The Glory of the Ordinary

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12: Beware the yeast of Pharisees. Acknowledge Son of Man before men.

Parable: rich fool. Don’t store up for yourself, Be rich towards God!

Don’t be anxious - seek first his kingdom, treasure in heaven and all earthly things will be given too.

Keep your lamps burning so you can be ready for the hour of the SOn’s return.

Learn to interpret the times.

The barren fig-tree will be cut down in judgement.

THEN: Jesus heals a crippled woman on the sabbath. He just said to her, woman, you are set free from your infirmity, put his hand on her, and Luke says she immediately straightened up and praised.

Translation:

THEREFORE (or just then?) he said: what is the kingdom of God like (homoia) and what shall I compare it to?

Answer 1: it is like a mustard seed/kernel, that a man took and sowed into his garden. And it grew and became a tree. And the birds of the heavens made nests in its branches.

And, again, he said what shall I compare the kingdom of God to?

Answer 2: it is like yeast that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until which time it leavened completely.

What do they have in common?

Something organic, which starts small, is then hidden, and slowly becomes complete, huge, all encompassing.

Straight after - since the kingdom becomes like a large tree and works itself through all of the dough, does that mean many people will be saved or only a few?

End of the chapter: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how long I’ve long to gather you as a mother hen gathers her chicks.

17:5 The disciples said to the Lord, “increase our faith!”

But Jesus replied, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

The topic that Jesus taught about more than any other was the kingdom of God. For Jesus, the good news, the gospel, was all about the kingdom. In his first gospel message, he proclaimed, the long-awaited kingdom of God is at hand. It’s arrived, and it’s closer to you than the hairs on the back of your neck.

OK, but what is the Kingdom of God? I know what the United Kingdom is, that’s a tiny island or islands in North-Western Europe and where the national sport is orderly queueing. I know what the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is, it’s a place in the middle east. But what is the kingdom of God? Is it a place? If so, where?

You see, if you asked Jesus to define the Kingdom of God, do you know what he’d say? He’d say you’re asking the wrong question.

Don’t ask what is the kingdom, ask what is the kingdom of God like? Not what can we define it as but what can we compare it to?

Because that is the question Jesus himself asks in verse 18.

Luke 13:18 NIV - Anglicised

18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?

Jesus is saying God’s kingdom is something that’s caught more than it’s taught.

And if you ask that question, Jesus will have plenty to say to you.

He says the kingdom of God is at hand, it’s broken into our world - in fact it’s closer to you than your own temples, than the hairs on your neck.

Since it has arrived, you need to turn around, believe this good news and give your allegiance to Jesus the Messiah. Repetance and faith is the gateway into this kingdom.

Spaceship!

He said the ones know who they’re poor will inherit this kingdom, but how hard it is for those who cling to their riches.

He said, it’s like a banquet, a feast. But not one you invite your friends and family to but when you invite the poor.

He said, it’s like a banquet, a feast. Not one you invite your friends and family to but when you invite the poor.

The kingdom is like

When you seek this kingdom instead of being anxious about material things, you receive all those things as well!

In Luke, you see the kingdom of God as Jesus heals the sick and also as he exorcises demons.

Spaceship!

Since it has arrived, you need to turn around, believe this good news and give your allegiance to Jesus the Messiah. Repetance and faith is the gateway into this kingdom.

And he began to teach about this kingdom. He said, it’s like a banquet, a feast. But not one you invite your friends and family to but when you invite the poor.

He said, to enter this kingdom you have to receive it like a child would.

That is the picture of God’s kingdom that Jesus has been painting thus far. But tonight we’re going to zoom in two particular images gives us.

And these two parables or comparisons, are ones I’ve been chewing over for a while now. Because I’m convinced that in the modern world we desperately need to hear Jesus’ corrective tonight. The two symbols of the kingdom Jesus uncovers here are particularly powerful for us in Britain in 2019.

But they’ve also been particularly prescient and relevant for me and Steph in the first couple of years of our marriage.

INTRO

The one topic that Jesus preached about more than any other was the kingdom of God. He said that the whole reason he came was to tell us about the kingdom of God. And the Bible tells us that you enter this kingdom when you repent, when you turn around and trust in Jesus the Messiah, God’s anointed King.

Now it’s a bit easier to see that you really are part of a kingdom, of God’s kingdom, when you see impressive kingdom things happening all around you. When someone brings their whole family to Christ, there’s no doubt that they’re building God’s kingdom. When someone spends their days speaking in front of thousands of people about Jesus, they don’t find it hard to believe that they’re part of a glorious kingdom.

But the problem is that most our lives are nothing like that. Think of what you see in your life every single day.

Maybe every morning you’re woken up by a screaming child who needs their nappy changing. THey haven’t been on this earth for very long but somehow it’s already their 4 millionth nappy!

The next thing you see is your rather dishevelled, unshaven face in the mirror. What is that, a new spot? What you see in the mirror is not someone part of a glorious kingdom - it certainly looks nothing like those smooth celebrities with their perfect skin.

Or maybe much of your day is spent in a secular job that doesn’t seem to have any impact on God’s kingdom at all. It’s just full of frustration and sometimes bores your brains out.

Or maybe your relationships are not

1) God’s Kingdom may look more ordinary than you expect

In our church life: FIEC says that it’s the experience of the Jesus’ church across our nation that churches may only see a handful of new Christians every year, at best. It’s true that sometimes there are extraordinary seasons of kingdom growth which we call revival. But the bread and butter is the slow and steady growth like that of a mustard tree or yeast working it’s way through dough in the oven.

In your own life: I remember meeting a couple who felt a special burden to serve the church in Morocco. They decided this when they were 24 but they didn’t actually go out til 5 years later! But I remember him saying to me - that’s often what God’s timing looks like. Don’t despise the waiting season. In God’s kingdom, things might take more time than you expect.

And it’s also true of our spiritual growth. I wonder if you’ve ever felt like this...

2) God’s Kingdom may grow more slowly than you expect

In your own life: I remember meeting a couple who felt a special burden to serve the church in Morocco. They decided this when they were 24 but they didn’t actually go out til 5 years later! But I remember him saying to me - that’s often what God’s timing looks like. Don’t despise the waiting season. In God’s kingdom, things might take more time than you expect.

And it’s also true of

3) God’s Kingdom will be greater than you ever dreamed

In your own life: