Parable of the Mustard Seed

Parable of the Mustard Seed Matthew Davis Parables of Christ / Parable; Parables; Mustard; Kingdom; A Sower; Sow / Matthew 13:31–32; Mark 4:30–32; Luke 13:18–19 Introduction Good morning, if you have your Bibles with you, please turn in them to Luke chapter four. As we continue through the Parables of Christ, I find this weeks parable very appropriate concerning the building of the Kingdom and the soon arrival of our mission team in the area. We are very blessed to have a team willing to come down here and sow into the Kingdom in our local church. Tonight’s parable, much like last weeks, will focus on Kingdom growth. Last week we had discussed the Kingdom as compared to leaven, which though a little leaven shall be added, the entire lump will grow. We discussed the church growth, though seemingly small now, will one day be revealed in it’s full glory. Today, we shall discuss the Kingdom once more, and it shall be likened to the mustard seed. Beginning in verse thirty: Mark 4:30–32 KJV 1900 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. In this week leading up to my prep, and in the prep itself, I found more application to myself than may be the same for yourself. I found myself seeing things in the message that seemed as if they were for me, and perhaps, you too will find the same little messages throughout this word from God. I will point those out as we go throughout the message, but I would encourage each of you to listen carefully to the Spirit today. And then I would encourage you to spend the next four weeks before the mission team gets here praying. A major part in revival, or in our case, reaching a majorly unreached area, is prayer. So I would encourage each of you to pray at least daily, and that we all pray in unison with the same pressing thoughts. As I was preparing for today, I wrote down four major thoughts that were pressing on my mind, which are, prayers for the mission team and success here in Long Valley, prayers for revival, both here, in the Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 1 state, the nation, and worldwide. Pray for our local church growth, and pray about your position in the church. Four weeks of daily prayer to prep for the mission team, and then let us go to work in the field, and see what God does here. If possible, I’d even like to spend some time in corporal prayer, meeting together on the phone or in Zoom throughout the four weeks praying as a unified body for the purpose and will of God in this area. Let us now turn to the text, and let us hear the word from God and pay attention to the Spirit. What does the Spirit say to each of us regarding the growth of His Kingdom in our local area? The Context/Sowing VV.26-29 Mark 4:26–29 KJV 1900 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. Found exclusively in Mark, we should not read the Parable of the Sower into the text. Where the Parable of the Sower describes the seed as the Word of God, and describes the different soil (people) the seed can land on, Marks message is much more focused on the sovereign power of God. We look around us, we are surrounded by various plants around us. We have cheat grass and sage, on the mountain, we have daisy fields. We have various trees that have naturally grown around. We have various ways the plants germinate. I find it interesting, some tree seed variants only sprout when there is a fire. Others get carried by the wind and set down roots. However the case, the plants naturally grow. The same is true of the fields. We plant our crops, we give them water, and we go to bed. Apart from the actual planting of the crop, we play absolutely zero role in the germination and growth of what it eventually becomes. lie down at night and raise in the morning, day by day, the plant grows, and really, we don’t understand the process by which this works. We have come a long way in understanding genetics and we can even mutate plant strands, but we don’t actually understand by what process this works. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 2 The text tells us: Mark 4:26–27 KJV 1900 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. The image of the farmer, planting and waiting, demonstrates the method by which we build the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is literally built by sowing. Certainly, God uses men to sow His Word, to preach it to the world. But as the crop grows by way of it’s own process, with a minimal role played of the farmer, so the Word of God grows in the hearts of men with minimal role played by us. I think the main thing we need to learn of this is that we must be faithful to sow. I believe we too often put sowing aside of fear. We fear the message may be rejected. We fear we may be persecuted, lose our jobs, lose business, lose friends/family. I believe when we see a lack of growth in the kingdom, especially in our local area, it comes down to a failure to sow to seed. Certainly, we can say as we sow, the vast majority of that seed would land in the wrong places. In the parable of the sower, we had seen the majority of seed landed in three of the wrong places, with a few landing in the good soil. But remember also what happened when the seed landed in the good soil. Matthew 13:8 KJV 1900 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. The main thing here is that we need to sow the seed. The seed will grow where God causes it to grow, and we need not understand how He will do that. We only need to be faithful to sow the seed. James Brooks said: Mark (3) The Parable of the Seed Growing Spontaneously (4:26–29) The success of the Christian message similarly does not depend upon human effort or understanding—though Christians certainly need to scatter the seed—but upon divine power. It will succeed precisely because God is active. The kingdom cannot be precipitated by revolutionary activity or any other human effort unaided by God. We don’t need to fear the rejection. We already know the rejection will happen. We can already expect ninety-five percent of people to reject the message. But we have got to share it with everyone to get the seed in the five percent who will take it. We don’t know who those people are. Next, Mark tells us to be patient. This is one that stood out to me. This one screamed at Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 3 me boldly. I have felt discouragement in the growth of the Kingdom in the local ministry. I have felt discouraged that we havent seen more. We are told, patience. The farmer plants the seed, and then goes to bed, and wakes up… and repeats. We are told in the text: Mark 4:28 KJV 1900 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. The crop doesn’t sprout