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Alright, so this is a giant pine cone. So this giant pine cone, I'm just going to tell you a story, we'll get to the Bible in a minute, okay? Many years ago, several years ago, my first year actually in California, I got this giant pine cone. And what I was doing, is I was doing some work up in the mountains east of Fresno, actually. So my first year in California, you say, now that's not a giant pine cone, well if you're from North Dakota, that is a giant pine cone. There's like one pine tree in North Dakota, and the pine cones are like that big. So that's a giant pine cone, and I understand that there's bigger ones in California, but many years ago, my first year in California, I was doing work up in the mountains of the Kings Canyon, and there's these hydro stations up at 5,000 feet, 6,000 feet, way up there. And that's where I got that giant pine cone. And I brought that giant pine cone back for Jacob, and I told him, I told him Jacob, I was like, you know, everything's giant up there. That's the thing. Like, the pine cones are giant, and you know, the thing is about these hydro plants, is you wouldn't even know they're there. Many of you from Fresno probably, if you've been up there, probably don't even know they're there, because they're actually cut into the mountains. So if you drive up, it's just a parking lot, and the actual hydro plant is 500 feet down inside the granite of the mountain. The only problem with this area is that everything's giant, I told Jacob. And the problem is, is that the engineers, when we would go work on the power plants, not only did they have giant pine cones, but they also had giant spiders. Okay? And the spiders were probably about that tall. So every engineer had to grab a sword before they went into the hydro plant, and you had to literally fight your way down into the mountain, and work on the power plant. And then we had to fight our way back up. And when we're working on the power plant inside the mountain, one of the engineers, usually the chief engineer, had to stand watch, because sometimes the giant spider snuck down into the plant as well. So it was a stressful day. But I brought, to prove that to Jacob, I brought back this giant pine cone. All right, now, that is a fantastic story, wouldn't you agree? I mean, going up into the mountains of California and fighting giant spiders all day long, and I took several trips up there. You know, a guy gets in shape, you learn about what some of these warriors in the Bible went through when you spend all day fighting giant spiders, right? I mean, it's not good for productivity when you have to fix something in the power plant, you have to turn around every 20 minutes and kill some giant spider this tall. You know what I'm saying? But look, it's what you have to do to support your family, what I told Jacob, all right? Now that is a fantastic story. And you say, what does that have to do with Matthew chapter 13? Well, we'll tie it together at the end, okay? So we're going to finish the last half of Matthew chapter 13, because it's such a long chapter in the Bible, we're going to spend two weeks in it, this is our second week, and then we'll talk about the giant pine cones, the giant spiders, as we conclude Matthew chapter 13 tonight, and I'll let you think about how, you know, giant spiders have to do with Matthew chapter 13, all right, but we'll tie it together at the end, I promise. So we're going to start in Matthew chapter 13 and verse number 24 this evening, we're just going to preach through and teach through the last half of Matthew chapter 13, and then I'll give you some parting thoughts on the entire chapter pertaining to our story that I just told you, okay? Matthew chapter 13, look at verse number 24. Verse number 24, the Bible says, another parable put he forth unto them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that soweth good seed in his field, but while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. So the good seed we see turned into what? It turned into wheat, okay? But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. So he's saying, look, you know, all these weeds, you know, in the night an enemy came and he sowed, and he sowed, you know, tares, which is like weeds, basically, and these weeds grew up with the wheat, and the people said, hey, you know, should we go out and pull the weeds? And he said, no, no, leave the weeds for now. We're just going to let them grow with the wheat so we don't damage the wheat, all right? Because the wheat had a purpose. Look at verse number 30. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. And another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. So this is talking about, this parable, of course, is talking about, you know, the fruitfulness of sowing the word. Of course, the seed in the parable of the sower was the word, and this is talking about how one tiny little sowing of a seed turns into this huge herb, and it's interesting that it's an herb, by the way, because an herb does what? Herb has healing powers. So this is kind of another parable about sowing the word of God, about preaching the word of God. You know, and just for us, not to apply too much right away, but basically, you know, we don't see the full results of us when we go out and we sow that seed. But this just shows that you sowing any type of seed can have, you know, infinite power to grow and just affect the world around us. Okay, look at verse number 33. He goes into another parable, and he says another parable spake unto them, The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the hole was leavened. And these things spake Jesus unto the multiple in parables, and without a parable spake he not unto them, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. We talked last week about why Jesus spoke in parables. He was speaking just to the disciples. He did not want the people who had rejected him to understand what he was saying, lest they be healed, lest they be converted. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house, and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. So of course now Jesus is going to explain what the actual parable means, and he sent unto him, He that soweth the good seed is the son of man, is Jesus. The field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. Turn to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24. I don't want to get too deep into the end times implications here, we're going to cover that in detail in Matthew chapter 24, but it does apply here, so we will look at it. Turn to Matthew chapter 24. So he basically said that we're sowing the seed, the seed is sown by the son of man, the field is the world, the seed is sown into the world, the good seed are the children of God. The sons of God, we know that that's those who are saved, and the tares are the children of the wicked one, the children of the devil. The one that sowed the tares, the enemy is Satan, okay? Look at Matthew chapter 24. This talks about the harvest. The harvest is the end of the world, the reapers are the angels. So the angels, God's angels are going to do the harvest and the separating of the wheat from the tares. So they are to grow together, and then they're to be harvested at the end of the world by the angels. Look at Matthew 24 and verse 29. The Bible says, immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. Turn to Revelation 14. So this gathering is the rapture. This gathering is gathering the wheat. This is gathering the wheat from the tares. Go to Revelation chapter 14, and we will see another gathering. Revelation 14 gives us some more details about the reaping, and the Bible says in Revelation 14 and verse 14, and I looked and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. Once again, talking about Jesus coming in the clouds, and he sat on the cloud, thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. But then we see another reaping in verse number 17, and another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle, and another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. So of course we know that we are going to be removed from this earth before the wrath of God happens, but this is talking about, you know, the beginning of the wrath of God on the tares. Okay, go back to Matthew chapter 13, and look down at verse number 40, and this concludes the thought of the tares being judged, basically, being gathered. The tares, the children of the wicked one. And Jesus says, as therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. So it doesn't happen until the end, the wrath of God, and of course, finally, the great white throne judgment. Alright, look at verse number 41. The son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity. These are the people who are not saved, the tares. And they shall cast them into the furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father, who hath ears to hear, let him hear. So Jesus here, in this parable, with this harvest, is talking about the rapture, the wrath of God, the great white throne judgment. Okay, look at Matthew chapter 13 and verse number 44. Then he goes into another parable. And he says, again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof go and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls. Again he's comparing it again to another type of treasure. Seeking goodly pearls, who when he hath found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. So he's talking about here the value of the kingdom of God, the value of knowing the truth, the value of the kingdom of heaven. So he says, once you know the truth, basically, because these guys, they find the treasure, and then they go and they sell everything that they have to get this treasure, to get this one pearl. When this guy finds this pearl of great price, he goes and he sells all that he has for this one pearl. So once you know the truth, Jesus is saying, nothing else matters. That's why when you think back just a few verses in the parable of the sower, when you look at the person who was sown among the thorns, that's how silly it would be. Jesus is actually using parables to compare against parables of the same chapter. Because he's telling you how silly it would be to basically see the thing that has priceless value and trade it for something of no value, is what he's saying. I mean, it's like trading a gold bar for a cheap plastic toy. And that's not even a good comparison. So that is what the thorns is. When you get choked up, choked out by the cares of this world, you're basically taking that treasure of great value, that pearl of great price, and you are casting it away for something that has no value at all. Look at verse number 47. Another parable. Again, he's just making these comparisons as to what the kingdom of heaven is like. He says again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea and gathereth of every kind, which when it was full, they drew to shore and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. Very similar to the wheat and the tares. So it shall be at the end of the world. The angel shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Very similar concept. Verse 51. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood these things? And they said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then he said unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. All right, now I got everything up to this point. Now what does that mean? Right? I mean, I got everything. I mean, he's making these comparisons about the kingdom of heaven seems to match pretty well to the parable of the sower. You know, we're talking about he gives a comparison, he gives a visualization of the rapture and the wrath of God and the great white throne judgment and the separation that's going to happen when? At the end of the world? In the end times? But what is he talking about in verse number 52? He says unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto this. So who were these? First of all, who were the scribes in general? All right, let's look at that for just a few minutes. Turn to Matthew chapter 23. Who were the scribes of this time? Of the time that Jesus was talking about here? You know, there was scribes, as Jesus was telling these parables, there was scribes at this time. Okay, look at Matthew 23 in verse number 14. Jesus says this. He says, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees. Now look, we're always bringing up the Pharisees all the time. But most of the time Jesus was yelling at the Pharisees. He was yelling at the scribes too. Okay, hypocrites, for you devour widows houses and for pretense make long prayer, therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. So these people are going to be damned more than most people. All right, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you compass sea and land to make one proselytite. And when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. He's like, you're out there just, you're reprobates yourselves and you're out there like making other reprobates, is what he's saying. Woe unto you, you blind guides, which say whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing, but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. So he's basically constantly ripping on the scribes and Pharisees here. Okay, so what does he mean in verse number 52? Turn to Nehemiah chapter 8 while I'm talking. In verse number 52 he says, therefore he said unto them, who's he talking to? He's talking to the disciples. Therefore he said unto them, because now, how do we know he's talking to the disciples? Because who did he explain the parables to? He always explained the parables when everybody else went away and it was just the disciples there. That's what we talked about last week. That's why he talked in parables. He talked in parables so then he could explain the parables to his disciples who he wanted to understand. Whereas the people that were there, all the scribes and Pharisees, they wouldn't understand on purpose. Because they had rejected him, they did not believe in him. So he was saying unto them, therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven. Who is being instructed unto the kingdom of heaven right now? It's the disciples. So what Jesus is saying is that you are to be the scribes to the disciples. He's saying you are going to restore what a scribe is supposed to be is what he's saying to the disciples in verse number 52. Because it's like unto a householder, a householder is the head of the household which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. So the scribes didn't even understand the things of old. The scribes of that time had perverted the law. The Pharisees and the scribes, they perverted the law and it was all about working your way to heaven and just perverting the law. They didn't believe the law of Moses, that's why they didn't believe Jesus. So he's throwing them aside and he's now telling the disciples, he's like you are going to teach the things of old and you are also going to teach the things that I am now showing you. And you are going to restore what a scribe is supposed to be. So what's a scribe supposed to be? Well let's look at a righteous scribe in the Bible, go to Nehemiah chapter 8. Look at verse number 1. This is the story of Ezra, Ezra, Ezra the priest, Ezra the scribe, Ezra the scribe. So the Babylonian captivity, the children of Judah had gone into Babylonian captivity after 70 years. They were sent back, they were allowed to go back into the promised land. Then you had Nehemiah went back and he built the wall. You had Zerubbabel went back and he built the temple. And then you had Ezra the priest go back and this is when Ezra gets back to Jerusalem. In verse number 1 it says, and the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest, so you see it's interchangeable. See that? The scribe, priest, brought the law before the congregation both of men and women and all that could hear with understanding. So first of all, you want to know why we're a family integrated church? Josiah, come up here. Come on up. So do you understand that for by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves it is the gift of God? Do you understand that you don't pay for a gift? Do you understand that you don't pay somebody $5 for a gift? That a gift is free, right? Do you understand that? We can't hear you. Do you understand that? Of course he does because he's saved, he has the whole Holy Spirit in him just like we are. He's sealed by the Holy Spirit. Thank you. You can go sit down. That's why we're a family integrated church because did Josiah, look, is the gospel simple? In 2 Corinthians 11 when it says the simplicity that is in Christ, the gospel is the simplest thing in the Bible. Now look, there's a lot of prophecy and back and forth, prophetic things in the Bible that I'm sure Josiah doesn't understand. But look, there's things in the Bible that I don't understand. But the simple gospel of the Bible and the word of God itself can be understood by the smallest child and that's who was here right now. That's why we're a family integrated church. Because all who can understand listened to Ezra, the scribe, as he opened the book of the law of Moses and preached to the people. That's why we're a family integrated church because that's what the Bible says. It's not because we don't like Sunday school. It's because Sunday school is not in the Bible. It's because it's just made up by some cultural thing that got started by somebody somewhere. And it's not in the Bible. But it's very clear that the smallest child from 5, 6, 7 years old and as they get older they will understand more and more and more of the word of God. But how are they going to understand it if they're coloring cartoon pictures and we're actually ruining the Bible for them? We're ruining the actual stories and the actual doctrine of the Bible. I mean there's hard sayings in the Bible. That's what the kids are going to hear here. They're going to hear hard sayings. So that's a hard saying. Who can hear it? Everybody. Everybody who can understand. Alright? Okay. I don't even know what I was talking about anymore. Ezra's preaching. Verse number 3. And he read therein before the street. So Ezra is preaching. The walls are being built. The temple's been built. And Ezra is back and he's preaching. Imagine the moment, first of all. And he read therein before the street that was before the Watergate from the morning until midday before the men and the women and those that could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood. Imagine that. Which they had made for the purpose and beside him stood Mattiathah, Shema, and Anniah and Urijah and Hilkiah and Messiah and on his right hand, on his left hand, Padiah and Mishael and Malchiah and Hashim and Heshbannet, Danah and Zechariah and Mishulim. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord the great God and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands. They bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. And don't miss this in verse number 7. And also, Jeshua, Beni, Sherabiah, Jaman, Aqab, Shabbathiah, Hoda, I should have practiced this, apparently a little bit more, Hodijah, Messiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Peleah, and the Levites caused the people to understand the law and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book of the law God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. They preached the word of the God and they explained the word of God. And it wasn't just Ezra, it was all these people and the Levites, which was the priesthood. Okay? The scribes were there to teach the people the law. The scribes of Jesus's time had perverted the law. That's one of the reasons Jesus was so irritated with them all the time and yelling at them all the time. Here's somebody that had a very specific and important job to do and they were failing miserably and they were actually hurting instead of doing what they were supposed to be doing. They were actually hurting. They were weeds and not wheat. The scribes of Jesus's day, they had twisted the law. So Jesus is telling the disciples here and us, hey, you need to teach the people the law as Ezra did, is what he is telling them. And you also need to teach the people what I am explaining to you about me. That's the new, by the way. About the kingdom of heaven on earth and about the end times that he's constantly telling them about. That's the new. The law they already had, Jesus is expounding them new things. While he was constantly teaching and expounding more detail, that's why he was telling them more detail and truth to them. Because they were the restored scribes. That's who they were. As are we. Look at verse number 53. So I hope verse number 52 makes a little bit more sense now. Verse number 53, and it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And when he was coming to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished and said, whence hath this man this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is this not his mother called Mary and his brethren James and Joses and Simon and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then has this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. And we've already talked about how people's faith is what healed them. People's faith in Jesus. So let me just wrap up some thoughts for you on Matthew chapter 13. We kind of blew through this, and I want to take some time to just kind of wrap up some overall thoughts. We see a lot of different parables as far as sowing the seed on the earth. We see that, you know, in this parable that we started off with tonight, that the good and the bad exist together on the earth. The wheat and the tares are here together. I mean there will be a harvest where they're separated. We see that. But for now, they're here together. Now it's interesting here, it's interesting that in this parable, most people are not represented. You know, you have the wheat, which are the children of, you know, the sons of God, the children of God. We're adopted into God's family. We see that. And then we have these children of the wicked one. You know, we have these children of the devil, children of Satan basically. So look back at Matthew 13 and verse number 38. The field is the world and the good seed are the children of the kingdom. But the tares are the children of the wicked one. We see that the wheat is us. The wheat is the saved. And then we see that the tares are the children of the wicked one. And look, the wheat is, the wheat bears fruit, the Bible says. Just like in the parable of the sower. You know, it brings forth, it brings forth fruit. So amongst this, you know, we are to carry the message amongst the tares. We're going to have to carry this message amongst the tares. You know, the tares are these, you know, turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 6. The tares, the Bible talks a lot about these types of people, the tares, you know, these children of the wicked one. Some places are called sons of Belial. In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse number 14, there's dozens of cases of sons of Belial in the Bible. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse number 14, it says, be not equally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteous and the unrighteous? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? So we see that Belial is another word for, you know, Beelzebub is what they called him. The Pharisees called, you know, the devil. It's basically saying, you know, Satan himself, all right? Now look, here's the thing about the sons of Belial and here's the thing about the tares and the wheat. The weeds, if you think about weeds in a wheat field, the weeds aren't just there. Turn to Acts chapter 13. The weeds actually hurt the plants. They actually hurt the good crop. There's a reason that farmers will spray and get rid of all the weeds right away because it actually hurts the good plant. Now look, we talked about Simon the sorcerer in Acts chapter 8 a couple weeks ago and how this man was, he was practicing sorcery, but he got saved. I mean the man got saved, but look, there's two sorcerers in the book of Acts. So let's talk about, you know, let's look at this other sorcerer in the book of Acts and let's see the difference between this man and Simon who got saved. Look at Acts 13 and verse number 6. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, okay, so he's a sorcerer. Simon was a sorcerer, big deal. A false prophet, well, that's different. A Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus. But then we get more detail in what's happening here. Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the word of God. So here you had this man, this deputy, this, he was some kind of leader in this area and his name was Sergius Paulus and he wanted to hear the word of God. He actually called. Imagine someone calling you. Imagine someone calling a soul winner. It doesn't happen much today, but he actually called Paul and Barnabas and said, I want to hear the word of God. But Elimus, this is another name for Bar-Jesus, the sorcerer, for so is his name by interpretation, withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. So here was a man who wanted to hear the word of God and then there was a man, he just happened to be a sorcerer, but the biggest thing about him was he was trying to stop the deputy from hearing the word of God. He was trying to stop the gospel from being preached. He was actively working to hurt the wheat. This man was a tare. This man was a weed and Saul knew this. Then Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him and said, O full of all subtlety and mischief. So this is the Holy Ghost speaking through Paul. So we better listen. Thou child of the devil, he says, thou enemy of all righteousness, will thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord. And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee and thou shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately it fell on there a mist of darkness and he went about seeking somebody to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. So he struck him blind. I wish I could do that. I wish we could do that out there because we will run into Bar Jesus out there. We will run into people trying to stop us from preaching the gospel to their friend or their brother or their husband or their wife. We will see that. And the Bible says that these people who are actively working against the gospel to try to stop somebody from getting saved, they are the sons of Belial. That is who the tares are. And look, they're out here. They're out here now. They're out here with us. When we go out sowing, they're out there. The weeds hurt the plant. They don't just take up space. They kill the plants and they make them unfruitful. You know, if you leave the weeds, you might still get some wheat, but it won't be near the yield that you would have had if you got rid of the weeds. That was Bar Jesus. And that is who that Jesus is talking about in this parable. So during your ministry, you need to be aware that these people are out there. You say, I'm not a scribe. I'm not a preacher. Go back to Nehemiah 8 and look at verse number 7. Remember when verse number 7 said, and the Levites caused the people to understand the law and the people stood in their place. It wasn't just Ezra. It was a number of the children of Israel and the Levitical priesthood was out there. The Levitical priesthood. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. So you say, I'm not a preacher. This doesn't apply to me. I'm not a scribe. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. Look at verse number 5. Let me just keep reading Nehemiah for you while you're turning there. So they read in the book of the law distinctly and gave the sense. That means they explained it to everybody and they caused them to understand the reading. In Revelation chapter 1, verse number 5, the Bible says, and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead, the prince of the kings of the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God his father to him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You if you're saved are a priest unto the father. The Bible says it. This that is your ministry. Ezra's ministry is your ministry. Verse 52 is for you is what the Bible is talking about where he says, therefore every scribe, let me ask you a question. Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, what's happening to you right now? Are you being instructed unto the kingdom of heaven? When you come to church, when you read your Bible, isn't the Holy Spirit instructing you unto the kingdom of heaven? Of all things new and old, we have the whole thing right here. We have the whole thing. And look, the Bible says the word, it grows like the greatest seed. That's why he uses, you ever seen a mustard seed? It's tiny. That's why he uses that example. He says it grows into, you know, the greatest seed. It spreads like leaven. You can just spread leaven, you just take it a little piece and it just goes into more and more bread, it just grows more and more and more and more and more. You just keep it going and keep it going. It's like a treasure, the Bible says. It's like a pearl of great price, the Bible says. In Matthew chapter 13, now look, I love fantastic stories. I mean I told you a fantastic story at the beginning of the sermon. You know, the giant spiders, the giant pine cones. I mean the giant pine cones are truly evidence of the giant spiders, obviously. I love fantastic stories and I came back from maybe, you know, work and I was like, you know, I'm going to tell a fantastic story