"Another parable spake unto them, The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole we leavened."
You and I might disagree about this text, which declares: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole be leavened.” Why disagreement? Because there are those who say that because leaven is usually used in a negative light in much of the Bible, it should be viewed negatively here too. I just can’t read the text and come to that conclusion. The point is that a smidgen of leaven, or yeast, is put into the bread and begins to spread through the bread until the loaf rises. (Keep in mind that all bread in the Bible is not unleavened bread.) The application seems to me to be that the kingdom of heaven, the people of God, might seem insignificant, but, like leaven, we are permeating the loaf. What kind of beginning did the early church experience? There were very few Christians. If you see the same statistics that I see, there are still very few Christians. Does this mean that because we are outnumbered, we don’t have a chance to reach the world? What this parable says to me is that the people of God are like leaven and are actually influencing and permeating the world. Why? Because the people of God are working on God’s timetable. The course of the world is not up to kings, shieks, presidents, or parliaments. The course of the world is in God’s hands. That is why we continue our missionary work under seemingly overwhelming odds. We know that as citizens of the kingdom of God, we are like leaven in this world. Our ultimate influence is not political. Our influence and our victory are wrapped up in God. Like leaven, the battle is being won because we represent a power higher than humankind. The world is headed for a rendezvous with Jesus Christ; therefore, like leaven, we need to continue to work away and to serve Him until He comes. Bro. Joe
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“Let not then your good be evil spoken of. 17. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy of the Holy Spirit.”
The theme of Romans 14 is primarily about eating meat offered to idols. Under grace we can eat whatever we want, but not every Christian in Rome had reached the maturity for that. They could not eat meat offered to idols, which was sold in the meat market, and were the best cuts of meat, because it might hinder their new found faith. More mature Christians insisted that eating that meat was alright. Paul’s idea was that it was not wrong to eat that meat, but if eating it became a stumbling block to new Christians, then they should not eat it. In the two verses under discussion here, Paul is reminding both groups that the kingdom of God is not about what to eat or what not to eat. He wanted them to get away from such mundane arguments and think about the higher elements of the Christian faith. The kingdom of God is about righteousness. Righteousness in the kingdom of God does not have as much to do with what we eat and drink as much as it does about how we live our lives. The first step to the righteous life is faith in Jesus Christ, for our righteousness is not our own, but is imputed to us through faith in Jesus Christ. This does not mean, however, that righteousness does not have to do with our behavior. For example, Paul asked the mature Christians to “let not then your good be evil spoken of.” It would not be righteous to eat the meat sacrificed to idols if it hurt the faith of a fellow Christian. Righteousness is not just refraining from doing things that we used to do, but to do things that would be pleasing to God and a good witness to people. I think that a good measurement here is what has become a cliché, but is nevertheless important: "What would Jesus do?” I doubt that anyone could ever keep that admonition perfectly, but it surely is a good goal, and would lead to kingdom righteousness. The kingdom of God is about peace. Kingdom peace is not about “Peace on earth.” It could have to do with that, but it is mainly about peace in our hearts. Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this world, but that He was giving us His peace. (John 16:33) Kingdom peace is peace of mind and heart in spite of turmoil. Paul certainly knew something about this, for he experienced a lot of turmoil everywhere he went. Leonard Ravenhill wrote that everywhere Paul went there was a revival or a riot. But Paul had kingdom peace, because he was at peace within himself. I think that the turmoil in a lot of churches could be done away with if people were at peace in their hearts. The point is that instead of worrying about legalistic things like what we should eat, we should be trusting the Lord and living in His peace. The kingdom of God is about “joy of the Holy Spirit.” When we spend our time arguing about this, that or the other, we are not taking advantage of the “joy of the Holy Spirit.” Like peace, this is not just outward joy but it is inner joy – joy in the heart. Part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, is joy. It is not joy that comes and goes with circumstances but stays in our hearts through good times and bad. In fact, it is joy of the Holy Spirit that gets us through good times and bad. It is this joy that helps us to love one another, minister to one another, and witness to the world. With this spiritual joy we can go forth into the world and spread the joy of Jesus. Everybody will not appreciate it or share the joy, but those who do will have a better life. Let’s take Paul’s teaching about true kingdom living to heart, and cease worrying about things that do not really matter and concentrate on those that do, such as, rigtheousness, peace, and the joy of the Holy Spirit. “Let not then your good be evil spoken of. 17. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy of the Holy Spirit.”
