1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,360 Right when I see King Jesus in heaven, his first words are not 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:07,480 going to be Job well done, good and fruitful servant. 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:12,600 His words will be Job well done, good and faithful servant. 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,960 Chapter 4 Towards the end of the chapter, we're looking at verses 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,800 26 all the way to the end of the chapter, and and 34. 6 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:29,780 We've got two parables, almost identical parables, but there's 7 00:00:29,780 --> 00:00:32,740 some unique differences in how the parables operate. 8 00:00:32,740 --> 00:00:35,460 We'll look at that this morning, but here's what both of the 9 00:00:35,460 --> 00:00:38,420 parables have in common. This morning. 10 00:00:38,460 --> 00:00:46,660 We're thinking about the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God, how 11 00:00:46,660 --> 00:00:54,940 it grows, what it's like, who grows it, and what it does to 12 00:00:54,940 --> 00:00:57,270 the rest of the garden all around it. 13 00:00:57,270 --> 00:00:59,870 Two parables. Both of them are fantastic, But 14 00:00:59,870 --> 00:01:01,710 let me catch this up before we look at those parables and mark 15 00:01:01,710 --> 00:01:04,590 Chapter 4 towards the end of the chapter, here's what you've 16 00:01:04,590 --> 00:01:05,870 missed. If this is your first Sunday 17 00:01:05,870 --> 00:01:09,390 here, Jesus has officially, publicly launched his ministry. 18 00:01:09,390 --> 00:01:12,590 He's endured temptation from Satan and the wilderness. 19 00:01:12,590 --> 00:01:15,710 He's healed the sick. He's casted out demons. 20 00:01:15,710 --> 00:01:17,670 He's teaching. And as he's done all of this 21 00:01:17,670 --> 00:01:21,310 publicly, what he's done is he's gathered a crowd of people 22 00:01:21,310 --> 00:01:24,750 around him to say that Jesus is the most compelling person who's 23 00:01:24,750 --> 00:01:26,910 ever lived. To say that Jesus has the most 24 00:01:26,910 --> 00:01:29,790 interesting person who has ever lived is a bit like calling the 25 00:01:29,790 --> 00:01:33,070 Grand Canyon sizable. True enough, but an 26 00:01:33,070 --> 00:01:34,990 understatement of epic proportions. 27 00:01:34,990 --> 00:01:39,550 Everybody who hears and teaches drawn to him, and they hang on 28 00:01:39,550 --> 00:01:43,070 his every word with with jaws that hit the floor. 29 00:01:43,190 --> 00:01:46,270 And so there's Jesus by the seaside, a crowd of people 30 00:01:46,270 --> 00:01:48,990 around him. And Jesus launches into these 31 00:01:48,990 --> 00:01:54,830 parables about how the Kingdom of God changes the world. 32 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,800 These parables are short stories filled with everyday 33 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,480 environments and ordinary objects. 34 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:08,360 The Kingdom of God is like a man who scatters a seed in the 35 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:09,919 field. Everybody's like, I know what 36 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,160 that looks like. The Kingdom of God is like a 37 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:14,960 light that you don't hide under a bed. 38 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:16,600 People are like, I don't know what lamps look like. 39 00:02:16,890 --> 00:02:20,770 So there's ordinary objects and ordinary environments. 40 00:02:20,770 --> 00:02:25,650 And yet when you dig into that, hidden in the ordinariness of 41 00:02:25,650 --> 00:02:28,170 these parables are heavenly truths. 42 00:02:28,170 --> 00:02:31,330 And so as Jesus and his disciples begin to listen to 43 00:02:31,330 --> 00:02:33,890 Jesus teach in parables, some people get it. 44 00:02:34,970 --> 00:02:36,650 They're hanging on. Jesus is every word. 45 00:02:36,650 --> 00:02:39,370 They find him to be a phenomenal public order. 46 00:02:39,930 --> 00:02:43,530 Other people are frustrated by the parables, and so they walk 47 00:02:43,530 --> 00:02:47,250 away And the disciples in the middle, and I think it's assumed 48 00:02:47,250 --> 00:02:50,250 to say this, are just a little bit of they're a little bit 49 00:02:50,250 --> 00:02:53,410 anxious about the way that Jesus's teachings are being 50 00:02:53,410 --> 00:02:55,330 received. There's an anxiety that begins 51 00:02:55,330 --> 00:02:59,530 to settle among the disciples. They would prefer that Jesus 52 00:02:59,650 --> 00:03:04,810 would just teach plainly, right? You're the Messiah, you're the 53 00:03:04,850 --> 00:03:07,170 king. Make it plain. 54 00:03:07,650 --> 00:03:11,470 Don't hide the truth, right? This is not hard to understand. 55 00:03:11,470 --> 00:03:15,150 If you were there, you'd probably feel the same way. 56 00:03:15,750 --> 00:03:18,230 It would be a bit like you showing up to church on a Sunday 57 00:03:18,230 --> 00:03:22,670 morning, bringing a friend who doesn't know the gospel, really 58 00:03:22,670 --> 00:03:27,030 hoping and praying for a clear gospel presentation, and instead 59 00:03:27,270 --> 00:03:31,910 having a pastor who gets up there and says, OK guys, life 60 00:03:31,910 --> 00:03:36,110 with. God is like 3 sets of 61 00:03:36,110 --> 00:03:41,170 footprints. In this snow you'd be like 62 00:03:41,170 --> 00:03:42,810 dikey. Make it plain. 63 00:03:43,170 --> 00:03:45,170 This isn't why we tied at this church. 64 00:03:46,210 --> 00:03:47,730 You can understand their anxiety. 65 00:03:48,130 --> 00:03:53,650 So let me start here. Life with God is like three sets 66 00:03:53,650 --> 00:03:58,740 of footprints. In the snow since the middle of 67 00:03:58,740 --> 00:04:01,300 winter, an Iowa snowstorm comes along. 68 00:04:01,380 --> 00:04:04,620 School is canceled, so three boys go out to go play in the 69 00:04:04,620 --> 00:04:06,460 snow. As they run out to a Prairie 70 00:04:06,460 --> 00:04:12,380 Meadow filled with snow, they see an open, empty, covered with 71 00:04:12,380 --> 00:04:15,940 snow gleaming white surface that nobody has yet stepped on. 72 00:04:15,940 --> 00:04:17,860 So the boys decide to play a game. 73 00:04:18,579 --> 00:04:22,019 Since there's no footprints there, let's find out who can 74 00:04:22,019 --> 00:04:27,400 walk the straightest and farthest line into the distance. 75 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,680 So the boys walk as straight and as far as they can, and when 76 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,960 they get to the end of the Prairie, they stop and they turn 77 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:37,160 around and they see three sets of footprints in the snow. 78 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:42,040 However, only one of the sets of footprints could be said to be 79 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,200 straight. So the boys said, all right, 80 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:49,760 what was your strategy? Boy, #1 says, Well, my strategy 81 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:54,940 was since my feet are carrying me, I just kept my eyes fixed on 82 00:04:54,940 --> 00:04:57,060 my feet. But as my feet continued to move 83 00:04:57,060 --> 00:05:01,420 forward, what ended up happening was I lost sight of the distance 84 00:05:01,420 --> 00:05:04,220 and I walked in a zigzag in the wrong direction. 85 00:05:05,300 --> 00:05:09,940 OK, boy #2, what was your strategy? 86 00:05:10,980 --> 00:05:12,380 He said. Well, I thought maybe what I 87 00:05:12,380 --> 00:05:16,140 would do was take in as much as I could of my surroundings. 88 00:05:16,140 --> 00:05:18,780 So I I walked and I looked to the left, I looked to the right, 89 00:05:18,780 --> 00:05:21,060 I looked at all the trees I could in the distance. 90 00:05:21,060 --> 00:05:24,260 But as I continued to look around without even knowing it, 91 00:05:24,420 --> 00:05:26,820 I just started walking in circles. 