So, the scripture reading comes from the book of Matthew chapter 13.
Please follow along on your bulletin or your own Bible.
Starting in verse 24, we read,
He put another parable before them, saying,
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
So, when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him,
Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
How then does it have weeds?
He said to them, An enemy has done this.
So, the servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them?
But he said, No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest.
And at harvest time, I will tell the reapers,
Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned.
But gather the wheat into my barn.
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.
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.
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.
Then he left the crowds and went into the house.
And his disciples came to him, saying,
Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.
He answered,
The one who sows the good seed is the son of man.
The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom.
The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The son of man will send his angels,
and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers,
and throw them into the fiery furnace.
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father.
He who has ears, let him hear.
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.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
who, on finding one pearl of great value,
went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea
and gathered fish of every kind.
When it was full, men drew it ashore,
and sat down and sorted the good into containers,
but threw away the bad.
So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous,
and throw them into a fiery furnace.
And in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This is the word of God.
Great.
Thanks, Irene.
Sorry we didn't have the scripture up on the slide.
I'm not sure what happened,
but I hope you were able to follow along in your bulletin.
Well, if you don't know me, my name is Kevin,
and we are continuing to work our way through Matthew's gospel.
We are in Matthew chapter 13,
and Matthew 13 is the chapter that introduces all the parables that Jesus told.
And last week, Chris started off this section,
and we looked at the parable of the various soils.
And we looked at how God sows the gospel, his seed,
and we looked at how the gospel message is actually unchanging throughout the ages,
but its impact on people, I guess,
is varied depending on how receptive we are to this gospel message.
And that's one of the constant refrains throughout Matthew's gospel,
that this is Jesus, how are you going to respond?
These are the claims of Jesus, what is your response?
Throughout Matthew's gospel, Matthew is constantly asking us,
this is who Jesus is, what are you going to do about it?
And Chris introduced us to a really second, very important theme last week in Matthew 13,
which is that the parables actually serve two functions.
They serve to both reveal and to conceal.
For those that have a heart that are seeking God and the truth,
they illuminate, they open up who God is,
but for those who are too lazy to seek it out,
or too proud or self-centered,
actually the parables have a way of concealing who Jesus is,
and his truth.
In other words,
the parables bring to light those who are looking for it,
but for those who do not, the darkness intensifies.
And that's what Jesus says in verse 12,
he says,
the one who has, even more will be given,
and he will have abundance.
The one who does not have,
even the little that he has, will be taken away.
So that's what we looked at last week.
Now in today's passage,
so Chris looked at one parable,
today we're going to look at six parables, okay?
We're taking a big leap up,
a big jump forward.
And let me give you the big idea for today right up front.
Have you ever wished that you had perfect perspective on something?
You could see the whole picture.
Maybe you're working on a project at work,
and it's a long-term project,
and you're just thinking,
I wonder how this thing's going to end.
I wish I could see in three years' time
how it's all going to end.
Sometimes I feel like that with parenting, right?
When parenting's tough,
I think to myself,
are we raising monsters,
or I just wish that I could see 15 years down the road
and see whether I'm on the right track now,
whether this is just a little bit of pain for much gain,
or whether I'm completely on the wrong track.
I wish I could see the end
while I'm in the middle of it.
Maybe you're working away through your PhD,
or you've got a loved one in a hospital.
You're in the middle of a situation,
and you think,
I wish I could just zoom out
and see how this story ends.
Knowing how the story ends changes everything.
And in these six parables
that we're going to look at today,
Jesus wants to give us some heavenly perspective.
He wants us to zoom out
and see how the story that began all those years ago
is going to end.
He wants us to see the perspective
of the kingdom of God from his perspective,
so that when we're in the midst of it
and it feels like,
oh my goodness, I'm raising monsters,
we can zoom back and see
actually we're on the right track.
Okay, so that's what Matthew wants us to see today.
Now, one of the very first things
that we should notice when I read and read to us
is that all six of these parables
start off the same way.
They all say,
the kingdom of heaven is like,
the kingdom of heaven is like.
Again, I'll tell you,
the kingdom of heaven is like.
Jesus wants to explain
to both the crowds and the disciples
what the kingdom of God is like.
And that's actually one of the things
you have to grapple with,
you have to reckon with
if you're going to understand Jesus at all.
That Jesus Christ unashamedly claims
to be heaven and earth's true king.
Jesus says he didn't just come
to give us some wise advice,
he didn't just come to give us
some to make life all comfortable.
Jesus unashamedly comes and says,
I am heaven and earth's true king.
Either you bow down and you follow me
or you reject me completely.
But don't just tolerate me.
Jesus says,
and the Bible says,
that the world as we currently know it
is actually in a state of rebellion
against heaven's true king.
