Parables - the Kingdom grows:
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Intro
Intro
I want you to think back to being a teenager
Can you remember asking yourself the question
who am I?
Why am I here?
What is my purpose?
Where do I find my identity?
You might say - yeah Dan, I’m still asking myself the same questions, all I’d say is don’t forget to change the questions to prayers
Well
Who did you create me to be,
Have you called me here?
Why did you create me?
Lord, reveal to me my identity in you.
Well when I was a teenager, I used to write songs. And one of my favourite’s is one called ‘one day in the future’ which I wrote out of asking all of these questions. I’d had a time where I’d walked away from God, and turned back to him - a story for another day, and after confirming my faith at the cathedral I felt God start to move in me and speak to me in new ways.
And here’s the song, it goes like this
When I was alone, journeying through life
Who did I turn to, who did I trust, in times of desperate need
I looked up and saw you, watching over me, and I wanted to be closer to you...
so far so good, I was stating my love for God and a desire to be closer to him, nearer to him
And as the world gets older,
the end is surely near,
and we shall see you and be with you for all eternity
One Day in the future, that’s where I want to be,
one day in the future, to be with you for eternity
So let the trumpets sound,
and the angles sing,
and the clouds will peel away for you
and we will look into your face,
and know that you are here
I was looking at the world, and seeking God’s judgement on all that was wrong, injustice through human trafficking, on extreme poverty, on violence, oppression, things which still make me angry today
One Day in the future, that’s where I want to be,
One Day in the future, that’s where I want to be,
one day in the future, to be with you for all eternity
and that day, I’ll be free
I still enjoy playing it, it’s still one of my favourite’s of my songs, but it’s got a bad theology behind it.
It’s title, ‘one day in the future’ is off. And on that day I’ll be free.
Well there’s a sense that yes, at the end of this life, when God’s space heaven, and our space earth, are restored and brought back together, yes I will be free.
But I’d completely missed that Jesus is with us now - not just in the future
I’d missed that freedom starts the moment we meet Jesus
yes I’ve still got my vices which I battle with, and lay down before him, and repent when I fall into them.
Yes, I’m still broken in ways I see the world, in thought processes which i have to take back to God.
But…I get started, finish and walk through every day with Jesus. He’s always at my side.
The King is with me, and reigning over my life. The King is with you if you have invited him to be Lord of your life.
It’s not about ‘on that day I’ll be free’ - we need to realise that we are living in freedom now
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?
19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?
21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Luke
So let’s stop and work through each image.
First that tiny seed we looked at last week, the mustard seed when planted, grows and extends it’s branches and becomes the greatest garden plant in the garden. It’s branches become the home for birds to perch on.
There’s an openness to the kingdom, there’s a place where it resides, ir becomes a place of shelter, a place of refuge, a place to recover, to be sustained, to be welcomed, to belong
Sounds like what church should be right?
Well if we don’t encounter the Kingdom of God, in the gathered community of the church, then the church has done something wrong and is being unfaithful.
Here at St mark’s we are passionate about going deeper with God, knowing him more. Seeing his kingdom come. And that starts in us, in our hearts. In laying our lives down to him.
Did you know there’s a number of different prophecies in the old testament that Jesus is referring to here as well.
12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.
Ezek 17:32
6 All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs, all the animals of the wild gave birth under its branches; all the great nations lived in its shade.
11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
Dan 4:
Each of these prophecies are about God restoring his kingdom and growing it; and many of them are about small sprigs or cuttings from other plants being taken to grow into the largest tree in the area. Usually in opposition to the giant nation of Babylon. In the New Testament, Babylon is often used as a cryptic way of speaking of the Roman’s who of course were the great power at the time of Jesus.
In the world’s eyes brute force was the road to power, and the way of Jesus seemed pathetic and weak in the eyes of those in power.
Jesus proved that his way is the true power, and conquers all other powers in this world
As children of God, as citizen’s of the Kingdom, do you consider yourself powerful through Jesus, empowered by the Spirit of God?
That line in Thine be the glory
“make us more than conquerors, through thy deathless love”
We’re to join with him as the kingdom is seeded in our lives, and grown in the heart and lives of every believer.
Think about the tiny yeast. a single celled organism which when activated releases carbon dioxide. As the yeast is getting to work the egg and any oil is added and then the flour. as it is worked into the dough, the mixture is transformed. That tiny yeast transforms into a thick dough, that rises as it bakes.
The yeast has effected all of the dough, and it can never be taken away or reversed.
The ways of the kingdom of God, of love, peace, repentance, forgiveness, generosity, putting others before ourselves, choosing God’s way over our way, it all seems so small in eyes of our society.
But like yeast transforming the dough, Jesus brings transformation to our lives. I can never be the same again. I wouldn’t want to. My life has been transformed. When I met with Jesus that first time, I knew his way was the best way, whether I liked it or not.
Let’s watch a video about the gospel of the Kingdom of God
5 minutes
He is exalted up, not onto the throne, but onto the cross
How beautiful are the feet which bring good news.
he has conquered it by his life and his love
And he sends us out to spread the news of this good news of the upside down kingdom
And to invite everyone to give their allegiance to the King who defeated death with his love
Friends, the good news isn’t just about us being nice to others, and in spreading niceness
It’s radical, it’s life changing and it’s risky
We’re being asked nothing less than to join the creator in his work of transformation and restoration, bringing life back to this world through introducing people to Jesus
And we do this is so many different ways.
I wonder what your sphere of influence is.
In work, having a chat in a coffee or lunch break with a colleague who is struggling. Through your friendship, often over time, they see something different about you. You care, and they respect that. One day they might ask, what get’s you through the hard times. Well it’s my faith in Jesus, that he’s always with me, and he guides me when I talk with him
Perhaps it’s through your volunteering in TANGO or a care home, or at scouts - where people see you acting differently to the world. You’re counter cultural, there’s something attractive about you, and their curious. And one day, the Lord gives you an oppertunity to share about the hope within you.
It’s often in the small, mundane, everyday things which Jesus uses to transform lives. You are part of the yeast in the dough of the world. The kingdom is growing in you, as part of that garden shrub, which is the greatest of all shrubs.