The Mustard Seed, Part 2

Jesus tells the disciples about the mystery kingdom that was to proceed the millennial blaze of glory where he would rule and reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem. Matthew 13 gives us seven parables that explain the mystery of the kingdom. So God would give a parable of the mustard seed, the parable of the leaven, to explain to his men the impact. of his kingdom, to explain to his men the power of his kingdom, to explain to his men the influence the gospel message would have. They're designed to encourage.

They're designed to answer questions that the disciples were asking to help them understand that in spite of the opposition, the kingdom of God will grow and have tremendous influence in the world. Matthew chapter 13, if you have your Bible. I would invite you to turn there with me if you would, please. Matthew chapter 13, verse number 31, verse number 32. Just two simple verses. He presented another parable to them saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a musher seed, which a man took and so did his field.

And this is smaller than all the other seeds. But when it is full grown, it is large within the garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Our outline is very simple. The instruction, the interpretation, and the implications. It's the same for all the parables, and so it's easy to follow. First of all, the instruction.

I want you to look at the parable, the potential, and then a problem. The problem, of course, has a question mark against it or with it. We'll talk about that in a moment. First of all, the parable.

Very simple to understand. It's a parable about a farmer, a farmer who goes out and plants a crop of mustard. Mustard was used in those days for many things. But, It's a very simple parable. A man, we'll have to sow some mustard seed. And the potential, that's point number two, we're rapidly going through this outline rather quickly.

And so you'll realize that this particular mustard seed being spoke of here, when it grows, it becomes a tremendous tree or a tremendous shrub or a tremendous bush. It grows to a height in Middle Eastern times of somewhere up to seven to eight feet. A mustard seed can grow fairly big. The mustard is a large herb, huge tree, as the Lord would say. The Lord is emphasizing that there is no connection between the smallness of the seed and the largest of the plant. It's a big contrast there, but that contrast is significant, as we will see in a moment.

But I want you to know what's the problem, because the critics will come along and say, time out. The mustard seed is not the least of all the seeds. There are smaller seeds. So what is going on here? Is the mustard seed the smaller seed, or is it not? That's important to understand. The word in verse number 31, the word in verse number 32 for seed, is a word that very clearly refers to seeds that are sown in an agricultural manner. The critics will come and say, well, the wild orchard seed is a smaller seed than the mustard seed.

And because it is, Jesus is a liar. He didn't know he's talking about. Ah, but the smallest seed sown in an agricultural setting is truly the mustard seed. The wild orchard seed is not a seed sewn to produce a plant that's edible. But the mustard seed is planted, specifically designed to produce something that is edible. And because it is, it is the smallest of all the seeds that you're in. you can sow that once produced, you can eat. So Jesus was right. The kittics are wrong. Jesus knew what he was talking about.

And that's important for you and me to know, right? Because you see, if you can trust the Lord when it comes to learning a lesson in botany, then you can trust the Lord and everything, right? That's important. If Jesus said, there's only one way to heaven, it's through me, guess what? There's only one way to heaven. I don't care what anybody else says. And Jesus was very clear about that, wasn't he? And so if Jesus says that the mustard seed is a smaller seed, guess what?

It is. It is a smaller seed that when sown, produces an herb, that's edible. And that is a smallest seed. That can be sown. It also says, when it is grown, small to the whole seed, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree. And he used a specific illustration to help the disciples understand, something about the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is something that starts out very, very small. So small you can hardly even see it. So small it looks insignificant, but becomes so big, so grand, so enormous that the birds of the air can come and rest in it and nest in it and feed off of it.

That is very significant. So at least this is a point. Number two, the interpretation. What is Christ actually saying? It tells us this. The kingdom of heaven starts out really, really, really small. The disciples needed to get that because their connotation of the kingdom was that, man, this is going to be a grand, glorious, magnificent, huge, humongous, unbelievable kind of kingdom. And Christ says, I want to illustrate something for you by taking an everyday occurrence, the planet of mustard seeds, and let you know that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like.