That's why there's so many problems in the world.
That's what's wrong with the world.
And Jesus came to establish a means,
a way by which rebels can be reconciled
to their king.
Jesus came to open up a way
to offer amnesty to rebels
that we can be united with him
and brought back into his kingdom.
And that's really what a Christian is.
A Christian is someone who has turned
from the kingdom of darkness
to the kingdom of light.
Someone who's turned from the kingdom of self
to the kingdom of God.
Someone who's turned from the kingdom of my way
to the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus comes and he says,
let me tell you what the kingdom of heaven is like.
And he gives us these six parables.
Now, these six parables are actually
in three sets of pairs.
Okay, and so we're gonna look at these three pairs,
these three sets under these three points.
Okay, you know,
we gotta have three points at Watermark,
otherwise it's not a proper sermon.
And so under these three points,
okay, we're gonna look at these six parables.
The kingdom that is like its king,
the kingdom that is unlike its beginning,
and then the way into this kingdom.
Okay, I'm sorry if you can't see,
I'll try that, okay.
The kingdom that is like its king,
the kingdom that is unlike its beginning,
and the way into this kingdom.
Okay, so let's dive over with the first one.
The kingdom that is like its king.
Actually, let me pray for us.
So I was gonna pray earlier and I dived right in.
Let's just ask God to come speak to us.
Heavenly Father, as we come to your word this morning,
we want your perspective on life and eternity
and the kingdom of heaven.
God, we want you to open up our eyes.
God, won't you, through these parables,
reveal the kingdom of God.
Don't conceal it.
God, we come before you this morning
with our hearts wanting to know the truth and light.
God, don't intensify the darkness.
Open up our eyes to see you for who you are,
to see us for who we are in you,
and to see the kingdom of heaven.
God, I pray for those of us
that are discouraged this morning,
that your word will encourage us.
I pray, God, for those of us
that have kicked back and taking life easy.
Won't you come and challenge us this morning?
God, you know where each one of us at.
And so, Holy Spirit, we ask you
to come and be part of our time.
Come and take the words
that are on the pages of scripture
and write them on our hearts.
Come and help us to see the kingdom of God
as you want us to see it.
We ask you, God, this in your awesome
and your gracious name.
Amen.
Okay, so firstly, the kingdom that is like its king.
So, in Matthew's gospel,
Matthew goes to great lengths
to explain that Jesus Christ
is the long-awaited Messiah king.
You remember, in the Old Testament,
King David is the greatest king
that Israel ever had.
And he really established righteousness
and justice in the nation of Israel.
He wasn't perfect.
He made some bad mistakes.
But by and large, during David's reign,
Israel was at its best.
It flourished.
It won its battles.
The borders expanded.
Life was flourishing.
In the nation of Israel under David's rule.
And the Old Testament is constantly saying
that as great as David was,
there is a true and better David that's coming.
One who's going to establish true justice
and true righteousness on the earth.
That's why, a few weeks ago,
Chris looked at that passage in Matthew 12,
where it talks about
when the true and better David comes,
he will not crush a bruised reed.
He will not put out a smoldering wick.
He will establish righteousness and justice
for the Gentiles till the ends of the earth.
That's what the Old Testament is constantly saying.
As great as David was,
don't put your hope in him.
Wait for the heaven and earth's true Messiah King to come.
He will establish justice and righteousness in the earth.
And so when Jesus announces,
the kingdom of heaven is at hand,
people are speculating,
is this the Messiah King?
Is this the one we've been waiting for?
And so at the beginning of Jesus' ministry,
speculation and anticipation is sky high.
People see his miracles,
they hear his teaching,
and they're thinking,
this is it,
the Messiah is here.
But after a little while,
Jesus' claims to bring the kingdom
seems a little underwhelming.
And people start wondering,
is this all there is?
Remember in Matthew chapter 11,
John the Baptist,
the guy who originally said,
behold, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world.
He sends some disciples to Jesus
and says,
Jesus,
did we get it wrong?
Are you really the one
that we've been waiting for?
Or should we start looking for somebody else?
Because your kingdom
is a little underwhelming, right?
I wonder if you've ever felt like that.
Maybe if you like the gospel,
it just feels a little bit impotent.
Why is the kingdom of God
not taken over the whole world,
established itself
as the one true world religion?
Why don't all people accept Jesus
and surrender to him as Lord?
And maybe,
those that do call him Lord,
why do their lives
not look like they surrender to him
as Lord at all?
In other words,
why is there so much wickedness,
so much sin,
so much hypocrisy in the world?
And why is there so much sin
and wickedness
and hypocrisy in the church?
I mean,
it's one thing out there,
but in here?
