The unimpressive kingdom

they were deeply uncertain if the bold claims they were making would ever be recognised by the people. And even if the people rallied, what about those whom their claims attacked? Would the people have the ability or the will to establish those claims? Even as they signed it, some of them gestured about the likely failure of their endeavour. And so Mr Harrison said to Mr Gerry, I shall have the great advantage over you, Mr Jerry, when we are all hanged for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of your body, I shall die in a few minutes, but from the lightness of your body, you will dance in the air for an hour or two before you're dead. Yet, as the men gathered on July the 4th, 230 years ago, each believed that there are some kings who are worth resisting. and who they might successfully and appropriately resist. And so, even Benjamin Harrison and Eldridge Gerry joined Thomas Jefferson and others to sign the declaration that would set this country towards independence from another country over the pond. After all, if a king has only a debatable claim to rule, and is not using that rule in a way that is more than debatably legitimate, then surely men have the right to rebel, don't they? Well, perhaps that question isn't best answered by an Englishman visiting the hometown of Thomas Jefferson to preach. But more seriously, an Englishman can preach from a pulpit in America because we have allegiance to a greater king, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, he is the only king to whom we can pledge unconditional allegiance. There is no authority under heaven other than Jesus which we might pledge unconditional allegiance to. And history tells us that such a declaration of independence was, in fact, successful. Some kings can be successfully resisted. But what about Jesus' kingdom? This is a Christian church, so we'd expect allegiance to Jesus here. But is Jesus' kingship able to be resisted in the end? We might think that the obvious answer is, of course it is. Even Christians agree there should be freedom of religion. What does such freedom of religion mean that we can successfully resist Jesus' rule forever? Well, we might think that Jesus himself would say yes. So, even on the day before he was killed, On the very day he said, my kingdom is not of this world. And that is why my disciples do not take up arms and fight. And if the nature of the kingdom itself doesn't necessarily argue that it can be resisted, doesn't history tell us that it can? I mean, doesn't the kingdom of God seem so unimpressive in so many ways? Perhaps we think it's rather like Great Britain, a force that was once powerful, but is now spent. A force that might try and pull her above its weight, but can't really be taken seriously anymore. How does it feel to be in a place where Jesus is not taken seriously by the majority of people? Does that dishearten you? We see throughout Matthew's Gospel that Jesus' kingdom causes confusion and faces opposition. And this morning we're going to look at most of Matthew chapter 13. And we're going to find that Jesus reveals to his disciples why there is such confusion, and why there is such opposition, and why he doesn't see these two things as a failure, but as something that is inevitable because of the nature of his kingdom. Stay with me to Matthew and chapter 13. As we read through Matthew chapter 13, we're going to see three major areas in which Jesus gives a clearer understanding of his kingdom and the responses to it, and encourages his disciples not to be dismayed by this, but to be encouraged. We're going to see that Jesus' kingdom isn't one which is a worldly kingdom, and therefore isn't planning for worldly success, but is planning for an eternal kingdom. with eternal success. And so we're going to see in the first 23 verses of the chapter that we need to not be disillusioned by temporary commitments that don't last. Verses 24 to 43, don't be distracted towards temporary success. And verses 44 to 52, don't be deterred by what is only a temporary cost. So there are temporary commitments, temporary success that we're to avoid, and a temporary cost that is well worth it. So firstly, verses 1 through 23, don't be disillusioned by a temporary commitment. Let's hear what God is saying to us this morning from his word. On the same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to him, so that he got into a boat and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore. Then he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places where they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun came, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell on thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? He answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear and you shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive, for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. Therefore hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received the seed by the wayside. But he who received the weed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself. but endures only for a while, for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received the seed that fell among thorns is he who hears the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received the Word on good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit, and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. It's deeply sad, isn't it, when there are people who seem to be walking as Christians and then stop. When Hannah and I were married, the person who married us was someone who'd been very influential in our lives. But by the time we come back from honeymoon, he has left the church and deserted his family. And it's disheartening. Yet we need to be sure as we look at God's Word this morning that Jesus is not surprised that there are some who have only temporary commitments to him. The commitments that don't last a lifetime. It's clear that there will be differing reactions to Jesus, Jesus says. Some which seem very promising to start with, but don't last. Firstly, there is those with the hard heart. Verse 3. Behold, a sir went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seed fell on the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. And Jesus explains in verse 19. when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sent in his heart. This is he who received the seed by the wayside." This isn't the person who doesn't hear the gospel, but the person who hears the gospel and doesn't understand it. Again, this doesn't mean necessarily that they have no comprehension in their minds about what the gospel means. Rather, they don't have spiritual understanding about the truthfulness of the Gospel, and it's important. Like the well-trodden path around the edge of the field, their heart is hard to God's Word. These are the people for whom the Gospel seems like it doesn't make any sense. Not because it's nonsense, but because it's uncomfortable and therefore not given a serious hearing in their lives. I don't know whether you like the stories of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia. This is what happens when Aslan's voice is first heard by the magician in the book The Magician's Nephew, Uncle Andrew. The longer and more beautifully the lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan's song. Soon he couldn't have heard anything else even if he'd wanted to. And when at last the lion spoke and said, Narnians, awake, he didn't hear any words. He heard only a snarl. So it is with a hardened heart. It starts by hearing only what it wants to hear from God's Word. and ends up hearing nothing at all. Scripture makes it clear that the reason, in the end, that people don't submit to Jesus' kingship isn't because his voice is unclear, but that we do not want to hear what he has to say. If you're not a Christian, then I wonder how often you've had moments when you thought, I really must discover more about who this Jesus is, and yet you've deliberately let those moments pass and walked off. without thinking more, because you knew it would cost much to follow Jesus. Well, this morning, the seed of the Word of God is falling on your ears again. Don't walk away without thinking about who Jesus is and the allegiance that he calls from you. Do you find Jesus uncomfortable? Perhaps whenever you hear about him, there's something about you that wants to get out of the room. My friend, have you ever considered the fact that you might find Jesus' words uncomfortable? Because the truth can lay uncomfortably on the hearts of those who don't want to hear it. Don't be hardened soil. Or perhaps you're a young person here with Christian parents. You've heard the good news about Jesus a thousand times, and yet secretly in your heart, you remain determined not to live for Jesus. but to live for yourself. Don't be hardened, soil. Allow God's Word to take deep root into your life. Don't let it just affect your mind so that you know the truth about Jesus. Let it affect your hearts so you will follow Jesus, so your desires will be fixed on pleasing Him and not pleasing yourself. That's the path, the hardened heart. Secondly, there's not a hardened heart, but a shallow heart. Verse 5. Some fell on stony places where they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth in the earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. Jesus explains in verse 20. but he who receives a seed on stony places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while, for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. The shallow heart becomes convinced that the good news about Jesus is true, This is a person who's looking for something to make their life complete and they discover that that will come only through Jesus Christ. And so, they think that they're beginning to follow him. But all they really want is something extra for themselves. They never make a change of allegiance towards Jesus Christ. And in the end, they never fear God more than they fear people. And so, when persecution comes, When it begins to be difficult to follow Jesus, they stop following Jesus and start following themselves. They want to follow Jesus to give themselves an easier life. Jesus says those who follow him must take up their cross and follow him. To follow Jesus means to be willing to be hated just as Jesus is hated in this world. We love to be loved, don't we? Well, The Christian is someone who has realised that the love that they need is found entirely in Jesus Christ. And once they are loved by Jesus, the love of other people will be a welcome thing, but it's not a necessary thing. I wonder if you feel that unless lots of other people love you too, then you will not be willing to follow Jesus. Do you have a shallow heart? Thirdly, Jesus describes a divided heart in verse 7. And some fell among the thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. And Jesus explains in verse 22, Now he who received the seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. These people again recognise the truth of God's words. But in the end they decide that they would rather live for this world than for the next world. They'd rather live for the things that they can see with their eyes and feel with their hands than the things that they can only believe in faith that they will receive in the future. They're not convinced away from following Jesus by arguments that make them distrust the truth of the Gospel. but by things that appeal to their senses. We're constantly being bombarded, aren't we, by the media, telling us that we need various things. We need a faster car. We need a bigger house. We need a more beautiful body. We need a more loving spouse. We need more obedient children. We need more patient parents. We need a more supportive church. And we can kid ourselves that these are the things that we need before we can really begin to follow Jesus. And once those things are sorted out, then we can follow Jesus faithfully. You know, when I have a bigger house, then I can follow Jesus' commands to practice hospitality. But when I have a spouse that I would long to have, then I can have the encouragement I need to obey Jesus in sharing the Gospel with my married relatives. When