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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13. We will in 
fact have service tonight at 5. I know it is snowing. So far 
the roads are good around here. So we will be here at 5 p.m. 
tonight. Obviously use your discernment 
and your own judgment depending upon where you live. But should 
you venture out this way, God willing you will find some of 
us here. Matthew chapter 13. We're going 
to focus on two parables this morning. The parable of the mustard 
seed and the parable of the leaven. But I do want to read beginning 
in Matthew 13 at verse 10 to set us in the larger context. So please hear now the word of 
the living God. And the disciples came and said 
to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? He answered and 
said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the 
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 
For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have 
abundance. But whoever does not have, even 
what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to 
them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing 
they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy 
of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear and 
shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive, 
for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are 
hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should 
see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should 
understand with their hearts in turn, so that I should heal 
them. But blessed are your eyes, for 
they see, and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly I say 
to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see 
what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, 
and did not hear it. Therefore, hear the parable of 
the sower. When anyone hears the word of 
the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes 
and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who 
received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed 
on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately 
receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, 
but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution 
arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received 
seed among the thorns is he who hears the Word, and the cares 
of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and 
he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the 
good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who 
indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, 
some thirty." Another parable he 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 sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when 
the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner 
came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your 
field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, An enemy 
has done this. The servants said to him, Do 
you want us then to go and gather them up? But he said, No, lest, 
while you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with 
them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at that 
time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, First, gather together 
the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the 
wheat into my barn. Another parable he put forth 
to them, saying, 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 is grown, it is greater 
than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air 
come and nest in its branches. 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 all was leavened." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word and we pray for the ministry of your 
spirit now. God, help us to take every thought 
captive to the obedience of Christ. Help us to see the importance 
of Holy Scripture for our growth and grace. and in the knowledge 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And God, help us as well to see 
you in your glory, to see you in your holiness, to see you 
in your power and majesty, and to see the Lord Christ as the 
King of kings and Lord of lords and the one who is head over 
his church. God, as we consider you in your glory, we consider 
our own selves and our waywardness, and we confess our sins to you 
now. We ask that You would forgive us for our transgression of Your 
holy law. Forgive us, God, for lacking 
conformity unto that law. Wash us and purify us in the 
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And please send Your Spirit to 
illumine our minds, to illumine our hearts, and cause us to receive 
with joy the implanted Word. And for those, God, who are outside 
of Christ, we pray that through Your Spirit and by Your Word, 
You would bring forth sinners today in this church and other 
places here in Chilliwack and to the uttermost parts of the 
earth. We pray that Your Gospel would be proclaimed, that Your 
Word would run swiftly and be glorified. And thank You for 
that promise that we heard this morning. that your word does 
not return unto you void. It always accomplishes the purpose 
for which you send it and we know that your plan is to save 
a great multitude which no man can number from every tribe and 
tongue and people and nation. We pray that you'd bless your 
word, God, and cause it to go forth conquering. And may you 
indeed cause there to be many today that turn out of darkness 
into marvelous light and know the joy of being found in Jesus 
Christ. And we pray this in his most 
blessed name. Amen. Well, as I said, this morning 
we're looking at the third and the fourth parables that Jesus 
tells in this third discourse. Parables concerning the kingdom 
of heaven. And so we'll simply take up the 
two parables this morning, the parable of the mustard seed and 
the parable of the leaven, and then we will conclude with some 
observations, some practical applications. So let's just get 
right to the parable of the mustard seed in verses 31 to 32. We see the subject. Again, the 
Lord Jesus Christ introduces, or rather Jesus tells us what He is speaking 
about specifically in verse 31. Another parable He put forth 
to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is light. That's the 
subject matter of each of these parables in this third discourse 
in Matthew's Gospel. The first two parables sort of 
give us the big picture. We have the parable of the sower 
and the parable of the wheat and the tares. That kind of concerns 
the big scheme of things. This third and fourth parable 
deals with growth in the kingdom, and they are very synonymous, 
they're very similar in their approach. And then the last, 
or the fifth and the sixth parables deal with the value of the kingdom, 
and then the last two deal with sort of a warning with reference 
to the dragnet, and then a call to discernment and instruction 
for those disciples in the eighth one. Note the analogy that Christ 
gives. The kingdom of heaven is like 
a mustard seed. The kingdom of heaven is like 
a mustard seed. Again, we see connection with 
the first and second parables. The parable of the sower. A man 
goes out and he sows seed in his field. The second parable, 
the wheat and the tares, the same idea. A man goes out, he 
plants wheat seeds, and in the midst of that, the devil comes 
and he plows, or he sows rather, tears within that garden. And 
here we see something similar. The Kingdom of Heaven is like 
a mustard seed. The seed is sown for a particular 
reason. We ought not to miss that. We 
ought not to gloss over that. We ought to realize that God 
has His purposes with reference to His Kingdom. At times we look 
around and we can get discouraged when we see what appears to be 
the wicked increasing or false religion increasing. We see what 
we perceive to be a decline in Christianity. A Fox News reporter 
named Todd Starnes just did an article recently on Christianity 
losing its effect upon culture in North America. And we see 
that, we get affected by that, and we conclude that we're on 
the losing team, and that things will always be dismal, and things 
will always be bleak and dark. Well, we need to understand that 
the Lord God Most High When it comes to His kingdom, He sows 
seeds for a specific purpose. And we need to understand that 
the mustard seed is planted for a specific reason. Note how Jesus 
describes this seed. He says, "...which a man took 
and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the 
seeds." No, I'm not a botanist, but I understand there are seeds 
smaller than a mustard seed. Jesus is not teaching a class 
in botany. Jesus is not a professor at a 
university teaching which is the smallest seed out there. he's using an analogy, he is 
using a parable, he is using something that speaks to the 
folk that he is dealing with. And in Palestine specifically, 
this would have been the smallest seed. This became shorthand for 
the rabbis to refer to something that was small. Chamlin, quoting 
Gundry, says the mustard seed was the smallest of Palestinian 
seeds that could be seen with the naked eye and had become 
proverbial for smallness. It was something in vogue. It 
was something common. It was something that the rabbis 
appealed to. Tonight in our studies in 1 Timothy 
4, the apostle cautions Timothy against following old wives' 
tales or old women's fables. It was something that spoke to 
the context. It spoke in terms of theology 
and philosophy. We have similar convention. We 
see Rabbi Jesus use the same convention in Matthew chapter 
17 at verse 20. He says, "...because of your 
unbelief, for assuredly I say to you, If you have faith as 
a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here 
to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for 
you. Now, I say all this because sometimes 
it's not uncommon for the enemies of the Bible to say, well, the 
mustard seed isn't the smallest seed. Therefore, Jesus is lying, 
and the Bible is false. The King James refers to a bat 
as a bird. And for some people, that is 
warrant enough to write off the entire Bible. That's folly. It's foolishness. The Bible speaks 
of the sun rising. Does that debunk the whole idea 
of a heliocentric universe? Are the geocentrists right? Or 
is the Bible using a convention that everybody could follow? 
