Matthew 13: 31-35

It's good to see you out on this rainy weekend,

but trust that's been a good one as well. We

are in the 13th chapter of Matthew, and we've

been looking at the parables of the kingdom.

And today we're going to look at verses 31 through

35. Matthew writes, in another parable, he, that

is Jesus, he put forth to them saying, the kingdom

of heaven, it's like a grain of mustard seed

that a man took and sowed in his field. And it's

the smallest of all seeds. But when it has grown,

it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes

a tree so that the birds of the air come and

make nests in its branches. He told them another

parable. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven

that a woman took and hid it in three measures

of flour till it was all leavened. Now all these

things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables

and without a parable he did not speak to them.

That it might be fulfilled which is spoken by

the prophet saying, and he's quoting the psalmist

here, I will open my mouth in parables. I will

utter things kept secret from the foundation

of the world. Would you join me in asking God

to help us this morning as we look at his sacred

word? Father, we thank you so very much, Lord

God, for the privilege, Lord, of having a personal

copy of the scriptures in our laps or on our

devices. But, Lord God, we need the Spirit's

enablement. Lord, we pray for his working in

our midst. Lord, illumine this text. Lord, cause

it to bear fruit in our lives. We pray this in

Christ's name. Amen. So we're in chapter 13.

We've been here for a while now. And in this

chapter, the Lord gives seven parables, and each

of these parables all have their subject dealing

with the kingdom of God, or as Matthew calls

it, the kingdom of heaven. Same thing. Now, today

we're looking at the third and fourth parable.

Now, obviously, if he's mentioning seven parables

back to back, the idea of the kingdom was important

to our Lord. If it's important to him, it ought

to be important to us. In Matthew 6, verse 33,

Matthew 6:33

Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and

his righteousness. Now, if it is to be the priority,

seek first. If that is what we are to do, we

better know what the kingdom of God is and why

does it matter? What relevance does it hold?

Now it is important to know something that in

these parables, the Lord Jesus was constantly

challenging the Jewish expectation of the kingdom.

Because by and large, popular Judaism, you had

some sects that did not believe this way, but

by and large, the Jews believed that when the

kingdom of God arrived, it's going to come in

splendor. They believed it would arrive in political

and military might. That it would come under

the leader of like a Davidic king. Rome is going

to be defeated and Israel as a nation is going

to be exalted. And then that would usher in a

golden age where Jerusalem would serve as a spiritual

and political center of the world, of all the

nations. Now that's what they believed. So therefore,

they were looking for something big and spectacular.

And then Jesus comes on the scene and he starts

to upend or confound those expectations. While

Israel was looking for a triumphant king, God

gave them a baby born in a manger. They were

looking for a child, if he's going to be born,

to be born to royalty. God gave them a child

born to a peasant couple from Nazareth. Far from

arriving in majesty, the kingdom of God came

unnoticeable. Small. Like a mustard seed. And

it really came hidden. And only those of the

eyes of faith could perceive it. And one of the

things we start to see in Matthew's gospel is

that God defies our expectations. He does not

always work in the ways that we think he ought

to work. As the scriptures say, his ways are

not our ways. And his thoughts are not our thoughts.

The Lord's greatest endeavors often begin in...

unremarkable ways. For example, that baby that

was born to that teenage mother in Bethlehem,

he becomes the savior of the world. The poor

carpenter from the small, and I'm going to use

the word, podunk town of Nazareth, he becomes

a central figure in all of human history, literally

becomes the dividing point of time. That's Jesus.

We think of 12 ordinary men sent out on a preaching

mission and they change the world and they carry

the message of salvation to all the nations.

But when today, when it comes to our culture,

we prize instant dramatic results. But God does

his work slowly, imperceptibly, sometimes even

secretly. Because God will first do his work

in the inner recesses of the human heart and

not on some public stage. But yes, his work does

begin small and it looks insignificant. But it

certainly does not end up that way. Look at verses

31 and 32. He puts this parable to them. He said,

the kingdom of God, it's like a mustard seed.

So we ought to be asking ourselves, how, in what

ways is the kingdom like a mustard seed? The

Lord Jesus is using in these parables figures

from everyday life that is going to illumine

spiritual truths. So in this case, the Lord Jesus,

he's using a mustard seed, which was proverbially

small. Now let me just give a little caveat here.

