By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett — Asbury Free Methodist
July 24th, 2022 – Matthew 13:31-33, 44-45
We have been looking at life hacks for the Christian life. Two weeks ago, we looked at your sacred body, last week we looked at your sacred soul. This week I want to look at something Jesus was constantly talking about.
Right at the start of Jesus’ ministry, Matthew reports,
Matthew 4:17 (NIV)
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
The topic of Jesus’ preaching from the beginning of his ministry was the Kingdom of God and our response to it. So, when you hear the sermon on the mount, it is about the Kingdom of God. When you hear the stories that Jesus told, it is about the Kingdom of God. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is really important to you and to me. It is what the Christian life is all about. If you get a handle on the Kingdom of God, you will get a handle on how God is calling you to live in this world. You will get a handle on who God is calling you to be. You will get some direction on how to live.
This morning we are going to look at four short stories that Jesus told out of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew was written primarily to a Jewish audience, and so he used a phrase that would be more understandable to them. He uses the phrase the Kingdom of heaven. Mark, Luke, and John use the phrase the Kingdom of God. They mean the same thing.
Here are the first two stories.
Matthew 13:31–33 (NIV)
31 He told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Here are the second two stories.
Matthew 13:44–46 (NIV)
44 “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.
45 “Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
How do you describe an invisible kingdom? You can’t see it, and yet it changes everything. How do you describe a kingdom that is unseen yet of great value? Jesus chose to do it by telling stories. Four times in these verses, he says – “the kingdom of heaven is like,” “the kingdom of heaven is like.”
Come with me to the first set of stories. The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. The Kingdom of heaven is like leaven.
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In May of 1987, I was living in the small town of Bruce Mines, about 60 kilometres this side of Sault Ste Marie, and I had decided to ask Lynda to marry me. There were no Jewelry stores in Bruce Mines, and I had a friend who made rings, so I had him send me five different ring sets by Purolator.
Unlike now, Purolator only delivered to the Purolator depot. In Bruce Mines, the Purolator depot was also the Sears catalogue store – some of you are way too young to remember them. It was also a knick-knack store. I went into the store to pick up my package. The woman at the store laughed at me and made some comments about how small the package was. It was as if a package that small was hardly worth shipping. I didn’t let her know that there was $10,000 worth of rings in that box.
Sometimes good things come in small packages. Sometimes, things that look like they have little value turn out to have a lot of value. Sometimes what is of true worth is barely visible.
The message that Jesus was trying to get across was that when it comes to the Kingdom of God, that which is seemingly insignificant changes everything.
Come with me to the first story.
Matthew 13:31–32 (NIV)
31 He told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
Jesus’ point is that the mustard seed – which is the smallest seed that they gardened with at the time (You can see it here in relation to an American penny. ) grows into a very large plant. The normal mustard plant would grow to a little over a meter high, but some would grow 3 or even 4 meters high – that is 10 to 14 feet. A seed that is so small, becomes large enough for birds to land.
Let me tell you a little bit about the Kingdom of God. You know that God is over all. We worship him as King, and we worship him as Lord. We believe that he is all powerful and good and that he is supreme. But you take a look at the world around us, and we really are in a mess. There are a lot of good things in our world, but there are so many things that are not as they should be.
The reason for this, the reason that we don’t see heaven on earth, is that while God is King, there are so many places and people who do not acknowledge his reign. They do not come under his authority. They do now follow his ways. You know that, right?
But the Kingdom of God is any place or any heart where God’s authority is acknowledged and followed. The Kingdom of God is where things are done in God’s way.
Theologian Geerhardus Vos but it this way. “The kingdom exists not merely where “God is supreme, for that is true at all times and under all circumstance, but (the kingdom of God is) where God supernaturally carries through his supremacy against all opposing powers and brings (people) to the willing recognition of the same.”
In other words, the Kingdom of God is anywhere that God triumphs over evil and rules – and people come under that authority and live in harmony with that authority.
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When you said yes to God – Lord, I give my life to you, I am going to follow you. Jesus forgave your sin and put his Spirit inside you. That puts you in the Kingdom of God. When you continue to live your life under his authority and follow his ways – that puts you in the Kingdom of God. That is why Jesus says the Kingdom of God is within you.
