The Germination of the Seed

A few weeks ago we began the series entitled “A Mustard Seed Christmas.” We looked at the Parable of the Mustard Seed and talked about how, what seemed to be a tiny, miniscule seed, had the potential to grow into a large plant, big enough to provide shelter for the birds.

We related that to how Jesus seemed to be just a tiny, insignificant baby, born in the filth of a cattle stall, yet He grew up as the Lamb of God who would go to the cross and provide redemption for the world.

Today I want to invite you to join me in Galatians 4, and I want us to continue that same theme, but today I want us to look at the GERMINATION of the Seed. Let’s first take a look at...

The Seed

A seed offers hope, possibilities, and potential. However, unless the seed is sown or planted, and unless the seed germinates it will always be just a seed.

As the angel came to Mary and Joseph and announced to them the promised Messiah it was a promise of HOPE and as the Spirit of God enabled Mary to conceive and the seed in her womb began to grow.

But that’s not where this story begins. The story doesn’t begin in Nazareth, but rather it began thousands of years earlier in a Garden.

Adam and Eve had rebelled against God, bringing into the perfect world disease and death and SEPARATION from God. Even though they rebelled and their rebellion brought death, disease, and suffering, God had a plan…God always has a plan!

Note Revelation 13:8

Revelation 13:8 NKJV

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Jesus is referred to as the LAMB SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD!

We see this PROMISED SEED referred to not only in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, but also in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Notice...

The Promised Seed (Genesis 3:15)

Genesis 3:15 NKJV

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

God made a promise that the “SEED OF A WOMAN” would crush Satan’s head!

In the midst of despair God promises HOPE!

In the midst of death God promises LIFE!

In the midst of loss God promises VICTORY!

This promise is repeated in Romans 16:20

Romans 16:20 NKJV

And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Christ delivered the death blow to Satan on the morning of the resurrection and he has been in the death throws ever since. But Paul lets the church at Rome know that the Bride of Christ, the CHURCH will also have the privilege to stomp on the enemy’s head!

I love what Alan Carr said in his sermon on Genesis 3...

The Prince of Life entered the arena of battle with the Prince of Death. When the battle had ended, the Prince of Life emerged as the lone Victor. Now, all those who know Him enjoy His victory and share in the spoils of His conquest.

Kenneth Matthews said:

The serpent was instrumental in the undoing of the woman, and in turn the woman will ultimately bring down the serpent through her offspring

As we notice Genesis 3:15 we notice that it would be “HER SEED” that would crush Satan’s head. This is very significant. The Messiah would be...

Born of a Woman (Galatians 4:4)

Paul puts it this way in Galatians 4:4

Galatians 4:4 NKJV

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Christ was not born through the “seed of a man” nor was he brought forth due to a man, but rather He was conceived of the HOLY SPIRIT and placed in the virgin’s womb and she brought forth her first born son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger.

This is VITALLY important! The VIRGIN BIRTH is VITALLY IMPORTANT! This reminds us that Christ was 100% man because Mary was His mother, but He was also 100% God because God was His Father!

We see the PROMISE of the SEED and we now refer to that seed as...

The Son

Notice again Galatians 4:4

Galatians 4:4 NKJV

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

This was not just Mary’s son, this is GOD’S SON!

God’s Son

God’s Son was BORN RIGHT ON SCHEDULE!

It’s also important to note, He is...

God’s Only Begotten Son

Note John 3:16

John 3:16 KJV

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

This means that this is God’s ONE AND ONLY SON and the ONE AND ONLY GOD!

The Seed was known as the Son and the Son came to be...

The Savior

Notice John 3:16 again

John 3:16 KJV

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He made a way for us not to PERISH! Remember, Adam and Eve got us into this mess, but a descendent of Eve would make a way to GET US OUT OF THIS MESS!

He made it possible as the...

Redeemer

Notice Galatians 4:4-5

Galatians 4:4–5 NKJV

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

He was “born under the law” in order to REDEEM those “under the law”!

Daryl Ellis notes:

“Redeem” means literally “to buy out.” In Classical Greek, the term was used to describe the purchase of a slave from the slave market.

Christ has purchased them out of the bondage of subservience to the law and taken them into His own household as His servants.

That leads me to the FRUIT of the seed. The seed was implanted in Mary’s womb. He was born in Bethlehem’s stable, astounded the religious teachers as a 12 year old boy, performed miracles, raised the dead, taught and trained a handful of ragtag disciples, died for the sins of the world, was raised in victory over death and this seed PRODUCED ALL KINDS OF FRUIT!

