God’s hidden world
Matt 13:31-35
An mp3 of this talk can be downloaded here.
Introduction
Jesus divided opinion. Everything he said and did demanded a reaction, and this is nowhere more true than in the stories (parables) he told. Even today these stories provoke a variety of reactions. At the start of this talk at Bethany City Church I asked for words that would describe our reactions to Matt 13:31-33. ‘Unstoppable’, ‘Growing’, ‘Intrigued’ and ‘Good things come in small passages’ were a few (probably predictable) answers.
On May 8th 2008, Christians across the UK would have had divided opinions about their feelings regarding going to work. Some would have been rubbing their hands with glee whilst others would have been fidgeting uncomfortably as they anticipated the conversation over lunch. On May 8th the Times newspaper published an article called ‘Churchgoing on its knees as Christianity falls out of favour.’ The article by the Times religious correspondent Ruth Gledhill would have no doubt led to many indepth conversations between believers and non-believers regarding the state of church and faith.
Here are the facts.
According to the Times interpretation of the ‘Religious Trends’ research report published by Christian Research, by the year 2050 the number of active Muslims in the UK will have grown to 2.66million. Within the same time, the number of active Hindus will have swollen to 855,000 but the number of Christians will have dwindled to 899,000. The research, based on the census of 2005 also concludes that the number of Christians in England will have shrunk from over 3 million to 700,000 in the same timescale.
These statistics have been challenged by some people, including a different piece of research – ‘Churchgoing in the UK’ produced by Tearfund, however they are startling!
If the church is an expression of God’s Kingdom – what do these statistics (whatever we make of their accuracy) say about the Kingdom of Heaven and about the God who is building it? Even on a local level, is God doing in our towns and cities what we would expect him to do (or know he can)? And each of us are only too aware of how much we struggle as individuals who are representatives and citizens of this Kingdom!
Much of Jesus teaching was about the kingdom because his hearers, much like us were confused and misunderstood the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven that he was inaugurating. So we need to hear what he has to say, for a number of reasons.
A Handful of reasons.
1. As we look around it is easy for us to get disheartened at both the task before us and at our effectiveness and Kingdom builders and representatives.
2. This can lead to us being tempted to turn to faulty, deficient or even false messages in order to build the church. This is sometimes obvious (health and wealth) and sometimes subtle (engaging a materialistic world by being…well, materialistic!), but it is a danger for us all because it makes life easier!
3. When we feel powerless and ineffective, it is at that point that we most need to hear the potential that the message of the Kingdom of Heaven has!
4. Often we can be very good at communicating vision in our churches – big projects and end goals, exciting mission plans and strategies for growth, but we can often set false expectations and fail to be realistic in our goals. When we try we are charged as being ‘faithless’ (which can be a danger), but Jesus himself was realistic about the journey. Perseverance and patience is most definitely needed when it comes to Kingdom growth!
5. But, more than anything else we need to see the big picture. What God is building is more, much more than just the now. It is more than just the church. As Blomberg puts it –
“In the Bible, God’s Kingdom always refers to his dynamic reign or rule, not to a literal realm. It’s his divine power, not a place. The kingdom, in other words, is always bigger than the church, but it includes true Christians as its subjects. God’s vision of building his church is always but one part of the much larger cosmic task of advancing his kingdom – his righteous reign in the entire universe.”
We need to hear Jesus as he describes the single biggest, most exciting, universe changing and magnificent project there has ever been… and that we are a part of!
The stuff of Colmans and Marmite!
Just imagine Matthew as he sits at his desk to write his gospel. Feet up, hands behind head deep in thought. As he writes he is no doubt filled with a real sense of joy - he remembers how Jesus transformed his life and how his resurrection changed everything. He reflects on himself and God’s grace, the need for a cross and forgiveness. And he is no doubt filled with a sense of urgency too. He writes with 2 purposes. One is to faithfully present the King Jesus in order to convince of his identity and Lordship. But he writes with urgency because he has listeners with genuine needs his must address. He aims to both convince, and deal with pastoral issues.
His original audience are under pressure. Pressure from a Roman world, its secular government and rule that would seek to squeeze them into its mould. They are under pressure from the Jewish world – the Father religion from which the ‘cult’ of Christ followers have come.
But we are little different – we operate in a world of secular government and rule, and a religious tolerance that seeks to undermine objective truth and genuine faith.
And Matthew wants to help them, and us to understand the Kingdom of Heaven in our own contexts. He wants us to have -
Right Expectations, Clear Understanding and Confident Hope.
