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THE KINGDOM OF GOD
MONDAY, JANUARY 24
Mark 4:26-34

Luke 17:21

 

“…So is the kingdom of God…

like a grain of mustard seed…”

 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD
 
It is in the interest of God that His kingdom should grow (the word “grow” is used in Mark 4:27,32). What and where is the kingdom of God and how should it grow? Understand that a kingdom consists of a prince (ruler), a people (citizens), and a place (domain). In the kingdom of God, Christ (the Prince) rules over His people (the church) and He rules them in their hearts (His domain).
 
The kingdom of God begins when the gospel seed is sown in the heart of a person (Mark 4:26). The Spirit will do His mysterious work of convicting and converting the heart causing regeneration (to be born again), justification (to be declared righteous on account of Christ), and sanctification (to become more and more like Christ) (Mark 4:27). With Christ enthroned as Lord and Saviour in his heart, the believer will grow spiritually (Mark 4:28)—first as a baby feeding on the milk of the Word (1 Pet 2:2), and then as an adult able to discern truth from error, right from wrong, good from evil, and not easily tossed to and fro (Eph 4:14).
 
The kingdom of God also points to the church. The believers form a community of saints, and this community, when it does the work of missions and evangelism, will grow slowly but steadily. The kingdom is described as a “mustard seed”—the smallest of all seeds (Mark 4:31,32). It will take time to grow and become strong for the good of others. The church does not start with a boom or a bang—it is not a mushroom that sprouts overnight and then fades away, but a mustard seed that grows into a tree and remains. The church will grow as Christ has said, but note that the growth is not vertical but horizontal—it “shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.” As Rev Dr Timothy Tow says, “Church growth must be measured horizontally, not vertically, in depth, not in height.” The church must not be like a proud  and boastful “tower of Babel,” but like an umbrella tree providing shade and shelter for all in spiritual need.
 
THOUGHT: “The Church is not a mushroom but a mustard seed.” (T Tow)

PRAYER: (Pray for your church.)

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