Dr. Bradford Reaves
CrossWay Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
There is an ongoing trend in the Church today that I am constantly aware of and continually speak out against, and this is the apostate church. This is not about personal preference or stylistic differences that are sometimes seen in various groups or churches. This is about an intentional but gradual shift away from biblical Christianity. We see it in churches that focus on entertainment instead of enlightenment. We see it in narcissistic pastures who are self-serving instead of shepherds. We see it in church growth movements that focus the church on being run like a business instead of being focused on the Lord’s business.
If you wanted to describe the state of the church today, the best word to use would be apostate; an apostate church is when it has turned away from biblical fundamentals that are essential to guiding it in doctrine, morality, theology, and how the church operates. Another comparison we may use today from the Book of Revelation is the Laodicean Church. Just as the Bible predicts, people in these last days turn away their ears from the truth and are turned to fables. Did you know that whatever you want to believe, there’s a group in town who will accommodate you?
And recent news we have seen churches that have used the Bible to kick a field goal, churches being led by narcissistic entertainers, unbiblical music lyrics, pastors using profanity from the pulpit, churches hosting drag queens to entertain children, and a massive departure from sound doctrine to appease cultural norms. Anytime we see this kind of apostasy, it always begins with a shift away from the word. Until they veer so far away from Scripture that they now are rewriting it to help accommodate their beliefs.
“A recent translation published [a Bible that] eliminates references to God the Father, calls the Son of Man ‘the human one,’ and removes accusations that the Jews killed Christ. It says children should heed their parents, not obey them. Wives are no longer subject to their husbands but committed to them. Darkness is no longer equated with evil because of racist overtones, and the Lord’s Prayer now begins: ‘Our Father-Mother in heaven…’
So, the question is how we as a church avoid such erosion of the faith. Yet even closer to home is how can you personally guard yourself from this kind of shift. Jesus answers that in today’s parable. (Thank you, Jerry Shirley, Sermon Central, for your inspiration for this introduction)
He said, therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” 20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? (Luke 13:18–20)
You will remember that much of Jesus’ teaching was to introduce the truths of the Kingdom of Heaven to his hearers. He also countered the false teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees of his day. A parable was to illustrate the truths of the kingdom vividly. Someone once said that a picture is worth a thousand words. In the case of Jesus, a word is worth a thousand pictures. In this parable, we find three essential elements: the seed, the tree, and the birds.
1. The Seed: Small Beginnings
So Jesus likens the Kingdom to that of a mustard seed. It stands to reason that what Jesus is talking about is the infancy of the Kingdom of God at work. When you look at the ministry of Jesus, he certainly exemplifies this image. He came into the world to a tiny country, throwing away small people, Israel. He was born in an unknown region, grew up as a commoner, and only spent 3 1/2 years of actual ministry that is recorded. Jesus then died at the hands of his own people at the age of 33. Looking at Jesus’s ministry from the outside, it would seem that his ministry was insignificant. Yet, 2000 years later, it is the most influential religion in the world. Jesus appears to all cultures and has the power to change hearts utterly.
Now, many people will be quick to point out that Jesus is factually wrong here in this parable. They say, “Wait a minute, the mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds” and while they are right, Jesus was not miss speaking here. There are several reasons that we need to clarify:
First of all, in Jesus's day, the mustard seed would have been considered among the smallest of seeds planted agriculturally. While it is true, the orchid seed is supposed to be the smallest, that would have not had any bearing to people who were listening to him. You see in jesus's day when they wanted to compare something to something very small they would use the mustard seed. For instance, they may say, “he bled so little it was the drop of a mustard seed.” Or how about this one: “his brain is about the size of a mustard seed.” You get the idea.”
Secondly, Jesus was not teaching a botany lesson. He was talking about planting herbs in a garden that every person listening to him would have understood. Factually, the mustard seed is among the smallest of all seeds in the herb family. This is particularly true of the mustard seeds of that region in Israel.
Third, as with many of jesus's teaching he was speaking with hyperbole. This was a common teaching method of Jesus to get a hold of the attention of the hearer. You can imagine that as Jesus is teaching and he says, “The Kingdom of God is like...” And everybody leans in to here are some great comparison, only to be let down by the hyperbole of jesus. “... The Kingdom of God is like… a mustard seed.” And you can imagine everyone giving a collective, “Really?... A mustard seed?”
Moreover, there's a whole lot we can learn from the fact of the Kingdom of God being like a mustard seed. There's a fallacy in our world, especially in America, that “bigger is always better.” And here is the picture painted by Jesus regarding the mustard seed. It is small and significant but grows into a plant that can reach 8 to 15 feet high. It certainly looked like a tree, even though it was a shrub. There are Roman accounts of soldiers riding their horses under the mustard plant and finding shade.
So it is with the Kingdom of God and the work of God in your life and the life of the church. At first glance, the mainland looks like very much. It may not look like it's going to be something significant, but oh, how that is proven to be wrong. God delights in working on little things in our lives and the world. Remember Gideon’s army? They show up for battle with a vast army, and God says, “Nope, too many people.” Finally, Gideon is left with only 10,000 men. Hardly an army for man to fight a battle, but not for God.
Maybe you feel like putting faith in God would be insignificant to the problems you're facing. But mustard seeds are all over your life and can have significant changes. Forgiveness, giving of your finances, repentance, new faith, prayer, reading the bible all of these are mustard seeds that have first glance may not seem that significant but the fruit of these seeds are powerful.