If you know about this parable, you do know that

some skeptics take this and they try to argue

against the inspiration of Scripture. They're

saying this is an error in the Bible. Because

it says in Matthew that the mustard seed is the

smallest of all the seeds. When in fact it isn't

the smallest of all the seeds. Now first of all

we have to understand Jesus was not saying you

could not find a smaller seed anywhere else.

He was not giving a botany lesson. He was simply

using something the people were already familiar

with. And the people at that time commonly held

the mustard seed to be the smallest of all seeds.

And his point. He was showing them something

very, very proverbially small, something tiny,

and yet it grows into something quite large.

And moreover, if you look at Jesus' teaching

or his parables, he often employed hyperbole

anyways. And he did so to highlight his point.

So the point of this parable, if we don't want

to miss it, don't get caught up in the details.

Parables are not meant to go down deep into details.

This seed that starts out very, very tiny, grows

into a very large plant. Now, it says tree. Technically,

again, in the botanical sense, it's not a tree.

But this metaphor is brilliant. Because here

we are 2 ,000 years later, and this metaphor

still holds up. It's not obsolete. We all can

understand the concept of a tiny seed growing

into something quite big. And that's what Jesus

said. He said, the kingdom of heaven is like

this seed. Now, that ought to tell something.

The kingdom of heaven does not arrive fully formed.

Not in its full manifestation. But that would

have been contrary to the Jewish expectation.

Because they believed, as I said earlier, that

the kingdom arrived full. In its full and complete

manifestation at the very beginning. And in this

parable, the Lord is correcting their misunderstanding.

They were looking for something to dramatically

arrive. And so they tripped over Jesus. He didn't

fit the bill. His teachings did not align with

conventional Jewish thought. The long -anticipated

kingdom had come. But it had come in some hidden

way with Jesus. Now, do you remember when Jesus

and John the Baptist, they both come on the scene

and they're essentially preaching the same message.

Repent. Why? Calling Israel to repent. Because

the kingdom of heaven was at hand. It was near.

It had come. It had come in the person of Jesus.

So we have here the kingdom coming, but it comes

in obscurity. It doesn't come in glory. And apart

from that, the king comes in meekness, not ruling

in majesty. So when you think about the kingdom

of God, the kingdom of God did not look like

a kingdom at all, especially when you compare

it to the many religions that existed in Rome

at that time. There were many gods of the Roman

pantheon. You also had many mystery religions

in the ancient world. We know them from history.

So in the Roman Empire, there were these many

mystery religions. There were many adherents

to these religions. But the kingdom of God, you

had Jesus and a few disciples. And apart from

that, those disciples were not part of the religious

elite. And none of them were from the noble aristocratic

class. So what's going on here? This is nothing

what they would have thought. So God's kingdom,

it arrived in obscurity, but Jesus in his parable

says, but don't worry, it will grow to be something

stately. He said, when it has grown, it'll be

larger, this mustard seed, than all the garden

plants and become a tree so that even birds make

nests in its branches. So the point Jesus was

making is the kingdom of God is going to start

small, minuscule in fact. Like a tiny mustard

seed. But through time. And by God's blessing.

That seed is going to take root in the ground.

And it's going to grow. And continue to grow.

And to become something very big. Large enough

he said. So that even the birds will make nests

in its branches. So the kingdom. Yes at that

time. It looks very insignificant. But it grew

to be a great kingdom. Encompassing the entire

globe. Today, this morning as I preach, there

are baptized Christians on every continent worshiping

the risen Christ and proclaiming him Lord. Now

we understand that not everyone who names the

name of Christ belongs to him. But just looking

at adherence to the Christian faith, it is the

largest world religion, has over 2 .4 billion

followers. And it all began 2 ,000 years ago

with 12 Jewish men preaching about the death

and resurrection. Of a poor carpenter. Outside

Jerusalem. It doesn't make sense. But Jesus told

another parable. Essentially highlighting the

same truth. Verse 33. The kingdom of heaven.

