First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Lord’s Day February 22, 2004 Anno Domini

Matthew 13:47-52

God’s Big Fishing Net

Many are caught in the kingdom net, but not all are brought into the kingdom.

  I.  You are caught in a net.
 

      A.  We all start out caught in the nets of the wicked.
        

Ecclesiastes 9:12; Habakkuk 1:14-17; Psalm 129:4; Psalm 107:14.

      B.  The net of the Lord descends into the world to gather together
his catch.
        

Psalm 65:2

      C.  God’s net contains some of every kind.
     

  II.  Sorted by the Lord.
 

      A.  The angels are the same servants as the reapers, v. 30.
        

Revelation 6:15-17

      B.  This sorting assures the righteousness of the eternal age.
        

Psalm 7:8-9; 1Cor 6:9-10; Rev 21:7-8.

      C.  The Lord knows his “keepers.”
        

2 Timothy 2:19; Psalm 1:6; John 10:14; John 10:27-28.

      D.  The bad are alive but dead.
        

John 17:3; Psalm 104:29-30.

   III. You know the end even in the present.
 

      A.  The sorting is coming.
        

Rev 11:18.

      B.  The destinations are complete opposites.
        

Rev 22:14; Psalm 91:8;

Rev 22:15.; Dan 3:6, 20; Psalm 21:9; Mark 9:43; Matt 25:41: Luke 16:23; Rev 21:8.

  IV.  Instructed scribes.
 

      A.  If you have understood these things, what does it mean for you?
        

Phil 3:8-11.

      B.  If we have understood these things, what does it mean for our
church?
     

      C.  The Lord teaches both for motivation and for encouragement.
        

Colossians 3:23-25.

Pastor Christian Adjemian, Dipl.Div., Ph.D.

phone: 617.864.3185