Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Matthew 13:44

The selling of everything can be perceived painful at times, it really can.  That is, in pursuit of this treasure of the Kingdom, which we have seen, while we are attempting to make it completely ours, there is that which is difficult and even hurtful, nearly to the point of death it can seem at times.  But, it is the nature of the Kingdom, however, that it is always worth the effort.

For the children of Israel in the desert, they complained that their trials were hard (Numbers 11:1).  Yet, what they couldn’t see was who the Lord was in their midst, and the wonderfulness of all of His great promises towards them (Hebrews 4:2).

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Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isaiah 60:1-3

Revival and judgment often go hand in hand.  Jesus Himself said that the city of Jerusalem was judged and set for destruction, although the actual destruction took another 40 years from His pronouncement, simply because they missed the day of their visitation (Luke 19:44).  He, at the beginning, and notably in the midst of the greatest revival ever, announced judgement.

Judgment will come to America, and to the world.  It must.  There will be great revival, there will be great turning, but not all will turn.  Many, many will choose the darkness, and many, many will persecute, and turn others from the truth.

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Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Psalm 31:19-20

Hidden, locked away from the world, from the strife of man.  Protected in the shadow of the Almighty.  The Lord shalt hide me in His Secret place.

In His presence, in His joy and belonging, I am covered and hid.  Though I dwell among the Earth, I am protected from it.  For, the Lord knows how to preserve His saints, and He will hide His beloved in the cleft of the rock.

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He told them still another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.

Matthew 13:33

It is no large observation to note that people do not usually fully understand all aspects of the Kingdom immediately at the time of salvation.  That which is planted grows, flourishes and multiplies, until greater and greater light is revealed within.  For, surely, the path of the righteous is like the growing dawn, it grows brighter and brighter until the full light of day (Proverbs 4:18).  So, the Spirit comes to reveal to us all truth, to be our counselor, and to help us.

Salvation is not an agreement with a doctrinal statement, but it is an introduction to a person, Jesus Christ.  It is meeting Him, and realizing that there is no other name under heaven whereby men might be saved, and that living with faith in this man, belief in who He is, is the doorway to Eternal Life.

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The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

John 1:9

Man, the carnal man, lives in darkness.  All mankind has turned aside from the truth, the true light, and has gone to corruption.  There is nothing wholesome about man, and nothing good in what he can do.  Ever.

The Spiritual Man, however, as Paul described, has died to it.  He has died to himself, to the world with all its desires, and has died to himself.  The case is so edged that Paul states that he is crucified to the world and the world is crucified to himself (Galatians 6:14).

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And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

Exodus 33:2-3

When Moses carried up the people of Israel from Egypt, and they came to the Jordan river, the company of men all chose to disobey God and not enter, rather than to continue on into their promise.  God was angry, and would no longer go forward with them, and told Moses that He Himself would not go with them, but that He would send his angel instead to defeat the enemies.

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For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 8:6

The life of the Spirit is life and peace.  The difference is whether you believe.

Living as the world lives, or as any false cult or religion, is always death.  It can only rely upon the basic principles and elementary principles of this world.  But the life of the Spirit of Christ transcends all the natural.

There is no natural law, no elementary principle, nor anything else of the created order to which a believer, ultimately, is subjected to.  Not even death.

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And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

John 1:16

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 7:14

We understand that it is by God’s grace that we are saved.  It is not our own efforts, but is His efforts.  It is only by coming with no merit of our own, but as sinners who sin, with no excuse or righteousness of our own merit, and by coming to the bloody cross with our own souls, that we enter into Christ’s life within.  It is only in the fullness of that finished work that we have any life whatsoever.  Paul called any efforts besides simple faith in the cross to be “dead works” (Hebrews 6:1).

On the other side of this is Jesus’ Words, saying, that unless our righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and Sadducees, we will in no way ever enter the Kingdom.  He said that the gate was small, and the the road to life was hard and narrow.  Only a few find it.

Between these two places on either side, which we could call ditches, we find the road.  Narrow as it is, it is still the road, and it must be traveled.

When we learn to preach the fullness of His Grace hand in hand with the narrowness of the road, we will have begun to understand the finished works of the cross.

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But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Matthew 15:18-20

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

John 14:12

Paul writes to Timothy, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”  (1 Timothy 1:5).  This is the end final product of our instruction.

Consider, for a moment, the working of miracles.  Many have had miracle ministries in the church.  Many have finished well, and many have not.  Many have demonstrated the true heart and character of Jesus, while many have brought shame and disrepute, not intentionally but effectively, upon the body.  But, let us remember, the end of our instruction, the goal, was never miracles or the demonstration of power, but was God’s love in our hearts, a good conscience with faith.

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 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!  Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.

Psalm 66:1-3 NASB

A shout of victory for the Lord our God.  The raising of the voice, the shattering of strongholds.

For, out of the mouth of infants, He has ordained strength, He has perfected praise.  For out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, out of those who could not lift up their own voice, He has shattered the stronghold of the enemies that were very great.

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