The following message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. We are in Luke chapter 13, picking up in verse 18. He said, therefore, what is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden and it grew and became a tree. And the birds of the air made nests in its branches. And again he said, to what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened. He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? And he said to them, strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying, Lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west and from north and south and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last. This is the reading of God's word. Please have a seat. Let's begin in prayer. Our Father, we thank you for an afternoon, another afternoon to return to your word. You know how needy we are, and so we pray that you would help us. Help us as we feel weak. Help us as we feel distracted. Lord, draw us to your truth and grow us, we pray. And Father, we pray for our sister Elaine today. And Lord, we mourn the loss of her daughter this past week. We pray that you would be an incredible comfort to our sister. Please build her up. Please bless her in every way. Lord, help us to be faithful to mourn with those who mourn. Please bless our sister in this hard time. We pray now that you would change every one of us by the preaching of your word. We ask this in Jesus's name, amen. What is the kingdom of God like? What is the kingdom of God like? You may remember all the way back in chapter 4, which is funny because that's about 60 sermons ago, We talked about the kingdom of God because one of the central messages of Jesus as he is ministering is proclaiming the kingdom of God. And when we were back there, I said that the kingdom is a very big big teaching. And so it's no surprise that here we are back again and Jesus has more to tell us about the nature of the kingdom of God. If you would like to hear what we talked about in that last sermon, that was all the way back in chapter 4 verses 42 through 44. But for now, Jesus is going to add three more points to this grand teaching of the kingdom of God. Three points that will be fairly easy to follow. One, the kingdom of God is advancing. Two, the kingdom of God is exclusive. Three, the kingdom of God is inclusive. Three points, here you go. Verses 18 through 21, the kingdom is advancing. So Jesus is out there, and you can't forget where we just came from. There was the woman who had had that disabling spirit for 18 years, and Jesus, in his mercy and compassion, and in his power and authority, he casts out that demon from being able to afflict her anymore. She wasn't possessed, like we might say, but she was afflicted. And so Jesus intervenes, and this is part of his ministry, is he's going along just destroying the works of Satan. And so, as he's out there clearing the land, so to speak, of these demonic influences, it's clear that the kingdom of God is advancing. The ruler of this world, he is being overrun by Jesus, just this delightful reality that he cannot stop him. None in his armies can stop him. Everywhere Jesus goes, he goes successfully, casting out these demons who rise up to try and do anything to throw a wrench into his ministry. And so, sort of in that context, Jesus takes an opportunity to explain a bit more what's going on in terms of his kingdom advancing as it's dismantling the kingdom of the ruler of this world. And so he gives us these two famous pictures. The kingdom of God, he says, it's like a mustard seed. Now, you might get distracted because you're wondering, oh, what kind of seed is this? People do that. Don't worry about it. That's not the point you need to know today. What Jesus wants to make clear is that you begin with something very small and you end up with something very big. That's the point. That's all the point you need to have out of that. And then he makes this picture that the mustard tree or plant or bush, whatever he's talking about, it gets so big that it can actually shelter birds within its branches. Now, if you were a really astute student of the Bible, Jesus has done something subtle here, because both Ezekiel and Daniel, they both speak of a tree that would grow up out of Israel and provide shelter to every kind of bird, to all the nations. This tree would grow up and bring blessing even to the Gentiles. So the kingdom of God, it's like a mustard seed. It starts out very small and it gets very big all the way to the point of blessing even the Gentiles. The kingdom of God is like leaven. Now we've talked about leaven before. Jesus uses this imagery in different kinds of contexts. The way you're maybe most familiar with is beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. You remember that idea? Now it's not that leaven is anything evil. He was trying to make the point of the influence of the Pharisees. And here he's again using that picture of the influence of leaven now to paint a good picture. So the idea is you mix the little leaven in with the flour and over some time, all of it is permeated. That's just the way it works. Leaven spreads. And so likewise, the kingdom's influence inevitably permeates the world. Now already, we're not even very far into this passage, and you can see how encouraging these truths are. See, though the kingdom of God, in a sense, it begins with a carpenter's son roaming