And these men were just a hand full of disciples, and they were against the whole world. It was just them. And Christ is encouraging them by saying, you know what? It's going to be okay, guys. This is the way I've planned it. It's going to start very tiny. And this is the way I want it to happen. That's the commencement of the kingdom. It begins small. And then I want you to notice the culmination of the kingdom.

It becomes absolutely unbelievably large. Listen to the psalma, Psalm 72. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea and from the river into the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarsius and the Isle shall bring presents. The king of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. yea all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. That's the extent of the kingdom. Psalm 78 versus 8, excuse me, Psalm 72 versus 8 to 11, explain the largest of the kingdom as it goes from sea to sea, as it covers the globe.

Speaking of the millennial reign of Christ and how big this kingdom is going to be. Exactly as Christ said it was going to be. Oh, it starts small, but it would grow. road be huge. Over in Isaiah 54, verses 2 and 3, enlarge the place of the tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation. Spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen the stakes, for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the nations. The Messiah's kingdom shall inherit the earth.

It's a rule over the world. So much so that when you come to Revelation chapter 11, you hear these words, and the seventh angel sounded, verse number 15. and there arose loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of its Christ. And he will reign forever and ever. And the 24 elders who sit on the thrones before God fell on their faces and worship God, saying, we give thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty who art and who wast, because thou hast taken thy great power and hast begun to reign.

And the nations were enraged. And thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to the bond servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth. In Revelation chapter 11, you have that seventh angel sounding the seventh trumpet. And from that seventh trumpet, of course, come the seven bowls of judgment. But what you have is the praise of those in heaven because the kingdom of this world is now become the kingdom of our God.

Meaning to say that the extent of this kingdom is worldwide. Just exactly as Christ said it was going to happen, it will start small. It started in a manger. Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it abideth alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. And sure enough, it did exactly. as Christ said it was going to happen. The culmination of this kingdom begins to grow in such a way that it's hard for us even to begin to explain because the rulership of Christ begins very small. It begins in the hearts and lives of people who are devoted to him until one day he returns and the whole world recognizes his rulership.

This parable is meant to encourage us, to to help us understand that great things are going to happen. And you've got to realize that even today, as we look at where we are and what we're doing as a church and realizing what God is doing, we have told you many, many times, Matthew chapter 7, Luke chapter 13, that the kingdom of heaven, few there be that find it.

Few. But there's going to come a day that's going to be so great when it comes to a revival that it will blow what has happened in years. passed completely away. Let me read it to you.

It's in the Bible. Revelation chapter 7. It reads as follows. And after these things I looked and behold a great multitude. John says, I looked and saw and behold. Stand amazed. The word behold throughout the book of Revelation speaks of the amazement of John as he would begin to see what was before him. Behold! I saw a great multitude which no one could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes and palm branches were in their hands, and they cry out with a loud voice saying salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb.

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worship God. John says, man, this is absolutely amazing. I looked and behold, what did I see? A great multitude of people from every tribe, from every time. from every nation, clothed in white garments, and they're singing praises to God about the salvation of their lives. He says, amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and Thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever amen.

And one of the elders, the answer is saying to me, these who are clothed in white robes, who are they? And from where have they come? Where do these people come from? And I said, John says, to him, my Lord, you know. They said to me, these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. You see, you got to understand John's perspective. He heard Matthew 13. He heard the parable of the sore and the soil, the wheat and the tears, the mustard seed, the leaven.

He heard about it. He was there on the day of Pentecost. He saw what was happening. He saw the growth of the church and how things were coming together. And then he saw the persecution of the church. And they saw, as time went on, the deterioration of the church, so that we finally got his vision.

