In
the previous chapters we have been dealing with the first
and second parables and the first and second letters, and
I want to mention enough of them to show that it does
cover the same period of time as the parable does. We
dealt with the binding of the tares and the wheat and I
feel that the Spirit of God will convince all, that the
harvest time, that many are looking for out in the end of
time, takes place beginning at A.D. 33 on the Day of
Pentecost. I want to refresh your mind again. There is one
clause in those scriptures that will help you. The Word of
God tells us right in that parable, that the Son of Man
did this sowing. So that harvest had to be that first
harvest that His reapers gathered on the day of Pentecost.
The harvest that we reap today is the same Word of God,
but men are sowing it now. Luther sowed it, and Wesley,
and others right up through. But this harvest that we
dealt with, was a harvest that the Son of Man sowed
himself when He walked the old shores of Galilee.
We
came on up through and found by the Word of God, that
while men slept the enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and they began to move into the apostasy and the
darkness moved upon the earth because the Word of God was
being choked out. We are over into the part of the dark
ages, the twelve hundred and sixty years, when the
kingdoms or the Church, was hid from the eyes of man and
covered up under the earth as the Word of God would teach
us in the Revelation. God took the true Church and hid her
away in the wilderness and those who were true to God we
know had to worship in caves and in hiding, and the
kingdom was as the Word of God would speak, as a metaphor,
it was hid under the earth. We read in this third parable,
the 31st verse, the 13th chapter of Matthew: "Another
parable put He forth unto them saying, The Kingdom of
Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took
and sowed in his field, which is indeed the least of all
seeds. But when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs
and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and
lodge in the branches thereof."
Here
we are back again to the next period of time that the
Kingdom covered; back again to the thought of individual
experience. The kingdom is an individual experience, as
well as a collective one. Some of you would like to say
that the Kingdom is an individual experience in the heart
of man and the church is a collective phase of the
Kingdom. I'll go along with you on that. I believe the
Word of God will. But I would like to say this as a word
of warning. We must be careful in drawing too rigid a line
between the Kingdom and the Church or we will 'clip our
power.' Somebody will take the Word of God and 'whip us
all to pieces.' There is a difference. But, my friend,
when we begin to make it too great a difference, we get
into trouble, because the same Word of God says, that at
the second coming of Christ, He is going to deliver up the
Kingdom. And other Scriptures say that He is going to
present the Church unto Himself and it will be both the
same action. It will be at the same time. It won't be two
different services, it will all be the same service. I
want to repeat. We are moving into the thought again of an
individual experience. During these dark ages Jesus would
show us that the Kingdom reigned through' there. In other
words, the parable is nothing more than showing us the
reign of the Kingdom and what it had to undergo, and how
it thrived through each period of time. Here, even though
it couldn't come out openly and reign on the earth, thank
God, the Kingdom still prevailed.
Millennialists
say, that 69 of Daniels weeks are fulfilled, but God
stopped His clock. I'm talking about what they are
preaching. God stopped His clock -- they don't know how to
handle those 70 weeks in Daniel. But my friend, if we will
take them as they are, they will bring us right up to the
very establishment of the Kingdom of God. The 69 weeks
bring us up to Christ, if you please, and His baptism.
Then, He said He'd preach this Word and establish it and
preach the covenant for one week. Time symbols give us a
day for one year or one week would be seven years. From
A.D. 26 there were 7 years to A.D. 33, and those were the
seven years through there when John the Baptist and Christ
preached this Gospel and brings us up to A.D. 33 when the
Kingdom came with power and Daniel's week was fully
accomplished. I pray that God will help us to see this by
His Word and through these parables that even though the
Kingdom was not always a visible something it was working
all the time. These parables in a consecutive way, takes
the Kingdom from the day He set it up, clear through to
the end of time. The old paganistic power and the papal
power prevailed against the Christians but I'm here to
declare that the Kingdom never ceased. Glory be to God.
Even though it was covered up with earthly organizations,
or as the Word of God speaks of, as under the earth, let
me tell you it was still working and still growing and as
we see in our lesson it had to go through a stage there,
but it was going to come out after a while, just as
visible as it was in the morning time. Jesus would take
that lesson and liken it unto a grain of mustard seed,
which is the least of all seeds.
We
must not dissect these parables and take them apart to try
to preach something. He never quit my friend, until he had
taught them all.
Now,
He said the Kingdom in this period of time would be like a
grain of mustard seed, which is the least of all seeds.
