Kingdom Growth

[00:00:24] Speaker A: Josh and I'm Gabriel. [00:00:26] Speaker B: Today on reading the gospel, we are studying the event questions on the kingdom. This is found in Luke, chapter 13. We're going to begin in verse 18 and read all the way down to verse 30. Follow along. [00:00:42] Speaker A: And Jesus said, therefore, what is the kingdom of God like? And what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. And again he said, to what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened. [00:01:15] Speaker B: He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem. And someone said to him, lord, will those who are saved be few? And he said to them, strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil. In that place. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves cast out, and the people will come from east and west, from north and south, and recline at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first? And some are first who will be last. So here we have Jesus giving more answers to what the kingdom of heaven is. And I think it's important to note that we can be citizens of the kingdom of heaven now. Right. The kingdom of heaven. Jesus started his ministry by saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [00:02:57] Speaker A: And he said, it is among you. [00:03:00] Speaker B: Yeah. So he started by saying, it's at hand. Then he transitions to, the kingdom of heaven is now, the kingdom of heaven is among you. The kingdom of heaven is here. So we can be citizens of the kingdom of heaven today? [00:03:13] Speaker A: Yes. And the citizenship is not related to a place or to a set of customs which define a nation today, but it is related to a person who is Jesus Christ because he is the king. If we are close to him, we are part of his kingdom. [00:03:34] Speaker B: Does citizenship in the kingdom of heaven go with membership in a church? [00:03:41] Speaker A: No. Attending a church has its own value. It is always important. It is the context in which we experience growth. It is the context in which we receive the spiritual gifts and they are manifested towards others. We grow together eventually. To make or not to make it into the kingdom of God will be decided by Jesus Christ and will be announced at the second coming of Christ. [00:04:17] Speaker B: Yeah. The mission that God has given his people on earth to do needs to be done in community. It can't be done alone. We form groups of fellow believers, and these are really what churches are, people who believe the same thing, but that is not what saves us, our membership in the church. And so Jesus goes down and he starts talking about comparing it to a grain of a mustard seed. [00:04:49] Speaker A: Yeah. He talks about how the kingdom starts and it starts small. All the beginnings are humble. We start small, and we have to control the growth. Think about startup companies. It's very important to control the growth of the company, to manage it well. So in the same way is the kingdom of God. It's very interesting how this apparently disconnected parts of the reading today. In fact, they talk about the same concept, how the kingdom of God starts, how it grows, and what does it mean for us. [00:05:37] Speaker B: And this is not the kingdom of God as it starts in Jesus'time, and grows throughout history. This is talking more individually. Right. [00:05:46] Speaker A: It is the kingdom that starts in the. [00:05:49] Speaker B: Yeah. And so when we first come to, we oftentimes it might be because we've hit the bottom and there's nowhere to turn. It might be because we're going through loss. It might be for whatever reason we come, there's a little spark, a little hope. And that little hope is that beginning. [00:06:13] Speaker A: That mustard seed, and that is God's opportunity to plant the seed that comes from above, the eternal life, that desire to change, to look for something better, and to find resources from the supernatural. That is the moment when Jesus Christ whispers that beautiful invitation, come to me. And if we meet Jesus, if we encounter Jesus, if we experience Jesus, everything changes, and the kingdom starts growing in the heart until, as Jesus says in verse 20, until the whole flower was leavened, or it was transformed by this new principle of the kingdom. [00:07:05] Speaker B: And that's what I like about that second analogy, the leaven that the woman hid in three measures of flour until it was leavened. It doesn't take a lot of yeast to raise bread. When I'm making a big batch of bread, it's only teaspoon or one or two teaspoons of yeast. And that will mix in. And over time, it creates bread. If you make bread without yeast, it's not going to be wonderful, fluffy bread. It's going to be more like a cake, thick or a heavy slab of dough. And so, in our lives, that's a wonderful thing about God. When we spend little bits of time with him here and there, it gets into everything and starts changing everything in our life. And he changes our desires, he changes our mindset, changes our thinking. And it's amazing how it works. [00:08:09] Speaker A: It is interesting that the disciples, after listening to Jesus'teaching. About beginning of the kingdom in the heart, they looked inside first, into their own lives. And also they are a little bit curious. They try to pick outside into other people's hearts, and they ask the question, Lord, it's verse 22 23, Lord, will those who are saved be few? It is designed this way for the kingdom to be smaller than the world. Very interesting. Are we still curious about what God is doing in other people's hearts? How significant is that work? Is it visible? Will impact the society we live in? [00:09:07] Speaker B: Well, and the Bible says God predestined us all for salvation. So heaven's big enough for every single person to be there. And that is God's ultimate desire. But God is not going to force us. He's a God of free will. And so ultimately we choose. I do find it interesting, as we move into the second Jesus, I see Jesus talking about the kingdom of heaven on the earth in the previous verses, what he's doing in our lives, everything, the change. The disciples seem to think about heaven, eternity, because they're asking, well, who will those be who are saved? And so Jesus here is transitioning to the future. Like, these are the people who are going to be saved. These are the ones who enter the narrow door. [00:10:01] Speaker A: And I like verse 30. It seems that Jesus answered to one of their other questions, which was not stated this time. And as you mentioned, the disciples saw the kingdom as a place, the kingdom of heaven. It is like a final destination. And you reach there, you cross the line. They were asking the question, who will make it? Who will be first there? And Jesus Christ said, well, even if heaven is a geographical location, some are last who will be first? And some are first, who will be last? [00:10:51] Speaker B: Jesus says, many will seek to enter, but will not be able to. Are there going to be people who want to get to heaven that aren't going to make it? I thought if we wanted the gift, it was a free gift. [00:11:08] Speaker A: Both of your statements are true. Remember, Jesus Christ said in Matthew 1624, Luke 923. If you want to follow Jesus Christ between the desire and practice or execution of that desire, there are some other steps in between. And one significant step is you have to deny yourself. Another step is to take up your cross, and that experience should happen daily. And after that, you will be able to follow Christ. There is a space between intention and realization, between the desire and execution. And this is why some people had the desire. But they are not motivated to make a quick decision at the right moment when the Holy Spirit talks to them. And they will realize that they lost everything, and they will go a little bit late, and they will knock the door of the kingdom. Please let us in. They will hear those words which were also presented in Matthew, chapter seven. I never knew you. Who are you? Yeah, you never had a relationship with man. Me. You are just scared of losing everything. You want to make a last minute decision, but you did not develop a character like mine. You didn't accept my yoke to pull together this load of preaching the gospel of saving the world. Who are you? I needed you so many times. I wanted an extension of my feet and my words and my actions into the world, and you are not there to work with me. [00:13:02] Speaker B: And I think the Old Testament story of the flood is an excellent example of this. The ark being like the kingdom of heaven. The door was open long before the floodwaters came. The invitation was out there. People could have entered into the kingdom of heaven early. In fact, invitations. Noah's pleading with them, come on, the Ark be saved. It's only when the rain starts falling and they realize that their lives are lost that they start banging on the door. Let us in. Let us in. And I think that's exactly it, that we have been given the opportunity to become citizens of the kingdom of heaven now. And that's the job that we should take. If we try to do it at the end, it's going to be too late. Let's have a word of prayer. Father God, we want to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven. [00:14:00] Speaker A: Amen. [00:14:02] Speaker B: We want to serve those around us. We want to love you with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbors as ourselves. And so I pray that you will be that yeast inside us. [00:14:16] Speaker A: Amen. [00:14:17] Speaker B: That you will change us everywhere, and that will be like a mustard seed, that you will grow stronger and stronger and stronger. So be with us now. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen.