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Well, it's great to be with you all again today. This is this will be the fourth sermon I preached in this series. I'm really excited to go through it. I think as I study it more and more I get more and more excited by the text.
I as many of you know, I love Matthew 11 12. It's one of my favorite texts of all time. So Please open your bulletin up. Miss Linda printed a coat of arms in there. Take a look at. I just pulled this up online.
The title of my sermon is called heavens coat of arms relentlessness.
All right.
How many of you have are familiar with a coat of arms. They're they're kind of unique because they're not really a coat and they don't always have weapons on them. But what? They were very prominent in medieval time and there were a couple different uses these coat of arms had.
Number one the coat of arms indicated that a bear was of noble birth, right? So only nobility got these. You didn't get them if you were commoner. There were sort of like if you think of logos today, our church has a logo.
They were like logos, but they don't represent a business or a church. They're presented to families. These pictures serve two very important purposes since Knights of the time wore plate armor from head to toe in battle.
Everyone had the same armor on how you gonna tell people apart you can't. It's really difficult to tell when a person's whole face And body is covered. So the first reason that people wore this was to tell tell each other apart.
They have the coat of arms in their shield. They'd have it on a banner. They'd have it all over the place. It may be in the wall in their castle. That was the first thing. You wouldn't want to be in the battlefield fighting and have one of your friends mistakenly hack you with an axe and say oh.
No, I didn't realize it was you. So that was the first one addition so basically the first thing the first Purpose of the coat of arms was to indicate which army were you fighting for? The second purpose were.
They also indicated your familial lineage. The coat of arms were always usually a combination of your father's coat of arms and your mother's coat. Of arms, so if you look at the crest that I gave you you see.
There's three green leaves and there's a yellow shield the red stripe, right? So in this scenario, I just pulled this up online. It's not my family's coat of arms. It's probably just a random one. But my father might have a yellow shield the red stripe my mother's coat of arms.
I'd be three green leaves when you merge those together. When people seem in the battlefield, they know instantly he fights for England and his parents are this and that's who he is. So it's a way of identifying yourselves.
It's a vision really a coat of arms a visual way of displaying to the whole world your lineage. The Bible very frequently typifies Christians as soldiers in a hostile world. It's a very very common analogy.
Paul was very fond of this. He did it quite often. You know when the world looks at us. How do they know if we serve on the army of Christ or in the army of the devil? The Bible mentions that if we're in Christ, we are children of God and no longer part of the devil's family.
So another another question I have is what are the family traits that we will show that we are part of God's family. There are many good answers to this question. There's a lot. This is not the only one.
But I would like to propose that the relentless pursuit of heaven is what sets Christians apart from the worldling. Christians are relentless about heaven. The Christians coat of arm is pursuing holiness and the Bible is very clear without holiness.
No one will see God. Our text for the sermon is Matthew 11 12, but I'm going to read this in context. So please turn to Matthew 11. We'll start in verse 11 and we'll read through verse 15. Matthew 11 verse 11.
Assuredly I say to you among those born of women there is risen not one greater than John the Baptist. But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he and from the days of John the Baptist until now.
The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent taken by force for all the prophets in the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, oh he he is the Elijah who is to come he who has ears to hear let him.
I'm also going to read the parallel verse in chapter 16 of Luke's gospel. You don't have to turn there. I'll just read that and he said to them you are those who justify yourselves before men. But God knows your hearts for what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination the sight of God.
The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached and everyone is pressing into it and is easier for heaven and earth to pass away. Than for one jot and tittle of the law to fail.
My first point today is advent is I want to talk to you about advent to the kingdom of heaven or the entrance or the opening of it. Powerful rulers leave their mark on history. Particularly notable rulers often get the honor of having their name define a whole period of history.
For example, when we talk about the reign of Queen Elizabeth, we sometimes simply say that's the Elizabethan era, right? It was a golden age for the nation of England. Arts and commerce flourished and England was ascendant to the status of a colonizing superpower.
They were very blessed in their era. Napoleon aic France was known for beating all comers in the field of battle that ranged from Egypt to northern Russia to France. When a person suffers a significant setback or loss We often colloquially will say they have met their Waterloo because what that's when Napoleon was defeated.
So his name has become the battle where he lost his emperorship has become a has become a title for a person getting defeat. Synonym rather thus even in defeat Napoleon left a very indelible stamp on our history compared to Jesus.
Napoleon and Queen Elizabeth were microscopic specks of dust. However, even though Christ had every right to call his arrival the kingdom of Jesus or kingdom of Christ. He avoided both options. Instead he stylizes his arrival as if you look in Matthew.
He says the kingdom of heaven. If you look at Mark or Luke, it says the kingdom of God when casting demons out. He also forbade people from announcing his godhood and warned people that he healed against making their healing the center of public attention.
So he had a very humble he came as a servant and he said is the kingdom of God the kingdom of heaven. What is the kingdom of heaven? I think that's the most important question we have today. Why did the Lord link its arrival with the beginning of the John the Baptist ministry?
The noun kingdom indicates this is a tangible transfer of power not merely a hypothetical or futuristic one. So when the kingdom of heaven came to surf power was transferred. It wasn't the start of something.
It wasn't it wasn't a prelude to a transfer. It was a transfer in the onslaught of the gospel the devil's long reign over the souls of mankind. Which started the garden beaten was being quickly unraveled.
During this period of tests in the wilderness Jesus Withstood three of Satan's temptations our parents fell on one and he triumphed where Adam and Eve had fallen. Additionally, he did this after fasting 40 days and accomplishes alone.
Most monarchs of a pampered or sheltered life before they assume the throne. Jesus's transitional period in the wilderness involves suffering self-denial and servitude. His role as a suffering servant is a distinguishing mark that sets his reign apart from all other regions throughout history.