And why especially after Jesus lived
and died and rose again,
now reigns in glory,
all authority in heaven and earth,
why is the world,
why is the church so messy?
Sure,
Jesus sits enthroned in heaven,
but when is he going to bring
some of that heavenly justice
to earth?
These were the questions
that anyone in the first century
was grappling with.
Remember,
the Roman Empire
was ruthless.
And friends,
maybe some of these
are the questions
that we grapple with ourselves.
Jesus wants to answer that
in the first and the last parable.
Look at the first parable,
the parable of the weeds,
and the last one,
the parable of the net.
In both of these parables,
the good and the bad,
the righteous and the wicked,
the true and the counterfeit,
live side by side,
coexist as it will,
until the end of the age,
until the day that Jesus
brings his judgment.
In the first parable,
God's kingdom is pictured
as a field.
And sown in this field
is this great seed,
and it's waiting
to reap a harvest,
30-fold,
60-fold,
100-fold.
And as the workers
are walking in this field,
the grain field,
they notice weeds
are sprouting out
next to the wheat.
And they go to the master
and say,
what's going on?
How can this be?
We know your seed is not bad.
We know the gospel is great.
How come it's producing
this weed?
And Jesus says,
just wait until the end
of the age.
Jesus says in verse 38,
these are the sons
of the evil one,
meaning those who belong
to the kingdom of darkness.
In verse 41,
Jesus says,
these weeds will be gathered up
out of the kingdom
of Christ's kingdom.
In other words,
these weeds appear to be those
who look like sons
of the kingdom of God,
but they aren't genuinely
part of his kingdom.
They are those who profess
faith in Christ,
but they aren't genuinely saved.
They aren't genuinely born again.
And we see the same thing
in the parable of the net.
God's kingdom is pictured
as this big net
trawling behind,
a trawling boat,
and it brings in this whole
big harvest of fish,
and they pull it up on shore,
and the fish are separated
into two piles,
those that are truly
the ones that they want
and those that are rejected
and cast out.
And the point that Jesus is making
is that within his kingdom,
there always appears
to be those that are weeds
that look like wheat,
those that are good fish,
those that are bad fish
that look like good fish,
those sons of the evil one
masquerading as sons
of the kingdom.
And Jesus' point is
don't let that bother you.
Don't get put off by it.
Don't get perplexed by it.
Don't let the perplexing presence
of evil confuse you
as the true nature
of God's kingdom.
Look at what he says
in verse 41.
He says,
Jesus says that
when the kingdom of heaven
finally comes,
he will bring judgment to bear
not only on the evil in the world,
but all those who even cause evil,
even the temptations to evil.
Jesus says that
a day is coming
when he's going to root out
of his kingdom
that which is masquerading
as truth,
but is actually falsehood.
He says the same thing
in verse 49.
The angels will come
and separate the evil
from the righteous
and throw them
into the fiery furnace.
In that place,
there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
Friends,
you see what Jesus
is doing here?
Jesus is allowing us
to zoom back
and he's giving us
a heavenly perspective.
He's helping us
to see the big picture
and how the story ends.
And Jesus says,
even though now
it can look perplexing
because you look around
and you say,
Jesus,
I thought your kingdom
was meant to come.
I thought you meant to
destroy the evil one.
And yet where I look,
it seems like evil
coexists within us.
Jesus says,
don't be put off by it
because he's going to bring
his judgment to bear
on evil and wickedness
and hypocrisy.
And when that time comes
for his people
to be brought
into his kingdom,
his kingdom
will finally look like
its king.
The king
of the kingdom
of heaven
is utterly glorious,
utterly pure,
utterly blameless.
And in that day,
his kingdom
will finally
look glorious
like its king.
But that day
has not yet come.
Friends,
one of the things
that we must reckon with
if we're going to be
followers of Jesus
is to take seriously
Jesus' words
of his judgment.
throughout the whole
of chapter 13,
Jesus is constantly
bringing gospel grace
and gospel judgment
together.
And as modern people,
we struggle with this
idea of judgment,
right?
We like Jesus,
his and his affirming love,
Jesus and his sovereign grace,
Jesus and his great mercy,
but we struggle with this idea
of Jesus' judgment.
And yet,
Douglas O'Donnell
calls these
his words
of gospel judgment.
O'Donnell says that
Jesus' words
of judgment
are as much part
of the good news
as the gospel
as his words
of sovereign grace.
Think about it this way.
In most countries
of the world,
we have judges,
right?
And we call them
justices,
whether they are
magistrates
or up to the
high court judge.
And the role
and the position
of a justice
is to judge wisely,
to judge accurately,
and to establish
justice in society.
When the justices
rule
in accordance
with justice,
justice flourishes
in society.