One aspect of that fruit is what He did and provided for you and I!

Fruit: From Slaves to Sons

Notice Galatians 4:4-6

Galatians 4:4–6 NKJV

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

Because of WHY Jesus came and WHAT Jesus accomplished I no longer have to be a slave to fear, to sin, to my past, to my failures, or mistakes!

I have been redeemed, and if you’ve placed YOUR faith in Jesus as YOUR only Lord and Savior YOU have been redeemed as well and can benefit from and experience the FRUIT of all that Christ accomplished in His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection!

So how does one experience the benefits of the luscious fruit that Christ offers! It’s through the...

The Seed of Faith

Notice Galatians 3:26-27

Galatians 3:26–27 NKJV

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

You remember the passage that was read at the very beginning of this series about having “faith as a grain of mustard seed”?

You see it’s not the SIZE of your faith that is as important as the SAVIOR to whom YOU are trusting in!

We benefit from the FRUIT of salvation, by TRUSTING in the SAVIOR that was born in Bethlehem, and that died outside of Jerusalem, and that was resurrected THREE days later!

Another aspect of this FRUIT is the TRANSFORMATION that takes place through the POWER of the Holy Spirit that comes to live in our lives!

The Transformation by the Spirit

Galatians 4:6 NKJV

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

In his commentary Max Anders says:

As son and heir, each Christian receives the Holy Spirit, the down payment of his or her inheritance (Eph. 1:14). The Holy Spirit moves believers to pray to God as Abba, Father. Abba is the equivalent of “Daddy.” It shows the closeness children of grace have with their Father. No slave of the law had such an intimate relationship.

The final aspect of this fruit is...

A Promised Inheritance

Notice Galatians 4:7

Galatians 4:7 NKJV

Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Not only do we become children of God by faith in Christ, but we also have the PROMISE of an INHERITANCE!

A servant had no hope of inheriting the estate of his/her master, but the SON did have this hope. We too, because we have been made children of God, have the hope that when this life is over, we have an inheritance waiting for us that is “out of this world.”!

How should we respond?

With Gratitude

Today and everyday we should be GRATEFUL for the FULFILLMENT of the PROMISE God made in Genesis 3:15.

Be GRATEFUL for the REDEMPTION we have in Christ Jesus!

With Anticipation

There is a better day coming. We have an inheritance that we can enjoy now, but an even GREATER inheritance to come! Live with anticipation!

With Sensitivity to the Spirit

As believers we now have the Holy Spirit living within us, He’s taken up residence in our bodies and we are warned against “quenching” Him and “grieving” Him. Rather we should WALK WITH Him, SURRENDER to Him, and see His FRUIT being PRODUCED through our lives.

The Spirit leads us to cry out to God as our “ABBA, FATHER.” We can be sure that He will not give us a stone instead of bread, or a serpent instead of fish…but He is waiting to hear the cries and concerns of His children!

As we prepare to observe the Lord’s Supper this morning I want to invite you to BOW YOUR HEADS and CLOSE YOUR EYES and INVITE the SPIRIT to sincerely examine YOUR HEARTS and YOUR MOTIVES.

Do you KNOW Him as Lord and Savior?

Are you walking in OBEDIENCE to Him?

Are you enjoying Him and His Word and His presence?

Talk to Him right now as YOUR “Heavenly Papa” and invite Him to cleanse YOUR heart and help YOU to live YOUR life in obedient appreciation of WHO He is and WHAT He has done and provided for you!

Invitation

The Lord’s Supper

When you arrived this morning you received the bread and the cup.

If you know Christ as your Lord and Savior and you have invited the Spirit to search your heart and have confessed and repented of every known sin in your life we want to invite you to join us as we partake of this supper together.

The night before Jesus went to the cross He observed the Passover meal with His disciples to help them better understand what He was about to do on the cross.

Today, in celebration of His first coming, and in anticipation of His second coming, we too will take part in this observance as we reflect upon Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Please peel back the first layer and remove the small piece of bread and hold it in your hand. As you hold it there take a moment to think about that tiny seed, that grew up to become a man, who willingly laid down His life for YOU so that YOU might have eternal and abundant life…

Matthew 26:26 NKJV

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Please peel back the second layer to expose the cup. As you do think about the precious Blood of the Lamb of God that was shed to take away YOUR sins. Thank God for the blood that provided the forgiveness that we needed!

Matthew 26:27–28 NKJV

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

BAPTISM NEXT WEEK!