and immediately give fruit. We must patiently wait for the crop to sprout, and then there is a blade, a single leaf. The plant continues to grow, depending on the plant, developing branches, the trunk. Some plants, such as corn, then produce the ear, and then weeks later, the full corn. Others, such as trees, can take upwards of five years to receive fruit. The process is not overnight. When to seed takes, we expect to see the Christian grow steadily, producing the first leaf (faith) and then producing the ear, and then, producing the full corn. In some areas, in some people, we can find the process to be long. But we need to be patient and rely upon the power of God, to rely upon His divine will to grow the seed we have sown. And we can be assured, if we sow, there will be a harvest. The text tells us: Mark 4:29 KJV 1900 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. Though we may now be frustrated at the decay we see in the church, again I notice a pattern that as the church, we are playing a vital role in it’s decay. The church, for two millennia, continued to grow. Why? Because disciples of Christ were creating disciples. In the coming weeks, I will be planning more training on discipleship. The decay in the church is directly linked to two things in particular - It is linked to a lack of discipleship, and it is linked to weak preaching. To those who preach the openness of the gospel without preaching against the sin that required the need for the gospel in the first place. Once more from James Brooks: Mark (3) The Parable of the Seed Growing Spontaneously (4:26–29) The end emphasis and perhaps primary focus of the parable is the assurance of the harvest. Having understood the context of the parable, we can now review the parable itself, and what Jesus is teaching regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 4 The Parable VV.30-32 Mark 4:30–32 KJV 1900 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. The mustard seed - Small, yet in a way, powerful. Though not the actual smallest seed, the mustard seed was very well among them. Though the seed was, indeed, quit small, the mustard plant would often grow to be more than ten feet tall and four inches thick in the branches. Though the least among herb seeds, the mustard grew to be greater than all the herbs. The early readers recognized the mustard plant as growing large enough to give shade to men, and the birds would rest in the shadow. As such is the Kingdom of God - The kingdom is beginning small, and (at least seemingly) the least of kingdoms. However, as the mustard seed, the Kingdom of God will be the greatest among the kingdoms. In fact, the Kingdom shall be the only that survives. What started as a small group among a carpenter, fishermen, and a tax collector has already spread to hundreds of millions of people. Even so, the greatness of the Kingdom is hardly realized today. We can take comfort in the power of God, as the parable highlights, His work often begins with small beginnings, and through His divine power, accomplishes what He desires. I can think of several examples where God works in such a way. Consider the human population, which once began with only two people, and then again with eight. We are now billions in population (in four-thousand years from the eight surviving the flood). Talk about small beginnings. What seems impossible has only been possible through God. Consider Israel - From one man, Abraham, was the nation born. A man, near a hundred years old, and his wife, near ninety… From Abraham we see Isaac, and then Jacob. When Israel first enters into Egypt, they enter with seventy-five people. In four hundred years, they leave nearly two million people. Talk about small beginnings. The church started with Jesus and His twelve disciples - Today, we are millions strong. Talk about small beginnings. The point of all this is to show, God can take anything small and make it big. That is demonstrated in Deuteronomy seven with His statement regarding Israel: Deuteronomy 7:7 KJV 1900 Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 5 The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: Thinking about how God can take what is small and do great things, I begin to think about our church and our areas. Though we may indeed be small in number, there are relatively few Christians where we are, God can and has worked with the small and turned it into much more. I take comfort in knowing that as God used a few in number to reach the thousands in a difficult arena of religious activity and elite, that God too, can take us who are small, and can build His Kingdom locally. I can also look forward to the Kingdom in it’s full glory, knowing that as the mustard seed that is small and among the least, it becomes among the greatest of the herbs: the Kingdom, unlike the mustard seed, is only seemingly among the least. It is not extremely apparent today, but it will be known as the greatest among the kingdoms… As the only kingdom. Understanding, then, the Kingdom of God is as the mustard seed, that tells us to pay attention to one more detail from the Parable… The Kingdom must be planted. The How The how is the big question today - How does the Kingdom grow? I’m going to be honest, as Christians in the twenty-first century (myself included, unfortunately), we tend to overthink the growth of the Kingdom. We have plenty of available tools and resources at our disposal, much more than any other generation before us. Here in our church alone, and we have very little in resources compared to many other churches, we have facebook ministries, a tv channel, mobile apps, zoom meetings… Other churches have much more. We also have phones, multiple methods of video conferences, we have vehicles to help us travel great distances… We have more than any other generation of Christians, and yet, the church is in decline. That makes no sense. For as much as we have been given, we have also begun to overthink the growth of the church. We have become, as a society, less connected as people the more connected we have become. We have, as church leaders across the nations, become less focused on discipleship, and more focused on maintenance or straight up growth (here is a secret, sheer numbers isn’t growing the kingdom, disciples are). As individuals, we’ve become more concerned with knowing everything before we share, that we don’t share often… When we really only need to share what brought us to Christ, who He is, and why we need Him. So what is the secret to church growth, if all other generations had seen the church increase in size, and the most advanced generation is in decline? Christ told us the answer in one simple and easy to follow