Review: John 14:12
"And this we shall do, if God permits!"
Hebrews 6:1
"The Lord says to my Lord;
'Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet...'
Thy people will volunteer in the day of Thy power."
Psalm 110:1, 3
"Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who shall go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"
Isaiah 6:8
"Renewing the kingdom" and "restoring God's house" break forth from the Word and become living activities.
"I will revive My work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years I will make Myself known."
Measurements for the Volunteer
"...every man wise of heart in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding to know how to perform all the work of the service of the sanctuary, shall perform in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.
Then Moses called... every man wise of heart whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it."
Exodus 36:1, 2
"And everyone whose heart lifted up and everyone whose spirit moved him (or made him willing) came and brought the Lord's contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all the holy garments."
Exodus 35:21
A Volunteer's First Assignments
Set your heart on God's house.
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..."
Matthew 6:33
Seek: inquire, pursue, go in search of.
To inquire: question, consider, ask about, examine, look for clues
To pursue: purpose in action; follow, shadow, undertake, press on, hunt for, chase after
"Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened."
Matthew 7:7, 8
"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
Jeremiah 33:3
The Parables
Perfect Measurements for Seekers of the Kingdom and of His Righteousness
"On that day Jesus went out of the house, and was sitting by the sea. And great multitudes gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down; and the whole multitude was standing on the beach. And He spoke many things to them in parables... And the disciples came and said to Him, 'Why do You speak to them in parables?' And He answered them... 'To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.'"
Matthew 13:1-3, 10, 11
The kingdom is like... is compared to... can be pictured as...
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys the field."
Matthew 13:33
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Matthew 13:45
"...The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."
Matthew 13:31, 32
"For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand."
Matthew 13:12
The following parables also have kingdom measurements:
"...the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous..."
Matthew 13:48, 49
"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness."
Matthew 13:41
"So let us know, let us press on to knowing the Lord.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain waters the earth."
Hosea 6:3