The Parable of The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 7)

CONCLUSION

• In the church you will find righteous and unrighteous, good and bad.
• If you are righteous – that is, if you have been made right with God by the perfect sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, and have asked Him to forgive your sins and have surrendered your will to Him – then rejoice, because you have a bright future.
• If you are unrighteous – if you have not experienced those things, then your future should concern you.
• Illustration:  Santa has a list that he checks twice.  Perhaps one of the children changed.  If her status has changed, then her reward should change.  This is too important for Santa to guess or assume.  Jesus gives 100% sure judgment on someone’s status.  He doesn’t have to check twice.  His books are totally reliable (Rev 20:11-15).

• To the pre-Christian
• How long will you avoid getting caught in the net of God’s love?
•  Today is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2).

• To the Christian
• Be careful how you live!
• Don’t become another seeker’s stumbling block.
• Set aside time to pray for those who don’t know Christ.
• Ask God to give you an opportunity to speak.

The Parable of The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 6)

OBSERVATIONS (cont'd)  

• Don’t stop "fishing".
• Keep on casting the net and keep on pulling it in.
•  The more you cast, the more you’ll catch.
• Caution:  You might not like some of the stuff the net brings you!
• People’s “stuff” can be complicated.
• People can be mean.
• People are the reason Jesus died.

• You must warn the wicked (Ezek 33:1-9).
• They do not have to be separated from God and His people.
• They do not have to experience God’s wrath.
• Lyrics:  “Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it…”
• Really?
• You who have been rescued from the sea of recklessness should be concerned about those who haven’t been.
• Some of them are your family!

Verse of The Week (10/21/16)

The Parable of The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 5)

OBSERVATIONS (cont'd)  

• There is no truth in purgatory.
• Purgatory suggests a kind of second chance after death.
• The angels separated the wicked from the righteous.
•  There was no one left “in process.”
• The angels separated the wicked into the fire.
•  Fire, no fire.  Those are the two options (Lu 16:22-23).
• There are only two locations:  Heaven (a.k.a. Abraham’s bosom) and Hell (a.k.a. Hades).

• There is no perfect church.
• It consists of a mixture:  the good and bad exist together.
•  If only Anne Rice, Gandhi and other disillusioned people had understood this.
• Quote:  “If you find the perfect church, stay away so you don’t ruin it.”

The Parable of The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 4)

OBSERVATIONS (cont'd)

• There is no such thing as Porky Pig theology.
• Porky Pig was famous for what line?
• “That’s all folks!”
•  There is a belief called annihilationism.
• It simply means that when you die, “that’s all folks."
• That’s all she wrote.
• There is no hereafter.
• To believe in annihilationism is to make Jesus a liar.
•  I’m sure you don’t intend to do that!
•  Jesus said there would be a separation.
• The wicked will be separated from the righteous.

• There is no truth in universalism.
• Universalism teaches that everyone goes to heaven no matter what.
• Universalism suggests that a loving God wouldn’t send people to hell.
• What do you do, then, with this separation of bad fish from good fish?
• Do you do a Jefferson and cut it out because you’re not comfortable with it?
• The sad reality is that everyone does not go to heaven.
• I didn’t say everyone can’t go to heaven (2 Pet 3:9).
• God has scripted in man's response called repentance.

The Parable of The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 3)

OBSERVATIONS

• The time of separation is not now.
• Now is the time for casting the net.
• Now is the time for preaching the gospel.
• Now is the time for sharing your witness.
• If you live separately now, then you won’t have to be separated later.
• What do I mean by living separately?
• Living separately is more than showing a mild interest in God.
• Living separately means you’re…
• Set apart.
• Holiness > You are different from the world.
• Consecration > You are dedicated to the Lord.
•  Sold out.
• You have surrendered your will to God.
• You are submitted your life to God.
• You have given your heart to God.

The Parable of The Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 2)

JESUS TELLS A BRIEF STORY AND THEN EXPLAINS IT.

JESUS TELLS A BRIEF STORY (13:47-48).

• The net was cast (13:47).
• The net was filled (13:47).
• The net gathered “fish of every kind." 
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
• Good fish, bad fish
• Mild fish, strong fish
• Suckers, bottom feeders
• The catch was sorted (13:48).
• The good fish were kept aside.
• They were marketable and profitable.
• The bad fish were thrown away.
• They were useless:  “…but the bad they threw away”.
• It doesn’t say they threw them back.
•  If they weren’t acceptable to one fisherman, why would they be okay for another?

JESUS EXPLAINS HIS BRIEF STORY (13:49-50).

• Jesus’ explanation deleted two things.
• He did not mention the net.
• He did not mention the catch.
• Jesus’ explanation highlighted one thing.
• Jesus emphasized the separation.
•  The separation would be done at a certain time:  “So it will be at the end of the age…” (13:49).
• The separating would be done by a certain group:  “…the angels will come…” (13:49).
•  The separated would be damned to a certain place.
• It is a place of fire:  “… throw them into the furnace of fire…” (13:49).
•  It is a place of torment:  “… there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (13:50).

The Parable of the Dragnet (Mt. 13:47-50) (Part 1)

Introduction:  

• How many of you have heard of the author Anne Rice?
• Years before her conversion to Christ, Anne Rice authored a successful series of books called “The Vampire Chronicles."
• Later, Anne described her conversion to Christ in a book titled Called Out of Darkness.
• She went on to write several books on the life of Christ.
• More than five years ago, on her Facebook page, Anne wrote:  “Today I quit being a Christian!"
• She didn’t say she quit following Christ.
• She said she quit being a Christian.
• Evidently, her experience was that some Christians acted like Christ but too many did not.
• The Christians who did not act like Christ she labeled as “quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious and a deservedly infamous group."
• In her mind Anne separated “Christians” from Christ-followers.

• Gandhi had said something similar:  “I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
• Gandhi realized, as Anne Rice did, that there is a separation between the term “Christian” and the term “Christ-follower."
• One is a title, the other is a lifestyle.
• One is cultural, the other is spiritual.

• In our Bible verses for this week, Jesus Himself spoke about separation.
• In His story, Jesus used the imagery of bad fish and good fish.