To the extent that we as a church follow God’s will and his ways, we are in the Kingdom of God.
Now back to our story of the mustard seed. The Kingdom of God is like that mustard seed that starts small but ends up big enough to impact its environment.
In 1952 a few people from the Mississippi Station church came to Perth and started a Sunday School class. That is a mustard seed. That is a small beginning. But that mustard seed has grown into Asbury Free Methodist Church. Asbury is 70 years old. Over those seventy years, I am sure this church has impacted a couple of thousand people or more. A small Sunday School class – a church that makes a difference in this town. A mustard seed that grew into a tree.
Keenagers was just a vision in the hearts of a couple of people. But it grew into a significant ministry. It has touched the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people across this town. A mustard seed that grew into a tree.
I could talk about youth or VBS in this way as well. But here is what I want you to know – God’s way is to take something small and allow it to grow to meet the need. You remember Jesus with the loaves and the fishes. With five loaves and two fish, Jesus fed 5000 people. It is just God’s way to use a little to impact a lot.
Maybe you feel like you only have a little to give. It is a good thing you are part of Kingdom of God. For the way of the Kingdom is to take something small and use it for something big.
Here is another thing you need to know about the Kingdom.
Matthew 13:33 (NIV)
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Not only does small become big, but a little goes a long way. Google tells me that a pound of flour will make a medium size loaf of bread. So, this lady is making 60 loaves of bread. For these 60 pounds of flour, she is going to put in just over a half a pound of yeast or about 2 cups.
All that to say that she is going to make a lot of bread with very little yeast. A little goes a long way. The Kingdom of God is like yeast.
You know that there are a lot of people who do not follow Jesus, but for whatever reason – they do follow God’s way of doing things. They seek justice. They choose to love and not hate. They choose kindness. They choose to work for a better world.
When you see that – give thanks because you are catching a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. Somehow, someway, the yeast of the Kingdom has permeated that life and has changed it for the good.
We live in a great country. Oh, there is a lot wrong with this country. But year after year, we are listed as one of the best countries to live in. Canada has never been a Christian nation. While we refer to God in both the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and in our national anthem, we are not and never have been a Christian nation. Some of the framers of the confederation were Christians; others were not.
But one of the reasons we live in such a great country is that in our history, there has been significant yeast. It changed the culture. If you look at most of the universities in Canada – they were started by Christians. If you look at many of the hospitals, they were started by Christians. A little yeast permeated the whole society. That is the way of the Kingdom of God.
But it is also true in your life. I don’t know how long you spend in personal devotions. But if you spend 20 minutes a day reading scripture and praying, it can have a way of impacting your whole day. The little filters into everything. In fact, the way that you tell your spiritual disciplines are working is not how you feel while you are doing them; it is how the rest of your life is oriented.
Our service lasts for approximately an hour on Sunday. I would argue that this hour has more impact on you than most other one-hour time blocks that you engage in during your week. That is the way of the Kingdom. A little yeast moves into everything.
That is why it worries me when people stop attending church or only attend church once a month. While it doesn’t take much yeast to make an impact, it does take some.
If you want a life hack, make sure that you have enough of the yeast in the Kingdom of God to permeate your whole life.
Come with me to the next set of stories.
Matthew 13:44–46 (NIV)
44 “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.
45 “Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
In the first story, you have a person stumbling onto the hidden treasure. In the second story, the person searches for a pearl of great value. Sometimes you stumble upon the Kingdom of God, and sometimes, you search it out. You know it is out there – but you have to keep looking.
Whether stumbling upon it or searching it out, the response is the same. They sold everything they had to purchase something of far greater value.
Just a couple of words of what this is not talking about before we get to what it is saying. It is not saying that you have to purchase your salvation. You know that you are saved by grace through faith. Our salvation is a gift of God; we can’t earn it. Your salvation is God’s gift to you. Being forgiven, coming into a relationship with your heavenly father, walking with Jesus as your friend, and eternal life are all God’s gifts to you.
