All right. Good morning, everybody. It is a blessing to be up here, even though I can tell you this morning, I didn't know if I was going to make it. I sent a message to the elders asking them for prayer. It's really humbling when you have to have your wife and your son help you get your shoes and your socks on. So I'm like, man, this is. This getting old thing is too much, but it's a blessing, a blessing to be here, right? So I will just say this, that I'm very grateful for this church. Our journey coming here has been a very bumpy one. I'm grateful for all the work God has done in our lives, and to be able to come here and bring you this message this morning is a really humbling experience, especially when you know that it's the Lord who does the work in our lives, not us. So why don't we open with a word of prayer, and let's get started. Father God, thank you for all that you do for us, Lord. We are so unworthy and undeserving, Lord. But we know, Father, that you are worthy. You alone, you alone are deserving of all glory, all honor, all praise. And Father, I just pray that you would fill me completely, guide my words, direct them, Lord, And Father, I pray that this message would penetrate and challenge your people, Father. Thank you for being a member of this covenant community of yours. I pray, Father, that you would just cause every bit of power that you have to rest upon your people today. Help us to live victoriously, Lord, and help us to be sanctified by your hand. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. So I want to talk to you today about the Kingdom of God. This topic I picked was because, like I said, in my journey, it just jumped out at me. I was raised Roman Catholic, so the Kingdom of God was not something that I was aware of. It was something that was hidden from my eyes, and even as a Christian, In the last church that I was at, the kingdom was something that was just all put out into the future. It wasn't something that was taught as how we are to live here and now as kingdom citizens. So as we talk about this, it's very fitting on this Lord's Day in which we're partaking of the Lord's table, what a better day to preach on the kingdom of God. I'm very thankful for the Lord for his sanctifying work in my life and revealing these things to me. It was an interesting journey that happened. So about nine years ago, my brother Greg and I had went up to Tahoe together and we were studying this book on covenant theology. In that process, he started asking me all these questions and he's like, yeah, you know, we're going to be able to understand this book. We're going to be able to refute these things. And we still don't even remember the title of the book, right? But I just remember that day we burned up barbecue because we weren't paying attention to it. We were so focused on that book. I just remember leaving away feeling just defeated because I wanted to refute what the book was saying. And the book was on covenant theology. And at the time, I was just like, I don't have any answers for this. And Greg was like, well, what? Like, what do you mean? Like, come on, let's just dig in a little further. I was like, I don't have any answers. So it bothered me, and it really caused me to want to dig deeper into the covenant. And the covenant and the kingdom are connected. And so I didn't really get much into that in my notes, but I'll tell you that this doctrine is a very precious doctrine, and I really pray that you get that today. As a matter of fact, most Christians today don't even understand the kingdom of God. If I asked you guys today, can you tell me what the kingdom is, would you be able to come up here and give me an explanation, just a two-paragraph breakdown of what the kingdom is? And if you can't, then pay close attention today and don't feel bad because nine years ago, I couldn't have told you that. From Genesis to Revelation, the kingdom is seen from the physical kingdom of Israel that typologically points to the kingdom that we see that takes over and dominates the entire New Testament. So when I talk about types, I'm talking about symbols. So Israel, you know, went to battle. They had swords and shields and they took God's commands and they went out conquering, okay? Now that's not us and I think that we're going to see the fulfillment in the church later as I get into that. But Genesis 49 speaks about the timing of the kingdom that was to come in the last days from the line of Judah with the symbolism of Judah being a lion's whelp. Joseph Benson, calls the lion the king of the beasts. No one in their right mind would wake a lion from its sleep because of its destructive power and authority in the kingdom, in the animal kingdom. It has authority, right? No one is going to go mess with the lion, maybe a hippo, right? But that lion holds down, it holds it down, you know, because of its power. The sovereign power and authority is found in a scepter that would not depart from Judah until a Messiah would come. So that scepter, that rod of authority, is kingship. And Shiloh is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And unto Jesus was to be the obedience of the people. The New Testament opens with John the Baptist calling the people to repentance as a herald or forerunner of the Messiah. So when we see John the Baptist, he warns them and he says, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. So he's proclaiming the kingdom that was coming. And with this imagery, he said, the ax is laid at the root of the tree. That meant that one more chop and that tree was going to come tumbling down. He was communicating to the people that their hearts needed to be right, because the king was about to come onto the scene of redemptive history. And when he did, he set up the kingdom, fulfilling the long-awaited prophecy of Zechariah 9-9, that the king was about to come in with salvation on the donkey. So what exactly is the kingdom of God? The word gospel in Greek is euangelion. You may say, oh, that sounds familiar. Well, we say evangelism comes from the word euangelion, okay? It means good news, all right? When we turn on our TV, there's no good news today, right? There's none. You know, you look at all the different things that are being taught today, the brainwashing of our children, the attack on our faith, the attack on churches, on marriages, there's nothing good on the news today, okay? But when we preach the gospel, we have very good news for people. Okay, and that is God is still saving sinners. The kingdom comes from