In Revelation 2 and 3, he was told to write, write to seven churches in Asia Minor, as he wrote to those churches. By that time, things were very small. Things were a lot different than what he had seen in Acts 2, 3, 4, and 5. So he gets a vision, a glimpse of what's going on in heaven. And all of a sudden he sees a great multitude of people. So many can't even count them. A multitude of people. Millions of them. Where do they come from? How'd they get here? And the elder says, you know, John. They've had their robe.

was washed in the blood of the land. See, God's very clear. In the church age, you can share the gospel. Most of the hearts are going to be cold. Most of them are going to be counterfeits. Very few of them will be converted in the church age. But you'll grow together into the end of the harvest. Because right before the end of the harvest comes the greatest revival the world's ever seen. It happens in seven years. There will be more people saved in seven years than in the history of the world. I believe that of all my heart.

In those seven years, during the world, the most wicked time on the face of the earth, the most terrible time on the face of the earth, when Satan has come literally down out of heaven to earth and unleashed all of his minions and all of his demons throughout the earth will become the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever seen. And John says, behold, you can't believe what I saw. These are the people who have had their robes washed in the blood of the lamb. It says, for this reason, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirsted anymore, neither shall the sun be down on them nor any heat. For the lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd and shall guide them to springs of the water of life, and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes. These people went through horrendous difficulty in the short span of time during the tribulation period. But they were saved, a great multitude of people, talking about the key. of God growing to great numbers. Wait to see what happens in the tribulation.

That's when it explodes with revival. And it culminates with, of course, the return of Christ. Let us see a concern. Just one concern. And that is this. According to the parable, the muster see was planted, and the branches were big enough for the birds to build their nests on. The question comes, what do the birds represent? The presence of birds in the... in the mustard plant means that it has large branches. It is able to house these birds. The seeds of the tree are a source of food for these birds.

And so you begin to understand that in Christ's kingdom, the birds are not necessarily a part of the kingdom, but those birds benefit from the presence of that kingdom. on earth. And is it not true that the world benefits from the presence of the kingdom of God on earth? Sure it does. And we are a purifying agent in America in the world, all around the world. And is it not true that the world is blessed because of the kingdom of God on earth through the church of Jesus Christ? Sure it is. Let me give an example.

Remember 1st Corinthians chapter 7? Paul says, if you're an unbeliever or you're a believer and you're married to an unbeliever, stay married to the unbeliever. Don't divorce them. If the unbeliever departs, let them leave, let them go. But the unbeliever stays, let me tell you something.

You as a believer cannot divorce the unbeliever. You know why? Because you are the sanctifying influence in that individual's life. Do you know that that unbeliever is blessed, protected, preserved because of you? And Paul makes it very clear that you become that sanctifying influence in the life of the unbeliever. Just like the church on a larger scale becomes a sanctifying influence in the world because of its presence here, because of the Spirit of God orchestrating his efforts through our lives.

And that's what happens as we begin to understand the parable of the mustard seed. The unbeliever, like in a marriage, is sheltered by the tree of the believer. the kingdom of God in the life of that believer as that individual submits himself or herself to the rulership of Christ and the blessings that that person receives from God extends to his family because they are under the branches of kingdom's tree. Same it is in the world. So important. So what are the implications? Let me give you two of them.

Number one, outnumbered, but never overpowered. That's the church of Jesus Christ. Oh, we're definitely outnumbered. There's more of them than there is of us. There's more a in saints than there is saints. But you know what? The Bible says in Psalm 56, verse number nine, this I know God is for me.

Isn't that good? I don't let me taste that. If God's for you, let's Paul say, if God be for us, who could be against us? Who? Psalm was said this. Psalm 46, verse number 11. The Lord Almighty is with us. Psalm 60, verse number 12, with God, we will gain the victory. He will trample our enemy. The Bible says this over in 1 John chapter 5, first number four, these words.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. Isn't that good? Whoever's born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world? But he who believes that Jesus is the son of God. We are the ones who overcome the world. That's amazing. Outnumbered, but not overpowered. Why? Because we are the overcomers. And so when John would write to the seven churches in Asia Minor, what would he say in Revelation chapter 2 to the Church of Thyatira, these words.

