Questing for the Kingdom

Exodus 3:13-20; Romans 8:26-30; Matthew 13:44-52

How much is the Kingdom of God worth to you? In order to have the Kingdom of God, what would you be willing to sacrifice? Many of you probably have not heard about the Swiss boy by the name of Abraham Bininger, who came with his parents to this country on the same ship that brought John Wesley to America. The father and mother of the boy both died on the long voyage and were buried at sea. So, Abraham Bininger stepped alone from the gangway on to a strange continent, where there was not a single familiar face. When he had grown to manhood, he asked to be sent to tell the story of the cross to the Black slaves of the island of St. Thomas.

When he arrived at the island, he learned that it was against the law for any person but a slave to preach to the slaves. It was the policy of the planters to keep the Blacks in ignorance and superstition. Shortly after this the governor of St. Thomas received a letter, signed by Abraham Bininger, in which the writer begged urgently to become a slave for the rest of his life, promising to serve as a slave faithfully, provided he could give his leisure time to preaching to his fellow slaves.

The governor sent the letter to the King of Denmark, who was so touched by it that he sent an edict empowering Abraham Bininger to tell the story of the Messiah when and where he chose -- to Black or white, bond or free.

You, see, for Abraham Bininger, the most important thing in this world was the Kingdom of God. For him, God's kingdom was worth more than his own freedom. He was willing to give it all up, so that he could do what he believed to be the will of God.

So, it is a good question for us to ask ourselves, today. "How much is the Kingdom of God worth to us, today?"

Jesus wanted his own disciples to ponder this question as he told them the parable that is our gospel lesson for today. He compared our quest for the Kingdom of God as being like a man who had discovered a treasure hidden in a field who then went and sold everything he had so that he could buy the field and own the treasure. Or he compared our quest for the Kingdom of God as being like a merchant who, in his search for fine pearls, finds one and then goes and sells everything he has in order to have it.

Certainly, the Kingdom of God is like that treasure hidden in a field or like a fine pearl. And so the question that we need to answer is: How much are we willing to give of ourselves, of our own resources, of our talents, time, and treasure, in order to be in the very midst of the Kingdom of God?

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was a classical scholar and gifted with the mind of a genius. He gave himself fully to God and consecrated all his powers to God's service. He was a man who loved books, yet he spent the most of his life in the saddle and in the active duties of a travelling preacher. With a passionate love for art, especially for music and architecture, he turned away from their charms to blow the Gospel trumpet with all his might.

With a more than ordinary longing for the sweets and comforts of human love, he rose above disappointments which would have crushed ordinary men, forgot about his own personal aspirations for material success, and gave himself unreservedly to the work of binding up the broken-hearted. Visiting the beautiful grounds of an English nobleman, and speaking to him about the Kingdom of God, he said, "I, too, have a relish for these things; but there is another world."

With all of his might, John Wesley proved to be an example to all of his followers who would follow the command of Jesus to "take up your cross and follow me."

Indeed, I'll ask the question again: "What is the Kingdom of God worth to us, today?"

When you think about it, there are many other tempting lures that beguile and divert our attention away from the call of God's Kingdom. For instance, many people feel that they are too sophisticated to need a faith in Jesus Christ. We know them, we've met them. They feel that it is a foolish thing to believe in something that you can't prove. They even believe that religion is for the weak; but that persons who learn to take care of themselves and depend upon themselves, alone, are better off in the end.

I'm reminded of an obituary I read a while ago: "He wore his rubbers when it rained. He brushed his teeth twice a day ... with a nationally advertised toothpaste. The doctors examined him twice a year. He slept with the windows open. He stuck to a diet with plenty of fresh vegetables. He relinquished his tonsils and traded in several worn-out glands. He golfed -- but never more than 18 holes at a time. He got at least eight hours' sleep every night. He never smoked, drank or lost his temper. He did fifty push-ups every day. He was all set to live to be a hundred.

The funeral will be on Wednesday. He's survived by eight specialists, three health institutions, two gymnasiums and numerous manufacturers of health foods and antiseptics.

He forgot God."

And there are many other lures which lead us away from devoting ourselves to the pursuit of God's kingdom: Television and other forms of entertainment, our love affair with the automobile and the open road, our devotion to leisure activities, our zealous and often praised dedication to jobs and earning a living and having a nice home and unfailing financial security, a ceaseless and even admirable desire to be self sufficient: all of these things can easily become part of an excuse for refusing to yield to the call of the Kingdom of God.

How much are you willing to dedicate -- how much time, how much effort, how much prayer, how much study, how much service -- for the Kingdom of God?

Certainly, the apostle Paul talked about the grace of God and described in detail how we are saved by faith and not by works. However, these words of Paul are given balance in the scriptures by the words of James who said, "faith without works is dead." Certainly, we are justified by our faith in Jesus Christ. But the person who has faith works out his or her faith in acts of righteousness and charity. The person who has faith in Jesus lives out that faith in ways that can be clearly seen by all.

So, if we have faith in God, how willing are we to live that faith? How willing are we to be about doing our "Father's" work?

I once read that if the average person lives to be 70 years of age he or she spends:

--20 years sleeping

--20 years working

--6 years eating

--7 years playing

--5 years dressing

--1 year on the telephone

--2½ years smoking

--3 years waiting for somebody

--5 months tying shoes

--and less than a year going to church.

Indeed, how much of ourselves are we willing to devote to the quest of God's Kingdom? There is a poem I would like to share:

I knelt to pray, but not for long.

I had too much to do.

Must hurry off and get to work,

For bills will soon be do.

And so I said a hurried prayer,

Jumped up from off my knees.

My Christian duties now were done,

My soul could be at ease.

All through the day I had no time

To speak a word of cheer;

No time to speak of Christ to friends,

They'd laugh at me I feared.

No time, no time, too much to do,

That was my constant cry;

No time to give to those in need --

At last was time to die.

And when before the Lord I came,

I stood with downcast eyes;

Within His hands he held a book --

It was the Book of Life.

God looked into His book and said,

"Your name I cannot find,"

"I once was going to write it down,

"But never found the time."	Amen.