The Parables of the Kingdom (1)

0:00We praise the Lord for thy great plan, that we might well in place may be. Thou with Him thus we filled with thee. Thou in the sun as fresh might be. Welcome to Life Study of the Bible with Witnessly, a program brought to you by Living Stream Ministry. Witnessly, a servant of the Lord for over seven decades on five continents, culminated his ministry with a 21-year book-by-book exposition of the entire Bible, which he called a Life Study. This Life Study is the basis of our program today, which includes short portions of the spoken messages given by Witnessly. Now, let's join today's Life Study.

1:02The true Gospel of God always issues in the Kingdom of God. In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4, there are four parables of the Kingdom of God. Prior to chapter 4, we have seen the beginning of the Gospel with its contents in Mark chapter 1, and the ways of carrying out the Gospel service with auxiliary acts in chapters 2 and 3. So the simple message here is that the Gospel issues in the Kingdom of God. This is Matt Miller with Ron Kangus for an important radio program on the Kingdom of God. And Ron, today's Life Study, brings us to chapter 4, which is a crucial chapter on the Kingdom, and it shows us the purpose of the Gospel. We're going to see the importance of the Kingdom as the goal or the intrinsic element of the Gospel. Do you have a brief foretaste for today's program in a few sentence for our listeners before we start? Perhaps as a foretaste, we could point out that we all need to be open

2:05to what is actually emphasized in the New Testament, concerning the Kingdom of God. The reason I mention this is because today, whether it's in the Gospel preaching or in teachings concerning church life, there is not the proper New Testament emphasis on the Kingdom. It is no exaggeration to say that the entire New Testament is a book on the Kingdom. From chapter 1 of Matthew, well into the Book of Revelation, it is the Kingdom being preached, the Kingdom being sown, the Kingdom being taught, the Gospel of the Kingdom being preached, the Kingdom being practiced in the church life, the Kingdom being manifested with the Lord's coming. So we have an opportunity by receiving ministry on Mark chapter 4 to get a proper impression from the Word of God,

3:06concerning what the Kingdom means to God. Well, you did it Ron, that's a very good opening. Before we go to witness, I'd like to read Genesis chapter 1, verse 26, because we're going to go all the way to the beginning of the Bible as we start the program. And God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. Here's witness Lee. We come to chapter 4. This is quite a crucial chapter, a chapter on the Kingdom. We should remember that when the Lord Jesus came out, the first point that he preached was repent for the Kingdom of God has drawn near.

4:07Don't forget, that was the first sentence of the Lord's God for preaching, repent for the Kingdom of God. And this shows us clearly that the gospel is for the Kingdom. Now, we all have to realize what is a Kingdom. The Kingdom is a sphere, a realm, to accomplish something. And the Kingdom of God is just a sphere, a realm, for God to work out his eternal purpose to accomplish his goal. He created the heavens and earth, with billions of atoms. Then he created man. There, in the creation of man, you have God's image, and you have God to mean it.

5:11God's image is for God's expression, and God to mean it is for God's Kingdom. God wanted to have man, to express him, but to accomplish these, God needs a sphere, that is a Kingdom. Wherein, he could exercise his authority. And first of all, he gave his authority to his created man, and he established man to be the head of all the created things. But, shall you say, the man he created, failed him. Item got fallen. So, God paid by himself in the way of incarnation. God incarnated, to come, to establish the Kingdom of God, in which God could carry out his purpose by exercising his authority.

6:22Well, Ron, God needs a sphere or a realm, to accomplish his purpose. And the first man he created, failed him, sorry to say. Now, the second man Christ has provided that realm, for the fulfillment of God's purpose. Can we stress this realm, or this Kingdom, enough? The only way we could stress this too much, would be to stress it more than God does. And that would be really hard for us to do. The use of the word dominion in Genesis 1 points to a Kingdom. There must be an authority to rule, so that there is a domain, a realm, a sphere, where God can accomplish his purpose. His purpose is to have a corporate expression of himself.

7:23In the universe, there is an enemy, a rebel against God. And on the negative side, this rebellion from the enemy, emphasizes God's need to have a sphere on the earth. The enemy does not want God to have any room on the earth. But God's will is to be done on the earth. The Lord Jesus came to the earth. When He did, He brought the Kingdom in His person to the earth. And He proclaimed and taught the Kingdom in His ministry. We cannot stress this too much. It may appear to some that we're overemphasizing it because of the lack of emphasis, even the lack of proper mention in so much evangelical theology today.