Verse number 26. And he who overcomes, remember, every letter in Revelation 2 and 3 to the seven churches ends with an exhortation to the overcomer. And the overcomer, according to 1st John 5, 4 and 5, is the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. So that makes you an overcomer. He gives us promise. First number 26, Revelation 2.

And he overcomes, and he who keeps my deeds until the end, to him, I will give authority over what? The nations. And he shall rule them with the rules. rod of iron as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces as I also have received authority from my father and I will give him the morning star that's power man we're the overcomers and God says I'm going to give you authority I'm going to give you power and you will rule over the nations why because my kingdom encompasses the globe and those who follow me although they're outnumbered today will never be outduled, will never be overpowered, because they are the overcomers.

That's great news. That's great news. Outnumbered, but never overpowered. I think of Moses. Moses was outnumbered. I mean, even his own people outnumbered him. And the Egyptians, they really outnumbered him. But you know what? He never was overpowered, was he? God used him in a mighty way. Just Moses. Because God wanted to do a great work through one man. And then you got guys like David and Goliath. You think David would be overpowered by this massive giant named Goliath, but with God on David's side, he was the overcoming.

Remember Gideon? And he had all kinds of guys ready for battle. And God said, you've got too many guys. Too many of them. He thought, too many, I'm already outnumbered. He says, you've got way too many. Took him all right now, 300 men. God likes to start small. He starts small and begin. ends to bless in a way so that only he can get the credit. Only he can. Only he can get the glory. Next time you feel outnumbered, next time you feel overwhelmed, next time you feel outduled, guess what? You're the overcomer.

You're the victorious one, not the world. Point number two, small but extremely significant. Oh, we're small, but we're significant. Oh, man. We are so significant that Jesus, Christ shed his blood for us. Remember he told us men, you know what, fellas, it's not time if you know the kingdom and what's going to happen there. But I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do. You're going to receive power. And you should become my witnesses throughout the entire world. What Christ did it was in that day was that, listen, I want to tell you something.

You have a purpose. And that purpose is based on my power. Because of my power. Because of my plan, everything will happen exactly as I wanted to happen. You see, we might be small. but we're significant. We're not significant because of who we are. We're significant because of what God himself has done in our life. And that's great news, isn't it? Sure it is. And these men needed to hear this. Because you know what? After Christ died, what happened? They all went back fishing? They all went back to their own jobs.

It's over. It's done. And Peter says, I'm going to go fishing. And everybody said, we're going fishing too, Peter. They all went fishing until Jesus showed up again. When Jesus showed up again, man, everything changed. because everything happened just like you said. Man, he started with a small group of guys that none of you would ever want on your team. I wouldn't want on my team. So, boy, he used them in a mighty way. And boy, because of those men, as small as they were, and what God did in their lives, you and I have received the truth of the gospel.

And we're here today. And all started small, boy, it's significant. So significant, the Bible says that one day these words.

Revelation chapter 17. Revelation 17, verse number 14, these will wage war against the lamb, and the lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and those who are with him are called and chosen and faithful. Who are those who are with him? That's you and me. We're called. We're chosen. We are the faithful one. So when you come to Revelation chapter 19, and the king returns, it says this in verse number 19, and I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against him who sat up on the.

the horse and against his army. Who's the army? That's you and me. How do I know that? First number 14.

And the armies which are in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean were following him on white horses. That's you and me. That's you and me. We are the army. And the Bible says, and the beast was seized and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.

These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone, and the rest were killed with a sword which came from the mouth of him who sat upon the horse and all the birds were filled with their flesh. We overcome because Jesus Christ himself is the chief overcomer. Small? Oh, yeah. Very small. Significant? Absolutely. Outnumbered? Yes. But never overpowered. Because Jesus Christ is king. And we serve in his kingdom. Let's pray.