ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ကပ်ရောဂါနှင့်အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာစာပို့လုပ်ငန်းဝန်ဆောင်မှုများပျက်ပြားခြင်းကြောင့်ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ 'အခမဲ့ပုံနှိပ်စာအုပ်ဝန်ဆောင်မှု' ကိုယာယီရပ်ဆိုင်းလိုက်သည်။
ဤအခြေအနေ၏အခြေအနေအရကျွန်ုပ်တို့သည်ယခုအချိန်တွင်သင့်အားစာအုပ်များမပို့နိုင်သေးပေ။
ဤကပ်ရောဂါသည်မကြာမီကုန်ဆုံးပြီးစာတိုက်လုပ်ငန်းပြန်လည်စတင်ရန်ဆုတောင်းပါ။
Subject 13 : The Gospel According to MATTHEW
[Chapter 13-4] The Power of the Gospel of The Water and the Spirit (Matthew 13:31-43)
(Matthew 13:31-43)
“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.’ Another parable He spoke to them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.’ All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.’ Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’ He answered and said to them: ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’’”
It is my hope and desire that the gospel of the water and the Spirit would be spread forcefully throughout the whole world. I believe that God will open the door to the whole world, including the unreached regions of the world, so that this gospel of the water and the Spirit may be proclaimed everywhere. I believe that the true gospel will be spread vigorously throughout the world, and that it will be testified fully to everyone who is looking for the Truth, leaving none behind. I believe that regardless of whether it is our desire or not, God’s Great Commission, that propagates the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the entire world, will surely be accomplished in the near future. I also believe that it is through us that God will spread the gospel in the whole wide world, for this is what God has decided to do so.
God is also the Master of world history as it is written in Psalms 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” This is just like the fact that South Korea went all the way up to the semi-final in the 2002 World Cup. My country, South Korea, had never survived the first round of the World Cup Tournament, and it had never won even a game, and yet in the past World Cup, it went up to the semi-final. I am sure that this is God’s amazing providence and blessing. To spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the whole world, God made sure that South Korea would be known to the world. I believe that God helps those in many quarters who seek first His Kingdom and righteousness.
I am sure all of you are eager to serve the gospel of God’s righteousness. Therefore, we must pray more fervently for the spreading of gospel of the water and the Spirit. We need more material means to support our main ministries, that is, Christian literature ministries. Our Lord admonishes us, “Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon” (Luke 16:9). However, we cannot support the gospel ministries enough with our possessions, for our own resources are limited.
Therefore, we should pray to God to give us more material means. I believe that if we pray to God, He will give us far greater material blessings than now and work in our lives. Since it is to spread the gospel throughout the whole world that we are praying for financial means, I believe that God knows this better than us and will answer our prayers.
We pray to God by trusting in Him. All we have to do is ask for God’s help by placing our faith in Him, and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the whole world. When we labor by faith to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God will hear our prayers and work forcefully.
God is pleased when we preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the whole world. I believe that this true gospel will be spread even more and further than now, so that there would be no one in this world who has not heard the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is my ardent desire that the Lord would do all these things in the next few years.
What Is the Power of the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit That Is Like a Mustard Seed?
We just read Matthew 13:31-43. Verses 31 and 32 say, “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.’”
Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that a man sowed in his field. Our Lord said that the mustard seed is the least of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Our Lord was speaking about the power of the gospel through this parable by this passage. Put differently, through the power of this true gospel, God has enabled sinners to receive the remission of sin, to be freed from the bondage of their sins, and hence, to receive new and restful life.
In short, this passage shows us how the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit works to expand His Kingdom. In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven here refers to the Kingdom of God, and the mustard seed refers to the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
When people first come across this gospel of the water and the Spirit, it may seem very small and not particularly valuable, but for those who accept it into their hearts, the greatness of God’s Kingdom is fulfilled in their spirits. It refers to the process that a born-again saint becomes a worker working for His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God, in other words, begins from and is perfected through faith in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, whose power is like a mustard seed. When we believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus has given us, we will become God’s own children, and those who thus have become so will turn also into God’s servants who lead sinners back to God. Jesus told us through this parable that the servants of God build the Kingdom of God, embrace countless sinners in their arms, and lead them all to the Lord.