Matthew's the phrase the kingdom of heaven. To describe the beginning of the Messiah's ministry. This book was written to a Jewish audience. The Jews did not typically use God's name Yahweh. They preferred not to do that.
So Matthew took this into account and he said the kingdom of heaven. Luke's gospel was written more to Gentiles said people like us without these preconceptions. So Luke calls it the kingdom of God. Either of them were kingdom of God kingdom of heaven.
I think the kingdom of heaven in my opinion highlights the unity of all three members the Trinity all three members are working to Accomplish it the kingdom of God. Highlights the Trinity's role because Jesus is submitting to the Father's kingdom and the Holy Spirit is carrying out the Father's kingdom.
But they're both great terms. They both fit this fit what we're describing here. The phrase the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of God is one of Jesus favorite phrases. He used it over a hundred times in the gospel, right?
Very very often the comparative form right the kingdom of heaven is was uttered by our Savior nearly 50 times in the gospel. The fact that she has chose to focus so much of his earthly preaching on this topic is proof of its importance.
The Greek word for kingdom Basilea can also be translated as Dominion though many translators decided not to use that English word. I think I saw one or two translations that use Dominion, but most prefer Kingdom.
Dominion provides the added connotation of absolute authority. Jesus inauguration of his kingdom was not passive like when an heir receives inheritance. Rather, it was violent as he marched his redemption directly against the gates of hell itself.
So it wasn't just a passive thing he received outside of the if you look at these terms the kingdom of God in heaven, they're not really used much outside of the Gospels and Revelation and you know, and there's a few other times the epistles.
But I don't think it's an accident. The occurrence of the word kingdom are most prevalent in these books. Right, the Gospels inaugurated the beginning of Jesus earthly kingdom and revelation is where it's gonna reach its final climatic conclusion.
Where all things are put under Christ's feet. For a great parallel between the inauguration and consummation of the kingdom of heaven. Consider how Jesus approached his death. I like what Augustine writes here.
He says Jesus endured death as a lamb and he devoured it as a lion. So you see kind of dual motive like he died as a lamb. But then he rose from the grave like a lion in the same vein. Christ's kingdom was inaugurated in peace.
But its return is gonna bring power and punishment. There'll be no peace on there will be no peace next time for those that do not love the Lord. Qualifying the noun we see a prepositional phrase called the kingdom of heaven right or rather I'm sorry of heaven this Marxist the kingdom is very different from all the other kingdoms that were littered throughout human history.
The advent of this kingdom was very different from the nationalistic restoration of the Davidic dynasty that many Jews expected. This kingdom was heavenly because Jesus its ruler was heavenly. It purpose to inaugurate a new spiritual era and its outward expression was changing men's hearts.
It wasn't in ruling their bodies every kingdom before this time was like I'm gonna rule your body. Jesus is like I'm gonna change your heart. Earthly sovereigns must content themselves with attaining outward obedience from their subjects.
An earthly sovereign can't change their heart. This kind of obedience was a pragmatic obedience that could be bought by a higher bidder or changed by the application of guile. Which is Trent which is treachery or you know scheming or force.
The page of the Bible are replete or there's a lot of examples of people who switch their allegiances and alter the course of the Kingdom if you think about a hit a fell who was David's trusted advisor for many years.
But immediately switched sides to advise Absalom after his father to pose. David had the Lord not Intervened to turn a hit a fell's counsel to foolishness. We might be talking about the Absalom Absalom ik line not the Davidic line today.
Abner was the commander of Saul's army in the same period and military advisor to Saul's son ish bashef. His feud with the king if you remember he had he had a fight with the king over one of the concubines.
Let him to transfer his allegiance over to David thus bringing military acumen or talent. Fighters and he probably bought some of Saul's old allies over David's size. Moses chose to suffer affliction with the Israelites over enjoying life as an Egyptian monarch.
With that move he cemented himself as a hero of the faith and became a scourge of Egypt rather than its sovereign. So you see kingdoms of men are often changed by one person switching allegiance. The kingdom of heaven really is the first inward kingdom in the history of mankind.
Its laws went beyond mere actions and address. What are the motives of your heart? What's going on in your heart? And what are the thoughts of your mind? It's true adherence cannot be shaken from their convictions by earthly rewards or threats.
I like what Richard Sibb says. He summarized this nicely. He said other princes can make good laws, but they cannot write them in people's hearts and. This quote is basically a paraphrase of Jeremiah 31 31 to 34.
This really was the Jews first clue that the Messianic came to be very different from the Davidic Kingdom. Jeremiah writes in that he says behold the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel in the house of Judah.
Not according to the covenant made with their fathers and the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt. My covenant which they broke. Though I was a husband to them says the Lord. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days the Lord I will put my law in their minds.
I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God. They should be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying no the Lord. For they all shall know me from the least the greatest says the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.
I'll remember no more.
Although this passage describes a new relationship between God as people in covenantal and not imperial or king to kingly terms I think there's an important clue that connects this verse to Matthew or these verses rather to Matthew 11 12.
Let's take a closer. Look at verse 33. If you look at 33 God says I'm going to put my law in your minds. I'm going to write it on your hearts. The mind or the intellect is the decision center of the body.
It's where all of our that's where we you know, our decisions come from there and they propagate outward. The heart or soul is the emotional spiritual nexus of our existence which can never die. When you die your soul goes to heaven.
That's the center of who you are. God promises to write his law not on tablets of stone animal skins or vegetable matter like papyri. But he promises to indelibly or permanently imprinted on our innermost being.
When a believer is living on this earth or awaiting their final resurrection in heaven. The law of God has been imprinted. Our most intangible yet Durable part of our being is our soul or the law of God is written there.
