1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,500 We’re looking at the parables of Jesus in which he gives us wisdom for sustaining a 2 00:00:06,500 –> 00:00:08,040 lifetime of service. 3 00:00:08,040 –> 00:00:13,920 What does it take to keep serving Jesus Christ throughout a lifetime? 4 00:00:13,920 –> 00:00:20,080 Well, it takes courage, it takes commitment, it takes perseverance, it also takes wisdom. 5 00:00:20,080 –> 00:00:24,459 And Jesus is teaching us certain things that we need to know, to have locked into our minds 6 00:00:24,480 –> 00:00:30,780 and into our hearts, that will enable us to have the kind of wisdom that we need for sustaining 7 00:00:30,780 –> 00:00:33,119 a lifetime of service. 8 00:00:33,119 –> 00:00:38,299 And we began with the theme of expectations which we saw from the parable of the sower, 9 00:00:38,299 –> 00:00:42,700 Jesus says, now understand this, when you get involved in ministry, different people 10 00:00:42,700 –> 00:00:46,360 will respond to the word of God in different ways. 11 00:00:46,360 –> 00:00:51,419 You must expect this, you mustn’t be surprised by it, and you mustn’t be unduly discouraged 12 00:00:51,419 –> 00:00:53,099 about it. 13 00:00:53,400 –> 00:00:57,080 You will find that certain people are very resistant to the word of God, they’re just 14 00:00:57,080 –> 00:00:58,980 like a hard path. 15 00:00:58,980 –> 00:01:02,880 You’ll find that while there are others who are immediately enthusiastic, they don’t really 16 00:01:02,880 –> 00:01:07,320 have much root within themselves and they quickly fall away, they move away as fast 17 00:01:07,320 –> 00:01:09,320 as they move towards the word. 18 00:01:09,320 –> 00:01:14,639 You’ll find that there are others who receive the word but it just gets chocked in their 19 00:01:14,639 –> 00:01:15,639 lives. 20 00:01:15,639 –> 00:01:20,180 They’re preoccupied with other things, their lives are full and somehow the word never 21 00:01:20,180 –> 00:01:22,099 really thrives within them. 22 00:01:22,360 –> 00:01:24,080 They never really grow. 23 00:01:24,080 –> 00:01:28,919 Understand this – this is part of what you will experience, it is always like this. 24 00:01:28,919 –> 00:01:34,580 But also understand this – that with all of that going on, there are others in whom 25 00:01:34,580 –> 00:01:42,059 the word of God as you sow it in their lives, it will bear a harvest 30, 60, 100 fold. 26 00:01:42,059 –> 00:01:47,360 If you are to sustain a life of service, this is what you must expect and you must understand 27 00:01:47,360 –> 00:01:51,820 the nature of the ministry in which you are involved. 28 00:01:52,620 –> 00:01:58,620 Then we looked last week at a second parable that is about the nature of the world in which 29 00:01:58,639 –> 00:02:02,040 we are to pursue this ministry. 30 00:02:02,040 –> 00:02:08,520 Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the weeds, and in this he is laying out for us 31 00:02:08,520 –> 00:02:11,559 the theme of limitations. 32 00:02:11,559 –> 00:02:18,199 Always understand this – that while Christ is sowing the living seed in good soil, there 33 00:02:18,240 –> 00:02:21,779 is also an enemy who is sowing weeds. 34 00:02:21,779 –> 00:02:28,000 Therefore, when the wheat grows up, and you would expect it just to look a beautiful field 35 00:02:28,000 –> 00:02:31,259 flourishing with all this growth of wheat. 36 00:02:31,259 –> 00:02:34,000 Actually, the world doesn’t look like that. 37 00:02:34,000 –> 00:02:41,080 It looks a bit of a mess, because the enemy has been planting the weeds among the wheat. 38 00:02:41,080 –> 00:02:45,759 Jesus makes it very clear to us that that will be the nature of the world in which we 39 00:02:45,759 –> 00:02:49,059 live until he returns. 40 00:02:49,059 –> 00:02:53,500 Let the two grow together until harvest. 41 00:02:53,500 –> 00:02:58,339 So this is how it will be, from the resurrection of Jesus to the return of the Lord Jesus. 42 00:02:58,339 –> 00:03:02,979 You have to understand the nature of the world in which we live. 43 00:03:02,979 –> 00:03:08,320 Evil will always be springing up until Christ comes again. 44 00:03:08,320 –> 00:03:14,259 And our responsibility is to bloom where we are planted and to flourish with the fruit 45 00:03:14,259 –> 00:03:18,960 of the good seed that he has, indeed, planted in our lives. 46 00:03:18,960 –> 00:03:22,240 Then Christ will come, and He will gather the weeds, He will put them into bundles, 47 00:03:22,240 –> 00:03:27,979 and He will be the one who casts them into the fire. 48 00:03:27,979 –> 00:03:33,059 So Jesus is giving us wisdom for sustaining a lifetime of ministry. 49 00:03:33,059 –> 00:03:37,100 Understand the nature of the work in which you are involved. 50 00:03:38,100 –> 00:03:44,000 nature of the world in which you are doing this work. 51 00:03:44,000 –> 00:03:51,000 Now, today we come to the parable of the mustard seed, this tiny, tiny seed that grows to become 52 00:03:51,740 –> 00:03:58,740 a great tree, and the parable of the leaven, the yeast that permeates the whole batch of 53 00:04:00,779 –> 00:04:01,940 dough. 