Look at the thread of the theme of the Kingdom throughout Matthew. From the days of John the Baptist, the Kingdom of Heaven has been at the forefront of peoples minds. The theme of John’s preaching is recorded as being “Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matt 3:2)
And as Jesus’ ministry replaces John’s he preaches the same message (see 4:17). Jesus himself travelled from city to village to hillside ‘preaching everywhere the good news about the Kingdom and he healed people who had every kind of sickness (4:23). He taught that the Kingdom was for those who were more righteous than the Jewish religious leaders. The Kingdom of Heaven was for those poor in spirit, for those who were persecuted for being righteous. He taught that, athough it was near, the Kingdom of heaven was something people should pray would come, and should live their lives in anticipation of it’s coming – ‘storing up treasure in heaven’, ‘seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven. And he also taught, controversially in his day, that the kingdom was not for those you would expect. Many Jews would be left out, and many non-Jews included!
The thread of the message of the Kingdom of Heaven runs throughout Jesus ministry, and Matthews account. The problem is, in Jesus day and ours, we misunderstand the nature of this Kingdom (as we mentioned earlier). Is the Kingdom now, or not yet? How do we build it? Do we destroy the Romans by force? Do we raise an army to destroy the enemies of God and call them the ‘crusades’?
Now and not yet
Jesus seems to teach that the Kingdom of heaven is both ‘now’ and ‘not yet’. In Luke 17, Jesus is emphatic about the presence of the Kingdom of Heaven.
‘One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God isn’t ushered in with visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is among you.”
The Kingdom of God, although not seen, is present among us now.
But Jesus is also clear that the Kingdom of Heaven is still future.
‘The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned King and then return.’
So, the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus embodied and taught is both now, and not yet. It will be seen, at it’s final consummation when the nobleman returns as King, when Jesus returns, but until that day we live with a Tension between the now, and the not yet. There are tastes and touches of the Kingdom of Heaven now, but we must wait for Jesus return before we see the lot. We may see it break through from time to time, but it is not the norm. It is a tension we live with and feel which is why we need to know that the Kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed and like yeast in bread.
We mustn’t be surprised when, to us, the Kingdom looks tiny, almost imperceptible, insignificant and weak. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, not might be . How often does it feel like our spreading of the gospel is insignificant, weak and of little value, whether as individuals, churches or in the nation as a whole? Jesus use of the image of a grain of mustard seed is important. It was the smallest they knew and then grew into the biggest garden plant, and it is this contrast that is important.
Don’t be duped by size, spectacle or glamour. Be prepared to rejoice in small things.
At our church we have a tendency to like and enjoy the big and spectacular. That is OK, but we must be ready and prepared, even expect to rejoice in the small too! The product of spreading the seed of the kingdom is, ultimately, massive growth. Unmissable, shocking, boundary breaking Kingdomania! So as we plug away, week by week with children, youth, adults, students from across the world, the elderly and friends, family, colleagues and next door neighbours; as we drop the tiniest of seeds into soil, God will grow the largest plant we have ever seen or could imagine. And what appears hidden will be seen when the king returns.
Like a bush with branches that the birds shelter in, the Kingdom of Heaven will shelter people from every nation of this world, every tribe and tongue!
Do you remember when you became a Christian? When happened inside you? You may have seen someone close to you come to faith recently. What did it look like?
I remember hearing of an American student living in Austria who began to the a genuine interest in spiritual things. The more he looked the more he was attracted. He commented on the process by saying ‘it is as though there is a fire in my heart. Every times I read a Bible or pray, it is as though God is throwing a new log on the fire!’
The message of the Kingdom of Heaven permeates like yeast through dough. It is almost imperceptible, changing one individual at a time, working and expanding in their hearts. It’s just what yeast does! Some won’t like it (interestingly, Jesus normally used Yeast as an analogy for evil, for example the hypocrisy of the Pharisees), but it grows with, eventually, spectacular results. Like yeast working over night through a batch of dough, in the morning we see the product. The gospel will have produced growth on a massive scale – one bit at a time.
But for us to keep trusting him we need right expectations and a clear understanding which will mean we can look forward with a Confident hope!
Conclusion
The research produced by Christian Research may be interpreted as ‘Dooms Day’ by the Times, but it should not surprise us that certain parts of the church are experiencing significant growth. And even when that is not the case, we can still look forward with a confident hope to a Kingdom now hidden, but which stretches beyond our wildest dreams. We needn’t be disheartened, turn to deficient messages or feel powerless because the King of the Kingdom, though away for a time will return in glory – and all will be revealed!