Things Old and New

THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 1 ✦ ✦ ✦ A New Teaching Series THE PARABLES AND THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL Proving the Singular Mission of YAHSHUA Through Every Parable He Taught ✦ ✦ ✦ PART SEVEN — CAPSTONE THINGS NEW THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 2 AND OLD The Householder, the Treasure, and the Test of Every Kingdom Scribe Matthew 13:51–52 Rev. John Shane Vaughn First Harvest Ministries International THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 3 THE TEXT BEFORE US Matthew 13:51–52 “Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” We come now to the capstone of YAHSHUA's seven-parable Kingdom discourse. Six parables have unfolded — the Sower, the Wheat and the Tares, the Mustard Seed, the Leaven, the Hid Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, the Dragnet. The mysteries of the Kingdom have been opened. The lost tribes have been identified. The cleansing has been announced. And now, in the final two verses of the chapter, YAHSHUA tests His disciples — and lays down the eternal job description of every true Kingdom teacher who will ever stand in a pulpit. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 4 This is YAHSHUA's own summary of the Kingdom mysteries — and His own warning to every preacher who would teach them. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 5 I. THE QUESTION THAT DECIDES EVERYTHING Matthew 13:51 “Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things?” Stop on That Question. YAHSHUA had just delivered the most dense and revolutionary teaching session of His entire ministry. Seven parables. Seven Kingdom mysteries. Seven layers of prophecy compressed into a single afternoon by the seashore. And the very first thing He did when He finished was ask whether they had understood. This was not a casual check-in. This was an examination — the King testing whether His own appointed teachers could correctly interpret what He had just deposited into them. If they had not understood, His investment was wasted. If they had understood, His Kingdom had its first generation of scribes. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 6 Their Answer Was Immediate. Matthew 13:51 “They say unto him, Yea, Lord.” Two words. Yea, Lord. And listen to this carefully: YAHSHUA did not correct them. He did not say, “No, you only think you understood — there is a deeper Christian meaning I will explain to you in the next age.” He accepted their answer. He validated their understanding. He went straight from their Yea to the next teaching. Which means the disciples' understanding of those seven parables was correct — and that understanding was rooted in the Hebrew prophecies of Israel and Judah, because that was the only Scripture they possessed. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 7 II. WHAT THE DISCIPLES DID NOT YET HAVE Now Pay Close Attention to Their Situation. When YAHSHUA asked the disciples if they understood — and they said Yea, Lord — what did they have to work with? They did not yet have: • The Cross — they did not yet understand the meaning of Calvary. • The Resurrection — it had not yet happened. • The indwelling of the Holy Spirit — Pentecost was still future. • The book of Romans — Paul had not yet been called. • The book of Hebrews — the Levitical/Melchizedek typology had not yet been written. • The book of Revelation — John's vision was decades away. • The Christian church — there was no such thing yet. • Two thousand years of doctrinal development, councils, creeds, denominations, theology. All they had — every disciple standing on that shore — was the Hebrew Scriptures. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 8 And with only the Hebrew Scriptures, they understood the seven Kingdom parables — and the King Himself confirmed their understanding. THIS SETTLES THE ARGUMENT. The true meaning of YAHSHUA's parables is what the Hebrew-Scripture-only disciples understood that afternoon — not what twenty centuries of Greco-Roman Christian theology has overlaid on top of them. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 9 III. THE MODERN TEACHER'S GREAT PROBLEM Here Is the Indictment. Modern Christian teachers come to these parables and say, “No, the disciples did not really understand. They thought it was about Israel and the Kingdom — but the real meaning is the Christian Church, personal salvation, and going to heaven.” But think about what that claim actually requires you to believe: • It requires you to believe the disciples were wrong — when YAHSHUA accepted their answer. • It requires you to believe YAHSHUA was a poor teacher — who taught one thing and let His disciples walk away believing the opposite. • It requires you to believe the apostles preached the wrong gospel — because they went straight from this teaching session into the book of Acts preaching the gospel of the Kingdom to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 10 • It requires you to believe modern teachers know the parables better than the men YAHSHUA personally trained. If the disciples were wrong about the Kingdom, then YAHSHUA was wrong to praise them. And if YAHSHUA was wrong — then there is no King and no Kingdom to defend. The only honest conclusion is this: the disciples were right, and the modern teachers are wrong. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 11 IV. THE HOUSEHOLDER AND HIS TREASURE Now YAHSHUA Gives His Greatest Word About Teachers. Matthew 13:52 “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” The Greek word for treasure is thesauros — a treasury, a storehouse, a deposit of things stored and remembered. Every true Kingdom teacher, YAHSHUA says, is like a man who runs a household with a treasury full of stored wealth — and the genius of the householder is that he can bring forth from that treasury both new things and old things as the meal of his household requires. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 12 The Kingdom scribe is not a salesman of novelty. He is a curator of the King's full inventory. Two Categories. Both Required. • THINGS OLD — the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, the covenants, the feasts, the Sabbath, the Sacred Names, the history of Israel, the entire Hebrew foundation laid down by Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the prophets. • THINGS NEW — the Person and work of YAHSHUA, the meaning of the Cross, the power of resurrection, the indwelling of the Spirit, the gospel of the Kingdom, the calling of the firstfruits, the regathering of the scattered tribes. Both must come forth. Neither alone is sufficient. A teacher who brings only the new is half a teacher. A teacher who brings only the old is half a teacher. Only the one who brings forth both new and old is a true Kingdom scribe. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 13 THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 14 V. THE MODERN PULPIT BRINGS FORTH ONLY NEW Look at the Empty Treasury of Modern Preaching. Walk into almost any pulpit in America on a Sunday morning. Listen carefully to what is brought forth from the teacher's treasury. Their story begins at the Cross — and ends at individual salvation. Their message is personal experience. Their hope is going to heaven. Their texts are John, Romans, Galatians, and a few psalms for music. Their entire treasury contains only new things. The old things are missing. Notice What Is Absent. • The story of Abraham as the basis of the Kingdom race. • The Ten Commandments as the constitution of the Kingdom government. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 15 • The Throne of David as the seat of the King. • The Throne of YAHWEH established forever over Israel. • The captivity of the northern kingdom and the prophecies of recovery. • The disciplinary experience of the lost tribes during the long scattering. • The redemption of Israel as the heart of the gospel. • The restoration of all things as the destiny of the planet. • The great volume of Israel prophecies that occupy three- quarters of the Bible. All these are old things. All these are stored in the Kingdom treasury. And all these are absent from the modern Christian pulpit. THEY BRING FORTH ONLY NEW. By YAHSHUA's own definition, they are not Kingdom scribes. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 16 VI. THE TRUE EXPONENT OF THE KINGDOM Here Is the Pattern YAHSHUA Demands. A true Kingdom teacher must begin where YAHWEH began. • He must begin with Abraham — and tell the story of the origins of the Kingdom race. • He must show that the Ten Commandments are the basis of the laws of the Kingdom. • He must not forget to tell the story of the Throne of David — the Throne of YAHWEH established over the Kingdom nation forever. • He must show the meaning of the captivity of the Kingdom — its great disciplinary experience, its greater redemption, and its wonderful restoration at the end of the term of punishment. • He must teach the great volume of Israel prophecies which tell of the removal, the scattering, the wandering, the awakening, and the regathering of the lost tribes. • He must connect the new development of YAHWEH's people from Palestine to another place — and to the isles where they were sent. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 17 • He must show their acceptance of the Messiah — and their great destined place in the world after their redemption. The great Kingdom preacher must complete the story of the OLD before he can teach the true meaning of the NEW. Only Then — Only after the old foundation is fully laid can the teacher enforce the wonderful truths which came with the dawn of the new era: • The joy of Bethlehem. • The beauty of Nazareth and Galilee. • The wonder of Calvary. • The glory of the Cross. • The power of the Resurrection. • The victorious ascension. • The great promise of YAHSHUA's return to reign over the Kingdom. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 18 These are the new things. But they only make sense when set inside the framework of the old things. Detach the new from the old, and you have no gospel — only sentiment. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 19 VII. WHY THE MODERN GOSPEL FAILS Now We Can Diagnose the Sickness. Why does the modern Christian gospel feel so thin? Why do believers walk down the aisle, raise their hands, and emerge with nothing more than a personal religious experience and a vague hope of heaven? Why is there so little discipleship, so little weight, so little governmental purpose, so little Torah, so little destiny? Because the treasury has been emptied of its old contents — and only the new is being served at the table. The modern gospel begins at the cross and deals only with the individual experience of personal salvation. But YAHSHUA said the true Kingdom scribe brings forth the OLD treasure as well as the NEW. The conclusion is inescapable — THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 20 MODERN CHRISTIAN TEACHERS ARE NOT INSTRUCTED UNTO THE KINGDOM. However earnest they may be, however sincere their hearts, however moving their preaching — they are not bringing forth Kingdom truth. They are bringing forth half a gospel and calling it whole. And half a gospel produces half a saint. And half a saint cannot rule and reign in the coming Kingdom government. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 21 VIII. WHAT FHMI BRINGS FORTH Beloved — This Is Why We Exist. First Harvest Ministries International is not a denomination. We are not a sect. We are not a fringe group of strange teachers. We are a household whose treasury contains both the new and the old. Look at What Comes Out of the FHMI Storehouse. • The OLD — Sabbath, feasts, Torah, Sacred Names, the Two-House identification of the lost tribes, the Zadokite calendar, the Throne of David, the covenant with Abraham, the prophetic restoration of all twelve tribes. • The NEW — YAHSHUA the King, the meaning of the Cross, the resurrection of the firstfruits, the indwelling of the Spirit, the calling of the saints to rule and reign, the gospel of the Kingdom government, the recovery of Ephraim in our generation. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 22 Every Sabbath teaching, every sermon series, every booklet, every broadcast — we bring forth both the new and the old — because that is what YAHSHUA Himself defined as a true Kingdom scribe. FHMI is a Matthew 13:52 ministry. We are not novel. We are not nostalgic. We are not selling the latest doctrine, and we are not preserving dead tradition. We are the householder bringing forth the King's full inventory. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 23 IX. THE PROMISE — LEADERS YET TO COME There Is a Beautiful Hope in This Parable. YAHSHUA expected — and a faithful Two-House author has prophesied — that before long, the leaders of the modern church will have their eyes opened. There is coming a day when bishops, pastors, ministers, evangelists, theologians — those who have been bringing forth only new things for the entirety of their careers — will discover the old. They will find the missing half of the treasury. They will recognize what their seminaries never taught them. And in that day, they will joyfully say what the original disciples said: Yea, Lord. They will bring forth out of their treasure things new AND old — concerning the Kingdom of YAHWEH. Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 24 daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” The reformation is coming. The eyes of pastors are being opened. And FHMI is the firstfruits of that opening — the early adopters of the full treasury — the ones who can confidently say, we understood the parables, even before the larger church catches up. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 25 X. SEVEN PARABLES — ONE STORY Let Us Stand at the End of the Chapter and Look Back. When all seven parables are read together with the disciples' Yea, Lord — and YAHSHUA's confirmation of their understanding — the story they told is unmistakable: • THE SOWER — the gospel of the Kingdom is being sown into four kinds of soil, primarily among Judah, and the legal witness to the world has begun. • THE WHEAT AND THE TARES — two seeds, two sowers, one field, growing together until the harvest, when the Kingdom community itself is cleansed first. • THE MUSTARD SEED — the Kingdom begins as the smallest seed in the chosen nation and grows into the multitude of nations that becomes the safe haven of the world. • THE LEAVEN — the same Kingdom penetrates the lump of humanity from within, hidden and unstoppable, until the whole earth is permeated. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 26 • THE HID TREASURE — the lost House of Israel, buried in the field of the world, recovered by the Man who paid His blood to purchase the whole field. • THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE — the regathered Anglo-Saxon merchant nation, after centuries of accumulating goodly pearls, finally surrenders them all to buy the one Pearl: the Kingdom under Torah. • THE DRAGNET — the Kingdom net, full after twenty- five centuries in the sea of nations, is drawn to shore and the corruption is separated from the covenant before the King establishes the throne. Seven parables. One unbroken story. The redemption and restoration of all twelve tribes of Israel, culminating in the establishment of the Kingdom government of YAHSHUA on earth. Not a Christian church. Not a personal escape. Not a heavenly retirement. A government. A throne. A King. A Law. A people. A restored earth. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 27 THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 28 XI. THE CHARGE TO EVERY HEARER Now YAHSHUA's Question Comes to You. HAVE YE UNDERSTOOD ALL THESE THINGS? This is no longer a question asked of twelve men on a Galilean shore. It is the question asked of every hearer of this series, every reader of this book, every saint who has sat under these seven sermons. Have you understood that every parable was about the Kingdom government? Have you understood that the field is the kosmos and the treasure is Israel? Have you understood that the Mustard Tree has already grown and is not yet finished? Have you understood that the cleansing begins inside the Kingdom net? THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 29 Have you understood that the Pearl will cost you every goodly pearl you have collected? Have you understood that the merchant nation is the regathered Israel? Have you understood that you are a Kingdom scribe — appointed to bring forth both new and old? If you can answer Yea, Lord — then you are no longer a hearer only. You are a householder. You are a scribe instructed unto the Kingdom of heaven. And the King's Charge Stands — Go. Open the storehouse. Bring forth both the new and the old. Feed the household. Do not bring forth only the new — for that is the half-gospel of modern Christianity, and it cannot feed a Kingdom people. Do not bring forth only the old — for that is the half-gospel of religious tradition, and it cannot transform a Kingdom soul. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 30 Bring forth both. Always both. New and old. Torah and Messiah. Sabbath and Spirit. YAHWEH and YAHSHUA. Old Covenant promises and New Covenant power. And the household of the King — the awakening remnant of the lost tribes of Israel — will be fed at last. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 31 REFLECTION AT THE PULPIT Three Questions for Every Hearer Tonight: 1. If the modern Christian pulpit brings forth only the new and never the old — and YAHSHUA called that an incomplete gospel — what part of my own understanding has been shaped by a one-handed teacher rather than a true Kingdom scribe? 2. If the disciples understood the seven parables with only the Hebrew Scriptures — and YAHSHUA confirmed their understanding — what does that say about the authority of the Old Testament in interpreting the words of YAHSHUA? 3. Am I being equipped to be a householder bringing forth both new and old — or am I still only consuming the gospel of personal experience without the foundation of the Kingdom story? THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 32 CLOSING WORD — THE CAPSTONE OF THE SERIES And so we close the seven-parable cycle YAHSHUA delivered by the Sea of Galilee. Every parable was about the Lost Tribes of Israel. Every parable was about the Kingdom government. Every parable was about the recovery of the scattered seed and the establishment of the throne of YAHSHUA on the earth. The Sower sowed. The tares grew. The mustard seed became a tree. The leaven worked through the lump. The treasure was bought. The Pearl was found. The net is being drawn. THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 33 And the householder brings forth — to the awakening saints of the last generation — things new and old. The Kingdom is at hand. The treasury is open. The scribes are being instructed. And the door is closing on the long age of mixture. Have ye understood all these things? Yea, Lord. Where the Series Goes From Here — Having completed the seven Kingdom parables of Matthew 13, the series now turns to the next great cycle of YAHSHUA's parabolic teaching: the Parables of the Lost Things. Luke 15 contains a trilogy — the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son — three parables told in a single breath, every one of them about the recovery of the scattered THINGS NEW AND OLD — Part Seven (Capstone): The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Rev. John Shane Vaughn | First Harvest Ministries International | Page 34 tribes of Israel. The Father's joy, the Shepherd's search, the woman's lamp — all directed to the same one mission YAHSHUA declared from the beginning: Matthew 15:24 “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Part Eight will begin that second cycle. ✦ ✦ ✦ Rev. John Shane Vaughn First Harvest Ministries International The Parables and the Lost Tribes — Part Seven (Capstone): Things New and Old