54 00:04:02,919 –> 00:04:08,020 it’s interesting that with the first two parables that we’ve looked at, Jesus actually gives 55 00:04:08,020 –> 00:04:14,479 us the interpretation. But with these parables, and the ones that follow, he does not give 56 00:04:14,479 –> 00:04:20,339 us an interpretation. He simply gives to us the story. And so you might not be terribly 57 00:04:20,339 –> 00:04:27,239 surprised then to learn that these parables have been understood in very different ways 58 00:04:27,519 –> 00:04:34,320 by good and by godly people. In fact, as I was thinking about this, I was reminded of 59 00:04:34,320 –> 00:04:42,420 the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks hasn’t made many appearances from 60 00:04:42,420 –> 00:04:48,859 this pulpit but here she is today. You remember the story that Goldilocks is wandering in 61 00:04:48,859 –> 00:04:54,579 the woods, and then she comes across this house that belongs to the Three Bears and 62 00:04:54,880 –> 00:05:00,500 into the house and nobody is there, but she finds that on the table, there are three bowls 63 00:05:00,500 –> 00:05:08,679 of porridge and so she tries the first bowl of porridge and it was too hot and then she 64 00:05:08,679 –> 00:05:15,880 tries the second bowl of porridge and, please help me, it was too cold and then she finds 65 00:05:15,880 –> 00:05:23,700 the third bowl of porridge and it was just right, and so she ate it all up. Well, I’m 66 00:05:23,820 –> 00:05:29,820 glad to know that we have the story clearly in our minds. Now, the three ways in which 67 00:05:29,820 –> 00:05:38,380 these two parables have been understood I’m going to describe them as too hot, too cold, 68 00:05:38,380 –> 00:05:43,519 and just right. We will have a taste of all three and when we get to the third, I hope 69 00:05:43,519 –> 00:05:52,519 that with me you will eat it all up, so to speak. So, let’s begin here, too hot. Some 70 00:05:52,519 –> 00:06:02,320 have understood these parables as being a prophecy of unrivaled success. In other words, 71 00:06:02,320 –> 00:06:07,600 some Christians have understood Jesus to be saying through these parables that the world 72 00:06:07,600 –> 00:06:14,359 will get better as the gospel spreads and the world is therefore brought increasingly 73 00:06:14,359 –> 00:06:22,140 under Christian influence. That just as leaven leavens the whole lump of dough, so the whole 74 00:06:22,140 –> 00:06:29,359 world will be changed progressively by the gospel and that the history of the world will 75 00:06:29,359 –> 00:06:36,760 be the unbroken and unrivaled advancing of gospel frontiers with the improvement that 76 00:06:36,760 –> 00:06:44,679 will come to the world as a result. Now of course there is some truth to this. The expansion 77 00:06:44,679 –> 00:06:53,380 of the gospel across the world has been remarkable over the last 2000 years. Indeed great blessing 78 00:06:53,380 –> 00:07:00,519 has come to the world. If you think about how improvements in health and education and 79 00:07:00,519 –> 00:07:06,739 reform of prison and so forth have come in the wake of the advance of the gospel. It 80 00:07:06,739 –> 00:07:14,920 is a remarkable, remarkable story of blessing coming widely to the world. But the problem 81 00:07:14,920 –> 00:07:20,380 with this understanding lies in the parable that we looked at last week, the parable of 82 00:07:20,380 –> 00:07:27,660 the wheat and the tares. And there we saw that until Jesus Christ returns the enemy 83 00:07:27,760 –> 00:07:34,760 will always be sowing weeds. And so, Jesus is not saying to us that if we as the church 84 00:07:35,140 –> 00:07:42,140 get it right, that the whole world will thereby become Christian. Now here we come to a very 85 00:07:42,820 –> 00:07:48,019 important principle for understanding the Bible. There are people who read the Bible 86 00:07:48,019 –> 00:07:52,859 through the week, we submit ourselves to the Bible as we gather together in worship. 87 00:07:52,880 –> 00:07:58,880 How are we to understand the Bible? A very important principle, we must always understand 88 00:07:58,880 –> 00:08:05,880 Scripture in the light of Scripture. This is a principle that has guided the church 89 00:08:07,500 –> 00:08:13,779 throughout its history. We believe that God has spoken. And because the Bible is the Word 90 00:08:13,779 –> 00:08:20,059 of God, and that God is its author and God has spoken it, it follows that God does not 91 00:08:20,279 –> 00:08:27,279 contradict himself, and therefore we must never interpret a passage of Scripture in 92 00:08:27,440 –> 00:08:34,440 a way that would put it in direct contradiction to another part or passage of Scripture. 93 00:08:34,780 –> 00:08:40,739 We saw just last week that Jesus, in the parable of the wheat and the weeds, makes it quite 94 00:08:40,739 –> 00:08:47,739 clear that the weeds of evil will remain until his return. Let both grow together until the 95 00:08:48,739 –> 00:08:55,739 harvest he says. So in the light of other Scripture, viewing these parables as a prophecy 96 00:08:57,179 –> 00:09:04,179 of unrivalled success, of this advance of the gospel bringing a sort of utopian kind 97 00:09:04,820 –> 00:09:11,299 of world, a sort of millennium in advance of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 98 00:09:11,580 –> 00:09:18,580 way too hot, that is too optimistic. And so having tasted that bowl and saying, ooh, that 99 00:09:18,739 –> 00:09:24,099 is too hot, I think it is time to move on to the second bowl of porridge if you see 100 00:09:24,099 –> 00:09:29,900 what I mean. And, would you be surprised that there have also been Christians who have come 101 00:09:29,900 –> 00:09:36,780 with an understanding of these parables that I would describe as too cold, too cold. That 102 00:09:36,820 –> 00:09:43,700 is, some Christians have understood these parables, far from being a sort of prophecy 103 00:09:43,700 –> 00:09:53,440 of Utopian success, as being rather a warning of relentless decline. And those who interpret 104 00:09:53,440 –> 00:10:04,020 in this way point out that leaven is often used in the Bible as a symbol of evil, not 105 00:10:04,020 –> 00:10:13,000 of good. Jesus says for example, in Matthew 16, beware of the leaven of the pharisees. 