because what little you have, the more you harden your heart, what little you have, it leaks out of you. Did you understand what Jesus just said? So you learn some things about God, but because your heart is hardened towards God, even the little you have is taken away. You don't even use the little you have because you have not been filled with the secrets of the kingdom. Verse 13, this is why I speak to them in parables. Because seeing, they do not see. And hearing, they do not hear. Nor do they understand. I speak to them in parables because their hearts are so hardened,

it does not make sense for me to waste truth on people who don't want it. That's why you have to be wise enough to know when people have rejected you, how to change your language. When people reject you, you got to change your language sometimes. Sometimes my language is silence. Sometimes my language is, bless you, it is encrypted verse 14 indeed their case in their case in whose case the case of the hardened hearts of the pharisees and the unbelievers of that generation now the prophecy of isaiah is fulfilled you will indeed hear but never understand you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people's hearts have grown dull and with their ears they can barely hear.

Their eyes are closed lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn and I would heal them. Minister to these people, Frank.

But everybody watch these last verses. But blessed are your eyes. The Christian. For they see. And blessed are your ears. For they hear. For truly I say to you many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and they did not hear it so you know what jesus is saying those hardened, the third reason he spoke in parables was to fulfill prophecy.

That he said what happened in the days of Isaiah is happening right now. What happened in the days of Isaiah? Isaiah chapter 6, I got it tattooed on my arm. My favorite passage from the Old Testament. Isaiah is called by God. He realizes the Lord is holy. He realizes he is a sinner. The Lord saves him by burning his lip with coal. He says, he hears the counsel of heaven saying, who can we send? Isaiah responds and says, here I am, God, send send me and then he tells Isaiah go and preach this truth

to the people even though they won't receive it go preach anyway and Isaiah asked God a question how long should I preach to people that won't listen preach until the nations have laid waste the cities have laid waste watch preach man of god read it for yourself until judgment comes keep preaching truth even if they don't listen this is my calling that's why it's tattooed on my arm keep preaching truth even if they don't listen until judgment overtakes them and then in the back half of isaiah chapter 6 he says but that's okay because I will preserve for myself a remnant. That there will be a people in the earth who hear my truth and respond to my truth. So I say to you, my brothers and my sisters who are saved and in the kingdom.

The Lord said, man, your eyes are blessed. And your ears are blessed. Why? Because for thousands of years, great men and women of God longed to see what you and I are living in and take for granted. David heard about this kingdom and never saw it. Solomon heard about this kingdom and never saw it. Solomon heard about this kingdom and never saw it. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Obadiah, all of these great men and women of old, they long to see this thing that we are living in and they never saw it. They heard about it for thousands of years and you and I are

living in it and we take it for granted. You're inside the kingdom of heaven. And because now you see the kingdom and you hear, you're living in what people long to see. the Lord said your eyes you take that for granted the fact that your eyes have been opened

you're bugging the fact that you've been saved the fact that you've been filled with the spirit the fact that your name is written in glory the fact that you're in the kingdom and you got access to mysterion secrets in the bible that only the person who's saved will be able to understand watch so you're on your job and you know things that people don't know you know about a coming judgment they don't know you know about the warfare happening they don't know they You know about the warfare happening. They don't know. They think their husband is crazy. You know he's full of the devil. See, because your eyes have seen and your ears have heard, you have a type of encrypted knowledge that the average person don't know.

I can help some of these presidents. Stop wasting your time trying to bring peace in the Middle East. Watch. There will be no peace in the Middle East until the Antichrist comes. That's what the scripture teaches. And he signs a seven-year peace treaty with Israel. You would stop wasting your time with diplomacy, but you don't know the mysterion. You don't know the secrets of the kingdom.

So I'm walking around with knowledge that people don't have. I'm swole with revelation that people don't have. And for me, all it drives me to do is more hunger to watch I want to keep learning these holy scriptures

because the more I learn the more I keep unpacking the mysterion the secrets of the kingdom the more I grow in wisdom strength knowledge power insight the more I grow in wisdom, strength, knowledge, power, insight. I walk in rooms and I know what's going on. I walk in environments and I know what's going on.

I watch the news and I know what's going on. I travel to other nations and I know what's going on. I go to the gym and I know what's going on. I go in Kroger and I know what's going on. I go to the gym and I know what's going on. I go in Kroger and I know what's going on. Blessed are your eyes. Stop it. Blessed are your ears. For many people long to see what you live in.

May we never take for granted after this day the kingdom of God, the mysteries of God, and these powerful parables now I'm about to unpack for you in the next few weeks let's pray father in the name of the Wow. I pray over these, my brothers and my sisters. That you will give them, God, a deep appreciation for the kingdom they belong to. You will help them to see the reality of the warfare that we are in. And that you would give them a hunger to know and understand the mysterion, the secrets, the parables, the wisdom of the kingdom and these holy scriptures.

And we pray, Father, for the unbeliever in the room that even right now you're wooing them to yourself. I pray you would save them right there in their seat, across a camera, wherever they are.

Draw them to yourself. Let them confess their sin and throw themselves on the altar of your mercy. If you are a sinner, you have broken God's laws, you're far away from God, but Jesus died that you would not have to be eternally lost. And if you turn from your sin, you ask God to forgive you of your sin,

you throw yourself on the altar of God's mercy. You say, Lord, i'm sorry i surrender he's wooing you to himself you could you could be saved even right now father saved them right now let some brother or some sister who's confessing sin let them run down to this altar when this is over and and and throw themselves on the mercy seat. Save them, God. Fill them with your spirit. Open their blinded eyes that they may enjoy the mysterion,

the secrets, the wisdom, the parables, the teachings of the kingdom. I pray this in the mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

If you receive that, somebody give God praise.