The Kingdom of Heaven
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Our sermon will be on Acts 9:1-19
We have a website: https://tahlequahworshipcenter.com/
We have started Wednesday Night service back up
We need a work day
We are having a candlelight service after church on 12/26
Prayer requests
Sue
Georgey
Billy
Dorcas
Mark Wilson
Cristy’s Grandparents
Sandra
Jim’s Son
Stephen
Songs
Joy To The World - 118 - Bb
In The Garden - 583 - Eb
There Is A Kingdom - Eb?
Introduction
Has anyone taken a seed, put it in a pot and let it grow?
The February before last, we planted some pepper seeds at work and we were going to let them grow out.
My plant grew and started getting pretty bid, but then COVIC hit and we didn’t go into the office for awhile.
Cristy and I have grown some things and some of our plants have grown and done fairly well.
Most of them not as well.
We have some apple trees that are not doing that well.
Cristy did plant some sunflowers that got pretty big.
Things don’t always grow like we want them to.
Some things start off small and get really big.
When a kangaroo is born, it is only an inch long. They grow to be the tallest of marsupials - about 6 foot.
Newborn Kangaroo
Grown Kangaroo
Horses start off pretty big and then get even bigger.
The truth is that all life starts off small and then grows.
It’s starts off as one cell and then grows bigger and bigger.
I said earlier that we are not too good at growing things, but there is one thing that we have grown pretty well.
Our kids.
Imagine Josh. He started off as this tiny microscopic one celled life.
He had his own DNA and he grew inside of his momma until he was about 21 inches long and 7 lbs.
Now he’s almost 20 and almost 6 foot tall and over 200 pounds.
Many things start off small and get bigger.
Jesus is going to use that idea and apply it to
The Kingdom Of God
The Kingdom Of God
18 Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
20 And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’
26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’
27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
28 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, and yourselves thrust out.
29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
The Way It Starts
The Way It Starts
In these examples, Jesus uses things that his audience understands to express things about the Kingdom of Heaven.
In the account in Mark, it expands even more.
30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?
31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;
32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
It gets bigger and bigger and they can grow over 6 ft and have spreading branches like a tree.
Now that’s big for a herb.
Seed
Mustard Plant
The point here is that it starts off small.
The people Jesus were speaking to thought that the Kingdom of God was the nation of Israel.
They were thinking of a physical kingdom.
That’s not what Jesus is talking about here
He will have a physical kingdom later, but how that all works out is not the point I’m making.
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
Notice what Jesus says “but now my kingdom is not from here.”
The kingdom is coming.
Some think that the kingdom is coming to the earth in a millennial reign. Others think it will be in the new Jerusalem.
The point is that the kingdom of Heaven is coming and it will start out small
Jesus took a few people and invested his life in them.
Then he gave his life for them.
By the time of there resurrection there were over 500, but that is small compared to the world.
As the kingdom grew, it started off small and at each place grew.
Our church is small, but it can grow. It will grow
The Way It Grows
The Way It Grows
Not long ago, I talked about yeast a bit. I said it was a microscopic organism
I don’t want to reiterate what I said before, but instead I want to say what it does. It is something that once it gets into a food source like flour, it spreads.
It is alive. I think i have some yeast in a jar at home and if it stays refrigerated can stay good for a long time.
It takes just a little bit and whatever you are making will be leavened.
If it is put in a place where it can grow, it will.
The same is true for the kingdom of Heaven.
We don’t need much and we will grow and produce the effect that’s needed.
Our church is small, but the effect we can have can be great if we are in the right environment.
We need people around us and we can change the world.
We don’t want to isolate ourselves.
We need to be where we can grow.
Like the leaven or mustard plant.
We can grow and spread the kingdom.
The Way There
The Way There
In this last passage, Jesus is asked a question. “Are there few who are saved?”
We could ask that question today. Especially in America.
Overall, most people consider themselves Christian, but most of them don’t act like it.
I think we need to understand why.
A recent study by Probe Ministries says that 60% of Christians under 40 say that Jesus isn’t the only way to salvation.
Jesus says in John 14:6 “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
And Peter tells us in Acts 4:12 “12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
It is clear in scripture.
In our passage, it tells us to look for the narrow gate.
Many will come and try to enter, but God will not allow them in.
Jesus tells us who those will be. He calls them workers of iniquity.
So what is a worker of iniquity?
This comes from a phrase that means: those who break the law.
It’s generally accepted it is someone who disregards what is right or someone that teaches that.
We all sin and we have all fallen short. There are none good.
So who is Jesus talking about here?
Well, let’s look at who Jesus says are saved. Those who believe.
In the previous example I said there are people who don’t think Jesus isn’t the only way of salvation.
If that’s what they truly believe, then are putting their faith in Jesus.
The truth is no, they are not.
If Jesus himself said that “HE IS THE WAY”, then we are not trusting in him if we believe there is another way.
That’s what this passage is telling us.
The narrow gate is Jesus.
And one day, God will say “The End”
In all of the Marvel movies (the MCU), there are pre, mid, or post credits scenes except for one.
They all point to something else happening.
The only exception is Endgame.
Well, there is an endgame to each one of us.
One of these days, there will be no more.
We won’t have a chance to be saved.
Out of millions of possibilities, there is only one scenario where we are saved.
That is to trust in Jesus.
So what do we do about it?
We need to tell the world
We are the leaven that leavens the whole lump.
We are the seed that grows into a tree, which then grows more seed.
We are on the narrow path and we need to show others the way.
We are the leaven, and we are the seed.
Let’s shine our lights so that others may see.