The Gospel of the Kingdom

Well visiting us with this morning this morning is this morning's preacher our brother and friend

Pastor Brian Garcia, so please brother come and bring us the word Well, good morning reformed

Baptist Church. How are you this morning? Are you guys good? Yeah, what's that no

It's biblically accurate I like that I was testing you Well church if you would be so gracious in joining me in a word of prayer before the preaching of God's Word father

We're so thankful for today's arrangement that we get to worship you in your house amongst the Saints We're so thankful Lord that we also get to receive from you this morning a word a word from your word from the

Bible from the Holy Scriptures Father God may you bless the preaching of your word and bless those who are here to hear it

We ask God that your power your word would go forth in power and authority and reach hearts and minds and ears

Give us receptive hearts to receive that which you've laid before us this morning in Jesus name. Amen Well church this morning

I had the privilege of sharing my testimony with some here at the church I want to begin again by doing likewise as I see some new faces here in the congregation

First and foremost, my name is Brian Garcia. I'm a pastor in Wisconsin Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Anyone here ever heard of the

Green Bay Packers? I think a few of you have amen. I think they're a little bit Doing a little bit better last season than your homegrown team.

What's the team here again? The 49ers? Is that the four that's one of them and so just a friendly reminder that That God loves you, even though you have the 49ers as your team

Go Packers, I'm actually more of a of a Patriots guy myself, so you may not like me even more after hearing that But I want to share with you guys my testimony this morning and I want to give you a word from God's Word as well

As some of you have already come to know I grew up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses are a unique American religion that are actually all around the world today.

You'll find Jehovah's Witnesses in about 235 nations around the world.

They print more literature than all the Christian churches combined and They are well known for a couple of things.

One of them being that they show up at your door Knocking Asking if you know anything about God and his kingdom

Well at the early age of four I remember knocking on doors and giving people pamphlets and preaching about God's Word and kingdom

Yet God did a remarkable work in my life He brought me from the kingdom hall their place of worship to the kingdom of God God gave me a sinner

The opportunity to truly know and preach the riches of his glory

Through Christ and not through a righteousness of my own Jehovah Witnesses you may be wondering.

What's the big deal? Well, they are distinct in that they deny everything that you hold dear to as a

Christian So think of any major Christian doctrine whether it be the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Whether it be the divinity of Jesus Whether it be heaven or hell whether it even be the the person and work of Christ himself or who

God is They believe in something totally different Instead of Christianity.

I like to call them twist -ianity They take everything that you and I believe and they put a little twist on it.

So they say hey, we're Christians We believe in Jesus But who is their

Jesus? Well, they'll say we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God But what they truly mean is that Jesus Christ is a created being

That he was the first thing that God created and that in fact, he's Michael the Archangel You see a

Christian would hear someone like a Jehovah Witness say hey We believe Jesus is the Son of God and we'd say amen We do too, but we believe in two very different things when we say those things, don't we?

They also believe that Christ was resurrected not in bodily form as the Bible says But instead that he was raised as a spirit creature

They also believe that Christ's second coming is real and tangible, but it already happened and you just missed the boat

It happened in the year 1914 and if you guys alive during that time,

I don't think so. Not even the pastor, right? You weren't born 1914 not quite but instead what we understand and see is that the

Jehovah Witnesses teach and believe that the second coming happened over a hundred years ago Have you have you noticed?

Have things gotten better under Christ's rule? No Everything that you believe and hold dear to as a

Christian they believe just a little bit differently with a twist Now why is this important why do

I bring this up? well, God again brought me from the kingdom hall to the kingdom of Christ and My story though.

It may sound unique on the surface. It's really no different than some of your own I was once lost and Now I'm found.

I was once blind but now I see You see at the as a teenager.