This time it's like leaven. That a woman took

and hid in three measures of flour. Until it

was all leavened. Alright. So the kingdom of

God is like a mustard seed. Now the kingdom of

God is like leaven. Well how? Of course leaven

is a substance used to make dough rise. So a

woman took and she hid it in three measures of

flour. Three measures of flour is enough to make

bread for about 100 people. So it's significant

here. Jesus' point is just a little bit of leaven

will change the large quantity of flour. Just

one Jewish carpenter and 12 disciples changed

the entire world. Also like leaven. I think this

is brilliant on the Lord's part. The kingdom

of God does not work from the outside in, it

works from the inside out. God first changes

man's heart. He does a work internally and then

you see the results externally. And we start

to see this in the book of Acts. If you look

at the book of Acts, you're going to see how

the kingdom of God is like leaven as you behold

the explosive growth of the church throughout

the entire letter there. So the church started

in Jerusalem, but it grew until it reached the

entire known world. Now we're going to do a survey

real quickly through the book of Acts. In Acts

1 .8, it kind of sets up the template for the

rest of the book. Acts 1 .8, Jesus speaking.

But you, to his disciples, will receive power

when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you

shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea.

So you've got southern Israel. Samaria, that's

middle, it's really not Israel proper, and Galilee

in the north, and to the end of the earth. So

Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the end of the

earth. Now in chapters 1 through 7 of the book

of Acts, you see the growth of the church, first

of all, in Jerusalem. Because the church started

out with just about 120 people. And you see that

in chapter 1, verse 15. And it says, And in those

days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples.

Now notice what Luke writes here. All together,

the number of names is about 120. That's it.

About 120 in the world. Now, Peter, in chapter

2, he preaches at Pentecost. And the Holy Spirit

powerfully is poured out or given at that time.

And we see something in chapter 2, verse 41.

Then those who gladly received his word were

baptized. And in that day, about 3 ,000 souls.

We're added to them. So one day it's 120. The

very next day it's 3 ,120. Go over to chapter

4. However, many of those who heard the word

believed. Now notice this little phrase. And

the number of the men, not women, children. The

number of the men came to be about 5 ,000. So

now by this time, you have the church growing

to where just men alone is numbering 5 ,000.

We go to chapter 6. Then the word of God spread,

and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly

in Jerusalem. Notice this next line. And a great

many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

The church keeps growing, and it says apart from

that, many of the Jewish priests became Christians.

But in chapter 7, you have something dramatic

happen. You have the first martyr of the church,

which is Stephen. He's killed. He's stoned to

death. So you would think that almost might bring

the work to nothing. It might halt the work there.

This is going to cause the church to go in hiding,

right? So what you see from this point forward

is the church growing rapidly despite the persecution.

In fact, in chapters 8 through 12, the gospel

spreads beyond Jerusalem and goes into Samaria.

Look at chapter 8, verse 1. At that time, a great

persecution arose against the church, which was

at Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout

the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the

apostles who stayed behind. Therefore, those

who were scattered, notice what they did. They

went everywhere. What were they doing? Preaching

the word. So you have persecuted Christians fleeing

out of Jerusalem, but they're not keeping their

mouth shut. They kept preaching the gospel everywhere

they went. And in fact, now we have the record

of Philip. He goes into Samaria, chapter 8, verses

5 and 6. Then Philip went down to the city of

Samaria and he preached Christ to them. Now remember

the Jews and Samaritans hated each other. So

these groups were at odds with each other. And

the multitudes with one accord heeded the things

spoken by Philip. God's doing a work in Samaria.

Chapter 9, verse 31. Then the churches throughout

all Judea, southern Israel, Galilee, northern

Israel, and Samaria. That's not... Technically,

it's the middle section, not Israel proper. They

had peace and were edified, and walking in the

fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy

Spirit, they were multiplied. Wonderful, but

there's no Gentiles. Chapter 10, the gospel goes

to the Gentiles. So the apostle Peter, he is

to preach to a Gentile man named Cornelius who

had gathered his family and many people in his

own house. Peter's preaching to them. And as

he's preaching to them, the Holy Spirit is given

to them just like he was at Pentecost to the

Jews. Chapter 10, verse 45. And those of the

circumcision, that is the Jews who believed,

they were astonished. They couldn't believe what

they were seeing. And as many as came with Peter,

why were they so astonished? Because the gift

of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the

Gentiles also. Go to chapter 11. Now those who

were scattered after the persecution that arose

over Stephen, they're traveling as far as, notice,

Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch, preaching the word

to no one but the Jews only. But some of them

were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who when they

had come to Antioch, they spoke to the Hellenists.

Who are the Hellenists? Greek -speaking Jews.