We do the same thing. We say that the sun rises in 
the east. By that, we're not making a particular 
claim as to whether we affirm heliocentricity or geocentricity. Sometimes you will meet people 
that will come up with things like this and say, well, there 
are seeds out there that are smaller than a mustard seed. 
So abandon your faith in the Savior because He's full of lies. He is speaking to common folk, 
using common metaphor, using common analogy to speak to a 
particular spiritual lesson. Notice what he goes on to say. This is indeed the least of all 
the seeds, but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs 
and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest 
in its branches. Do you see the point? Do you 
see what Christ is getting at? You take this tiny mustard seed, 
which is the least of all the seeds, you throw it out into 
the field, and with the proper watering, with the proper sunshine, 
what happens to that seed? It transforms. It blossoms. It grows. It gets bigger. It starts off insignificant. It starts off imperceptibly. But what happens at the end? 
It becomes a tree. it becomes large enough so that 
birds can nest in its particular leaves. The point of Jesus' statement 
here is that the Kingdom of Heaven is like this. How does the Kingdom 
of Heaven take root in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ? Does 
God the Lord take the Kingdom and impose it on earth? Does 
God the Lord engulf the world around us with His reign, with 
His rule, with His righteous government over all things? It 
isn't that way. Instead, the King Himself leaves 
heaven. The king himself becomes a man. The king himself is in the womb 
of the virgin. The king himself is born in very 
lowly conditions. The king himself is reared like 
any typical Palestinian boy. The king himself continues in 
subjection to his earthly parents. The king himself works as a carpenter. You see, you would never expect 
this, any more than you would expect this tiny insignificant 
seed to grow up into such a tree that the birds of the air could 
find their nests therein. That's his point! That's what 
he's teaching, that's what he's highlighting, that's what he 
wants us to understand in both the parables of the mustard seed 
and in the leaven. It begins insignificantly, it 
begins very lowly, it begins almost imperceptibly, but it 
doesn't stay that way. It doesn't remain that way, it 
doesn't continue always that way, but trees grow, and leaven 
permeates the entire lump that they are woven into or put into. So Christ's origin, Christ's 
beginning, the kingdom itself, did not come with an imposition 
from on high of the kingdom reign on earth. We see that at the 
end, at the consummation, when the new heavens and the new earth 
descend, and they do engulf and encompass the entirety of the 
created order. But in its inception, in its 
inauguration, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. 
It's small. When you looked at the Lord Jesus 
Christ, you didn't see Him attended by angels. When you looked at 
the Lord Jesus Christ, you didn't see Him rolling up in a Rolls 
Royce. You didn't see Him living in 
a mansion. You didn't see Him attended by servants. When you 
looked at the Lord Jesus Christ, there was nothing about Him that 
would endear you to Him. He has no form. He has no comeliness. There's not something about His 
appearance that draws us to Him and makes us want to worship. 