And when they don't,
things go horribly wrong.
Well,
the Bible depicts
Jesus as the ultimate
justice.
Our laws are imperfect,
his laws are perfect.
Our justices
are imperfect,
Jesus is perfect.
Jesus is the
perfectly just
justice.
And Douglas O'Donnell
helped me to see this
when he says,
it is good news
that one day
Jesus will come
and judge
the living and the dead.
As good as when
Jesus cried out
on the cross,
my God,
why have you
forsaken me?
You see what
O'Donnell's saying there?
He's saying that
when Jesus died
on the cross,
he took our sins,
he covered up
our shame,
he allowed that
we who are in
God's kingdom
will no longer
receive his judgment
because it's been
poured out on Jesus.
Jesus felt
the heat and the wrath
of God in his place
so that those
who are in his kingdom
will not.
Jesus died
so that we may
die to death itself.
Jesus covered
over our shame
that we may receive
glory and mercy.
Jesus our Savior King,
glory.
Good news, right?
Is that good news?
I hope it's good news.
Okay, great.
Thank you, Chris.
Good news,
Jesus died on the cross
for sinners like us.
But you know
what's also good news?
That one day
Jesus is going to come
and make all things new.
One day Jesus is going to come
and wipe away every tear.
One day Jesus is going to come
and he's going to root out
every source of wickedness
and evil
and brokenness
in our world.
Friends,
Jesus as judge
is also the gospel
because when you wake up
in the morning
and you look at your phone
and you see breaking news,
five people raped
in some country,
terrorism attacked,
abuse,
murder,
the gospel of Jesus
as judge
is good news
because what it says
is that one day
there is a day coming
when those things
are going to be done away with.
There is a world coming.
Jesus' kingdom is coming
and one day
there will be,
none of those things
will be present anymore
and Jesus will root
those things out
and his kingdom
will be utterly glorious.
Friends,
don't you long
for a day like that?
Just this week
in my devotions
I was reading
Revelation 20
and it talks about
how there's coming
a day when heaven
and earth
will be united
like in marriage.
The two will become one.
We'll be fully united.
God and heaven
and earth,
God and man
together.
And it says that
in that place
there'll be no more tears,
no more agony,
no more mourning,
no more abuse,
no more disapproving parents,
no more judgment,
no more COVID,
no more tears,
no more evil,
no more hypocrisy,
no more people
stabbing you in the back,
no more people
saying one thing
to your face
and acting another way
behind your back.
Friends,
don't you long
for that day?
I long for that day.
This week I wrote
in my journal,
God,
I can't wait
for heaven to come.
For that day
when nothing wrong
with our world
will exist.
When the kingdom
of heaven
will be utterly
glorious and beautiful
like you.
Friends,
Jesus says
that day is coming
when all that is evil
and wrong with our world
will face his perfect justice.
But in order
to establish
a just and glorious world,
Jesus,
the true justice,
will first judge
all that is wrong
with our world.
First in righteousness
the world
and then the church.
the weeds
will be rooted out.
The bad soil
will be rooted out.
The bad apples
will be removed.
Friends,
where will you be
on that day?
Where will you be?
Will you be gathered up
with the sons
of the kingdom?
Will you be discarded
with the sons
of the evil one?
Will you experience
the good news
of this just judgment?
Or will you be rooted out
and shown
for who you really are?
Jesus is wanting us
to zoom out
and to see
the kingdom of heaven
is in this temporary stage
where evil
and righteousness
coexist.
But it won't exist
like this forever.
There's coming a day
where the kingdom of heaven
will look glorious
and beautiful
and majestic
like its king.
That day is coming.
That's good news.
Jesus is coming again.
But maybe,
changing track,
maybe that's not
your objection.
Maybe you
hear the good news,
you struggle
with the kingdom of God
but maybe it's not
because there's so much
wickedness and evil
in the world.
You know your own heart.
You see what you're capable of
and you think,
that's me.
Maybe your problem
is that the kingdom of God
just seems so small,
so insignificant.
It feels like Jesus came
and said,
the kingdom of God
is coming,
repent,
turn,
it's coming.
And it feels like
2,000 years later,
what do we have to show
for it?
Well, look at the second
set of parables.
The kingdom that is
unlike its beginning.
Now, as we look at
verse 31 and 33,
I want you to imagine
yourself as a Christian
in the first century.
Okay?
It's around 80 or 90 AD
and it's about 40,
50 years after Jesus
has come and lived
and died and risen again
and gone to heaven.
You've become a follower
of Jesus.
Maybe some of your family
members have as well.
And you've been given
this new sense of hope
and meaning and purpose
in life where suddenly
you've encountered
the living God,
the Holy Spirit
is inside of you.