I'm more beautiful, or when my spouse is more beautiful, then I can love them as Jesus commands me to. When my parents have become more reasonable, then I can obey Jesus' commands to obey them. When my church becomes more considerate, then I can obey Jesus' commands to serve them. Do we put conditions on our obedience to Jesus? Well, if we do, we're saying we need things to be right in this world before we can follow Jesus to the next world. If this is how we're living, we are living with a divided heart like the thorny soil. My friends, in order to obey Jesus, all we need is Jesus and his word and his spirit. Circumstances might help us and encourage us, But we don't need to wait for circumstances to be right to follow Jesus faithfully. He has given us everything we need in himself. It's so easy to find oneself running after the kind of things that actually everyone else in this world is running after. Let's remember Job's word. Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. Commenting on these verses, John Stott reflects Thus life on Earth is a pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness. So we would be wise to travel light. Whatever we have in this world will actually only be of any use to us if we invest it in the next. Everything that God gives us is a blessing, but with that blessing also comes a temptation to live for the gift rather than the giver who has given it to us. be careful about what we would desire in this life. If Jesus sees fit to give us the desires of our hearts, understand it's not going to make it any easier for us to follow him. It's going to give us a temptation to follow the desires of our hearts rather than him. Let Jesus be the desire of your heart. Many will find the truth of the Gospel compelling, but in the end they will find temptation too much to bear. The things they can feel and taste and touch and see just seem more appealing. Well, I wonder how you feel about all these people who seem to follow Jesus, but then wander away. Do you find this discouraging, that so many people respond so positively, temporarily, but end up walking away from Jesus? But when others fall away, don't be discouraged into thinking that therefore your salvation must be in jeopardy as well. If they didn't keep on following Jesus, how can I know that I will? You never knew their heart. And Jesus doesn't say that there is good soil that suddenly becomes bad soil. Those who end up wandering away from Jesus were never good soil. Their following of Jesus was only ever skin deep. Good soil always shows itself by lasting fruit. In fact, the whole point of throwing seed liberally is to show up in the end the difference between the good soil and the bad soil. And so when we're discouraged by seeing that people who don't keep on following Jesus, we just need to sow the seed of God's Word more liberally until good soil appears in some people's hearts. The Gospel age when the King has arrived is a strange mixture, you see, of the best and worst of times. In some ways it's like those times in Israel's history which are great times like when King David came up to Jerusalem because the King has arrived. But also it's like the worst of times and Jesus ends up quitting from Isaiah which was at a low point in Israel's history just before the people went off into exile. Have a look at verse 13. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive, for the hearts of these people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing. Their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts, so that I should heal them." Jesus, you see, intends that his Word would have this dividing effect. There would be those who would hear, but there would be those who would be hardened. That's what always happens when the Word of God is preached. It has this dividing effect of showing up the good soil, where God has ploughed and got the soul ready to bear fruit, but also revealing the soul that will become hard against God's words. We don't need to feel we've failed if we share the gospel with someone and they haven't responded positively long-term. Rather, we should be encouraged and humbled that we are those in verse 16 if we believe in Jesus. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly, I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. In Jesus' wisdom, for reasons that we can't be sure of. He hasn't given everyone spiritual sight. Isn't that humbling? If we're Christians, that He has given spiritual sight to us. It shouldn't make us proud, it should make us humble and joyful that God has had such mercy on us because we would have been exactly the same as the hardened soul if it wasn't for God's spirit work in our lives. For there are those who have fruitful hearts because of Jesus' work in their lives. Verse 8. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Jesus explains in verse 23. But he who receives seeds on good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. Note how this harvest is brought in. There are three things that need to happen. Firstly, people need to hear the words. If the seed is not sown on the good soil, then the fruit will not be born in the good soil. People need to hear the gospel. Secondly, people need to understand the Gospel. And we see that this isn't just the understanding in their heads, but the understanding that goes into their hearts. They understand that the Gospel is true and that Jesus therefore deserves their allegiance and they willingly follow him. And thirdly, they bear fruit. We need to realise that we really can't do anything about those second two things. We can't do anything to enable people to understand the Gospel. That is the Holy Spirit's work. We can't do anything to enable people to bear fruit in their lives. That is the Holy Spirit's work. But we can do something about the first thing. We can be those who sow the seed of the Gospel widely, just as you were doing this week with the Vacation Bible School. We can make sure that we are sowing that seed faithfully, that we are telling the Gospel faithfully, that people are created in the image of God. and they are made to have a relationship