He related the parable in Luke 13:18-20 of the mustard seed. As you know, mustard seeds are among the tiniest of seeds, yet when planted and flourishing, its limbs branch out providing shelter enough for the birds of the air to want to build their nests within its protective security. This, Jesus is implying, is that all nations can come to rest and thrive in and under the protection of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus went on to liken the Kingdom of God to yeast folded into bread dough. You can't see the yeast but you can see the evidence of its presence in the dough. Similarly, the Kingdom of God can't be seen with the naked eye but its influence becomes powerful in the lives of individuals who have accepted Christ.
Two things, mustard seeds and yeast, seemingly small and insignificant, grow into something of greater substance. God's mighty Kingdom of which He is King, appears comparably. Hallelujah, our God reigns.
Further to that, we arrive in Luke chapter 17 and verses 20 and 21 where we are reminded that the Kingdom of God can't be seen; no-one can pinpoint it and say, "Aha, here or there it is!" No. It is somewhat like the wind as we are told in John 3:8 (NIV) when describing the Holy Spirit. You can't see the wind, you can't ascertain its source whether it originally comes from the east or west, but the effects of the wind blowing through can be seen in the bowing of trees, heard in the rustlings of the leaves; seen in the blades of the grass of the fields making waves, as the wind tickles them in passing; or it can be felt on your face, fanning you with its breeze but you can't see the wind itself, physically.
The Kingdom of God is within a believer in Jesus Christ through salvation (Luke 17:21); it is an internal and spiritual state. This Kingdom was also present in Jesus' person and ministry. He was the One who suffered first and was rejected of men. However, this persecution which culminated in the crucifixion of Jesus, brought and bought salvation for all mankind. From then until now millions and millions have entered the Kingdom of God through the "Door", Jesus Christ.
Earlier in Luke (14:25-33) Jesus told the crowds of people surrounding Him, that they needed to count the cost of being his disciple. Those who dare to enter the Kingdom of God, will suffer in one way or another; some more intensely, even, at times, to the point of death. Have you counted the cost?
Many years ago there were five men who counted such a cost. The verse we have here in Luke 17 and verse 33 (NIV) warns,
"Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."
This knowledge was crucial to these men. One of them, Jim Elliot, lived by that verse and had this motto,
"He is not fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
Jim and his four fellow missionary friends and brothers-in-Christ, surely did just that in counting the cost of "being all there" (another of Jim's sayings") in and for and on behalf of God their King and the Kingdom of God.
Perhaps, there are some who don't know this story. The five men wanted to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to a tribe in Ecuador, called the Huarani's. They were a very fierce and savage group who were decimating their own numbers by NOT turning the other cheek upon being offended, rather it was all "eye for eye", "tooth for tooth" and definitely, "life for life".
No one had ventured to these people for fear of their lives. Yet, these five courageous men were obedient to God's call on their lives to engage in these people who were precious in His sight. They too, needed to learn of God's love, care and forgiveness and have transformed lives.
One of the five, Nate Saint, was a bush pilot and so these men geared up to fly over the area to locate this tribe. Finally, they did. Eventually they let down gifts to the warriors below, lowering a bucket for them to retrieve the gifts. At one point, they got a return gift of a parrot!
After several weeks of such contact and exchange, the men believed they would try for an encounter on the ground. This they did with no untoward event, feeling after a bit, that it would be okay, and so they decided to spend a night in the jungle near the tribe's village.
That was a fatal night in terms of earthly thinking. God had another perspective. In His Kingdom, the word 'forgiveness" looms large and loud. Jesus had suffered for our sakes to bring many sons to glory. Now the families of these five valiant brothers would need to seek solace in His grace and forgiveness.
Do you know, Jim Elliot's wife Elizabeth and their three-year-old daughter Valerie, and Nate Saint's sister Rachel, enlarged their hearts with God's love (another element of the Kingdom of God), care and forgiveness. Sometime thereafter, having found someone from that tribe who was actually city living, taught them some of the language of the Huarani; enough for them to make another foray into this "wild jungle tribe".
Now, you need to know some of the Huarani beliefs. Not that I may have all the details entirely exact but, as I recall, if these tribal people saw someone's spirit leave the body (upon the person's death) and go over the "great divide," (from earth life to afterlife life), then it was believed that that particular person had been a very great and important person.
