Matthew 13:31-33
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 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. 32 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.”
33 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 13:44-52

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “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.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
I once knew a man named Randy who was a partner in a management training company. He lived a upper middle class lifestyle with his wife and their two sons.
Randy had had some exposure to the Bible and Christianity in his teens while he was in a rock band. He once shared with me that he took a girl back stage to their bus one night, as he did most nights, and experienced something quite to the contrary of what he expected. Randy envisioned an evening of once again indulging his flesh but soon discovered that this girl was a Christian and wasn’t buying into any of his false promises and empty rhetoric. To appease her and to try to win her confidence he agreed to read the Bible with her. Randy couldn’t remember exactly what he read that night but when he heard the description of a sinner and the promise of a life free from sin he started to cry. He cried for the next six hours straight. That night he quit his rock band and returned to college.
When I met Randy that first encounter with the Word of God seemed to be lost in him. Sure he attended church with his wife and kids but there was no fire or passion in his profession of faith. Honestly I took him as one who had never actually died to himself since he seemed very proud of his income and his personal success and was unafraid to share how proud he was with anyone that would listen.
At the nagging of his wife Randy took a Christ based course, through their church, exploring false childhood paradigms. This course ripped open every wound that he had sought to cover up with his facade of personal success. Randy was again reminded of his sinfulness and failure to be what God had called him to be.
One night tearfully and painfully confessing to his wife all of his questionable business dealings and his flirtations with other women, his wife asked him, “What is it then that you think that God wants you to be?” He looked her in the eye and said, “I want to be a pastor.” Randy said that he felt like he had undone one button and a whole suite of heavy armor had fallen from him. He was completely unburdened and completely vulnerable.
Randy acted upon that experience solely relying upon faith. The partners at his firm though he was insane but they agreed to buy out his portion of the business over a two year period. This gave Randy and his family a monthly income for the next two years as he pursued his MA in Christian studies.
Every time it seemed like he or his family were in need of something it appeared to them through the caring and sacrifice of God’s saints. For instance they were running low on groceries and a friend of his showed up to his house with half of a deer to give them. He needed car repairs and someone from their congregation would slip him an envelope with just enough money to cover his expenses.
Today Randy has a very successful house church with several dedicated attendees. Both he and his congregants work to serve people in their neighborhood and city. They do simple things like mow their elderly neighbor’s lawn and more advanced things like supply free marriage counseling. They even find time to minister to the homeless.
Today we heard Jesus describe the Kingdom of Heaven as being like a mustard seed. The smallest of seeds planted and then grows into the largest plant in the garden. Once the tree is mature all different kinds of birds make their nests in it. I believe that just such a seed of faith was planted in Randy in his teenage years and when it reached fruition it drew to itself people of all walks of life. For instance one day Randy and I were walking through the flooded riverside homeless camps helping homeless folks rescue whatever they could of their possessions before it washed away. The very next day Randy and I had lunch in a private restaurant on the top of a building with corporate executives discussing how they could use Biblical principles in their management training classes. Randy truly attracted all kinds of birds indeed. As we heard in our reading today the leaven of faith slowly worked through the whole batch of dough.
We also heard Jesus talk about the Kingdom of Heaven as being a pearl or land with treasure buried on it. Randy is like both the pearl merchant and the land owner. He gave up all his worldly success and business possessions for the privilege of serving his Lord Jesus Christ through service to his neighbors. He surrendered all the things that gave him identity in this world so that he could be free to follow his God ordained calling.
Randy is also like the fisherman in our reading today who threw the net into the sea catching fish of every kind. We already discussed that through his constant witness my friend attracts all different kinds of people. But unlike the coming judgment Randy is not sorting fish rather he is being a witness to the fish that he catches. He is seeking to share the Word of God with the fish he catches so that the fish that are the right kind of fish will come to know their identity in Christ and go out into the sea and serve their fellow fish.
And finally, Randy is a scribe for Christ who like a house master that brings out all his treasures both what is old and new. In other words through his service and preaching Randy plants new seeds in the people that he comes into contact with as well as harvesting aged seeds that are now ripe and ready to be of service and fulfill their calling.
So today you heard of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and the coming of judgment. My friends if the seed of faith is planted in you and is growing than you should have no fear of the coming judgment because if that seed is in you then you are the right kind of fish. The fact that you are here now listening to my voice preach the Word of God is proof that that seed is within you therefore you are all the right kind of fish. I encourage you to go now and care for that seed of faith that has been planted in you and is growing into maturity. Come to church on Sundays, attend Bible studies, establish a daily time for prayer, and look for ways to serve your neighbor. Through these activities you will nourish your seed of a faith and come to know the freedom that my friend Bob found. The freedom of a Christian is to be what God created you to be and not what others expect you to be. Go and serve God in ways that make you happy and in ways you feel called by God to serve. I give you the permission to be free Christians, free to love, serve and forgive others. Not to earn the privilege of being the right kind of fish but because you are already the right kind of fish.