106 00:10:13,000 –> 00:10:20,119 Paul says in 1 Corinthians, cleanse out the old leaven. And so folks will go down this 107 00:10:20,119 –> 00:10:24,900 second line of understanding and say now leaven in the Bible is bad, and this is saying that 108 00:10:24,900 –> 00:10:30,979 the leaven spreads throughout the dough, that didn’t sound like a good thing to us. Then 109 00:10:31,559 –> 00:10:37,859 down this line of understanding say now, the birds that come and nest in the branches of 110 00:10:37,859 –> 00:10:44,859 this mustard bush that has now developed to become a tree. Now that sounds like a beautiful 111 00:10:44,859 –> 00:10:52,039 picture, doesn’t it? Birds in the tree. But they say the birds in the earlier parable 112 00:10:52,039 –> 00:10:58,419 of the sower are the ones that come and take the seed of the word of God and take it away 113 00:10:58,539 –> 00:11:05,020 when it falls on the path. So, that is not a good thing that the birds are doing there. 114 00:11:05,020 –> 00:11:12,020 So, you can understand how down this line of thought instead of seeing these parables 115 00:11:12,059 –> 00:11:18,739 as a prophecy of growth and success some Christians have come to understand these parables to 116 00:11:18,739 –> 00:11:25,739 be a warning or spreading evil and of corruption and of decline. Now, on this view then, Jesus 117 00:11:28,619 –> 00:11:34,320 is warning the disciples that in the future of the church in the next 2,000 years as it 118 00:11:34,320 –> 00:11:39,659 has turned out to be to our point in history what they must expect is that truth will be 119 00:11:39,659 –> 00:11:46,640 compromised and that godliness will be corrupted and that the church will become a sort of 120 00:11:46,640 –> 00:11:52,380 nesting place for birds. That is, they will be taken over by people who actually remove 121 00:11:52,380 –> 00:11:58,479 the word of god from it as the birds in the earlier parable took away the seed of the 122 00:11:58,479 –> 00:12:08,719 word of god. Now, no less, an authority than G. Campbell Morgan takes this line and it’s 123 00:12:08,719 –> 00:12:18,179 absolutely fascinating to me. He’s writing in 1943. Remember we noted last week that 124 00:12:18,299 –> 00:12:29,419 the Gospel was going to spread in the 20th century, the world was going to be a different 125 00:12:29,419 –> 00:12:34,760 place from what it had ever been before. That unparalleled good was going to come, Christendom 126 00:12:34,760 –> 00:12:42,020 was going to conquer all and so forth and so on. And then what happened after that massive 127 00:12:42,719 –> 00:12:48,919 surge of enthusiasm, was of course two world wars and just the evil and the atrocities 128 00:12:48,919 –> 00:12:53,960 left people feeling they were in an entirely different world from the world they had thought 129 00:12:53,960 –> 00:13:00,960 before. And so, writing in 1943, here’s Campbell Morgan, and he makes exactly this point, 130 00:13:04,260 –> 00:13:11,260 The popular conception of this particular parable, is that our Lord predicted great 131 00:13:11,919 –> 00:13:18,919 success for the kingdom. That view, he says, has however been distinctly disproved by history. 132 00:13:22,580 –> 00:13:29,580 There has been growth, he says, but it has been unsatisfactory. We thought, he says, 133 00:13:31,400 –> 00:13:35,200 it would have been so different. He’s referring back to his own younger days at the end of 134 00:13:35,200 –> 00:13:40,539 the 19th Century. We thought that it would have been so different, that the kingdom principles 135 00:13:40,559 –> 00:13:47,559 were winning. Now some of us thought that when we were young, too. We thought that was 136 00:13:48,239 –> 00:13:53,940 so with a certain measure of arrogance, says Campbell Morgan. We thought that was so with 137 00:13:53,940 –> 00:13:59,659 a certain measure of arrogance at the close of the 19th Century and on into the 20th. 138 00:13:59,659 –> 00:14:06,659 Then, like the crack of doom, we found the kingdom ideal rejected by the philosophers 139 00:14:07,340 –> 00:14:14,340 of the earth. And the earth was bathed in blood and muck and war. 140 00:14:14,940 –> 00:14:19,940 Now, again, it has to be said that there is some truth in what is being said by those 141 00:14:19,940 –> 00:14:26,940 who understand the parables in this way. Too often the church has lost its grasp on truth 142 00:14:27,599 –> 00:14:34,599 throughout the last 2000 years. Too often genuine godliness has been buried beneath 143 00:14:35,299 –> 00:14:42,299 corruption or compromise. But I want you to notice that these parables that Jesus tells 144 00:14:43,239 –> 00:14:50,239 are not about the history of the church. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like. That is 145 00:14:54,599 –> 00:15:01,599 here’s what the rule of God looks like in the world. And the reign of Christ is not 146 00:15:01,979 –> 00:15:07,080 a story of decline or a failure or of corruption or of compromise. There is none of that in 147 00:15:07,080 –> 00:15:14,080 Christ. So here we come to a second principle for understanding the Bible. If you grasp 148 00:15:14,460 –> 00:15:20,020 these two you’ve really got what is quite fundamental in regards to understanding the 149 00:15:20,020 –> 00:15:26,520 Bible. The first was always understand scripture in the light of scripture. And the second 150 00:15:26,520 –> 00:15:33,520 here is always understand Scripture in its context. Always understand scripture in its 151 00:15:34,679 –> 00:15:41,679 context. These folks say well you know the leaven is used in other places in the Bible 152 00:15:42,460 –> 00:15:49,039 in a way that is bad. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees. But let me ask you this question. 153 00:15:49,039 –> 00:15:55,880 If I asked you the question what is the symbolism of the snake in the Bible? Is it good or bad? 154 00:15:56,400 –> 00:16:02,320 We would all immediately say oh bad. The snake comes into the garden. The snake is the image 155 00:16:02,320 –> 00:16:09,320 of the serpent. Then you come to the story of Israel in the wilderness and they have 156 00:16:10,299 –> 00:16:15,919 diseases. And what does Moses do? He puts a snake on a pole and everyone who looks at 157 00:16:15,919 –> 00:16:22,919 this snake is healed and lives. In John’s gospel, that is taken up as a direct point 158 00:16:23,760 –> 00:16:30,760 of Jesus Christ who is lifted up on the pole. Those who will look to him will live and find 159 00:16:32,080 –> 00:16:39,000 salvation in him. So the image is used in one way in one place in the bible, but is 160 00:16:39,000 –> 00:16:45,280 used in a completely different way in another. We say the same about the lion. Satan prowls 161 00:16:45,280 –> 00:16:50,460 around like a roaring lion looking for whom he will devour. And then you have Jesus Christ. 162 00:16:50,500 –> 00:16:54,380 He’s the lion of the tribe of Judah. How do you decide which it is? Well you’re going 163 00:16:54,380 –> 00:17:00,099 to do it according to the context. And what is the context here? What does it say here? 164 00:17:00,099 –> 00:17:07,099 We’re told here that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven. The kingdom of heaven, the 165 00:17:08,339 –> 00:17:14,699 rule of Jesus Christ is overwhelmingly good. And so however else the word leaven is being 166 00:17:14,699 –> 00:17:19,839 used in many places, surely in the context the kingdom of heaven is like leaven. We are 167 00:17:19,880 –> 00:17:26,880 to understand not that this is speaking about some miserable prediction of decline, but 168 00:17:28,020 –> 00:17:32,180 that this is speaking about something altogether more positive. 169 00:17:32,180 –> 00:17:39,180 So a prophecy of unrivaled success, that’s way too hot. But a warning of relentless decline, 170 00:17:40,119 –> 00:17:47,119 that’s way, way too cold. And so with Goldilocks, let’s go to the third bowl here, and let 171 00:17:47,979 –> 00:17:54,979 me suggest to you here’s what’s just right. A promise of sustained progress. A promise 172 00:17:56,339 –> 00:18:02,500 of sustained progress. That’s what our Lord Jesus is giving to us here in these wonderful 173 00:18:02,500 –> 00:18:09,359 stories. A promise of sustained progress. And we really need it, especially when we 174 00:18:09,359 –> 00:18:15,660 have taken on board the teaching of the first two parables. So you put yourself in the shoes 175 00:18:15,660 –> 00:18:20,939 of the first disciples, and you’ll recognize these feelings just as we think about them 176 00:18:20,939 –> 00:18:28,800 together. So Jesus, you’re telling us that we’re to be sores of the word of God. 177 00:18:28,800 –> 00:18:32,420 But in the ministry that you’re giving to us, you’re saying that there are some people 178 00:18:32,420 –> 00:18:36,579 who will have absolutely no interest in it whatsoever. They’ll be as hard as a trodden 179 00:18:36,579 –> 00:18:42,400 path. That there’ll be others who immediately are interested, but then trouble’s going to 180 00:18:42,560 –> 00:18:47,359 to, and persecution’s going to come to them, and they’re just not going to stand. There’s 181 00:18:47,359 –> 00:18:51,520 others who will be interested, and yet their lives are so crowded that nothing will ever 182 00:18:51,520 –> 00:18:57,780 really spring up that is ever going to thrive. You’re telling us that even where the good 183 00:18:57,780 –> 00:19:01,819 seed does grow up, the evil one’s going to come along, and he’s going to plant all these 184 00:19:01,819 –> 00:19:07,280 weeds. I mean Jesus, you’re telling us all these things. What chance in the world do 185 00:19:07,280 –> 00:19:12,040 we really have with this ministry that you’re giving to us? What chance do we have when 186 00:19:12,040 –> 00:19:18,079 this work is so demanding, so hard, and this world is a world filled with weeds such as 187 00:19:18,079 –> 00:19:25,760 you’re telling us it will always be? And to answer that question, Jesus gives to us 188 00:19:25,760 –> 00:19:36,680 these wonderful, wonderful parables that speak to us of the promise of sustained progress. 