the Greek word Bacillus brother. Jeff had just talked about this when he did the Lord's Prayer and Bacillus means kingdom or royalty. Okay, but it literally means kingdom. So when these two words meet. It means that God sent his son to save sinners from the penalty of sin and the power of sin in order that he may bring them into his kingdom, okay? So what I'm talking about is the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ. Now, what does that mean? Penal short for penalty, okay? Brother Stu could tell us that. And we say, brother, what's the penal code? In other words, what am I in trouble with you for when I break the law, right? So there's a ton of penal code. So penal substitutionary atonement means that Christ was the substitute for our penalty, which was eternal death, for our sin. And it's amazing to me how many people mock and reject that doctrine. And yet it's so foundational to our faith. This gospel of the kingdom, we're ambassadors of. Okay, we are ambassadors of this gospel, and the Bible uses the term the gospel of the kingdom all throughout the New Testament, right? Even when you get into the Olivet Discourse, it talks about this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness, and then the end will come, right? So it's the kingdom, the gospel of the good news, the euangelion of the besellia, it's what our mandate is from the Lord. So the kingdom of God, is the sphere where God rules as sovereign king. taking his throne, the throne of David, which Christ sits on, in fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. So a lot of times I hear theologians use this term, the Davidic dynasty, because God gave this promise that one day his king would sit on the throne. And Jesus used that when he was talking to the Pharisees, and they couldn't really understand what he was saying. But if you look at Acts 2, I'm not going to read it right now, but you could take this down. Acts 2, 29 through 31 speaks to this fact. about Jesus sitting on that throne. We're not waiting for Jesus to go take the throne. He's on the throne right now. This throne that Jesus is sitting on, he's reigning as king of his kingdom and he's making intercession for us. The fact that God has always reigned as king over his creation is, but there is a uniqueness to what the kingdom of God is in this reign that God has as king on the throne. The prime minister of Netherlands and Dutch reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper said it like this, there's not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry mine. Abraham Kuyper's quote demonstrates the sovereign reign of God. You think of Revelation 19, it says, hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigns. So it's talking about God reigning as king over creation, which is to say that he is a sovereign king who is providentially dealing every single event that comes to pass in his creation. Okay, you think about that. A lot of people have a problem with that doctrine. God is dealing every single event. Well, what does the London Baptist Confession say? God sovereignly yet unchangeably decrees whatsoever comes to pass. Okay, you talk to people about that, they're like, no, no, that's not God, that's the devil. Well, Martin Luther said he's God's devil. Okay, so we need to really think about that. There is a distinction between how God rules over those who bow the knee to Christ and over those who rebel against him until the day he breaks the knees of those rebels, okay? Remember what we hear in Philippians, that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. I love how R.C. Sproul put it when he said, one day in the final consummation of the kingdom, God is gonna break the knees of those rebels. You're going to either willingly bow to Christ, because he's made you willing, or you are going to bow against your will, and that's when he will break those knees. You young people, think about that today. If you have not bowed the knee to Christ, you will bow one day, whether you like it or not. Dr. R.C. Sproul puts it this way about the kingdom. He says, the kingdom of God is the realm of the redeemed. And as the redeemed, we are willing volunteers ruled by our Redeemer. That means that God's kingdom is made up of regenerate citizens, regenerate, that means born again, made alive in the spirit, that populate the kingdom, who are converted to Christ by grace through faith, by the preaching of the gospel. Kingdom citizens are those whom the Lord has given eyes to see. and ears to hear and hearts that understand. A lot of times scripture uses hearing and understanding synonymously, okay, like they're the same thing. The kingdom starts out small as Jesus said it would, like a mustard seed, and it grows larger and larger over time. And shortly we will see how the prophet Daniel spoke of the growth of God's kingdom that fills the earth. Okay, look into your notes. I think you might have a handout today. And some of those images, Brother Sam, wherever he's at, he helped me put those together for you to look and see what's on the paper so that you can get an idea of what's being taught here today. Jesus told us to seek the kingdom first. Okay, that was in our call to worship today. This needs to permeate our hearts and minds. Okay, as kingdom citizens. If our priorities are straight as believers, then the most important thing we need to do is to seek the kingdom of God. Because in seeking the kingdom first, we are imitating Christ and being about our Father's business. The Sermon on the Mount is the Lord laying out Christian ethics in kingdom living, in obedience, letting our good work shine before men. John Calvin stated, it is the task of the invisible church to make the church visible. Okay, there's a lot of debate we get into over this, and we say, well, the church is visible. No, the church is invisible. Okay, when people see us, they see us physically, but they really mock, you know, they really don't know what we're doing here. They don't know what we're about, that we're giving praise to our God. Those things are hidden from the eyes of unregenerate men. In the kingdom of God, the law goes forth conquering in the decreed plan of God to bring forth sinners into his fold. Psalm 19.7 says, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The law reveals to us that we have offended a holy God and we're in danger of judgment. That's why when we use the law, like with Jeremiah when he said, is not your word like a hammer? When you use the law when you're preaching the gospel to people, it just slams every argument they have because when you start talking about their moral incapability before God, they have no answers. It stops their mouth. Right? God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. When people start arguing us, we're at the clinic, even at the pantry, some people argue with us. And we're like, well, we're not, I'm not even going to get into grace yet because you're too proud. You need the law. You need to see that you're a sinner. So the law reveals to us that men are in danger of judgment. It's like looking in a mirror. We look in there and we see how we appear. So does God's law reveal how we appear before God. Filthy, rotten. and unrighteous in need of redemption. Let us look now at the three uses of the law in scripture, and these three uses are not new. John Calvin in 1559 in his Institutes wrote much about how the law was to function in its uses. The first use of the law, like I just got through talking about, is to reveal our sin and our desperate need for a savior. Galatians 3.24 says, therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. A tutor helps you learn in areas that you may not understand where your deficiency is. In the same way, the law teaches us that we are sinners and which our eyes are blind to at birth, blind, okay? You should read Psalm 58.3. There's so many people in this world who deny original sin. I remember even being at our old church, they would even sometimes say, that's a Roman Catholic doctrine. I said, well, Roman Catholic or not, in your mind, it's still true. We are original sinners. in sin. We're originally in sin and we are actually in sin, okay? Some people teach that you choose to be a sinner. No, that's not true. You're born in Adam. And why do you sin? Because you're a sinner. So am I. In the same way the law teaches us that we're sinners and that we're blind at birth, look at what the apostle said here in Romans 7, 7. What should we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, you shall not covet. We see here the Lord uses his law to show us what sin is. Sin is lawlessness. We're gonna see that again and again as we go through this. Paul quotes the 10th commandment, the Decalogue, stating, that he would not know what it is to covet unless the law commanded him not to covet. Now, the Decalogue means the Ten Commandments. So, Paul looked at this Ten Commandments and said, yeah, I wouldn't have even known what it means to covet if you didn't give me the law, Lord. And as Americans, I think we know what it's like to covet, right? I mean, we have way more than we need, but we always want more, right? Okay, covenanting is something that is very common to us in this country. So as I said a moment ago, the first use of the law is for God to reveal to us what sin is. Jesus told the disciples when he went away that the Spirit would come and would convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come. We need the Spirit's conviction to show us our lawlessness and to define to us what sin is. God builds his kingdom with the first use of the law. That's how he builds his kingdom. The second use of the law in its application of its civil use would be that the governments that God ordains would use it to restrain evil and prohibit lawlessness. Oh, if we had more of that today, right? It's like we live here in Antioch. I tell you, I can't even get the police to come for four hours when I have a problem. I've even heard them say on the radio, oh, there's a domestic violence situation over here. They'll say, tell them to make a report. Stu's back there smiling. He knows the Antioch is outmanned and outgunned because they wanted to what? Defund the police. That was a brilliant idea. Now we can't even get any police. Okay? And I hope you don't have to call them because that's really how it is right now. We see this in Romans 13, that God ordains all governments, and when they are functioning properly, they are to punish evil. The Lord uses his kingdom to shine light on rebel magistrates. Now magistrates are governments. We see this in Psalm chapter 2 with regard to the messianic kingship of Jesus speaking through his people, instructing the kings of the earth. Okay, when we shine light on them, we say, hey, that is unlawful. Why? Because thus says the Lord God. That's why we have authority to speak into people and tell them, hey, the law, okay, the law, God's law is good, and you are violating that, okay? Gavin Newsom, he needs to be rebuked. He needs to be rebuked, yeah, amen, he does. He's a wicked man, okay. He even used a Bible verse recently to justify abortion. He's a wicked man, we need to pray for that man. But that man needs to be rebuked. We need to tell him, thus says the Lord God, no more, you are in sin. The third use of the law. would bring us to the universal obligation of the law and how man, whether believer or unbeliever, are bound by the law of God. Believers will not be judged by the law because our sins are atoned for by Christ. Hallelujah, right? However, the law still remains obligatory for the Christian to express our love for God. You are obligated to keep the law of God, yes. I used to tell people that at our old church, they'd say, no, no, I'm freed from the law, happy condition. I said, well, then I guess there's no such thing as sin then. That's ridiculous, okay? And people actually teach that. It's called antinomianism, lawlessness. It's a form of unbelief. Unbelievers will be judged by the law of God because they have broken it and remain under the curse of Adam and they're still in their sins. They still are under the righteous requirements of the law. But as Christians, the handwriting against us that was on the wall has been wiped out because of the work of Christ. Richard Barcellos, in his commentary on the Second London Baptist Confession, stated, the universal obligation of the law, and this is in section 19.5 if you're taking any notes, the moral law doth forever bind all, as well as persons, as well as justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof. It binds us. You know what that means? You and I are going to answer to God for how we lived our life. Yes, Christ is our advocate. Yes, he is our redeemer. But yet, when we live our lives, we can't just think that you can do whatever you want, right? When we express our love for God and we lift up Christ and we glorify him and he is first in our life, those are the things that will stand and follow us into eternity. All the other things, they're going to be burned up. So yes, the law of God is obligatory. You are obligated. I am obligated to keep it in the sense that we are going to answer to God. Christ is answered for us when it comes to justification. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about how do we express our love for God. This does not confuse the law and gospel distinction regarding justification. The law cannot save. Jesus saves. Don't ever let anyone tell you that the law is done away with and that the law, if it's done away with, like I said a moment ago, then there's no such thing as sin. There's no such thing as sin. You know, sometimes you have to really shock people into reality who teach this kind of stuff because it's really damaging that Christians actually believe these things. I mean, some of the people, I even wonder, are you a Christian if you really, you know, consistently believe that you know, Jesus died for your sins so you can live however you want. Okay? I think the Apostle, when he said, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound, genoito is the Greek, may it never be. How shall he who died to sin live any longer there in it? Okay? There's something God does in our lives when we get redemption that we just can't get comfortable in the sin like that without it bothering us. And when we do, We're deceived and we need to repent. Okay. You know, I remember when I first got converted, I was telling my wife, I was like, man, this is, this is strange. It's like, like you don't. It's different. She was like, yeah, it's like somebody's always tapping you on your shoulder. That's the Holy Spirit, right? He's always in your thoughts, you know? And may God help us to not lose a tender conscience, like Nick was talking about the men's fellowship yesterday. We really need that. We really need that, and the Spirit of God governs our conscience sovereignly, okay? Especially when it comes to sin, it gives us a heightened awareness of it. Now, Pastor Paul and I were talking, it's not like it's monolithic, right? Everyone's going to have a different conscience over certain things, but when it comes to sin, the Spirit is never going to okay sin. Never, okay? So you can have a clear conscience that when it comes to the law of God, okay, you know for a fact that if the Spirit of God dwells in you, then you should definitely know right and wrong, right? Jesus said, whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men, so shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. When we shine our light on men, the church is fulfilling our purpose in this world of pointing unregenerate men to Christ. This involves the law. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 1a, but we know that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully. The lawful use of the laws, kingdom citizens, which we are, to be winning souls, shining light on evil, instruction in righteousness towards those who restrain that evil, that would be the magistrates or the government, and expressing our love for the Lord. This is the mandate that the Lord Jesus Christ has given us in making disciples and in being a light to the nations. Nations means different people groups or people from all over the world, much like the people in this church. I mean, look around you. We don't all look the same, right? We're different. There are distinctions among us. I mean, we're all Americans, but we come from different places. So from Malachi to Moses, the prophetic proclamation of the Old Testament prophets spoke loud and clear of the kingdom of God. I want us to go to Isaiah 2. Isaiah 2. And if what I'm reading sounds a little bit different, I am reading out of a New King James. It makes it a little easier for me not to fumble over my words because that's what I've learned out of. So beginning in verse 1, The word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Now, I'm going to tell you, this is not some futuristic prophecy that we're waiting to take place. And I'm going to just demonstrate why, okay? This is already taking place and has been since the first advent of Christ. This prophetic word that came upon Isaiah was to come to pass in the latter days, okay? That would be in the eschaton, okay? It's what we call eschatology, end times or last things. Latter days or last days is a reference between the first and second coming of Christ, which we will see here shortly. When Jesus spoke, it said that in these last days, God has spoken to us by his son. So the mountain of the Lord's house refers to the future place of worship that Isaiah was prophesying of, known as the church. And you'll see why in your handout. If you look at one of those pages, you see all those mountains that you see, and you see those little churches that are on top of them. Okay, let me get into why that is the way that it is. Notice the wording, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains. Many people shall say, come, let us go up to the house, to the mountain of the Lord, the God of Jacob to teach us his ways. But then it says out of, out of Zion, shall the law go forth. You see, the law is a reflection of who God is. So when it came forth out of Zion, we're simply talking about the geographical area in the Middle East known as Jerusalem. That's where the law came forth from. So to be taught the ways of God is to be instructed in his law. As we have just learned, the three uses of the law and how we teach and where to glorify him. But the last part of this section is what really jumps out to me. When the law went forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, we see the imagery of God causing peace to come in places of worship. Look at verse four. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Now there's no distinction between all the nations that flow to the house of the Lord in verse two and the nations in verse four that are rebuked and do not lift up their swords to go to war. They are the same nations in verse two who are worshiping as the same nations who are at peace with one another in verse four. So notice how verse three opens with, many people shall come and say. This is defining what nations are. It comes from the Hebrew word goyim. It could mean, it could be translated as nations, it could be translated as Gentiles, or it could be translated as heathen. So many people. from different geographical regions is how nations is being used here contextually. Okay, just like this room, right? Okay, where many people from different geographical regions. So this is saying that God is sovereignly bringing peace in the midst of the nations for the purpose of worship and unity. It's highly unlikely that we would all be sitting in this room 2,800 years ago. And if we were, it wouldn't be a pretty sight. If I was sitting across from some of you, if you think of some of our ancestors, we'd be trying to kill each other. I'm serious. So when God brought this peace, that he brought for the purpose of worship. This points to the kingdom of God, okay? You think of Acts chapter 2, when Pentecost, when all the nations, when the gospel went out, it talks about these Jews, but they were from all different regions, Arabs, Cretes, right? Talks about them coming together, right? And then we start seeing the church expand. We see Paul writing letters to the Romans and so on and so forth and Colossae and Ephesus and all these different regions in modern-day Turkey. That's the Middle East. So from Europe all the way down, all the way back up, we see these nations being brought together and made peace by the sovereign plan of God. So Isaiah's prophetic snapshot gives us a picture at least 800 years into the future when God would gather his elect from different parts of the world to worship him. Whether you know church history or not, you know Christmas music, right? Most people sing Christmas songs because they are nice and warm during the holidays, not even knowing the meaning of them, okay? Most of the Christian songs that we sing are rich with scripture and based off of the prophetic word of God. My favorite one is Hark the Herald Angels Sing. A song that speaks of the king and the nations. So listen to the lyrics. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconcile. Joy for all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies. With the angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king. So I want us to focus in on this little section right here. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconcile. Joyful, all ye nations rise. All ye nations, all you people groups, all you goyim in Greek, all you ethnotes, all you different people from different parts of the world, join the triumph of the skies. This speaks of the Lord gathering his elect from different regions on the earth, bringing us into his kingdom, reconciling us to him through Christ. These lyrics that we're singing about the kingdom, And it's amazing to me how many years I sang these songs not even knowing the meaning of any of that. You just sing it like, oh, that sounds cool, Nat King Cole. Sing it, right? But there's a meaning behind it, a theological meaning, okay? And that may be some of you out there today. You may, and don't feel ashamed. I mean, sanctification is a hard process at times, okay? Sometimes it takes us sitting down and digging in to learn and grow. But God has given us his holy written word in which most of these Christian songwriters have penned through thousands of wonderful songs that are based on scripture. Go Tell It to the Mountain was a Negro spiritual that was based on Isaiah 52. Sings about God bringing the gospel to the mountains to build his church. Sound familiar? We just talked about the mountain of the Lord's house, okay? So growing up, You could not hear, I mean you had to hear, go tell it to the mountain in my house. Whenever we went over my aunt's house, whenever we went over some of my other cousin's house, if it was a Baptist church or Pentecostal church, they'd be singing, go tell it to the mountain. You'd hear it, right? But there's a meaning behind it. There's a meaning behind it. So again, if you look at that handout, you'll see the connection of the prophetic imagery. And you'll realize that we sing these songs in our lives that are based off of the verses that we're going through here this morning. In these passages we looked at a few moments ago, Isaiah saw the same thing in this passage that Micah saw in Micah 4, 1 through 4. It's verbatim. It's verbatim. I mean, it is word for word the same thing. as the passages that we looked at in Isaiah 2, 1 through 4. In Zechariah 4, 7, you don't need to go there, but it says, the Lord's house, it doesn't say the Lord's house, but it calls it a great mountain when he's asking the angel for the meaning of the revelation. Who are you, O great mountain? And then it has these capstones to it. Grace, grace, right? That's a very powerful passage and a picture of God's prophecy of his kingdom or his church. And Zachariah, sorry I went through that, in Daniel 2, 34 through 35, it says, and you can go there with me if you want to. Daniel 2, 34 and 35. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and became like shaft from the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. So you think about that parable, the mustard seed. It starts out small, and then it grows and spreads. That's the kingdom. Okay? This stone was cut out without hands. It's a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ in its imagery, right? And we hear it all throughout the New Testament. God is speaking in ways that they would have understood, right? The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, right? It's funny how a lot of our brothers and sisters take this hyper-literally, but do not even understand the symbolism that's being communicated. But yet, when we hear someone read the stone which the builders rejected in the New Testament, we're like, oh, that's Jesus. That's Jesus. Well, is Jesus a stone? No, he's not a stone, right? Literally, okay? He is the antitype. He is the fulfillment of that stone, that symbol. And in Daniel, that's exactly what it's talking about. He is the head of the church and his body, the king of his kingdom. And throughout the ages, he has led his armies to conquer and battle victoriously. In the old covenant, it was God commanding his people to go to physical war. In the new covenant, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God. Setting free the captives through the preaching of the gospel. So it can be said that the stone that struck the image that became a great mountain and the kingdom that's growing as a mustard seed are synonymous, they're the same thing that's being talked about. Starting out small, overtaking kingdoms, doesn't mean, it's not talking about some number or majority, it's just talking about God plucking out people, victoriously conquering. Remember how he uses his law to conquer sinners, we're gonna see that here in a second, okay? And when he uses his law to penetrate these kingdoms, he's bringing out captives, ransoming them, captives to Satan, captives