They lived, they were also, they adopted Greek

culture. And they were preaching to the Hellenists

the word Jesus. And God was blessing them. The

hand of the Lord was upon them. And notice the

text. A great number believed and turned to the

Lord. Chapter 12, verse 24. The word of God grew

and multiplied. Now in Acts chapter 13 through

Acts 13 · chapter mention

28, the gospel, it's already been in Jerusalem.

It's already in Judea. It's already in Samaria.

It's gone everywhere in Israel. Now it's going

to go to the ends of the earth. In chapter 13

and 14, it records Paul's first missionary journey.

The gospel, these cities, you have Cyprus, Antioch,

Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. All cities in Asia.

Look at chapter 13, verses 48. Now when the Gentiles

heard this, they were glad and they glorified

the word of the Lord. And as many as had been

appointed to eternal life believed. And the word

of the Lord was being spread throughout all that

region. Then we go to chapter 16 through 18.

Now you have Paul's second missionary journey.

Look at chapter 16, verse 5. So the churches

were strengthened in the faith, and they increased

in number daily. If you read through chapter

16 through 18, you see the gospel goes to Europe.

You have cities. You have Macedonia, Philippi,

Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth. Those are

European. Chapters 19 through 21, you have Paul's

third and final missionary journey. Chapter 19,

verse 20. So the word of the Lord grew mightily

and prevailed. Churches then were established

in Ephesus and in Asia Minor, which is in Asia

Minor. Then chapters 21 through 28, the Apostle

Paul's rested. Where does he have to go after

his arrest? He heads to Rome, the capital city

of the empire. What's Paul doing? Well, he's

in prison. He's under house arrest. But he keeps

preaching, and the book of Acts ends with these

verses. Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his

own rented house, received all who came to him.

What was he doing? Preaching what? The kingdom

of God. And teaching the things which concern

the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. And

no one was forbidding him. He was given great

access here. So the gospel went from Jerusalem

to Judea to Samaria to Asia to Asia Minor to

Europe to the ends of the earth to Rome. So the

Christian faith is spreading from a small group

like a mustard seed to the center. And to the

higher known world at that time. The kingdom

of God is like leaven. It keeps spreading. It's

infiltrating. Now why then is the teaching of

the kingdom still relevant to us today? Because

as Christians we live in the kingdom of God.

How are you to seek it if you don't know what

it is? Now I'm going to give you an academic

definition. I got this from the Gospel Coalition.

There are so many different ways you can define

the kingdom. It's good and I think it's simplistic

enough to understand. The kingdom of God is the

rule of God. We could really stop there. That's

what it is. It is the rule of God over his people

in his creation. So at the beginning, everything's

a kingdom. Established through his Messiah in

the new covenant, which is now present in the

world, although it is awaiting its fulfillment

at the second coming of Christ. It's here in

seed form. It's not yet here in full and final

form. So I was looking at different ways to say

this. I saw a YouTube video with Matt Chandler.

He used three words, alliterated. I typically

don't alliterate, but he used dwell, dominion,

and dynasty. So I thought, okay, let me see if

this helps. So the first of all, if you think

about the kingdom of God, it's dwelling. In the

very beginning of creation, when God created

Adam, what was he doing? Dwelling with man where?

In the Garden of Eden. So from Genesis to Revelation,

really the Bible can be summarized with these

words. God is with us. In Eden, God is with us.

Later, you have the tabernacle. What was the

purpose of the tabernacle and then the temple?

The Holy of Holies, what's the purpose? God is

with us. And then later, you have Jesus. He is

the Son of God, the true tabernacle. God is with

us. At Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is poured

out on God's people, God is with us. When you

go to the very last book of the Bible, the book

of the Revelation, what do you find? There's

a new heaven, there's a new earth, and God is

with us. He's dwelling with his people. Revelation

7 .15, Therefore they are before the throne of

God, and they serve him day and night in his

temple, and he who sits on the throne will dwell

among them. God is dwelling with his people.

That's part of the kingdom. We will dwell with

God. God is living with his people in fellowship.

But under his dominion, under his rule, we live

under the rule of God. When God created Adam,

he created mankind to take dominion over his

creation. But God is the true king. Man was created

to serve as vice regents who is going to rule

over the created order in a subservient way.

