The Kingdom is Growing- Matthew 13:31-33; John 15:5-8

-The Kingdom of Heaven is God’s reign over His Creation as King; in the Kingdom of Heaven, His Will is accomplished.

-However, the Kingdom is not the same as Christendom. The Kingdom is the reign of Christ, Christendom is the reign of Christians; We are called to seek the Kingdom, not Christendom. The Kingdom is always good, Christendom can be good but often becomes a false imitation of the Kingdom.

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Christians Are Subjects of an Everlasting Kingdom

When Her Majesty the Queen visited Australia in October 1973 for the opening of the Sydney Opera House, she attended a service in St. Andrew’s Cathedral at which Archbishop Marcus Loane preached. He began by affirming the loyalty and affection of Australians to the queen, and the ties which bind Australia to England and the Commonwealth, but continued: “The inmost significance of a Service like this is to remind ourselves that there is another Sovereign to whom we owe obedience and another Kingdom to which we ought to belong.” Christians “are subjects of an everlasting kingdom which cannot be shaken,” pilgrims traveling to the eternal city: “And the central Figure in that city will be Jesus the Lord, whose Deity and Dominion will then be owned by all.”

-The Kingdom Grows...

I. Out to the World vv. 31-32

In this parable, Jesus compares the rule of Christ to a man who planted a mustard seed in his field

It has an incredibly small beginning, less than 1/10th of an inch!

Yet it also has a grand conclusion- the planting of the tree changes the feel of the field and becomes its focal point

The tree even becomes a place for the birds to nest and find shelter

In the same way, we see the growth of the Kingdom into the world

It begins in seemingly insignificant ways, with the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth

It grows to change the landscape of the entire world

It becomes a place where anyone who will is able to come and find shelter inside of it

We must absolutely expect the Kingdom of Heaven to have an outward impact on the world around us

We are not a people with a private faith that we hide to ourselves

We are a part of a Kingdom that is able to bring our broken world by bringing it under the rule of Christ

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 361: Kingdom of God

The Internet is now a household word. James Coates writes that the Internet began in 1962 when Paul Baran, an engineer at the Rand Corporation think tank, found a way to move messages through a network of Defense Department computers. In 1968 the Department of Defense commissioned the Advanced Research Projects Agency to build the ARPAnet. In 1971 only twenty-three computers were on the ARPAnet.

In 1981 IBM introduced the personal computer, bringing the computer to the home. By 1984 more than one thousand computers were on the Internet.

In 1986 the ARPAnet became part of the NSFnet, which was sponsored by the National Science Foundation. This became the Internet backbone.

In 1989 more than one hundred thousand computers were on the Internet.

In 1992 more than one million computers were on the Internet. That year the Internet society was chartered to loosely govern the Internet.

In 1993 the first graphic face, called Mosaic, was put on the Internet, which made it more accessible.

In 1994 local Internet access providers and on-line services greatly expanded their Internet services.

In 1995 experts estimated that thirty million computers were on the Internet.

The kingdom of God is like the Internet. It began small with only a few disciples following Jesus. But it has spread for two thousand years, person to person, culture to culture, with more and more people getting on-line with God.

II. Into Our Hearts v. 33

Next, we see Jesus give a similar picture of growth: yeast in flour

In the parable, a woman takes 3 measures, about 50 lbs of flour and introduces a small bit of yeast into it

Given time, the yeast invades every portion of the dough and it is all leavened by the presence of a bit of leaven

Likewise, we see that the rule of Christ has a way of transforming everything brought under His authority

We should anticipate that as we submit ourselves to the reign of Christ, He will work to transform us

I believe that this should lead us to two important applications:

First, we need to make sure that there are no areas of our life that we try to bar Christ from, hanging on to habits and patterns of sin out of a belief that Christ either should not or cannot change them

Second, we must not despise the day of small beginnings; just because I cannot see an immediate transformation of my character to His does not mean that He is not working to bring about genuine change

The same power that is able to change the world is able to change you

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Sanctification, Instant

Sanctification, Instant

Charlie Waters, former strong safety for the Dallas Cowboys football team, tells a story about Frank Howard, who had been Charlie’s college coach. When Frank Howard was head coach at Clemson University, he went out to practice one Monday before a big game with his first-and third-string quarterbacks out with injuries. That left him with his second-, fourth-, and fifth-string QB’s to play the coming Saturday. In the first five minutes of practice, his starting quarterback (previously second-stringer) hurt his knee. That elevated the fourth-stringer to first-string position and put the fifth-stringer on the second team. About ten minutes later, that replacement QB hurt his knee. Well, the fifth-stringer was now next in line for the first team.

Coach Howard blew the whistle and gathered all the players around him. He took the one remaining QB, put his arm around him, and said in his gruff voice, “Son, do you believe in magic?” The QB said in a halfhearted way, “Well, sort of.” Coach Howard looked at him, pointed his five fingers at him like a magician, and said, “Poof! You are now a first-string quarterback.”

Many people expect the Christian life to work in the same manner—“Poof! All your problems are now solved!”1185

III. From the Power of Christ- John 15:5-8

Finally, we see that the only way to experience the power of the kingdom is to know the presence of the King v. 5

The secret to this growing reign of Christ that changes the world around us and transforms us to be like Him is the King Himself

We must abide in Him

That is, we must rest in His ultimate ability to give us life, to provide for each need, and to love us completely

We look to Him as the vital source of life and settle our lives in Him

We must abide in Him, because apart from Him, you can do nothing at all!

If we, as believers, do not abide in Him, there is a progression: v. 6

Detachment from Christ

Departure from the living branches

Decaying spiritual vitality

Destruction!

None of us want these things, but the key is found in connection to Christ

Jesus gives us two evidences of that abiding and defines abiding for us: v. 7

It is the presence of His Word in us

This is the whole of Scripture understood in the light of our Gospel hope

This is that Word driven into the core of our being so that it becomes our default setting: our will in line with His

It is the type of prayer driven by His Word

As His Word abides in us, we pray in accord with His ways, His desires, and His purposes

This is the kind of prayer that He is certain to answer

If I abide in Him and live under His authority it will change my life and the world around me; however, I will never see that transformation unless I abide in Him

In the old western days, a man was walking down the road carrying a bag of grain on his shoulder. Another man was riding along the road in a buckboard pulled by a horse. He came up beside the man carrying the grain and said, “Jump up here on the buckboard with me. It’s too hot to be walking today.”

The man said, “Thank you,” and got up onto the seat with his grain still on his shoulder. After a while, the driver said, “Why don’t you put that grain down and relax?” The passenger said, “Oh, no. It’s enough that you would allow me to ride—I would never ask you to carry my load, too!” This is what many Christians do.

They say, “Lord, I know You can save me, forgive my sins, and give me a home in Heaven, but I wouldn’t ask You to carry my load too!” Friend, He said, “I want to abide with you. I want to carry your load and be your life.”

You will never know the real power of the Kingdom until you give the King all of yourself!