92 00:05:28,260 --> 00:05:30,860 So they said, the boy #3, you're the one who did it. 93 00:05:31,700 --> 00:05:37,140 How did you walk a straight line in the snow out here in the 94 00:05:37,140 --> 00:05:40,820 Meadow? And what the boy said was this. 95 00:05:42,500 --> 00:05:50,490 All I did was I fixed my eyes on one tree in the distance. 96 00:05:52,690 --> 00:05:57,490 I never looked away from it. And I walked towards that tree 97 00:05:58,610 --> 00:06:01,610 and that tree alone. And that's what produced the 98 00:06:01,610 --> 00:06:06,610 straight line of footprints. So fun, Parable, let me ask you, 99 00:06:07,450 --> 00:06:09,210 what do you see when you look behind you? 100 00:06:09,290 --> 00:06:12,170 Don't physically look behind yourself right now, but 101 00:06:12,170 --> 00:06:16,300 mentally, when you look behind yourself, when you look behind 102 00:06:16,300 --> 00:06:19,340 your life, what type of footprints do you see? 103 00:06:19,340 --> 00:06:24,740 Is it a zigzag Walking in the wrong direction, always catching 104 00:06:24,740 --> 00:06:27,260 the flashiest thing that comes to your eye? 105 00:06:27,500 --> 00:06:30,500 Always chasing all the trends? When you look behind yourself, 106 00:06:30,500 --> 00:06:35,780 do you see circles spiraling in the wrong direction? 107 00:06:36,060 --> 00:06:39,220 Maybe wholeheartedly pursuing something but in the wrong 108 00:06:39,220 --> 00:06:42,450 direction? Or when you look behind your 109 00:06:42,450 --> 00:06:48,610 life, do you see one straight line of footprints? 110 00:06:49,570 --> 00:06:53,530 And if you don't and you want to change the world this morning, 111 00:06:53,930 --> 00:06:57,450 how would you walk a straight line in this world? 112 00:06:58,650 --> 00:07:04,930 What's what is the one tree to fix your eyes on in the 113 00:07:04,930 --> 00:07:08,650 distance? Well, luckily Jesus tells us 114 00:07:08,650 --> 00:07:09,970 that answer. Let's go ahead and stand for the 115 00:07:09,970 --> 00:07:17,270 reading of God's Word. Couple parables within a 116 00:07:17,270 --> 00:07:19,830 parable. Verse 26. 117 00:07:21,150 --> 00:07:26,430 Jesus said the Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed 118 00:07:26,430 --> 00:07:30,270 on the ground. He sleeps, He rises night and 119 00:07:30,270 --> 00:07:33,790 day, and the seed sprouts and grows. 120 00:07:34,030 --> 00:07:38,150 He knows not how the earth produces by itself. 121 00:07:38,150 --> 00:07:41,570 First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 122 00:07:42,250 --> 00:07:45,450 But when the grain is ripe at once, he puts in the sickle 123 00:07:45,450 --> 00:07:50,890 because the harvest has come. Here's Parable #2 goes on to 124 00:07:50,890 --> 00:07:56,490 say, with What can we even compare the Kingdom of God, or 125 00:07:56,490 --> 00:07:59,530 what parable shall we use for it? 126 00:08:00,330 --> 00:08:04,490 It's like a grain of mustard seed. 127 00:08:04,890 --> 00:08:07,930 That's about the most politically incorrect thing 128 00:08:07,930 --> 00:08:10,640 Jesus could have said. Don't worry, I'll tell you why. 129 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:12,800 Eventually. It's like a grain of mustard 130 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,600 seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all 131 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,120 the seeds on the earth. Yet when it's sown and grows up 132 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:24,120 and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large 133 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:28,040 branches so that the birds of the air can make nests in a 134 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,360 shade. And so with many such parables, 135 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:34,400 he continued to speak the word to them as they were able to 136 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,280 hear it. He didn't speak to them without 137 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:41,830 a parable, but privately, as he always does if you push into 138 00:08:41,990 --> 00:08:45,990 Jesus and ask them for clarity after church, privately to his 139 00:08:45,990 --> 00:08:48,390 own disciples, he explained everything. 140 00:08:49,030 --> 00:08:58,430 You can have a seat. So Jesus has gathered a crowd of 141 00:08:58,430 --> 00:09:01,190 people around him while he stands beside the sea, teaching 142 00:09:01,190 --> 00:09:02,950 in parables. And one thing that we have to 143 00:09:02,950 --> 00:09:05,390 take note of when we think about this crowd around him is that 144 00:09:05,390 --> 00:09:09,980 it's incredibly diverse. Just an incredibly diverse crowd 145 00:09:09,980 --> 00:09:12,060 of people around you. You got Gentiles, you've got 146 00:09:12,060 --> 00:09:14,940 Jews, you've got zealots. In fact, even if usually Jesus 147 00:09:14,940 --> 00:09:17,220 12 disciples, you have incredible amount of diversity 148 00:09:17,220 --> 00:09:20,100 among them. You've got Jewish zealots on one 149 00:09:20,100 --> 00:09:24,620 hand, Roman tax collectors on the other hand, and everything 150 00:09:24,620 --> 00:09:27,980 in between them. So there's tons of distinctions 151 00:09:27,980 --> 00:09:30,500 between these people and what they want and how they want to 152 00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:33,700 accomplish it. But they do all share one common 153 00:09:33,700 --> 00:09:36,540 desire. And the common desire is this. 154 00:09:36,860 --> 00:09:40,300 They all desire to change the world. 155 00:09:41,260 --> 00:09:44,180 It's not hard to see why. In their historical setting, 156 00:09:44,220 --> 00:09:45,740 everything around them was crumbling. 157 00:09:45,740 --> 00:09:47,860 You look at the Roman government, things are 158 00:09:48,300 --> 00:09:50,620 atrocious. In the Roman government you have 159 00:09:50,620 --> 00:09:53,990 Caesar leading people, manipulatively, demanding 160 00:09:53,990 --> 00:09:58,350 worship from his people and crucifying people as treasons as 161 00:09:58,390 --> 00:10:00,830 as as treacherous. If they don't worship him, OK, 162 00:10:00,830 --> 00:10:02,670 so things are not going great in the Roman government. 163 00:10:02,670 --> 00:10:05,310 If you looked at that, you would say I want to change the world. 164 00:10:05,590 --> 00:10:08,990 But if you look at Judaism in the 1st century, it's not that 165 00:10:08,990 --> 00:10:11,430 much better, right? You look at what's going on in 166 00:10:11,430 --> 00:10:15,190 the temple, you have money hungry people and they're taking 167 00:10:15,190 --> 00:10:19,470 advantage of religious people. You even have Jewish leaders, 168 00:10:19,470 --> 00:10:23,180 Jewish priests who have gone to bed with the Roman government 169 00:10:23,180 --> 00:10:26,740 and have basically modified their message in order to stay 170 00:10:26,740 --> 00:10:29,940 safe with the Roman government. And so no matter what you look 171 00:10:29,940 --> 00:10:32,980 at, all these people are waiting for the Kingdom of God to come 172 00:10:32,980 --> 00:10:35,340 change the world. And even though you're 2000 173 00:10:35,340 --> 00:10:39,100 years removed from that world, I hope you feel at least a similar 174 00:10:39,100 --> 00:10:41,620 way when you look out into the world. 175 00:10:42,140 --> 00:10:44,420 I hope. You think, man, I hope God 176 00:10:44,420 --> 00:10:47,010 changes that world. I hope when you look at the 177 00:10:47,010 --> 00:10:49,730 world, you say, I want to change the world. 178 00:10:49,730 --> 00:10:54,810 Changing the world is precisely what this crowd of people around 179 00:10:54,890 --> 00:10:58,730 Jesus want to do. But the big questions are, how's 180 00:10:58,730 --> 00:11:01,810 it going to happen? Is it going to happen by 181 00:11:01,810 --> 00:11:04,730 military force? Is it going to happen by 182 00:11:04,730 --> 00:11:07,060 protest? Is it going to happen with 183 00:11:07,300 --> 00:11:11,020 fireworks and fog machines and strobe lights? 184 00:11:11,100 --> 00:11:13,820 How to phrase the question theologically? 185 00:11:13,980 --> 00:11:18,860 How will the Kingdom of God overcome the world? 