to the kingdom of darkness. And we know this because the law goes forth outside of the borders of Israel to trample these kingdoms. And since the law is truth, Psalm 119, 142, the law is truth. And the law is light, Proverbs 6, 23. The law is light. I used to hear one of my favorite theologians say, the law is a means of grace. And I remember this brother that I was with, he was like, oh, you're saying you can earn your way into heaven? No. It's the grace of God that you even hear that you're a sinner. It's the grace of God. Not everybody gets to hear they're a sinner. Think about that. You think about people in this world. There are people from the cradle to the grave, die and go to hell. And they always get into this Oprah Winfrey theology. Oh, well, what about the people who never heard the name of Jesus? They're still going to hell, because they broke the law of God. They broke the law of God, and they have no atonement for their sins. It's great that they hear about Jesus. They need to believe in him, OK? Creation is a witness against them. Themselves, being a creature, you came from somewhere, So like I said, God uses his law to cut the elect to the heart, to the heart, showing us our sin and demonstrating our desperate need for the Lord. And this has been happening since the Lord Jesus had given us the great commission to his apostles. And this is how the expansion of the kingdom takes place. From a couple of Sunday nights ago, I preached on the Lord's first petition, which is, hallowed be your name, let your name be declared as holy. And we talked about, I keep trying to hammer this home, what a symbol a type and an anti-type. Okay, a symbol is a type. An anti-type is a fulfillment of that symbol. So the prophetic great mountain is the symbol. The inaugurated kingdom of God is the fulfillment of that symbol, of that type. It's the anti-type. It's the fulfillment of it. And the kingdom of God is what's in focus, the church of God. They are the same thing. Many words in the Old Testament are speaking of the same thing. If we look at Matthew 4, 12 through 17, we get a familiar New Testament priority hermeneutic. And I know that's going to drive some of you crazy in the back, but it's not saying that the Old Testament is irrelevant. It's simply talking about how are we to understand the prophecies of the Old Testament. If we don't use a New Testament priority hermeneutic, then we cannot be consistent in our belief of progressive revelation. Okay, I'll give you a quick example. Has Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness? Even so, the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. So we look at John 3, 14 and 15, talking about numbers. where the brazen serpent was lifted up when the people of God were in rebellion, it was a type, a symbol, pointing to the anti-type or fulfillment, which is Christ, okay? So that's all we mean when we say New Testament priority. We're saying that the New Testament helps us understand the old, okay? Not that it cancels out the old. I think I've tried to explain that already. But we are in a new covenant, right? So this allusion in Matthew 4, 12 through 17 is an allusion to Isaiah 9. So it says, now when Jesus had heard that John had been put in prison, he departed to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And upon those who sat in the region of the shadow of death, light has dawned. From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. After the Lord's departure, he went out of Galilee and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea. So if you read Isaiah, you'll see it's talking about the same thing. So the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali were dominated by the Assyrians and had been plundered. We see this in 2 Kings, which is the way And do you understand why they were left in darkness? The Assyrians were a wicked people, a very brutally wicked people. We know our Bibles, the Lord said Assyria, the rod of mine anger. God used Assyria to judge even his own people. So in this Gentile-dominated region, the Lord sovereignly sent forth his light. Verse 16 of this text in Matthew, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And upon those who sat in the region of the shadow of death, light has dawned. Jesus himself is the light that dawned upon those who sat in darkness. John 8, 12, Jesus said, I am the light of the world. So he is the light that shone on them who are under death's shadow, death's shadow. He said, like I said, he is the light of the world. And when Christ went into these regions, it was to shine, to seek and save the lost, which is what he was sent here to do. Verse 17, from that time Jesus began to preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This was the Lord speaking to his elect, telling them that the kingdom was here, which was the purpose of his earthly ministry. I'm just trying to keep going here and connect these. these verses together, they're Jesus' own words. In Luke 4, 42 through 44, it says, when they heard it was day, he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds sought him and came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. The Lord said, I must preach the kingdom for this purpose. He was sent to lay the foundation that no one else may lay on. That foundation, that stone is Jesus Christ. On this foundation, the apostles and the prophets have been built on. It's here and it's been here. Luke 17. 20 and 21, being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. Nor will they say, look, here it is or there. Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. Jesus told the Pharisees that the kingdom is not coming in ways that you can observe. And unfortunately, that's most Christians' view of the end times. Observational interpretations. Hey, let me look over here. Turn on the news. Let's see when the kingdom's coming. God sovereignly grows his kingdom in ways that we can't even see at times. Think about that. How many people have you guys told about the Lord, and you never even know what happens to them? some years down the road that God saves that person. Sometimes we live to see that, sometimes we don't. But the Lord, he continued telling the Pharisees that it could not be said to the kingdom to look in any particular direction to see its arrival. Instead, Jesus said to them, look, because the kingdom of God was in their midst. Why? Because the king was there. The king was there. They were looking around for what they thought the kingdom was supposed to be in their minds, and