with Him. But that every single one of us has rebelled against God, has turned to serve ourselves rather than the true and living God who deserves our allegiance. And that every single one of us therefore deserves God's righteous anger. We've robbed God of His glory and He is right to punish us for that. And that righteous anger is something we couldn't bear in eternity in hell. It would take forever to receive such a serious punishment for such a serious rebellion. And yet we have good news that God is a God who loves his enemies and has sent his son into the world. Jesus lived a perfect life and then he died a death not for his sins, for he had none, but for the sins of everyone who had ever put their trust in Jesus. And so that those who trust in Jesus will not face an eternity in hell, but will face an eternity in heaven, the eternity that only Jesus deserved. And we need to call people to repent, therefore, to turn away from living for themselves and to entrust their lives to Jesus, following Him. This is the good news that we have. This is the good news that we must hold out to people if they're going to come to salvation. This is the good news that you must hear if you're not a believer. It's only in responding to this good news that you can be one who is welcomed into eternal dwellings with God. If you're discouraged by the way in which you've shared the gospel with people, the way they've responded, then just sow the gospel more broadly. Take every opportunity to share this good news. And Jesus promises that there is good soil and there will be those who respond and bear fruit. And in fact, the wonderful thing is that the joy of the harvest is greater somehow in God's providence than if the whole field had been good soil. You'll note the extraordinary harvest, 100 times, 60 times, 30 times what was sown. Well, a great harvest in those days, if you had a good year, would be 7 to 10 times what is sown. Well, this bumper harvest, is so great that there is joy brought and there is glory brought to Jesus more than if every single person in the world had responded. That's a mystery as to how that is the case. But Jesus says that's the case here. So let's sow the gospel widely. When you've seen those that you love wandering away from Jesus, well, we're rightly saddened, aren't we? But take heart. Your faithfulness in the face of such discouragement will somehow bring great glory to Jesus. The joy of his kingdom will not diminish. And your eyes are yet blessed because they see. And your ears are yet blessed because they hear the things that even the prophets longed to hear and didn't. Don't be disillusioned by mixed responses and a temporary commitment. rather rejoice that the glory brought to the Lord by those who respond positively and bear fruit will somehow be all the greater. Secondly, don't be distracted by what's only temporary success. Don't be distracted by temporary success. Verse 24. Another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow seed, good seed, into your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Do you want us then to go and gather them up? But he says, no less while you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, first gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barns. And another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown is greater than all the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in the branches. Another parable he told to them, the kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said to them, He who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world, the good seeds of the sons of the kingdom, but the tares of the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who slay them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all that offend. and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, there will be a wailing and a gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." I wonder if you saw the movie in the 90s, Men in Black. The plot centres around a search for a missing galaxy that is in grave danger. And the men in black are told that the galaxy will be found at the centre of Orion's belt. And so they have all their telescopes pointed out towards the Orion constellation, trying to locate that missing galaxy. But in fact, they're looking in the wrong place. For Orion isn't the constellation in the sky. Orion is a cat. And the galaxy is a small bauble hanging from the belt around the cat's neck. And with the special effects kicking, the camera zooms in towards the cat's neck, and then into this glass ball, and you see a galaxy that is just as spectacular as our own Milky Way, with just as many stars, with just as many planets, with just as much life being supported upon it. An alien comments, that's the problem with you humans. You think that just because something is small, it is unimportant. Just because something is small, it's unimportant. Well, such were the thoughts about the Kingdom of Heaven when Jesus was around. They thought the Kingdom of Heaven was going to come like some cataclysmic event, that the Messiah would come brandishing a sword and drive out the Roman soldiers. And no one would be able to resist. But Jesus says, rather it's like a mustard seed which starts imperceptibly but then grows unstoppably. Don't be distracted, says Jesus. Don't be like those who think that things must happen today and there must be clear visible results today if we're faithful to Jesus. That seems to be what the parable of the weeds is about. There were those who wanted to make sure that the kingdom was the only thing that was there today. And so everyone who didn't respond positively to the kingdom were the tares or the weeds. And they're saying, should we pull them up straight away? And Jesus says, no. No, those who thought the kingdom was going to be that which came and brought judgment against God's enemies immediately, in one sense they're right. There will be a day of judgment. But today is a day of patience before judgement. Have a look at verse 29. He said, No less will you, when you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, first gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. Don't be distracted. by thinking it's the job of Christians, first and foremost, to clear away the weeds in this world. The job of the church is not the purification of the world. The job of the church is the purification of the church, yes, but the evangelisation of the world. It's fruitless to try and clean up weeds, to try and make them into good wheat. It's fruitless to try and sift out the weeds, because in doing so, Jesus says, we might pull up those things that are actually weeds. If the parable of the sower showed that there are things that look like they're going to be Christians, people who see them bearing fruit but in the end won't persevere. This parable shows there are those who look like they might be weeds to start with, but we shouldn't pull them up, because in the end they'll be weeds. I wonder if there are those who you think could never become Christians. Perhaps you can think of those in your family who just seem dead set against the gospel, or friends, or colleagues, or neighbours. And you're tempted to give up witnessing to them. Well, don't give up. Why is it that Jesus saved you? Was it because you were more attractive? No, it's because he's gracious. Jesus is the kind of saviour who loves to save people who are in rebellion against him. He loves his enemies. And he will do that as the word of God is held out to people. So don't give up. Jesus can turn around the most stubborn heart by his spirit. The parable of the mustard seed shows us that things are not what they seem. Small is not necessarily unimportant. The Lord can grow that which is small. He can grow that which is small within people's hearts. The smallest interest in the Gospel, He will turn into faith by His Spirit, by His miraculous work. He will do that in a town. As we preach the Gospel, He will bring more and more people to come and know Him. He is doing that across the world. As the Gospel goes out into the world, people from every tongue and nation and tribe are putting their faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus doesn't grow mushrooms. He isn't the sort of person who wants to grow things that grow up very quickly and then rot very quickly as well. He's much more like the person who likes to grow oak trees. who from faithful roots into the ground of God's words will just slowly and steadily grow. Are we going to be faithful? Or are we going to want to see immediate worldly success? We can get immediate worldly success that looks impressive by manipulating people into accepting the gospel or making it look like they accept the gospel. But Jesus says, no, we're just to hold out his word. We can't change people's hearts. We can't change people's lives, but he can and he does so as we hold out the good news of Jesus. That's why Jesus preaches. He doesn't just preach to harden some hearts. Jesus' greatest joy is when his word goes out and people receive it with joy. Have a look at verse 34. All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables. and without a parable he did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world. The kingdom of heaven might look unimpressive, But from the time that Jesus walked on the earth until now, it has been growing. It only ever grows. Whenever good soil is showed up by the word of God, it remains good soil for the rest of someone's life. And it bears fruit in other people's lives. The kingdom will only ever grow. The question we need to ask ourselves is this, are our lives invested fully in this kingdom? Verse 44. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid. And for joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who when he found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. We're going to be encouraged thirdly and finally, do not be deterred by what is only a temporary cost. Don't be deterred by a temporary cost. What will it cost us to embrace Jesus' kingdom? What will it cost us to submit to Jesus' rule? Well, in one sense it will cost us everything. Notice those two parables we just read. The one who found the treasure in the field, he sold everything he had so he could buy the field. The one who liked collecting pearls, he sold all his other pearls so he could buy this one pearl at a great price. Do we recognise that following Jesus costs everything? Not necessarily that we must all sell all our possessions, but that all our possessions now we recognise as belonging to Jesus, so we spend all our possessions in his service. Not necessarily that we have to sell our house, but now we recognise that our house is a gift from God to use only for Jesus' glory. Whatever it was we were investing our lives in before we started following Jesus, we need to realise that is utterly worthless and not worth living for, but Jesus is worth living for. But where is your life invested today? In the church I'm a member of, it's remarkably encouraging to see people investing their lives in Jesus' kingdom. So there are people who have given up very successful careers so they can be lowly paid preachers. People who decided to remain in a downtown area in the city so they'd love to have their children have an acre of ground to run around in. Why? So they could reach out to those who don't know the gospel in that city. People who stay late into the night for elders' meetings, praying for the church. People who work hard and earn really good money, but then give lots of it away to Jesus' kingdom. They could have lived in a house twice the size than the one they live in if they hadn't done that. People who give up their Saturday evenings Young people who could have been out with other young people but give up their Saturday evenings to go and visit those who won't be able to make it to church on Sunday morning because they're shut in and they sing hymns to them and read God's Word. People who have changed their plans from having a retirement home on the Outer Banks to having a retirement home in the city centre just so they can serve God's people in this church better. People who have given up half their annual vacation to do short-term mission projects to encourage