This week, Jesus gives us another window into kingdom life. In Matthew 13 starting in verse 47, Jesus delivers a prophecy concerning the end of all things. He says the kingdom of God is like going fishing, making a big catch, but then having to sort through which ones can be kept and which ones need to be tossed aside.
The parable serves as a wake-up call. It should get our attention. One day, we will be judged. Jesus gives us warning: not only that this judgement is coming, but also how to be found in good favor with the one that judges.
I hope you can join us this morning as we examine this parable and find out what it means, what it doesn't mean, and where do we go from here.
The next parable we will review from Matthew 13 gives us another picture of the Kingdom of God. Here, Jesus paints the picture of a garden and in it, a man has planted the smallest of seeds. The seed doesn't stay small though. It grows and grows, large enough that it can support birds nesting in its branches.
Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to this small seed. It is something that starts from the humblest beginnings but in the end, the Kingdom breaks out of these small confines and stretches out well beyond almost anyone's expectations.
The Kingdom of God in the next chapter in the story God's working to reconcile humanity back to Himself. It is promised by God and predicted by His prophets. Jesus's ministry begins with Himself and then a small band of believers. But it doesn't stay small. It soon grows beyond the borders of Israel, and the message spreads out across the whole world!
But wait, there's more! The Kingdom of God also grows within you. The seed of faith is planted in your heart. For some, it will sadly stay small. For others, the Word of the Lord takes root and out of this small seed an enormous, life-changing influence forms. God's kingdom rule slowly transforms the believer from one that leads a sinful life, to one that submits to God in humble repentance, pleading for mercy, longing for grace, and striving to live a life of truth.
You may have this tiny mustard seed of faith within you, that you feel like hasn't grown like it needs to. Your heart may be lacking good soil, the kind that is fertile, broken, and ready for change. If so, I pray that you let God work on your heart this morning that the Kingdom of God may grow in you and flourish! Indeed, we all need to grow.
Patience, tolerance, and acceptance sometimes have confusing or overlapping meanings in our day and age. The Bible tells us time and again to "come out and be separate" (2 Cor 6:17) from sinful people, to "not even eat" with certain kinds of people (1 Cor 5:11), and to avoid conforming to sinful desires (1 Peter 1:14). At the same time, we are also told that the Lord is patient (2 Peter 3:9), that we should be among the people (1 Cor 5:10), and we should adapt our approach so the message can be heard (1 Cor 9:22).
Sometimes, when we try to build relationships with folks we are accused of tolerating sin. While we try to preach to the lost we are accused of accepting sinful choices. While we plead with those on the outside over a lifetime we are accused of watering down the Gospel message. It's as if in trying to be loving, caring, and kind the church is accused of not being judgemental enough!
But nothing had changed from the pronouncements of the prophets to the preaching of Jesus: sin separates us from God and God wants to bring us back (2 Cor 5:18). Sin is real. Sin is dangerous. Sin leads to death (Gen 2:17, Rom 6:23).
To those that want to confuse acceptance of sin or tolerance of sin, with a hopeful patience we turn to the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds in Matthew 13. Some want to judge too quickly and in doing so Jesus says they will sweep away the children of God along with the evil they seek to destroy. No: we wait, we hope, and we plead with those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master. We wait, hope, and plead with the lost and sinful people, that their hearts may be changed, their eyes may be opened, and their ears may hear the call of Jesus, bringing us "out of darkness and into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9).
"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12. Wrong is still wrong. Right is still right. There is one Judge and He will save those found in Christ. Our continuing plea then is that those on the outside finally repent so they can be found in Christ and be saved. We pray that the Word of the Lord will finally convict their hearts. And while we wait, we show them the love of God who "proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8). This isn't a kind of love that accepts sin, but one that hopes.
This week, we'll continue our series on citizenship. Since our citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20), our lives are going to look a little odd to the citizens of this world. The worldly point of view doesn't go the extra mile, it doesn't turn the other cheek, and it doesn't think of others before thinking of self.
As Christians, these are all ways that we try to be more Christ-like. We try to react to the situations we are in, in the same way Christ would react. We respond with kindness when people are cruel. We respond with love when people hate. We respond with patience when people attack us. We look to the cross as our guide, our example, and our Lord and Savior.
But kingdom-minded Christains don't only think about how to respond to the world. We also need to think about how to respond to one another with love, kindness, and patience. Past conflicts between Christians have very quickly turned very ugly. Knowing that conflicts will come in the future, we can ask ourselves now how it is that we should respond.
We will have a choice in how we react. This morning, we will look at three options Christians have when dealing with conflict. Whether that conflict is on the inside or coming from outsiders, we need to know when is the time for compromise, when we should submit, and when we should resist. In all these times, we always seek to be more like Jesus in the hope that we might win souls by our conduct (1 Peter 3:1).
Matthew 15:18 "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart"
There's an old adage: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." This is a good start, but not the full picture. We can't expect a cartoon rabbit to give us all that we need for life and godliness, but within the world there is a mix of good thinking and not as good thinking. We must be careful because the world has its own ideas about right and wrong, about how to be a good person, and about how to be successful. The world tries to influence us to control us and form us to its will. We must resist.
This saying, like many other good-sounding thoughts that are in the world, is a good start. What's better is for our hearts and minds to be changed so that instead of having to bite my tongue and hold my speech, I have something encouraging to bring to the conversation. So many ideas are out there. Many of them originate with well-meaning, good-intended people who have it in their mind a way to make things better. However, to really know if an idea is a good one or not we need to hold it up to the cross of Christ.
We need to listen, and hear, and think about these ideas but don't stop there. Ask questions. Does it go against God's law? Does it elevate human wants and needs above submission to God's will? Do we have to compromise the word of God if we want to see this idea come to pass?
We could also ask questions like: How does this glorify the church? How does this bring glory to God? How does this shine light on the cross?
If an idea can do that, it's probably a good start. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23
Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? . . " Jesus challenges us to think and not just blindly accept whatever we hear. "Test all things; hold fast what is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21
How can we know what is good? We can learn to be kingdom-minded people. Hope you can join us this morning!
