Sunday
07/26/20 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Faith Like A Mustard Seed”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 105:1-11, 45b
New Testament
Scripture: Romans 8:26-39
Gospel Lesson: Matthew
13:31-33, 44-52
Welcome again on this our eighth Sunday after Pentecost. Eight Sundays
after the Holy Spirit moved nearly two-thousand years ago on the day of
Pentecost, and the Christian Church was born.
With this said, as you might already know,
the past couple of Sundays I have been preaching about different agricultural or
farming references in the Bible. The references to farming and agricultural in
the Bible, are not only spoken by Jesus in the gospels, but are found all over
the scriptures. As I have mentioned the past couple of Sundays however, only
1-2% of Americans today are directly involved in farming or agriculture. As a
result, these farming or agricultural references can be harder for some to
understand, as they might not know much about these topics.
Jesus often explained who he was, why
he came, and God’s will, through parables or stories. Two weeks ago, I talked
about “The Parable of Sower,” and last Sunday I talked about Jesus’ parable or
story of “The Weeds and the Tares”. You see, Jesus was using farming and
agriculture references to explain to his listeners who he was and is, God’s plan
for humanity, and the Kingdom of God. I believe that these truths that Jesus
taught are still completely true today, but as I have said, many of us no
longer live in the context of the people of Jesus’ life.
This morning, we have yet more
examples of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. These examples are spoken to
the people of Jesus’ day in their context, and while I believe they are still
fully and eternally true, we need to understand the same truths in 2020.
Before diving into our gospel lesson
for this morning, we are told once again in our reading for this morning from
Psalm 105:
“O give thanks to
the Lord, call on his name, make
known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of
all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who
seek the Lord rejoice. Seek
the Lord and his
strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has
done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,” (Ps. 105:1-5, NRSV).
God is eternal, His greatness has been
established, He is unchanging, and His truth is forever.
In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s
letter or epistle to the Romans for this morning, that Apostle Paul reminds us
that in out weakness, God is our strength (Rom. 8:26-27, NRSV). God has called
us according to His purposes, and He is the strength in our weakness. May we call
upon the Holy Spirit to work through us, so that God’s will and His Kingdom
might grow.
The Apostle Paul ends this reading
from the Book of Romans with one of my favorite scriptures. Once again, the
Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:38-39:
“For I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39, NRSV).
The Apostle Paul is telling us that the powers and the truth
of God through Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, are eternal.
Nothing can separate us from Jesus Christ, as that bond is eternal. Much like
one of Jesus’ farming or agricultural parables, the Apostle Paul wrote this
letter to the Romans over 1,950 years ago. The context has changed, in that we
are in 2020, but everything else is completely true. God is eternal, Jesus is
the savior of the world, and there is power in the Holy Spirit.
In getting back into our gospel of Matthew reading once again
for this morning, Jesus gives us five little parables or stories about the Kingdom
of Heaven. What will it be like when Jesus’ Kingdom comes to full fruition, and
what will be like when we are with Jesus forever? Further, how can God us to
further build the Kingdom of God in anticipation for the fullness of the Kingdom
of God, when Christ returns in glory?
My sermon title this morning called, “Faith Like A Mustard
Seed,” is more focused on Jesus’ first short parable or story for this morning,
but I will mention the other short parables, as well.
In looking at this gospel reading once again, Jesus says:
“He put before them another parable: “The
kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his
field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the
greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and
make nests in its branches” (Mt. 13:31-33, NRSV).
The
picture that I printed out to show the kids for this morning, shows how small a
mustard seed can be. In this picture, a person has their finger extended, and
the seed seems barely even there. Mustard seeds are often tiny little things.
Maybe the size of a head of a pin. So small in fact, that you might not even notice
them at all.
Today,
some people’s knowledge of mustard ends with that famous yellow plastic bottle
of French’s Mustard. Yet the mustard plant starts from the littlest, and tiniest
of seeds. If the seed germinates, grows, and survives though, we just how big
will it become?
According
to one site that I researched; it says this of mustards seeds:
“Mustard bushes reach an average
mature height of between 6 and 20 feet with a 20-foot spread, although
exceptional plants can reach 30 feet tall under ideal conditions. They have a
spreading, multistemmed growth habit with a drooping or weeping branch structure.
The leaves are oval, yellowish-green and have a fleshy, succulent feel. Each
leaf is 1 inch wide and 3 inches long, and they are arranged in sets of two on
opposite sides of the stem. Tiny, yellowish flowers appear along 12-inch-long
panicles each year, which ripen into 1/2-inch-diameter berries. The berries
provide a reliable means of identifying the shrub because of their striking
translucency and pink or scarlet color” (https://homeguides.sfgate.com/size-mustard-bush-100618.html#:~:text=Mustard%20bushes%20reach%20an%20average,drooping%20or%20weeping%20branch%20structure.)
So Jesus says once again that:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard
seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the
seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree,
so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches” (Mt. 13:31b-33, NRSV).
So,
what does this mean, other than a mustard seed can grow into a large plant?
What Jesus is saying here, is that even with something ridiculously small, even
almost insignificant, that God do amazing things with it. If someone has faith
the size of a mustard seed, cannot that faith grow that into something much bigger?
Further, cannot the faith that has been put in us here on earth, grow into
something amazing in Christ’s Kingdom? The answer is yes!
In
four other short parables for this morning, Jesus tells us once again “The
Parable of the Yeast,” that says:
“He told them another parable: “The
kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with
three measures of flour until all of it was leavened” (Mt. 13:33, NRSV).