I began to study God's Word for myself and I asked God I want to know who exactly is

Jesus is Jesus Michael the Archangel or is Jesus the living abiding

Word of God who created all things who brought all things into existence And as I shared earlier in the

Bible study this morning One day I decided not to put my Bible down until I discovered who this

Jesus was and I decided I'm going to continue to read the Bible and and and as I was reading the scriptures

I found Acts chapter 7 where Stephen is about to be martyred and killed for his faith And it says that he entreated and said

Lord Jesus And at that moment I discovered you know what I could ask

Jesus Who he is as I said, you know, I'm gonna pray to Jesus, which is against the teachings of the

Jehovah Witnesses They believe that you can only pray to the Father and you can use you can pray to God in Jesus name but you cannot pray to Jesus and I said

Lord Jesus and at that moment I knew that I had found the true and living

Jesus I Knew as I confessed that those words Lord Jesus That I had passed from death to life that God had given me the gift of everlasting life and ever since then

I've devoted my life to preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ many of you have got to meet my wife and kids and my wife and I have been living as missionaries for the past eight years

Eight years ago almost we were called to missions in Canada and in Canada we got to work with the homeless population there in Edmonton And we also got to share the gospel and help restore lives of those who were struggling with addictions we also had the privilege of starting two churches in the city of Edmonton and Now I'm pastoring a church in rural,

Wisconsin in a little town named Sturgeon Bay. So Green Bay Packers Are only about 45 minutes away from where I live

And so even though I've actually never been to Green Bay Packers game, I'll be honest and make a confession

I'm not really much of a sports guy. I'm more of a Jesus guy And so if we have

Jesus in common, we'll have much in common. Amen and so God has called us now to a possibly a new journey and So we're seeking

God and I covet your prayers I'd love for you guys to be praying for my family and I during this time as to leading us what

God has in store for us It's at the moment. However That I received

Jesus. I also received the call to Use my life in service to the one true

God and his kingdom and that's what I want to speak to you this morning about is

God's Kingdom if you have a Bible, please turn to Luke chapter 13

We're gonna be examining Just a few verses in Luke 13 verses 18 to 21.

May you hear either word of the Lord this morning? Luke 13 18 to 21 says and he said therefore

What is the kingdom of God like? Into what should I compare it? It's like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden it grew and became a tree and the birds of the air made nests in its branches and Again, he said to what shall

I compare the kingdom of God? It is like a leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened you see

This kingdom is The most important kingdom that you can know about You may be an

American You may be from a different country. You may be from anywhere on the face of the earth

But if you are in Christ this morning, let me tell you your citizenship isn't solely here in this nation or in another nation your citizenship is indeed in the kingdom of Heaven and that's the kingdom.

I'd like to talk to you about this morning. You see I'm a servant of this kingdom But what exactly is the kingdom of God and why is it so important?

Why am I devoting this time this morning to tell you and to talk to you about God's kingdom? Well, first and foremost

God's kingdom is a real vibrant tangible government of God It is

God's government of rulership over the nations and over the heavens and over the cosmos we as Christians believe in a firm the sovereignty of Almighty God The God is sovereign and a sovereign implies that there's something there's a border in which he has control over America is sovereign over its nations

But can I tell you God is sovereign over all that he has made that would include

Everything you and me are part of the parameter and borders of God's rulership and his right to rule

She the kingdom of God is again. It's a government. It's his divine order. It's laws precepts economy servants rulers and subjects in Simple terms the kingdom of God is what the world looks like when

King Jesus gets his way now the kingdom is in the hands of a ruler in the hands of a king and This king has a name.

His name is Jesus. Do you know him this morning? The kingdom in the hands of Jesus Christ is indeed the central theme of the

Bible It was in fact the central teaching of Jesus's earthly ministry in the meta narrative of the

Bible We see the outworking of the conflict between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of darkness

We see this conflict even very early on in the scriptures in Genesis in the first three chapters you see

God creates a heavens and the earth and Immediately there is there is one who comes to arise in opposition

Against God's right to rule. This was the serpent the original serpent

Satan the devil and Satan begins his conflict with Almighty God with his rulership with his kingdom in the

Garden of Eden We see when the serpent led humanity down to sin and ruin and disobedience to the laws of God We see the begin the first assault on God's right to rule or his kingdom

Now in Luke chapter 13 verse 18, we see the incarnate one the

Lord Jesus Christ He asked this simple question. He said therefore in verse 18

Luke 13 Luke 13 18 it says he said therefore what is the kingdom of God like and To what shall

I compare it? Here's a phenomenal opportunity for the

Lord Jesus Christ to Exam to give us a picture of what

God's kingdom is like The incarnate one the one who existed before time who reigned and ruled in God's sovereign kingdom in heaven

Is now giving us an insight into what it looks like. What could he compare it to? What can he use what imagery is he going to use the imagery of the might and the power of the

Roman Empire? Is he going to use the the majesty maybe of the Egyptians and all their architecture and all their grandeur and all their glory?