command: Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 6 Matthew 28:19–20 KJV 1900 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. The Kingdom grows through discipleship, and discipleship is easy if we don’t complicate it. But we complicate it, and then we don’t share (at least often) and then, there is less new believers. Romans 10:13–15 KJV 1900 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! Do you remember when we talked about the Parable of the Sower? What did the seed sown represent? It represented the Word of God - What did the different soil types represent? It represented people hearing the Word of God. Our job, which I think we often forget, especially myself, is not to make believers. The Holy Spirit does that. It is our job to spread the seed, to go out, and the share the message, and make disciples of the people God makes believers. Too often, we over complicate things and we believe we need to convince every person we talk to before we move on… I think of all of us here, I’m the most guilty of that fact, and I’ve been told multiple times by other pastors I greatly respect that I get too focused on one person who is not going to receive it from me. The hardest thing here, and we need to learn to continue anyways, is to realize that person may accept the gospel, they just won’t accept it from us. So we need to sow the seed, and we need to understand the vast majority of our seed will land on one of the three unfruitful soils. But when we land on good soil, we need to disciple. But we also need to be cautious to not complicate the process so much that we no longer share: for, “how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?” There are also many Christians in the world who believe it is the sole job of the pastor to share, teach, and invite. Christ teaches: Matthew 5:14 KJV 1900 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 7 We, that includes every person indwelled by the Holy Spirit, are the light of the world. If you are a disciple of Christ, you also have the commission Christ gave to His disciples. To: Matthew 28:19–20 KJV 1900 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Summary The Kingdom of God is much like the mustard seed that is planted. The farmer sows his seeds, he waters them, but he goes to bed and rises with the sun, and the plant continues to grow with minimal input. The Kingdom grows much the same, that it is not of the efforts or will of man, but by the will and power of God. That if we would sow the seed and water that which takes, God will grow it of His own power. We are reminded of the patience of the farmer - of the patience I need much work on. When the corn grows, it sprouts the first leaf, then the ear, and then the full corn… We must first be sowing the Word before we have anything to be patient about, and then we must be patient and allow God to work, being assured, as we are faithful to His commission then He will be faithful to complete the work. After the full corn, comes the harvest, and we are assured of the harvest to come. The Kingdom is as the mustard seed, though among the smallest, it grows to be among the greatest. So God’s Kingdom, now, appears small and insignificant. Even so, many do not recognize the existence or presence of His Kingdom at all. But we are assured, as the smallest among the seeds grows to be the greatest, the Kingdom of God, now unseen by most, will be the greatest, seen by all. And we are reminded with this that we need to be workers for God’s Kingdom. We need to be out there sowing the seed. We need to not be so carried away in the how, or the where… But we need to be focused on the what and the Who… Christ died for the remission of sins that all who would believe in Him would be saved. We need to uncomplicate the process and just begin to share. Our networks, and platforms we have are great, but they are not enough. They are good for people who come to belief, and live far way from churches. They are not great for getting the message to unbelievers. That is what we, as people, are for. The tools, the online events, the mobile apps, they are great tools to give people information, but we need to first talk with them and give them the tools. They tools don’t work for themselves. How can they believe in whom they have not been preached? They aren’t looking for Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 8 our message online, we need to bring it to them. And as we do, we are promised God will do the work. Each of us has a job to do, we are all part of building God’s Kingdom. As some of you have already heard, I will be focusing much more on discipling you guys in Bible studies rather than simply giving you commentary. I also want to focus on preparing us, as a local body of believers, to be active Kingdom builders, here (first in Jerusalem), then in Utah as a whole (then in Judah), the United States (Samaria) and then to the ends of the world. As our mission team prepares to come out, let us be prayerful, for the team, for revival, for our church, and for the role we each play in the local body. Gospel/Invitation And having talked so much about the Kingdom, I cannot end this message without telling you the gospel, that we all are sinners in need of saving, and we cannot save ourselves. The Bible tells us all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and the wages of that sin is death. But the Bible also tells us that God so loved the world, that God gave His only begotten Son, that if you would believe in Him, you would not perish (Spiritual death) but would have everlasting life. I want you to all know that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, the maker of all things, whether seen or unseen. And Jesus is the person who stepped into the created realm to become sin for us, so that we could, by calling upon His name, be saved. And Jesus did that because He is love. Romans 10:9 KJV 1900 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. So if you are ready to be part of the Kingdom of God, then let’s confess with our mouths that He is Lord, and lets believe in our heart that He lived sinlessly, and rose again the third day that we too should live. and Matt 10 says Matthew 10:32 KJV 1900 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. And then let us be ready to confess Jesus before our fellow men, to the church, to the community, to the world… and then, we will go make disciples. If you are ready for this, you can begin right here, right now in our closing prayer by asking Christ into your heart. Just repeat the first half with me, and then be ready to confess Christ to the world. I love you all, lets pray. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:03 PM July 10, 2021. 9