We
are the flour, but what creates the spiritual growth, the rising of the bread,
is Jesus Christ. He is the change agent within us. Oh if we would just turn to
him and follow him daily!
In
the other three short parables for this morning, Jesus tells us once again:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a
field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that
he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine
pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had
and bought it. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is
like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full,
they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the
bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate
the evil from the righteous and throw them
into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 13:44-50, NRSV).
The
treasure hidden in the field, is Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. The Kingdom of
God is like selling everything that you have for one pearl of great value. That
pearl is Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God is like separating good fish from bad
fish. In all these parables, Jesus is saying, through him, you can grow and
flourish, and that he is the true treasure. If we come to him and follow him, if
we live that out each day, then in the end we will realize that nothing on this
earth will help us or save us. Jesus is the mustard seed. Jesus is the leaven
in the bread. Jesus is the pearl of great worth. Jesus in us, is the good fish.
Our hope is in Jesus.
As
Jesus often did after telling a parable or a story, he then provided an explanation
for what he had just taught. Our gospel of Matthew lesson for this morning, once
again ends with this explanation, as Jesus says:
“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.”
And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the
kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his
treasure what is new and what is old” (Mt. 13:51-52, NRSV).
The
old treasure, or the Old Testament, must be connected Jesus, who is the new treasure.
The Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible together, is the fulfilment
of God’s will, prophecy, and His divine call upon all of humanity, to be redeemed,
live upright, love and service each other, and to one day be with Christ for
eternity.
So,
the real gift, the real treasure, is Jesus. I pray that we live boldly with his
love, his grace, his mercy, and his truth, each and every day.
I
want to tell you a story in closing this morning that highlights my “Faith Like
a Mustard Seed” sermon title. I mean what can a little faith do. Here is good
story that might illuminate this a little bit. This story was written on July
22, 2013 by Pastor Travis Agnew. The story is called, “The Chain of Events Leading to Billy
Graham’s Conversion.”
Here is what it says of the late and great Rev. Billy Graham:
“As of 2008, Billy
Graham’s estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television
broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. That means that approximately 2.2 billion
people have heard the gospel from Billy Graham’s mouth. That’s hard to wrap
your mind around. Billy Graham has shared the gospel with more people than
anyone else in history, but do you know who shared the gospel with him?”
“It actually is a
series of events that has been traced over the years and starts out with one
volunteer Sunday school teacher. Someone shared this story with me years
ago, and it impacted me greatly. “You can count the apples on the tree, but who
can count the apples in a seed?” goes the old aphorism. So it is with the
influence of a single person”.
“Take Edward Kimball, for an example.
Never heard of him? Rest assured – most people have never heard of him. Kimball
was a Sunday school teacher who not only prayed for the hyper boys in his
class but also sought to win each one to the Lord personally. He decided
he would be intentional with every single last one of them. Surely he
thought about throwing in the towel. If you have ever taught the Bible to
young boys, you know that the experience can often be like herding cats. One
young man, in particular, didn’t seem to understand what the gospel was about
so Kimball went to the shoe store where he was stocking shelves and confronted
him in the stock room with the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. That young man was Dwight L. Moody. In the stockroom on
that Saturday, he believed the gospel and received Jesus Christ as his Savior.
In his lifetime, Moody touched two continents for God, with thousands
professing Christ through his ministry.
“But the story
doesn’t end there. Actually that’s where it begins. Under Moody, another man’s
heart was touched for God, Wilbur Chapman. Chapman became the evangelist
who preached to thousands. One day, a professional ball player had a day off
and attended one of Chapman’s meetings, and thus, Billy Sunday was converted”.
“Sunday quit baseball and became part of
Chapman’s team. Then, Chapman accepted the pastorate of a large church and
Billy Sunday began his own evangelistic crusades. Another young man was
converted whose name was Mordecai Ham. He was a scholarly, dignified
gentleman who wasn’t above renting a hearse and parading it through the streets
advertising his meetings. When Ham came to Charlotte, North Carolina, a
sandy-haired, lanky young man, then in high school, vowed that he wouldn’t go
hear him preach, but Billy Frank, as he was called by his family, did
eventually go. Ham announced that he knew for a fact that a house of ill repute
was located across the street from the local high school and that male students
were skipping lunch to visit the house across the street. When students decided
to go to interrupt the meetings of Mordecai Ham, Billy Frank decided to go see
what would happen”.
“That night Billy
Frank went and was intrigued by what he heard. Returning another night, he
responded to the invitation and was converted. Billy Frank eventually became
known as Billy Graham, the evangelist who preached to more people than any
other person who ever lived, including the Apostle Paul. You could continue
following this trail and see where Graham and all of us started with the
ministry of Jesus”.
“Think about how
far-reaching Christ’s message has gone. This fascinating chain of events was
triggered by a Sunday school teacher’s concern for his boys. If you are like
most people, you have served in some capacity and wondered at times if you were
making a real difference or not. Maybe you’ve thought about quitting
because you didn’t think you were making any difference. Next time you are
tempted to give up, please remember Edward Kimball, whose persistence and
faithfulness was tremendously honored by the Lord. The story would have
looked very differently if Edward Kimball did not take his Saturday to seek out
young Dwight Moody”.
“You can count the
apples on a tree, but only God knows how many apples are in a single seed. Do
your part today in the Kingdom and trust God for the results” (http://www.travisagnew.org/2013/07/22/the-chain-of-events-for-billy-grahams-conversion/).
Friends, this reality is right now,
and for all of eternity. For this is what Jesus meant this morning when he taught
us what a little faith can do. Even “Faith Like a Mustard Seed”. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment