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READ: Mark 4:30
CHALLENGE: Aim for Spiritual Vitality
Vv30-34 – Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” 33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
This story is about the growth and impact of the kingdom of God despite it’s small start. As we start this New Year, let’s look for growth and development in our own lives. Where can we improve? Jesus starts out saying, “The kingdom of God is like”. The fact that Jesus is talking about the “kingdom of God” shows that He values it and wants to think about it.
The kingdom of God is about God’s rule in the world and His rule in our lives. And that is more spiritual than physical. In other words, God’s not running the congress. God’s not the President. There are not geographical boundary lines. It’s a spiritual kingdom that can be anywhere on the planet. It’s letting God have say-so in our hearts.
So, Jesus is emphasizing something that is spiritual and wow is it easy to lose sight of those things. Why? We’re influenced by the clock. We’re influenced by material possessions and fun and projects and all the pressing things that form part of what we refer to as the rat race – the daily grind!
While we hopefully pray and read our Bible and spend time thinking about spiritual things, we’re existing in the temporal world and wrapped up into so many things of temporal significance. When we look at the spiritual world, that’s the delayed gratification stuff. That’s more about the eternal things and laying up treasures in heaven. So, it’s easy to get caught up in the temporal and physical side of the world and everything that is right now.
Mentioning the kingdom of God at least puts spirituality on the table. There is a very real and spiritual side of our world that is truly worth pondering. Let’s ponder this kingdom of God. As Ecclesiastes says, how can man enjoy anything apart from God.
With that said, there is both a kingdom of light and one of darkness. And if we can delve into the dark side for a bit, it might help us to understand some principles of God’s kingdom better.
- KINGDOM OF GOD IS SPIRITUAL
I want to take you on a short tour in Ephesians to get some perspective on the kingdom of God.
- There Are Spiritual Forces
Ephesians 2:1-2 – As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Do you see how it says that this spirit is at work in those who are disobedient? It’s working in hearts and lives and exerting a dark spiritual energy. Molding them. Directing them. Deceiving them. It says that it’s “at work” exerting some sway in their lives.
So, if the kingdom of darkness is “at work” in people, what about the Kingdom of God? Couldn’t we say that it is also working in people and influencing direction? God’s Spirit is at work so the Kingdom of God is a force that is exerting sway in the lives of those who are obedient. It’s the opposite of disobedience. If there are evil influences at work in this world, God’s Spirit is also at work. Correct? I’ve seen multiple comics with a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. And while we realize that’s a cartoon rendition, there are clearly spiritual influences inserting themselves into the lives of others.
And where is this happening exactly? The Kingdom of the air and the spiritual realm is as unseen as air and just as real. Perhaps we’ve said, “There’s something in the air”, right? Something. And even though invisible, it’s influencing people. Wind is utterly invisible but I know when the wind has been around because the chairs on my back deck have moved about. You see the tree branches swaying about. Or the snow blowing.
There are spiritual influences that are exerting themselves in the world and specifically in our lives. I just want us to be aware of it. Be aware of the possibility that some of your anger or despair or frustration or depression or discouragement could be other forces exerting influence. Could be a random thought. Could be some form of obsession or flaming darts from the enemy. It could even be a suicidal thought. We have to be open to any and all of that.
Remember Jesus said to Peter, get behind me Satan. Peter was trying to talk Jesus into not going to Jerusalem. It was a thought spoken to Peter’s mind and Jesus saw it for what it was as it was not originating with the will of God.
God will also influence us.
- Consideration of Spiritual Fruit
Ephesians 5:3-5 – But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
The fruit really spells out what’s influencing you the most. You’re not in the kingdom of God if you’re immoral, impure, or greedy. However, some immoral and greedy folks had to be told that they had no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God because they thought they did. And it’s not they were barred from it, they weren’t in it at all. Godliness was not a marker in their lives. They might talk words but there’s no fruit.
The proof is in the pudding. A good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. And it has a spiritual root to it as well.
