What does it mean to be a world changer?

Biblical History tells us of others who turned their world upside down with totally different effect. Around AD 50, two men arrived in the Aegean seacoast town of Thessalonica. They were tired and weary after their long journey from Philippi to Amphipolis, then onwards to Apollonia, then to Thessalonica. On arrival they chose to find accommodation in the house of a mutual acquaintance by name of Jason. According to local historians their friend took them to one of the thermal bath-houses for which the area was well-known, and afterwards they joined with others they had met at the bath-house for a time of discussion over one of the topical common subjects of the day that impacted every area of society. They were discussing the continuing story and consequences of those who had given their allegiance to the acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as Messiah and King, with all of the attendant demands of living as member of God’s Ever-increasing, Unshakable, and Unstoppable Kingdom

WHAT THEN IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

Many times as the disciples were walking around with Jesus, and as He was doing good and healing the sick, opening blind eyes, casting out demons, and all manner of wonderful demonstrations of the superiority of God’s Eternal Kingdom over every other kingdom, whether natural or spiritual, the disciples would ask Jesus –

“Tell us when will your Kingdom be established?

How will we know that your Kingdom has actually come?

What will your kingdom be like?”

Jesus answered them by telling them parables – stories that are in reality a comparison and have a hidden meaning, but a meaning that could be unlocked only by those with “eyes to see and ears to hear” what the Holy Spirit was saying.

In Matthew 13 Jesus gives 7 different parables as an answer, each one giving a different perspective and function of His Kingdom.

• The Parable of the Sower [vs1-9, 18-23] the Seed, and the Soils – Where are you at right now on the journey of life? How are you responding to receiving the Seed of God’s Word in your life?
• The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares [24-30;37-43] - true and false “Christians” and the end-time judgment for life-time choices
• The Parable of The Mustard Seed [ 31-32] - the unpredictable nature of Kingdom multiplication
• The Parable of the Leaven [v33] – the transforming nature of the Kingdom
• The Parable of the Hidden treasure [v44] – the sacrificial demand of the Kingdom
• The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price [v45-46] – the incalculable value of the Kingdom
• The Parable of the Dragnet [v47-45] – the certainty of the end age and the Kingdom

(1)     The Parable of the Sower [vs3-9, 18-23] the seed, and the four types of soil: This is the story of the God’s Word as Life-giving Seed sown by the Holy Spirit, and the  4 different types of receptivity of the human heart, portrayed through the four types of soil.

• hard soil –          the closed mind
• shallow soil –     the superficial mind
• weeds growing– the easily distracted mind
• good soil –          the prepared mind and heart – ready to receive and become  fruitful

Jesus said to His disciples that if they did not get life-changing revelation to understand this first parable, then they would not understand the rest of his parables – [Mark 4:13].

Jesus makes it very clear that the revelation He is wanting the hearers to get hold of is that the first seed is the Word of God which comes into a person’s heart and works through the power of the Holy Spirit so that they become a life-giving seed themselves. Without that understanding demonstrated by a changed life, people only have knowledge but no life, and Jesus said it will be worse for them in judgment than if they had never heard at all!

We live in a time of history when we know so much but do so little. We have all the truth we need but we only have the truth in our heads and not our hearts. The evidence of having truth in your heart is always measured by our attitudes and the change in our lifestyle and conduct towards others.

Being a Kingdom Disciple and a Wise Householder [v51 -52] – The conduct expected from a “kingdom disciple”-

Mat 13:51  Jesus asked his disciples if they understood all these things. They said, “Yes, we do.” [v52]  So he told them, “Every student of the Scriptures who becomes a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like someone who brings out new and old treasures from the storeroom.”

Jesus made it abundantly clear that in order to be a wise disciple of the Kingdom, a person should learn to use what they have learned before and balance that with the new truth that came by revelation. You do not discard the old, but make sure that it is tempered or fulfilled by the new

THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS BOTH PRESENT & FUTURE ASPECTS TO IT

One of Jesus’ favorite points of comparison was between organic plant growth and the Kingdom of God. (Matt 13:24-25;31-32). Just as a single seed looks very different from a full-grown tree, so too does the inauguration of Jesus’ Kingdom in the first century AD look very different to that which shall be seen at the end of the age. 