In other words, he liked that mustard seed comes insignificantly 
and imperceptibly, but it won't always remain that way. That's 
the point. And note the way that the Lord 
Jesus ends this parable concerning the mustard seed. It grows, it's 
greater than the herbs and it becomes a tree so that the birds 
of the air come and nest in its branches. Now remember, Jesus 
is speaking primarily to a people that knew their Old Testament 
scriptures. We hear this analogy and we think, 
well, that's common. When a tree grows, birds run 
or fly. They don't run. They fly. Some 
birds do run, actually. But these birds fly and they 
make nests in the tree. That's a very common thing, isn't 
it? You don't have to be into birds. You don't have to know 
a lot about trees to realize that this is the way God's world 
works. But you see, for people who knew their Old Testaments, 
people who knew the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel, they would 
know that there were times in Old Testament history where kingdoms 
were described by trees. and where birds would come and 
rest in those particular trees. Meaning that the kingdom grows, 
the kingdom attracts, the kingdom knows more presence and power. And incidentally, and I actually 
do think that this is what Matthew is indicating, or Jesus specifically 
is indicating, that when these birds come in Daniel 4, and in 
Ezekiel 17, and Ezekiel 31, they're probably representative of Gentiles. In other words, you have Egypt 
or you have Babylon, you have this world empire or this kingdom 
and it's grown to be a big tree and birds come and gather in 
that particular tree. Outsiders, people from without 
Egypt, people from without Babylon come to this particular empire 
and they find rest under the reign of that particular king. Christ is teaching, in this context, 
that what grows or starts imperceptibly and insignificantly not only 
grows to a big tree that will affect positively the nation 
of Israel, but the Gentiles shall fly. The birds of the air will 
find their nest in this particular tree. This fits with what is 
so programmatic in Matthew's Gospel. How does the Gospel start 
off in Matthew chapter 1? Jesus is the son of Abraham, 
son of David. Pastor Kim just read in Galatians 
3 that there was a promise made to Abraham that what? In him, 
all the nations of the earth would be blessed. What does Jesus 
teach that centurion in Matthew chapter 8? That man who comes 
to the Lord Jesus seeking Ely for his servant, who is probably 
a Gentile. Jesus commends that man's faith 
in Matthew 8, 11 and 12. And He says, I say to you, many 
will come from East and West. Many will come and sit with Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob. Gentiles! How does Matthew's 
Gospel end? Matthew 28, 18 to 20. Go therefore 
and do what? Make disciples in Israel? Make 
disciples in Palestine? Go after the lost tribes of Jacob? 
No! Make disciples of all the nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Spirit. So what we find is that the Kingdom 
of God is like a mustard seed. It is small, it is insignificant, 
it is lowly, it is imperceptible. You throw it into the dirt, the 
sun shines upon it, the rain falls upon it, and what happens? 
It grows. It may look small, it gets a 
little bigger, but one day it's going to be a tree large enough 
so that birds can fly in and make their nest in it. That's 
what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. And there are periods, 
and there are seasons, and there are lives in the growth of trees, 
no doubt, where they go stronger and more vibrant than certain 
seasons and epochs. There are other times where that 
growth is imperceptible and we mustn't get discouraged. We mustn't look at things with 
the physical eye and conclude that this kingdom is never going 
to progress. We need to look with the eye 
of faith at this mustard seed and realize it's going to be 
a massive tree and birds are going to find their rest in this 
particular tree. It truly is a parable concerning 
the growth of the kingdom. Now notice, secondly, the parable 
of the leaven. As I said, it's very similar. We have another parable. He spoke 
to them, verse 33, the kingdom of heaven is like leaven. The 
kingdom of heaven is like leaven. Probably it's an older fermented 
piece of a loaf that the woman kneads into this new loaf. It's not that little bag or little 
satchel or little jar of leaven that she dumps into the loaf. 
It's probably a piece of older loaf that is fermented and she 
kneads that into. Some make a lot of the idea of 
it being hid. The word also just means to put 
into something. We ought not to read something 
into the parable that isn't there. But the subject matter, again, 
concerns the Kingdom of Heaven. The subject matter, again, concerns 
what Christ is discoursing on in this entire third discourse. The Kingdom of Heaven is like 
leaven. The woman leavens the lump. There 
might be an echo here of Sarah in Genesis 18, but the idea here 
is that this lump is quite large. This lump, when it would be produced 
into loaves, would probably be able to feed about a hundred 
people. Again, the idea here is this. Something imperceptible, 
something insignificant. She fetches this old piece of 
loaf that's fermented and uses that to knead into this new dough. It's nothing amazing, it's nothing 
dazzling, it's nothing that should blow anyone's mind. But what 
happens when that leaven is introduced into this new situation? It takes off. It increases. It pervasively influences. It moves throughout. This little 
tiny leavening agent has an effect upon the entirety of the loaf 
itself. The image here is consistent 
with life in Palestine. The Roman Empire had bakeries, 
but Palestinian women would bake their own loaves. When we ask 
who the particular lady is, she's probably a representative of 
Jesus Christ. He is the one that inaugurates 
the Kingdom of Heaven. He is the one that introduces 
this leaven. He is the one that causes growth. 
He is the one that causes transformation. He is the one that causes pervasive 
influence, and that's the point of the parable. Its origin, again, 
it starts out small and even imperceptibly. It's truly an 
amazing thing when you consider leaven, isn't it? These are processes 
and things that we just take for granted, but it truly is 
an amazing reality. What happens? These living organisms, 
small and tiny as they may be, and as imperceptible as they 
may be, do their work. They go about, they weave through, 
they navigate in, and they affect everything that they come into 
contact with. What's Christ telling us? The 
Kingdom of Heaven is like that. It starts off low, it starts 
off imperceptible, it starts off insignificantly, but when 
the end is in view, there's this great big piece of bread that's 
able to feed the multitudes. That's what the kingdom of heaven 
is like. Its destination, it pervasively 
influences and even transforms what it comes into contact with. John Gill speaks of it this way, 
the spread of the gospel and the increase of it in the world. In other words, what Jesus is 
saying to his disciples is, you needn't worry. You needn't be 
discouraged. You needn't be downcast. You 
needn't be saddened. You needn't be surprised that 
the world isn't bowing down to the Lord Jesus in this first 
century context. But neither should you be surprised 
in this 21st century context either. Just as certainly as 
the mustard seed is planted and it yields this tree, just as 
certainly as this leaven is introduced to this dough, it makes this 
great big loaf, so certainly the Kingdom of God initiated, 
inaugurated, and carried out by the Lord Jesus Christ will 
be successful. It will encompass the whole. 
