Missions Paul

What mountain do you face today that seems just too insurmountable?

How small do you feel when you begin to climb that mountain? Tsang Yin Hung, a 45 year old has just this week become the fastest woman to climb Mount Everest (29,031.69 feet). She did it in 25 hours and 50 minutes!.

Maybe you think such big exploits are now for yesteryear? Arthur Muir climbed Everest last Sunday. He is 75yrs!

Perhaps you are thinking that what is against you is too strong? Mr Zhang reached the top of Everest on the 24^th May 2021. He is blind!

Don’t give up today. Too often we might appear small, just like Jesus’ first disciples. Yet look at where the gospel has expanded, across the whole world!

How can this be? It is found in the lessons of the bread-maker.

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.” (Matthew 13 v 33)

1. Have faith in the small. Take the yeast. It’s small but it can actually be hugely significant. A smile. A touch. A word of encouragement. A box of chocolates. Small maybe. But each and every small act of kindness can change a person’s day.
2. Surround yourself with what is larger. Engage it with the larger proponent, the flour. Yeast on its own will do nothing. As Christians we have to be in the world to change our world. Attempt what is bigger than you.
3. Don’t stress about being seen. As opposed to the mustard seed the yeast continues to remain hidden. It never surfaces nor does it grow into something else. It remains as an influence to the whole and it is what surrounds it that changes.
4. Keep going. Don’t give up. Keep mixing until a dough is created. If you remain committed to the cause then you will soon move into a phase of readiness. The dough ready to be baked.

Whatever you are trying to do, it may look really insignificant, but it can grow into something beyond your imagination. Today you may only have an idea. It doesn’t sound much at all.

But this small idea can surpass your wildest dream. So much so that it can impact today the seed-robbers of yesterday (the birds) and the miracle will not be just the growth of the seed but who later benefits from that growth (who sits in the branches).

“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 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.” (Matthew 13 v 31-32)

1. Take hold of that idea. Don’t despise the smallness. Don’t neglect it nor be embarrassed by its size. When you take hold of it then you assume ownership, commitment and authority of it. Don’t give it to anyone else. You are responsible.
2. Plant it. This is not burying it though the action looks the same. Both planting and burying are hiding the potential. The difference is that the planting is hiding for a season. Planting involves intent of growth. However initially there is nothing to show for your investment. Patience is plantings friend. Let it sit for a while.
3. Watch it daily. Build expectation. In your own garden you can see the plant grow. What good would it be to plant in someone else’s garden or plant where you will never go each day. Every day the man would wake up and look out at where he had planted. He expected growth.
4. Let it become something it had been created to become. In your hand it didn’t look like a tree. You never become what you already are. You are meant to change. Further ideas will come to that original idea. It will grow. The idea for sharing your faith with a neighbour or some act of kindness can grow into a whole new way of life for you if you watch it daily
5. You will attract into your garden what was previously not there. You planted a seed, it became a tree then you got the birds as a bonus. The power of attraction happens because you kept to the law of sowing. They take the fruit and drop the seeds and life continues.

All from an idea. Go one grab hold of that idea!

Perhaps you face a difficult day. It is filled with good and bad and you wish you could just eradicate the bad, then it would be a good day! Perhaps you are one of those action people and you want to solve everything yesterday. Here are 3 lessons that will help you in life from the owner who knows all there is to know.

“Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” (Matthew 13 v 24 – 30)

LIFE IS NOT PERFECT – The weeds grow with the wheat.

LIFE NEEDS DISCERNMENT – Distinguishing between wheat and weeds is made easier at harvest time when the wheat buds.

LIFE ISNT FOR MAKING SNAP JUDGMENTS – The owner of the field knows he has an enemy, knows the weeds are there but will delay dealing with the matter until the right time.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13 v 18-23)

1. Be happy and love the Message.

But it’s a path! Seed won’t germinate on a path! If that is so obvious then the only reason why we risk seed landing there, is because we love the gospel so much. We love the message of Christ’s love. Just speaking it is a joy in itself.

We are in love with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether preaching, or sharing our stories to adults or children, the gospel is indeed good news! 

• Be extravagant and even wasteful with the Message.

The extravagant Jesus scatters his seed in such a way that seems careless to the many. He doesn’t seem bothered where it lands. There is no limit to the gospel. There is an endless supply of the seed. It can be wasted, no panic, it is okay. Let us enjoy the joy while it lasts. For some it will be short-lived others will make it for the long haul.

I have been astounded often by finding out the ones I thought wouldn’t make it because I thought under the test of life they would fall away. Whereas the ones I would have betted on them lasting the course didn’t last a year in the Church.

• Keep going with the Message.

