Treasures of the Kingdom: A Conversational Confessional

By Tom Yarbrough

This study offers a fresh look at the revealed secrets embedded in Matthew 5:312, the time-tested Beatitudes, from the perspective of one trained as a behavioral scientist. Throughout his more than forty years in the counseling field, Dr. Tom Yarbrough's motivation stayed fixed upon biblical guidelines. In Treasures of the Kingdom, he suggests nine smaller kingdoms Christ introduced on the Mount for a contemporary journey toward maturity.

Yarbrough explores the Beatitudes in the Bible, showing how each one reveals a way of living that all Christians can and should adopt. He compares them to stages, or kingdoms, in which one instruction may need to be understood and experienced before one can understand and experience the next one.

Providing a host of scriptural references, Yarbrough shows how through the Beatitudes, Jesus left us a road map on how to live our lives, follow in his footsteps, and become mature Christians.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inspiring Voices
• Release date: Feb 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781462408795

Tom Yarbrough

Dr. Tom Yarbrough has degrees from Howard Payne University and Southwestern Seminary. Retired from professional counseling and university teaching into full time writing, this is his fifth book. He enjoys outdoor activities, like camping and hunting with family and friends.

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Copyright © 2014 Tom Yarbrough.

Author Photo Credit: Rodd Wellington

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ISBN: 978-1-4624-0878-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4624-0879-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014900274

Inspiring Voices rev. date: 02/13/2014

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from GOD’S WORD®, © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Adventure

Chapter 2: The Blend

Chapter 3: Kingdom of God Foundations

Chapter 4: The First Treasure Site

Chapter 5: Second Treasure Found

Chapter 6: Third Treasure Discovered

Chapter 7: Fourth Treasure Observed

Chapter 8: Fifth Treasure Located

Chapter 9: Sixth Treasure Seen

Chapter 10: Seventh Treasure Revealed

Chapter 11: Eighth Treasure Established

Chapter 12: Ninth Treasure Found

Chapter 13: Beyond

Chapter 14: Practical Action

Jesus said, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old. (Mt. 13:52, NKJB).

Introduction

I have a confession to make.

I woke one morning troubled about something. You know how you’ve felt God spoke to you in your sleep but you can’t quite remember the details.

In that fog, the unclear message nagged at me. I felt it must be important, yet trying to focus on it almost gave me a headache.

I shook the feeling of the unknown for a little while and proceeded with my morning routine. I told myself if I could just divert my thinking, I’d possibly remember this word from the Lord that must be significant. In my heart of hearts, I didn’t want to miss a word from God. I retrieved my cup of coffee, my Bible and a devotional book for a time of meditation. I read my scriptures, struggling to enter that condition beyond the physical senses when the Spirit tries the hardest to take over.

Suddenly, piercing thoughts interrupted me. A past experience percolated up to the surface about an occasion when a Christian friend accused me of something I didn’t do. I thought I’d forgiven and forgotten the incident, although I had not confronted the individual personally, since he’d moved away and at the time, I had no way to contact him. I had done one of those, Lord forgive him for he knows not what he does declarations and I buried the incident. But here it was again and as I dwelt on the experience an ugly head of anger began to erupt. How could he do that? Didn’t he know me better than that? Am I so incompetent I can’t make myself clear to people?

I don’t like feeling angry, so gingerly I began to probe my unwelcome emotion. What was it really? I reminded myself that underneath anger hides hostile fear. What was I afraid of? The Bible in 1 John 4:18 tells us not to be afraid, that if the love of God is in us, we should not fear. Yet here it was, a smoldering hostility masking fear, and in a flash of honesty, I had to admit to myself it was rooted to my one besetting fear: I have been afraid I would not be loved. Sometimes I still wonder about love. There are reasons behind this, since I was raised in a broken home. But that was many years ago, so I can’t blame that anymore. Just sometimes doubt raises its ugly head to taunt me. Soon, I closed my eyes to think on things and a clear voice said, "Pay attention."