You live with this
renewed hope
in the midst of a broken world
and you begin to hear
about these churches
all over the Roman Empire
that are forming.
Your own church
in your small town
has become like family
to you.
And yet,
you marvel
because for all the wonders
of your newfound faith,
you can't help
but also wonder
as you look at the world
around you.
Because compared to
the Roman Empire,
the church still seems
so small,
so insignificant.
Everywhere it looks,
it seems that
from outward appearances,
Caesar's Lord,
not Jesus.
Everywhere you go
in the streets
and everyone's home,
Caesar is revered
and honored
as the great king.
And Jesus,
well,
he's just disregarded.
Everywhere you go,
Caesar's reign appears
and he appears all-powerful.
And as a humble Christian,
you begin to wonder,
is Jesus really
going to win in the end?
It sure seems like
Rome is winning.
Are we,
I know we're growing,
but how are we ever
going to outgrow
the kingdom,
the empire of Rome?
And so,
a little discouraged
and a little disheartened,
you mosey off
to the gathering
of believers
in your town,
maybe the 20 of you
or the 30 of you,
and you go to the
assembly of God's people
on the Lord's day
and you pray
and you sing some songs
and you're reminded
of God's love for you
and you're reminded
of God's suffering
on the cross for you
and you hear from the Bible,
somebody reads a portion
from the Old Testament,
maybe one of Paul's letters
are circulated
to your gathering that week
and you read a portion of that
and then somebody reads
from the Gospels
and there are four Gospels,
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
but your little church
only has a copy
of Matthew's Gospel
and so,
the pastor stands up
and he says,
he reads from Matthew 13
and he says,
listen to the words
of our Lord and Master
and he reads this,
the kingdom of heaven
is like a grain
of mustard seed
that a man took
and sowed in a field.
It's the smallest
of all seeds,
we know that
but when it's grown,
it grows larger
than all the garden plants
and it becomes a tree
and so birds of the air
come and make their nests
in it.
again,
the kingdom of heaven
is like a little bit
of leaven,
a little bit of yeast
that a woman took
and hid in some measures
of flour
until it was all leavened
and he rolls up the scroll
and he puts it away
and he gives you
a simple encouragement
and he says,
brothers and sisters,
remember the words
of our Lord and Savior
that he spoke.
The kingdom of God,
it seems so small,
it seems so insignificant
here in our Roman colony
in the backwaters of Rome,
it appears like nothing
substantial is happening.
Everywhere we look,
Caesar seems to be Lord,
drowned out by the powerful
and the voices
and the prestige around us
but friends,
this kingdom is going to grow.
Jesus promised us
that though it looks
small and insignificant now,
it will reach
to the furthest corners
of the world.
The furthest east
we hear about
the good news of Jesus.
The furthest west
we hear about the gospel
and it will take root there
and it will grow.
It will become a mighty
and a significant force
in the world
and such that people
from every tribe
and nation
and language
and tongue
will come in here
and find refuge
in who Jesus is.
And if he knew about it,
maybe he'd say,
one day there'll be
a city called Hong Kong
and there'll be people there
from China
and Korea
and Singapore
and Africa
and South America
and they will come
and find refuge
in this gospel message.
And as he's talking,
you're thinking to yourself,
hey, our church
has recently preached
through the book of Daniel.
And you remember
how in chapter 2,
Nebuchadnezzar
has this dream
about this mighty statue
and it's the kingdoms
of the world.
But there's this little stone
that's not cut
by any human hand
and it brings down
the kingdoms of the world.
And Daniel says
that the stone grows
and it grows
and eventually
it becomes a mighty mountain
that fills the whole earth.
And as you're daydreaming
about this mighty mountain,
your pastor
looks you in the eye
and he says,
don't be discouraged.
Don't be disheartened.
There'll be setbacks,
yes.
There'll be rejection.
There'll be persecution.
Some in our midst
will change their mind
and no longer follow Jesus.
That's okay.
But friends,
the kingdom is advancing.
Jesus promised it will.
It looks small.
It looks insignificant.
Caesar seems like he's Lord,
but don't be discouraged.
The kingdom will come.
Christ's words in his way,
they look like yeast.
They look unnoticeable.
Soon they'll pervade
and permeate the whole world.
The whole earth
will be filled with the glory
and his glorious good news.
Take heart.
Hold on.
Don't be discouraged.
And he ends up,
rolls up his scroll,
says the benediction
and goes home.
Friends,
how do you think
that that little discouraged Christian
in first century Rome
is gonna feel?
He's gonna be encouraged.
He's gonna be built up.
He's gonna be edified.
He's gonna think,
yes, Jesus' kingdom is coming.
It looks small.
It looks insignificant,
but it's coming.