So even if our bodies in the ground the law of God has been written our heart. Engraving the law on our hearts and minds ensures that neither the devil nor his demons. Nor any civil or religious authority in this earth can ever destroy the connection Between the citizens of Christ on earth and their Lord in heaven.
So pretty much the Lord put his law on our hearts. There's no way people can remove that. The Old Covenant was given exclusively to the nation of Israel. If you want to partake of the blessings of the Old Covenant if you talk about us as Gentiles.
We would have to abandon our culture our nationality and become culturally and religiously Jewish. The New Covenant is greater than the old by the virtue of its location and its scope. No longer is the law written in Hebrew now.
It's been written in the hearts of its adherents who are both Jews and Gentiles. I like how Paul alludes to this in Romans 2 and read you a quick sample from there. Romans 2 says. For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things in the law.
These although not having a law our law to themselves who show the work of the law written on their hearts their conscience. Also bearing witness between themselves and their thoughts or else Accusing or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
The news this new kingdom had a global scope. No longer was it just the Gentile no longer was it just the Jews rather and a minority of God-fearing foreigners in their midst. It instructive I think it's very instructive.
The Bible doesn't record you just ever talking about his Jewishness during his ministry. He would say he was the Messiah and Son of David. But he stopped at that if you see the Pharisees were always talking about how Jewish they were but Jesus was very conscientiously.
Refusing to acknowledge basically saying I'm the Messiah of all who believe even though he came to the Jews first. I think you know if you look at our parallel text in Luke 16 16. We're gonna see a similar use the same Greek word for kingdom, but it's style, but we have a different.
It says rather as I said before this is the kingdom of God, which is Theo you rather the kingdom of heaven. Which is Orinon? Luke was writing primarily for a Gentile audience. We discussed this in Sunday school today something a little bit.
It's not surprising that he chose to use God instead of heaven. You think about Jewish culture they frequently there's there's a word called a myth. I think it's a Metonymy and that's basically when you substitute a word for the thing it represents.
So for example if you were to say that person swears loyalty to the crown, right? We're not actually sitting down swearing loyalty to the crown. It's talking about a monarch that rules if you say someone is if you say your car is a new ride.
Right car doesn't ride itself. But you're kind of referring to what you do in it or if you say I'm going to the track all these are all examples of that Christians who came out of pagan cultures may not recognize the kingdom of heaven is associated with God.
So that's why I think Luke Was inspired to say kingdom of God and since Jesus was just was God in flesh. And he was the Messiah who's bringing heaven to earth. So both phrases convey complementary biblical truths.
The Jewish word for heaven is used three different ways in the Old Testament. There's three heavens really the word can mean the sky or the atmosphere of our planet. It can mean outer space or it can refer to the dwelling place of God.
Undoubtedly, you're all familiar with the most third third definition as we are when you say heaven in our culture. We usually mean heaven as opposed to hell. We don't usually call the skies heavens or the space heavens, but Um, I you know, I think when they reference king of heaven, I believe the third heaven is the one reference.
They're talking about the dwelling place of God in Matt and that in Matthew 11 12 and Luke 16 16. I want to give you three examples though of like how that heavens have been used in multiple ways in the Old Testament.
Genesis 711 says in the 600th year of Noah's life in the second month the 17th day of the month on that day. All the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened. That's our sky or atmosphere.
Joshua 10 3 says and the Sun stood still in the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves and their enemies. Is it not written the book of Jasher? So the Sun stood still in the midst of heaven and haste did not go down about a whole day.
That's Joshua 10 13. That heaven there was outer space now again. They didn't have the same knowledge we do but you know. The skies the Sun is outside of our atmosphere and then finally I go to Revelation on 15.
It says the seventh day. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet and there were loud voices of in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms Of our Lord and Christ and he shall reign forever and ever.
This is the heaven that the kingdom of heaven. We're talking about the third one, right? But you know you do see like with all three heavens. You do see that God's kingdom is manifest through all of them.
If you think about the day of Noah. Which I just mentioned the skies the first heavens weren't the Lord open to flood unbelieving Kings in the day unbelieving world in the day of Noah. The skies were closed during the days the wicked kings of Israel and Judah when the Lord punished the Israelites for their idolatry.
In a like manner as we mentioned the Sun stood still in the heavens or in the conquest of Canaan. So Joshua the Israelites could defeat the inhabitants of the promised land.
However.
The first two heavens can dispense common grace like rain and they can dispense judgment. But only the kingdom of the third heaven can save you from your sins. The first two heavens the kingdom of those heavens is just is a common grace or a general revelation.
You need the special revelation of the third heavens to be to be the Lord forever. It's fitting I Think it's fitting that the most important of these heavens is also the only one that's visible. Is the only one that's not visible to our eyes during our earthly lifetimes?
We can see the first and second heavens, but telescopes we can look at the sky. We can't see the third heavens. You know planes and balloons can bring us the first heaven we can use telescopes and spaceships to observe the second heaven.
Without the atoning blood of Jesus to our credit to our account We'll never get to see enjoy the pleasures of the third heaven that the Lord has laid out for his Saints. The best way to interpret scriptures is really the lens of other scriptures.
We want to let scripture interpret scripture. We must not build any major doctrine off a single verse. That's what cults do but instead we analyze and say how does this verse fit into the whole counsel of God?
And ultimately we should start with the verse the chapter the book than the whole Bible. Matthew 13 is very important because it contains three parables that illustrate different facets or different characteristics of the kingdom of heaven.
Let's start reading Matthew 13 24 through 30. In this parable Matthew says another parable. 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 so tears him on the wheats and went his way.
But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop the tears also appeared. So the servants of the owners came and said sir. Did you not so good seed in your field? How then does it have tears? He said to them an enemy has done this the servant said do you want us to gather them up?