it resulted in their judgment. Later on in chapter 19, Jesus proclaimed their judgment was near, because they did not know the day of their visitation. These same Jews didn't even know they were in bondage. John 8, 33. Didn't even know they were blind in John 9, 40 and 41. They were like, what about us? Are we blind too? Jesus said, If you were blind, you would have no sin. If you knew you were blind, in other words, like, you would have no sin. Obviously, God would have mercy on you. But because you say we see, therefore, your sin remains. Your sin remains. And they died and went to hell as a result of it. They were slaves to sin. Because in their deceived mind, they thought that they could actually have merit with God through the law. because they didn't see the law properly. They saw themselves as good enough to keep it. When you look at the law, that way you're deceived. You are deceived and enslaved. Why? Because the law enslaves men because no one can keep it. No one can keep it. Try to keep the law perfectly. I love that meme where you see that dude, it's supposed to be talking about the Galatians and he's got this big old boulder and he's trying to lift it up and the boulder's the law. Can't keep it. Only one who kept it is Jesus Christ. That's why he said, therefore, if the son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. Sadly, most Christians are looking for the kingdom to be something coming in some thousand year future or for some law to be legislated for the kingdom to advance. Those are both wrong. Having biblical laws and society glorifies the Lord. And it's just, it just isn't the kingdom. Remember what John Calvin taught, that the kingdom is invisible. The kingdom is only visible to the elect. Jesus told Nicodemus, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. In order for the kingdom to be entered, we need God to open our blind eyes. You cannot enter into something you cannot see. We see the Lord explain this in the Gospel of Mark, telling the disciples it has been given to them to know this mystery of the kingdom. Mark 4, 11 and 12 says, he said to them, to you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside all things come in parables, so that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they should turn and their sins be forgiven of them. Those who haven't been given an understanding are those who don't have eyes to see and ears to hear. This is why the gospel only reaches those who are chosen by God. It is the glory of his grace that he made us accepted in the beloved. He didn't have to save us. He made us a part of his kingdom. He didn't have to do that. But thanks be to God that the father gave and granted the son of people. That's what makes his grace so amazing because none of us deserve it. Nevertheless, we're elect, precious in his sight, because of Christ. First Peter 2, seven through eight says, therefore, to you who believe, he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone, there's that stone again, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. Men are appointed to disobedience. Think about that. You obey God, you better praise God, because it's His doing. In contrast to God's called are those who oppose Christ, those who are the ones who reject Him, because God has rejected them. Those who stumble and disobey the gospel command of repent and believe are those who are appointed to disobedience. And you better pray, you people who don't know the Lord, God, have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. Because guess what? I grew up in a very rough environment. And you know what? Most of those dudes I grew up with, they're dead and in hell. And unless you know Christ, that's where you're headed to. These are the children of the devil. Those who from the cradle to the grave are the enemies of God. So this passage in Mark 4 and 1 Peter 2, we see that those who are outside the kingdom are not in the realm of the redeemed. They are known as the reprobate, those who God has decreed to be outside of the kingdom. God chose to not save them, but rather left them to suffer the just punishment of their sins. They are the enemies of God. God has many enemies in this world and in the spirit realm. and God is dealing with them. Psalm 110.1 says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. This is the most quoted Psalm in the entire New Testament with regard to the kingdom expansion. It's speaking of God dealing with his enemies and turning some of those at his footstool into worshipers, Hebrews 2. and others he shall destroy for all eternity. This should create in us the deepest praise and adoration for the Lord, that he was pleased in Christ to make our citizenship in heaven. The active obedience of Christ, that means he lived a perfect life, or else he wouldn't be the king of kings, but he is, he is our king, and his kingdom work he has made evident, and that his kingdom has come. In Matthew 12, 28 and 29, winding down, Says, but if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his goods. All the many times Jesus casted out demons, you can look throughout the New Testament, it's so many times, he was demonstrating a sign to his people that the long-awaited kingdom foretold by the prophets had come upon them. If you see him casting out demons by the Spirit of God, surely it has come upon you, the kingdom has come. And he did this by coming into this wicked world and binding Satan so that the gospel could go forth. To those who were chosen for his kingdom, Revelation 20, Satan is bound. Doesn't mean that he can't do evil. He walks about like a roaring lion. He's bound from what? From deceiving the nations. That's the people groups outside of the borders of Israel. That's us, his elect. He has translated us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son, Colossians 1.13. He did this by entering the strongman's house, which the New Testament records as Satan. plundering his goods, that was us, setting free the captives, translating us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son. God took us from the kingdom of darkness into his glorious kingdom. This is why we can sing I'm a Child of the King. All throughout this age, the kingdom age, he has rescued his people. He has done this for his bride, and he's doing it now. Christ reigns supreme, and God has redeemed us. and reveal to us the supremacy of Christ. And we need to proclaim it out loud. Hebrews 12, 28, therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. This unshakable kingdom that we