186 00:11:19,140 --> 00:11:23,860 And that question is the purpose of Jesus's 2 parables this 187 00:11:23,860 --> 00:11:25,100 morning. So here's what I'm going to do 188 00:11:25,100 --> 00:11:28,860 for the rest of the sermon. I'm going to preach a sermon 189 00:11:29,020 --> 00:11:32,700 that I never thought I would preach before because in my 190 00:11:32,700 --> 00:11:36,340 pulpit ministry for the last six years, I've always been the type 191 00:11:36,340 --> 00:11:38,620 of preacher who makes fun of preaching. 192 00:11:38,620 --> 00:11:42,940 That is, how to do lists or tips and tricks on how to follow 193 00:11:42,940 --> 00:11:44,700 Jesus. I've always been the guy who's 194 00:11:44,700 --> 00:11:48,220 like that is so lame. But today, here's what I'm 195 00:11:48,220 --> 00:11:49,460 doing. I'm going to spend the rest of 196 00:11:49,460 --> 00:11:54,020 our time together preaching 1 long list of things, one long 197 00:11:54,020 --> 00:11:56,860 list of ideas. And here's the sermon title of 198 00:11:56,860 --> 00:12:00,380 the sermon I never thought I would preach How to Change the 199 00:12:00,380 --> 00:12:07,040 World in Eight Simple Steps. Cole six years ago would have 200 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:12,440 made fun of Cole today, How to Change the World in Eight Simple 201 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:14,360 Steps. Let's start with step number 202 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:16,080 one. You'll notice that all of these 203 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:17,720 parables point in this direction. 204 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:22,040 If you want to change the world then you have to imagine a world 205 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,950 that you can't imagine. Notice how Jesus preambles both 206 00:12:25,950 --> 00:12:30,030 of the parables here in. In verse 26 he says the Kingdom 207 00:12:30,030 --> 00:12:34,350 of God is as if and then verse 30. 208 00:12:35,030 --> 00:12:37,910 With what can we even compare the Kingdom of God? 209 00:12:38,350 --> 00:12:41,550 So both of these preambles are ways of Jesus talking about the 210 00:12:41,550 --> 00:12:43,590 Kingdom of God and define the Kingdom of God. 211 00:12:43,950 --> 00:12:47,590 And showing that human terms of defining the Kingdom of God is 212 00:12:47,590 --> 00:12:50,910 impossible because the Kingdom of God is not of this world. 213 00:12:51,030 --> 00:12:53,630 You can point at something earthly and say it's kind of 214 00:12:53,630 --> 00:12:55,870 like this. You can point at something on 215 00:12:55,870 --> 00:12:59,590 earth and say, well, it's it's kind of like that, but it 216 00:12:59,590 --> 00:13:01,710 transcends everything in this world. 217 00:13:01,710 --> 00:13:04,590 And so if the Kingdom of God is new to you, here's a really 218 00:13:04,590 --> 00:13:07,830 simple definition. The Kingdom of God is an 219 00:13:07,830 --> 00:13:11,070 invisible Kingdom that's in heaven, but it's currently 220 00:13:11,070 --> 00:13:13,720 invading earth. The invasion of heaven has 221 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,800 already started, but it won't be completed until Jesus returns. 222 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:22,960 And the Kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is declared King 223 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:27,960 and his words and laws are obeyed and enjoyed. 224 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:32,320 You guys with me. The Kingdom of God is whenever 225 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:38,920 and wherever Jesus has proclaimed as King and his words 226 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:46,390 are delighted in and obeyed. And this Kingdom, not only is it 227 00:13:46,390 --> 00:13:51,310 not of this world, it's in direct confrontation with this 228 00:13:51,310 --> 00:13:55,670 world. Direct confrontation In fact, 229 00:13:55,670 --> 00:14:00,350 what the Kingdom of God does is it unmasks the Kingdom of this 230 00:14:00,350 --> 00:14:02,190 world. I I bet a couple of you saw this 231 00:14:02,190 --> 00:14:05,790 prank a couple months ago. Did Did anybody in here? 232 00:14:05,790 --> 00:14:08,510 I'm curious. Did anybody see the Payless shoe 233 00:14:08,510 --> 00:14:11,580 prank from a couple months ago? Just you. 234 00:14:11,580 --> 00:14:13,660 OK, so only a couple. OK. 235 00:14:13,660 --> 00:14:15,420 Atticus you saw. OK, that's good. 236 00:14:15,420 --> 00:14:18,380 OK, so this is brilliant. I'll tell you what I'm like. 237 00:14:18,380 --> 00:14:20,460 I was ready to go buy some Payless shoes after I heard 238 00:14:20,460 --> 00:14:21,700 this. So what? 239 00:14:21,700 --> 00:14:25,140 Payless shoes. Did is they opened up and and if 240 00:14:25,140 --> 00:14:27,740 you don't know, Payless Shoes is a discount shoe store. 241 00:14:27,980 --> 00:14:31,460 Great stuff. They opened up a fake luxury 242 00:14:31,460 --> 00:14:34,860 shoe store in Los Angeles and pulled a prank. 243 00:14:35,460 --> 00:14:39,220 It was a fake luxury shoe store. They they branded it as luxury, 244 00:14:40,390 --> 00:14:42,710 right? But they put their shoes in the 245 00:14:42,710 --> 00:14:46,150 store and in the grand opening there's a literally a line of 246 00:14:46,150 --> 00:14:48,830 people who formed around the outside of the door and they 247 00:14:48,830 --> 00:14:55,230 took $35 shoes and sold them for $650. 248 00:14:56,510 --> 00:15:01,070 I'm not good at math, but that's an 1800% markup. 249 00:15:01,870 --> 00:15:04,950 And what I love most is that they interviewed the people who 250 00:15:04,950 --> 00:15:09,150 bought their shoes too. And so there are these people 251 00:15:09,150 --> 00:15:11,550 who are holding up these $35 Payless. 252 00:15:11,550 --> 00:15:15,950 Shoes and and they go well. The thing I like most about 253 00:15:15,950 --> 00:15:19,190 these shoes is how elegant and sophisticated they are. 254 00:15:20,150 --> 00:15:22,070 And one person says I wrote it down. 255 00:15:22,390 --> 00:15:28,790 One person says the best thing is I can tell it was made with 256 00:15:28,790 --> 00:15:32,630 high quality materials. And so. 257 00:15:33,270 --> 00:15:36,470 These people are spending their money on discount shoes at an 258 00:15:36,550 --> 00:15:40,110 18, 100% markup and then in the. Interview. 259 00:15:40,110 --> 00:15:43,430 They let them in on the prank. They're like, hey, the shoes you 260 00:15:43,430 --> 00:15:45,830 just bought are $35 Payless shoes. 261 00:15:46,230 --> 00:15:52,870 And one lady just goes. She just goes shut up, right? 262 00:15:52,870 --> 00:15:55,630 Oh, here's the best part. They called the luxury store 263 00:15:56,150 --> 00:16:03,970 Palessi. The world tries to scam you too, 264 00:16:03,970 --> 00:16:05,530 right? This is what the enemy does. 265 00:16:05,530 --> 00:16:10,330 The enemy puts the things of this world, hollow vein, empty 266 00:16:10,330 --> 00:16:12,690 things in front of you and tries to convince you that it's 267 00:16:12,690 --> 00:16:17,980 luxury, that it's it's quality. That you'll it'll finally fill 268 00:16:18,140 --> 00:16:20,620 your happiness. That that this, this worldly 269 00:16:20,620 --> 00:16:23,500 thing will finally satisfy your soul. 270 00:16:23,580 --> 00:16:25,740 Spend your money on these things. 271 00:16:25,860 --> 00:16:28,100 Spend your attention on these things. 272 00:16:28,180 --> 00:16:32,180 Spend all your energy and effort on these things, these things 273 00:16:32,180 --> 00:16:35,940 that we make and platform in front of you and put a price tag 274 00:16:35,940 --> 00:16:37,540 on. I mean, how many of us in this 275 00:16:37,540 --> 00:16:41,540 world have finally achieved some worldly goal that we really 276 00:16:41,540 --> 00:16:43,740 wanted to accomplish? And we're like, that's going to 277 00:16:43,740 --> 00:16:45,660 be the thing that finally makes me happy. 278 00:16:45,860 --> 00:16:50,540 And you get it and you're just like, shut up. 279 00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:56,980 It just doesn't satisfy, doesn't feel the whole. 