The Lord Did Not Speak without a Parable
Matthew 13:34-35 says, “Without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.’”
What are these things kept secret from the foundation of the world? They are the gospel power of the water and the Spirit that can build the Kingdom of God. Our Lord has kept the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the gospel of Heaven, secret on this earth.
Through His parables, in other words, the Lord spoke about how the Kingdom of God can be built on this earth. We can see that it is through the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that His Kingdom is built on this earth. Put differently, it is through the faith of these sinless people who have been born again by the gospel power of the water and the Spirit that the Kingdom of God is built. This is why the Lord has perfectly turned His believers into God’s own people with the gospel power of the water and the Spirit, so that our spirits would lack nothing to become God’s people.
By giving us the power of this gospel, the Lord has brought perfection to each and every one of us, and He has enabled us to become God’s people and the workers of His Kingdom. Therefore, through such workers of God, many sinners are hearing the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, the true gospel, and gather under their teachings. This is how they are saved from all their sins, becoming the people of the Kingdom of God who receive all His blessings and protection. This is the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The gospel power of the water and the Spirit is the perfect Truth for the Kingdom of God. This gospel power establishes the Kingdom of God and turns sinners into God’s people by enabling them to be born again. It is when we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the Kingdom of God is built in us, sinners are turned into God’s people, and the salves to the world are transformed into God’s workers. Many who had belonged to Satan can now become the people of the Kingdom of God by placing their faith in the gospel of the power of the water and the Spirit.
This is why when the Lord spoke of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, He said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, and He was right on the money! This Truth that Jesus said, that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field, is a secret that God kept hidden. The Triune God planned as such even before the foundation of the world.
Because of Satan and their own weaknesses, mankind could not avoid but fall into sin and drown in it. Yet God has given a way through which even such people can still become God’s people. This is why our Lord said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.” The Kingdom of God, in other words, is hidden in the mystery of the gospel power of the water and the Spirit.
Therefore, when people believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they will all receive the remission of their sins and become righteous. They will become God’s people by their faith in the true gospel. They also will become God’s workers by faith. Through this gospel, the accursed children will become the very objects of God’s blessings. Apart from this faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nothing else can turn you into such blessed ones. Did you become God’s people when you had believed only in the blood of the Cross? What has perfectly and completely turned you into God’s own people and has shaped you into the workers of His Kingdom is the gospel of the power of the water and the Spirit.
The Lord of this gospel power of the water and the Spirit is none other than our own Lord. You and I should never underestimate the powerful gospel of the water and the Spirit, for it is our Lord who came to this earth and has given us this gospel out of His grace. At first glance, this true gospel may look similar to the pseudo-gospel that believes only in the blood of the Cross, but strictly speaking, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is on an entirely different dimension from such other gospels.
We must become God’s people by believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Through this gospel, we must first be remitted and cleansed from all our sins, and become God’s people and His precious workers. We must also preach this powerful gospel of the water and the Spirit to those who still remain enslaved to Satan. It is when we do this that countless people can come to receive their remission of sin.
Jesus spoke of this mystery of Heaven in parables so that not just anyone would understand. He said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that a man sowed in his field; and that though this seed is small at the beginning, in time it grows into a tree, and the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. When people did not have faith in this powerful gospel of the water and the Spirit, everyone was enslaved to Satan, only to reach death. But through the believers in this true gospel, there arose the people of God on this earth, and many have come to be blessed by God.
Is there any other real gospel of power apart from the gospel of the water and the Spirit? There is none. If there are some who are still wondering and searching, “Is it right for me to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and follow the Lord? Or is there any other true gospel other than this gospel?” I admonish them to turn around from this foolishness.
The religionists of this world are still like the seed that fell on the wayside. They think that just because they have converted their religions into Christianity and are trying to live their lives to the best of their effort, they believe in God properly. But the fact of the matter is that they cannot even turn themselves into stony fields, for they cannot acknowledge the Word of God. Blocked by the solid wall of religion, they do not even realize just how sinful and insufficient they really are.
Even now, therefore, these people must know how lustful they are, know themselves, and seek the Word of Truth. They must believe, in other words, that our Lord, by giving us the gospel of the power of the water and the Spirit out of His compassion for us, has remitted away all our sins once for all, and has saved us perfectly. All of us must believe in this, and thereby become God’s children. What we need to do afterwards is thank God.
Yet because there still are those who do not believe like this and are hesitating, God is disappointed. “Is this really the gospel of power or not? Should I believe in this or not?” To all those who are hesitating like this, I beseech them to put away their doubts now and make sure to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
A Mustard Seed Is Small, but Has an Enormous Potential
Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that a man sowed in his field. How small is a mustard seed? It is so small that you can hardly see it with your naked eyes. And while you are looking at it, if you happen to breathe too heavily, it will be blown away. This is what a mustard seed is. How, then, can this seed turn into a tree, when it is so small? Everyone may wonder like this. But once the seed sprouts, it eventually grows into a huge tree. It can then provide nesting grounds for birds to sing, a shadow to seek refuge from the scorching sun, and a windbreak that to find shelter from the rain and wind.
When we first encounter the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we may very well think, “What’s so great about this?” But referring to this gospel, the Lord said that it was the mystery kept secret from the foundation of the world. He said in today’s Scripture passage, “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” One of these parables is that Heaven is like a mustard seed that a man sowed in his field.
The Kingdom of God emerges through the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Jesus said that it is through those who are born again by the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the Kingdom of God arises and expands, and His people emerge. Just like a small flame can be turned into a great fire and burn all the vast forest, it is through those who spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit, in other words, that many people can become the children of God.
This is why we shouldn’t think that there isn’t much to this gospel of the water and the Spirit, nor think, in our ignorance, “I am sure there is something better than the gospel of the water and the Spirit.” “So many people in this world have researched so much and produced so many studies. Does this then mean that what the theologians have been saying is all wrong?” If you really have such thoughts, you must cast them aside.
Realize the fact that a mustard seed, which seemed worthless and was ignored by all, eventually grows into a huge tree. Admit the fact that it is the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has turned you and me, who had been sinners, into the righteous.
Have your sins been ever remitted by any doctrines such as the doctrine of the incremental sanctification or the Calvinist doctrine of justification? Have you become righteous by attending the Pentecostal Movement that emphasizes your personal mysterious experiences? Theology, doctrines, and the righteousness of man have no power to blot out the sins of mankind. Only the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit can blot out our sins, turn us into God’s people, and by making us the people of the Kingdom of God, build this Kingdom on this earth.
By whom is the Kingdom of Heaven built? The Kingdom of Heaven is built by those who believe in the gospel of the power of the water and the Spirit. Even before the foundation of the world, God chose us in Christ, predestined us in Christ, and made us His people in Christ. In short, it is in Jesus Christ His Son that God the Father planned our salvation. That is, because Jesus Christ was born unto this earth, was baptized, died on the Cross, rose from the dead, and has thereby saved us, He has made it possible for us to become God’s own children by believing in the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By doing all these things, He has enabled us to praise God, to believe in Him, and to thank Him. He has made us praise the glory of God.
We therefore have come to know God’s will toward us, which had been kept secret from the foundation of the world. By our faith in the truth revealed in His parable of the sower, we can understand the Word of Truth. Heaven, the Kingdom of God, belongs to those who have this kind of faith. Put differently, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
None but the spiritually wise deserve the Truth. Those who are spiritually stubborn are sticking only to the prevailing knowledge, even though it has turned out to be untrue. There is a saying that goes, “We never think twice on the matters that are under the support of the majority.” As such, many Christians do not even think about the possible fallacies of their faith, for the absolute majority of Christians believe that the blood of the Cross is the only truth of their salvation. That’s why today’s Christianity is full of such blind believers.
However, it is not okay for us to just have strong faith in whatever. Having faith in Jesus according to your own thoughts as the religionists of the world do, as if it were only a matter of religious creed, is not to believe in the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. Before knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we did not have the gospel of God that really blots out all our sins. To become the real children of God is not something that is feasible for only such empowered servants as the Apostle Paul or Peter.
Yet despite this, those who are ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit say, “How can a man be without sin? That’s possible for only God’s special, powerful servants, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Elijah, Ezekiel, or Daniel,” and assert that though we may believe in Jesus, we will not necessarily become like these servants. They became Christians all because it only seemed to them that Christianity is the greatest of the many religions of the world; because the Bible seemed like a great text and truth, something that they felt they should all know; because they were touched by Jesus’ love of the Cross; because not to believe seemed like a sin, but to believe would make them wiser; because it looked as if they would be more cultured if they believed in God; because it looked as if they would be somewhat more classy if they walked elegantly having the Bible tugged at their side, sat in church, prayed and listened to the Word; and because they thought they would be turned into great intellectuals if they heard philosophical discussions about Nietzsche, Hegel, or other such great thinkers of the world.