Ephesians 5:8-9 – For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
You were in darkness but now you are the light. The frightening thought about “once darkness” means that you were there. And once there, you understand that it was a comfortable place at times. Some were used to resolving pain with substances. You’re used to lashing out. You’re used to being immoral. But it’s the old way and the darkness. You were there but you certainly don’t want to go back.
What’s the fruit of the kingdom of God? But the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. And that’s interesting because you cannot go to Walmart and buy those things. Please, someone go get me a box of righteous flakes! Go to the truth row at the grocery store. And here’s the truth, you can’t. These are spiritual realities and there are spiritual sources. You get them from God. I love the fact that a good spiritual influence will connect you to doing good things and help others. You follow what God has to say. You are into the truth and that truth directs your life.
I saw a Twilight Zone episode where they had the devil in a cell and the only thing that contained him was the “staff of truth”. Truth was the one thing he could not overcome. So the truth is hugely important in giving us weight and keeping us from being swept all around with every bad idea out there.
- Consideration of Spiritual Influence Via People
Influence Comes through People
Ephesians 5:6 – Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
You shouldn’t be partners with them. You shouldn’t share in their behaviors and do the same things. He was talking about the kind of behavior that does not gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. And then he said, don’t be partners with them.
Being a partner would clearly mean to have a close relationship. This people are going to influence you and clearly evil can win with bad influences. I like the phrase, “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”. That’s a profound comment. Who are you allowing to influence your life? Think about that. Who are you listening to? Are you stuck in an echo chamber?
Who are you dating? Who are you seeing? Who are your friends? These are the people speaking and exerting influence in your life and this is what Paul is getting at!
Spiritual warfare can be waged through negative and dark people. And then the birds of a feather flock together. As soon as people are influencing you counter to what God’s word teaches you know they are going in the wrong direction.
Ephesians 5:18 – Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,
Are we setting our mind on spiritual things. What are we filling our thoughts with? Spiritual things or worldly things? This is an important topic as well.
Who is influencing you? I believe that we should have friends from different walks of life both churched and unchurched. But if someone is encouraging me in the wrong direction, I need to break ties. It can be hard but you have to free of it.
Be filled by the Holy Spirit. Being aware of how the Holy Spirit is leading us is super important.
- Consideration of Spiritual Power. (Note: Perhaps put this at the top)
Ephesians 6:12 – For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
And what do we use to battle all this nonsense according to the spiritual armor? We use truth, righteousness, faith, the gospel, salvation, the Word of God and ultimately prayer. We clearly need to be aware of spiritual battles that wage around us.
The bottom line is that the kingdom of God is spiritual. It’s impacting inwardly and when we’re connecting with God and that’s showing up in the exterior things.
BE AWARE and BE GROWING
B. THE KINGDOM STARTS SMALL BUT GROWS BIG
There is a progression.
- Starts Small
Inconspicuous. A mustard seed was tiny. This is a little seed but it grew into a bush that as quite large by comparison. It’s just little and was known as being little. It was the smallest seed of which they were aware.
Some seeds that we plant are so little that you can barely see whether or not they are in the ground at all. But you plant it in faith that something will happen. And then you’ll see these tiny little leaves springing up.
Weigh the seed of the gospel. It’s a simple truth really and I could tell it to you in a matter of seconds. To inititially put your faith in Jesus Christ takes but a moment. Since it’s so small, might we lose sight of it? It’s going to show up but some might “doubt” their salvation.
When I was a child, after I had put my faith in Jesus, I questioned my salvation. Did it take? How could one be sure? I would awaken after I was sent to bed and I would talk with my dad. And sometimes there were godly men at the house and I remember one man speaking to me about it as well. And fortunately they did not waffle as they gave me assurance that I was a believer.
And there are some great verses about that.
