After centuries, Christianity still seems a drop in the ocean. However God's kingdom is growinig slowly and surely till it will overcome all kingdoms.

1. GROWTH
OF GOD’S
KINGDOM

2. GRACIOUS JESUS
(MATTHEW’S PERSPECTIVE WITH GOSPEL PARALLELS)
1. Presenting the King (Matt 1-4)
2. True Blessedness (Matt 5:1-12)
3. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 1 (Matt 5:13-
48)
4. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 2 (Matt 6)
5. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 3 (Matt 7)
6. Master Strokes (Matt 8)
7. The King Calls (Matt 9)
8. The King Commissions (Matt 10)
9. Wisdom for Greatness (Matt 11)
10. Power Games and Names (Matt 12)
11. Hidden Wisdom (Matt 13:1-43)
12. Hidden Treasures (Matt 13:44-14)
13. The Gall and the Glory (Matt 15-17:9)
14. Winning Others Over (Matt 17:10-
18:35)
15. Kingdom Values, Kingdom Wealth
(Matt 20)
16. The King Enters Jerusalem (Matt 21)
17. The Chosen Few (Matt 22)
18. The King’s Glorious Coming (Matt
24:1-44)
19. The Final Countdown (Matt 24:45 –
25:46)
20. The King’s last days (Matt 26)
21. Desertion (Matt 26:36-75)
22. God’s Lamb Sacrificed (Matt 27: 1-50)
23. The King Conquers (Matt 27:51-28)

3. GRACIOUS JESUS
11. HIDDEN WISDOM (MATT 13:1-43)
56. The parable of the sower
57. The visionaries
58. Good and Evil co-exist
59. Growth of God’s
Kingdom
60. The parable of the leaven

4. OVERVIEW
Bible passages: Matt 13.31-32; Mark 4.30-
32; Luke13.18-19;
Objectives
Growth of God’s kingdom:
• Steered by God’s hand
• Slow but sure
• Small to stupendous
• Shelters many creatures
The kingdom here and now
Our mustard seed
Discussion

5. OBJECTIVES
To understand:
• The parable of the mustard
seed
• The growth of the Kingdom
of God

6. The parable of the mustard seed
Matthew 13:31 He told them another
parable: “The kingdom of heaven is
like a mustard seed, which a man
took and planted in his
field. 32 Though it is the smallest of
all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the
largest of garden plants and
becomes a tree, so that the birds
come and perch in its branches.”
GROWTH OF GOD’S
KINGDOM

7. GROWTH OF GOD’S
KINGDOM
God is the planter.
His field is the world.
Mustard plant is God’s people, saved believers
Insignificant and persecuted for centuries, God’s
kingdom keeps growing.

8. WHEN DID THE KINGDOM
OF GOD BEGIN?
Almost 600 years before Christ was born, the
prophet Daniel foretold of three kingdoms which
would come after the Babylonian Empire. Then
Daniel revealed that God’s kingdom would be
established during the last of those kingdoms:
“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom which shall never be
destroyed ..and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44).
History shows that the kingdoms were: the Medo-
Persian, the Greek, and the Roman empires. In the
days of the Roman Empire Jesus began His
kingdom.” [1]

9. GOD’S KINGDOM
Eventually, led by Jesus, the Kingdom of God will take over
the world, which will be a much better place for all creatures
who can now rest and enjoy God’s creation

10. GROWTH OF GOD’S
KINGDOM
From a macro perspective, the
Kingdom of God is growing and
will take over the world
From a micro perspective in our
lives, the transformation caused by
Jesus, the word and holy spirit,
enables little deeds to cause high
impact.
Pioneers have been martyrs,
leading saints have been excluded
or cast away, yet somehow the
kingdom is growing.

11. GROWTH OF GOD’S
KINGDOM
Steered by God’s hand
Slow but sure
Small to stupendous
Shelters all creatures

12. STEERED BY GOD’S
HAND
Paul says in 1 Cor
3:6, “I planted the
seed, Apollos
watered it, but God
has been making it
grow.”

13. STEERED BY GOD’S
HAND
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that Daniel
interprets describes this as well
Daniel 2:34 While you were watching, a
rock was cut out, but not by human
hands. It struck the statue on its feet of
iron and clay and smashed them. 35
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the
silver and the gold were all broken to
pieces and became like chaff on a
threshing floor in the summer. The wind
swept them away without leaving a
trace. But the rock that struck the statue
became a huge mountain and filled the
whole earth.

14. STEERED BY GOD’S
HAND
God’s ways are
higher than our ways
Like Noah’s ark, may
not even appear
logical
Requires faith to not
only move but even
see God’s mighty
hand Matt 17:20

15. SLOW BUT SURE
The potter’s hand over centuries
When God explains to Jeremiah that
the potter will eventually mould the
clay (Jer 18), it is a process running
through centuries – and is still
going on.
Jeremiah 18:6 “O house of Israel, can I
not do with you as this potter?” says
the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the
potter’s hand, so are you in My hand,
O house of Israel!

16. SMALL TO
STUPENDOUS
Never underestimate
Matt 13:32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it
grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a
tree,
Jesus’ disciples are a great example of insignificant people
changing the world
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and
John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant
men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that
they had been with Jesus.

17. SMALL TO
STUPENDOUS
When does this huge turn occur?
It occurs when Jesus comes the second time this time to
rule.
Jesus the King makes it happen
In a little way the huge spurts in growth occur when Jesus
rules our heart.
What may accompany it?
Death, destruction, devastation – the fury of Satan’s final
struggles before defeat.

18. REFLECTION
What is delaying it?
Delay in acknowledging Jesus as
King
• Throughout the ages
• In our churches today
• In our lives

19. SHELTERS MANY
CREATURES
The big and small, rich and poor, good and bad
A different world. A perfect world
so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew
13:32b
The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD. Isaiah 65:25

20. THE KINGDOM HERE
AND NOW
Today, in our own personal lives
we see the kingdom of God as a
sign.
It is
• Steered by God’s hand
• Slow but sure
• Small to stupendous
• Shelters all creatures

21. OUR MUSTARD SEED
Our mustard seed to facilitate this great growth is faith.
Matthew 17:20 He (Jesus) replied,
"Because you have so little faith. Truly I
tell you, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this
mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and
it will move. Nothing will be impossible
for you."

22. GROWTH OF GOD’S KINGDOM
DISCUSSION/ RECAP
In what ways to you
perceive God’s kingdom
growing today? Share
examples of the following:
• Steered by God’s hand
• Slow but sure
• Small to stupendous
• Shelters many creatures

23. REFERENCES
1. Scripturessay.com