have received provides us with the grace that we need that God supplies to serve him with honor, respect, and boldness. by bowing our knees in adoration, submission to the sovereign hand of God. I like the way a theologian, Don Bell, put it, kiss the ring of providence. In our submission, the Lord has given us a mission, a mission that will cost us our lives. It doesn't mean necessarily we're going to die, but it means this, when we lose our life, we find it for Christ's sake. This mission involves us knowing our identity in Christ. In Romans 8.37, it says, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. The Greek word nekeo, to conquer, means to prevail. And it's also translated as an overcomer. OK, you think of that Nike symbol, just do it. Where do you think they got that from? Nike, nekeo. Conquerors. Okay, I remember when we were preaching the gospel one time, Pastor Paul was like, yeah, well, unbelievers borrow from our worldview. Here's a perfect example of unbelievers borrowing from our worldview. Now, I don't know if Nike and them, maybe they were believers. Okay, but Nike comes from Nikeo. Revelation 2.26 says, and he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, him I will give him power over the nations. He shall rule them with the rod of iron. They shall be dashed to pieces like a potter's vessel. As I have received from my Father, I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. God has made us conquerors, brothers and sisters. He has given us power over the nations. Each and every believer has a measure of authority in the life of another believer, especially when it comes to sin. You see me doing something I ain't supposed to be doing. Hey, Brother John, what's going on? Oh, everything's okay. Hey, is everything all right here? You okay? You doing the right thing? You have authority to say that to me outside of these walls. And I have authority to say that to you. Christ rules over those who are kingdom citizens in the kingdom with the rod of iron, the chastising rod of love, which is a mark of sonship, that you belong to God. Saints, as kingdom citizens, are told how we ought to live, holy, separate, seeing our need for God, being comforters, desiring to be peacemakers, boldness to stand for truth, These are the characteristics of the beatitudes of what I have heard them called as blessed attitudes. This is what it means to be a conqueror. This is what it means to be an overcomer. To basically live out our faith. First John 4 and 5 says, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world. Overcome, that same word overcome. Conqueror, same thing. So it could be said, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. For this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God? The victory is our faith. Believers are conquerors, overcomers are conquerors. And this is ours because of our faith in Christ. It's not a matter of our circumstances or how we feel. It's the reality of being in Christ. Nothing can separate us from that love, not even death. So to live is Christ, to die is gain. That's why church membership is so important. We need to be reminded of who we are and what we're doing here. We need to be accountable to Christ through his body and his spirit and his word under the rule of elders. Our church membership is vital because it is a temporal covenant that we live out of the invisible eternal covenant that we are with in the Lord. Can we come here and do whatever we want? No. No, we can't. We talked about the law of God and how it is a boundary, it's binding for our safety. The safest way to live as a believer is to trust and obey the Lord. The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. There are checks and balances in the kingdom of God. And he has placed elders over us for that care and to enforce those checks and balances if necessary. The keys to the kingdom in Matthew 16 and 18 involve church discipline. You can't just come here and do whatever you want. You can't. I know that strikes in your pride and your arrogance, but guess what? I'm here too. I can't just come here and do whatever I want. And that order that God sets us under, each and every one of us, it's his law. God is a God of order, not a God of chaos. Not just when it comes to tongues, but the way we live out our lives. Love does a neighbor no harm. Therefore, love is a fulfillment of the law. Now, how do people know that we believe in God? By this men know, know that you're my disciples, that you love one another. Okay, you can't say you love somebody and you want to do them harm. That's what Romans 13 was talking about. Okay, not to be saved, but because God saved us. That's how Christians should live. We serve a God who reigns supreme, superior to all other kings, a kingdom that is unshakable, unconquerable. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. We must proclaim the supremacy of Christ. We must do it, brothers and sisters. And not in word, but in deed and in truth. Because when it is all said and done, when the Lord returns to consummate His kingdom, will crown Him with many crowns. And in the marriage supper of the Lamb, Christ will receive His bride in His final coronation as King. With all the elect of God from all time, we will eat with him." Closing with this, Luke 22, 14 through 16 says, when the hour had come, he sat down and the 12 apostles with him. Then he said to them, with fervent desire, I've desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Until all is filled, beloved saints, until all is fulfilled, let us eat this table and remember the work of Christ our King. Until he returns, let us stay busy as conquerors on the battlefield for the King. All right, let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your spirit, Lord Jesus. Thank you for your atonement for us, Lord. Help us to consider what we are doing here today. Lord, thank you for the providential care with my back, Lord. I know before I walked up here, I felt like I couldn't even move. But Father, your grace, help us to meditate on your grace and your mercy, Lord. Help us to think and take it to heart about our sin and how rotten we are, Lord. And that our unrighteousness and our unworthiness is so great, Father, but you are greater than our sin. You have conquered it, Lord. And we give you all the praise and all the glory, Lord. And we love you so much, Lord, because you have first loved us. Help us to remember this, not just at this moment, but throughout this day, Lord Jesus. And we pray this in your precious name. Amen.