280 00:16:57,980 --> 00:17:03,300 It's just worldly satisfaction, worldly purp, worldly pleasure. 281 00:17:03,700 --> 00:17:06,940 It's just hollow. And what the Kingdom of God says 282 00:17:06,940 --> 00:17:09,500 to the Kingdom of the world is. It's just Payless. 283 00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:14,869 It's cheap. And as your pastor, I don't want 284 00:17:14,869 --> 00:17:19,670 you standing before King Jesus one day in judgment as he lets 285 00:17:19,670 --> 00:17:23,869 you in on the prank going shut up all those things I invested 286 00:17:23,869 --> 00:17:26,990 my time and energy on. They were actually worthless. 287 00:17:29,590 --> 00:17:31,750 Both of these parables about the Kingdom of God are going to let 288 00:17:31,750 --> 00:17:34,470 you in on the prank, the Kingdom of God. 289 00:17:34,750 --> 00:17:38,710 Not only does it unmask the Kingdom of the world, it shows 290 00:17:38,710 --> 00:17:42,910 that the Kingdom of this world is just chaffing the wind just 291 00:17:44,420 --> 00:17:48,380 blowing away temporary. And so as a believer, if you 292 00:17:48,380 --> 00:17:51,420 really want to change the world, you should know that human 293 00:17:51,420 --> 00:17:55,660 Thrones and human human dominion will ultimately be cast down, 294 00:17:55,860 --> 00:17:59,100 that worldly satisfactions and worldly treasures won't last. 295 00:17:59,100 --> 00:18:02,500 But the the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom that will endure 296 00:18:02,500 --> 00:18:04,700 forever. So the big question is, OK, how 297 00:18:04,700 --> 00:18:09,260 do we build into that? And that brings us to our second 298 00:18:09,340 --> 00:18:14,140 easy tip on how to change the world #2 If you want to change 299 00:18:14,140 --> 00:18:20,900 the world, yeah, sleep at night. What? 300 00:18:23,940 --> 00:18:27,700 You read a You read a book about changing the world and it's like 301 00:18:27,700 --> 00:18:30,380 page one, hustle, page two, hustle. 302 00:18:30,700 --> 00:18:32,860 Page three, what are you, a Sissy hustle? 303 00:18:33,980 --> 00:18:36,740 And when Jesus talks about changing the world, let just 304 00:18:36,860 --> 00:18:39,780 here's Jesus's words. Verse 27. 305 00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:45,090 The Man Who Changes the World who plants a seed that grows. 306 00:18:45,490 --> 00:18:49,690 He sleeps and rises night and day. 307 00:18:51,330 --> 00:18:53,090 While you're sleeping what does the seed do? 308 00:18:53,090 --> 00:18:56,570 The seed sprouts and grows and you got to love this. 309 00:18:56,850 --> 00:19:00,010 The man knows not how don't you love that he's like how's this 310 00:19:00,050 --> 00:19:02,370 happening. All I did was scattered. 311 00:19:02,370 --> 00:19:05,450 I went to bed and and it's just been it's just been growing. 312 00:19:05,450 --> 00:19:07,970 Well let's dig deeper here. So what Jesus is saying is the 313 00:19:07,970 --> 00:19:12,410 Kingdom of God is like a seed. It starts out miniscule, tiny 314 00:19:12,610 --> 00:19:15,210 and surprisingly, almost shockingly, it it grows. 315 00:19:15,490 --> 00:19:18,370 And at the very least, the fact that Jesus tells us that the 316 00:19:18,370 --> 00:19:22,970 seed scatterer sleeps and is surprised at the growth of the 317 00:19:22,970 --> 00:19:25,170 Kingdom of God. At the very minimum, what Jesus 318 00:19:25,170 --> 00:19:28,810 is letting us in on is that the growth of the Kingdom of God is 319 00:19:28,810 --> 00:19:32,010 totally the result of God's sovereignty. 320 00:19:32,090 --> 00:19:33,530 Now I like that word sovereignty. 321 00:19:33,530 --> 00:19:35,410 I use it a lot. If you've been at frontier for a 322 00:19:35,410 --> 00:19:37,330 while, you hear me use the word sovereignty a lot. 323 00:19:37,330 --> 00:19:39,170 So let me just define that for us really quickly. 324 00:19:39,540 --> 00:19:43,580 The word sovereignty is usually used to describe 3 concepts in 325 00:19:43,580 --> 00:19:46,540 one fell swoop. Power, presence and control. 326 00:19:47,020 --> 00:19:51,260 So to say that God is sovereign is to say that God is all 327 00:19:51,260 --> 00:19:55,260 powerful over everything, that He is present everywhere, and 328 00:19:55,260 --> 00:19:58,740 that He is in control of everything, including, and this 329 00:19:58,740 --> 00:20:01,500 is pretty obvious in the parable, this seed. 330 00:20:01,940 --> 00:20:05,260 So while while you're asleep, God is sovereign over the seed, 331 00:20:05,260 --> 00:20:07,860 while you're asleep, God's making it grow. 332 00:20:07,860 --> 00:20:12,900 And so to me. Sleeping seems to at least be a 333 00:20:12,900 --> 00:20:18,900 symbol of trust or a symbol of giving up control. 334 00:20:19,140 --> 00:20:22,260 What's the difference? And so if you're an overachiever 335 00:20:23,620 --> 00:20:26,660 and you got super excited when I told you that the message this 336 00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:30,300 morning was going to be How to Change the World, I've got a 337 00:20:30,460 --> 00:20:34,780 crystal clear word for you. This parable clearly shows us 338 00:20:34,780 --> 00:20:37,980 that we don't control the outcomes of our faithfulness 339 00:20:38,970 --> 00:20:41,370 more times than usual. We're surprised. 340 00:20:42,330 --> 00:20:46,290 Hey bro, that thing you did three years ago really blessed 341 00:20:46,290 --> 00:20:46,970 me. What? 342 00:20:48,770 --> 00:20:52,010 It's gross. Here's the way RC Sprole, a 343 00:20:52,010 --> 00:20:54,970 great preacher, says it. He says, quote, You are 344 00:20:54,970 --> 00:20:56,770 responsible for the faithfulness. 345 00:20:57,330 --> 00:21:00,130 God is responsible for the fruitfulness. 346 00:21:01,650 --> 00:21:05,890 So you need to enjoy being faithful to God and giving up 347 00:21:05,890 --> 00:21:07,770 your American obsession with results. 348 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,760 It's obsession with results that makes people burn out on 349 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:16,240 Christianity. It's obsession with results that 350 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,600 makes the Kingdom of God feel like hell on earth. 351 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,280 It's obsession with results that makes us spiritually 352 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:24,400 constipated. You're afraid to say the wrong 353 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:28,000 thing, do the wrong thing. You're obsessed with outcomes. 354 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:32,520 You want to control them. And if that's you, look at the 355 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,480 parable. Jesus's word to you is this. 356 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:40,810 Sleep at night. Scatter sleep. 357 00:21:41,650 --> 00:21:44,930 So even though your role in changing the world is to sleep 358 00:21:44,930 --> 00:21:48,170 at night, strangely enough, that doesn't mean that your role in 359 00:21:48,170 --> 00:21:52,250 the Kingdom is one of passivity. Let's go to tip #3 on how to 360 00:21:52,250 --> 00:21:54,810 change the world. Yes, you got to sleep at night, 361 00:21:55,250 --> 00:21:59,330 but tip #3 is you. Also, you got to get out of your 362 00:21:59,330 --> 00:22:02,410 cot. Here's what I mean by this is 363 00:22:02,410 --> 00:22:04,410 you begin to build the Kingdom of God on earth. 364 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,240 You're going to begin to spread the message of the Kingdom. 365 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,440 You're going to begin to tell people you love all around you 366 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,000 about King Jesus and how King Jesus died on the cross and he 367 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,400 forgives all of your sin and he covers you with grace by faith 368 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,040 alone, Through grace alone. And how after Jesus was 369 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:21,520 crucified, he was resurrected and ascended to heaven. 