189 00:19:36,680 –> 00:19:41,260 And this progress will come in two ways, and that’s why there are these two parables, and 190 00:19:41,260 –> 00:19:48,479 they’re twinned together. The first is that there will be progress in visible growth. 191 00:19:48,479 –> 00:19:57,500 There will be progress of the gospel in the world. Verse 31, the kingdom of heaven is 192 00:19:57,500 –> 00:20:07,699 like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. Here is what the reign 193 00:20:07,699 –> 00:20:14,560 of Jesus Christ looks like in this very, very mixed world. It’s like a grain of mustard 194 00:20:14,560 –> 00:20:19,699 seed. And Jesus says it’s the smallest of all seeds. He was referring to the smallest 195 00:20:19,699 –> 00:20:24,780 of seeds that were used at that time in a Palestinian garden which indeed, the mustard 196 00:20:24,780 –> 00:20:31,619 seed is. And he says, but it grows when its planted to become this very, very large plant 197 00:20:31,619 –> 00:20:37,060 or even like a tree. In other words, he’s saying understand that what has very, very 198 00:20:37,199 –> 00:20:44,199 small beginnings will lead to a very, very great outcome. And never forget that when 199 00:20:44,579 –> 00:20:49,619 you’re discouraged with regards to the work of God in the world. 200 00:20:49,619 –> 00:20:54,180 Let’s just stand back and take it in a little bit. Think about the small beginning of the 201 00:20:54,180 –> 00:20:59,739 Christian gospel in the world. Here is our Saviour and he is poor in the world. And He’s 202 00:20:59,739 –> 00:21:06,739 put to death beside two criminals on a cross. He leaves behind 120 people meeting for prayer 203 00:21:06,939 –> 00:21:12,020 and fairly fearful. You can get them all in an upstairs room. 204 00:21:12,020 –> 00:21:17,099 The first preachers are a few fishermen. They’re not educated people. They’re not sophisticated 205 00:21:17,099 –> 00:21:22,219 and they certainly don’t move in any corridors of power. The first truth that they preach 206 00:21:22,219 –> 00:21:29,140 is the cross guaranteed to cause offense, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness 207 00:21:29,140 –> 00:21:35,319 to Gentiles. The first movements of the gospel as you read in the book of Acts lead to the 208 00:21:35,859 –> 00:21:41,640 physical and violent persecution of the apostles. And very soon after the same persecution spreading 209 00:21:41,640 –> 00:21:46,800 to all the believers. So they’re scattered over the face of the earth. What are the prospects 210 00:21:46,800 –> 00:21:48,579 of such a movement? 211 00:21:48,579 –> 00:21:54,599 And Paul writes to the Corinthians first Corinthians chapter one in verse twenty six, he gives 212 00:21:54,599 –> 00:22:04,640 a social profile of the early believers in Corinth he says not many of you were wise 213 00:22:04,640 –> 00:22:10,160 according to worldly standards. Not many of you were powerful. Not many of you were Nobel 214 00:22:10,160 –> 00:22:19,260 birth. You’re not the elite. That’s what he says of the Corinthian Christians. The gospel 215 00:22:19,260 –> 00:22:30,380 began as a tiny grain of mustard seed. But the seed has life in it. This Jesus who died 216 00:22:30,380 –> 00:22:35,180 between two criminals rose from the dead and sent the power of his living holy spirit 217 00:22:35,180 –> 00:22:43,900 upon these 120 people. And from these very, very small beginnings the gospel has spread. 218 00:22:43,900 –> 00:22:50,260 And as the gospel has been preached through the history of the world, this living Christ 219 00:22:50,260 –> 00:22:57,699 has been laying claim to more and more and more people in every continent around the 220 00:22:57,699 –> 00:23:03,520 globe. It’s remarkable. Keep that in mind. 221 00:23:03,520 –> 00:23:09,660 I could spend time this morning speaking about how the gospel spread geographically from 222 00:23:09,660 –> 00:23:15,819 the Roman Empire to India, to Africa, to Asia and around the world. It is a remarkable story. 223 00:23:15,819 –> 00:23:22,660 I’m not going to do that today. But let me just take a moment to remind you of some things 224 00:23:22,660 –> 00:23:29,140 that are closer to home in terms of the immediate commitments and responsibilities that we have 225 00:23:29,140 –> 00:23:36,420 made as a congregation together. We have particular commitments with regards to certain areas 226 00:23:36,420 –> 00:23:49,160 of the world. One of them is Indonesia. Many of you are actively praying for Indonesia. 227 00:23:49,160 –> 00:23:53,599 Just last month, Pastor Brad Mullatt gave to me a statistic. We’ve looked at it in 228 00:23:53,599 –> 00:24:02,479 more than one place that is indicating that in Indonesia, a person is coming to faith 229 00:24:02,479 –> 00:24:13,000 in Jesus Christ every 15 seconds. Every 15 seconds! That’s 2 million people a year. 230 00:24:13,459 –> 00:24:21,599 2 million a year. Jesus Christ laying claim, honouring His word in His people under very 231 00:24:21,599 –> 00:24:30,060 difficult circumstances. I’m committed to India, partnership with the Emmanuel Hospital 232 00:24:30,060 –> 00:24:38,060 Association, Delhi Bible Institute. In the last few years, Delhi Bible Institute has 233 00:24:38,140 –> 00:24:48,140 planted 2,000 churches, 2,000 churches! And trained and disciplined 32,000 young people 234 00:24:48,180 –> 00:24:59,000 between the ages of 18-25, 32,000. We’re praying for the Balkan region of Europe. When I was 235 00:24:59,000 –> 00:25:05,579 in high school in Edinburgh Scotland, the church that I was a member of, Little Baptist 236 00:25:05,579 –> 00:25:14,280 Church in Edinburgh, we used to pray for that same area of the world. It was said, at that 237 00:25:14,280 –> 00:25:21,380 time, there are no known Christians in Albania. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard 238 00:25:21,380 –> 00:25:26,520 that. I was speaking to Pastor Lee Eklhov just this week. We got to speaking about this 239 00:25:26,520 –> 00:25:33,479 subject. I started the phrase, I said, at that time there were no known Christians in 240 00:25:33,599 –> 00:25:38,479 Albania. By the way, he also had been praying for the same part of the world in his youth. 241 00:25:38,479 –> 00:25:45,439 And that was widely, widely known. No known Christians in Albania when I was at high school. 242 00:25:46,680 –> 00:25:51,140 And today, this is incredibly moving to me personally. We as a church have the privilege 243 00:25:51,140 –> 00:25:57,160 not only of having an Albanian believer in our midst. Actually we have several. But of 244 00:25:57,439 –> 00:26:04,439 having a missions resident who is training for a lifetime of church planting among Albanians 245 00:26:05,099 –> 00:26:12,099 in Kosovo. It’s remarkable. The living Lord Jesus Christ advancing his gospel, laying 246 00:26:17,680 –> 00:26:24,680 claim to lives. Mustard seed grows to become a great church. 247 00:26:27,979 –> 00:26:34,979 tree. And think about this. I love this thought. That the Church of Jesus Christ is the only 248 00:26:37,719 –> 00:26:44,719 organization on earth that never lost a member through death. 249 00:26:45,040 –> 00:26:50,040 I mean the golf club, you have all these members at the golf club, then a guy dies, he’s 250 00:26:50,040 –> 00:26:56,839 no longer a member of the golf club. It’s gone. But in the church of Jesus Christ, when 251 00:26:56,859 –> 00:27:03,859 another one dies, another one is safely home. Another one is already in the place with all 252 00:27:04,640 –> 00:27:10,599 the company of the redeemed where every single one of us will soon be. The Church of Jesus 253 00:27:10,599 –> 00:27:16,359 Christ is the only organization that has never lost a single member through death, and that’s 254 00:27:16,359 –> 00:27:22,599 been going on for 2,000 years. That’s a lot of members, far more members of this church 255 00:27:22,760 –> 00:27:29,760 in heaven than on earth in the presence of Jesus. And that’s why John, when he must have 256 00:27:31,000 –> 00:27:38,000 been so discouraged, he’s there on the Island of Patmos in a world that’s persecuting believers 257 00:27:39,199 –> 00:27:45,680 and he feels so alone, no doubt, and he’s given this vision. His eyes are open and he 258 00:27:45,680 –> 00:27:51,880 says in Chapter 7, I looked and behold he’s seeing right into heaven. What does he see? 259 00:27:51,920 –> 00:27:58,920 A great multitude that no one could number. And they’re from every tribe and from all 260 00:27:59,739 –> 00:28:04,000 tribes and peoples and languages and they’re standing before the throne and they’re before 261 00:28:04,000 –> 00:28:08,280 the lamb and they’re clothed in these white robes and they have these palm branches in 262 00:28:08,280 –> 00:28:12,439 their hand and what are they saying? They’re crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs 263 00:28:12,439 –> 00:28:19,439 to our God and to the Lamb. John must have been saying, look there’s only a handful of 264 00:28:19,760 –> 00:28:24,439 us, a very small number of believers in a very limited geographical location how in 265 00:28:24,439 –> 00:28:30,280 the world is that going to happen? And here is the answer. The smallest seed but it has 266 00:28:30,280 –> 00:28:37,280 life in it. I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the transformation, 267 00:28:37,739 –> 00:28:44,739 the salvation of everyone who believes. Never be discouraged if a work is small so long 268 00:28:45,540 –> 00:28:52,540 as Jesus Christ is at its center. Never be discouraged if a work is small. You are beginning 269 00:28:54,839 –> 00:29:01,839 some new venture for Christ if Jesus Christ is at its center. It may be small now. It 270 00:29:03,400 –> 00:29:09,300 may be small for a long, long, long time but it is part of something that is glorious that 271 00:29:09,699 –> 00:29:14,699 is going to last forever. Never be ashamed of the people of God. It is the greatest privilege 272 00:29:19,319 –> 00:29:21,339 of all of our lives that we would belong to this company that will be brought together 273 00:29:23,439 –> 00:29:28,439 with all the people of God in the presence of his Son forever. So here’s the promise 274 00:29:32,260 –> 00:29:37,239 of Jesus. Oh this work, it’s sowing and there are all these different responses, lots of 275 00:29:37,579 –> 00:29:42,479 discouragement. This world, very, very difficult, there will always be these weeds, but understand 276 00:29:43,680 –> 00:29:47,680 this. Give youself to this work. There will be progress, sustained progress, and you’ll 277 00:29:48,479 –> 00:29:52,479 see it in visible growth. And then you’ll see it in another way. Not only in the visible 278 00:29:55,540 –> 00:30:00,540 growth of the progress of the Gospel in the world, but you’ll see it through its pervasive 279 00:30:01,380 –> 00:30:06,380 influence in which Jesus surely speaks particularly about the progress of the Gospel in the world. 