But what happened? Well, sin entered the world

and fractured the relationship that had existed

between God and man. So because of sin, mankind

is now alienated from God. He needs to be redeemed

and brought back into fellowship. He needs to

be reconciled to God. How's that going to be

possible? Sacrifices aren't going to do it. The

blood of animals, the blood of bulls and goats

can't do it. So the Son of God becomes man. And

he made the necessary atonement so that mankind

might be brought back into a restored relationship

with God. Man is reconciled through faith in

God's Messiah. So what does that mean? It means

when the sinner calls upon the Lord Jesus in

faith, he is brought into this kingdom and the

Holy Spirit comes to dwell within him. The believer

is baptized in the name of the triune God. Why

do we baptize in the name of God, in the name

of the triune God? Because we're marking out

that person as belonging to God. Baptism is a

sign of the covenant. It's a sign that that person

who is baptized is in covenant with God. He is

one of God's own. He belongs to him. So now God's

people, we're still called to take dominion,

but how do we do it now? We spread the gospel

of Christ throughout the world, preaching Jesus

and him crucified. We're calling people to submit

themselves to God's rule under his kingdom. Jesus,

at the end of Matthew, in verse 28, gives a mandate

to his church. He commands his disciples to go

into all the nations, go into all the world,

and preach the gospel, make disciples of the

nations by baptizing them. In the name of the

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And then those

who were baptized were to be instructed to obey

all that Christ had commanded. They were to live

under his rule. So that's what part of the kingdom

is. We dwell with God and we live under the lordship

of Christ and we joyfully submit to him. Because

our loyalty and our allegiance belong to God.

You're saying, but we live in the world. Absolutely

we live in the world, but we are first and foremost

citizens of heaven who belong to our king. That's

where our loyalty truly lies. And God's people

take dominion by preaching Christ to the nations

and seeing the kingdom of God continue to grow.

It's what we saw in the book of Acts, and it

continues until today. But we also then have

a dynasty. When Christ returns to the earth,

And the kingdom comes in its fruition. There

will be new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness

dwells, no sin at all. And God's enemies all

will have been defeated at that time. And God

will once again dwell with his people in unhindered,

unfettered fellowship. No longer any separation

whatsoever. And all the nations will have come

under the lordship of Christ because the nations

are given to Christ. Acts 2. God's people, or

excuse me, Psalm 2. God's people will live and

reign with Christ in his eternal dynasty. We

are co -heirs with Christ. In our union with

Christ. Friends, do you understand that you're

going to inherit what God the Father is going

to give to Jesus? He says you are co -heirs with

Christ. We will share. In that glorious inheritance

that God the Father will give to his son, the

Lord Jesus. That's your future. That's what we

have to look forward to. That's why we can suffer

that Peter called us to when we read earlier.

This is not all there is. We have a glorious

future. The story of the Bible is about God restoring

his perfect kingdom. We will forever live with

God, dwell. under his rule, dominion, in his

eternal dynasty. This is the kingdom. And it

gives our lives hope and purpose. The prophet

Daniel, he got a glimpse of this glorious kingdom

in its fullness. In Daniel 2, verse 44. Now listen

Daniel 2:44

carefully. These verses just blow my mind. Chapter

2, verse 44. And in the days of these kings,

the God of heaven, and I don't have time to set

up the background. Just listen to the text. The

God of heaven will set up a kingdom, God's kingdom,

which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom

shall not be left to other people. It shall break

in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, all

the worldly kingdoms. And it shall stand forever.

Let me just say this, friends. Empires, nations

will rise and fall. God's kingdom will not. It's

eternal. It's never going to be toppled. Ever.

King Jesus reigns forever. Now you go to chapter

7 of Daniel. I was watching in the night visions,

and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with

the clouds of heaven, usually referred to judgment,

he came to the ancient of days. Now this is a

vision. The Father and the Son are not, I can't

think of the word, ontologically separate. You're

like, I don't know what ontologically means.

Well, good, but they're not ontologically separate.

So when we're looking at this, this is a vision,

all right? I see one like the Son of Man coming

with the clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient

days, representing God the Father. And they brought

him near before him so that you have God the

Son being brought near God the Father. It's a

vision. They're one being, one in essence. We

know that. Then to him, that's the Son of Man,

that's Christ, was given dominion. And glory.