To what shall Jesus compare the kingdom of God? Something grand maybe he'll even compare it to the stars and how powerful and brilliant they are

To what shall he compare the kingdom of God to? verse 19

It is like a grain of mustard seed That a man took and sowed in his garden and it grew and became a tree and the birds of the air

May nest in its branches Christ decides to take something small almost incomprehensibly small to compare the kingdom of God to Church this morning.

I want to give you three Principles about the kingdom of God that Jesus is revealing to us through these words when

Jesus begins to To share with us what the kingdom of God is like in the imagery of the mustard seed

You know what Christ is revealing to us that small is

Formidable in the kingdom of God Small is formidable if you take notes.

I want you to write that one down small is formidable in the kingdom of God and Verses 18 and 19 we examined that Jesus could describe the kingdom of God in many strong big and even cosmic ways but he chooses instead to describe the kingdom of God as one of the smallest and lowliest things known to his disciples a

Mustard seed if you've ever seen a mustard seeds almost looks like a little grain of sand. It's very small

Doesn't seem like it would amount to much of anything But a mustard seed Has great potential

That in the right hands under the right conditions that little mustard seed when it's put into the ground

It's tended to can be become something grand and big That even the birds of the of the heavens would lay their nest in Small is indeed formidable in God's kingdom.

So why would Jesus though describe his kingdom was such a small insignificant seed To demonstrate that smallness has great potential

That the size does not dictate Significance and that God uses that which is small to be formidable and to be a formidable force in his kingdom

Jesus is in the business of using the small to make a large and lasting impact.

Amen Now you may be wondering yourself this morning. Well, hey, well, you know our church here is small

Could God do something? Incredible through the hands of a few

The answer is yes Did you know that the Lord Jesus turned the world upside down beginning of only 12 disciples?

Did you know that Jesus started a movement that has outlasted? kingdoms and kings and governments and rulerships

We belong to a king and a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Amen We belong to a king who uses that which seems insignificant that which seems small that which seems lowly to do incredible things

Smallness and weakness and meekness Our spiritual currency is in God's economy

And so we don't have to look down upon that which is small but instead recognize that in smallness lies great potential

There's great opportunity for advancement lays great opportunity for growth in God's kingdom and economy.

I Want you to look at also this next verse of me in Luke chapter

Luke chapter 13 verse 18 and 19 again. I'm gonna read that what is the kingdom of God like and to what shall

I compare? It's like a grain of mustard seed that a man now That's the part important part I want to focus on that a man took and sowed in his garden and it grew

Became a tree and the birds of the air made nests in its branches Here's the second principle.

I want to share of you this morning from this text in the kingdom of God an uninvested faith is desertion

As we focus on verse 19, this is the seed that a man took and sowed in his garden

You see a seed Needs a farmer it needs and requires the labor of another without the farmer that seed has very little potential to grow and to become anything of significance a

Seed needs a farmer and Jesus did not identify that a The potential of the mustard seed apart from the effort of the laborer.

You see there's consequences For not tending the seed If you just simply allow a seed to fall into the ground and you don't tend to it

It could easily be choked up It can fall on the wrong soil If it's not taken care of it will quickly wither away and not leave any lasting impact in the kingdom of God an uninvested faith is desertion that is to say if we're not tending to that which

God has placed in our Hands if we're not good stewards of that which

God has given us here in his kingdom here at Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church Then an uninvested faith a faith that does not tend to the seed is a desertion and a miss in a misuse and a miss service of God in his kingdom

You see a good farmer or faith needs constant cultivation and attention in order to reap the reward of fruit

Without attention without proper cultivation there will be no fruit Therefore a good farmer invests in his crop or his lack of investment becomes desertion and Same is true of our faith in walk with the

Lord Jesus Christ If we're not investing in our faith by regularly attending church by regularly attending prayer services or Reading the scriptures or praying together of our family

We are missing an important part of God's kingdom work in our lives

The principle here is one of stewardship as Christians We're all part of God's kingdom and have a sacred kingdom assignment of obedience.