God will, in fact, be all in all. Isn't that where history 
is moving? 1 Corinthians chapter 1, chapter 
15, verses 20 to 28. After Jesus comes, he delivers 
up to the kingdom, he takes his place under the Father again 
in the economy of redemption, and it tells us that God is all 
in all. But I guarantee you, if you were 
looking on that babe in the manger, whose earthly parents were Joseph 
and Mary, you'd never think that it's because of this man, because 
of this babe, because of this toddler, because of this carpenter, 
because of this man in society, God will be all in all. It is 
as certain as planting a mustard seed. It is as certain as introducing 
this leavening agent. Carson says, the general thrust 
of this parable is the same as that of the mustard seed. The 
kingdom produces ultimate consequences out of all proportion to its 
insignificant beginnings. Let me just read that again because 
we need to capture this. The general thrust of this parable, 
the leaven, is the same as that of the mustard seed. The kingdom 
produces ultimate consequences out of all proportion to its 
insignificant beginnings. We have a babe in the womb, we 
have a babe in a manger, we have a young man in Nazareth, we have 
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We have the one who 
was crowned with suffering, crowned with royal empire. We have the 
one who had his hands nailed to a cross, now wielding the 
scepter of royal power. This is what the kingdom of heaven 
is like. It's not about us going out with guns and knives and 
tanks and advancing the kingdom of heaven that way. I'm all for 
a military. I'm all for self-defense. I'm 
all for that in terms of personal defense and civil ethics and 
that sort of thing. But the day the church takes 
those carnal weapons and seeks to advance the kingdom of Christ, 
she has usurped her authority. She is not doing what Christ 
has called her to do. We advance the cause of the kingdom 
through the proclamation of the truth, through the faithful prayers 
of God's people, and through the absolute dependence upon 
God Most High. That's what Christ is saying. 
Mustard seeds and leaven, that's what pictures and typifies the 
growth of the kingdom. Now with reference to this parable 
of the leaven, there is an alternate view that some have put on this 
particular passage. Calvin knew of its existence. 
Spurgeon knew of its existence. He took the view I preached here. 
Gill says it's a late, ingenious interpretation of this parable, 
and Carson associates this interpretation, this alternate one, with dispensational 
commentators. Now, that's not to say every 
dispensational commentator takes the alternate view. I checked 
Pastor MacArthur's study Bible. He takes what I call the traditional 
view, what I just preached to you. But this alternate view 
goes like this. Because leaven is always bad 
in the Bible, therefore leaven must be bad in this particular 
parable. And so what Jesus is highlighting 
here is that there is evil within the kingdom. They would at least 
have some contextual warrant in terms of the parable of the 
wheat and the tares. We have a wheat field, but there's 
tares sown into the midst of it. But Jesus gives us no warning 
whatsoever that he is introducing this sort of an argument. He 
is giving us nothing so that we may sink our teeth into this 
particular direction. He uses the same language. The kingdom of heaven is like 
a man who plants a mustard seed. The kingdom of heaven is like 
a woman who leavens dough." This is consistent, consistent use 
throughout. The context, as I've said, does 
not favor this interpretation. Spurgeon says it this way, there 
is not a word to warn us that the theme has changed and that 
our Lord is now speaking of the kingdom itself, but of evil in 
the kingdom. You see that? There's nothing. 
to warn us. There's nothing to alert us. There is nothing to 
highlight that what Christ is saying is that the kingdom of 
heaven is really like the evil influence of leaven. It's not 
what he says. It's the same language that he's 
employed throughout. A natural reading of the text 
would read it just like we read the parable of the mustard seed. 
The parable of the kingdom of heaven is like a man who took 
a mustard seed and planted it. The kingdom of heaven is like 
leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures. It takes 
something from without to impose upon it and say, oh, he must 
be speaking about the evil influence within the Bible. We also ought 
to realize that details in parables ought not to be pressed to the 
point of no return. In the first parable, birds are 
bad, aren't they? Bad birds. Bad, bad birds. As soon as that seed is thrown 
down by the wayside, what happens? Those birds come and they gobble 
up the seed. When Jesus gets to interpretation, 
He tells us that this is the devil. Devil birds. Is there 
anything in us that should interpret these birds that find their nest 
in this mustard tree as being bad? As being evil? As being 
devil birds? No. Consider as well, 1 Peter 
chapter 5 tells us we need to beware of Satan, our adversary. Why? Because he roams about like 
a what? Like a roaring lion seeking whom 
he may devour. It's an interesting analogy or 
an interesting image of the devil. Back in the Proverbs it says 
the righteous are as bold as a lion. But even more appropriate 
is Revelation chapter 5. What does John see the Son of 
God as? The Lion of the tribe of Judah. We ought to be careful of bringing 
leaven and saying, because it's always bad, it must be bad here. And incidentally, there are a 
couple of occasions in the book of Leviticus where leaven is 
to be used and it doesn't seem like it's in a negative particular 
light. The point of the parable is the 
pervasive influence of the leaven upon the entire lump. The point 
of the parable is not about the pervasive influence of evil in 
the history of the Kingdom of God. Spurgeon says, is not Levin 
here used simply as another picture of an influence which appears 
feeble, but turns out to be active, conquering, and at length all-pervading? I think Spurgeon's absolutely 
appropriate here. Again, he knows of the two interpretations. He deals with the one, but he 
certainly favors this, because he says that this is the point 
of the leaven. Is not leaven used here simply 
as another picture of an influence which appears feeble, but turns 
out to be active, conquering, and at length all pervading? So I maintain, with reference 
to a traditional view of the parable of the leaven, it is 
to be understood similarly to the parable of the mustard seed. 
It starts off small, starts off insignificant, at times looks 
imperceptible, but it grows, it influences. In fact, if we 
see a shaded difference between these two parables, the mustard 
seed seems to indicate growth. flat-out growth. You put a little 
insignificant seed in the ground and someday there's going to 
be a big tree that's growing and birds are going to nest there. 
With reference to the leaven, growth is present, to be sure, 
but influence. Transformation. Pervasiveness. In other words, as the kingdom 
is preached, as the faithful pray in accordance with Matthew 
chapter 6, Thy kingdom come. As the people of God live in 
light of their reigning and ruling king. It affects us, doesn't 
it? When you become a Christian, 
what happens? There's transformation, isn't 
there? Isn't this what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, 17? Everything 
past is dead. Behold, he's a new creature. 
He's a new creation. It's as if the new heavens and 
the new earth has already broken in, and it is being fleshed out 
in the lives of God's people. So there is the aspect of growth 
in terms of the kingdom of God as a whole, but there's this 
influence, there's this pervasive power, there is this ability 
of the Lord to take something very small and make it something 
very much a conquering force. Thus, the parables of the mustard 
seed and the leaven. Well, what are some lessons to 
learn from these two parables? The first, it explains Jesus' 
ministry. It explains Jesus' ministry. 
Brethren, no one in the first century living in Israel would 
have ever doubted that the kingdom of God was going to be massive. 
No one in the first century would have ever doubted that the kingdom 
of God would be huge, that it would be enormous. Remember the 
idea of kingdom isn't specifically realm, but rather reign. The idea that God the Lord would 
reign in power and with glory and majesty would never surprise 
anybody in the first century. It was the manner by which it 
would come. Isn't this what the Baptists 
struggled with in Matthew chapter 11? Isn't this why John sends 
his two disciples and he asks them or he tells them to ask 
Jesus, are you the coming one or do we wait for another? When 
we looked at that passage, we saw that John isn't doubting 
who Jesus is. John the Baptist knows that Christ 
is Messiah. John the Baptist says of him, 
he must increase, but I must decrease. John the Baptist said 
of him, I'm not worthy to untie his sandals. John knew who he 
was. What John struggled with was 
the messianic agenda. What John struggled with was 
the imposition of the kingdom of God. And so when Jesus comes 
and he says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, when Jesus 
says, surely the kingdom is among you, when Jesus says that he 
himself is a king, everybody looking around says, wait a minute, 
this doesn't fit with our expectation. We would think that a king would 
have bullets wrapped around him. We would think that a king would 
have armed servants with AR-15s raised. We would think that a 
king would have a nice new car. We would think that a king would 
have a palace. So the idea of what the Kingdom 
of God would be wasn't the troubling issue. It was, how do we get 
from this insignificant lowly state to this? Hence the kingdom 
parables, and specifically with reference to growth, we have 
mustard seeds and we have leaven, which everywhere teaches us by 
experience, by something we can sink our minds into, that something 
that starts off small can grow to be very big. Something that 
starts off insignificant can become all comprehensive. That's 
what Christ is doing with His disciples. Calvin says, by these 
parables, Christ encourages His disciples not to be offended 
and turn back on account of the mean beginnings of the gospel. Don't be offended. Don't freak 
out. Don't be alarmed. Don't jump 
ship. Don't say you're going to stop 
following the Savior, but rather look at the mustard seed. Look 
at that woman taking that loaf and kneading it on her kitchen 
table. Look at what the end result is, 
and instead of trying to make it happen, instead of trying 
to change it, be faithful in what the Lord Christ has called 
you. Go preach, go teach, go do the service of the kingdom. 
It's interesting when we leave the gospel accounts and we move 
into the book of Acts. Is the kingdom of God foisted 
upon earth in power and in glory? No. You've got twelve men that 
turn the world upside down. You've got men that are untrained. 
Wasn't that the beef concerning James and John? These are untrained 
men. They haven't been to the rabbinic 
schools. They don't have seminary degrees. These are fishermen. These are 
lowlifes. They've got a zealot in their 
ranks. They've got a tax collector in their ranks. When you looked 
at these twelve men going about the Roman Empire, you didn't 
think Kingdom of God and all of its glory and power being 
imposed on the earth. But what happens? Like the mustard 
seed, like the leavening agent, when the Apostle Paul goes into 
Ephesus, what happens? Idol makers are put out of business. 
Why? Because Paul went in guns blazing 
and shot the idol makers? No, he went in Christ preaching. 
And that caused people to turn from their useless idol, Diana, 
to the true and living God. So much so that the trade guild 
said, if this man keeps on preaching, he's gonna put us out of business. You see, like the mustard seed 
that starts small, like the leavening agent that seems insignificant, 
it weaves its way through, and it grows, and it pervasively 
influences, and it transforms. It affects men, it affects women, 
it affects boys and girls. Men that are doctors who murder 
babies in the name of abortion get converted and they stop. 
Men who lie with other men because they want to fulfill their sexual 
desires get converted, and what happens? They're transformed. 
What about a man who's abusive to his children, or a man who's 
abusive to his wife? He gets converted, and what happens? 
That leavening agent pervasively influences his heart, so now 
he's the nicest, kindest, gentlest man these people have ever met. 
I've shared it before. Lloyd-Jones said it well. When 
a man is converted, even his cat benefits. Even his cat benefits. Because that drunken man who 
came in and seen that kitty sitting in the front door gave him a 
boot. And then he gets converted to Christ and he thinks proverbs. That a righteous man has regard 
for his beast. Even a cat. Even a cat. You see what Jesus is teaching. 
Don't judge the kingdom of God by that manger. Don't judge the 
kingdom of hope. Well, actually do, but do it 
right. Do it biblically. Do it in accord with the Old 
Testament scriptures. This was all announced. This 
was all programmatic. It was always going to be the 
seed of the woman. We were always taught from the Genesis account 
on to look for a man, to look for a man born of a woman, to 
look for a man who came from noble beginnings, to look for 
ignoble beginnings rather, to look for a man who didn't have 
an appearance, a man who didn't cast his sway upon the multitudes 
because of the way he looked. We were taught that. We were 
given tutorials through that in all of the Old Testament. 
In other words, the people should have recognized that what Jesus 
was, was in accordance with Isaiah 7, 14. They should have understood 
it was in accordance with Isaiah 9, 6, and 7. They should have 
understood that it was the fact that Zechariah prophesied and 
wrote about the King coming into Jerusalem. How? On a donkey. Not guns blazing on a stallion. 
That's the point. Jesus is encouraging his disciples. 
Don't turn back. Don't stop following. Don't stop 
persevering any more than you would give up on that mustard 
seed, or any more than you would give up on that leavening agent. 
Carson says, in both parables, it is clear that at present the 
Kingdom of Heaven operates not apocalyptically, Not from this 
otherworldly imposition upon us, but quietly and from small 
beginnings. Who would have thought, from 
that cradle in Bethlehem, the King of Kings and the Lord of 
Lords would emerge? Again, we should have thought 
that, because that's how God operated in the Old Testament. 
Where was David from? He was from a cradle in Bethlehem 
too. What did he go on to be? a King of Kings and a Lord of 
Lords. You see, we should have got all this. Jesus is just re-emphasizing 
something that his disciples should already have known. Davies 
and Allison say, the kingdom of God may not begin with success, 
but success is its divinely ordained destiny. If leaven leavens the 
whole lump, and if a little mustard seed becomes a tree, similarly 
will the kingdom, however obscure now, become in the end the measure 
of all things. I submit the first line of application 
with reference to the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven 
was basically Christ taking his blessed right hand, laying it 
on the shoulder of his apostles and saying, do not fear. Do not 
worry, do not fret, do not be discouraged. And he was telling 
those multitudes that what begins insignificantly, what begins 
imperceptibly, what begins in a tiny fashion, what will culminate 
in the death and crucifixion of the Redeemer himself will 
go on to be an all-encompassing influence upon the world. Secondly, 
Jesus explains for us in the 21st century what kingdom growth 
looks like. First, It is organic. And what do I mean by organic? 
That means when you put a mustard seed in the ground, you expect 
it to grow up into a tree. When you leaven a lump, what 
happens? That leavening agent affects 
that particular lump. It is not going to be the case 
until the end of history that there is an otherworldly imposition 
upon this realm. So what we ought to expect is 
what we see. We ought to expect something 
that began insignificantly to grow organically and mightily, 
to grow powerfully. We can't change it. We are not 
called to come and introduce our chemicals upon this mustard 
seed. We're not called to come and 
make a better chemically composed piece of leaven and fix it. We 
are to trust in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who inaugurated 
the kingdom, to bring the kingdom to fruition. It's His baby. It's His project. It is His job. It is what He is uniquely fitted 
unto. The first Adam was given a particular 
task. He was to subdue the earth. He 
was to present it unto God. The first Adam failed. Who is 
Jesus? He is the last Adam. This is 
His task, this is His calling, this is His mandate to take this 
world and to ultimately present it up unto His Father in the 
consummate glory. Again, 1 Corinthians 15, 20-28. Secondly, not only ought we to 
see the organic connection between seeds and trees and between leavening 
agents and whole lambs, secondly, we ought to be encouraged We 
ought to realize that appearances can be deceiving, can't they? 