And he said no less while you gather up the tears. You also uproot the reed let them both grow together into the harvest and at the time of the harvest I will say the reapers first gather the tears and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.
What does this parable teach us? The kingdom of God is a mixed kingdom. Tears mimic the look of a wheat plant if you look at tears from a distance. They look like a wheat plant. However tears produce no fruit.
If you go up and feel the head there's no grain in there and they're just a waste of space basically. While wheat produces a grain that can be used to make bread and sustain life the devil who's are all of our mortal enemies.
He's sown the church with double agents his disciples who either knowingly or unwittingly attempt to thwart God's kingdom from the inside. They may do it purposely. They may be unpurposely and they're just they're sinful people and they want to pull others down.
But that's the way it is. If you think about countries like America where persecution is very minimal and being associated with Christ's a badge of respectability. We're gonna have a higher ratio here of tears to wheat.
Then you will in other countries where Christians are in prison or put to death if you go to Vietnam North Korea Vietnam Iran, I guarantee you the wheat to tear count is a lot higher over there. And we knew we can be shot for your faith.
But the important thing to mention here is The kingdom of God's only mixed from a human point of view, right? From God's point of view God's not confused at all as to which who's a believer and who's an unbeliever.
So when I look at you, I don't know who's saved and who's not but God knows exactly. If you are not truly saved, I urge you need be reconciled with God today. There's not you know, you can fool the pastor.
You can fool the leaders of your church your family, but you cannot fool God all the works and sacrifices of Christ. I mean all the works and sacrifices you've done for Christ in your life. Mean nothing if they're done while your hearts under Satan's banner.
Thomas Brooks said he said till men have faith in Christ their best services are but glorious sins. If you're doing your best service for Christ, and it's not under his finished work. You're doing it for the devil on Judgment Day you will have to give an account to your creator.
He knows your heart. He can read your mind and if your name is not written as book of life. The angels will gather you up with the other tears and send you to the fiery prison of hell. Without faith in Christ your works will not be saving you.
They'll be banishing you forever from the presence of God. So I urge you if you're not saved be reconciled to God today. Let's pick up back up in Matthew 13. Let's talk about the parable the mustard seed.
Another parable he put forth saying to them 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 the seeds. But when it's grown it's greater than the herbs and becomes a tree the birds that the birds of the air come and nest in its.
Branches.
Once again Jesus is an agricultural analogy. The Jews grew a lot of crops. They had there a lot of they were very pastoral not pastoral in a sense of being a pastor. But they grew they lived off the land.
So the you see him resorting to agriculture quite a lot. In fact in our pastor sermons last week. He said look to the field their whites for harvest. So he just did like those type of analogies. This parable illustrates that God's kingdom grows from a humble beginning to a glorious conclusion.
Most of Israel in Jesus time. They were expecting the full-flowered mustard plant. They weren't expecting a humble mustard seed and when Jesus came as a humble mustard seed that stumbled them. The eruption if you think when a living plant comes out of a dead seed is a dramatic transformation.
But most people don't notice this change because it occurs below the surface of the soil. When that seed sprouts in the ground You don't notice it until it pokes through in the same way Jesus's body lay in the ground three days before he resurrected and came back in a glorified form.
But you know, we didn't. The change is dramatic because again, you don't see it and then he comes back out With it when the parable says birds nest in the branches. I think that's indicative of both the greatness of this kingdom and the fact that the Christian economy benefits even non-believers in this life.
When nation shape their moral laws after the Bible even non-christian root the benefits of protection from evil and freedom from tyranny. So when the birds nest in the shade, I mean if you're a non-believer you you benefit when the country embraces.
It's the the Ten Commandments of God, even if you're not a in this life at least. Finally Jesus is a domestic analogy or a household analogy to compare the kingdom of heaven to bread. Verse 33 says in Matthew 13.
Another parable he spoke to them. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leaven. Leaven is just another form of the word yeast. Yeast is what more familiar with Jesus closes out this trilogy of parables with the shortest and most unique analogy yet.
Throughout the Bible yeast usually has a negative connotation. You don't see it very positively often. It's pretty usually pretty closely associated with sin. In the Old Testament the Lord specifically commanded the Israelites.
He said before the Passover remove yeast from your household and take and only unleavened bread. So if you look at Exodus 12 15, it says seven days. You shall eat unleavened bread on the first day. You shall remove leaven from your homes for whoever eats leavened bread from the first and the seventh shall be cut off from Israel.
Which this pattern the New Testament to in Matthew 16 6 She has said take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. So, how does the leaven of the kingdom of heaven differ from the leaven of the Pharisees?
The main purpose of yeast which I think you're all know is it makes a chemical reaction and makes your bread rise. If you like light and frothy bread bread, you can thank yeast for that. I think yeast is highlighting the secretive yet contagious aspects of God's kingdom.
The woman hid yeast in a dough. She put a little bit in there. You don't have to observe the yeast getting mixed into dough to recognize that bread is airy and light and must have yeast in it. Right. Likewise the gospel performs an invisible action in changing a person's heart.
But the result is always visible in your behavior actions just like yeast. You say that bread had yeast that person is saved. I like what John MacArthur says here. He says we know who fellow believers are because they will depart from the tents of wickedness.
From the divine side their elects from the human side their obedience. All the false teaching that Satan wants to bring across our path will avail nothing because we stand firm on the foundation of God.
An additional dimension of this parable is yeast spreads through dough like righteousness permeates the whole life of a believer. After Salvation a believer will still have indwelling sin. We all know this.
There's no total sanctification in this life. Even though Keswick theologies Keswick theologians may say oh you can be totally sanctified. That's nonsense. We're all gonna be fighting with sin until we go to glory.
But the true believer will always have the fruit of spirit evidence in their life by total volume. There's way more flour than yeast and bread a lot more. Just like a true believer will have much sin still in their life.