In short, most Christians aimed to attain desirable personalities when they converted to Christianity. Put differently, there was almost no one who actually became sinless by believing in Jesus, who belonged to the people of God, who turned into His child, who was made righteous, and who became God’s precious worker; hardly anyone believed in Jesus with a desire to have the same faith that the righteous and the servants of God in the Bible had, to live his life like they did.
However, our Lord does not want us to become religionists. He only wants us to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which has the power that enables us to become God’s children and to build His Kingdom on this earth. My fellow believers, do you believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit has made you God’s children? Yes, this powerful gospel has indeed turned us into God’s children.
The gospel of the water and the Spirit has granted us the same faith as that of Abraham. How did Abraham believe? He believed in God’s Word in hope, despite his desperate situation. His faith was like this: “Lord, even though Your Word may not seem to be fulfilled in my thought, I am sure it will be achieved perfectly, for You are the Omnipotent God.” Our present faith is the same as the faith of Abraham that God had approved. Sarah’s faith was also the same as ours. How could Sarah bear a child? She became pregnant when she believed in God’s promise that said, “Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:14).
It was humanly impossible for Sarah to bear a child. She was almost 90 years old at that time. But this came true because Sarah and Abraham believed, “Since God promised us, He will surely give us a child by this time next year.” Of course, Sarah couldn’t believe God’s word of promise at first, but she eventually came to believe even though it was humanly impossible. Sarah might have thought, “I have lived long, but this is the first time that I hear such a comic story. It was decades ago that I went into menopause, and so it’s impossible for me to bear a child now. God is saying such strange things.” But she turned her heart around and said, “But since You said so, I believe.”
Abraham and Sarah could have a child actually, and were so happy that they named their son Isaac. The name Isaac means ‘laughter.’ Abraham had a child at the age of 100. Abraham was so joyful. So when Isaac was weaned, he threw a great party.
My fellow believers, it was at the age of 75 that Abraham had left his home according to God’s promise, and it was only now, at the age of 100, that he finally had a child. How long had he waited, and how much had he been led? Abraham was truly a man of faith who followed God’s Word, even though he couldn’t see any possibilities under his prevailing situations. This is why God approved Abraham’s faith as the true faith in God.
Now, the same principle of faith should be applied to us. God is telling us that through the gospel of the power of the water and the Spirit, He has made us His own people, moving us from our place of sinners. The Lord said that He has blotted out all our sins including the sins we will commit in the future by taking them upon Himself through His baptism and atoning them with His blood on the Cross. While this may seem impossible, it is the reality.
My fellow believers, have faith in the powerful gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is written in the Bible, “Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Therefore, when you hold onto the Word of God, God’s promises of blessing will be all yours. But if you do not hold onto the Word, you will lose them all.
A Korean proverb says that the salt in the kitchen is not salty unless it is actually used. No matter how much salt you might have in your kitchen, your food tastes salty only if you actually put salt on it; if you don’t, your food is not salty at all. Like this, you must hold onto the written Word of God by faith. Unless you do so, the gospel of the water and the Spirit will be completely useless to you, no matter how much power it may have. If God is telling you that He has blotted out all your sins with the gospel power of the water and the Spirit, then you must hold onto the very gospel by faith. If, by this faith, you indeed hang onto the Word of God, this gospel will then be yours.
My fellow believers, I beseech you all to believe that the mustard seed in this parable is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is faith that is like a mustard seed. It may look tiny, but in it there is a strong life force, and when it grows, it turns into a huge tree and bears countless fruits. The gospel of the water and the Spirit makes it possible to receive the remission of the sin not just for me, but for everyone who hears this Word and believes in it.
The Gospel Word of Heaven Spreads Like Leaven
Let us read Matthew 13:33 together. “Another parable He spoke to them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.’”
