Matthew 13:44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in
a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went
and sold all that he had and bought it. 47
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea
and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it
was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into
vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be
at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from
among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace
of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 51 Jesus said to them, "Have you
understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." 52 Then He said to them,
"Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of
heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and
old." 53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had
finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54
And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so
that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom
and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the
carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters,
are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own
house." 58 Now He did not do many mighty
works there because of their unbelief.
The essential question about “the kingdom of heaven” is:
who owns it?
Ownership in every economy is established in one of two
ways: by creation of an entity, or by the purchase of it.
On both counts, God establishes Himself as Owner.
If you are looking for a Creator, (AKA – YOUR Creator,)
you have two choices: either you believe you emerged from nothing, and that
nothing caused everything to exist, or you believe there was a cause for your
creation – and that cause is God. If you believe in the only rational position,
which holds God as Creator of all things, (including you,) than He is also your
Owner.
We know once creation was accomplished, creation itself
fell under the control of Satan. In essence, Satan stole creation away from
God, and established himself as ruler of the earthly kingdom. That this has
taken place is inarguable when you consider the nature of the world - which
groans in torment and travail, and is filled with crime and disease, and
poverty, and natural disaster. Every day people die of starvation in a world
that yields itself to the ownership of Satan by theft. Satan makes people slaves
to sin, and then he drags them down to hell in the midst of evil, tormented
lives - into a condition of eternal torment. (All the while either blaming God
for the torment Satan causes, or deceiving people into thinking God does not
exist.) Either way, Satan wins.
For those who will allow it, God re-establishes ownership
of His creation – this time through purchase. The cost to God to re-establish
ownership, and to purchase the lives of those Satan has made slaves to sin is
incredible.
Jesus here tells us exactly what God the Father was
willing to pay. Everything. His most precious possession. His only Begotten Son.
Since we know the price willingly paid establishes to
value of the entity in the eye of the purchaser, what does that tell us about
how God values His Church?
-Pastor Bill
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