In order to understand what Jesus was really saying we have to think of the Kingdom of God as beginning its earthly manifestation in the first-century when Jesus was here in physical person.

Further we need to understand that from that single seed of the life of Christ planted in the first-century, the Divine Tree is growing and will continue to keep on growing until the Son of Man returns to take the Matured Tree as His Bride to be forever joined to Himself.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOW UNDER THE REIGN (RULE) OF CHRIST WHO REIGNS FROM HEAVEN AS HE EXTENDS HIS KINGDOM THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH

We have to recognize that during the intervening period when Christ is not here physically, He has left those of us who by faith will believe upon Him and submit to His right of sovereign rulership over our lives to give expression to who He is and what will do by the way that we live.

He has sealed that commitment by giving us the “down-payment” of the future Kingdom through the individual and personal enabling of the Holy Spirit, living in us day by day, so we can do what He has asked us to do, not in our own strength, but through His strength living in us.

He said just before He left that “All authority has been given unto Me both in Heaven and in earth – go ye therefore in that authority as My Ambassadors and make disciples of every people group on the face of the earth.” (Matt 28:18-19)

In normal Christian “everyday speak”, we often talk about applying the scripture to our lives. Living the Word of God involves every aspect of the daily outworking of life, and Jesus tells us over and over again that true life is found only by living with Him in His Kingdom.

Rom 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Rom 14:17  God’s kingdom isn’t about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All this comes from the Holy Spirit.

THE HIDDEN TREASURE IN THE FIELD

Today people have traditionally put their money into banks, but in Jesus’ time they often buried it in a field.

2000 years ago, in the Middle East where war was normally just over the horizon and invaders were as regular as the spring rains, it was necessary to store one’s treasures in places that were not so obvious to others, and where you could return if invaded and had to flee, and still find your buried treasure.

Sometimes people would die leaving their buried treasure for others to find.

Josephus the ancient Jewish historian tells us in his “Antiquities “that the people of the first century often used fields to hide their treasures before the invaders arrived. But it was also possible for these same people to be killed in warfare, and thus their secret hiding place went to the grave with them.

Certainly the prospect of finding buried treasure was not far removed from anyone’s mind when they purchased a field from surviving children or relatives entrusted with disposing of the state after such events. When Jesus told this story those listening knew that it was not a fanciful story but rather a possibility that many wished would come their way!

The First Comparison – Kingdom & Treasure in the Field

But what was the treasure? Jesus very carefully did not say exactly what it was in details. It could have been buried jewels or gold or precious gemstones – a number of possibilities exist, but we do know that in the story it was certainly well worthwhile the new owner going and selling everything he had to secure the field

This is the first point of comparison in this parable of Matthew 13:44-46. Jesus was making a direct comparison between the attributes of the Kingdom of God and those of buried treasure. Just as he had earlier in this chapter made similar comparisons between the Kingdom and Yeast, the Kingdom and a Fishing Net, the Kingdom and a gigantic tree that grew from the smallest seed possible.

When a Man Found it

Following this comparison we can say that the Kingdom is valuable and priceless. But what was more important was that the Kingdom is so valuable that it transforms the lives of those possessing it!

We see that with the young family man Jeff, struggling to sell real estate that nobody else wanted, when he stumbles across black gold bubbling out of the ground merely by accident!

This Meant that Jeff had to Quickly Make a Decision

Acquiring the treasure means a quick, smart decision. There was no legal obligation to advise the owner in advance what lies beneath the surface of the soil of the property that is for sale. That is legally the seller’s responsibility to know, not the buyers.