Friends,
God's word is meant to do the same
for you and I today.
Yes,
we walk in the streets
and we think
we see these mighty towers
and skyscrapers
and we think,
is God's kingdom ever gonna come?
There's so much injustice in the world.
Everything's going wrong.
Where's the kingdom of heaven?
Friends,
it's like yeast
that is sown
and it looks small
and insignificant.
It's like a tiny mustard seed.
It looks like,
what's gonna happen?
What's gonna come of this thing?
God's kingdom is growing.
Friends,
I'll ask you,
has Jesus not been remarkably accurate?
Is it not true
that the kingdom of heaven,
though seemingly small
and insignificant
in the first century,
has spread to every corner
of the world?
The 50th story
of a Hong Kong skyscraper
or under some tree
in the African savannah?
The kingdom of God
is going forward.
It's changing lives.
It's giving you meaning
and hope and purpose.
Those that are seeking
where God is
are finding Him.
God's kingdom is growing
and is spreading.
Friends,
the Roman Empire
no longer exists.
It hasn't existed
for 1,500 years.
The Babylonian Empire
came crashing down.
The Egyptian Empire
is gone.
The kingdom of God
is going
and it's growing strong.
It's getting better
every day.
That tiny mustard seed
that Jesus planted
by the shores of Galilee
2,000 years ago
is growing and bearing fruit.
And millions and billions
of people are finding refuge
in the shade.
But there's also
a warning for us here.
There's a warning
because as Christians,
sometimes we can think,
yes,
we'll take the kingdom.
We'll go.
We'll advance
to the end of the world.
All we need is money.
We need power.
We need the politicians
on our side.
If we can become powerful
and influential,
we'll take the gospel
to the ends of the world.
Friends,
Jesus shows us
that often
the way the kingdom advances
is not through politicians,
not through tons of money,
not through power
and positions
and prestige.
It happens
through simple folk.
It happens slowly.
It permeates the city
from the inside out.
You know,
Jesus here says
that the kingdom of God
is like leaven.
You know what leaven is?
Leaven is yeast.
You know,
when you're baking some bread,
I don't know,
do you throw yeast in sourdough?
Where's Karen?
Yes.
Okay.
You know,
you're baking some sourdough
like we all did
during COVID
and you throw
a little bit of yeast
in there
and it makes the bread rise,
right?
It's just a pinch,
just a tiny little pinch
makes the bread rise.
Jesus,
you know,
in the Bible,
yeast
is always used negatively.
Remember how Jesus says,
beware of the yeast
of the Pharisees.
He says,
their teaching,
their man-centered,
self-centered teaching,
if you get a pinch
of that in your heart,
it can ruin you.
It can mess you up,
right?
Beware of the yeast
of the Pharisees.
Paul says in Corinthians,
beware of the yeast
of sin in the community.
There's a bunch of Christians
and some of them say,
oh,
my sin is personal.
It's private.
It doesn't affect you.
Just let me sin on my own.
And Paul says,
that is like yeast.
It's just a little pinch.
You think it's personal and private?
It's going to permeate
the whole community.
Remember the Jews
before Passover,
they've got to remove
any traces of yeast
out of the house.
Yeast in the Bible
is always used negatively.
But Jesus here
deliberately says,
the kingdom of God
is like yeast.
Why is he doing that?
Do you know what he's saying?
He's saying,
the kingdom of God
is not made up
of the most powerful
and the most prestigious.
It's often made up
by those that are abandoned
and sidelined
and marginalized by society.
It's those that the elites
look down upon.
It's shepherds
and scruffy soldiers.
It's prostitutes
and tax collectors.
The kingdom of God
is made up
that those that society thinks
are there's no use for them.
Those the kingdom of God
is going to use.
But the kingdom
is going to be like yeast.
It's going to spread.
My kingdom is going to
change the world.
Friends,
that's the story of the church.
That's the story of this church.
It's the story of anyone
who encounters the grace of God.
It's not the bold.
It's not the impressive.
It's not those
that have it all together.
It's those who recognize
their need for him.
It's those who recognize
their need for amnesty.
It's those who are rebels
that come and say,
God, I've got nothing.
I need your mercy and grace.
Friends,
Jesus is heaven and earth's
true king.
And yet for those
who have rebelled against him,
Jesus says,
don't bring your resume.
Don't bring your credentials.
Don't bring the things
that you think qualify you.
Come empty handed.
Come with your nothingness.
Come with your need for grace.
And you can come to my kingdom.
One last application of this.
Friends, for some of us,
you may look at your family members
and you're longing
for your family members
to come to faith,
to experience the grace
of the gospel.
You've been praying for weeks,
for months, for years.
