Parables of the Kingdom

Jesus could be frustrating to His audiences. He spoke in parables, and often did not explain them. If you wanted to know what He was talking about, you had to come to the after-meeting, where Jesus explained what He was saying. Jesus’ sermons were not an explanation--they were an invitation. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” He did not reveal His truth to everyone, but only those who were looking for the truth. The same principle is true today. The truth of the Kingdom is still hidden to those who are not seeking. Matthew 13 is a collection of eight parables. We already talked about two of them. What interests us today are the other six parables. They are not given at random, but together compose a single message about the kingdom of God. Those are in verses 31-52. They comprise a single message that our Lord wants us to hear and receive. All six use the same phrase “The Kingdom of Heaven”. Anything surrendered to God is the Kingdom of Heaven. On earth the Kingdom of God is the true church, where God’s people are surrendered to Him. Our church is a part of the Kingdom. Therefore, these six parables contain a message for our church. Our church is part of the Kingdom of Heaven. What does Jesus say to us? He gives us three principles. First, He promises that the church will grow. Look at verses 31-33: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." These two parables belong together. In both we have something small—a mustard seed, a bit of yeast. But the small things grow. A mustard seed grows to the largest plant in the field. A bit of yeast leavens the whole lump of dough, and causes it to grow very large. That growth is essentially effortless. When God’s church is God’s church, it will experience as a byproduct numerical and spiritual growth. It can’t help but grow. It’s like a seed, given the right conditions. It will germinate and blossom, no matter what. It grows because God wants it to. God has a purpose for the church to grow, so it will grow. When the church becomes stagnant, then it is not accomplishing the will of the Father. Why does it make any difference if a church is big or small? God desires for His church to grow. If we are following His will, we cannot help but grow. It will occur naturally, if we live obediently in the Kingdom of God. However, there is a catch. God expects something of us, if we are to see the kingdom of Heaven grow. We see this in our next set of parables. The Church will grow, if we are willing to pay the price. Look at verses 44-46: The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” There is a condition upon the growth of the church. We must be willing to pay the price. Jesus again uses two parallel parables. Both parables have one common phrase—he sold everything. The man with the treasure in the field sold everything else for it. The merchant who found the pearl sold everything for it, too. They sold everything, because they knew the value of it. They knew that if they could buy that thing of great price, they could double, even triple what they had. If they could have that one thing, they could have everything else. Suppose the merchant who wanted the pearl did not sell everything. Suppose he decided there were some things he wanted to keep. Or suppose his bed had a sentimental value, so he did not want to sell it. Or suppose he was attached to his house, and couldn’t bear to part with it. His sentiment would be worth more than the pearl of great price to him. He has a right to make that choice, but he can’t have the house and have the pearl. If this is true of him, it’s also true of us. We must choose between comfort and the Kingdom. We can’t have both. We must only have one. If the church is destined to grow and God desires for the church to grow then why is ours not growing? We will not sell everything. There are too many ideas, possessions, and comforts that we will not sell, not even for the Kingdom. Suppose you have a heart condition. You’re willing to give up cheeseburgers, because if you don’t, you’ll die. After all, what is a cheeseburger when compared to your life? You give up the habits of a lifetime for the sake of your life. Maybe the church doesn’t grow, because it's on the wrong diet. If we truly put the kingdom of God and His righteousness above all, there is no limit to how great the church can grow. We’ve starved the church of finances, by forsaking the tithe. We starve the church of innovation, by insisting that everything stay the same. We starve the church of our best time and energy, which it deserves, by elevating everything in our lives above the work of the Lord. Then we wonder why a church doesn’t grow. The church will grow, if we dedicate everything to the Kingdom. Now, see the third principle of growth. The church will grow, if we use all available means. Look at verses 47-52: "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied. He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." Jesus compares the kingdom to net fishing. You can separate the good fish from the junk fish later, but at first, you get everyone in. The secret of growing the kingdom of God is to be unparticular about who you catch. You target various people, but you go where the fish are. Someone said to D. L. Moody once that he did not like his way of doing evangelism. Moody replied that he was willing to learn, and would he please tell him how he preferred to do evangelism. The man replied, “Sir, I do not do evangelism at all.” Mood said, “Then I like my way of doing it more than your way of not doing it. The kingdom of God doesn’t exist on this earth for saint. It exists on this earth for sinners. We are on earth because we are the part of God’s kingdom that is currently involved in changing the world. We cannot say that it is not our responsibility. And as long as we are on this earth, we must be willing to use any available means to bring people into the kingdom. God will sort them out later. Our job is to bring them in. Dr. Manfred Gutzke was an evangelist and pastor in Atlanta. He was also an avid fisherman. He’d go to a lake with several rods. Some would be on the bottom with worms, others on the top with minnows, some in the middle with crickets. Whenever one would start to produce results, then he would set them all the same way. His method of fishing was determined by the preference of the fish, not his own. If we are serious about doing God’s will, we must also be flexible enough to do what is necessary to bring people to Christ. It may not be our preferred method of fishing, but if it produces results, then that is what we should do. The second parable in this group teaches the same message in a different way. When you live in a house for many years, you collect junk in your attic—pictures, lamps, etc. You may not think of them, until you move into a new house. Then you find that some of the decorations you now have in your house don’t work any more. You may go out and shop for other decorations. You also find that some of the junk you stored in the attic now works, even if it didn’t before. When we look at the methods for building the Kingdom of God, it’s the same. Sometimes, new ideas work. There is no real preference between old and new methods. The only thing that is important is if our methods bring results. Are we advancing the kingdom of heaven? If we get stuck on saying that ideas are better because they are new, or if we say that ideas are better because they are old, then we will miss the point. The point is that ideas work because they fit. If we are sold out to the kingdom, then we will be flexible and open to both new ideas and old. Let me summarize what we’ve been saying. The Kingdom of Heaven, that is the church, will grow. It is God’s will that it do so. The kingdom of Heaven, that is, the church, will grow, if we give everything to see it grow. The Kingdom of Heaven will grow, if we are willing to use any available means. If we hold on to means that don’t work, then the church may not grow. If we are willing to truly serve God, and to do whatever it takes to serve God, then God will honor us by bringing good things through us. Are you part of the kingdom of God? Have you given yourselves over to the building of the Kingdom of God? If you fully surrender to God, then you will see what wonderful things that God can do for you and through you.