Not that we're saved by obedience Not that obedience is the mechanism by which we get into right relationship with God But here is the scriptural teaching of the

Bible that you and I are born Miserably in a fallen condition

That apart from Christ. We have our federal head as Adam and in Adam all die and are perishing in Adam we are desperately without hope

But God has made a way for us to receive life Hope and salvation by sending into the fullness of time one born of a virgin

Who lived a life that you and I could never live He was holy and as John the Baptist saw him coming to the waters of the

Jordan He says behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world He says that this

Jesus would be a sin offering for the people and not just for the people of Israel but for the world and In Jesus, we received this gift of everlasting life that all those who'd called the name of the

Lord would be saved And that in Jesus we have everlasting life without end

But this is a free gift the Apostle Paul says and he infusions chapter 2 that though you were dead and your

Trespasses and sins and the way that used to walk according to the Prince of the power of the air

God being rich and mercy made us alive in Christ He seated us in heavenly places

You see you may be sitting here today in this church in these pews

But you're actually spiritually in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Brothers and sisters remember that an uninvested faith is desertion

Do not hold with contempt the most holy and glorious faith that Jesus has entrusted to you

That though we be small though. We be lowly God can do incredible feats by his grace

Through you and me and you know what's super exciting about that text in Ephesians 2 that Paul talks about He goes on to say that though we're saved by grace through faith.

You cannot earn it It's not of works not of your own doing so that you may boast but instead it is the gift of God But it goes on to say in verse 10 that you were saved for such a thing

To walk in good works that he's laid for us beforehand He has laid before you those of you who know the

Lord Jesus Christ an Incredible task an incredible mission to live for the king and his kingdom

This is why again an uninvested faith is desertion of the kingdom

Now forsaking the gathering of the saints and the Lord's day participating in the Great Commission work are all important things for us to be reminded of as Obedient followers of King Jesus But again, this is not a salvation of works, but works are indeed the fruit of our salvation.

Are they not? Are we not saved on to good works? To share the glories and the majesty of Jesus in his kingdom

I'll use an analogy of Football as already mentioned. I'm not a huge sports guy, but I know enough to make this analogy if you are

Attending a 49ers game, maybe they're playing against the Packers Okay, and you've got both sides cheering and booing and you've got people who are wearing the jerseys on either side

And when one team wins, you know, the guys who are wearing the right jerseys, you know what they say? We won

Really? What did you do? What did you contribute? Were you on the field? You see

Christianity is not a game that is played on the sidelines It is a game that is not even a game, but it is that which is played in real life that which is invested in by being obedient to the gospel and to the

Word of God as kingdom Proclaimers we're not called to be spectators

But we're called to be participators in God's grand plan of salvation So don't play it safe Don't play on the sidelines

Invest in your most holy and precious faith as the Lord Jesus as we see the words of the

Lord Jesus here in Luke 13 where he says that the that it is like a grain of mustard seed that a man verse 19 that a man

Took and sowed in his garden it grew and became a tree and the birds of the air may nest in its branches

That's the potential of God's kingdom and a faith that's invested verse 20 and he again said

To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? He says it is like a leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures a flower until it was all leavened

The third principle I'd like to share with you this morning is that in the kingdom of God Influence is viral

Now you guys may know a thing or two about going viral being here in Silicon Valley You work for companies and maybe social media companies that things are accustomed to going viral in this place

But leaven or yeast during a time of Jesus Looked a little different from what you and I may envision today

It wasn't a simple ingredient that was kept separate for later use instead It was a dough that already had activated yeast and it was infected dough

They would later would go on to infect everything that it would come in contact with you see yeast is a funny thing