8:24So I feel quite peaceful in the Lord to say that we are lined up with the Word. We are lined up with the Lord Jesus' own ministry. In strongly emphasizing the Kingdom as the element of the gospel, as the goal of the gospel, so many other aspects of the Kingdom life, for the Christian life and the Church life, issuing in the Lord's coming to manifest the Kingdom in glory. We're just getting started with preaching, teaching, proclaiming, living, executing the Kingdom of God. The Lord Himself told us to pray for this. He said, we should seek the Kingdom first. We are simply endeavoring by the Lord's grace to do what He commanded us to do. And we'll continue to do it in this program today as we go on and see more emphasis that the Lord has on the Kingdom. Before we go to the next section, though, I'd like to read to versus

9:26John chapter 3, verse 3 and 5. Verse 3 says, Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born and new, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. And then, verse 5, Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Let's go back to witnessly. This book, Mark, has to tell us what is the purpose to have the Gospel? The purpose to have the Gospel is to have the Kingdom. So the Kingdom of God is the goal of the Gospel. Not only so, listen to this. The Kingdom is not only the goal of the Gospel. It is also the issue of the Gospel. When the Gospel is preached, what will come out of this Gospel? It will issue in the Kingdom.

10:29You will bring forth the Kingdom. We all have to see this. Right at the moment, you believed in the Lord Jesus. You were regenerated and that regeneration was an entrance into the Kingdom of God. We all know to enter into any kind of Kingdom. You must enter by being born into it. For instance, how could you enter into the Kingdom of the Animals? Unless I am born an animal by my birds. How could we enter into the Kingdom of the Human Life by being born? Our birds is the entrance. We were born into the Human Kingdom, the Kingdom of Man, right? In the same principle, we were reborn into the Kingdom of God. Why? We were born into the Kingdom of Man because we got man's life. By man's life, we know the things of man's Kingdom. Right? Now, we must be

11:36born of God into the Kingdom of God because we need to divine life. We need the life of God to understand the things in God's Kingdom. Without divine life, how could we understand the Divine Kingdom? But once we got born of the Divine Life, we are in the Kingdom of God. Hallelujah. We are in the Kingdom of God. Hallelujah. You know, Ron, this was the first gospel message I can remember hearing as a young teenage boy. My older brother referred to me as a young Catholic kid there that I should read these verses in Johan and so it has a special memory to me that you can't enter the Kingdom or you can't see the Kingdom unless you're born anew. I wonder if you could explain this matter of not understanding or entering into the Kingdom without having the Divine

12:39Life. This is a crucial point and we need to patiently and thoroughly, even though time is pressing considerate. Any Kingdom is the totality of a certain kind of life with its activities. The Plant Kingdom, if there were no plants, there would be no Kingdom of plants. The Plant Kingdom is the totality of the plants growing and blossoming and reproducing the Animal Kingdom. If there were no animals, there would be no Animal Kingdom. The Kingdom is equal to a particular life with all the activities and manifestations of that life. The Human Kingdom, the same principle

13:39obtains. If there were no human beings on the earth, there would be no Human Kingdom. The Human Kingdom, the Kingdom of Human Kind, is the totality of the Human Life with all of its activities. Now with the Kingdom of God, there is what we may say or call a purely administrative side that is God's rule over the entire universe. But the expression, the Kingdom of God in the New Testament in particular refers to a realm of life, analogous to the Plant Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom, the Human Kingdom. In order to enter the Kingdom of God, to see the Kingdom of God, to know the things in the Kingdom of God, one must have the life of the Kingdom of God, which is the life of God, and that life is God Himself. Amen. We have a little cat Kingdom in

14:45our house, three cats. I cannot enter the cat Kingdom, understand the things of the cat Kingdom, because I'm not a cat with a divine life. The Kingdom of God as a realm of life is a reality. But unless we have the life of this Kingdom by being born of God to have the life of God, we can't see this Kingdom. Unless we're born of water and of the Spirit, we cannot enter the Kingdom. Unless we have the eternal life operating in us, we cannot understand the Kingdom. A central point where burden to say must begin to emerge in our understanding, and that is the Kingdom of God equals the totality of the life of God with all of its activities. When the Lord said, in order to enter the Kingdom or see the Kingdom, you must be born again.

15:46You linked that with the same chapter verses 14 through 16. You will see that we need to have eternal life, the life of God, in order to see and in order to enter the Kingdom of God. By the way, the Kingdom of God there in John 3 is not heaven. The Lord didn't say, you must be born again in order to go to heaven. You must be born of God, born a new, born from above, born of the Spirit, in order to see, in order to enter, in order to be part of the Kingdom of God. Now it's my turn to say, Hallelujah. We have been born of God. We do see the Kingdom of God. We have entered into the Kingdom of God. And right now, as we're sitting here in this studio, we are living in the Kingdom of God as a realm of the divine life where God has a sphere to accomplish His purpose. Praise and thank Him. My turn to say, Amen.

16:51Well, let's go on to the conclusion of today's life study and see how this relates to today's church life. Here's witnessedly. The Lord Jesus, He Himself, prays to God with the first sentence that is, repent for the Kingdom of God, has gone near. Then He tout His disciples to pray for this Kingdom. Then, after quite a period of time, He was with His disciples training them. Up to Matthew 16, He brought all His trained disciples to Sassaria the Libide. He asked His disciples about Himself. Peter recognized Him as the Christ of God. And the sin of the living God, that means the sin of the living God was appointed to be God's and known to the one, the Christ.

