Church Requel
What is the Kingdom of God like? It’s a question that Jesus’ disciples ask - both 2,000 years ago and today. Jesus answers that it’s like a mustard seed and yeast. What does that mean? How does it change how we live? We discover mind bending truths to the physics of God’s Kingdom.
Luke 13:18-21 NIV
#1- With the Kingdom of God ________________________ .
We like to think in grandiose terms. Bigger is better. We measure success by popularity, by wealth, by acclaim, by… success! So can you understand just how amazing it is what Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to?
“What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed… It is like yeast.”Luke 13:18-19a, 20a NIV
“The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth…”Mark 4:30-32 NIV
When Jesus was looking to give an analogy of the Kingdom of God, he deliberately went for the “small” rather than the “large.” Mustard seed. Yeast. How small is a mustard seed? 1-2 millimeters in diameter!
3 quick conclusions for us:
1. Size DOESN’T Matter! Never discount the importance or vitality of a part of the Kingdom of God because on the outside it looks small!
2. It’s what’s on the INSIDE that counts! What is it that makes the mustard seed or the yeast so powerful? The inside design DNA that can become something so much bigger. The inside change agent is what counts!
3. Appearances can be deceiving! It’s not whether a church is large or small, but what’s on the inside? What is it’s potential to be used in God’s Kingdom?
#2 - The Kingdom of God is always _________________ .
“It grew and became a tree, and the bird perched in its branches.” Luke 13:19b NIV
“The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which … becomes the largest of all garden plants.”Mark 4:30-32 NIV
Jesus uses the example of the mustard seed, not just because of it’s starting small size, but because of it’s potential to grow and become. The mustard seed starts small, but quickly produces a 10-foot tall plant.
“Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”Luke 13:21b NLT
A little bit of yeast completely changes dough!
So when it comes to the Kingdom of God, it’s not the size that counts, it’s the powerful life-changing power of the gospel inside that permeates every part, just like the yeast. The Kingdom of God is always growing and always becoming! (Don’t ever say we can’t change. If we are part of the Kingdom of God, we can’t NOT change!)
3 ways we grow & become:
A - Growing and becoming as _________________ .
“Supplement you faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection and love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be…” 2 Peter 1:5-8 NLT
When we have the power of the Kingdom of God inside of us - we can never stay the same! We must change! It begins with faith - believing that what God says is true. Believing that we are His children. Believing that He wants the best for us. That He wants the best in us. And so we cooperate with God and work to grow to become like Christ.
B - Growing and becoming as a _______________ .
“Growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church… as each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:15-16 NLT
You get a bunch of individuals together who have the mustard seed of the gospel inside of them, with each individual growing and becoming more like Christ, do you know what you end up with? A church that is also growing in every way, becoming more like Christ, each one doing the work he was specially created to do, all working together.
C - Growing and becoming as ______________ .
“The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” Rom. 8:21 NIV
Growing and becoming as individual Christ-followers or as a church is not the end of itself. We miss that sometimes. We think we are the end result of change. The Bible tells us, however, that we children of God are literally the mustard seeds / yeast of change for the entire creation! That God’s plan is to use us to liberate creation from its bondage to decay!
Jesus gave us this parable so that we might understand how we could be a part of it! The greatest opportunity in all creation is to be able to be a part of God’s plans!
Within this parable are 3 keys to the Kingdom and you must have all three keys…
#3a - Keys to the Kingdom of God:
_____________, ____________ and ____________ .
“It is like a mustard seed, which a man took …”Luke 13:19b NIV, 21a MSG
Simple but powerful. The first key, the first step, is to take ahold of the gospel. To want it. To hold it. To be a part of it. To be attracted to it. To not reject it. To not dismiss it. To not “take it or leave it.”
#3b - Keys to the Kingdom of God:
_____________, ____________ and ____________ .
“It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted.” Luke 13:19b NIV, 21a MSG
Remember just two weeks ago? Repent? μετανοέω meta- to change / noéō -to exercise the mind, think, comprehend. To change how I think. To change my mind. To change the direction of my life. The power of the mustard seed is to change the seed into a large plant. The power of the yeast is to change the flat dough into risen bread. The power of the gospel planted into my life is to change my life from the direction of destruction into the direction of eternal life.
#3c - Keys to the Kingdom of God:
_____________, ____________ and ____________ .
“It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted. It’s like yeast that a woman works into dough.” Luke 13:19b NIV, 21a MSG
While we are saved by grace and not by works, there is much work to do be done once we have be saved by grace! God continuously works in my life. And I must continuously work to surrender my own selfish desires over to His best desires for me, for His church and for all His creation.