When we show the earth people how life works,
then they won't keep tripping over the obstacles
that the world is setting in their way.
It's like tripping over furniture in a dark room.
So we've seen some things in our modern day.
I mean, we can look at the news, and we
can look at some of the issues that
are being talked about, and some of the confusion.
Because we have failed, to a large degree,
to be light, to step into the dark room
and shine the light so people can see what's really there.
They can really understand what a man is and what a woman is.
I'll just leave that one there.
But it's things like that where we've kind of
lost our place as light.
But we're stepping back in.
Well, welcome back to Kingship Reformation class.
This is class number five, and titled The Leavening.
So last week, last class, rather, we zoomed in on this.
We used the parable of the wheat and tares
to talk about this current age that we live in.
Because Jesus gives a clear explanation
of this current age in the parable of the wheat and tares.
And that's Matthew 13, 24 through 30.
And then he goes on to explain it in verses 37 through 43.
And again, this is Jesus's clear teaching, the kingdom
of God growing on earth.
So last time, we focused on the planting and the harvest.
So the planting, again, is the sons of the kingdom.
It's the wheat.
So the farmer is Jesus.
He's the one who sows the field, his field, by the way.
And he calls the field the world.
But he plants the sons of the kingdom.
He plants the wheat.
And then, of course, the evil one plants the tares.
And then we looked at the harvest as the end of the age
and saw some incredible things there.
I just want to read again this explanation
in verse 40 through 43.
So it says, therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned
in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
And he says, this age.
The Son of Man will send out his angels,
and they will gather out of his kingdom
the tares, all things that offend
and those who practice lawlessness,
and will cast them into the furnace of fire.
There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
And it says, then the righteous will shine forth
in the kingdom of their father.
So remember, important takeaway is
that the tares are removed from out of Jesus's kingdom.
He's calling what was the field in the world by the end,
by the end of this age, at that harvest,
the tares are removed out of Jesus's kingdom.
So and then the wheat, or the sons of the kingdom,
shine forth in the kingdom of the Father.
So there was a great handoff that happened here.
And 1 Corinthians 15.24 kind of zooms in on that
and shows it to us.
And this chapter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So verse 24 says, then the end will
come when he, Jesus, hands over the kingdom to the Father
after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.
So I just posed the question.
I wonder if this is what Jesus had in mind
when he instructed his followers and us
to pray to the Father, our Father who art in heaven.
And he didn't say, my kingdom come.
He said, thy Father's kingdom come on earth
as it is in heaven.
So that's just something to think about.
So in this class, this session, we're
going to focus on how the kingdom grows.
So between the planting and the harvest time,
there's not a whole lot given in that parable.
But we're going to try to look at some of the other examples
and teachings of Jesus to discover.
Because now we're moving into, this
is the time of our lives, right?
We're living in this time between the planting
and the harvest.
So how, and another thing to keep in mind
is, how does the field and the world
transform and become, by the end of it,
known as Jesus's kingdom?
So the first thing I'd like to point out
is how the kingdom grows is like leaven.
So Jesus gave, in Matthew 13, he gave us
several pictures of the kingdom.
And it's some of the best.
We should start our kingdom theology with,
I mean, you don't get better teaching on the kingdom
than from the mouth of the king, right?
So Matthew 13, Jesus gives several parables
about the kingdom.
But one of those is, and it's intriguing, verse 33,
it says, the kingdom of heaven is like leaven,
which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour
until it was all leavened.
So the NIV uses, it says, it's like yeast
that was taken and mixed into the flour
until it worked all through the dough.
So you have this picture again.
And again, in the wheat and the tares,
the kingdom is, the sons of the kingdom are planted.
Can you see this, how embedded in earth were to be,
how interrelated and integral to life on earth
were to be, quite different from being
withdrawn from the earth.
So we're like yeast.
We're stuck in the middle of the world.
And it says, until it works all throughout the dough.
And
The interesting thing here to think about is when you put yeast in flour and mix it, if you've ever
watched somebody make a pizza crust, the dough doesn't become yeast. It would taste terrible if
it did. The dough doesn't become leaven, but the leaven affects and transforms the whole loaf. It
works systemically from the inside out. And if you think about it, there's so many dynamics of
the kingdom that have parallels you can observe in nature, but it's the way we're actually changed
as individuals. We have that passage that says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So
we set our mind on the things of God and we get the word of God inside of us. And that word,
if we participate with it in faith, it will leaven our lives. It'll cause a transformation
of our whole life. We usually get an initial surge of change that happens at the new birth.
But then as we walk out life and the sanctification process, our whole life is transformed. Well, in a
sense, the way God plants us into the world is to have the same effect in the world. But again,
it's got to operate by faith. And we have to understand and embrace who we are and what our
role here is. The second thing is the wheat and the tares grow together.
And we saw that in the parable that we just looked at at the beginning.
So there's two things that I see here as far as the wheat and tares growing together. One is
there's actually a conversion element. And so we're looking at, again, how does this kingdom
grow through the earth? So it's interesting to me that if you think about it, it's a
rigged system against the devil because the tares are the sons of the evil one, the wheats are the
sons of the kingdom, but tares actually get converted into wheat. So every one of us that's
been born into the kingdom, born of the Spirit, we started off really as a tare. We were under the
control of evil. We were of Adam's nature, and we know where the destiny of that group is.
So you think about Saul of Tarsus. I mean, the guy was going one direction here and persecuting the
church, and boom, he got zapped. You look at Constantine and same thing. So you have this
major tare. I'm sure the devil was really proud of his children, and then suddenly God comes
along, and these people are zapped, and they're converted. They actually become wheat at that
point. And at the point of conversion, you're planted in the earth. So the planting goes on
all through the age to the end of the age. And then you and me, I mean, when we were redeemed,
Isaiah 61.3 says, when we were redeemed, we became known as the planting of the Lord,
the trees of righteousness. So there's that conversion element of the wheat and tares
together. Then there's an interactive element, and we'll develop this further in subsequent
classes. But my theory is that our functioning as kings and priests in the midst of the world,
and by the way, that involves servant leadership. This isn't a violent takeover. It's a love takeover
really. It's bringing the ways of Jesus and the character of Jesus. That actually systemically
transforms the world. And there's examples. I mean, we're living in a country that's an example
of some systemic transformation. There's still wheat and tares growing together, but kingdom
principles have been inculcated into the very foundational documents of our nation. So you
have that interactive element as well. So the third way that this growth occurs in the growing
season is we're called the salt of the earth. And Matthew 5.13, Jesus says, you are the salt of the
earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, it is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and
trampled under the foot of men. So in the ancient world, you probably know salt was not thought of
so much as a flavoring. It was a preservative. It's what kept the meat from rotting. So my question
is, has our withdrawal from the earth's concerns caused the culture around us to rot? Do we see
some rot? Are we being trampled under the foot of man in his world system because we have
withdrawn ourselves? We've become unsalty. And I don't mean across the board, but I mean, largely
the church has been pretty disengaged with management of the planet and stewardship of
the planet. And that's changing. That's why this is a kingdom awakening that's happening right now.
So in the same part of scripture, Jesus says, not only are we the salt of the earth, but he says,
we are the light of the world. Matthew 5.14-16, he says, you are the light of the world. A city
set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they take a lamp, nor do they light a lamp, excuse me,
and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand. And it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light so shine, or you might say, let your light in this manner shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. So we put a light in a room,
not so that people come to the light like moths. We put a light in the room so that
people can see what's there. So, what I say is when we show the earth people, when we kingdom
people that are born of heaven, when we show the earth people how life works, then they won't keep
tripping over the obstacles that the world is setting in their way. It's like tripping over
furniture in a dark room. So, we've seen some things in our modern day. I mean, we can look
at the news and we can look at some of the issues that are being talked about and some of the
confusion because we have failed to a large degree to be light, to go step into the dark
room and shine the light so people can see what's really, they can really understand what a man is
and what a woman is. I'll just leave that one there. But it's things like that where
we've kind of lost our place as light, but we're stepping back in. So, it's interesting that,
you know, the tears when they're removed back to the parable of the wheat and tears,
they're called stumbling blocks. So, the stumbling blocks are being removed at the end of the age.