280 00:30:08,199 –> 00:30:15,199 Gospel in the life of a believer. Verse 33, he told them another parable. The 281 00:30:16,680 –> 00:30:23,680 kingdom of heaven is the rule of Christ. What’s it like? It’s like leaven that a woman 282 00:30:24,459 –> 00:30:31,459 took and hid in three measures of flour till it was all leavened. Here in the winter, Jesus 283 00:30:37,239 –> 00:30:44,239 is what the rule of Christ looks like in the life of a Christian believer. We talked about 284 00:30:44,859 –> 00:30:49,459 it in regards to the advance of the gospel in the world, the mustard seed growing to 285 00:30:49,459 –> 00:30:54,500 a great tree. Here’s what it looks like in the life of an individual believer. It also 286 00:30:54,500 –> 00:31:01,500 has in the life of a believer small beginnings, but it leads like the leaven to complete transformation. 287 00:31:02,219 –> 00:31:09,219 Think about this picture. Some of you who make your own bread, you know all about this, 288 00:31:09,839 –> 00:31:16,839 so please indulge my limited presentation of it. But here, Jesus is speaking of leaven 289 00:31:20,000 –> 00:31:27,000 like yeast causing fermentation in the dough causing it to rise when it is baked. Every 290 00:31:27,819 –> 00:31:34,819 time a piece of dough is ready to be baked some of that, which is have leavened is kept 291 00:31:35,839 –> 00:31:42,060 in storage and it’s your starter. And the next time a batch of dough is made you put 292 00:31:42,060 –> 00:31:48,400 the starter in and then you replenish your starter and so forth. In fact John MacArthur 293 00:31:48,400 –> 00:31:54,319 says, and I thought this was rather beautiful, is that when a Jewish girl was married, her 294 00:31:54,459 –> 00:32:01,459 would give her a small piece of leaven dough from a batch baked just before the wedding 295 00:32:02,839 –> 00:32:09,119 and from that gift of leaven the bride would bake for her own family, bake bread for her 296 00:32:09,119 –> 00:32:14,000 own family throughout the rest of her married life. Isn’t that a rather beautiful picture? 297 00:32:14,000 –> 00:32:19,520 Here’s what is blessed and prospered in this family and now it’s being given to another 298 00:32:19,920 –> 00:32:25,819 home that is being established. Here’s this wonderful picture, this leaven which is a 299 00:32:25,819 –> 00:32:32,819 living organism bursting with life multiplying itself. A small amount of it is put into this 300 00:32:35,640 –> 00:32:42,640 large batch of dough and what happens is that the living organism permeates the whole of 301 00:32:43,000 –> 00:32:50,000 this batch of dough, and thereby changes its very nature. Bake the dough without the leaven 302 00:32:53,040 –> 00:33:00,040 and it is hard, it is crisp, it is flat and it is dry. But bake it with the leaven and 303 00:33:01,979 –> 00:33:07,560 what happens is it rises, it is fluffy, it is moist, it is beautiful, it is delicious 304 00:33:07,599 –> 00:33:11,160 bread to eat. 305 00:33:11,160 –> 00:33:13,959 Now think about this, this is the picture that Jesus is using. 306 00:33:13,959 –> 00:33:20,959 Think about this in regard of your experience as a Christian. When the grace of God comes 307 00:33:21,079 –> 00:33:28,079 into your life it’s like a little leaven being mixed into the dough of your life. 308 00:33:29,079 –> 00:33:31,699 Kissing the dough of your life. 309 00:33:31,699 –> 00:33:38,699 Think about how your whole Christian experience began. It may be that you had some kind of 310 00:33:41,099 –> 00:33:45,699 awakening to spiritual things. You weren’t interested in them before but somehow you 311 00:33:45,699 –> 00:33:51,180 were awakened to them. Perhaps there was some dissatisfaction in your own life where you 312 00:33:51,180 –> 00:33:54,800 saw the shallowness that was in the lives of others around you. And you thought there 313 00:33:54,800 –> 00:34:00,880 must be something more to life than this. You began to see something in Jesus Christ 314 00:34:00,880 –> 00:34:05,599 that drew you. You saw something in him that you knew was not in yourself, and you were 315 00:34:05,599 –> 00:34:12,000 drawn by this. You began to read the Bible and to pray, and then you came to a place 316 00:34:12,000 –> 00:34:18,679 where you saw your need of him as your savior, you crowned him as your Lord. 317 00:34:18,679 –> 00:34:26,040 And here’s what happens when you become a Christian. The living presence of Christ 318 00:34:26,040 –> 00:34:33,219 by the Holy Spirit comes into your life. And what happens if you begin to see just how 319 00:34:33,219 –> 00:34:40,399 far you are from what God calls you to be. There’s a new longing for holiness in your 320 00:34:40,399 –> 00:34:44,719 life. I was talking to a Christian not so long ago, and she said I’m feeling worse 321 00:34:44,860 –> 00:34:50,120 about myself than I did before I was a Christian. What she was experiencing was the Holy Spirit 322 00:34:50,120 –> 00:34:56,760 showing her what this new life is, and she felt as a new Christian, boy how far I’ve 323 00:34:56,760 –> 00:35:03,760 got to go in order to become like Jesus Christ. I had no idea I was so far from this. Sometimes 324 00:35:04,179 –> 00:35:11,179 all you can see is how far short you really are. We are not yet conformed in this life 325 00:35:11,199 –> 00:35:16,300 to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the wonderful thing, the leaven of Christ 326 00:35:16,300 –> 00:35:23,300 is present in your life. The living Christ. The life changing presence of the Holy Spirit and 327 00:35:30,040 –> 00:35:37,040 just as the living organism of the leaven permeates the whole lump of dough, this living 328 00:35:37,820 –> 00:35:43,360 presence of Christ, by His Holy Spirit, here’s what’s going to come of what may look like 329 00:35:43,360 –> 00:35:50,360 a very small beginning. The very nature of your soul and your body, are going to be changed, 330 00:35:52,739 –> 00:35:59,739 transformed forever. That’s the promise of the gospel and when will it come to pass? 331 00:36:00,620 –> 00:36:07,620 When we see Him, then we will be like Him. Friends, you think about your Christian 332 00:36:09,939 –> 00:36:16,100 experience right now, you know hey, the likeness of Christ is not yet fully reflected in me 333 00:36:16,100 –> 00:36:23,100 so far from it. I love Christ, yet at the same time while we love Christ, we feel the 334 00:36:24,100 –> 00:36:30,260 pull of the world and we sometimes behave in ways that grieve Christ. 335 00:36:30,260 –> 00:36:36,600 We trust Christ and yet sometimes we find ourselves surrounded by many many fears, many 336 00:36:36,600 –> 00:36:41,100 many doubts and all kinds of unresolved questions. 337 00:36:41,100 –> 00:36:45,280 We have this resurrection life like Levin that is at work within us bringing new life 338 00:36:45,280 –> 00:36:50,979 to the soul and yet we still experience sickness in the body and decline of physical abilities 339 00:36:50,979 –> 00:36:51,97 over time. 340 00:36:51,979 –> 00:36:55,760 And eventually, unless Christ shall come first, we shall go through the valley of the shadow 341 00:36:55,760 –> 00:36:58,719 of death and He shall walk there with us. 342 00:36:58,719 –> 00:37:07,080 But here is the great promise of the gospel, once the Levin is in the lump the whole thing 343 00:37:07,080 –> 00:37:09,600 will be transformed. 344 00:37:09,600 –> 00:37:19,639 Soul, body, the rule of Christ in your life may have a small beginning but it will bring 345 00:37:19,699 –> 00:37:26,879 a complete transformation and He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion 346 00:37:26,879 –> 00:37:31,080 on the day of Jesus Christ. 347 00:37:31,080 –> 00:37:38,080 And think about what you will be, on that day you will not have one thought, one affection 348 00:37:38,080 –> 00:37:42,760 or one desire that is outside of His will. 349 00:37:42,760 –> 00:37:52,000 You will love Christ completely unmixed and you will love your neighbor as yourself. 350 00:37:52,000 –> 00:37:57,320 God will wipe away all tears from your eyes and all that He has put into you, your gifts 351 00:37:57,320 –> 00:38:02,120 and your talents and your energies in that resurrection body will be fully deployed to 352 00:38:02,120 –> 00:38:07,399 honoring Him and to doing His service in a world in which there is not a weed to be seen 353 00:38:07,439 –> 00:38:23,060 when we see Him. We will be like Him. The leaven will have levoned the whole lump, body and soul, 354 00:38:23,060 –> 00:38:35,179 gloriously reflecting the image of Christ in you for all eternity. And here’s what John says 355 00:38:35,280 –> 00:38:41,800 and here’s where we end today. A person who has that kind of hope in them, what do they do? 356 00:38:41,800 –> 00:38:50,320 They purify themselves, even as Christ is pure. If you can get your eyes set on what you will be, 357 00:38:50,320 –> 00:38:58,340 what is promised in the gospel, what you will be when the leaven has leavened the whole lump, 358 00:38:58,340 –> 00:39:06,560 what you will be, you will be so greatly helped to press on in your pursuit of holiness now. 359 00:39:06,560 –> 00:39:11,919 It will help you wonderfully. Satan’s always trying to tell you what you’re where, always 360 00:39:11,919 –> 00:39:16,060 trying to pull you back. Oh no, no yeah, this is what you are. And Christ is saying to you, 361 00:39:16,060 –> 00:39:25,060 no, no, no. Look at what you will be. Fully conformed to the image of Christ, and when you 362 00:39:25,060 –> 00:39:30,219 have that kind of hope lively within you, when you know that the spirit of God like leaven is 363 00:39:30,219 –> 00:39:35,939 in the lump of your life, and inevitably will permeate the whole thing, and you will have that 364 00:39:35,939 –> 00:39:43,100 work completed in you on the day of his appearing. You will be greatly encouraged to press forward in 365 00:39:43,100 –> 00:39:48,419 your own pursuit of holiness and in your own commitment to ministry in this world. Brother, 366 00:39:48,419 –> 00:39:55,300 sisters, be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord 367 00:39:55,300 –> 00:40:08,540 your labor is never in vain. Father, we pray that you will make us people of irrepressible hope as 368 00:40:08,540 –> 00:40:14,739 we go about this work that you’ve trusted into our hands in this world, and as we continue to 369 00:40:14,939 –> 00:40:20,000 pursue the holiness begun, that will one day be complete in the life of all your children, 370 00:40:20,000 –> 00:40:29,379 who will shine like stars reflecting the glory of their Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. In whose 371 00:40:29,379 –> 00:40:32,459 name we pray, amen.