What we may perceive to be as the Kingdom of God stagnant, 
what we may perceive to be as the Kingdom of God stopped, what 
we may perceive to be as the Kingdom of God restricted in 
its growth, may be deceiving. Do you think that the disciples, 
looking upon their beaten, bloodied Savior, Thought, kingdom of God 
transformation. Not a thief on the cross, thankfully 
he did. Lord, Lord, remember me when 
you come in your kingdom. As Ryle says, that's the biggest 
faith in the scriptures right there. He saw the bloodied, beaten, 
battered Savior. He calls him Lord, he recognizes 
he has a kingdom, and he throws himself on his mercy. Remember 
me. Where were the disciples? Say, 
for John, they were scattered. They were scattered. What's the 
scripture say? The shepherd will be struck and 
the sheep will be scattered. That's played out at the foot 
of the cross. They're not even there. Do you think if they had 
been there, do you think if John, the beloved disciple, when he 
looks up or he hears the Savior say, son, remember your mother, 
mother, behold your son. Do you think that John's thinking 
kingdom of God and all of its glory? Do you think he's thinking 
about an eleventh loaf that's ready to mow down? Do you think 
he's thinking about a mustard seed that's become an actual 
tree where birds are... No. The same thing happens to 
us. Because of its imperceptibility, 
because of what appears to be its insignificance, we often 
get discouraged. This happened at the rebuilding 
of the temple after the exile. There were two prophets dispatched 
to try and encourage the people of God to keep building. Those 
men were Haggai and Zechariah. Zechariah tells the people, it's 
not going to be by might, it's not going to be by power that 
anything gets accomplished, but what's it going to be by? My 
spirit! Zechariah 4.6. And then there 
is this statement made in Zechariah 4.10. For who has despised the 
day of small things? This is our tendency. This is 
our gravitational pull. Well, maybe not all of us, but 
some of us. We're Eeyores when it comes to 
the Kingdom of God. Oh, there's Islam. Oh, there's 
more Jehovah's Witnesses. Oh, there's a Kingdom Hall. Oh, 
there's atheists. I'm not saying we shouldn't be 
concerned. I'm not saying we shouldn't pray. I'm not saying 
we shouldn't be apologists and evangelists and preachers and 
heralds. But we need to understand that 
the God who puts the mustard seed in the ground and the God 
who puts the leaven in the loaf is the God of trees. is the God 
of loaves, is the God who brings it to fruition. We mustn't despise 
the day of small things. It's too common out there to 
despise the church, because she's not this, she's not this, she's 
not this, she's not this, she's not this. But are we doing something 
right? I hope. You've heard me before. I'll recommend it again. Kevin 
DeYoung's and Ted Gluck's, Why We Love the Church. a defense 
of organized religion. Religion is a four-letter word 
today. We don't want religion! We just want Jesus. Let me tell 
you, Jesus not only died for sinners and rose again, but he 
instituted a religion. There's books upon books upon 
books on why we should be mad at the church. Books upon books 
upon books is why we should give up on the church. I like the 
psalmist when he says that God loves the gates of Zion more 
than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of 
thee, Zion, city of our God. We don't need to be discouraged. Yes, there's areas of personal 
growth. Yes, there's areas corporately 
where we need to grow, where we need to repent, where we need 
to pursue those things. There are things in this church 
that are as imperfect as a crooked stick. I understand that. But to the degree that the truth 
is being preached and the people of God are being transformed, 
can we praise Him for that? Can we glorify Him for that? 
Can we honor Him and adore Him for that? Can we say with Newton, 
I'm not what I want to be, I'm not what I ought to be, but I 
praise God I'm not what I was! That's how the church is too. 
Someone recently said something very intriguing to me. When's 
the last time you saw a Muslim charity? A Muslim hospital. When's the last time you saw 
Muslims getting together to try to alleviate the downturn in 
the poor? It might happen. It may be the case. When's the 
last time you saw somebody, a Christian, trying to do something right? 
Yeah, it's imperfect. Yeah, we struggle. Yeah, we should 
be better. But people expect it from us, 
don't they? They expect to be able to call 
a church and say, I need money. Why is that? Because we, hopefully, 
are seeking to reflect our Savior. We ought not to despise the day 
of small things. T.V. Moore says, commenting on 
Zechariah 4.10, It is not only unwise, listen to this, but it 
is wicked to be disheartened because of the external feebleness 
of the church, compared with the work she has to do and the 
enemy she has to encounter. God is her strength, her glory, 
and her hope, and to despair of her is to deny God. We ought 
to be careful before we despise the day of small things. I think 
arguably it's not necessarily a day of small things. There's 
good books being written. There's good stuff happening. 
There's growth in China. There's Thompson Chung sitting 
with a bunch of good solid books behind him saying, pray for me 
that I'll be faithful and preach the word faithfully to a church 
that's seeking to be faithful in Hong Kong. I don't know about 
you, but that was exhilarating to me. The fact that he didn't 
have a big car and that he wasn't running through the streets doing 
all, it's just, I want to be faithful, handle accurately the 
word of God. Yes, that's it! It's imperceptible, 
it's small, it's like a mustard seed, it's like a leavening agent, 
but this much we can be sure of. It'll grow, it'll transform, 
it will pervasively influence the whole. Thirdly, this view 
of the growth and transformation of the Kingdom ought to promote 
confident hope in the Church, which results in steady faith 
in the living God. Our particular Baptist brother 
Benjamin Keech says, he chiefly designed hereby Christ to encourage 
his disciples in respect to that great and wonderful success the 
gospel and gospel church should meet with in the world in after 
times. Think at times we forget what 
our 17th century particular Baptist brothers were witnessing in their 
own lives and in their own society. They didn't always have the liberty 
that we enjoy. In fact, Keech himself ultimately 
got arrested. He was in one of those, I think 
it's called a pillory, is that the word, or stock? You put your 
arms through and your head's there. And oftentimes when somebody, 
a bad person, was put in something like that, others would spit 
on them or mock them or belittle them. He was so respected, he 
could preach from that position to the people there. And listen to what he says. Our 
Lord wants to encourage his people that there's going to be success 
in after times. We need to step out in faith. 
James Henley Thornwell, a 19th century Southern Presbyterian, 
he just rolled over in his grave. A Southern Presbyterian, not 
a Southern Baptist. He just did an ecclesiastical 
wiggle. He is a Presbyterian. Thornwell 
says, if the church could be aroused to a deeper sense of 
the glory that awaits her, She would enter with a warmer spirit 
into the struggles that are before her. Hope would inspire devotion. She would even now arise from 
the dust and, like the eagle, plume her pinions for loftier 
flights than she has yet taken. What she wants, and I think he 
means what she lacks, what she wants and what every individual 
Christian wants is faith, faith in her sublime vocation, in her 
divine resources, in the presence and efficacy of the Spirit that 
dwells in her, faith in the truth, faith in Jesus and faith in God. He says, with such faith there 
would be no need to speculate about the future. That would 
speedily reveal itself. It is our unfaithfulness, our 
negligence and unbelief, our low and carnal aims that retard 
the chariot of the Redeemer. The Kingdom of Heaven is like 
a mustard seed. The Kingdom of Heaven is like 
leaven. Be hopeful. Be confident. Be faithful. That's what Christ wants us to 
gain. The necessity of faithfulness. 