Here the Lord spoke through yet another parable, telling us that the Kingdom of God would prevail over the entire world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Kingdom of God, in other words, would expand like this. While the passage that we just covered, Matthew 13:31-32, speaks about the Kingdom of God that is fulfilled in our individual spirits, this passage from verse 33 speaks about the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit that spreads throughout this planet. When it says here, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened,” it means that this gospel power will spread throughout the whole wide world. The Kingdom of Heaven refers to the Kingdom of God and the leaven that was hidden in three measures of meal till it was all leavened refers to the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the perfect Truth that is leading sinners to the righteous Kingdom of God. God will spread this powerful gospel throughout the whole world in the end times. He will propagate the gospel to every corner in this world, so that every one would have heard of this true gospel without exception.
Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven that was put in three measures of meal. How much are three measures of meal? In the old days, flour was sold by measures of meal, from one measure to two, three, and so forth. Three measures of meal would be no small amount, rather it is a considerable amount of flour that is enough for a village feast.
Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven that is put into three measures of meal. This means that while the gospel of the water and the Spirit is as small as a mustard seed, when this Truth is sown in this world, it will spread to the hearts of all the people in this world. In other words, the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, will spread far and wide, so that everyone living on this earth would come to hear this Word without any exception. And it also means that the power of this gospel is enough to save everyone from sin. This gospel is more than capable of saving everyone, and it will be spread throughout the whole world.
So when I read this passage, I have every confidence that the Word of God will indeed be spread throughout the whole world. There are so many small island countries that I have never heard of their names. But even to such small and remote countries, the true gospel will be sown, and there will remain no country where this gospel would not have entered. I believe so because Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like the leaven that was put into three measures of meal. Without fail, this gospel of the water and the Spirit will be preached throughout the whole wide world: It will surely enter even to North Korea, and it will make to not just Arabic countries, but even to the small, unknown island nations. This is because the Lord Himself said that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is like leaven.
Though we ourselves may not have enough power or material means, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is tremendously powerful, and therefore it will surely spread throughout the entire world. Is this not the case? This is why with faith we must prepare our ability to forcefully preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
“The true gospel will surely spread throughout the whole world. It will fill the entire world. Having faith in this, what, then, should we do?” When we go through a chain of thought like this, we realize that all creations belong to God, and we reach the conclusion that we should pray to the Lord to give us the financial means to preach this gospel everywhere. We should pray to God to give us a hundred times more than now—no, a thousand, a million, a billion times more, so that we may preach the gospel to every remote corner of this world in the shortest time possible.
Since God spoke to us about this powerful gospel and revealed it to us before the foundation of the world, He will surely spread this gospel throughout the whole world fully. I believe, of course, that He will fulfill this very soon. My faith is not groundless, but it is concretely rooted in God’s Word, so that I can truthfully believe in the Word of God from the depth of my heart.
If a farmer only wonders, “Is it going to rain or not?” and just watches out for the weather, he will not gather much crop when the fall harvest comes. When the Word of God says so, we should have faith in His Word, saying, “Yes! It will surely come to pass as it is written!” And the Word of the water and the Spirit enables us to believe that it is the Word that turns us into God’s people and allows us to enter the Kingdom of God. We must realize that the powerful gospel of the water and the Spirit is the Word of Truth on the remission of sin, and we must realize that this gospel will fill the whole world to its fullness. And we must believe so. I, for one, believe this. Do you also believe?
Do you know the gospel power of the water and the Spirit? Do you believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the Truth that enables you to become the people of God’s Kingdom? Do you believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit will cover the entire world? God has revealed this to us today. By revealing this gospel to the entire world, God will surely fulfill His plan.
Let us now turn to Matthew 13:36-43. “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’ He answered and said to them: ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’”
My fellow believers, we must have the ears to hear. “Lord, give me the ears to hear and understand the Word of God.” Like this, we should pray to God and ask Him for His help.
Jesus’ disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” The Lord then said to them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.”
Like this, the One who spreads the gospel of Truth about the Kingdom of Heaven is God Himself, and He is Jesus who came as man. What is the field, that is, the object to which Jesus preached His Word? This object is the world itself. Everyone living in the world is His field. Jesus then said, “The good seeds are the sons of the Kingdom.” Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, in other words, are the ones who belong to the Kingdom of God.
