Seeking The Kingdom预览

A Compelling Vision We often find Jesus casting a glorious and compelling vision of the Kingdom of God for His hearers. In Matthew 13 the Lord piles parable after parable, image upon image, and metaphor on metaphor to convince His disciples and followers that seeking the Kingdom, while a struggle, is well worth the effort we will put into it. Jesus begins this litany of vision-casting parables by saying that the Kingdom of God has the potential to multiply the fruit of righteousness in those who receive it (vv. 18-23). Like a small and seemingly insignificant seed, the Kingdom of God can grow and flourish and become a haven of rest and spiritual nourishment for us and many others (vv. 31, 32). He continued by saying that the Kingdom’s mysterious power can transform that which is unpalatable into something wholesome, delicious, and good (v. 31). He explained that, like a treasure hidden in a field, the Kingdom of God is more valuable than everything we could ever own (v. 44). Like a fisherman’s net it gathers up people from every walk of life for the purposes of the King (vv. 47, 48). He concluded by saying those who embrace and seek this Kingdom gain a mastery over the Word of God that enables them to minister from every section of the Scriptures (v. 52). Most compelling of all the parables in Matthew 13 is that of the wheat and the tares (vv. 24-30, 37-43). Jesus envisioned the world like a wheat field, where the Master of the field expects to reap a bountiful harvest at the end of time. For now, the Lord’s enemy sows the seeds of unbelief, temptation, wickedness, and deception wherever the seed of the Gospel has taken root. But when the Master returns to gain His harvest, He returns to a wheat field, invaded by weeds, and not the other way around. Is this the Kingdom you’re seeking? Next steps: Talk with a few church leaders. See if you can find out what you church is doing to project a bold and compelling vision of the Kingdom of God for its members.