And a kingdom. What's the glory look like? That

all peoples, nations, and languages should serve

him. Gladly submit to his rule. His dominion

is an everlasting dominion. Which shall not pass

away. And his kingdom, the one which shall not

be destroyed. Every other one will. But look

at verse 18. But the saints of the Most High

shall receive the kingdom. It's given to them

as a gift and possess the kingdom forever, even

forever and ever. Daniel's out of words. Verse

27. Then the kingdom and dominion and the greatness

of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall

be given to the people, the saints of the Most

High. And he repeats it. His kingdom. It's an

everlasting kingdom. And all dominions shall

serve and obey him. Every earthly dominion will

be brought under the lordship of Christ. You

bow or you're judged. The kingdom. It's about

God dwelling with his people under his dominion,

living in his dynasty. And that's what Jesus

is conveying to the people in this parable. Just

as that seed grows into a tree, the kingdom of

God can't be stopped. It's not going to be stopped.

God has his people everywhere and he's going

to bring them into his kingdom. God has ordained

the growth of his church. Jesus said in Matthew

16, he said, I will build my church and the gates

of hell, the gates of Hades shall not prevail

against it. You think Satan's going to stop the

work of God? Not a chance. The kingdom of God

right now is advancing throughout the world.

And if you have no Christ, you've been born again

by his grace. You're part of this. So Paul would

tell the church at Galatians, don't lose heart.

Don't grow weary while doing good. All friends,

in due season, you will reap if you don't faint,

if you don't lose heart, if you don't quit. This

puts perspective on your life. It puts perspective

on our suffering. You, friends, you are part

of God's work building God's kingdom. So don't

grow weary. And don't look on what you consider

insignificant. Look at how the kingdom began.

God blesses small things. Even small acts mean

a lot in God's kingdom. Some people, they want

glorious, dramatic things, and they feel like

if I'm not doing something dramatic, well, then

my life doesn't count. That's not the message

here. Small gifts that are given mean a lot.

Small acts of charity mean a lot. I was talking

to Mark and Deanna. They're in nursery this morning.

I'm like, listen, nursery workers, VBS workers,

Sunday school workers, toddler church workers,

aka purgatory workers. We know that's all blessed

in God's economy. You're like, but it's just

me taking care of a toddler. I've got some toddlers.

I know it's a blessed moment. But let me just

say this, and I say this with all sincerity.

Ordinary faithfulness. Serve your family, dads.

Love your wives. Disciple your children to know

and love Christ. Share the gospel with coworkers.

Even just one person, share the gospel. Open

your house. Be hospitable. Small moments in prayer.

I know we read the missionary biographies and

they spend hours and hours. Spend small moments

with him. Read just one chapter of the Bible.

All those things. Be faithful to your church.

These small acts count for much in eternity.

And they all add up to something significant.

I would tell you, mom of young children, you're

like, all I'm doing is changing diapers, washing

dishes, and I feel like I'm going crazy. I get

it. Don't overlook that. It's kingdom work. Having

babies to the glory of God and raising them to

fear God. God's going to bless it. A little leaven

leavens the whole batch. And the whole time you're

doing it, you feel like your children aren't

listening, that they're tuning you out. God is

working quietly, imperceptibly, even unnoticeably

in the inner recesses of their heart. Don't despise

that. What God has begun, God will complete,

and of that there is no doubt. Paul wrote about

this in 1 Corinthians 15, and we close with this.

Then comes the end. When he, that is Jesus, delivers

the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an

end to all rule, these guys that think they're

in charge, they're not, and all authority and

all power, he puts an end to it, for he, Jesus,

must reign until he's subjugated everything to

his rule, until he has put all enemies under

his feet. He's the triumphant king. He came as

the lamb, he returns as a lion. Friends, this

is our destiny. Take heart in that. Be willing

to suffer if need be because your future is eternally

bright because of what Christ has done. Let's

pray. Let's get ready to prepare our hearts for

communion with this blessed Jesus, with the risen

ascended Christ, the one who gave his body and

shed his blood so that we might be brought into

this kingdom. We're going to prepare our hearts

now. We need to look. I think there is a time,

you know, a broken Christ is to be received by

a broken heart. Let us mourn over our sin, but

then let us also be happy as we go to the table

and say, there's the remedy for it. It's a broken

body in the shed blood of Jesus, and I want to

commune with the one who purchased me. Let's

do that for his glory. Deacons, if you would

come and prepare the table for communion. If

you're here with us, joining us as a visitor,

we're thankful to have you here. We believe that

this is the table of the Lord. It belongs to

Christ. It's fellowship with Christ. And so if

you know the Lord Jesus and you've been baptized

in the triune name of the Father, Son, and Holy

Spirit.