You've been praying for your mom
and your brother
and your sister,
thinking when are they ever
going to come to faith?
And it seems like
everyone around you,
your home,
money is Lord,
career is Lord,
self-fulfillment is Lord.
Friends, keep on praying.
Keep on sowing
those mustard seeds.
It seems like
the kingdom of God
is insignificant and poor
and nothing is happening,
but that kingdom
is going to grow.
You keep on praying.
You keep on witnessing.
You keep on telling them
about the wonder of Jesus.
Okay.
The kingdom of God,
though it looks like a mess,
it looks perplexing,
one day it's going to look
glorious and beautiful
like it's king.
Everything wrong
is going to be done
and taken out from it.
The kingdom of God
looks nothing like
it's beginning.
Small and insignificant,
but it's growing,
going to take over
the whole world.
Thirdly and finally,
the way into this kingdom.
What does all this mean?
Remember, Matthew asks us,
this is Jesus,
how are you going to respond?
This is who Jesus claims to be,
how are you going to respond?
What are you going to do?
Well, look at the final pair
of parables in Matthew 13.
Jesus says this,
the kingdom of heaven
is like a treasure
hidden in a field,
which a man found
and covered up.
In his joy,
he goes and sells
all that he has
and he buys that field.
Again,
the kingdom of heaven
is like a merchant
in search of pearls,
find pearls,
who,
when finding one pearl
of great value,
went and sold
all that he had
and bought it.
We're going to look
at this more next week,
so we'll just look at it
very briefly here.
What does Jesus say here?
Jesus says that
because he is heaven
and earth's true king,
because he will one day
come to judge
the living and the dead,
because his kingdom
is an eternal kingdom
that is growing
and will never end,
therefore,
joyfully embrace
whatever cost
it requires
and take hold of it.
Jesus says that
to enter the kingdom
is going to be costly.
In fact,
Jesus says,
because he is the king,
it's going to cost you
everything you have.
Jesus is saying
that if you come to him
and say,
Jesus,
I think I've got some change.
Here,
let me,
you can take this,
you can have,
Jesus,
I've got some leftovers,
you can have this.
Jesus says,
then you don't recognize
that he is the king
and this is a kingdom.
When we come to Jesus
with our leftovers,
it means that we still remain
the king of our lives.
Jesus says that
the way into the kingdom
is to recognize
that he's the king
and that he demands
everything.
Everything.
Friends,
some of you may have stumbled
across Jesus Christ
by accident.
You weren't looking for him
and suddenly he barged
into your life
like this man
looking in a field
and suddenly he discovers
the wonder of Jesus.
Some of you may have been
searching for it
all your life.
You've tried pleasure,
you've tried money,
you've tried religion,
you've tried everything
and suddenly you find Jesus.
Either way,
however you discover him,
Jesus is saying
that he won't allow you
to merely tolerate him.
He won't allow you
to merely accommodate him.
Either you hand over
your entire life to him
and you make him king
or you hold on
to your kingdom
and you lose him completely.
Jesus shows
that the kingdom of heaven
is filled with those
who recognize him
for who he is
and to take hold of it
despite the cost,
giving everything they have
because of the all-surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus.
Friends,
to follow Jesus
may mean persecution,
it may mean poverty,
it may mean misunderstanding,
it may mean being maligned,
but it'll be worth it
because to follow Jesus' king
means entrance
into his kingdom
and it means intimacy
and knowing
heaven and earth's
true king.
Friends,
what about you?
How are you responding
to Jesus as king?
Jesus comes to each one of us
and he looks us in the eye
and says,
this is who I am.
How are you going to respond?
I'm heaven and earth's
true king.
Are you going to be part
of my kingdom?
Are you going to hold
on to your kingdom?
Are you willing to give
it all up for me
or are you going to hold
on to your own way?
Friends,
Jesus comes
and he says,
I am heaven and earth's
true king.
Come and follow me.
Come and enjoy
my kingdom.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus,
you don't hold
any punches
when you speak to us.
You look us in the eye
and you say,
either you have all of me
or you take none of me.
Lord Jesus,
won't you help us?
Won't you open our eyes
to see you for who you are
and to come
and surrender to you.
Father,
for those of us
that are discouraged
because we look around
the world,
we look around the church,
we see all the brokenness
and we wonder,
what's happening
with the kingdom of God?
God,
won't you open our eyes
to see?
Won't you give us
your heavenly perspective?
Father,
for those of us
that feel like
the kingdoms
of this world
are winning,
won't you help us
to remember
the story of Babylon,
the story of the Roman Empire,
that God,
your kingdom,
though small
and insignificant,
though hidden
and perplexing,
your kingdom
is ultimately,
the kingdoms
of this world
are ultimately
going to become
the kingdoms
of our God.