The Lord allowed, one particular tribesman, the one who actually had killed Nate Saint, to see Nate's spirit (and possibly of Jim's etc) spirit, indeed going over the "great divide". This shocked him and filled him with remorse. God's softening tool. He used their beliefs to bring this man, and others, to Him.
Due to this, when the ladies and young Valerie advanced upon one of Satan's kingdom's strongholds to claim territory for God's Kingdom, the tribal people were more ready to listen to the glad news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Incidentally, Steve Saint, son of Nate, who was just a young lad at the time of his father's death, had a hard lump of unforgiveness in his heart for years and years. However, God hadn't finished the story in Steve's life yet and called him to the Huarani!! Such audacity on God's part. Could Steve count that cost? Could he forgive the tribe in general and the actual murderer in particular?
God knew Steve's heart and by and by, Steve did come humbly to His Lord, Master and King and accepted the call and cost (to forgive), bringing his family with him. For the continuing saga, you can find the book or watch the movie, End of the Spear. The book of course is always the better version.
Part of the counting the cost of life in the kingdom of God for Steve, was forgiving the most heinous crime against his father and others. For Peter, James and John and others, in Jesus' time, was to leave their source of income at the shore and march after Him to follow in His footsteps. We will each have our own cost. Do you dare to pay it?
Steve, the disciples, others, and ourselves are the heralds of God's Kingdom. The general populace will go on their merry way as Jesus highlighted from Noah and Lot's time.
For Noah it was to be ridiculed for more the one hundred years, all the while building the ark and preaching of the coming judgement.
"Rain? What's that?! Crazy, Noah!"
Up until that time, water hadn't ever fallen from the sky so it seemed rather ludicrous.
Suddenly, the unclean animals came marching 2 x 2, and 7 of a clean kind; filing into the ark by an "invisible Orchestrator's hand". Noah and his wife, his sons and their wives, filed into the ark and God shut the door. Contained inside, Noah and his little family band could likely hear the shouts and laughter of derision as the rain, still did not come.
BUT...but then it did.
Suddenly, before you could say, "It's raining!"
Suddenly. Abruptly, is the key here. Judgement swooped down, swiftly and surely. Fear and panic ensued, no doubt, and so did monumental loss of life. However, that was not what God had desired for the people of earth whom He had created and with whom He wanted to have fellowship.
Likewise in Lot's dilemma. He rubbed shoulders, daily, with the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah, yet judgement hovered ominously above the twin cities. Lot and family were loathe to leave so the angels had to grab them by the hands and practically drag them away to relative safety before the 'sudden' assault of fire and brimstone descended in fury.
Lot's wife's pillar of salt is a reminder that the material possessions and soft life she desired and loved was not "counting the cost" in God's favor. Again, judgment was swift.
All that while, in both Noah and Lot's day, the citizens continued in eating, drinking, making merry, marrying and going about as if nothing would end it. They were decisively overtaken by destruction. They had wanted to preserve their way of life only to lose it on things that did not count. There was no time to take any of those possessions or way of life with them. No treasure earned for the Kingdom of God.
Is this 'sudden' happening going to come in our day? Like Jesus told his disciples, the sign of the vultures circling in the sky, is obvious of the location of carrion on the ground, so too would folks know when God's Kingdom will have arrived.
Two in bed, one taken to judgment another to fellowship with God. And, like the mustard seed and yeast, the evidence of the fullness of the Kingdom of God will be clearly manifest. Indeed, then we can point and say, "Here it is!" and it will be the best way of losing our life for Christ and His Kingdom until then.
You know, we wouldn't even be talking about the Kingdom of God, if Jesus hadn't gone to the cross and rose again from the dead. Praise the Lord, that He did. Jesus, "lost" His life on our behalf. Let us remember Him for this through our partaking of the bread and drinking of the cup of wine as we pass them one to another of our brothers and sister's in Christ.
Thank You, Jesus, for Your salvation and for bringing us into Your Kingdom.
~ERC May 2020~
Based on Luke 17:20-37.
No comments:
Post a Comment