Now, what has been our seed all down through the lesson
this far? The Word of God. So what is the first thing we
learn about the parable that covers this age? The Word of
God was the least of all seeds. There was very little or
no Gospel preached during this period of time. The seed of
the kingdom was the least of all seeds. There were
paganistic ideas and idolatry and atheism and papalism,
with all its doctrines and catechisms, but very little of
the Word of God preached. During this period of time, the
Word or the Word of the Kingdom, was the least of all
seeds. That is why we have got such a harvest of
confusion. It came out of the dark ages when there was
little or no Word of God preached. And the only thing that
will bring people out of confusion today is to get off of
this stuff of human Ideas and theories and preach the
straight Word of God. Brethren, I declare unto you, that
it has been a time in the past and maybe a lot of places
yet, when right around a Church of God Camp meeting, the
Word of God, is the least of all seed. That is why you
don't see much production in the thought of children of
God, and bringing forth true children of God. If we are
going to bring forth the Church of God, we have to preach
the Word of God just as it is. God bless your heart, it
will bring forth; it will produce the people of God, but
we are getting too much of carnality seed sown, and
because of it, all that is produced is a bunch of people
following man. You preach the Word of God and you will
produce a bunch of people that are following God. It makes
no difference where He goes, where He leads them, they
will follow Him. So Christ would show us the Kingdom
through this period of time. He would liken it unto a
grain of mustard seed, which was the least of all seeds,
The
20th chapter of Revelation tells us that the rest of the
dead lived not, until the thousand years was finished.
Why? The Word of God is the seed of life and there was
little or no Gospel preached through here (270-1530). No
life-giving substance, and so people lay dead in their
trespasses of sin, until God got hold of Luther and others
earlier than him, that again sowed this seed and many
people began to be resurrected from their dead condition.
Jesus tells us that even though it was the least of all
seeds, when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs.
Here He takes this silent growth of the Kingdom, the Word
of God through here, was the least of all seeds. Very few
people got hold of the Word of God through the dark ages,
especially during the thousand year period of it. This is
a positive message against the modern age in which we are
living. People say, we just cannot get an experience like
we used to. God bless your heart, there were very few who
got hold of the Word here, but every one that laid hold of
it got just as rich an experience right in that darkness
as people did in the morning time when there was a full
light.
The
least of all seeds, but when it is grown, it becomes the
greatest among herbs. Now, may we let Webster help us to
clarify this message of truth here, covering this dark
age. Webster said "An herb is a plant with a soft
succulent or juicy stem; after flowering it withers
away." This was the condition of the Kingdom during
this period. Those that did lay hold on the Word of God,
or the seed, my friend, Christ calls it the Kingdom in the
herb stage 'right here.' What are you talking about, the
herb is that, which grows under the earth? He said an herb
is that of a soft or succulent or juicy stem that blooms
and then withers away. That was the condition of the
Kingdom right through here; men and women got hold of a
real experience with God; they blossomed out, but as soon
as they blossomed out, the cool winds of papalism 'froze
them out' and killed them and they withered away. That was
the condition of the Kingdom right through there. Now, I
want you to see that he said it is the greatest among
herbs, and then, He prophesied a little. It is the least
among seeds -- becomes the greatest among herbs when it is
full grown and then, it is going to become a tree;
something visible; something above the earth. The saints
of God need this soft stem. Someone asked, "What are
you talking about, a soft, succulent stem?" Romanism
tried to twist those people; they worked every persecution
there was on them, to break them; but they couldn't break
them. Why? They loved not their lives unto death. They
were filled with the Holy Spirit and nothing that Rome
could do to them, in the thought of persecution, could
break down that experience they had with God. Just as you
take a soft, juicy stem, brother, they will take the twist
and the turning and everything else. Some old dried thing,
will break the first time you try to bend it. I want us to
see, Church, if we ever become a tree -- something of a
visible form, that will be a blessing to man, we have got
to go through this stage 'right here' of being a herb,
first. The Church never shines out to a world, unless they
are a people that can take the twisting, and the turning,
and everything else the devil puts on them -- and would
die rather than submit, or yield, or let down in any way.
It is then, the kingdom begins to shine out in a visible
form, before mankind.
I
want us to see that much of the solidness of the very
church or kingdom rests on this condition that came
through right here. What holds you solid in a trying time?
(Why, you're ashamed of yourself when you get hurt when
somebody does not speak to you or talks about you.) Think
about people who had their head out off, and did not give
up. We look back at a people that were willing to suffer
and die and take any of the persecution that the devil put
on them. It brings a solidness into your and my
experience; it brings something there, thank God, that we
can look back to, and give us a boost when we need It. If
they could suffer being burned, crucified, torn
asunder--It will drive any thoughts out of our minds about
letting our feelings 'get out,' like people are letting
them 'get out.' No wonder people's feelings get hurt. You
couldn't miss them. If you met them in the aisle, you
would hurt them. Their feelings are 'way out there.'
