The Unstoppable Kingdom – 5/25/25

For those of you who may be visiting this morning, we’ve been going through the Gospel of Matthew as a church for several months now. And in our continued study of the book of Matthew, we now find ourselves in the midst of several kingdom parables that Jesus taught.

Jesus spoke often about the kingdom. It was one of his primary themes of his teaching. It’s going to help us to have kind of a working definition of the kingdom. As Peter shared last Sunday, the kingdom is the multi-dimensional reign of God through Jesus.

The multi-dimensional reign of God through Jesus.

As we’re going to see in our text for today, it really starts revealing at least a little bit of what the multi-dimensional nature of the kingdom really is.

I love singing the song that we just sang together, “The Power of the Cross.” In fact, I’m losing my voice, and I’m down there singing at the top of my lungs. So I may not have voice for the rest of this message, I don’t know. But I can’t help but sing it. And I love singing it with you for many reasons.

One of those reasons applies to our passage this morning, the surrounding context of this passage, and really the overall teaching of the kingdom. We heard earlier, Revelation 1:4-6 was read. It was through the shed blood of Jesus that we could actually be a part of that kingdom. The book of Revelation reveals this again just a few chapters later in Revelation 5:8-10.

“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’”

If there was no cross, there could be no kingdom. In his book, “The Crucified King,” Jeremy Treat writes of the relationship of the cross and the kingdom when he says,

“The kingdom is the ultimate goal of the cross, and the cross is the means by which the kingdom comes. The kingdom of God is established on earth by Christ’s atoning death on the cross.”

Can we open up in a word of prayer? Father, we thank you for the kingdom. We thank you the cross. God, I pray that if there is even one person sitting here this morning who is not a member of that kingdom, would the gospel of the kingdom break through this morning? Would you open their hearts and minds, open all of our hearts and mind, God, to learn what we need to learn from this text this morning. It’s in the name of your Son that we pray these things, amen.

You know, it’s one thing to listen to the definition of the kingdom that we just gave and glory in the cross today. We have 2,000 years of teaching and writing to help us, give us a much greater understanding of the glorious nature of the cross. And we’ve seen the kingdom expand, advance over the course of time. So, for us, it’s one thing to talk about the cross and the kingdom.

But I want for us to go back 2,000 years, and I want for us put ourselves in the shoes of the disciples right after his death. Imagine the drama of Saturday between the crucifixion and the resurrection as they were sitting in this room full of Christ-confused followers, just one day removed from watching Jesus die. And it wasn’t just any death. He was brutally and embarrassingly killed by the very people everyone thought he was supposed to come and overthrow. It’s one of those moments in Scripture where you look at and go, “I wish I could have been there just to watch.”

Listen again to a quote that Matt made during the Good Friday service a few weeks ago. It was from a book by Alan Lewis entitled, “Between Cross and Resurrection, A Theology of Holy Saturday.” Here’s what he wrote.

“On the day after his death, Jesus is no hero, savior or redeemer. He’s dead and gone, convicted as a sinner, a rebel, and a blasphemer, who has paid the price of tragic failure. He simply died, and his cause died with him, quite falsified and finished.”

How they must have felt that day, What did they talk about? Were they just sitting there in stunned silence? Were they trying to put together some kind of escape plan out of Jerusalem? Did they discuss these kingdom parables at all? Did they mock them? Jesus talked often about a kingdom, and now that dream is gone in their mind. Or did these parables provide any hope at all?

Well, if any of the kingdom parables were going to provide any hope, even a glimmer of hope, it would have been the two in our text for today: the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven. For in them, Jesus taught that though kingdom of God begins in obscurity and insignificance, its growth is inevitable and actually transformative, expanding beyond all expectations to fill the world with God’s redemptive power. In other words, Jesus teaches in these two parables that the growth of Christ’s kingdom may start small and seem obscure and even improbable, but it will prove unstoppable.

We begin to see this as we look at the first parable in verses 31 and 32 as Jesus speaks about the unveiled nature of the kingdom, that which we can see, the parable of the mustard seed.

“He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 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.”

This first parable reveals the extensive growth of the kingdom. It would grow and expand, but it started small. The mustard seed was one of the smallest of all seeds. It was about a millimeter in diameter, unbelievably small. And yet it would end up growing into a large bush, often reaching the size of some trees, large enough for birds to build their nests in its branches. But there’s no way that anybody would look at this little mustard seed and imagine that it would ever grow into a large bush of substantial size.

But this is how the kingdom would grow. Jesus’s rule and authority, which may have seemed small at the beginning — and certainly on that Saturday after the crucifixion, it didn’t seem small, it seemed nonexistent — but that it would grow into something significant. Now, keep in mind, again, put yourself in their shoes. This was not at all the expectation of the disciples or the religious leaders or even the general population in Israel. Their expectation, what they thought was coming was that a great leader would arise and overthrow their oppressors, that the birth of the kingdom would actually be great. Surely it would be shock and awe when it came. Yet Jesus teaches here that it would start very small and grow to be something great.

William Carey understood this dynamic well. He is often called the father of modern missions. He and his family landed in India in 1793, full of passion, full of hope. But it was slow going. He finally baptized his first convert after seven years of ministry. He experienced financial ruin, family tragedy, constant opposition. It was a slow, difficult road. But today there are millions of Indian believers who, humanly speaking, can trace their spiritual heritage back to William Carey. By God’s power and grace, what started small grew to be large.

But Jesus spoke not only about the part of the kingdom that is clearly visible. He also spoke of the kingdom at work in obscurity, the veiled nature of the kingdom, that which may not be so easily seen, the parable of the leaven in verse 33.

“He told them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’”

This parable reveals the intensive growth of the kingdom, if you will, the part that we do not always see. The kingdom would not only start small but grow, but it would also be hidden yet permeate. And it’s not only going to permeate every tribe, nation, and tongue, which is glorious, it’s going to permeate every part of man.

The kingdom is not only seen with the eye as it grows, it is something hidden from sight, yet working from the inside out. And like the mustard seed in the previous parable, leaven is insignificant. Just a small amount is added to the dough, and yet it permeates the entire batch. The batch in the amount that Jesus spoke about in verse 33, would have provided bread for a small village, about a hundred people with just a little tiny bit of leaven. You cannot see the leaven doing its work, but you can observe its results as the dough is rising.

In Luke chapter 17, Jesus states, the kingdom is within. And one of the truths of that statement is that the kingdom is in a sense spiritual. Or as Paul puts it in Romans chapter 14, the kingdom is a matter of

“righteousness … peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

There’s going to come a time when the King will reign in every conceivable way over all of his creation. But for now, the nature of that kingdom is at least partly internal. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God who is to rule and reign in the hearts of his people.

And Jesus spoke of the kingdom not coming always in supernatural signs and wonders because it represents an inward, spiritual reality. And the rest of the world may be blind to his kingdom, but it exists in the hearts of those who know the Lord. Thus, in a very real sense, the kingdom is within us. It is within you. It’s not only going on in the world around us. It is within us. It may seem insignificant at times. We may not always perceive its presence, but it is there, and it will permeate the entire world and every individual believer.

But as we mentioned earlier, the kingdom of Christ is also multi-dimensional. So how do we see that in the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven? Well, it’s both visible and invisible. It’s both external and internal. It’s both already happening, right? There’s a present sense in which the kingdom is working, and there is this future reality when we see it grow in all of its fullness.

But how is all of this possible? I’m sure that’s the question the disciples were wondering on that Saturday between the cross and the resurrection. But even after the resurrection of Christ, there were still so many obstacles from a human perspective to the kingdom growing. J.C. Ryle, in his commentary on Luke, wrote this.

“The beginnings of the gospel were exceedingly small … It was a religion which seemed at first so feeble and helpless and powerless that it could not live. It’s founder was a poor man who ended his life by dying a criminal’s death on the cross. Its first adherents were a small group of people who probably numbered less than a thousand when our Lord left the world. Its first preachers were a few fishermen and tax collectors who were for the most part uneducated and ignorant men. Its first starting point was a despised corner of the earth called Judea, a petty province in the vast Roman Empire. Its first doctrines were calculated to provoke enmity from the natural heart. Christ crucified was a stumbling block to the Jews and utter foolishness to the Greeks. Its first followers were persecuted on all sides, Pharisees and Sadducees, Jews and Gentiles, ignorant idolaters and self-conceited philosophers, all united in hating and opposing Christianity. This sect was spoken against everywhere. These are not empty assertions. They are simple historical facts no one can deny. If ever there was ever a religion which was of a little grain of seed at the beginning, that religion was the gospel.”