Christ planted the seed. Christ put the leaven in the 
lump. Christ is the divine agent behind the growth. Christ calls 
you and I to do what you and I are supposed to do. Be faithful. Be faithful. Pursue those things 
which are pleasing to Him. Pursue those things which are 
upright and godly. Seek to be a faithful influence 
on those around you. Remember back in Matthew 5, Jesus 
says, you're the salt, you're the light of the earth. Let your 
light so shine that men may see your good deeds and give glory 
to God. Be a preserving agent within 
the society that you find yourself. It doesn't mean you necessarily 
have to be the president or the prime minister. It means to be 
faithful where God's planted you. Be faithful and seek to 
be honoring to Him whatever particular situation you are in. That's 
what's needful. And then thirdly and finally, 
with reference to these parables, I think there is a pedagogical 
use. Pedagogue means child tutor. Pedagogue means we need to be 
pointed to Christ. Let me just ask the question, 
has this mustard seed taken root in your heart? Is it the case that you have 
come under the influence of the leavening agent of the kingdom 
of God? Are you in him? Are you a Christian? Can you 
confidently hope for the growth and the advancement of the kingdom 
because you yourselves are participants in it? Do you know something 
of this transforming power? Do you know something of growth 
in the grace and in the knowledge of Christ? See, you can't grow 
in the grace and knowledge of Christ if you've never been born 
again. You need to look at these particular 
parables. You need to think in terms of 
growth. You need to think in terms of influence and transformation 
and all those sorts of things. But even more fundamentally, 
you need to think this particular question, am I in Christ? Am I connected to the Savior? 
Am I connected to the King of Kings? Is He my Lord? Is He my 
God? Have I, by grace, looked and 
lived? That's more fundamental right 
now. So you will only root for, and 
you will only be faithful for, and you will only seek to promote 
the growth of that which you have a saving interest in. That's 
why Peter says, with reference to the apologetic enterprise, 
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to 
give a reason for the hope that is in you. You can't effectively 
defend that which you know nothing of. You cannot effectively pray 
for the advancement of that which you know nothing of. Even more 
fundamental to you this morning than mustard seeds and leaven 
is, am I in Christ? How do we get in Christ? Well, 
just come to church and everything will be fine. No. Just read your 
Bible and everything will be fine. No. Those are all good 
things. To be sure, do them. Pray and 
everything will be fine. No, not necessarily. Believe. Isn't that the call of the gospel? 
Isn't that what we're told? You see, gospel, good news, isn't 
how I feel. Sometimes I don't feel good. 
The gospel is not transformation. The gospel is news. It's about Christ who lived, 
Christ who died, Christ who rose again. The response to that gospel 
is faith. Now certainly, when you believe 
by the grace of God, there is transformation. When you believe 
by the grace of God, He does the work of sanctification. When 
you believe by the grace of God, there will be a pervasive influence. 
But right now, if you're not a Christian, the answer that 
I have for you is this. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and you shall be saved. Isn't that beautiful? Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That means 
this morning you woke up and you were lost. That means this 
morning you woke up and you were dead. This morning you woke up 
and you were damned to hell in a Christless eternity. But if 
by the grace of God you look and live, Everything's different. 2 Corinthians 5.17. You're a new creature. All things 
are new. Transformation has occurred. 
Jesus has done His work. He's planted the flag on your 
heart. And now go. Now grow. Now be pervasively 
influenced by the Gospel, by the transforming power of God 
Most High. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be 
saved. That is a promise from God the 
Lord throughout Scripture. Pastor Cam read it in the beginning 
from Isaiah the prophet. The Scripture everywhere testifies 
this fundamental fact. You are a sinner against a holy 
God, and the only way to get right with Him is through His 
Son, the Lord Jesus. Believe in Him, and you will 
be saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
these parables that show insignificance at the very beginning. They show 
lowliness at the very beginning. They show something that men 
would judge other than power and glory and majesty. But certainly, 
as we see the mustard seed planted and the leavening agent introduced, 
we see there is growth. We see there is transformation. 
We see there is pervasive influence. And God, we pray for the continual 
growth of your kingdom, as Jesus taught us in that Lord's Prayer, 
to pray that thy kingdom would come. May the preaching of the 
Gospel go forth today. May the Word of God find its 
mark in hearts. May sinners come forth in the 
exercise of your sovereign will. and may a multitude turn today 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that outside, we pray 
that inside. For any here that have not come 
to Christ, we pray that today would be the day of salvation, 
and that that transformation would begin, and that that influence 
would take root in their hearts. That God, You would do great 
things for Your glory's sake. And we look forward to that day 
when Jesus will come in the glory of His Father, with all of His 
holy angels taking vengeance on those who know not God, and 
on those who do not obey the gospel. We look forward to that 
day, not because we are good or we are law keepers, but because 
by your grace you've made us ready. You've given us the righteousness 
of another, and in this we truly rejoice. We just ask now that 
you'd watch over your saints here again for those in our midst 
that are struggling with physical trials and challenges. God, may 
you encourage their hearts, and may this Sabbath day be a day 
of rest in their souls, May they be encouraged and may they be 
built up and helped. And go with each of your people 
now, grant safety and traveling mercies, and do bring us together 
tonight that we may worship you in spirit and truth. And we pray 
these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.