I closed yesterday’s story about how God answered my prayer about moving a heavy chair from the garage to the deck with this verse:

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21.22, NIV)

That’s the second time Jesus said that to the disciples. Here’s the first:

And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17.14 – 20, ESV)

“Nothing will be impossible to you.” (Matthew 17.20) “You will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21.22) But we don’t ask…

“O faithless and twisted generation…how long do I have to put up with you!” This “encouraging word” was said to the disciples! Disciples whom Jesus diagnosed as having “little faith.” And it doesn’t take much faith. How much? Enough to ask. Because it’s not the size of our faith that counts but the size of the object of our faith. If I have enough faith to step onto an airplane, barring an accident, I’ll get where I’m going, not because of the size of my faith, but because of the airworthiness of the plane and the competence of the crew.

You have not because you ask not. (James 4.2)

We’ve had a tough time with deck furniture since we’ve been in Monument. We’ve bought at least three sets, maybe four, in the 17 years we’ve been here. June likes wicker, but so do the squirrels so it’s hard to keep it looking decent for more than a season or two. Last month I was inspired by a Wall Street Journal editorial on lessons learned in Wood Shop in high school: I Came, I Sawed, I Conquered. It’s a fun article – I recommend it. But what caught my eye was in the last paragraph:

Prices for patio furniture are astronomical, and my wife and I figured we could build our own and save thousands of dollars. We found a simple plan and made an outdoor sofa ourselves out of 2x4s. – Mark Naida, Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2023

He’s right about astronomical. Here’s a basic set from CostCo for $3,000. (Not a typo!)

I thought, even I can build something out of 2x4s so I looked online and found a plethora of plans at https://www.ana-white.com/, including a chair, sofa, and table that could be built from 2x4s.

So the first week I built the two chairs, the first out of treated redwood, and it was VERY heavy. My challenge on Saturday was to move them from the garage to the deck. How? I have a furniture dolly, but with small, hard wheels, it wouldn’t have traversed the front yard which was still a bit soggy from snow earlier in the week. I wasn’t sure my hand truck would work. I even considered using the car, but I’m not sure it would fit or that I could have gotten it in there. What to do? I wrote this note in my prayer journal during my time with God:

Big challenge today is to move the chairs to the deck. The heavy one, especially, will be hard.

Praise the Lord. My neighbor had some tree guys over, and they had a giant hand truck: big hand truck, big tires. I asked to borrow it, and the guy said, “If you need someone to help you, let us know.” I got the lighter chair around to the steps going to the deck, but I couldn’t get the chair up the steps. So, I “let him know.” He came over and just picked up that chair and carried it. Then we got the heavier chair and the two of us moved it up the steps together. I told the fellow, “You are an answer to prayer.” He replied, “Glad to be that.”

I assembled the last two pieces on the deck! Here’s the finished product. What do you think? Less than $500 for the materials, and it’s the same basic design as the one from CostCo costing six times more.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4.6, ESV)

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21.22, NIV)

Saturday morning (middle of the night, our time!), Britain’s King Charles III was crowned in an elaborate, centuries-old ceremony. I didn’t watch it live or on replay, but I found some of the anti-monarchy protests interesting. If you check out this report, you’ll see a common protest mantra:

NOT MY KING

I’m not a huge fan of Charles (few people are, apparently), and I think the monarchy will not be as good after his mother, Queen Elizabeth, about whom I’ve written before. That said, I find the sentiment, “Not my king,” amusing. I have news for the protestors, if you are a British subject, until the constitutional monarchy is done away with, Charles is your king.

He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ (Luke 19.12 – 14, ESV, emphasis mine)

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2.9 – 11, ESV)

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine! – Abraham Kuyper

This story fits in with Jesus and the parables.

I do business with a Christian-owned computer consulting company in Denver. Just last month they rescued June’s computer from a major failure. Anyway, a few days ago, they sent me (and their other clients) an email asking us to check their website for “glaring errors” since they were going to revamp it. The opening screen looked OK except I was confused by this message in red letters:

As of 2019, we are not taking new clients at this time, but if you have any urgent needs, email or call us directly and we can help direct you to a fast solution.