370 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,840 And so he rules and reigns over the entire world. 371 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:26,880 And that story is called the gospel. 372 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,800 And what Jesus says in this first parable is that the gospel 373 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,160 is the seed of the Kingdom of God. 374 00:22:32,740 --> 00:22:36,380 And so if you, if you want to change the world, the gospel is 375 00:22:36,380 --> 00:22:38,260 the seed that you're going to need to scatter. 376 00:22:38,740 --> 00:22:41,180 Jesus refers to sharing. The gospel is scattering the 377 00:22:41,180 --> 00:22:42,940 seed. And then look at verses 29, 378 00:22:43,740 --> 00:22:46,660 scatter the seed. It grows by surprise. 379 00:22:46,980 --> 00:22:50,340 And then you should have a sickle ready for when the seed 380 00:22:50,340 --> 00:22:55,220 grows into a into a harvest. And so what's going on here is 381 00:22:55,220 --> 00:22:59,020 that God is in control of the growth of his Kingdom. 382 00:22:59,980 --> 00:23:01,500 He controls the growth. Amen. 383 00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:06,900 But he doesn't rule over the world by just snapping his 384 00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:10,380 fingers in heaven. He doesn't rule over the world 385 00:23:10,380 --> 00:23:14,380 by just waving a magic wand in heaven. 386 00:23:14,820 --> 00:23:19,100 He rules over the world by working through you, the seed 387 00:23:19,100 --> 00:23:23,180 scatterer you are to scatter the seeds. 388 00:23:23,180 --> 00:23:26,500 You're to be prepared with a sickle for when the harvest 389 00:23:26,500 --> 00:23:28,660 comes. Another way of phrasing this is 390 00:23:28,660 --> 00:23:31,580 really simple. You actually have a mission in 391 00:23:31,580 --> 00:23:35,420 the Kingdom of God, and that is good news. 392 00:23:35,780 --> 00:23:40,940 There's a there's a sociologist who made this excellent note 393 00:23:40,940 --> 00:23:44,380 about what happened in in the Blitz during World War 2 in 394 00:23:44,380 --> 00:23:46,740 London. It's just it's it's an amazing 395 00:23:46,740 --> 00:23:49,940 story to think about. So in all throughout London 396 00:23:50,220 --> 00:23:52,700 before the blitz of World World War Two, there were these 397 00:23:52,700 --> 00:23:56,100 psychiatric wards that were filled with men who were 398 00:23:56,220 --> 00:23:57,860 catatonic. They were, they were laid up in 399 00:23:57,860 --> 00:24:00,890 these cots and and and they were, they were really 400 00:24:01,050 --> 00:24:02,450 catatonic. They couldn't do anything. 401 00:24:02,450 --> 00:24:04,650 They could barely get out. They were, they were stuck in 402 00:24:04,650 --> 00:24:07,170 the psychiatric ward, almost paralyzed. 403 00:24:08,170 --> 00:24:12,330 And then the Blitz happened. Germany started bombing, bombing 404 00:24:12,330 --> 00:24:14,130 London. And so all the sudden, all over 405 00:24:14,130 --> 00:24:17,740 London, they're just explosions everywhere, buildings falling 406 00:24:17,740 --> 00:24:20,860 apart, people getting hurt. And because of all of the all of 407 00:24:20,860 --> 00:24:24,460 the bombing there, there was way too much for the current people 408 00:24:24,460 --> 00:24:27,340 in their, their fire trucks and their ambulances to take care 409 00:24:27,340 --> 00:24:29,140 of. So you have all of this bombing 410 00:24:29,340 --> 00:24:32,260 and you don't have enough people to drive the ambulances and to 411 00:24:32,380 --> 00:24:33,860 to drive people to the hospitals. 412 00:24:34,100 --> 00:24:39,260 And all of the sudden in London, these men in the psychiatric 413 00:24:39,260 --> 00:24:44,180 ward, they've been catatonic, laid up in their cots. 414 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:46,440 All the sudden there's this need. 415 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,920 They don't have enough people to drive people to the hospitals. 416 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,560 All these sudden, these catatonic men start getting out 417 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:59,040 of their cots, walking out of the psychiatric ward and driving 418 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,480 ambulances and fire trucks to help people out. 419 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,600 What do you make of that? Here's 1000 things to make of 420 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,520 that. Here's here's one. 421 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:13,240 If people don't have a mission in this world, we'll get 422 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:17,330 catatonic in life. It's like you give people a 423 00:25:17,330 --> 00:25:21,850 mission in this world, They'll crawl over broken glass with a 424 00:25:21,850 --> 00:25:26,450 smile to accomplish the mission. It's it's an amazing story. 425 00:25:26,450 --> 00:25:33,570 If theologically, if all God did was love us without giving us a 426 00:25:33,570 --> 00:25:38,450 mission, we would be catatonic while feeling the warm fuzzies. 427 00:25:38,450 --> 00:25:44,090 But because God loves us so much, not only does He save us 428 00:25:44,090 --> 00:25:47,850 into his Kingdom, but He gives us a mission and a purpose. 429 00:25:47,850 --> 00:25:50,890 And here's the way it works. Hey, these seeds. 430 00:25:50,930 --> 00:25:54,130 This is my seed. I'm going to make it grow. 431 00:25:54,890 --> 00:25:56,610 You don't have to stress about making it grow. 432 00:25:56,810 --> 00:25:58,650 You don't have to be anxious about making it grow. 433 00:25:58,650 --> 00:26:03,250 You don't have to stress about the strategy for for scattering 434 00:26:03,250 --> 00:26:04,770 it. I'll make it grow. 435 00:26:04,970 --> 00:26:08,970 You just get to scatter it. That's the mission. 436 00:26:09,610 --> 00:26:11,570 I don't know about you, but that's a mission that I'll get 437 00:26:11,570 --> 00:26:15,740 out of my cop for. So when you think about tip #2, 438 00:26:16,140 --> 00:26:20,660 sleep at night and you think about tip #3, be involved with 439 00:26:20,660 --> 00:26:22,220 the mission. How do you reconcile those two 440 00:26:22,220 --> 00:26:25,300 things? Well, that brings us to tip #4 441 00:26:25,380 --> 00:26:29,780 on how to change the world, except the paradox of tips 442 00:26:29,780 --> 00:26:37,620 number two and three. Turns out that embracing God's 443 00:26:37,620 --> 00:26:43,040 sovereignty over everything, embracing God's sovereignty over 444 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:47,160 the growth of the Kingdom of God, It turns out that what that 445 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:50,800 does is it generates participation, not passivity. 446 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:55,760 I don't know how. Just try it. 447 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,280 Try trusting God to be in control of everything and then 448 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,440 just being on mission with them and see what happens. 449 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,200 And so if you're with me in this sermon so far, congratulations. 450 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,480 You are halfway to being able to change the world. 451 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,360 And that brings us to our fifth tip for changing the world. 452 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,040 And for this one, we're going to dip into the second parable, 453 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:20,320 which is similar to the first one, but a little bit different. 454 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,040 So here's tip #5 on how to change the world. 