The treasure is not obvious – it is not there for all to see at first glance, in fact first glance tends to put people off! In Jesus’ day there was a big gap between rich and poor. Treasure to a peasant or working class citizen was only ever a dream – like winning the lottery for some. Receiving the treasure would change entirely the lifestyle of the peasant for the foreseeable future

Perception As Key Quality

Here is the crux of this parable for those listening then to Jesus speak, and for those listening today.

Mat 13:44 BBE The kingdom of Heaven is like a secret store of wealth in a field, which a man came across and then put back again; and in his joy he goes and sells all he has, to get ownership of that field.

The man could potentially do a number of things after finding the treasure:

(1) he could go tell the owner;

(2) he could ignore the treasure and pretend it was not there;

(3) he could leave it uncovered and hope the original owner’s heirs would turn up to claim it; or

(4) he could go tell everybody else about it and have them share in funding the purchase.

However, he realized what it would mean to himself and his family to gain ownership of this field and its contents, so he went and sold everything he had, no matter how little or how much he got for his goods and chattels – because he wanted the ownership of the field above all else.

There was no room for passivity here or slowness of response – a decision had to be made and be made quickly!

Dear friends, the truth of the story revealed here by Jesus is that God-given opportunities will come to you suddenly and unexpectedly during the daily journey of life – and unless you have eyes to see and ears to hear you will not be able to make that crucial decision needed and become the man or woman that God wants you to be.

As a prophetic community of people we are meant to be those that lead the world, not get led by the world. Many of God’s choicest people are still sitting in their seats week after week after week, wishing they had a different lifestyle to what they know – simply because when opportunity came along they did not act quickly and decisively to seize the moment before them and take the Kingdom opportunity that was in front of their nose!

In the First-century perception or insight was valued as a key quality, and was as highly prized as wisdom. Today we suffer the consequences of 900 years of Plato’s school of logic and have become so cautious that we are too afraid to do anything radical for the Kingdom of God.

Possessing the Kingdom is all about Radical Life-change

The Bible teaches consistently that possessing the Kingdom is all about radical life-change.

Mat 11:12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Luk 16:16  Until the time of John the Baptist, people had to obey the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets. But since God’s kingdom has been preached, everyone is trying forcefully to get in.

Comparative Verse translation renders it:

The Kingdom of Heaven is not for the well-meaning, but for those desperate to find reality in this life and to secure their share of the Heavenly Kingdom to come.

No one drifts aimlessly into the Kingdom of God- it only open its doors to those who with great determination make every effort to find reality, as those who storm a city

Here in Matthew 11:12 Jesus teaches that the Kingdom does not sit idly by and wait for the last person standing to inherit it by default. Rather it teaches us that the kingdom is taken by those who forcefully seize the moment and go for broke to achieve their dreams, regardless of the personal cost involved.

The appearance of the Kingdom of God both by word, by deed and by the presence of people in the process of transformation will always force you to make a decision – either for it or against it!

So here we see Jeff, selling everything he has got to get what he sees before him – an old decrepit run-down dilapidated farm and buildings, but there is a hidden treasure that awaits the new owner.

Summary

We have seen that the Parable of the Hidden Treasure is primarily about the immediate action of the person who finds the Kingdom of God for themselves, both in light of its value and inspite of its cost.

Although selling up everything – going for broke for Christ, may seem a foolish and an unwise decision in the world’s eyes, it is the utmost wisdom to give up what is nearly worthless for something absolutely priceless.

Such a decision demands quick thinking and radical action on the part of the potential disciple. After all, unless action is taken, it is possible that the treasure might never be found by that person and lost forever.

God is looking for radical men and women who will change their world. God continues to present opportunities to those who hunger and thirst for His Kingdom to be a reality in their daily lives.

Will you be such a person?

Will you willingly sell all, or do whatever it takes to seize the moment He presents to you and go forward in the power and presence of His Holy Spirit to see His Kingdom come on earth, even as it is in the heavens?

Perhaps today you are seeing the Kingdom of God and the claims of Christ upon your life for the first time. If so we would love to be able to share with you further and help you make the right steps forward into the new day that God has for you.

Kevin Dyson is the President of New Covenant International