Sermon Summary – Sunday 10 November 2019

FROM THIS SEED A TREE SHALL SURELY COME (Calven Celliers)

Read Luke 13: 18 & 19 – The Kingdom of God, being described here, is obviously like any other kingdom, it is a certain domain, a realm, over which some sovereign monarch rules. And Jesus says that the sovereign in question is God Himself. And His Kingdom is always subservient to Him, and the original locus of that Kingdom is in heaven. But when Jesus came to earth He came with the radical announcement of the breakthrough of that heavenly Kingdom, here in our midst, here on this planet. And part of His earthly ministry is Him trying to explain to us mere mortals something of the mystery of that heavenly Kingdom that is now being inaugurated and initiated in this world, and He invites us to get on board to work with Him as He establishes and furthers His Kingdom.

And so in this morning’s parable Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed that is placed in the earth. It apparently takes over 700 mustard seeds to make up one gram. They’re tiny! Chances are if you held one in your hand and dropped it on the floor, you wouldn’t be able to find it. And Jesus is pointing to the fact that right there in that point in history, the Kingdom that He came to proclaim, consisted of few. If you looked at other religions dominant in the Roman Empire during that time, which by the way have all but vanished from the face of the earth, but in light of those other religions at that time, Jesus and His entourage would appear to be insignificant. Why would anyone pay any attention to one man and his handful of followers? What kind of a kingdom was that? To the average man on the street it probably sounded like nothing more than the mouse that roared. The people could see the tiny seed, but they could not see the great tree. Just like the tiny mustard seed that is virtually invisible as you plant it in the soil, as time marches on a little sprig breaks through the earth, and it begins to grow, and to grow, and to GROW, and to expand, until it reaches the size of a tree, big enough for the birds of the air to come and to nest in its branches. Out of that teeny, tiny seed a tree will surely come. In the Kingdom of God many great things start out small, and seemingly insignificant.

“When a stone is dropped into a lake, it quickly disappears from sight. But its impact leaves behind a series of ripples that broaden and reach across the water. In the same way, the impact of one life lived for Christ will leave behind an influence for good that reaches many others.” (Roy Lessin) There are instances in everyone’s life when they feel small and insignificant, invisible to God and unable to make much of a difference. And yet Scripture says that we are made with purpose and a plan. Out of a teeny, tiny seed a tree will surely come. If we truly want God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done in our lives as it is in heaven; if we want breakthrough of that heavenly Kingdom, here in our midst, and for it to grow and grow and GROW and to have the impact God intends, then we’ve got to take heed of what Jesus said – Read John 12: 24 & 25. We all understand that what Jesus was saying was that the way to glory is through death. He was saying of Himself, “I will indeed bear much fruit, but I will not and I cannot bear this fruit any way but through dying.If I leave the road I’m on now I will remain alone like a seed in a bag, not in the ground. And you will not be saved. But if I go and die on my way to glory, then all who believe in me will be saved.” And then He says, “My dying for your salvation is also my design for your imitation. If you want to see me, be prepared to become like me. Prepare to follow me on the road I am going.” I don’t personally know any that have had to physically die for their faith, yet, but I do know that we are all called to die to self. Out of a teeny tiny seed a tree will surely come, but it first has to die.

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“Most people in most churches think they are following Jesus, but I’m not so sure. They may think they are following Jesus, but the reality is this: they have invited Jesus to follow them. They call Him Saviour, but they’ve never surrendered to Him as Lord… anytime God is about to do something amazing in our lives, He calls us to consecrate ourselves to Him … Here’s our fundamental problem: we try to do God’s job for Him. We want to do amazing things for God. And that seems noble, but we’ve got it backward. God wants to do amazing things through us. That’s His job, not ours. Our job is consecration.” (Mark Batterson)

Read Romans 12:1 – Paul’s admonition to us as born again believers is to sacrifice ourselves to God, but obviously not as a sacrifice on the altar, as the Mosaic Law required the sacrifice of animals, but as a living sacrifice. The dictionary defines sacrifice as “anything consecrated and offered to God.” So as believers, how do we consecrate and offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice?

By definition, consecration demands full devotion. It’s dethroning yourself and enthroning Jesus Christ. It’s the complete divestiture of all self-interest. It’s giving God veto power. It’s surrendering all of you to all of Him. Consecration is dying to self, the seed of self-falling in order for a plentiful harvest to come. Consecration is going all in and all out for our all in all. Amazing always starts with consecration, and consecration always ends with amazing. The greatest moments in any Christians walk, are those moments when we get out of the way and let God do His job through us. It’s a true today as it was the day Abraham placed Isaac in the altar and the day Peter got out of the boat and walked on water. Stay humble. Stay hungry. If you aren’t hungry for God, it’s very possible it’s because you are full of yourself. But if you will empty yourself, if you will die to self, then no matter how small and insignificant you may feel, you will see the tiny seed grow and become a tree, as He writes His story through your life. May His Kingdom come, and His will be done, in my life, and your life, just as it is in heaven.

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