But what is the net effect of a small amount of yeast. It elevates the whole loaf and raises it toward heaven? So the net effect of a small amount of yeast of the kingdom having your life will raise your whole life to God even if You're still imperfect.
The true believer will not remain in sin. They will be driven to repentance by the Holy Spirit inside of them. I like many of you know, I like William Gernot a lot. One of my favorite quotes by him. He says the sheep may fall into a ditch but swine but a swine wallows in it or a pig.
That's the difference between a non-believer and a believer. The author of Proverbs also says a lot of times a great purity. Quotes are actually based on the scripture. You might have had this one in mind for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again.
But the wicked shall fall by calamity. So a righteous man falls, but he gets up. He doesn't stay in the sin and say well I fell, you know, if you have sorrow and say I fell into sin. But that star doesn't lead to action.
That sorrow is worldly sorrow. Sorrow of the righteous man always has a direction that direction is up toward heaven down on your knees first and then rising up toward.
Heaven.
Finally if you think about yeast it penetrates every corner of the dough. The gospel spread to the ends of the world before the return of Christ. Let's read what Jesus says about this in Matthew 24. He says in this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to nations and then the end will come.
Christians we may be few like yeast and dough but our influence is the only thing that keeps the Lord from bringing the final judgment On this earth. That's why the Lord hasn't judged the earth yet. We see this in the Old Testament.
Where God was gonna spare Sodom and Gomorrah if they had ten righteous men in a city of thousands He would spare it for that for the for the yeast of those ten people. Jesus allowed persecution to scatter the early church like the persecution of the early church actually scattered the church across Asia Minor across.
What was your you know? What was ancient Europe from all all parts the Roman Empire. Our job on this earth is not to create Christian Holy huddles, but rather your take the gospel to every bastion of Satan on this earth.
My second point. I want to talk about the approach of the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 11 12 says that from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom heaven suffers violence. What comes to your mind when you hear the word violence?
For many people that's going to conjure up images of warfare. Combat sports think about MMA or boxing people getting beat up. In our core crimes someone got you know, someone's a victim of a crime. They're a victim of violence.
Our culture the word violence is very associated with suffering or death in which an antagonist or someone else inflicts harm on a victim. The players can be they can be persons that can be states or countries.
You know when you think about two people going to war there's usually a victim and aggressor nation, but It's usually fatal or harmful to the afflicted. In our passage the word violence is a completely different connotation.
The kingdom of heaven was suffering violence because it was unfolding rapidly and the combined hostility of the Jewish religious elite. The Hellenistic or Greek Jews or Helen sorry the Hellenistic or Greek culture and the Roman Empire was powerless to stop it.
Our English translation of the Greek from Matthew's gospel seems to indicate that violence is being received by heaven. Rather than being dispensed by it however. If you look at the parallel passage in Luke 16 16 It shows that violence is linked to the preaching of the gospel and the preaching the gospel is not a passive endeavor.
What does Luke 16 16 say the law and the prophets run till John? Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached. So it's not receiving violence and Luke 16 is giving it out. What does this verse teach us.
Well, the first important thing is the primary method by which the Lord brings the kingdom of heaven to the souls of mankind is preaching. God's kingdom conquers men from the inside out. Once a soul has been tacked taken captive by Christ the body follows right afterwards.
Second the gospel advances is relentless. It destroys false teaching. It destroys secular worldviews. Everything that exalts itself above Christ is cut low with the gospel. Even if people say, you know.
Sometimes you go out when when you witness the people and they'll say well I don't believe in God or his laws. That doesn't should stop you from saying thus says the Lord. The law applies to them whether or not they want to hear it the law applies to them.
I can say I don't believe Brian Kemp is the governor. I can say I don't believe Joe Biden is the president that doesn't change the fact they're in that office. So why would you think you could say I don't believe in God's laws and therefore they don't apply to you.
Let's hear what Paul says on this matter. Paul says the 2nd Corinthians 10 4 through 5 for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. But mighty in God for pulling down strongholds casting down arguments and every high thing.
That exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ and bringing every thought in captivity to the beings of Christ. So here you see one of the two things game of heaven. Does it cast down the thoughts outside of us?
And the actors that want to push Christ down and inside of us. We take our own thoughts captive. John's ministry really marked an inflection point or a turning point in redemptive history. The patient waiting and hoping for the kingdom of heaven was over.
Old Testament Saints needed to have comparatively more patient endurance. If you're an Old Testament Saint you need a lot of that as New Testament Saints. We're to be marked by doggedness and diligence to pursue the complete kingdom that's been revealed to us.
What excuse do we have to dither around when our Messiah has already come and died for our sins? Do you lack assurance of salvation? Let's hear what Thomas Watson's is about this the less violence for heaven you exercise the less peace You will possess our consciences are never at peace in a drowsy state.
They're not the Old Testament Saints will rightly rise and Condemn those the final judgment who enjoyed the complete gospel light and yet fritter it away through indifference and inaction. In Context these verses blow them out to read they applied to the Israelites of you a Jesus generation that rejected him.
Sorry the Israelites of Jesus generation that rejected him. However, I think they should also apply to those who live in our era of complete gospel and refuse to be roused by the commands of Christ. Jesus says in Matthew 12 the men of Nineveh will rise up in this judgment the generation and condemn it because they repented the preaching of Jonah and a greater than Jonah is here the Queen of the South or the Empress the Queen of Ethiopia Will rise up in judgment this generation and condemn it for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a greater than one that Solomon is here.
Matthew Henry notes that if you think about from the time when John the Baptist ministry started until when Jesus said the kingdom of heaven Suffers violence and the violent taken by force. That was only a period of two years probably might have been a little less than two.