455 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,440 If you want to change the world, you have got to ruffle some 456 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,160 feathers. So Jesus transitions into the 457 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,480 second parable, and in the second parable he compares the 458 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:36,000 Kingdom of God not just to a generic seed, but to a mustard 459 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:36,680 seed. Okay. 460 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:41,500 Catch this One of the reasons why this is brilliant is because 461 00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:45,500 1st century Jewish people hated mustard plants. 462 00:27:46,260 --> 00:27:49,420 Hated them. I mean, the literary brilliance 463 00:27:49,420 --> 00:27:52,340 and humor of Jesus in this parable is just spot on. 464 00:27:52,340 --> 00:27:55,580 Your average 1st century Jewish person loved gardening, right? 465 00:27:55,580 --> 00:27:57,900 For a lot of different reasons. Obviously their culture was more 466 00:27:57,900 --> 00:28:01,380 agricultural than ours. They gave prominence to the 467 00:28:01,380 --> 00:28:03,620 Garden of Eden. So they love gardening, their 468 00:28:03,620 --> 00:28:07,620 household economy and depended a lot more on on gardening. 469 00:28:07,860 --> 00:28:10,700 And so they they absolutely just, they loved, they loved 470 00:28:10,700 --> 00:28:12,380 gardens. But do you know what mustard 471 00:28:12,380 --> 00:28:18,180 plants would do? Mustard plants were these stinky 472 00:28:18,900 --> 00:28:23,500 little seeds that were almost invisible that would creep into 473 00:28:23,500 --> 00:28:27,060 your garden. And what it would do is it would 474 00:28:27,140 --> 00:28:29,900 choke out all of the vegetation around it. 475 00:28:31,700 --> 00:28:37,730 And so and so don't miss this. A mustard seed is a revolution 476 00:28:37,930 --> 00:28:43,250 in a garden. It doesn't just grow, it chokes 477 00:28:43,250 --> 00:28:45,290 out the rest of the of the garden. 478 00:28:45,330 --> 00:28:48,370 They hated mustard seeds. And Jesus is like, hey, the 479 00:28:48,370 --> 00:28:52,130 Kingdom of God is like that. It's like a mustard seed. 480 00:28:52,250 --> 00:28:57,130 This is brilliant. It's a deep cut and an 481 00:28:57,130 --> 00:29:00,810 extraordinary prophecy. Because if you know history, 482 00:29:00,810 --> 00:29:04,130 what does Christianity do? Well, if you know history, what 483 00:29:04,130 --> 00:29:08,850 Christianity does is it begins as a little revolution among 12 484 00:29:08,850 --> 00:29:13,890 losers and one Jesus. And then the mustard seed gets 485 00:29:13,890 --> 00:29:18,250 planted and crushed, Jesus is crucified and his body is 486 00:29:18,250 --> 00:29:20,170 literally lowered into the ground. 487 00:29:20,450 --> 00:29:23,530 And then what happens is the seed begins to grow. 488 00:29:24,130 --> 00:29:27,430 Jesus is resurrected, and then the real growth starts to 489 00:29:27,430 --> 00:29:29,510 happen. And the Kingdom of God doesn't 490 00:29:29,510 --> 00:29:31,990 just grow. What it does is it chokes out 491 00:29:31,990 --> 00:29:34,070 all the other vegetation around it in the garden. 492 00:29:34,230 --> 00:29:37,870 It chokes out all the paganism in the world around it, right? 493 00:29:37,870 --> 00:29:40,870 If it were not for the Kingdom of God, we really don't have any 494 00:29:40,870 --> 00:29:43,510 real reason to think that we would live in a world without 495 00:29:43,510 --> 00:29:47,910 ritual childhood sacrifice. Christianity overthrew that. 496 00:29:48,870 --> 00:29:52,970 Christianity choked out Paganism and as Christianity continue to 497 00:29:52,970 --> 00:29:56,570 grow throughout the years, almost unbelievably it 498 00:29:56,610 --> 00:30:01,850 overthrows and overtakes Rome. And then somehow, someway over 499 00:30:01,850 --> 00:30:07,770 the next 1015 hundred 2000 years, in the year 2023, it's 500 00:30:07,770 --> 00:30:13,090 this full grown mustard seed that has branches that reach all 501 00:30:13,090 --> 00:30:16,250 the way over to Des Moines, IA so that you can be part of it. 502 00:30:16,250 --> 00:30:20,450 Isn't that amazing? And so, as you seek to change 503 00:30:20,450 --> 00:30:24,220 the world, just know there's two universal truths about the 504 00:30:24,220 --> 00:30:27,020 Kingdom of God. First, the world's going to 505 00:30:27,020 --> 00:30:30,580 think of it like mustard. People aren't going to like it. 506 00:30:32,220 --> 00:30:33,580 Sometimes they're going to criticize it. 507 00:30:35,020 --> 00:30:38,060 But #2 mustard plants always win. 508 00:30:39,700 --> 00:30:41,700 So the Kingdom of God, I need you to hear me on this. 509 00:30:42,060 --> 00:30:44,780 The Kingdom of God will be victorious. 510 00:30:44,860 --> 00:30:47,300 It will continue to grow unstoppably. 511 00:30:47,460 --> 00:30:51,560 People will be saved, People will confess that Jesus is Lord, 512 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,160 people will be filled with the Holy Spirit, people will be 513 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,360 forgiven of their sins, people will be clothed in the 514 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,680 righteousness of God, and Jesus will finally and fully return to 515 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:04,880 establish the Kingdom of God in its fullness. 516 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,400 I know sometimes it doesn't feel like that in the Western world, 517 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,320 but if you struggle with pessimism, here's a quote from 518 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,840 GK Chesterton from 100 years ago. 519 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:21,150 Quote Christianity has had a series of revolutions throughout 520 00:31:21,150 --> 00:31:25,790 history, and in each one of them Christianity has died. 521 00:31:26,550 --> 00:31:30,350 In fact, Christianity has died many times, but it has always 522 00:31:30,350 --> 00:31:35,190 risen again, for it has a God who knew the way out of the 523 00:31:35,190 --> 00:31:39,390 grave. Mustard seeds win. 524 00:31:40,670 --> 00:31:44,550 Which brings us to our 6th tip for changing the world. 525 00:31:44,910 --> 00:31:49,130 If you want to change the world for the love of God, don't use 526 00:31:49,130 --> 00:31:52,770 them. Don't use a measuring tape is 527 00:31:52,770 --> 00:31:56,330 what Jesus says in verse 31, The Mustard Seed. 528 00:31:56,490 --> 00:31:58,810 Here's one of the reasons why he likes the parable of the mustard 529 00:31:58,810 --> 00:32:03,210 seed. It is the smallest of all the 530 00:32:03,210 --> 00:32:08,130 seeds on earth, so apparently I look this up. 531 00:32:08,170 --> 00:32:11,850 A mustard seed is roughly the size of a period at the end of a 532 00:32:11,850 --> 00:32:16,680 sentence in 10 point font. It looks like this. 533 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:21,880 I put it on my hand for you. Those are my sermon notes. 534 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,960 Put it on this hand for you. Can you see it? 535 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:30,360 No, it's right there. Yeah, you can, can't you? 536 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:32,880 Carpenter, is it there? Can you tell us? 537 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,600 It's right there. Here's the point. 538 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,680 It's hard to see. That's the way it starts. 539 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,810 Starts small, and so if you measure the success of the 540 00:32:44,810 --> 00:32:48,490 heavenly Kingdom with earthly tools like measuring tapes, you 541 00:32:48,490 --> 00:32:50,770 miss the point. You often think that for the end 542 00:32:50,770 --> 00:32:53,290 breaking of the Kingdom to happen, you've got to have 543 00:32:53,290 --> 00:32:56,730 flashing lights, the perfect word or be a pastor. 544 00:32:57,210 --> 00:32:59,090 When in reality it starts like this. 545 00:33:01,490 --> 00:33:06,370 A small word, an act of prayer when you don't feel like it, 546 00:33:07,450 --> 00:33:11,920 encouraging a brother or sister, reminding your parents of the 547 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:16,000 gospel and what Jesus has done. Just these teeny tiny ways. 548 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:20,040 Jesus is referencing, I think, not just what you do to plant 549 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:23,680 the Kingdom of God on earth. I think he's also referencing 550 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:28,080 the smallness and ordinariness of how his own ministry appears, 551 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:31,160 because the nature of his kingship doesn't match what so 552 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,890 many people thought the Messiah would be like in the minds of 553 00:33:33,890 --> 00:33:35,890 most people. They thought that when the 554 00:33:35,890 --> 00:33:39,890 Messiah came, he would overthrow Rome with violent force and 555 00:33:39,890 --> 00:33:44,930 military coercion. But it's mustard. 556 00:33:45,930 --> 00:33:50,170 It's a mustard seed, right? Instead, the strange and odd 557 00:33:50,170 --> 00:33:58,210 king, he achieves victory not by killing, but by dying now, by 558 00:33:58,210 --> 00:34:03,170 coercion, but by love. His Kingdom started like a 559 00:34:03,170 --> 00:34:06,490 period at the end of a sentence, and I think it would be wise for 560 00:34:06,490 --> 00:34:08,489 those of us in the room who want to change the world to not 561 00:34:08,489 --> 00:34:12,850 despise small things. Going to church, praying in the 562 00:34:12,850 --> 00:34:16,570 morning, reading the Bible in private, forgiving our enemies, 563 00:34:16,770 --> 00:34:19,090 showing our children how to delight in Jesus. 564 00:34:19,370 --> 00:34:23,889 Because even though a mustard seed starts small, like a period 565 00:34:23,889 --> 00:34:28,050 at the end of a sentence, small, when you put several periods 566 00:34:28,050 --> 00:34:31,489 together in a row, that's called an ellipsis. 567 00:34:32,389 --> 00:34:35,870 And in the English world in ellipsis, 3 periods in a row 568 00:34:36,070 --> 00:34:39,550 means that the sentence isn't ending, but that the story is 569 00:34:39,550 --> 00:34:44,429 continuing. dot, dot, dot. So don't, don't use worldly 570 00:34:44,429 --> 00:34:48,110 tools to measure the success of the Kingdom of God. 571 00:34:48,830 --> 00:34:51,469 Which brings us to our seventh point. 572 00:34:51,590 --> 00:34:53,710 Here's a 7th tip for how to change the world. 573 00:34:53,710 --> 00:34:57,750 If you want to change the world you got to be for the birds. 574 00:34:58,190 --> 00:35:00,190 And this is where the parable of the mustard seed goes from 575 00:35:00,190 --> 00:35:02,510 ruffling feathers to just straight up offensive. 576 00:35:02,750 --> 00:35:05,990 When the Kingdom of God finally grows into a mustard plant with 577 00:35:05,990 --> 00:35:11,190 branches it makes room and this is verse 32 for quote the birds 578 00:35:11,190 --> 00:35:14,190 of the air to make their nest and its shade. 579 00:35:14,550 --> 00:35:17,710 Birds and the Old Testament is a common reference to the gentiles 580 00:35:17,710 --> 00:35:22,750 of other nations pagans. So what Jesus is saying is that 581 00:35:22,750 --> 00:35:26,710 his Kingdom is going to grow to have branches that stretch so 582 00:35:26,710 --> 00:35:30,870 wide that all the different birds of the air all over the 583 00:35:30,950 --> 00:35:34,310 all over the world will make a home for themselves in the 584 00:35:34,310 --> 00:35:38,390 branches of His Kingdom. You guys know the phrase ask for 585 00:35:38,390 --> 00:35:42,510 the birds. It's always like to say 586 00:35:42,510 --> 00:35:45,310 something lame, right? Like I have movies for the 587 00:35:45,310 --> 00:35:51,550 birds, Cole's, mustaches for the birds, That's for the birds. 588 00:35:51,590 --> 00:35:55,110 Bring you back. It's like a mustard seed. 589 00:35:55,670 --> 00:35:56,630 No it's not. It's not. 590 00:35:56,630 --> 00:36:00,590 It grows pretty fast. It's for the birds, right? 591 00:36:01,430 --> 00:36:03,430 Usually a reference for something that's lame. 592 00:36:07,990 --> 00:36:10,110 But luckily for you, Jesus is for the birds. 593 00:36:11,430 --> 00:36:13,990 And the reason why that's good for you is because to a 1st 594 00:36:13,990 --> 00:36:18,630 century Jew, you're a bird. And so Jesus saves people from 595 00:36:18,670 --> 00:36:22,420 all over, weird people, some of whom you don't even like. 596 00:36:22,660 --> 00:36:25,100 And again, that's good news, because to some people you're a 597 00:36:25,100 --> 00:36:27,980 person they don't like. And so you got to realize that 598 00:36:28,060 --> 00:36:30,420 Jesus and his Kingdom is for the birds. 599 00:36:30,420 --> 00:36:32,980 The least likely the ones from over there, the ones over here, 600 00:36:32,980 --> 00:36:35,860 is Kingdom is diverse. Not in the sense that it makes 601 00:36:35,860 --> 00:36:37,820 room for other kings. It doesn't. 602 00:36:38,100 --> 00:36:41,100 It's a theocracy. Jesus is king and his his word 603 00:36:41,100 --> 00:36:43,820 goes, but it is diverse in every other way. 604 00:36:43,820 --> 00:36:47,100 It's diverse in the sense that it's designed to be multiethnic. 605 00:36:47,510 --> 00:36:49,830 It's diverse and that it's supposed to include intelligent 606 00:36:49,830 --> 00:36:52,790 people and average people and people with mental, mental 607 00:36:52,790 --> 00:36:54,790 disabilities. It's diverse and that it 608 00:36:54,790 --> 00:36:57,510 includes old people and children and everything in between. 609 00:36:57,750 --> 00:37:01,070 And that means that it's going to include some people you don't 610 00:37:01,070 --> 00:37:06,430 like because Jesus saves people that you don't like, because 611 00:37:06,430 --> 00:37:09,150 it's Kingdom. It's going to grow. 612 00:37:09,870 --> 00:37:12,270 It's going to spread branches all over the world. 613 00:37:12,510 --> 00:37:16,230 It's going to and Jesus is going to change the world. 614 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:21,080 And that brings us to our 8th and probably most important 615 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:23,520 point and tip for how to change the world. 616 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:28,800 If you want to change the world, then eighth, you should repent 617 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:30,440 of thinking that you can change the world. 618 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:37,240 Can't do it. It's not in your power, it's not 619 00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:39,800 in your strength, and it's not your mission. 620 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,120 This whole sermon has really just kind of been a farce and a 621 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:44,970 parody for this exact point. So you can go and take your 622 00:37:44,970 --> 00:37:47,250 notes from one through 7, crumple them up and throw them 623 00:37:47,250 --> 00:37:49,090 away. Well, don't. 624 00:37:49,090 --> 00:37:51,890 They're filled with truth. We looked at the biblical text, 625 00:37:52,010 --> 00:37:55,370 but there is one premise that as you relisten to the sermon, you 626 00:37:55,370 --> 00:37:57,690 need to get rid of. And that's the premise that you 627 00:37:57,690 --> 00:38:01,090 are the one in any of these eight points that's changing the 628 00:38:01,090 --> 00:38:02,610 world. It's not your job. 629 00:38:03,610 --> 00:38:11,170 It's Jesus's job, Your job. Be faithful, your job. 630 00:38:12,170 --> 00:38:18,220 It's the gist. Seek first the Kingdom. 631 00:38:22,020 --> 00:38:26,220 If you don't do that, if you pressure yourself to change the 632 00:38:26,220 --> 00:38:32,420 world, if you, if you become obsessed with results, it's 633 00:38:32,420 --> 00:38:36,380 going to be deaf. Like don't pressure yourself to 634 00:38:36,380 --> 00:38:38,500 change the world. Don't even put the pressure on 635 00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:42,700 yourself to save your children or your friends. 636 00:38:43,370 --> 00:38:47,050 Because if you do that right, all you're in charge of is the 637 00:38:47,050 --> 00:38:48,810 faithfulness, not the fruitfulness. 