The message was offensive, and it still is to many. The original messengers and followers were far from impressive and still are in many respects. The method of advancement was illogical. Kingdom advancement of any kind usually includes conquest and coercion. The kingdom of Christ advanced primarily through a gospel communication and compassion. Its followers were lovers of God’s Word and people. It continues to face political, intellectual, and religious opposition. And for many, being a member of this kingdom has led to persecution and martyrdom as it still does in many places in the world today.

Just a few weeks ago, we learned of several pastors in India who had been martyred. That just happened within the last several weeks. Even the other parables that Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 13 leading to these two parables revealed potential obstacles to the growth of the kingdom.

A couple of weeks ago, Peter preached on the parable of the soils. And in that parable, Jesus indicates that only one type of heart out of four will truly embrace the kingdom message and bear much fruit. Last week, he preached on the weeds and the wheat. And in that parable, Jesus tells his followers that the kingdom is like a field where the enemy comes in secretly and plants weeds among the wheat. Often one cannot tell the difference between the two until harvest time. How can the kingdom of Christ thrive with such subversive actions taking place? Even his use of parables in and of themselves was problematic from a human perspective. Matthew adds these words after he tells the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven. He adds these words in verses 34 and 35 of our text.

“All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; [all these things] indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’”

This is a quote from Psalm 78. Jesus used parables to reveal what has been hidden since the foundation of the world for people’s encouragement and to build up their faith but would only be understood by a certain group of people, his followers. That’s curious. Do you remember what Jesus said earlier in Matthew chapter 13 about his use of parables? In verses 10 through 17, he says this,

“Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’

Why not just be plain? Why speak in parables?

“And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For the one who has more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them.”

“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears for they hear. For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.”

How do you build a kingdom when its leader uses a type of speech in which many cannot grasp the full message of the kingdom because of the hardness of their hearts? Humanly speaking, from every angle imaginable, this plan for kingdom growth seems disastrous. It made no sense. In many ways, it still makes no sense. All these obstacles, we still see. They’re still here. But despite all of the obstacles, Jesus teaches with the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven, the growth of Christ’s kingdom may start small and seem obscure and even improbable, but it will prove unstoppable.

The Saturday after the crucifixion may have found the disciples hiding in a room together, but Sunday happened. The resurrection of Jesus Christ had a profound impact on his followers, transforming them from fearful and doubting individuals into bold and confident proclaimers of the gospel. It provided a new understanding of Jesus’s identity and purpose. It reignited their hope and gave them a sense of purpose and mission themselves. And just seven weeks later, on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2, we begin to see the parables of the mustard seed and leaven being fulfilled as we find 3,000 people come to Christ. Two chapters later in Acts chapter 4, we find thousands more were added. And this is a taste of what has happened since that day.

It will not stop. It may face obstacles. It may at times feel like there’s not a lot happening, but the beauty is we already know the end of the story. Listen as the apostle John — one of the people who was sitting in that room with the other disciples on that Saturday after the crucifixion — listen as he reveals a future scene in heaven in Revelation 7:9-12.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! And all the angels were standing around the throne around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”‘”

And these are just the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation — too many to count from every corner of the globe. This is a future promise, and there is nothing the enemy can do to stop it. Because the kingdom of Christ is unstoppable. From a room filled with a handful of frightened, confused followers on the day after Jesus’s death to throngs in heaven that cannot be numbered. The kingdom started small, but it grows large. It was hidden, but has always been active.

So how do we respond to the kingdom parables of the mustard seed and the leaven? There are probably many potential applications, but we’re going to focus on three.

First, we pray that God continues to draw to himself people out of every nation, tribe, and tongue, and that the visible, unveiled part of the kingdom continues to grow and thrive. There are still many places around the world today where the kingdom seems to be growing at a snail’s pace. So we continue by faith, knowing the end of the story, knowing that his kingdom will grow. Although small right now, it’s unstoppable. So we pray with confidence that the Lord will perform His will in this world.

And we rejoice with what God is already doing around the world. Just listen to this small snapshot of the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven being fulfilled right now. In 15 different nations, right now, North Hills Church partners and missionaries are planting the leaven of the gospel among people groups that have never heard of Christ before.

In Bangladesh, our missionaries planted a tiny coffee roasting company that now employs hundreds. That company is opening doors to reach unreached tribes, win and disciple Muslims, and open doors for many other gospel workers in that field.