That's a short period of time in human terms. But much a change with regards to the glory of God's kingdom and advance the gospel. For centuries God's people heard the gospel primarily through the patriarchs and the prophets now They heard it from the Messiah's herald and the Messiah himself.
The Old Testament promises were primarily made to the Nation of Israel. The promise of the New Testament exponentially expanded to include the elect of the whole world and Notice spiritual Israel is saved Jews and Gentiles the Nation of Israel if they don't repent and believe in Christ.
They're not part of spiritual Israel. Spiritual Israel is everyone that puts their faith in Christ whether you're a Jew or a Gentile. Um the Ten Commandments Governed the actions of men and Jesus reiterated these with the additional prohibition against sins of the mind.
So there's an expansion there of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven was also relentless and ruthless with the oral traditions and the extra biblical laws That were created by the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Their role as religious gatekeepers was moved away because the people flocked first to John the Baptist and then they flocked Jesus. And that's one of the reasons they had him crucified is because he took away their role as religious gatekeepers.
It also swept away the types and shadows of the Mosaic Covenant because something greater than Moses here. So all those types and symbols go away. For hundreds of years the Jewish people had circumcised their male children.
That was the symbol the Old Covenant. The infant would passively undergo this ritual on the eighth day of his life. Either in private or sometimes it would have a small group of family present. Now let's consider the marked difference between this and believers.
Baptism as taught by Jesus in Baptism the person was a willing participant in a public sacrament. Which occasion wonder and sinners and worship and Saints. The waiting period was abolished. There's no more eight days until you're circumcised.
It can be instantaneous when you put your faith in Jesus. Baptism was not. Circumcision was given an outward sign in hopes that the infant one day might be obedient to God. Baptism was a public sign that left no mark in the body, but was evident of a heart that had been changed.
What was a painful sign of the Old Covenant had become painless or the new covenant she took the pain away. There's no more pain in baptism. In accordance with the kingdom represented. Baptism was immediate administered as I said immediately after repentance and belief in Christ.
Listen to what Peter says in Acts 2 38. He said repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
There was no way to eight days there. If we flip forward to Acts 8 we see the same thing. There's probably less than an hour between the eunuchs regeneration and his entry into the waters of baptism. Additionally notice that Philip didn't say you have to embrace the Jewish religious system to be saved.
He said you believe and confess the divinity of Christ. That's it. There's no more religious system from the Jews. But you didn't answer Philip and said I ask of you whom does the Prophet say it. And here he's reading about the suffering servant.
Isaiah 53. Does the Prophet say this of himself or some other man. Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning in the scripture He preached Jesus to him. Now as he went down from the road that came the water and the eunuch said see here is water.
What hinders me from being baptized? Then Philip said if you believe with all your heart you may. And he answered I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and So Philip said commanded the church to stand still and Philip and the eunuch went in the water and he baptized him.
Immediately the kingdom of heaven comes immediately. It's sign is administered immediately. In the Old Testament, we would see the Spirit of the Lord come upon people and leave people. You see that with Samson and Saul.
I read about Samson today. The Spirit of Lord comes upon him and it leaves them. Same thing with Saul and other prophets as well. The New Testament promised the Holy Spirit was an inviting presence of God.
There's no more coming and leaving Jesus the promise sent a paraclete or a helper for all people who believed in him. So it wasn't like just a temporary helper. It was a helper a few full-time. No longer with the Holy Spirit primarily work through religious or civil leaders.
The Holy Spirit worked through everyone. That's a big difference from the Old Covenant if you think about The book if you're a commoner or if you're a king you had the same presence of the Holy Spirit in your heart.
So it's not like the king gets special amount the prophet gets special amount. We all have the same amount of spirit. The Pentecostals and the Charismatics get this wrong when they try to say You're gonna have the Spirit poured out on you.
If you've been saved and justified you've already had the Spirit poured out on you. That is it. But think about a steamroller, right? What does a steamroller do when you have a road that's bumpy it flattens hills and valleys into a single common plane for cars to?
Ride on well, what does the work of the Holy Spirit do it puts the laity and the clergy on the same exact level? The pastors don't have more of the Holy Spirit than you do. You know the you know the president of the SBC the most important pastor in the country John McArthur doesn't have more of the Holy Spirit than you do.
You all have the same amount of Holy Spirit as he does. Because God gives equal amounts of Holy Spirit in the New Covenant.
The mosaic.
The one thing I'll mention there too, though. He's even though we're on a common level as far as the Holy Spirit the accountability level differs. So John McArthur our pastor have more accountability, but the amount of spirit we get is the same.
The Mosaic Covenant also had a temple in Jerusalem as its single focal point of worship. When Israel and Judah were moved from the land by the Assyrians and Babylonians respectively that meant a lot more than just being removed from Your homeland.
Captivity in a foreign land prevented them from worshiping in the house of God. That's very important. Foreigners must assimilate and move to Israel if they want to worship the one true God. That's the only way to do it in the Old Covenant.
Although some foreigners did take the step you think of like Rahab Ruth. There's a few other ones as well. This was a purposeful barrier that God erected since his covenant was limited to ethnic Israel and those who would join themselves to her.
So God purposely put a barrier up and says you must become a Jewish person in the Old Covenant to be part of my kingdom. Jesus arrival announced the era of a decentralized worship. That up ended the Jewish religious system.
If you think about the way like electricity came along and destroyed the business of whaling and went for lamp oil. Before Thomas Edison had been the light bulb. There was a big massive trade in Hunting whales for their oil.
I know pastor loves the classic film Moby Dick. Once electricity came around and we had the light bulb. Guess what? No one wanted whales anymore. That was the end of that. So, you know Jesus did teach at the temple and he taught the synagogue, but he didn't limit his teaching there.