When the scattered seed fell into the thorny soil it carried within it the life and power to produce a fully grown plant. There was nothing wrong with the seed. Initially it grows but so did other things alongside it. These things are not really bad things, they are at first really small and look harmless enough. Wisdom is not only seeing potential in the seedling but potential in the weed and thorn.

Is the fault with the one scattered the seed? Should Jesus not be sharing the kingdom to the whosoever? Should we first not have some rigorous application to make sure that this is not thorny soil. No, let’s scatter. There will be pain but there are times when we simply cannot tell the quality of the soil, we will find that out later. But for now the whole world needs to hear of Jesus.

• Believe in the power of the Message.

After all that, after seed falling on the path, the rocky ground, the thorny soil, still … it is okay because if you scatter enough seed some will land on good soil.

There is power in the seed, power to multiply a 100 times more than what it was when it was sown. That’s like saying if you scatter the seed and it lands on good soil, just one seed, one presentation of the gospel can be enough to produce a 100 member church which then has the capacity to reap a 100 other 100 member churches resulting in a 10,000 movement. One more time and you have won a city for Jesus!

Now that is worth the waste of the path, the rocky soil and the thorny soil isn’t it?!

So where is the good soil? Where are the noble and good hearts? Of course we don’t know at first glance.

What Jesus says may at first glance cause some confusion.

Everyone would know he is quoting the prophet Isaiah who was sent to preach to 4 major kings in Judah. Isaiah knew this would not be a successful appointment because of the hardness and apathy of their hearts. In fact his preaching would make it worse, for he would make their hearts even harder.

“This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” (Matthew 13 v 13-17)

Jesus is explaining to the crowd what he has been doing. He is scattering seed, but the people need to hear and understand. Yet understanding the secrets of the kingdom hidden in a parable is a work of God in a heart that is willing to be open to receive the truth. For others, Jesus hasn’t come to condemn, so if they reject the kingdom then to lessen their guilt they are actually only rejecting a story that they didn’t understand.

As we scatter seed, let’s not be as focused on our ability and skill in doing so but in prayer that there be a move in their hearts to hear and understand.

Yet in scattering seed we must acknowledge that it will have the effect of the hardening of hearts in some people. So the sharing of the gospel may not bring results but it is always effective because it will at the very least bring judgment. And maybe that is the uncomfortable truth. You share a story of your life to witness to someone the gospel and they receive it gladly, they get it completely. What a great story and presentation! You do exactly the same thing to another person and they look at you with a blank face. Don’t worry, it’s okay, there may be nothing wrong with your presentation, it is just that on this occasion not only did they not take the opportunity to hear and understand they became more entrenched in their position yet they did so in the most gracious way possible, because all they heard was a story of your life, the meaning was hidden from them. Parables are gracious. Judgment doesn’t have to come in hard knock-out blows.

Jesus didn’t come with 10 commandments, he taught with parables. These are not illustrations to help the teaching he had given, they are far more than that.

“The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

The parables of Jesus were given to create a search from within the hearer and a longing for more. Through them they are the beginning of the desire for the Spirit which is needed in all followers of Christ. Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6 where the prophet is starting out on his ministry to a people who are blind and not searching for God. The search is important. It is not about following rules. It is about the desire and passion of the heart not to lock them out of the kingdom but to entice them into it. If God simply told the people the secrets and then they rejected them then their judgment would be even greater. So in His love He dangles imagery in order for them to search. They can at least say ‘we didn’t respond because we didn’t understand’ rather than ‘we understood but we didn’t want you’.

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.” (Matthew 13 v 11-13)

The parable is the key and once the person begins to ask questions and as they ponder and think through the parable then the key is being turned in the door.

Therefore the key (the parable) opens the door to the secret or also known as the mystery. The secret/mystery is the revelation from God; you would only have known this because God had revealed it to you.

For example in the parable he has just given, the key is: what is the seed? Search for that, find that and it unlocks the whole secret/mystery of the kingdom.

The gospel is an invitation for a pilgrimage.

Rule-keepers are one thing but pilgrims are better.

A familiar story perhaps but which still holds great lessons for those who desire success with the message that they carry. In the story, the farmer is Jesus and also us. The seed the farmer sows is the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

“Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 13 v 3-9)

• Expectancy. The farmer is carrying seed, the life-form, small yet powerful, he will receive a harvest, this is why he is sowing, there is expectation and desire. Believe in the seed in your hand. Have confidence in your message.
• Whoever. The farmer scatters indiscriminately. Not in neat rows. The strategy is to throw the seed not to first think where it is going. There doesn’t seem to be much mapping of the area going on: paths, shallow soil, thorns and weeds, good soil, they all got the seed. A committee would have highlighted where not to throw the seed and that is where the farmer threw it.
• Extravagance. The farmer seems wasteful of the seed. He seems to have more seed than he needs; there is an abundance of seed. He hasn’t counted it out. It is a picture of a farmer’s hand sowing liberally and almost carelessly.
• Persistent. The farmer isn’t perturbed by the failure of the seed to grow or by the birds, the sun or the thorns that act as enemies against the growth of the seed. Everywhere gets the seed. There is no failure in the scattering.
• Celebrate. The farmer yields a harvest. Sometimes it is 30%, 60% and even 100% of what is sown. They are all called a crop. There is no disappointment in the size of the crop.