and I'm going to entertain, you know, my kids and you know, it was fun and I'm sure it was fun, you know, for you tonight and all that, all the kids here, you know, giant spiders. But look, here's the thing. Think of this story, just Matthew 13. Think of this story. Now just wipe your mind real quick. Think of this story. There's this great treasure. I mean I'm already interested. There's this great treasure, look, it's your job. There's this great treasure that's been found and it's your job to deliver it to the people. You're like, all right, oh, but every story has an antagonist. So our hero, which is you, has found this great treasure and has to deliver it to all the people around you. But there's an adversary and there's these people out there and they're going to try to stop you from delivering this treasure to the people. But guess what? You have a sword. You have the sword of the spirit in you. You have weapons. You have a two-edged sword that's super sharp that you can fight with. And here's the thing. As you go out, you know, the story has a climax and as you go out and you deliver the treasure and you fight with your sword and you have these adversaries constantly trying to stop you. And maybe you win over here and maybe you lose over here. You get somebody saved and you plant some seeds over here, but then somebody chokes out. Guess what? There's going to be a multitude of different results and different outcomes of this story as you fight this battle and as you deliver this treasure. Because guess what? Some people aren't going to listen and some people aren't going to understand and they're not going to want to hear or want to know or want to receive the treasure like the wayside. And then you have these people who will receive the treasure, but then they will think it's too much trouble in their life and they will just, they'll just hoard it and they will do nothing with it. That's the stony ground. And then as you continue to go out and you're fighting the adversary and you're fighting and you're fighting and you're fighting and you're getting better because guess what? I mean, as you go out and you fight with the sword, you get better at using the sword and you're getting to be better and you're having more successes. Then you're going to see some people that they do well and they receive the treasure, but then they just get wrapped up in other things and they forget about the treasure. That's the thorns. And then you see that there's some people out there that understand what they have with the treasure and they learn that they are supposed to go and deliver the treasure to others as well. And then they learn to fight. And then you teach them how to use the sword and you teach them to go out and plant that seed that grows into this great herb that has great, wonderful healing powers. And you see as you plant these seeds and you see you fight this battle and you teach others to fight, you see the healing power of the herb and you see how that small seed could turn into something great. And you see that small seed planted in somebody five, six, seven years ago that you thought nothing of, you see they turn into a great warrior and have all these branches and make all these differences. This is the good ground. This is the story of Matthew chapter 13. It look, it's much better than giant spiders. It's much better. Look, I mean, does it not, it reads like an adventure story. The chapter, the one chapter in the Bible, it's one chapter. Think of it. It reads like the greatest adventure you could ever think of. Much better than some stupid made up giant spider. The spiders aren't real. There it is. That's the spoiler. But look, the Bible really outlines this amazing adventure in your life and guess what? Your part in it is only limited by you. Your part in this adventure is only limited by your faith. You know, this Bible really outlines, this one chapter in the Bible really outlines this amazing adventure that could be your life. But look, it's not about fun. It's about purpose. It's not about, you know, just out there to just have fun. It's about the real purpose of your life, this one chapter. You know, so much for this boring life, right? When you think about it this way. You know, so many people, so many people are just living this meaningless life. Everybody is just living this meaningless life. You know, you hear these people and they're talking about, I can't wait to go to the casino again, I can't wait to go to parties again, I can't wait to go to wherever else. But this chapter in the Bible is showing us the difference between fun and actual purpose in your life. I'm not talking about Joel Osteen, Purpose Driven Life. I'm not talking about becoming the CEO. You know, the Bible doesn't guarantee fun, but it does guarantee purpose. But it's up to you. Real purpose. Your purpose is to deliver the treasure amongst the tares. That's your purpose. That's your purpose. And look, it's a better story. Not only is it true, and you can be as involved in it as you want, the choice is yours, it's up to your faith. But it's a much better story altogether than anything that I could make up as a joke to tell my kids or anything that anybody could write down in any book. It is the best story you could possibly think of. Matthew chapter 13. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, I thank you for just this great chapter in the Bible. I thank you for just how, I don't know, how brilliant it is. How brilliant you put it all together and you just weaved it all together to just point back at itself. And just this one chapter shows us so much in the Bible, Lord. We thank you for your word. I thank you for the Holy Spirit that we can all understand your word together, even to the children in the room. I thank you for a family integrated church, Lord. I thank you for just this church and allowing me and all of us to be part of something like this. Lord, we love you and in Jesus' name we pray, amen.