In short, the good seed is the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and we can become God’s children by believing in this gospel. The sons of God are the good seeds, and at the same time, they also sow the good seed in obedience to their Lord. Actually, we all have been saved from all our sins by the gospel Truth, and then we have devoted ourselves to the spreading of the Word of salvation.
As Jesus said that the enemy who sowed the tares is the Devil, it is the Devil who sowed and planted the false gospels in people’s hearts. The tares grow more vigorously, but when we take a closer look, we can see that they are different from the rice. The tares have white strips at the back of their leaves. It is the tares that pretend to be more righteous. They pretend to be more virtuous and to have less sin. Just as an imitation flower is more splendid than a real flower, the tares look stronger than the real grain. As the Gresham’s Law says, “Bad money drives out good,” the tares have been prevailing throughout the history of Christianity and become the absolute majority of today’s Christianity. But, what is clear is that the tares will be gathered and burned in the fire in the end.
Jesus Said That the Tares Are the Sons of the Wicked One
Jesus said that the tares are the sons of Satan, and that the enemy who sowed the tares is the Devil. It is the Devil who sowed them. The enemy of God, our enemy, is the Devil. Jesus said that the good seed, on the other hand, is sown by the sons of God. He said that the good seed is of the Son of Man, and that it is the Word of Jesus who came incarnated in the flesh of man.
Our Lord came to this earth and has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit: Our Lord took upon our sins with His baptism, died on the Cross, rose from the dead again, and has thereby saved us. Before we believe in this Word, we must first believe that Jesus is God Himself. We must first believe that Jesus is God, the Son of God, and our Savior, and we must also believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which tells us that to save us, the Savior Jesus was born unto this earth and took upon all our sins when He turned 30.
Although Jesus was born into this world incarnated in the flesh of man to come as our Savior, He is fundamentally the same entity as God Himself. But even so, He did not show off His own Divinity, but He lived His 33 years of life in humbleness and humility, all in order to save us. He stood on our side, took upon all our sins, bore our condemnation of sin, died in our place, rose from the dead again, brought Himself to life again by His power to bring us alive also, completed our salvation to perfection, and has become the God of our perfect salvation.
The Bible clearly declares that Jesus is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). This is why we must believe in Jesus as our God. We must believe that Jesus, as God Himself and the Son of God, has become our Savior. Our Lord fulfilled the gospel of the water and the Spirit on this earth. He spoke about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and He fulfilled all His Word of the prophecy on this true gospel with His own body by coming to this earth. He also has made us believe in and preach this gospel of power, the Word of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.
The sowers of the bad seeds are the sons of the Devil. This is why Jesus said that those who spread the good seeds are the sons of the Kingdom of Heaven, and those who sow the bad seeds, the tares, are the sons of the wicked one. The two are clearly distinguished in this way. The tares and the real grain are not similar. They may look similar to the ignorant, but to anyone who looks at them closely, they are not the same. It is the tares that have white strips at the back of their leave, that are thicker and greener. But the tares will eventually succumb to a sudden fall. Do these tares fall because they are weak? No. It is because they are not approved by God that they succumb to their downfall.
Our Lord spoke in exact precision that it is the gospel of the water and the Spirit that builds the Kingdom of God and that enables us to enter into this Kingdom. In other words, by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can discern clearly the grain from the tares. Many people, however, do not know it, because it is a mystery to them. This is why the Lord has revealed it to us.
Continuing to explain His parable, our Lord went on to say, “The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Jesus said that He would send His angels at the end of the age. He said that it is not we who would bind the tares and cast them into the fire of hell, but God, Jesus Christ Himself, will send His angels to reap the tares and bind them together to cast them into the furnace of fire. Jesus also said that the righteous would then be gathered together, and at this time, they will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. The real grain, in other words, will live in shining glory in God’s barn, the Kingdom of Heaven, but the tares will live in suffering in the pit of fire forever and ever.
Are You the Real Grain?
When it comes to the parable of the wheat and the tares, it is crucial to find out who is the real grain and who are the tares. Through this parable, we can see how the gospel of the water and the Spirit enables us to enter the Kingdom of God, and to become God’s children; we can see that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the only true gospel that delivers every sinner from all his sins; and we can see that our Lord told us that the gospels of the tares, even though they may look similar to the true gospel, are fundamentally different from the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The gospel of the water and the Spirit that we are preaching is more than sufficient to be propagated throughout the whole world. It will spread without fail. Regardless of how insufficient we are, the gospel of the water and the Spirit will be preached for sure. Because this is not just our work, but God’s own work, He will surely accomplish this work.