the countryside of Israel, teaching wherever he goes. We can see the truth of this teaching all around us in this world. This is some of the empirically verifiable stuff that the kingdom of God has most certainly spread. It's spread across all time. It is spread across all nations. We have witnessed the way that the gospel gloriously goes forward and permeates peoples and nations. There is a reason that unbelieving nations don't want gospel teaching. Perhaps it's because they actually believe this. They know that if it's there, it will spread. it will spread. And so if your goal is to be your own God, if your goal is to live in rebellion against God, if you don't want truth taking root anywhere near you, then of course you don't want the word of God brought to your nation. The kingdom of God topples fake gods and fake truths everywhere it goes. As a Christian, Be confident in the work of God. God's work, it's not limping along. It's not struggling to figure out our broken world. God's work, God's kingdom, it is advancing. Our second point, the kingdom of God is exclusive. The kingdom of God is exclusive, verses 22 through 28. Now we see Jesus, the scene shifts just a little bit, and he's traveling now. And as he goes, he teaches. And here again, we hear this familiar drumbeat in this section of Luke. He is drawing near to Jerusalem. It began in chapter nine, and since then, there is this clear sense, Jesus, whatever else he is doing, he is heading to Jerusalem. He is going to the place where he must die. And on the way, someone asks him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? Will those who are saved be few? And this was a common question, actually. It's one that a lot of Jewish thinkers had thought about, and it had a popular answer. Jewish people tended to agree that yes, there would be few saved. Now of that few, they thought basically all of Israel was going to be in, and then there would just be maybe a few more from outside Israel. But yeah, they knew what answer they generally thought. Yes, it would be few, and most of Israel was going to make it. And Jesus answers the question, but just in that wonderful Jesus fashion, he answers the question he wants to answer. He's not gonna play this speculation game. Will few be saved? It's such an abstract question, isn't it? It's not, will I be saved? Will you be saved? Will few be saved? It's like theological statistics. And Jesus isn't gonna go that way. He's not gonna sit there and say, you're right, about one in five, one in five are gonna make it into the kingdom of God. No. He takes it out of this abstract thinking, this abstract language, and he applies it to real people. Because none of us are just some statistic. So Jesus gives real, practical direction to real people. Forget your question, he looks at him and he says, Strive to enter the narrow door. Strive. That is a word to do justice to. Strive. Because he does not say, hey, think about entering through the narrow door. I think that's a good idea. He does not say, talk about entering the narrow door, plan about entering the narrow door, dream about entering the narrow door. He does not say, look into it. He does not say, give it the old college try. He says, strive to enter. the narrow door. It's a word with roots in Greek athletic contests. Perhaps the most famous use of this word, it's Paul near the very end of his ministry saying, I have fought. That's the word. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. What does strive mean? Strive means purposeful effort. Strive means fully devoted effort. Strive means giving every ounce of energy you've got kind of effort. Striving is all in. Striving is not relaxing. Striving is intense. Strive, he says, strive to enter the narrow door. There is a specific way into salvation. There are not many entrances, despite what our world likes to say. There is only one. There's a reason Jesus would say, I am the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me, because there is a narrow door. And its narrowness shows that people aren't just going to accidentally enter it. You're not going to just be walking along and say, oh, hey, look at that. I walked right through the narrow door. That's not what he's talking about. It will be entered by those who strive to hear, strive to believe, strive to obey the Savior, Jesus Christ. And though the door is open now, it will one day close. That's what doors do, right? If your neighbor's door just stays open for a day or two, you should be worried, right? Doors open, but doors close. And the door that he is talking about, the narrow door, it is no different. It is open now, but it will one day close. And time is running out. And it's this matter of time that makes this so important. Because many will not enter, he says, because they will seek too late. They will seek too late. See, he's not saying that some are going to strive and then be denied, like God was just playing some cosmic joke where he slams the door on them at the last minute. No, these are people who were said to not start seeking until it was too late. and their late seeking when the door is closed, it will not be enough. Jesus gives us a picture of what inadequate seeking looks like. It's people who are merely respectful of Jesus. It's these people who are at the door saying, Lord, let us in. And in some way, they acknowledge him as Lord. I should call you