In my mind’s eye I saw a shadow figure, wearing what looked like a hooded sweatshirt, run past my inner eye. I started to run after him. He led me down dark streets and alleyways that smelled of garbage and decay. Finally, I gained enough on him to reach out and pull back his hood. I was afraid I’d see some grotesque monster, yet the back of his head was simply normal gray hair. We ran a ways more and he turned to look back. I stopped dead in my tracks; the hooded person was me!

I have always believed the above kind of experience truly means something. Dreams and visions can be symbolic, stand for an issue in your life; other times, they can be literal, can even send your awake self a call to action. I believed I had received just such a message.

After an extensive search to find a forwarding address for the friend I felt had wronged me, I wrote and asked forgiveness for any of my irresponsibility. I admitted that part of the issue was my lack of clear communication because I’d clung to misdirected facts attached to my own emotional confidence. I wanted him to know I no longer blamed him. My letter did not come back returned, so I assume he received it. Consequently, my burden was lifted.

Why did I tell you this story, this confession? In putting a book on living the kingdom of God in your hands, I want you to know that I am writing from the perspective of a fellow traveler. I want to share some of my experience, since I’ve lived awhile and have grappled with many of the following principles along the path of the Christian highway. Since I am still learning about fundamental biblical issues such as forgiveness, I’m on a path of discovery. I’m journeying to discover what seek first the kingdom really means, and I want you to join me.

Sometimes I catch my reflected wrinkles and gray hair in amazement, thinking, That can’t be me, I feel about 30. And then I realize by the grace of God, I’ve followed his Son Jesus for over 50 years. I am surprised that it’s taken me so long to understand Matt. 6:33: Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. One certainty I have discovered: seeking the kingdom of God is so much more than hoping for some glorious future in heaven. While Jesus’ promise of a heavenly Kingdom undoubtedly assures remarkable future benefits, the here and now also holds tremendous possibilities. I’m not saying this world offers more than the next. I’m saying this world offers a chance at maturity which many people miss and that maturity is its own special reward for us and for those around us.

Since seeking the kingdom first is such an abstract concept, Jesus supported it with very practical ideas in a talk he gave, sometimes called the Sermon on the Mount. At the beginning of the talk, he listed nine ways to seek the kingdom which will form the heart of this book. Your first reaction may be Oh no, not another book on the beatitudes.

Please wait. I’ve had the same reaction. I know I’ve scanned the shelves and had a negative response. Many writings present the beatitudes (from the Latin beatus, meaning happy) as states of being, as be-attitudes, as esoteric and high ideals which frankly come across as attractive but unattainable for the ordinary Christian. Why would Jesus teach what sounds like impossible-sounding rules to a world that tends to measure success in opposite ways than he does anyway? I don’t think he would. Others books offer clever wordplay or a deep theological background. But give me a chance to show you something different. I’m approaching these sacred words from Jesus as a Christian behavioral scientist.

For over 40 years, I have been a behavioral scientist, having begun my career by studying the pioneer behaviorist, B.F. Skinner from Harvard. I’ve taught in three universities and owned and operated a counseling center for over thirty years. And all this time I was a practicing Christian. During my education, I saw that most behaviorists focused on one facet of human personality and usually developed a highly secular result. For example, B.F. Skinner ended with a stimulus/response view of human behavior, believing all behavior was totally influenced by the environment. He focused on action- reaction principles or cause and effect. While this view has some merit, it remains too small if you factor in the God of the whole universe. So, after I began my practice and teaching, and incidentally living my life as an adult Christian, I began to consider how a Christian behaviorist could understand and apply the secrets of the beatitudes.

First, what I discovered was that when you look carefully at Matt.5:1-12, you find an extremely active list of privileged behaviors, not exalted states of being. The beatitudes are practices, ways of living, and responses to life situations, realistic and attainable. They are special, indeed, in their perspective of how God views the world. In his sermons Jesus often bridged this divine perspective with our human worldview by supplying a metaphor or parable, usually beginning the kingdom of heaven is like. As I read all those metaphors of the kingdom and studied them in close connection with the beatitudes, I came to understand the nine beatitudes as kingdom quests through which every Christian needs to grow.

