The Kingdom of Heaven is like . . .

“Jesus answered (Pilate), “ My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”“ John 18:36

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early
in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard….“ Matthew 20:1

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard
seed, which a man took and planted in his field… “ Matthew 13:31

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish“…Matthew 13:47

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through…“ Matthew 13:33

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field….“ Matthew 13:44

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls…“ Matthew 13:45

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son…“ Matthew 22:2

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field…“ Matthew 18:24

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants…“ Matthew 18:23

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a trip. He called his servants and entrusted some money to them…“ Matthew 25:14

“People brought babies to Jesus, hoping He might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and Me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Luke 18:16 (paraphrased)

One thing you still lack . . .

“But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”“Luke 18:16-17

If we don’t receive the kingdom like a child, we don’t GET the kingdom! There is a right way to receive the kingdom that gives us access and a wrong way that shuts us out. The consequences are crucial, and we must understand what receiving the kingdom like a child means.

The short answer we always hear is “childlike faith”. But what does that mean? Those words put together are not even IN the Bible. When we look at “belonging to God” the basis is NOT intellect or charm. It is the simplicity of a childlike attitude. For a picture of “adult-like faith” or maybe “adult-like ‘lack’ of faith” look just a few verses later where Jesus is talking to the rich young ruler.

Luke 18:18-24

And a ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, looking at him with sadness, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!“

In verse 18 the rich young ruler asks “What must I do to inherit eternal life” He is asking, “What must I do to receive the kingdom?” Jesus says, you know the “what to do”, keep the commandments. The ruler then begins to list all the rules he has kept. Then Jesus responds with the horrific words “One thing you still lack”. What is the thing that he lacks? The receiving of the kingdom as a child! To receive the kingdom as a child is to “Trust” in the right things. Young children trust and obey their parents. To have knowledge is good, but there are times when knowledge gets in the way and puffs up into pride. Charm and intellect are a powerful traits, but the “smart/charming” person can be easily deceived with an image of himself or herself that is not accurate. To approach God as a child demolishes any and all of OUR abilities. It places our trust ultimately in our Father and not ourselves. The rich young ruler trusted in his riches to satisfy his needs and he trusted in his acts as a measurement of his goodness.

If we would receive the kingdom as a child, then we dare not trust in ANYTHING other than Christ. If we trust in our own righteousness, power or possessions, we perish. If we trust in Christ’s righteousness to COVER our sins and the power of His beauty to satisfy our hearts we receive the kingdom of God.

Jesus said, “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.“ Matthew 18:4

Faith is the refusal to panic.

The life of faith is not a life of “mounting up with wings”, but a life of walking and not fainting. It is not a question being “set apart” or being holy; it’s more than that. It is faith that has been “tried” and “proved” and has stood the test. 

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. It is a life of Faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing Who makes us “go.” The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps is the idea that God is going to lead us to success. (Success by the world’s standards)

“Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ And He said, “Come!”And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “ You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”“ Matthew 14:28-33

Jesus told Peter to come to Him, but it took faith on Peter’s part to do it. Faith is the refusal to panic. Faith has no safety net. This was Peter and Jesus, and he was going for it. These were rough seas, and Peter did the impossible. He waited for a command from Christ, and looking at Jesus, he defied the odds and walked on water. No one had done this before—or has done it since.

Here’s what I get from this passage: We are to build our faith on what the Word of God says. We don’t just step out and say, “By faith, I want this. By faith, I demand that.” Instead we ask, “What does the Scripture teach? What should I be praying for? What should I be asking for?” And then we pray appropriately. That is what Peter did. And as long as he had his eyes on Jesus, he was able to do the impossible.

Jesus said, “Follow Me”.

“Are we twisting Jesus into the kind of Jesus that we want?”

Mark 10:21 “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”“

Matthew 8:21-22 “Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”“

Mark 8:34 “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.“

Did you know that there is such a thing as a “left wing” Christian and a “rightwing” Christian? REALLY???  So stupid. Just be a Christian and shut up about yourself.