Lord. Lord, let us in. And yeah, respect is better than disrespect, but it's not enough. It is not enough. Inadequate seeking is people who are merely familiar with Jesus. They've been in proximity to Jesus. And so these people, the master of the house, he won't open the door. And so their follow-up is, hey, we ate and drank near you. You taught on our streets. But is proximity to Jesus enough? And the answer is no. No, none of these people can say, we repented, we believed, we followed you. None of them can say that. They can't say that they have believed or obeyed the very core truths of the gospel. And so in this heart-wrenching moment, Jesus says that they will be rejected. Jesus says that they will not come in. They will be cast out and they will be numbered. as one of the evildoers. What a horrifying moment on that last day to come so full of presumption. Of course I'm getting in to find the door closed. Lord, let me in. Lord, let me in. And the only thing you hear is, I never knew you. I never knew you. That's not to say intellectually he doesn't know who we are, but he's saying to these people, you don't belong to me. you don't belong to me. And the sorrow and the terror and the disappointment of that moment, they would just be unbearable. Jesus says these people, in some sense, he's making this picture like they're gonna be looking in and they're gonna see all the faithful, all the faithful people of God, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all the prophets, but they themselves will be excluded Because they are not His, they will be numbered as one of the evildoers, and they will weep, and they will gnash their teeth, and they will mourn at their situation because they will have realized that they started seeking too late. Let everyone understand what Jesus is saying. The kingdom of God is exclusive. Now you might find this odd, but the kingdom of God, our third and last point, is also inclusive. Yes, it's exclusive, but it's also inclusive. Look with me back at the text in verse 29. And people will come from east and west and from north and south and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." The kingdom of God is inclusive. In sharp contrast to the people who assumed that they would be included in the kingdom, Jesus describes then that people who no one assumed would be in the kingdom would actually be included. So the common answer was, yes, most of Israel is gonna make it in. And now he's saying, no, no, no, you who are in Israel might very well be cast out, but we're gonna bring in people from far away, from North and South, from East and West. This is this great reversal of common expectations at the time. Those who thought they were near, cast out. and those who everyone thought were far, reclining at table. We've talked about this in other passages, but we just have to pause again. Just love, just love with me that image, reclining at table. This was like a glorious lunch, by the way. Thank you for all of you who brought food to make sure we had enough. I love seeing a table full of more food than I can eat. I love eating. It gives me joy every single day, whatever my life is filled with. It gives me joy when I get to have breakfast and lunch and dinner, which is these wonderful blessings that God has integrated into our lives. And as a great fan of eating, and I'm sure I've got a few fellow fans in the room, I mean, it just makes me happy to consider that the Lord promises a great feast in his kingdom. He promises a great feast. Now, we don't know exactly what it will look like. Will there be sushi for me and sauerkraut for Brian? Or, you know, like, will it be all together different foods? I don't know, but it is this reminder. It is this reminder that God blesses His people. He tells them to look forward to a time when they will have a feast in heaven. And from an earlier passage, it's going to be a feast in which the master himself serves the servants. What a glorious thing. People of God rejoice that your God actually loves to bless his people. I mean, parents, don't you love to bless your kids? Does not our heavenly father surpass our desire to bless? Our father loves to bless his people. And I mean, in contrast, it would have been well within his rights to not have anything exciting at all planned for his people in eternity. If God said, I will save you from your sins for an eternity of hard labor. I mean, less exciting, but totally within his rights, right? He can do whatever he pleases. But instead, what does he do? He plans a feast for us. He plans a banquet for us. Just these little reminders that the God of heaven loves the blessed people. Don't doubt it. He loves the blessed people. And God plans to shower unimagined blessings on people of all nations, of all backgrounds, of all types. Birds of all types will nest in the branches of this kingdom. The kingdom of God is inclusive. And in honor of our Savior who had to make sure that the point was practical, let's make sure we have made these points practical. If all you have is an abstract theology lesson, you don't have what Jesus intends for you. First, the kingdom is advancing, so Christian, be encouraged. Non-Christian, don't be surprised. The world at large pours forth a tremendous amount of energy into opposing kingdom of God, into opposing the advance of the gospel. And from our perspective, their opposition is a fearful thing. It's