This past Sunday I challenged our church body with a message entitled "The Norm of the Kingdom." The reality is that the message challenged me as well. The foundation for the sermon came from the parables of Jesus in Matthew 13. In particular we looked at the comparison Jesus gave to the kingdom of heaven being like leaven, a hidden treasure, and the pearl of great price.
"...The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." {Matthew 13:33}
The idea of leaven can be lost in a world where we predominantly use self-rising flour. However, leaven is a powerful agent. If you add just a little to a mound of dough, you can watch it take over the entire lump. What Jesus is telling us in this parable is that the kingdom of heaven is a powerful work in our lives and in our world. It may start out small but it should completely take over our lives. Every fiber of our being should be saturated by the kingdom of heaven!
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." {Matthew 13:44-46}
The one thing that God continued to speak to my heart about from these verses is the idea of total abandonment. The 1st man mentioned wasn't looking for anything. He simply stumbled upon this hidden treasure. However, because of the joy of finding this treasure, he went and sold everything to be able to purchase the field. The 2nd man was looking for something. He was a merchant and his life was all about finding rare and valuable things. When he comes across a pearl of great price, he sells out! He gets rid of everything just to be able to obtain this one great pearl.
Have you come to know Jesus as the hidden treasure in life? Is He your pearl of great price? These men gladly gave up all they could have to obtain what they had found. What about us? Can we consider everything else in life to be garbage just so we may obtain that which has been offered to us? Are we willing to sell out completely because we consider Jesus to be enough in this life?
Hebrews 12:29 tells us that "...our God is a consuming fire." When you and I begin to understand the implications of what Jesus is teaching through the parable of leaven and what Hebrews tells us about the nature of God - should there being anything left to wrestle with? Wouldn't you like to live a life that was completely consumed by God in every area? Can you imagine your home, your family, your children, every relationship, who you are at work...everything...completely consumed by God!!!
How do we get there? We consume ourselves with God, His Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask God to remove anything in our lives that would hinder us from becoming all that He wants to make out of our lives. We humble ourselves, pray, seek the face of God, and repent (change our minds); then we will see the transformation come. All of a sudden our lives become a burning fire for the whole world to see. Immediately we will begin to worry less and less about the things of this world. Our lives will become an instrument in the hands of God that He can play for His glory.
Let us be consumed with the leaven of heaven and the fire of God!!!
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