Some want to be a world-changer when they haven’t changed their own bed in years.

Some really haven’t a clue what to do so make changes every day creating a trail of confusion.

Some will never change for to change is to be humble.

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.” (Matthew 13 v 1-2)

Here are 3 important factors for the change that is needed:

• Success follows change if the change has indicators of intent that are understood … went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him.

Sitting was the position for teaching. The people saw Jesus move from the house to the lake but his posture led them to understand what he was going to do. The exact place could also have indicated what Jesus was going to do. This is now known as the Cove of the Parables or the Cove of the Sower, a horse-shoe amphitheatre shape sloping down to the shore with amazing acoustics.

Change is necessary but it has to be understood for people to follow it.

• If you’re willing to change your position then you will be able to continue … he got into a boat and sat in it.

It was probably Peter and Andrew’s house that most of chapter 12 is set in and this is probably their boat also. Their boat became a pulpit.

Some people will say today they cannot continue. Bad news has arrived; it is how they feel or they are afraid of tomorrow. The truth is you can continue if you are willing enough to change your position, use your imagination with what you have and gain a different perspective.

• It may be necessary that you are the only who should change … while all the people stood on the shore.

Only Jesus got into the boat. I seem to spend half my life listening to people wanting everyone to change but themselves. Yet if only those that desire change actually changed their own position even just one inch then things would be so much better. Everyone wants change but not many want to change.

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.” (Matthew 13 v 1)

As we have seen over the last several days it was quite a day! They had brought to the house where Jesus was staying a demon-possessed blind and mute man. He had defeated Satan in that man’s life and set him free. He then faced the blasphemy charges and the scorn of the Pharisees and all along the crowds who needed rescuing from this religious legalistic system were watching. The house was full of people, expectations and tensions were high. Then his mother turns up with his brothers! It was one of those days!

And in one simple verses Matthew details for us 3 things that Jesus did and which we can adopt:

• Change that day …. “that same day”

Some things can’t wait. Not even till tomorrow. You need to make a decision based on what is good for you. This is your day not ‘theirs’ and you have to steward it for yourself. Don’t lose it to the selfish agenda of another.

• Change your environment …. “went out of the house”

Don’t hang around toxic cultures for too long. Look after yourself. When you enter into a situation always know where the exit points are.

• Change your focus … “sat by the lake”

Within a short time the crowds were again surrounding Jesus. But for now he is sat beside the lake. The lake where most of his miracles and testimonies of salvation had taken and would take place. The lake of his joyous moments. The places for calling his disciples. There are times we all need to go and sit by such a lake.

3 things to do when it’s been one of those days!

Jesus has just finished speaking to the crowds including the Pharisees who had accused him of blasphemy for delivering a blind and mute man from demonic possession. If that wasn’t difficult enough then here comes his family who with the help of Mark and Luke’s account want to bring Jesus into line. But let’s simply stay with Matthew’s record.

“While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’ He replied to him, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12 v 46-50)

They stand outside and send someone in with a message for Jesus to basically come out to meet them. Before the scene closes Jesus invites all those in the house to be part of his family.

There is a family outside and a family inside.

3 differences

1. There is a difference between looking for Jesus and pursuing him.
2. There is a difference between waiting for Jesus to come to you and pushing through the crowd to be with him.
3. There is a difference between our move and God’s move. “We think it is a lot easier for you to come outside than we come inside.” Are we today desiring God to move upon us more than we desire to move towards Him in the obedience of gospel sharing? The next move is not God’s it is the Church’s, ours. God is waiting and so is our world.
4. There is a difference between gracious invitation and deserved entitlement. The invitation to become the mother and brothers of Jesus when biologically you already are was not a rebuke but grace. They invited Jesus on their terms but he invited them into a new relationship. The spirit of entitlement was as prevalent as today. Entitlement because of history, of family ties, qualifications, experience, work done, gifting and skill, the list goes on. Entitlement kills a surrendered heart. Jesus invitation was gracious. “Mary and my brothers you are invited to move from being in my biological family to my spiritual family.”

 What will happen next?

The same? Status quo? Or a new season of growth and change and the presence and power of God?

These 4 differences will lead to a surrendered heart which is the path away from everything remaining the same.