638 00:38:49,370 --> 00:38:53,250 And if you focus on your evangelism and if you focus on 639 00:38:53,250 --> 00:38:56,370 your ministry and mission, like their statistics for the back of 640 00:38:56,370 --> 00:38:59,810 a baseball card, life will feel like death. 641 00:39:00,170 --> 00:39:02,530 And I know that because I have the temptation to do that. 642 00:39:04,290 --> 00:39:07,170 And if I be totally honest with you guys, sometimes when I think 643 00:39:07,170 --> 00:39:11,010 of my life in terms of results, I just get sad. 644 00:39:13,370 --> 00:39:23,890 Like I'm disappointed with how little impact I feel like I've 645 00:39:23,890 --> 00:39:25,930 had for the Kingdom of God in the world. 646 00:39:27,850 --> 00:39:30,130 I like. I like I I wish that more 647 00:39:30,130 --> 00:39:34,010 friends of mine had been saved by the gospel because of me. 648 00:39:35,330 --> 00:39:38,010 And I wish that more people had been saved by the gospel because 649 00:39:38,010 --> 00:39:41,120 of my preaching. And I wish that there were more 650 00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:44,880 people who have been saved by Jesus because of my my, my, my 651 00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:47,720 ministry in my life. My life has not produced the 652 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:50,200 results that I wanted to. It hasn't. 653 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:55,280 You know what my comfort is? God brings the growth. 654 00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,800 That's God's job, right? When I see King Jesus in heaven, 655 00:39:59,920 --> 00:40:04,600 his first words are not going to be job well done, good and 656 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:09,050 effective servant. His first words aren't even Job 657 00:40:09,050 --> 00:40:12,010 well done, good and fruitful servant. 658 00:40:12,730 --> 00:40:17,130 His words will be Job well done, good and faithful servant. 659 00:40:17,770 --> 00:40:21,290 So just seek first the Kingdom of God. 660 00:40:23,250 --> 00:40:25,570 I love that parable about the footprints in the snow because 661 00:40:25,570 --> 00:40:29,530 it illustrates this perfectly. Setting your sights on yourself 662 00:40:30,090 --> 00:40:33,720 is just looking at your feet. Setting your sights on the world 663 00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:36,040 is just looking at everything around you so that you form a 664 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,880 zigzag path that makes no difference in the world. 665 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:40,880 All the changing, all the shifting. 666 00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:43,480 And so when you look back at the footprints you left behind, 667 00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:46,400 it'll just be a circle or a line in the wrong direction. 668 00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:49,920 There's only one thing that never changes, Jesus. 669 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,760 And so the one tree for you to fix your eyes on in the distance 670 00:40:55,280 --> 00:41:00,840 is the tree that Jesus died on. And if you focus on the Kingdom 671 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:06,830 of God, on Jesus first, it's going to leave a legacy for the 672 00:41:06,830 --> 00:41:10,510 Kingdom, so that one day when you go to sleep and wake up in 673 00:41:10,510 --> 00:41:12,870 heaven, you're going to be surprised and be like what you 674 00:41:12,870 --> 00:41:17,190 did that with. Those things leave a straight 675 00:41:17,190 --> 00:41:19,510 line behind. Seek first the Kingdom of God. 676 00:41:19,870 --> 00:41:23,270 And Jesus isn't asking you to do anything he hasn't done for you. 677 00:41:24,390 --> 00:41:27,270 Because even if your life has been a zigzag pattern, even if 678 00:41:27,270 --> 00:41:31,190 your life has been circles in the wrong direction, there is a 679 00:41:31,230 --> 00:41:37,150 straight line from the tree in the distance to you because 680 00:41:37,270 --> 00:41:40,750 Jesus has sought you with a singular focus. 681 00:41:41,270 --> 00:41:44,070 He has sought you from before time even began. 682 00:41:44,590 --> 00:41:49,190 He emptied heaven to come and pursue you with a B line. 683 00:41:50,270 --> 00:41:55,320 So seek first the Kingdom and just let Jesus sort out the 684 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:58,040 results and the outcomes. I mean, Jesus's life appeared to 685 00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,320 be no bigger than a period at the end of a sentence would have 686 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:02,400 ended. Jesus's life appeared to be a 687 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:04,800 failure at first. The 1st 30 years of his life 688 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:06,480 were lived in complete obscurity. 689 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:08,400 He never traveled outside of the Middle East. 690 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:11,480 As far as we know. He never married, he never had 691 00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:13,440 kids. Everything we know about him is 692 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:15,800 crammed into three years of ministry. 693 00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:19,000 Even that ministry ended with him being condemned as a 694 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:22,200 criminal. You could not imagine a smaller 695 00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:25,060 start for his Kingdom Couldn't do it. 696 00:42:25,980 --> 00:42:27,980 That's the smallest start you can imagine. 697 00:42:30,140 --> 00:42:38,900 But what does a mustard seed do? It's planted, it's crushed, and 698 00:42:38,900 --> 00:42:44,220 then it begins to grow and it begins to choke everything else 699 00:42:44,300 --> 00:42:49,020 out. And then it grows and puts out 700 00:42:49,020 --> 00:42:57,280 branches that are so wide and extends so far that 2000 years 701 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:02,760 later all the way in Des Moines, IA, is a branch for you to make 702 00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:04,560 home for yourself in the Kingdom of God. 703 00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:11,240 So seek first the Kingdom. I got a lot of a lot of us. 704 00:43:11,240 --> 00:43:14,120 We don't seek first the Kingdom because we don't know how 705 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:19,120 mustard seeds work. But now you do. 706 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:25,110 So let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for 707 00:43:27,190 --> 00:43:32,830 being a mustard seed king, Being a king who seems obscure, who 708 00:43:32,830 --> 00:43:40,110 seems to be without results, who starts small and yet changes and 709 00:43:40,110 --> 00:43:43,510 transforms the entire world. That's a king that I want to be 710 00:43:43,510 --> 00:43:45,710 on mission with. And so, Lord, I just pray that 711 00:43:45,710 --> 00:43:49,470 we would not be a church that despises small things. 712 00:43:50,390 --> 00:43:53,160 You don't have to be a church leader to change the world. 713 00:43:54,040 --> 00:43:56,320 You don't have to be a pastor to change the world. 714 00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:00,080 You don't have to be a public speaker to change the world. 715 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:03,840 You don't have to have 10,000 followers on social media to 716 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:08,000 change the world. You just got to scatter, sleep 717 00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:10,280 and be prepared for the harvest with the sickle. 718 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:12,480 So, Lord, would you equip us to do just that? 719 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,200 It's in the precious name of Jesus that we pray these things. 720 00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:17,280 Amen.