What is Small is Made Big

Intro

Open with talking about planting my treeline in Landmark

Showing it to my kids (who don’t really care); amazed by how they have grown

What does that have to do with the sermon? Let’s read and find out

Ready Matthew 13:31-33 and pray

Small to the World, Made Big by God

Jesus shares two parables that make the same point

Little bit of leaven -> leavens the entire batch of dough

Doesn’t actually talk about how much leaven/yeast (only need a bit)

3 measures of flour = anywhere between 30 - 60 litres of flour

Enough to feed over 100 people! Highlight exagerration

Small mustard seed -> larger than other garden plants

Mustard seed is tiny (one of the smallest known seeds) *show picture*

It can grow into a weed/shrub/bush up to 10 - 15 feet high! *show picture*

So why does Jesus call it a tree in which birds can nest?

A “biblical exagerration,” showing that the kingdom can grow above and beyond what we can understand or experience

Cf. Ezekiel 31:6.

Ties into an existing prophecy of what God will do in the future

The kingdom of heaven will grow into a place where “all great nations” can reside

This is a very subtle teaching that the kingdom of God is not just for Jews, but also for Gentiles; for everyone

However, the main point that connects the two parables is clear: What appears small and insignificant to the world, God makes big and substantial

A little bit of yeast has a huge effect; a small seed grows into a life-giving plant

Add modern example: 1 mosquito = a bad night’s sleep

You can see how this plays into Jesus’ teaching of the upside-down kingdom:

The world will see certain things and declare them small, weak, ineffective

God delights in taking these very things and building them into something more powerful than the world can imagine

We see this play out in the biblical story when it comes to faith and power

Small Faith, Made Big by God

Elsewhere in Jesus’ teaching, we see the mustard see equated with faith

Cf. Matthew 17:14-20.

Faith = belief, trust, confidence

When describing Abraham, Paul defines faith as being confident that God will do what He has promised to do

Cf. Romans 4:20-21.

Do you trust that God will do what He has promised to do?

Stay grounded in Scripture; don’t be overwhelmed at all the possibilities

Because thankfully, we only need a small amount of faith

No faith = no good; as Jesus rebuked his disciples

Small faith = enough; as Jesus once again used the example of the mustard seed

Our small faith is made big by God

It is the power of God that moves mountains and makes all things possible

Not you! Not your great faith!

Push back against prosperity teaching a bit here

No, the call in our lives is to take our small amount of faith (confidence that God can follow through on His promises) and watch what God can do

The Chosen is a contemporary example:

Spend time telling the story of the Chosen, and God’s “impossible math.”

5+2 = 5,000

Box office bomb -> video for church -> crowdfunded project -> over 200 million viewers

Wycliffe Bible Translators is another:

In 1917, a missionary named William Cameron Townsend went to Guatemala to sell Spanish Bibles. He was shocked when many people couldn’t understand the books, but soon realized they spoke Cakchiquel, a language without a Bible. With the goal that everyone should be able to read the Bible in their own language and understanding, Townsend started a school to train people to do Bible translation. On this day — August 12 — in 1942, Townsend and Rev. L.L. Legters incorporated the Wycliffe Bible Translators in California. In the year 2000, Wycliffe would celebrate having translated the Bible into 500 languages. Their work continues.

By the end of 2023, 736 languages have a full Bible

1,658 languages have a complete NT

3,742 languages have work in progress

Calvin Tiessen (Life Action); trained a Cakchiquel missionary!

Small faith, made big by God

To accomplish what He has promised to do

Small Power, Made Big by God

A second way that the kingdom of heaven takes small things and makes them big is with power

Power in the world is often defined by might, military prowess, ability to control and rule

Jesus bumped up against these definitions of power in the Jewish expectation of Messiah

Expected to be a military leader that would overthrow Roman rule and res-establish the kingdom of Israel

This was the kingdom people were looking for! But that is precisely why Jesus is teaching that the kingdom of heaven looks different

Power in the kingdom of heaven is defined by peace, meekness, self-sacrifice and love

Instead of conquering with military might, Jesus gave up his life

Yet this was not weakness; it was true power

By sacrificing Himself for the sins of the world, Jesus conquered sin and death, brought true freedom for all people, and established an eternal kingdom that will never end

Cf. Revelation 17:7-14.

The lamb that was slain was not a lack of power, it was the source of true power

7 hills = Rome; Jesus didn’t conquer with armed forces, but Christianity became the official religion of the entire empire under Constantine in 312 CE

The way of Jesus (and His upside-down kingdom) remain the source of true power; small power, made big by God

How do we change the world as it drifts farther from God?

We can try avenues of conventional power (political involvement, top-down enforcement)

I would suggest that this is the way of the world; not of the upside-down kingdom

Instead, we should (in very small ways) be faithful to God’s call in our life to follow the way of Jesus:

Forgiveness, mercy, grace, self-sacrifice, peace and share the Gospel

When we as Christ-followers live this way, God can take this small power and use it to change the world

Tell the story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming and Roger Youderian; killed by the Waorani tribe in Ecuador in 1956.

Elisabeth Elliot (widow of Jim) and Rachel Saint (sister of Nate) returned in 1958 to continue the missionary work; many Woarani people became “God followers” because they came with the power of the cross

One of the group that killed the missionaries (named Micaye) became close to Nate Saint’s son Steve (called him “grandfather”); as a God follower, you can hear Micaye chant at the end of Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “No Greater Love”

Play song clip (03:19 - end)

Conclusion

Both of these stories I chose to share end in the same fashion; they are related

God took the small faith and efforts of William Cameron Townsend and made it big in getting His Word translated into thousands of languages

As a result, those who first came to faith are now sending missionaries to others!

God took the small, forgiving power and efforts of Elisabeth Elloit and Rachel Saint and made it big in helping draw an entire tribe of people to Himself

As a result, even one of those who speared missionaries to death sang praises to God and was reconciled with the family

The end of the stories are similar, because they are a result of the goals of the kingdom of heaven

The goal is not to have personal “rock star faith” and move mountains and have every personal prayer answered

It is to see God take our small faith (mustard seed) and use it for His kingdom and His glory

The goal is not to become powerful, authoritative and change the world from the top-down

It is to see God take our small, self-sacrifing power and use it for His kingdom and His glory

Pray