The theme of Romans 14 is primarily about eating meat offered to idols. Under grace we can eat whatever we want, but not every Christian had reached the maturity for that. They could not eat meat offered to idols, which was sold in the meat market, and was the best cuts of meat, because it might hinder their new found faith. More mature Christians insisted that eating that meat was alright. Paul’s idea was that it was not wrong to eat that meat, but if eating it became a stumbling block to new Christians, then they should not eat it. In the two verses under discussion here, Paul is reminding both groups that the kingdom of God is not about what to eat and what not to eat. The kingdom of God is about righteousness. Righteousness in the kingdom of God does not have as much to do with what we eat and drink as much as it does about how we live our lives. The first step to the righteous life is faith in Jesus Christ, for our righteousness is not our own, but is imputed to us through faith in Jesus Christ. This does not mean, however, that righteousness does not have to do with our behavior. For example, Paul asked the mature Christians to “let not then your good be evil spoken of.” It would not be righteous to eat the meat sacrificed to idols if it hurt the faith of a fellow Christian. Righteousness is not just refraining from doing things that we used to do, but to do things that would be pleasing to God and a good witness to people. The kingdom of God is about peace. Kingdom peace is not about “Peace on earth.” It could have to do with that, but it is mainly about peace in our hearts. Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this world, but that He was giving us His peace. (John 16:33) Kingdom peace is peace of mind and heart in the midst of turmoil. Paul certainly knew something about this, for he experienced a lot of turmoil everywhere he went. Leonard Ravenhill wrote that everywhere Paul went there was a revival or a riot. But Paul had kingdom peace, because he was at peace within himself. I think that the turmoil in a lot of churches could be done away with if people were at peace in their hearts. The kingdom of God is about “joy of the Holy Spirit.” When we spend our time arguing about this, that or the other, we are not taking advantage of the “joy of the Holy Spirit.” Like peace, this is not just outward joy but it is inner joy – joy in the heart. Part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, is joy. It is not joy that comes and goes with circumstances but stays in our hearts through good times and bad. It is joy of the Holy Spirit that gets us through good times and bad. It is this joy that helps us to love one another, minister to one another and witness to the world. With this spiritual joy we can go forth into the world and spread the joy of Jesus. Everybody will not appreciate it or share the joy, but those who do will find a better life. Let’s take Paul’s teaching about true kingdom living to heart, and cease worrying about things that do not really matter, and concentrate of those that do, e.g., “righteousness, and peace, and joy of the Holy Spirit.” Bro. Joe "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Romans 14 contains the recurring argument in the early church about whether or not Christians should eat meat that was sold in the meat market that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul’s argument was that meat is meat, and that it was not a sin to eat it. But that came with a serious caveat: One should not eat such meat if it would offend a “weaker” believer, probably a new believer. In the verse that comprises our text, Paul pointed out that the kingdom of God is not about arguments about what to eat or what to drink. Then he pointed out to them at least three of the main concerns of the kingdom of God: righteousness, peace and joy. In the midst of some our arguments, we would do well to remember these three words. As you have probably already guessed, these three words will comprise the rest of the article. “Righteousness” is translated from a word that also means justice, or acting justly. In essence Paul’s message is that in the kingdom of God we should be careful to do the right thing. That would relate to our own personal righteousness as well as doing the right thing in relationships with other people in and out of the church. For example, a Christian should be careful to be trustworthy in his or her dealings. One good example I always use is that one should not hesitate to buy a used car from a Christian. (Oh come on, you get my point.) It is more important to do the right thing than it is to try to win a dubious argument. “Peace” is translated from a word that can also mean “concord, unity, or love of peace.” (Analytical Greek Lexicon) In the kingdom of God we are supposed to love getting along together in spiritual unity and in not always finding something to argue about. Frankly, I think this means that we should always choose peace over disunity. At least this should be true about things that are not of doctrinal importance. I know that we are more effective in our witness when we love being at peace with our fellow Christians. “Joy” is translated from a word that means, well, primarily, joy. But the word can also be rendered “rejoicing” or “gladness.” In the kingdom of God we are supposed to be joyful people, people who love to rejoice and are just glad to be in the kingdom of God. I don’t think that a church can reach out to its community if it is made up of a bunch of “sad sacks.” If you know me well, you know that laughter is a big part of my life. That is in my daily life and in my preaching life. What we need to do in churches today is to just get glad, and let that glad leak over into our communities. After all, the kingdom of God is joy. I think that this is good advice from the Bible. Don’t you agree? Bro. Joe “Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Our main motivation should be to bring glory to God in all that we do. I know that is a tall order, but I think that we need to seriously endeavor to bring glory to Him. Before we make a decision to do one thing or another, we should ask if we are doing it for the glory of God. I do not know what “it” means for you. “It” can be to sing in the choir, teach a Sunday School class, do a good deed for a neighbor, or whatever. The point is that whatever “it” is it should be for the glory of God. There are at least three ways that we can determine whether or not something is done for God’s glory. First, if you do this thing will you be able to thank God for it. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us of the importance of this: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” You will know in your heart whether you are serving for the glory of God, and when it is done, you will be thankful for the opportunity of doing it. Psalm 100:2 tells us to “serve the Lord with gladness.” This means that God lets us serve Him, and when we do a service for Him, whatever it might be, we should gladly do it and we should thank Him for letting us serve Him. If you serve in order to receive the praise of people, you are not doing it for the glory of God. This was a prevailing sin of the Pharisees in the New Testament. Jesus said that they prayed gave alms and tithes, etc. for the glory of people, not for the glory of God. This has become a cliché, but we need to remind ourselves that our Christian service is not for us but for Jesus, and He should get the glory for it. This does not mean that you should not have a sense of accomplishment when you do something for the Lord. We just need to remember that we did it for the Lord. Second, if you do this thing can you do it in Jesus’ name, or will you do it in Jesus’ name? Colossians 3:17 reminds us: “And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” Notice that this verse also tells us to be thankful that we are allowed to serve God in some way. We need to ask ourselves, if I do this thing, will it be worthy of the name of Jesus. I don’t know if we would take this to the extent that if we water the flowers, we will do it in the name of Jesus and for His glory, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. We need to ask if a service that we are going to render is worthy of the name of Jesus. Let me show you where this would be important. Maybe you have something that you need to get straightened out between you and a fellow Christian. When you take the step to straighten it out, will you do it in a way to honor the name of Jesus, or will you do it to “get it out of your system”? If we can’t do a thing in Jesus’ name, whatever it is, we should not do it. Third, if you do this thing will it ultimately bring glory to God? 1 Corinthians 10:31, our text written above, tells us to be mindful of this. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.” If you do “good works” in order for people say what a great person you are, you are not doing them for the glory of God. Again, this does not mean that you should not get a sense of satisfaction out of what you do. God would certainly not demand that of you. But we should be careful that the focus is on God and not on us. I will confess after preaching thousands of sermons over the years that this motivation is not always easy, because we want to know that what we do is appreciated, but we should be careful anyway that God gets the glory. Bro. Joe Matthew 3:1-2: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2. And saying, Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:17: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Bible teaches us about the kingdom of heaven. It presents this kingdom in two parts: there is a future kingdom, which will last for eternity and there is a present kingdom that is here and now. It is this present kingdom that Jesus’ disciples lived in and that we presently live in. Both John the Baptist and Jesus presented a “kingdom of heaven that is at hand.” What they both meant was that Jesus is here and that where He is, is where the kingdom is. Specifically, Jesus said “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” What He meant was that the king is here. The kingdom had not revealed itself in believers at that time, but the king was present. We look forward to living, worshipping and serving in the future kingdom, but at the present time we are living, worshipping and serving in the present kingdom, where Jesus rules and reigns in the lives of believers. Jesus spoke of the kingdom in a present sense when He said in Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” If the kingdom is not a present reality, why seek it? In Luke 17:20-21, Jesus spoke of His kingdom as being “within you.” “And when He was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, He answered and said, The Kingdom of God does not come with observation. 21. Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or lo there! For behold the kingdom of God is within you.” Again, the kingdom is portrayed as present reality in His people. There are many more examples but I think that those given above are sufficient to prove the point. Where is the present kingdom? Though Jesus spoke of the present kingdom before Pentecost in Acts 2, we see a powerful manifestation of it on that day when the Holy Spirit began His work within believers. As far as believers were concerned, the kingdom came with power that day. The present kingdom is within believers and reveals itself through the indwelling Holy Spirit. All true believers make up the present kingdom. This kingdom is contained within churches, which are made up of believers. What are signs of the present kingdom? The first sign is the king’s presence – the presence of Jesus. This presence was certainly revealed on the day of Pentecost. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers is certainly a sign of the present kingdom. The indwelling Spirit is necessary for an individual to enter the kingdom and to advance the kingdom. After all, the Holy Spirit does not glorify Himself, but He glorifies Jesus. The second sign is the king’s rule. The kingdom is present wherever Christ is ruling and reigning in the lives of believers. This rule is evident when one has accepted Jesus as Savior, received the Holy Spirit and his or her life is changed. They are still subject to the world’s laws, but not the world’s rule. That is why Paul wrote to Roman Christians that they should not be“conformed to the world,” but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds The third sign of the present kingdom is the King’s power. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:20: “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” The book of acts gives evidence that where the kingdom of God is, God’s power is revealed. There is a coming kingdom when all other rule and authority will be put down, and only God’s kingdom will stand. Until then, we are His kingdom, because, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present in our lives. Meanwhile, He has put us about His kingdom’s work. Bro. Joe |
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