Pretty soon, they 'go around' and hit something--- ouch!
Somebody touched me. Well, how could we miss you? God
bless your heart, the Word of God said to gird them up --
get charity shed abroad within our hearts. This experience
here, Jesus said, was the greatest among herbs; and It
becometh a tree,
It
was the greatest among herbs because none but true
Christianity would be willing to die so gallantly. Here is
an experience that God put within the hearts of people,
that they were not only willing to suffer, but die for it
that it might live. I pray God to help us see it. It was
the greatest among herbs. The Church grew faster in this
age than she has ever grown in any other age. How about
the great revivals 'over here?' I'd like for you to show
me any age through the history of the Church, where during
any one thousand year period, she sent fifty five million
converts 'up.' Come on, now, you Bible historians. I've
looked into 'this thing.' Somebody said, "My, wasn't
the dark ages terrible?" Yes, but God did His
greatest work right through there. History, my friend,
tells us 55 million souls laid down their lives, and went
on to glory and are around the throne of God. Amen, in the
presence of the lamb. What are you trying to get at? When
they are putting the pressure on you from every side --
putting the squeeze on you; it is then, if you really
possess the Spirit of God, it really radiates out. This
little flower here, has got a beautiful smell. But
brother, if you want it to really smell, just take it and
squeeze it. Now, it's smelling. I don't have to get up
against it. I can smell it. It is just 'a sending out' the
richest aroma. Amen! The same thing is true with a child
of God. God bless your heart, when the devil's putting the
squeeze on us, if the real thing is in there, it is then,
the sweet aroma of the Spirit of God goes out and men and
women all around know that definitely God has done
something to that individual, and they have got hold of
something that they, through man's word and man's
religion, did not get. Never be afraid to stand the
pressure. An artificial flower won't do it. It's when the
enemy puts the pressure on, that we show forth this
wonderful Spirit of God. We must have, I want to repeat,
that soft succulent stem to ever overcome. What are you
talking about, be willing to be twisted, tried, tested?
Amen! Brother, if the devil can break you under
temptation, you are never going to be a part of this
thing. You must have this soft succulent stem. God will
put you 'on the proving ground' and let the devil twist
you, and try you, and turn you, and turn you upside down
and work everything he can, to break You.
Too
many have got seasoned in this thing. "He is never
going to budge me." That will be all right, if you
are looking at it in the right way, but I am going to try
to tell you, God is still going to have a 'tried and
tested' people, right down to the end of time; and we are
going to have to be twisted and tried in every way and
still be pliable and refuse to break under it. That is
what I am talking about. There are too many that have
said, "I am going to 'break,' if I don't get some
help pretty soon." Well, you have already broke. This
experience, that let's you stand in the persecution and
grit your teeth and says, if he takes me a bit farther I
am going to mash him! Too many like that. God bless your
heart, there is nothing such as that. This thing was given
to make us more than overcomers through Christ that loves
us. You cannot read of the martyrs that died here that
when they were taken down to the stake or any other thing
that said, if you take me much farther, I will give up.
No. The more pressure that was put on them, the more they
praised God, if you please. God wants to do likewise, for
us.
Too
many, my friend, are living short of that which God has
for them. We have to have that soft succulent stem, if it
ever becomes a tree. He said. Let me read it again.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a grain of
mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field,
which is indeed the least of all seeds, and when it is
grown (there's that individual experience), it is the
greatest of herbs"(that kingdom was in the herb stage
right through this dark age, under the earth just as an
herb is, covered up by earthly organizations and works of
men). But Jesus said, "it becometh a tree,"
teaching us that 'out here,' she is going to come up above
the earth, and come up in a visible form where men could
see her, Glory be to God, and not only see it, but be a
part of it. My friend, he went on to say, it becometh a
tree so that the birds of the air came and lodged in the
branches thereof. Someone said, this shows the growth of
the kingdom and it shows how the kingdom has a little
beginning and comes on up. Friends, the kingdom did not
begin here. It began with John and Christ. Christ was
showing us nothing more than the seed was sown in the
hearts of men, but the kingdom had to labor under the
earth here, like an herb, but it was just as real and
worked, just as outstanding a thing for man in 'this
condition' as it did 'back here' and said, it becometh a
tree so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the
branches thereof. I hope you go along with the Word of
God.