a mighty wall. You can't imagine breaching it. And we say, I don't know how the gospel is supposed to move forward in the face of secularism, in the face of Islam, in the face of government oppression. But when the nations rage, When the people's plot, when the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord's anointed, do you remember what the Lord does? Yeah, Psalm 2 verse 4, he who sits in the heavens laughs. He laughs. As a lion does not fear a house cat, the true king does not fear the pretenders. And the kingdom of God will not be stopped. by the creation shaking their fists at the creator. It will not be stopped. But this advancing kingdom, it's an exclusive kingdom. And God's kingdom presents to every person, every single person, its demands. And the king demands that we strive to enter now. the time of opportunity, it will come to a close. And on that last day, it will be obvious who is not in the kingdom. In this room, it's not obvious. On that last day, it will be. And the Lord will cast out the person who has not strived to enter. Our culture is so self-absorbed, so obsessed with personal convenience, and we have to be honest, we have absorbed that as well. We think we have all the time in the world. We think that we get to dictate when we are going to confront the issues of our soul. Oh, I'll get to that later. I'll get to that after my career. I'll get to that in my dying breaths on my deathbed. Christ gives us no such option. He says, strive and strive now. He's not saying you're going to earn your way into heaven, but he is saying that we had better believe and respond to Jesus. He says this kind of practical, real world faith will be all in. And it will demand all of your energy. It will demand all of your life. And so we, as unfortunate absorbers of our culture, we need to repent of wanting to have a convenient faith. We need to repent of our desire for a compartmentalized spirituality. We need to repent of the way we treat our relationship with God as if it's just one pursuit among many. There is nothing more important going on in your life than where you stand with God. So don't let anything in your life be reason for dawdling while the narrow door is still open. Don't let your job distract you. Don't let your family distract you. Don't let your health distract you. Certainly do not let your hobbies distract you. Strive. Strive now. Strive now to hear and to believe and to follow the Savior. That is your most important calling. Get that calling right and the other things fall into place. If you don't have that calling right, nothing is right. The kingdom of God is exclusive, so strive to enter while there is still time. Strive today, don't put it off for tomorrow. Devote yourself to your God. Be all in for your God. When that heavenly feast is going on, labor now to make sure that you are one of the guests of the King reclining at table. And lastly, the kingdom is inclusive. There is no type of person ruled out. And there is no person who is out of reach. Christ tells all people to strive. Every sinner is called to repent of their sins and believe in the one who saves. Don't you dare rule yourself out. Don't you dare say, oh, I couldn't be a Christian. Don't you dare play the high and mighty sinner. Oh, you don't know what I've done. He could never have me. I've gone too far. The kingdom of God is full of people who were seemingly too far to be saved. Amen if you were one of those people. Amen. But the Son of God strived for his people. He strived even to the point of death, even death on a cross. And when the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, is willing to strive even to that extent, is there any sinner who is outside of His reach? No. There is no sinner outside the reach of a Savior like that. You cannot be too far for Christ if you will simply repent and believe. if you will turn from your life, if you will turn from yourself, if you will give all you have for this amazing Savior. And on that day, even you can be, will be included in the kingdom of God, reclining at table while the master serves you. The door is narrow, The call goes out to all. Forget the theological statistics. You, strive. Strive to enter the narrow door. Strive to be found on that last day, reclining at the table of your master's blessing. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for the narrow door. We thank you for Jesus Christ, our Lord, the way, the truth, and the life. We thank you that you included Gentiles like us. We thank you that you included the broken like us. We thank you that you included the rebels and the criminals like us. Father, thank you for the salvation that's in Jesus Christ, our Lord. And now may every person in this room, believer and unbeliever alike, Lord, stir up in us a faith and the conviction that we would strive, strive to enter that narrow door, strive to be found at your table. May our lives be marked by striving after what matters most. Lord, give us the eyes of eternity to see our lives for what they are. May the distractions peel away and may our highest calling reign in the place it deserves. We pray this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. We hope that you were edified by this message. For additional sermons as well as information on giving to the ministry of Grace Community Church, please visit us online at gracenevada.com. That's gracenevada.com.