Second, I began to see that the list of nine beatitudes, when seen as behaviors, (in this heart of the book we’ll journey through them as little kingdoms) can create a cumulative effect; that is, they are actively generating processes which link together to establish Christian maturity. They are mysteriously endowed with life power, like the unexplainable life force in a seed which becomes a mighty tree. Another way of saying this is each blessed, each little kingdom we journey through in practice, is self-generating, much like the wonder of a new born child who is fed and nurtured and just grows because the life potential is within. Each blessed is a growth stage within itself, and the border of each little kingdom can link directly to the next one. You’ll often find you have to experience one arena sufficiently before you can move on into the next kingdom. For example, you may not truly understand what it means to mourn if you have not genuinely experienced being poor in spirit.

Literally then, to become more Christ-like means you walk through the nine kingdoms just as Jesus demonstrates, following the roadmap he left. Grasp these truths and you will gain more identification with what Jesus experienced. I think it’s significant that at any given moment you may be called upon to behave like Christ. Will you be ready? It is an awesome but exciting prospect. Of course, we will not become totally perfect by just following these guides. But as Jesus expressed it symbolically, we will become salt and light. What these two ingredients have in common is they both have the ability to merge with other things and drive away staleness. This is exactly what we are to do and be, plunging ourselves into an estranged and hurting world in order to distribute God’s flavor throughout our everyday encounters.

You may wonder: Why call them little kingdoms? First, Jesus spoke often in terms of kingdoms. Sometimes he spoke in what we call parables. These are images, figures of speech, and stories to help people understand the heart of a spiritual principle. If I say a mother’s love for her child is greater than any rocket ship, then you get the idea that her love soars. Jesus used this teaching approach to guard against those who would misuse his principles and try to turn them into a rigid set of rules. These rule-followers tended to become overly proud of their accomplishments and overlooked God’s true purposes. Sometimes he was direct, such as when he would tell someone they were healed. However, much of his teaching about the kingdom of God came through parables. I use the parable of kingdoms, then, because Jesus frequently used this term.

Second, a kingdom is representative of a reigning principle, one of many spiritual truths Jesus emphasized. Now, we do not often recognize the concept of a kingdom. Our culture in America stems from democratic ideas that promote individual living independent from too much government interference. Democracies include some reigning principles, but they don’t overrule an individual. If you disapprove of an elected official, for example, you may vote a new leader in at the next election. On the personal level, a certain boss may seem as if he rules over your life, but you can quit and take the consequences, based on your freedom. However, it is almost impossible to just quit if you are a citizen of a kingdom because, in a sense, the kingdom’s rule extends over all. You would have to renounce your citizenship completely and leave the kingdom. Most of the English people I’ve talked to, even those who have lived for years in the States, tell me down deep, they still feel subject to the majesty of the kingdom. Whether or not this reigning principle matches your country’s political format, understanding it is central to spiritual maturity, so I used the concept of kingdom journeys to help us grapple with this key concept.

To summarize, I chose little kingdoms as our key metaphor because it mirrors Jesus’ language and teaching style all through his sermons, especially in Matthew 5, and because kingdom points to a key concept in spiritual maturity—the reigning principle. As we travel along we’ll explore the tension between entering a kingdom we are not ever supposed to quit, having been granted the freedom to ignore the reigning standards with inevitable consequences. You will see more of the connections and the little treasures buried in the meanings when you travel through beginning with chapter 3.

As you read along, I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m hurtling scripture at you, trying to prove some point. I know many writings do that. But I don’t think I have a misplaced value here. I am simply showing scripture verses as first of all, the record of divine revelation and then, as travel-signs for us all along the kingdom journey.

I think of journeying through the kingdom of God as an adventure, with the nine blessings providing a way to discover and measure Christian growth. You will each find your own pathway, in those moments when you struggle with what your walk with the Lord should be. And if you are grappling with serious crises, you can revisit your own kingdom pathway as a checklist. Just suppose you have trouble with anger, or someone has misinterpreted you, or forgiveness isn’t happening, or you agonize for lack of compassion. The answers are all in the kingdoms.

While serving as a Christian counselor, I’ve had the privilege of listening as people shared their most secret selves. Sometimes the setting was an individual, formal counseling session; sometimes a group situation; and sometimes an informal occasion when human pain