She has taught everywhere. He taught in mountains. He taught in fields. He taught in lakeshores. He taught off of boats. Those are the backdrops for his ministry. He wasn't like I'm only gonna go to the temple to preach.
I only appreciate the synagogue he preached everywhere rather than marveling over the Magnificence of Herod's temple. A lot of people say Herod's temple was even almost as impressive as Solomon's carrot put so much money into it.
Herod was it a man which means he was a senator. He saw and he was never accepted by the Jews. The Jews never liked him. They always reminded him. You're not from Jacob you're from Esau and one of the ways that Herod sought to make up for that was by building a very Lavish temple to prove I'm just as Jewish in the rest of you.
But Jesus didn't sit there marveling at the temple at all. We didn't we see that in the Gospels. You know and also I think with the Samaritan woman. Well, she said the temples we destroyed and when the Samaritan woman sought to turn Jesus questions into a discussion on theology.
What did you say about location of worship? She said when she said I perceive you're a prophet our fathers worship in this mountain and you say that and you the Jews say That Jerusalem is the place we ought to worship.
Jesus said woman believed to me the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain or in Jerusalem worship the father. You worship what you do not know for we worship. We know for salvations of the Jews.
But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the father in spirit and truth. But the father is seeking such to worship him. God is a spirit and we those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Since we are not first century Jews. It's very difficult to conceptualize how much of a shock averse like this will be the Jewish culture. Imagine your whole life is structured around temple worship monthly trips to Jerusalem.
The for the feast burn offerings offered by a high priest the external trappings of your faith or symbols you hold in very high esteem. Then Jesus comes in replaces these shadows and symbols with himself and he makes physical Jerusalem irrelevant his plan of salvation.
It's not really important. You'd be in physical Jerusalem. That's a shock to them. Do you see why this might cause them some disillusioned disillusionment and dismay? Even though the Mosaic Covenant and its myriad of rules were a heavy load to bear.
Humans are habit and custom driven creatures. Very true. We tend to prefer complicated things that are familiar to new things that are simpler. We see this every day when people prefer to use fax paper forms checks over electronic filing and online bill payment.
The violence of Kingdom of Heaven is at removal covenants are in place. Them the Christ is the exact reason the Jews stumbled over the gospel message, you know, it's more complicated, but I'm familiar with this.
I don't want to switch over to the new right but They prefer to just perpetually plod to Jerusalem every year and sacrifice sheep because they're just they're used to that. Rather than just believe in the Messiah who was sacrificed once for all as the final paschal or Passover lamb.
That's all you don't have to go to Jerusalem every year anymore. I Believe that God this is my thought but I think God God did ordain the temple's destruction of 70 days as Israel's punishment for rejecting Messiah.
That's the most that's definitely in the scriptures. But I also think that there's a secondary reason I think God destroyed the temple. So the Jews went to the Christians of the early church would never go back to that system.
If you were tempted to go back to the Jewish system, how would you go back at the temple's destroyed? You can't so when Jesus takes it out. It's like it's Christianity or buffs. There's nothing to go back to.
So when Jesus arrived on the scene, he removed the necessity of types or shadows. Titus took care of the actual symbols themselves in 70 AD. He wiped that plane clean the Jews say when they go to pray.
They got to go pray at a foundation wall. That was like three or four levels below where the temple was. That's all they have left. But Jesus took the symbols out totally. The book of Hebrews was written to assuage or comfort the Jews a lot of Jews were in certain or unwilling to embrace the Messianic Covenant.
Undoubtedly, they probably said look at how fast it was inaugurated in two years. We have hundreds of years of our tradition and look how new it is what we should reject it. But the author of Hebrews he says look all these types and shadows that you're holding on to they all point to Christ.
That's what they point to. Why would you want a fallible mortal high priest that makes mistakes? When you have the permanent incarnate Son of God in heaven minute Interceding for you the death of Christ the cross goes without saying is far superior to continuous animals animal sacrifices.
Even the crown jewel of the Jewish religion the temple that's not original. The Jews are probably think our temples original but what does Hebrews 8 say it says they serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle saying.
For he said see that you make all things according to the pattern shown you in the mountain. Why was the pattern so exact in the Old Testament. Because it was based on the copy of the heavenly things.
So the Jews temple in the tabernacle, they weren't even the first the heavenly one was the first finally. In my third point I want to talk about the adherence of the kingdom of heaven or who are the who are the people that inherited.
If you look at Matthew 11 12 It ends with the violent take it by force the end of Luke 16 16 says everyone is pressing into it. There are two pressing questions that come to our mind when we read these verse.
Who were the violent take the kingdom of force are the Christians or unbelievers next? How are they able to do that if the kingdom of heaven is an inexorable or unresistible force as stated in the first part?
How can it also be conquered by a small subset of people to determination? Since these verses say that people successfully attain heaven we can rule out the idea. These are unbelievers. These are not unbelievers.
They're taking heaven by force because it says they earn heaven unbelievers don't. Next we got to determine now these verses referring to our justification our salvation before God or our sanctification our walk with Christ.
Well, the Bible is very clear that justification Is only of God. If you look at or the word that a lot of theology is monergistic. It's one force a work of God alone Titus says. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior tore man appeared not by the works of righteousness by which we have done.
But according to the mercy he saved us the washing and regeneration renewing the Holy Spirit whom he poured about abundantly through us in Jesus Christ our Savior. The kingdom of heaven is violent in justification when the Lord comes in and changes your life that's a violent thing the believer must exhibit relentlessness in sanctification a Church full of false believers.
It violates the message of the gospel and a church of believers who seek to do the bare minimum for the Lord that violates the spirit Of the gospel, right? So don't violate the cost don't violate the words the gospel.
But if you're a Christian, you don't do anything. You want to just sweep by through life and do the bare minimum you're violating the spirit of the gospel because that's not what the gospel is about. Let's look at Matthew 11 12 be in Luke 16 be again.