My fellow believers, why did the tares turn into tares? Isn’t it because they heard and accepted the gospels of the tares preached by the sons of the wicked one that they turned into tares? How have we become the sons of God? Isn’t it because those who first became the sons of God by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit beforehand preached the Word of the gospel power of the water and the Spirit to us? Yes, we had been sinners before God, but when we heard and believed in the true gospel, the gospel of the real grain, we became the righteous. Just as the tares and the real grain are fundamentally different from each other, we must first find out whether we are the real grain or the tares. And we must draw a dividing line in our hearts.
You must ask yourself: “Am I standing in the line of the real grain? Or, am I now standing in the line of the tares? There still are opportunities. What is clear is when the end of the age comes, God will surely bind the tares first and cast them into the everlasting fire. And He said that for the tares, “There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
No matter how insufficient we might be in our acts, and no matter what kind of sin we might commit, we must believe that through the gospel power of the water and the Spirit, the Lord has perfectly turned you and me, who had all been bound to hell, into the children of God, so that we may become God’s sons. We must believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit has turned us into the righteous. We must believe that only the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the real Truth and the real salvation.
And we must confess, “Lord, You are the Christ and the Son of the living God.” Just as Peter acknowledged that Jesus is the Son of God, God Himself, and the Savior, we, too, know and believe so, and have made the same confession of faith. By doing so, our faith has been approved and commended by God, and we have become His children, His workers, and the laborers of the Church. All of us, you and I alike, must believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the only real Truth, and that only this gospel has blotted out all our sins.
“Should I step this way or that way? I can’t step into this direction entirely, at least not yet. I still need to leave some room. I will not bet everything here. I don’t think this is all that there is.” Is there anyone who, having put down one foot, is nonetheless still hesitant to put down the other foot? It is only the gospel of the water and the Spirit alone that has save you and me from all our sins. Only the power of this gospel of the water and the Spirit is sufficient to make us sinless. Nothing else can do this. As it is written in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” there is no other name but Jesus Christ who has cleansed away our sins by giving us the gospel power of the water and the Spirit. He has cleansed us completely and perfectly. Though our sins are like scarlet, He has washed them away as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).
In His parable of the sower and four fields, our Lord said, “From the very beginning, you had worshipped idols, neither acknowledged nor listened to My Word, but were lustful, worldly, and hedonistic. You cannot avoid but be thrown into hell for your sins. But I came to save you and fulfilled your salvation to perfection through the gospel power of the water and the Spirit. I have blotted out all your sins. By being baptized, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again, I have perfectly saved you from all your sins. You should then believe in what I have done for you and become God’s people. Won’t you believe in this to become God’s people? Don’t you want to become God’s own people? Don’t you want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Don’t you want to come into the Kingdom of God that I have prepared for you?”
Our Lord is admonishing us, “When I love you so much, when I will love you forever, why don’t you accept My love?” This is what our Lord is speaking to all of us, to all the people of the world, through His parable of the sower.
Fundamentally speaking, we had left God and worshipped idols instead. We had been the seeds of evildoer who were born in this world with the twelve kinds of sins in our hearts, destined to live our entire lifetime only to bear the fruits of sin. We had always committed wicked deeds, and all the while we had been carnal, lustful, and hedonistic. Like this, we had been so wicked that it was simply impossible for us to become God’s children on our own.
Yet to save such people like us, God Himself came to this earth in the flesh of man, and when He turned 30, He was baptized to take upon our sins. He accepted all our sins through His baptism, and then went to the Cross to be crucified. And shedding all His blood and dying, He then said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) He shouted out, in other words, “I have now saved you perfectly!” And by rising again from the dead, the Lord has become the Savior for you and me.
He is now asking us, “I have saved you all. I have given you the Word of the gospel power of the water and the Spirit. Can you now believe in this? I have fulfilled your salvation by taking upon your sins with My baptism, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again. Can you now believe in all these things that I did out of My love for you?”