So, using that analogy. So, when they see us, when the people of the earth see us working,
when they see us working in God's ways, because God's ways work, they work on the earth,
they bring freedom on earth, they bring happiness in life, they're the way life is designed to live
as God's ways. So, you can see that this is evangelism on steroids. You know, we a lot of
times would ask people, you know, do you know where you're going to go if you were to die
tomorrow, where you would spend eternity? And that's valid. That's a great question.
We all ought to answer that. But, you know, really, what the fish are biting on and what
the world's asking, what people are crying out for is, don't tell me about how to go to the next
life. What I'm trying to figure out is how to raise my kids and how to navigate the school system.
I need to know how this life works. And what Jesus says, if we'll show them how this life works,
they'll glorify the Father. They'll want to go to the author of this life. They'll want to know
the one who created this life that actually works. Life needs to work for people. It's designed to
in the kingdom. So, just as a point of testimony, my wife, Joy, was serving as a nurse and was
administering these high-definition ultrasounds to abortion-minded young ladies. So, they would
actually, they thought they were going into Planned Parenthood clinics because this particular
ministry would set up these life, you know, these offices like next door. And so,
people would come in and they would come in and they would get an ultrasound. And so,
when you show a young woman, this child growing in their womb, it's like, again, it's like shining
the light in a dark room. Oh, that's a baby in there. And the statistics are incredible. It's
somewhere, plus or minus 90% of the abortion-leaning people that come in and you just
shine the light and show them what's actually growing inside and that it's actually a baby,
like 90% of them make the decision to keep the baby. So, that's a very in-your-face example of
letting our light so shine that, you know, that people will see our good works. They'll see this
is how life works. This is what's happening. So, there's another testimony that, you know,
I guess I can name names, but I heard Chris Vallotton, and he's on staff at Bethel Church
in Redding, California. He had this situation happen. He was going to share a message at church
regarding being an apostolic community, how Bethel is an apostolic community. And
on his way to church, he flips the newspaper on the seat next to him and the rubber band pops,
whatever, and it opens up and he sees the front of the paper and the headlines are,
Redding, California, ranked one of the worst places to live in the country. And it was like
he was gripped because he said, if we're an apostolic community and we're growing, and
I don't know, some high percentage of the people that live in Redding actually attend
church at Bethel. By the way, this can go for most churches. This is kind of the state of the church.
And he said, oh my goodness, we must be doing something wrong. And he actually did a study that
cities that had the largest, I don't know if he said the largest churches or the largest church
population, were actually, by quality of life metrics, were actually the worst places to live.
And so what they determined in studying this out was it's something that he calls the huddle effect.
So we build a church and we create a community of faith, and then we go out into the dark world
and we invite people to come to Jesus, and then they come into the church
and they live their lives in the silo of the church world. And then we have theologies which
don't encourage them to go engage the world, but encourage them to create all their social
gatherings and all of their interactions and relationships within the church. Now, there are
huge exceptions to that. And in fact, I'm going to brag on the church that I'm part of here,
The Road at Chapel Hills in Colorado Springs. Just coming up here in the next few days,
this church is actually hosting a
debate for the mayoral candidates in our city.
And there's several, I mean, I think it's a pretty large number, I don't want to exaggerate,
but of people that have actually gotten involved in school board positions.
So the point of this whole class, the point of this is that the kingdom of God on earth
grows through intricate and intimate involvement of God's kingdom people who are planted in
the world.
We're not of it, but we're certainly in it, and that's actually God's glorious plan.
So it's all about engagement.
So whereas maybe there's been a large withdrawal of the church from the culture and from involvement
and leadership in the culture, what's happening now, I believe, and again, it's this great
reformation that's coming, is we're returning to a theology of engagement.
So that's what I want to leave you with this time.
It's the way the kingdom grows in the earth is through engagement and involvement and
bringing the superior ways of God and the presence of God right smack into the middle
of the culture and in the world, not withdrawing and isolating ourselves from it.
So I hope you enjoyed this class, and we look forward to seeing you in the next class.