1 John 5:11-13 – And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
You can know that you have it. You don’t have to live in fear your entire life. You can know that you have eternal life if you’ve planted that seed of faith! It’s so effective! You can know that you are saved and don’t have to sweat it out for your entire life. Paul said in Ephesians 2 that it is by grace through faith that you have been saved. You already have been. We’re not waiting and working for it to happen, it’s clearly the work of God that has happened and then the evidence begins to show up.
That embracing of the gospel is so significant! And that decision to follow Christ may look small to someone but it’s powerful! They say that the angels rejoice when one sinner repents, that’s how powerful it is.
Please have confidence in the power of God and the seed of His truth. It can truly transform people and it’s a beautiful thing. God’s word can change the life of your spouse, your children, your friends. People you’ve been praying for. God is powerful!
- Grows Significantly
A mustard seed is an annual and it grows 6-10 feet tall. The size of the seed compared to the size of the plant is remarkable. It’s interesting that Jesus uses a relatively humble plant. However, this plant re-seeds and they said there was a mustard plant that grew wild and you really couldn’t stop it. Once those seeds got into the ground – watch out.
The seed of God’s truth in your life is going to make a huge difference! The kingdom of God would expand to more and more areas. It also means that there is spiritual growth in the followers of Christ.
Philippians 1:6 – being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Illustration:
How is it the seed of the kingdom within if it’s not growing? Hey, my life is a grove of mustard plants but there are no plants growing here. I’m a spiritual apple orchard! Without trees?
This is like saying you’re a car lot but there are no cars! Or you’re a coffee shop but there’s not a coffee bean to be seen. You can’t say you’re a believer if there’s no growth in your life. And like the invisible wind is evident on the rustling leaves. The invisible Kingdom is evident in life. It’s going to show up in fruit.
C. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS A BENEFIT TO OTHERS
“….that the birds can perch in its shade.”
There’s a useful aspect to the kingdom of God. Some say that this refers to the Gentiles coming into the kingdom. They will flock to it. Yes, that’s true. I’d like to look at the usefulness of the mustard seed.
Mustard seeds had many uses. It was used for medicine and spice. Ultimately the birds of the air could rest there and find shade and along with shade, we could mention shelter and protection. This is the kingdom of God and it’s growing and there are lots of mustard bushes in a field so I would hope that collectively we are shelter for the hurting.
It talks a lot in the Bible about bearing fruit and that means useful. Love, kindness, and service are huge. We never want to limit what God is doing in our lives to something self contained. Compare it to salt. The salt needs to get outside of the salt shaker rather than to just be confined to the bottle. My spirituality can’t just be about me. My faith isn’t just about me. Christianity is not just about being right. It’s about making a difference in lives. A difference that will reorient lives to God and bring people to genuine faith.
May God use us to help others. These are deep topics to consider. But is the church just a shelter for the already sheltered? Or is it a spiritual gym to help sinners get back into spiritual shape? I’ve heard some refer to church as a hospital. What is the point of the church? The birds should be able to find help. Help with marriage, finance, parenting, teaching, struggles with addiction, food, and a host of other things.
The early church took care of widows. They were very concerned with the physical plight of others. They took collections for the poor regularly. They truly wanted to help. They had a useful Christianity and we should as well.
We used to hide behind a stone wall in the neighbor’s yard and pop up and hit cars with snowballs. One day, a car lost control and nearly hit a massive oak tree along the road and I never threw another thing at a car for the rest of my life. I just could not bear the thought that my actions might hurt someone.
Our job is not to shelter within the church and pelt the world with our righteous snowballs. If you look at the message of Christ. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Clearly spent time with sinners to reach them. Jesus, with his own words said, I did not come to condemn the world and if Jesus did not come to condemn the world than neither should we. We are here to help others.
I like to ponder whether or not we are useful. Are we impacting our community? Are we the people that others can rely on for a hand up? For some encouraging words? Helping others is an important part of life.
So there is spirituality, growth, useful behaviors. I would have to believe that you could come to church every Sunday and be unspiritual, not growing, and not impacting others. This is evidence of God working in your life.