In Ethiopia. North Hills gathered around 40 pastors to provide biblical training. To date, that training has reached 25,000 pastors and provided more than one million Bibles to new believers.

In China, our partners serve alongside the underground church. Over the past 100 years, in spite of intense persecution, the Church of Christ has grown in China from around one million believers to over 100 million believers.

In Indonesia, just in the past year, after years of backbreaking labor, a few people from a large tribal group have come to believe and follow Jesus. One more family that will be represented in heaven.

In Central Asia, our partners are helping to evangelize, train, and equip Iranian refugees so that they can go back to Iran. The Iranian church is the fastest growing church on the planet. I’m telling you, the kingdom is unstoppable. It truly is.

Our second point of application is a bit more personal. God’s not only drawing people from around the world and even Greenville — we’re watching that happen, and it’s stunning. But we can also experience hope for those who are very close to us, who seem far from the Lord, who we’ve been praying for maybe for decades. I know exactly how that feels.

I also know that we have no idea the hidden work of the kingdom that God may be doing in their hearts right now. Like the leaven working inside of a loaf of bread, often the work of the Lord is hidden from our eyes. But that does not mean that it’s not active.

A couple of decades ago, I got that opportunity to see God do something that felt so miraculous, like I was watching God create the world. Sometimes we’re able to be a part of scenes like the thief on the cross coming to Christ with his final breaths, and we rejoice.

I got a call about 20 years ago from a friend. His brother-in-law was dying. He had been in a coma for days. They didn’t think he was ever going to come out of it. He was dying of AIDS. He lived a life fully given to sin. He had been resistant to any teaching of the gospel, the kingdom of Christ for a long time. He was completely hardened. And so this friend called and just said, “Hey, he just came out of a coma. Would you go and just share the gospel with him one last time?” It was about an hour away, and I got in the car and went down. I don’t even remember what I said. It wasn’t much. Because the kingdom had broken through. And he repented, put his faith in Jesus. And I began to go down weekly to disciple him. And I think it was after the second chapter, our second time together, two days after that, that he took his next step in the kingdom journey and saw the King himself. We have no idea how the gospel of the kingdom is working inside a human heart, so we never give up hope for those that we love.

And we become yet even more personal in this third point of application, we pray that God’s kingdom come, his will would be done in our own hearts individually. In the book I quoted from earlier, the crucified king, Jeremy Treat closes that book with these words.

“What if we prayed, ‘your kingdom come’ every morning and then lived as if we believed that God would answer that prayer? What if we stopped trying to build our own kingdoms and started living for the glory of God’s kingdom? What if we sought first, as Matthew wrote [in Matthew 6 33], what if we sought first the kingdom of God and saw everything else in our lives through the lens of God’s gracious reign? ‘Your kingdom come’ is a dangerous prayer. But we must pray it, for the kingdom of God is the only hope for a world darkened by sin and pain.”

And then he prays this prayer.

“In my heart, divided by sin, let your grace prevail, bring peace within. Reign in my soul, your will be done. In my heart your kingdom come.

“In my life, filled with distraction, let your mercy have its way, be my satisfaction. Rule over my thoughts, my feelings, every one. In my life, your kingdom come.

“In our family, whatever may pass, let your love remain, a bond that lasts. Guide your children, conform us to your Son. In our family, your kingdom come.

“In the church, the bride of Christ so pure, let your truth stand firm, the gospel the cure. Lead your people in the race to be run. In the church, your kingdom come.

“In this world, longing for restoration, let your healing break in, the joy of nations. The creation groans, knowing grace will overcome. In this world, your kingdom come.”

Amen. May that be our prayer, as well. As our praise team comes, we begin to worship the Lord in song. We’re going to have a group of people down here at the front, ready to pray with those who would like. Maybe there’s just a worldwide evangelism, maybe there’s a section of the world that you are specifically burdened for, that the light of the gospel would break through. If you want to come down and pray with someone over that, please come.

Or maybe you have a loved one, a friend who you’ve been praying with for a long time and it seems right now like there is no hope. There’s always hope for the gospel.

So please come if you would like and pray with somebody here in the front. Maybe you know of a specific area of your life where you’re saying I’m going to be king of this area instead of Christ. If that is true, come. I know they would love to pray with you. You can stand as we sing.