those who are missionaries elsewhere. People who are moving to a tiny island to take the gospel there, when the person who's doing that, he doesn't even like the sea and doesn't swim in it. People who've left comfort and familiarity behind and they're going to go and take their first child, who's about to be born, and they're going to go to a Muslim country, who's unfamiliar, that's uncomfortable because there are people there who haven't heard the good news. Are all these people crazy? Are they mad to give up so much for what seems so little? For what seems so unimpressive? Well, no, they're not crazy. They found the pile of great price. They're like people who've discovered an investment that's going to be worth millions. They're like people who knew what was going to happen to Google before the Google boom. And so they're going to invest everything they have, because they know it's going to produce a multiple harvest that's more than they could possibly imagine. They recognise that they are privileged to be able to invest their whole lives in Jesus' kingdom. What does it follow to submit to Jesus' rule? Well, everything. But praise God that we have our whole lives and he allows us to invest them all in his kingdom. What will it cost to reject Jesus' rule? Verse 47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which when it was full, they drew to the shore and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age, the angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus said to them, Have you understood all these things? They said to him, Yes, Lord. Then he said to them, Therefore, every scribe and instructor concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure new things as well as old. In the end, Jesus' kingdom is not like the king of England. There will be no successful resistance to Jesus' kingdom. Just because Jesus has been patient and Jesus' kingdom doesn't immediately come in judgement, isn't a sign that Jesus' kingdom will not come in judgement. It will. There will be a day when it is too late to submit to Jesus' rule willingly. when people will be submitted to Jesus' rule unwillingly, and that will be a terrible thing to happen to people. I wonder if you're not a believer here this morning. Don't mistake God's patience for an unwillingness to execute judgement. He will do so. There is no doubt about it. The old treasure remains true, the treasure that when Jesus' kingdom comes, finally, it will come. with terrible judgement. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous. Not those who are righteous because of what they've done, but righteous because they've been given Jesus' righteousness because they trusted in him and in his death for them on the cross. The cost of rejecting Jesus' rule is no joy. It makes people miserable now and it will leave people under God's judgement forever. Don't assume that hell is a fiction. How could it be a fiction? God is just and he will punish every evil deed. Yet praise God for that pause between the coming of Jesus and the beginning of his kingdom and the time when he will come again. in judgment because that pause has meant that God has provided another place for his justice to be satisfied on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and everyone who's entrusted themselves to him will enter God's kingdom as loyal subjects enjoying the presence of the King forever. There is new treasure as well as old. There's the treasure of the kingdom that has citizens and not just executions. There's the treasure that we were not all given over to hell the day Jesus arrived because he has come to preach his words so that there would be those who bear good fruit. Will we be those who invest our lives in this kingdom that might seem so unimpressive to so many but is of infinite and eternal value? What would you hold back from the one who took your hell that you might enter his kingdom? What would you hold back from the one who calls you to bear fruit so that there might be many more who are welcomed into his kingdom when he comes again. Jim Elliot was a missionary who gave up everything to invest in God's kingdom. He was trying to take the gospel to Indians in Ecuador when he and his colleagues were brutally murdered. Was he mad? No, he knew that might happen and yet he went anyway. because he knew the gospel had to get out. This is what Jim Elliott had said early in his life. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Let's pray together. Father God, we pray that we would not be fools. That we would not be those who mistake that which is impressive to the world to that which counts in your sight. That we would not mistake the temporary for the eternal. That we would not be those who harden our hearts against you because we recognise the cost of following Jesus and we'd rather not live for him, we'd like to live for ourselves. Father, we pray that we wouldn't be those who are shallow, who only follow Jesus for what's in it for us, but we would be those who want to spend our lives for him. Father, we pray that we wouldn't be those with divided hearts, who will serve Jesus so long as we can have everything in this world as well. but we will be those who spend our lives in this world and invest them in Jesus' kingdom, because we want to see Jesus glorified not only in our own lives, but in the lives of those with whom we share the gospel, in the lives of those whom we encourage in their walk with Jesus. Father, by your Spirit, work in us so that we would spend our lives for what will last forever and what we cannot lose, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen. Michael, thank you for your powerful testimony from the Word of God. We come now to a time of commitment, a time of public commitment. If, as Mike said, you have reached the point where the Spirit has worked within your heart and made you ready to give everything to God. As the children sang earlier, your heart, your soul, your strength, prepare to give it to God and want to make a professional face. We invite you to come forward. Or perhaps you've already made that professional face. You've already given everything to God.