“We say to those who are asking about Jesus, who by the way (Jesus) said some REALLY WEIRD things,……and we say, “Well, what Jesus REALLY meant was………..” And we begin to twist this picture, we begin to redefine Christianity according to OUR preferences, OUR  thoughts, OUR  ideas. We begin to twist Jesus into a Jesus that we are a little more comfortable with, a Jesus who doesn’t mind our “materialism”, a Jesus who thinks like us, a Jesus who wants us to avoid “dangerous extremes”, and for that matter, a Jesus who wants us to avoid danger altogether. Here’s the danger though, as we do this, we are twisting Jesus in a nice middle class American, who looks like us, and talks like us, and feels like us. We’re twisting Jesus into OUR image. When we gather together in our churches and sing OUR songs and lift up OUR hands, in reality, we are not worshiping the Jesus of the Bible, we are singing and lifting up our hands to ourselves. We desperately need to worship Jesus for who HE is, not for who we’ve created Him to be. How can we as “followers of Christ” and leaders in the church recover a sense of what it means to DENY OURSELVES in this world and say that CHRIST IS ENOUGH for us. Are you living, or trying to live the “American Dream”? Have you surrounded yourself with so much STUFF that you are losing your grasp on what it means to TRUST in the sufficiency of Christ? Are we going to choose comfort or are we going to choose the cross. Are we going to sacrifice for maintenance or are we going to sacrifice for mission? The COST of discipleship (Disciple - one who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ) in Jesus Christ is GREAT………….but the cost of non-discipleship in Jesus Christ is far, far greater.” _ David Platt

Who are you reflecting?

We are to be “as a mirror”, reflecting Jesus before the world.

The only time a mirror attracts attention to itself is when it’s dirty, you really never notice the mirror unless it has a flaw in it or if it is dirty.

When someone looks in a mirror, they are looking for their own reflection.

The only time a mirror is ever NOTICED is when there is something wrong with it. If ever there is attention being drawn to me, then there is a flaw in me, I shouldn’t be drawing attention to myself.

Look up and receive the quiet comfort of the Lord Jesus. Mirroring His peace is proof that you are right with God.

If you are not right with God, then you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.“

Zoom out

You cannot know the truth of your circumstances unless you have heard from God.

In Exodus 5-6 Moses did as he was told and asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh said no, and made the Israelites to suffer even more. The Israelites looked to Moses and criticized him for causing so much trouble. Moses started blaming God and was ready to quit.

But God was patient with Moses.

He took the time to explain His perspective.

God explained that He wanted Pharaoh to say no so the people could see God’s mighty hand of deliverance.

He wanted the people to come to know Him by EXPERIENCE as the great “I AM”.

Learn from Moses’ example.

When you face confusing circumstances don’t start blaming God.

Don’t just give up following Him.

Go to God.

Ask Him to reveal the truth of your circumstances.

Ask Him to show you His perspective.

If your “spiritual eyes” are open, then you should be able to “zoom out” (like you do on Google earth or Google maps) and see your life from God’s eyes

Then WAIT on the Lord…..

. . . a few feet at a time.

Paul said. . . “I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there” Acts 20:22

Paul’s path was as uncertain as ours is. Being a servant of God may mean obeying without understanding; trusting without ever seeing into the future. 

It was simply the passion of Paul to share the gospel of the grace of God – even though the Spirit of God did not fill in all the blanks; or guarantee safety or comfort; and even though the Spirit of God did not light his path but a few feet at a time. Paul will follow on. 

James Calvert, a young pioneer missionary, persevered. He and his team were headed to minister among the cannibals of the Fiji Islands. On their way, the ship captain tried to change his mind, in desperation, “Son, you will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go there.”

Calvert replied, “We died before we came.”. . . We died before we came!!!  

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20