Remember, Jesus, in these verses, is talking about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is where God does what is necessary to break the power of darkness, and we respond by living under his authority and walking in his ways. In other words, we are living out the culture of the Kingdom. You are living out the culture of heaven.
If you have ever had the privilege to be invited into the home of someone who is of significantly different ethnicity than yours, especially here in Canada, then you will have an inkling of what I am talking about. The food is a little different. The way they greet you is a little different. Customs are different. Even the decorations are different. It is different because their culture is different.
Let me tell you about the culture of the Kingdom of God. The primary fixture in the Kingdom of God is the King himself. Awe, and if you could know him. He is loving and kind and gracious and generous. He is the kind of person that you just want to be around. He is strong and yet he is compassionate. He is wise and he is good.
The culture of the Kingdom is a reflection of who he is. The people in the Kingdom have all been adopted into his family. The different genders and the different ethnicities do not matter. We have all been introduced to the King through his only begotten son Jesus. Although we come from various backgrounds, we are all valued and loved.
We are all given unlimited access to the King. We are invited to draw near to him. Each of us has a personal relationship with him. When we spend time with him, the hope is that who he is will rub off on us. The reality is that all of us have been broken and warped by sin, and he is still in the process of making us look like him. But in those places where we do look like him- there resides the Kingdom.
But here is the thing about the Kingdom. You can only know how much the culture of the Kingdom has affected you by how you treat those both inside and outside the Kingdom.
Just like the King, the primary characteristic of the Kingdom is love. Now I realize that love has become a word that has different meanings to different people. Let me tell you what love means in the Kingdom of God. If you walk through the sermon on the mount, you can see that this is uncomfortably specific.
Love means accepting people where they are at. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who morn, the meek, the thirsty, the persecuted. Love means upholding the dignity of people. Calling a person a fool and denigrating them is as anathema to people in the Kingdom as murder.
Strained relationships are to be reconciled as quickly as possible. Love means we don’t manipulate people or use them as objects for our benefit. That is why lust is bad, the marriage covenant is to be honoured, and we keep our word.
In fact, love is so ingrained in the culture of the Kingdom that we are called to love our enemies – to work for their good. We don’t return evil for evil. Love means caring for the poor and the broken.
Love comes down to treating people with dignity and honour even when they don’t do the same to us.
You can tell when the culture of the Kingdom has permeated your soul when you treat all people with dignity and honour.
But here is the thing, where the Kingdom of God is, then this is happening. Everyone is loving everyone else. Everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and honour. Loving each other takes precedence over getting my own way. All this comes out of our relationship with the King.
Last week I talked about the soul. Some of our deep needs are to belong and to be wanted, and to be loved for who we are. That happens when you find the Kingdom of God. Nothing will be perfect until we get to heaven.
But Jesus says it is worth everything you have to obtain the Kingdom. That is what is how you were created to live. So often, we fall short of our calling. Life becomes all about us.
Here is what I have found over the years. I can’t change anyone, and I need God’s intervention to change myself. But as I allow God to change me, and as I find those people who are allowing God to change them, then I start to see inklings of the Kingdom. It is good.
There is a cost that comes with learning to live in a new culture. Our Canadian culture tells us that the thing that I should value most is my own ability to make choices about myself. I get to choose who I am, what I do, and where I go. But the most prominent feature of the Kingdom of God is the King. He gets to say what is good and bad, right and wrong for you. That is a cost.
But Jesus is saying, if you are doing a cost-benefit analysis, the treasure you find in the Kingdom is worth more than everything you have in this world.
I know most of you who are listening to me are Christians. You are forgiven, and you are on your way to heaven. I also know that some of you are immersed in the Kingdom, and others of you have only got your feet wet.
Why don’t you start to get ready for the culture of heaven now? Jesus says – It’s worth it!
How about you? Are you just dipping your toes in the Kingdom, or are you living with God as the real authority in your life? Are you choosing to go his way rather than your way?
As a church community, if all of us live in that way, we start to see the results of kingdom life come to pass. I want to urge you this summer. Jump into the Kingdom of God with both feet.