17:59To do what? Peter didn't say, but the Lord Jesus, right away, added something. He said, also, I will build my church upon this rock. Then He said, I will give you the keys that you may open the door for the Kingdom, for the Kingdom. And in that portion of the word, Matthew 16, you could see the church and the Kingdom are interchangeably used. I will build the church, and I will give you the keys for the Kingdom. That means to have the church built. You need the Kingdom to be open. In other words, to open up the Kingdom, that is the way to begin the building of the church. Now you can see the Kingdom is the very intrinsic essence of the Gospel.

19:05The Gospel is praises for the Kingdom. And the Kingdom is just a divine sphere. For God to work out his plan. This sphere is just for God to exercise his authority to carry out what he intended to do. There is no other way for God to reach his goal, but by the Kingdom. Well, if there is no other way for God to reach his goal, other than the Kingdom, it really stresses how important the Kingdom is and how critical today's radio program is, Ron, since we clearly see from Matthew 16, that the church and the Kingdom are interchangeable, the only way for God to accomplish his goal is by the Kingdom, then can we say that God can only accomplish his goal through the Church today? Yes, as long as we have the proper understanding

20:10of the relationship between the Church and the Kingdom. Let's get the New Testament revelation concerning this in the following way. First, we have the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Never the Gospel of the Church, the Gospel of the Kingdom. We repent because the Kingdom is near. We believe into the Son of God, we receive eternal life, we are born of God, we enter into the Kingdom of God as the realm of the divine life. That's the reality of the Kingdom. According to Matthew 16 and Matthew 18, there's a close connection, even an inextricable bond between the Kingdom and its practicality and the Church. So the Gospel of the Kingdom brings us into the Kingdom and the life of the Kingdom

21:14produces the Church's life. So the Church's life is the Kingdom in miniature. It's the Kingdom in the preliminary stage. And according to Romans 14, 17, which speaks of the Kingdom in the context of the Church's life, the Kingdom of God is our experience today. So in the Church, as the Kingdom, we are living the life of the Kingdom in order to bring in the Kingdom in its manifestation. So in some, the Church is produced by the Kingdom life. The Kingdom life is the reality of the Church's life. The Church's life is the practical living in the Kingdom. By our praying, by our living the Church's life in the Kingdom, we then bring in the Kingdom of God in the coming age. So back to your question. Without the Church, as the practical Kingdom today,

22:23there is no way for God to carry out his intention to bring the Kingdom to the Earth. First the Kingdom came with Christ, then the Apostles, they all preached the Gospel of the Kingdom, this produced the Church, the reality of which is the life of the Kingdom. We're living in the Kingdom and by living in the Kingdom in the Church's life, we in turn bring the Kingdom to its manifestation. The goal is to bring in the Kingdom ultimately in the New Heaven and the New Earth. In this age, the Lord has ordained that a crucial step in this process is the building up of the Church as the Body of Christ, which Church is the Kingdom and which Church will bring in the Kingdom. It is time for us to see not only the Kingdom, but also the relationship between the Church and

23:24the Kingdom so that we may live in the Church as the Kingdom and for the Kingdom. Well, Ron, that's quite a conclusion to our program today on the Kingdom and almost feel like we need another program on the Church's life, but if our listeners will stay with us, they'll get more. And if any of our listeners have received any of our publications, they know that this matter of the Church's life is developed quite thoroughly in all of the Living Stream Ministry publications. I think we need more time, but we've run out of time, Ron. Thanks for coming in today. You're welcome. And thank you for being with us as we've touched this important matter of the Kingdom and how it is synonymous with the real Church life that God could have a sphere to carry out his purpose on the Earth. We hope that we've struck some interest in you as you've listened and inspired you to maybe call us to get more information, because we can really only touch the tip of the iceberg in our program. To get more information, call us at 1-888-Life Study. That's 1-888-543-3788 or send an email to

24:29radioatlsm.org. Our physical mailing address is Living Stream Ministry, PO Box 21-21, Anaheim, California 92814. You also can go to our website at www.lsm.org, the entirety of this life study and all the life studies are available online for you to read. On behalf of Ron Kangus, this is Matt Miller. Thanks for listening today. Millions of Christians have been strengthened in their faith through the Ministry of Watchmane. In a recent release by Living Stream Ministry entitled The Overcoming Life, Watchmane sounds

25:33a call to the believers to pursue the normal Christian life that is hidden with God in Christ. The Overcoming Life is filled with truth, reverberates with hope, and brings the reader to renewed consecration. The Overcoming Life by Watchmane from Living Stream Ministry is available at Christian bookstores everywhere or you can order by calling 1-888-543-3788.