My fellow believers, fundamentally speaking, we had been no more than tares. Adam and Eve, our ancestors, turned into tares deceived by Satan. But, they were saved by believing in the Word of God, and we, too, can also be saved by believing in His Word.
You have now been given an opportunity. Jesus is asking you, “You were born tares, but don’t you now want to become the real grain?” Now, everything depends on our choice. If we think that it’s okay to become Satan’s servants, and we let our hearts stay as they are, then we will remain as the tares. But, if we think, “Though I am insufficient, I don’t want to end up as the Devil’s servant. I want to become God’s son, despite my insufficiencies. Lord, please have mercy on me and accept me,” then we must admit that we had been bound to hell, and we must believe that the Lord has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Such people can be turned into the real grain.
Through the parable of the wheat and the tares, God is ultimately asking us where we belong, that is, whether we are the tares or the wheat. Where do you want to belong? When the Devil provokes your hearts to think, “But I still like the tares; it’s fine with me if I go to hell,” you should say, “No! I may live my wretched life like this in this world, but I want to live happily in my next life. I want to live in a place where there is love. I want to be rewarded. At least, I want to go to the good place. Though my acts may be insufficient, I would like to be a worker of God’s Church, and to live for His righteousness.” I beseech all of you to have this kind of heart that seeks righteousness. This is what you should do.
Through the parable of the wheat and the tares, the Lord told us how truthful the gospel of the water and the Spirit is. Our Lord likened the gospel of the water and the Spirit to a mustard seed, and He also likened the Kingdom of Heaven to leaven. Although the mustard seed is so tiny, in time it grows into a big tree that the birds can nest in. The leaven can diffuse and spread widely. The gospel of the water and the Spirit is so powerful that it is more than capable of covering the whole world.
I believe that this will surely come true in the near future, because the Lord said:
“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the LORD’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it” (Isaiah 2:2).
And we believe that when a new world dawns on us at the end of the age, those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of Heaven. Do you believe so? You and I will live our lives shining forth as the sun. Jesus said that when that day comes, the righteous would shine forth as the sun.
What kind of life is the life that would shine forth as the sun? It is a glorious life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Who did Jesus say would live such lives there? The righteous will live there. In what do the righteous believe? They believe in the gospel power of the water and the Spirit. Whom do they ultimately follow? They follow our Lord. I give all my thanks to God.
Even as I preach this Word, I sense that though this Word may bring so much comfort and benefit to us, for those who remain as the tares, it may only seem too tiresome and boring. But it is only owing to their stubborn perspective that their hearts are too hardened to hear the tender voice of the Lord. When I think about what they will face in the future, I feel so sorry for them. This is why I cannot stop preaching the true gospel. The gospel of the water and the Spirit will spread throughout the whole world without fail, and will cover it all.
And those who believe in this gospel will enter Heaven even if they are insufficient in their acts, but those who are standing in the line of the tares will be all cast into hell no matter how upright their acts might be. The tares are absolutely bound to be cast into the everlasting fire. This is why I feel so sorry for them.
When the last days come, the happy and the tragic will be clearly distinguished. As I preach the Word, there are times when I am unsure as to where to lay my focus. If I were to just ignore the tares and think only about the glory that awaits us, I can preach the Word in joy, even while dancing. But I can’t be joyful to my heart’s content, for there still are so many people throughout this world who do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit that can make them to be the good field.
It is my hope and prayer that you would all realize just how wicked, lustful, and insufficient you had been before God, and how you had all been bound to hell; know that because of this, it is only by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that you can become God’s children; and reach the faith that believes in this. The road of faith still remains long. Your lives are still there to be lived.
We are God’s workers. So I give my thanks to God. Whether we work hard or not, the will of God will be fulfilled regardless. I want the servants of God, His saints, and His Church throughout the whole world to first have faith in the Word of God. It is not a matter of saying, “Let’s do something.” Rather, it is to say, “God has thus spoken, and it will be fulfilled without fail.” It is, in other words, a matter of having faith in the Word, to rise to the challenge, to pray and ask, and to believe that the Lord will surely give us power and enable us to fulfill this work.
God wants to save even the tares from all their sin. That’s why we are trying to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit even to the remotest corner of this world. I believe that by enlightening the hearts of many people in this world to recognize and believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, God will make it possible for them to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Copyright © 2021 by The New Life Mission