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, (1 Corinthians 1:27–28)
Friends, take heart. God is not looking for you to be a spiritual giant. He is looking for someone who will be a seed in the Kingdom of Heaven. Build your life on the things of God and allow the little godly habits in your life to grow.
There can also be small things in your life that can lead to bigger negative outcomes.
Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.” (Luke 8:18)
So his fame spread throughout all of Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. (Matthew 4:24)
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light (Matthew 6:22)
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge” (1 Timothy 6:20)
2. The Tree: The Fruitful Life
The seed, however, is not the end but the means. The seed is just something small that needs to be planted for something big to come about. Small beginnings can lead to great outcomes, especially when God is involved. The purpose of the seed is growth. The same thing is true for God's work in your life. God's purpose in your life is for you to grow with him.
The mustard seed grows into a great Bush or tree. It has a very important purpose and that is to bring about the fruit of the herb. Likewise, the church is also to grow. We should be growing in our influence, our reach, and our effectiveness and reaching others with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“There is no growth without challenge, and there is no challenge without change" (Sermon Central). The seed requires external forces to grow into a healthy plant. It cannot do it on its own. It needs warmth, light, water, etc.
But there's something more here that we have to grasp because just as with any good illustration there is a positive side of it and a negative side of it. I don't believe that Jesus calling the mustard plant a “tree” was an accident. It was meant again to get the attention of his hearers because mustard seeds do not grow into trees. This is an aberration, not normal. It becomes something it was never meant to be. Just like with the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. I believe this mustard seed grows into the counterfeit church.
The purpose of the mustard plant is not to grow beyond its purpose. The purpose of the mustard plant is to fulfill its purpose as a plant, to produce mustard. The purpose of the Church is not to become a governance and of itself but to serve under the Lord in his reign. It is important for the church and the believer to have a good understanding of why we are here.
The purpose of the Christian is not to grow into a god. We are not here to satisfy our own needs, lusts, or desires. We are not here to satisfy our own sinful wants. We are here to be slaves of Christ. That is a humble position, not something grand or self-exalting.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, (Romans 1:1)
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:16)
The greatest failures in the history of the church, was when we became the governing authority over an entire nation. When the church went from being a serving body in the name of Jesus Christ to a governing body over nations, things did not go well. These are undoubtedly Marks and the history of the church. I believe this is what the negative side of this parable is referring to.
This is why we constantly need revivals and to keep our focus on the Great Commission.
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, (2 Timothy 4:1–3)
And here’s where it’s all heading: in the end, we will have a one-world church. The cry of the day is globalism. And though I believe in being friendly with those who agree with us in Christ, even if we have different preferences, I say we need to be wary of today’s movement, which says, lay down your doctrine and tear down the walls of separation that divide churches. The ecumenical movement is a greased slide toward the one world church, and we need to have no part of it!
Christian unity is never supposed to be at the expense of truth. Truth is not about what is convenient to us. We live in a culture that echos Pilates question to Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38) and even denying truth when it is staring at us straight in the face. We must be like the Bereans who when faced with truth took the time to think critically about it and how to apply it to their lives. Instead today, too many people, especially those who call themselves Christians take everything they hear at face value and never compare it to the truth of Scripture. Truth cannot be sacrificed at the altar of pretended tolerance. Real tolerance is deference to all ideas, not indifference to the truth. This is where the birds show up.
So, Christianity started out as a humble mustard seed, then organized religion took over, and it has become a monstrosity with many branches. And in those branches are the devil’s ‘dirty birds’…
3. The Birds: The World Nesting in the Church
Here is a stark reality of the life of the church and the believer. The Christian life requires constant care. Period. It requires us to tend to the spiritual gardens of our church and our own personal lives. Because whenever God is working, Satan will be sure to send his birds to start flocking. You can be sure when you commit to growing in your faith, the enemy is going to send his birds to nest in the tree of your life.
Some have tried to interpret Jesus's image of the birds nesting in the trees as something positive. What we know that anytime the generic term birds are used in biblical imagery it is something negative. Birds are never used as something positive. So, for Jesus to give the image of birds nesting in the tree, the Jewish believer would have immediately seen this as something that was not desirable. The birds represent the world.
The truth is that you have birds trying to nest in your spiritual garden all the time. The world brings temptation, false doctrine, discord, doubt, anxiety, and problems with families and children—all kinds of things meant to distract us from our real purpose. The mustard tree likewise is not there to nest for the birds. It is a tree that is meant to produce fruit—mustard.
Likewise, the church is not a club or a social gathering. We have a purpose: an evangelistic purpose, a worship purpose, and a teaching purpose. Whenever the church loses sight of its mandate and does not care for its purpose, the world will nest in its branches.
?For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16–17)
The second law of Thermodynamics states that the state of any natural system changes from order to disorder. All natural systems degenerate when they are left to themselves. “Things fall apart.”
According to this law, the universe should fall apart – but it does not. What this verse says is that Jesus is the glue that holds it all together. Jesus did not create the world, and then exit, leaving us to our own devices to keep it together, no, he created the universe, and he sustains it! (Mike Wilkins, Sermon Central)
So also, he did not save your soul to leave you in a place of continual disorder and deterioration. So, what are you doing to care for your soul?
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, (1 Corinthians 6:19)
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, (Ephesians 5:18–19)
1. Rest
And on the seventh day, God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:2–3)
2. Worship
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30–31)
3. Forgive
leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:24)
4. Repent
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)
Will you come to Him today?