Matthew says the violence while Luke uses the word everyone to describe those who enter heaven who were the violence. Everyone that enters heaven is violence. God expects all Christians to exhibit some form of holy violence in our lives.
Sanctification is synergistic because God works with us. God gives us the power and we work out our salvation. That's why we would be violent. We don't just sit back and say God didn't sanctify me. We press on to do that.
But let's not take my word for it. Let's see what Paul writes in the official in his epistles to the Philippians. Therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed. Not in my presence only but much more in my absence work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For it's God who works in you both to will and do for his good pleasure. Notice how the command to work out our salvation. Proceeds the statement that God works in us for his good pleasure in sanctification.
We're not waiting for something God gives us the power we start working if we. If we take the grace that God's given us and we test God with we test God with apathy or laziness. We're not going to be holy people.
What are some practical ways that we can be purposeful in our sanctification? I think it's the most important part of it because all of these facts are great. But if we don't apply it to our lives the point is kind of lost.
The main goal of sanctification is to is to mortify or puts in a death. John Owen said his famous phrase. He said be killing sin or sin will be killing you. One of the two are gonna happen. Paul says the same thing in Romans.
He says if you live according to the flesh. You're gonna die. If you lived according to the Spirit and you put to death that eats the flesh you will live. I'm gonna focus on three specific actions that morta to mortify sin that will apply to everyone in this room.
We need to be aggressively policing our thought life. We need to be striving with the Lord in prayer and we need to be devoted to reading God's Word. Thoughts are really the wellspring from which all actions flow.
Gio said that a good man brings what good treasure out of his heart. Evil man brings evil things in 2nd Corinthians 10 5 we say. 2nd Corinthians 10 5 the Apostle says bring every thought to have captivity and make it obedient to Christ.
I read that earlier in the sermon. If you neglect your thought life Satan will take your soul. Do you think people become pedophiles murderers fornicators or thieves overnight long before they committed these actions?
They had cherished these thoughts in their mind. My parents have often told me and I know it's not original. They probably got from when your minds like a hotel. If you if you have a bad thought you evicted immediately.
God's not gonna hold you guilty. But if you allow bad thoughts to become your daily companions, do you bring their penalty on your head as well? Consistently fighting evil thoughts is an exhausting work.
It's not easy. We must pray for strength from God for this and keep protecting our mind with holy violence. The second application is do you treat God's Word with the respect it deserves? People save letters and notes from their sweethearts.
They can reread them in the future. You know, I have a I have a folder full from Hannah, you know that I've saved from her. But how often do we neglect to read the letter that God gave us that he wrote to us to all of us a personal note from him.
God preserved his work using the blood of martyrs of the centuries and yet how often do we let mundane trivial tasks? Distract us from studying it even I think Keith was mentioning in Sunday school today.
Sometimes even like we can like listening to sermons become an obstacle to read in the Bible a sermon is good. But the Bible is better, right? We want to be reading the Bible first. Even though the Bible was given to all Christians God inspired it with you and I am I just because the Bible is given to.
Everyone doesn't mean God had didn't have us in mind when he inspired it his mind. He can equally have a relationship with everyone even though he's even though there's so many thousands. We can't understand that we're we're limited to the number of people we can have as friends or acquaintances.
God's not but. You think about it when you get a celebrity autograph from people you have no knowledge or you you go out in the street. You meet a football player gives you an autograph. They have no knowledge or concern for you.
People frame that they put it up on a wall. They talk about it a lot. I got a celebrity art from this guy. You know, should we not want to more earnestly study God's Word. God creates and sustains us.
The grass withers the flower fades, but what's the Word of God with you? It's an endure forever and that's not to say the actual Bible. This Bible is not endure forever. You will one day fall apart or just be destroyed but the truth of it will endure forever.
And then finally prayer is the lifeline of every Christians the heavenly throne room of God. I like what Thomas Brooks said. He said a family without prayer is like a roof. Open and exposed to all the storms of heavens you want to be exposed to worldly storms.
Don't pray. That's the quickest way to do it. We need prayer. Neglecting prayer hurts you not God. God is sufficient in himself God. He doesn't need our prayers to give him vindication. God is sufficient himself.
He's perfectly fine in heaven. However, he delights to hear our partitions and he wants us to make him the center of our lives as a kid gets older. They get less and less dependent on their parents. We see this my daughter Heather the older she gets the more self-sufficient.
He is Christians. Our goal is every year to be more dependent on God with every successive year as Saints. We need to be more and more dependent on God. That's that's what we should be doing. Consistently and faithfully praying is hard work.
It's not easy. Look at the example of Jacob who wrestled with God all night and would not said I'm not gonna let you go until you bless me. Look at God reward that persistence. He made him the father of all Israel.
He's the father of Israel because of that. Look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. His prayers were so intense. He sweated giant drops of blood if Jesus can show such holy tenacity or endurance for our salvation.
That we should seek to mimic that in our daily prayer life. We may not get to that level, but we should press on toward that example. I pray the Lord may help us all to become men and women of holy violence as we Expectantly wait for the advent the full advent of his complete earthly kingdom one day.
Please bow and pray with me. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for this day or I thank you for this your word Lord, which is Lord has no peer in this earth and it's the only truth by which we shall Ever we should ever seek to live our lives pray that you help us to be violent for heaven.
Be relentless Lord that people would look at us and say that person's a Christian because he doesn't sit he fights. Because he doesn't stand still and name his name. He claims you're the name of you. I pray that that would be the the anthem of our hearts Lord and we remarked as people.
There are violent and they're relentless for the kingdom of heaven. Pray that you just be with us today help us to put these words to use and Lord. Thank you. Once again for the letter. You've given us all Christ name.
Amen.