It can be it can appear to be virtually Invisible innocuous

Yet it radically transforms everything it comes into contact with What a perfect way to envision the transformative power of the gospel of the kingdom of God What I'm what a phenomenal way of Showing how viral the kingdom of God can be something that is small

Innocuous that you don't even know is there until it changes the whole world and that's how the early

Christians transformed the world and civilization they began as a ragtag group of disciples 12 of them became 70 70 became 120 120 became 3 ,000 3 ,000 became 5 ,000 and the next thing, you know

Rome is turned upside down by the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom of God You see why was it so radical?

for these Christians to go into a Roman occupied world and say we have a king and his name is

Jesus is because that was a statement of Treason to Caesar and Caesar demanded absolute allegiance and Here is where our

King Jesus comes into the picture We live in a in a culture in a time that the culture demands absolute allegiance to its theology to its philosophies into its way of being and thinking if you're not woke

Then you're in trouble and I suspect Here in Silicon Valley. That is even more true than where I live in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin you have a opposition of kingdoms that's in display here in Silicon Valley Where is your allegiance?

It's your allegiance to the kingdom of man or to the kingdom of God is Your allegiance to Christ as King or to wokeness as King is your allegiance to God's people

Or to the people that hates the church May it be so that we have our allegiance with King Jesus because what is a kingdom without a king?

every kingdom Needs a king and our king is not up for reelection in four years.

Amen Our king is not one who goes tossed to and fro by every wind of opinion

Our king is not one who is in stable our king is not one who needs to be reckoned with but instead our king is the one who lives forever and Ever and the one who holds the keys of death and of Hades.

This is the king who we worship. Amen Does that get you excited? Knowing that our

King Jesus has all Authority in heaven and on earth and he has given us such a thing as the

Great Commission To go ye therefore into all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father of the

Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all That he has commanded

He doesn't just tell us to go But he gives us a promise of that Commission and that promise is this

Behold and I will be with you even always until the end of the age

What a hope we have in Jesus Brothers and sisters know this

That this kingdom is real This kingdom is here and you are a part of that kingdom

Therefore don't live life on the sidelines Don't live life on the terms of this world

But instead be radically transformed to be disciples of King Jesus Be faithful in proclaiming his gospel

Be bold in preaching this good news

When we say the word gospel understand and recognize this truth that gospel

Simply means good news And when we talk about the good news of the kingdom, we're talking about the message that Jesus brought forward

Jesus says in Matthew 24 14 that this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the earth as a witness

To the nations and then the end will come This is the kingdom message that there's a king.

His name is Jesus. He offers salvation today Kiss the son lest he be angry but there's a day coming a day of judgment when the

Lord Jesus Christ will come forth from heaven and He would judge the living and the dead in Church, it is your responsibility to warn others of this coming kingdom

The same kingdom that the Lord Jesus Christ told us to pray for when he says our father who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name thy kingdom Come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Are you agents of this kingdom and if so May you be bold in proclaiming the greatest truth that ever existed

The truth that Jesus Christ reigns and he reigns forever Church, I want to leave you this final word

We cannot always perceive what God is doing and how he is working in our lives

Until we look back and see the fruit of transformation Similar to how when Jesus is using these analogies of the of the mustard seed and leaven things that are small insignificant we don't always see what

God is doing in the midst of that until we take a step back and see all that he Has accomplished and done through that which is small you may be asking yourself and wondering

What is God doing here at Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church? We're small

Maybe look insignificant in terms of the world or in comparison to other churches but can

I tell you God is at work in you and He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

That is a firm foundation We have also this truth

Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church that God desires you to be formidable

That he wants you to be a formidable force for his kingdom though you be small

He will make you mighty The Lord wants you to invest in your most holy faith that you may be strong for the task ahead

God is calling you to be a great commission focused Church Will you bring the fragrance of his influence everywhere becoming so viral that it fills this land?

Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church may the Lord richly bless you as You live for and proclaim

His eternal kingdom and dominion Until we enter the world without end

May it so be even come Lord Jesus Thank you for allowing me to preach on to you the