God,
won't you give us hope
for those
that are discouraged?
Lord Jesus,
come and help us,
we pray.
Friends,
we're going to come
to communion now,
but before we do that,
I want to just
offer anyone a chance,
if you are here
this morning
and you're not
a Christian,
maybe your whole life
you've been searching
for truth,
you've been looking
all over the place,
you've been looking
for meaning
and purpose
and career
and wealth
and various religions,
you've tried Buddhism,
you've tried Taoism,
friends,
Jesus Christ
stands before you
this morning
and says,
I am the eternal king,
I'm heaven and earth
true king,
come and follow me,
come and bow down
before me.
Friends,
how are you going
to respond?
Maybe here this morning
you're not a Christian,
Jesus is inviting you
to enter his kingdom,
to bow down,
to surrender,
to hand over your life,
to no longer
be in the kingdom
of self,
but to transfer
your life
into the kingdom
of heaven.
the way to do that
is to recognize
that you've lived
for yourself.
The Bible calls
that sin.
The Bible says
that the sin
that we do
is the manifestation
of a heart condition
which is orientated
on ourselves.
Friends,
have you been living
for yourself
your entire life?
Have you been living
for your own way
and your own glory?
You may do
all the Christian things,
go to church,
go to CG,
but you may not
be a follower of Jesus.
Friends,
I want to urge you
to hand over
your life to King Jesus.
Don't go another day.
Don't go another week.
The kingdom of heaven
is coming
and in that day
Jesus is going to
root out all rebels
and he's giving us
a chance of amnesty.
He's giving us a chance
to hand over our lives.
Today,
hand over your life
to King Jesus.
The way to do that
is to pray
a really simple prayer.
In your own words,
just to say,
Lord Jesus,
I recognize
that I've lived
for myself.
I recognize
that I've
been the king
of my own life.
I've sat on the throne.
But I recognize
that you
are the true king,
heaven and earth
true king.
I'm sorry
for my sin.
Come and have
your way
in my life.
Friends,
can you say that?
Why don't you pray
that right now?
Jesus,
I'm sorry.
I've lived
for myself.
God,
I want to live
for you.
I want you
to be my lord
and king.
I want you
to forgive me
of my sin.
I want you
to come
and have your way
in my life.
Friends,
Jesus promises
that if you
do that,
he says it'll
be like being
born again.
You'll experience
a whole new life.
For the first
time in your life,
you'll be the person
that God intended
you to be.
You'll be the person
that you were made
to be.
You'll be saved.
You'll be changed.
You'll be his son
or his daughter.
For the rest of us,
we're going to come
to communion.
Maybe the communion
stewards can come
and serve
and get ready
to serve us.
Communion is a time
when we remember
the gospel.
Remember the good
news of the gospel
that Jesus is a savior.
But we also remember
the good news
of the gospel
that Jesus is judge.
As we come
to the communion table,
I want us to take
a few minutes
to examine our lives
and to examine our hearts.
The communion table
really is for Christians,
for those that are
followers of Jesus.
If you're not yet
a follower of Jesus,
I want to urge you
just to pass this by.
Don't come and participate.
This is for those
who have recognized
I was a rebel
but I've handed over
my life to Jesus.
It's a weekly reminder
that though we are not perfect,
though we still live
in this world,
we so need Jesus.
It's a reminder
that our only hope
for salvation
is Jesus' death
on the cross.
It's a time
to examine our lives
where we've lived
for ourselves.
And so I want to ask us
to do that.
Let's look back
on the last week.
Friends,
where have you lived
for yourself?
Where have you tried
to climb back
on the throne
of your own heart again?
Let's bring those moments
before God
as a time of confession,
repentance.
Let's genuinely ask
Him to forgive us.
Let's take a few minutes
to do that.
Let's take a few minutes
to do that.
Lord Jesus Christ,
we come before you
as sinners
that are saved
by grace.
We come before you
not as those
who have it all together,
but those who
desperately need
your grace
to work in our lives.
Father,
thank you
for your assurance
that anyone
who confesses
and owns up
and brings our
sin into light
rather than hiding it
and covering it
will receive
your mercy
and grace.
You say,
Lord Jesus,
that when we take
responsibility
for our sin,
you remove it
as far as the east
is from the west.
Lord,
thank you
for your great assurance
of forgiveness
of sins.
Jesus,
thank you
for dying
on the cross
for us
so that our sin
is covered,
our shame
is removed.
Friends,
if you're a follower
of Jesus,
I want to invite you
to come
and take the elements
from the front
and the back.
Let's come back
to our seats
and I'll lead us
in taking communion
together.
Amen.
amen.
Amen.
chakra
Amen.