I wrote back and asked, “Are you still not taking new clients? What does that mean? What’s the point of advertising your services if they’re not available?” I heard from my friend immediately (in VERY large type):

Wait.  Where did we say that on the website??

I wrote back, “On the opening screen” and sent him a picture. He responded:

I can’t believe we looked right past that!  We put that there before covid, and kept it there when we were swamped with clients DURING covid!

He removed the sentence immediately.

For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” (Matthew 13.12 – 14, ESV)

We left ourselves yesterday with the challenge to give up all we have for the joy of being part of God’s Kingdom. One of the things that makes this difficult is, as Jesus pointed out, his Kingdom co-exists with the opposition. That means that we are constantly subjected to opposing messages.

For the first time, I think, I understand Jesus’ remark to the disciples:

Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew16.6, ESV)

Puzzled, the disciples finally understood that Jesus was talking about “the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (verse 12).

But now I’m puzzled because didn’t he just describe the Kingdom as leaven? (Matthew 13.33)

So in this case, “leaven” is not positive or negative – it’s just teaching. Teaching can permeate a culture, whether it’s good or bad. And today, we are inundated with all kinds of leaven/teaching, which has certainly poisoned our culture. From the current state of abortion opinion (55% of Americans identify as “pro-choice”) to gender confusion to plain old consumerism: “If you just buy this product, your life will be better.” And when we buy enough, we can’t even be generous because we don’t have any money. One pastor used to say, “The stewardship decisions are not made in church; they’re made in the real estate office and on the car showroom floor.”

Jesus would say to us, “Beware the leaven of…”

¹  Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?
²  On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;
³  beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
⁴  “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man.
⁵  O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.
⁶  Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right,
⁷  for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
⁸  All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
⁹  They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.
¹⁰  Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹  for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. (Proverbs 8.1 – 11, ESV)

We’re finishing up our brief look at the Kingdom Parables of Matthew 13. There are seven in all, six of which start: “The Kingdom of God is like…”

• Keep sowing seed because not everyone responds and bears fruit
  • Parable of the sower
• The Kingdom co-exists with its opposition
  • Parable of the weeds
  • Parable of the bad fish (if we’re going to call the parable of the wheat and tares the parable of the weeds, let’s call the parable of the fishing net the parable of the bad fish!)
• The Kingdom grows and benefits others
  • Parable of the mustard seed
  • Parable of the leaven
• The Kingdom has great value (today’s topic)
  • Parable of the Hidden Treasure
  • Parable of the Pearl

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13.44 – 46, ESV)

Easy to understand; tough to apply. The Kingdom has great value, and what it costs is all we have:

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14.33, ESV)

The rich young ruler couldn’t do it:

The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19.20 – 22, ESV)

If you’re waiting for me to show you the loophole, why this doesn’t mean what it appears to mean, I haven’t found it yet either. Except I do notice that the young man who kept all of his possessions went away sorrowful, but the fellow who sold all that he had to buy the field did it with joy.

Both men in these parables also acted with intention to alter their status quo. They were intentional and they paid attention. We could start there, couldn’t we? Tomorrow, I want to look at one place specific place to start. Hint: “Beware the leaven of…”

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. (Hebrews 10.32 – 36, ESV)

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3.8, ESV)

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. – Jim Elliott

Back to Jesus’ parables as recorded in Matthew 13. There are seven in all, six of which start: “The Kingdom of God is like…”

• Keep sowing seed because not everyone responds and bears fruit
  • Parable of the sower
• The Kingdom co-exists with its opposition
  • Parable of the weeds
  • Parable of the bad fish (if we’re going to call the parable of the wheat and tares the parable of the weeds, let’s call the parable of the fishing net the parable of the bad fish!)
• The Kingdom grows and benefits others (today’s topic)
  • Parable of the mustard seed
  • Parable of the leaven
• The Kingdom has great value (tomorrow’s topic)
  • Parable of the Hidden Treasure
  • Parable of the Pearl

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13.31 – 33, ESV)

Again, we have two parables making the same point. A seed grows into a tree. A little yeast affects the whole batch of bread dough. Jesus has been clear from the beginning: he didn’t call us to go hide in a corner somewhere or just conduct church services but to make a difference. “The birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12.3, ESV, emphasis mine)

We interrupt our series on the kingdom parables of Matthew 13 for a different kingdom parable…

It’s that time again…it’s May 4…Star Wars Day! It’s the commemoration of a movie series (I’m most familiar with the first three, now called episodes 4, 5 and 6) that depicts the battle of good versus evil. A “parable of the kingdom” where good and evil exist together as we saw yesterday.

“May the 4th be with you,” or, as they have said since the first Star Wars movie in 1977:

May the Force be with you.

The Force is fictitious, of course, but the stories remind us of an important truth in the battle of good versus evil, the kingdom of God versus the kingdom of the evil one:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15.5, ESV, emphasis mine)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1.8, ESV, emphasis mine)

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3.8, ESV)

In Matthew 13, Jesus gives us six pictures: “The kingdom of heaven is like…” Jesus taught with imagination and creativity! Today, let’s look at the first and last of the “The kingdom of heaven is like…” parables:

• The Parable of the Weeds (verses 24 – 30)
• The Parable of the Net (verses 47 – 48)

Both come with the same explicit explanation:

…so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (Matthew 13.40 – 43, ESV)

So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13.49 – 50, ESV)

The two parables and their explanation remind me of a verse near the end of the story:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21.1 – 4, NIV)

“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” clearly implies that until the old order passes away, there will be death and mourning and crying and pain. Likewise, the stories of the weeds and the bad fish remind us that there will be “sin, law-breakers, and evil” until the end of the age when they will be removed.

In the meantime, we live, perhaps, in an environment hostile to our faith. Unlike some other world religions whose adherents use force to create an environment that supports their way of life, Jesus is not commissioning us to do that but warning us that good and evil co-exist.

Good and evil live together. An Air Force friend of mine used to say, “Why would you expect your fellow fighter pilots to behave like Christians when they’re not?” Our job is to be salt and light in the midst of sin, law-breakers, and evil – not wonder why these things don’t go away.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5.16, NIV)

Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. (Titus 3.14, NASB)

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world… (Philippians 2.14, 15, NASB)

My friend Bill Mowry just challenged our writers’ group to use our imaginations:

How can we use our imaginations to write about what is familiar? Allow me to be real. I get bored reading one more blog or article on Scripture memory or a minor dissertation on the Great Commission. We seem to quote the same references, share similar anecdotes, and rely on the same arguments. My heart and mind scream out, “Tell me something new! Take a familiar topic and make it inviting!”

I read Matthew 13 recently, and Jesus was big on imagination and creativity: seven “parables” – stories and metaphors – and six of them begin with “The kingdom of God is like…” The parable of the wheat and the weeds says the same thing as the one about a fishing net. Really? And how is a mustard seed like yeast in bread dough? Let’s look at those over the next few days.

But first, what’s the one parable in Matthew 13 that doesn’t begin, “The kingdom of God is like…”?

And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matthew 13.3 – 9, ESV)

Yep. The Parable of the Sower. Often preachers challenge us with “What kind of soil are you?” I think that’s OK, but I’m not sure it’s the main point. The obvious message seems to be that when you’re sowing seed, no matter how you do it, some respond and some don’t. (Jesus explicitly explains later that the sower is sowing teaching about the kingdom, as Jesus is doing in this chapter.) And because some respond and some don’t, the sower needs to keep sowing seed!

Unlike some traveling evangelists, I don’t think Jesus would report the numbers of those who “made a profession” and stuck around for a week or a month. His objective was long-term fruit. And even among the fruit-bearers, there are differences. Jim Rohn used to say, “Don’t send your ducks to eagle school!”

So stay tuned: “The kingdom of God is like…”

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (John 15.8, ESV)