Let's turn with me to Matthew,
Chapter 13, verse 31. Another parable put he forth
unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain
of mustard seed, which man took and sowed in his field, which
indeed is the least of all seeds. But when it is grown, it is the
greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of
the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." Well, I'm
going to attempt to preach on the parable of the mustard seed. The Lord gives this parable on
two different occasions during his earthly ministry, and it
is just full of encouraging truth. The smallest seed, the least
of all the seeds, grows into a great tree. Now, I'm going
to look at this from three different angles. First, this mustard seed
is Christ himself. Secondly, this mustard seed is
the church and the progress it makes in the world by the grace
of God. And thirdly, this mustard seed
represents the individual believer. And all three of those are true. This is a rich and full parable,
like they all are. But first, Christ himself is
the mustard seed. Now, somebody may be thinking,
well, how in the world could Christ be looked upon as small
and growing? How do you come up with that?
Well, for one thing, I know that Christ himself is the kingdom
of God. He is the kingdom of God. And the scripture says Jesus
increased in wisdom and stature. and in favor with God and man. Now, how's that possible? I don't
know, but it's so. He increased in wisdom and he
increased in favor with God and man. Christ himself is the seed.
He's the kingdom of God. And all that we see in this tree
that grows out, that so large the thousands of the air can
lodge in the branches, all of the tree is contained in that
one little seed. Now, what this speaks of is union
with the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that the church is
comes out of this one little seed. And when Christ appeared,
he appeared so small. Born in a barn, no wealth. No education. No influence, no
political clout. He was born in Judea, a petty tributary of the vast Roman
Empire. His doctrine was calculated to
call forth the enmity of the human heart, not draw people,
but it actually repelled people. To the Jews, he was a stumbling
block, and to the Greeks, he was foolishness. What a small
beginning. And when he was hanging on the
cross, did anybody imagine that he was God. I know one who did. I'm not sure
anybody else had such understanding of it, but I know one who did.
That thief, hanging on that cross, knew a lot more than the disciples
did. Had more of an understanding. You see, he knew that Jesus Christ
was God. He said, don't you fear God,
seeing you're in the same congregation? He knew of the sinlessness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He said this man has done nothing
amiss. He knew of the certain success
of what he would do. He said, when you come back in
your kingdom, he didn't say if you come back, he said, when
you come back, he knew that the Lord will succeed and achieve
whatever he purposed to do. And he knew the Lord would come
back as a mighty king. He said, remember me when you
come back in your kingdom. This man. had some understanding
that all the fullness of the Godhead was in that one little
body. Probably a body smaller than
mine. No doubt a body smaller than
mine. All the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in that body. And all that the church is, as
we see it spread out, and all that the church is, all that
every believer is, is all found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
how big is Christ? That's how big I am. How beautiful
is Christ? That's how beautiful I am. All
that every believer is, is found in the seed of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is that mustard seed that became a great tree. All of the company of God's elect
is in that mustard seed. All of the glory of God is in
that mustard seed. And when it was cast forth and
brought into the ground, look at the fruit that came out. of
his death when he was cast forth. The Lord Jesus Christ is this
mustard seed. Now, this mustard seed is also
a type of the church. You know, there's always been
a New Testament church, even the Old Testament. You know,
we read the church of the wilderness in Acts chapter seven. Abel was
a member of this church. So was Noah, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Moses, David, all the prophets. the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and how tiny and weak and insignificant the church
appeared at first. They were hiding in fear, fearing
for their lives, a very small number, and it seemed so feeble
and so weak and powerless that it could not possibly live and
grow. The first preachers of this early
church were nothing but a bunch of uneducated fishermen. and
publicans, men of no reputation. All humanity was agreed in hating
and opposing the religion of Christ. It was called a sect
that was everywhere spoken against, is what the scripture actually
says regarding the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you
think of the progress of the gospel. After that seed was cast
into the ground, growth, great steady and continuous, the grain
of mustard seed grew and became the greatest of trees. In spite
of persecution, in spite of opposition, in spite of Violence, it continued
to grow and spread. The church must grow because
it's a living organism. It's not an organization. It's
an organism. It is living and it must grow. It cannot be defeated. In all of man's attempts to thwart
the growth of the gospel, they may as well attempt to stop the
rising of the sun. It can't happen. The church is
living with the life of God in their soul. You see, God gives
the increase. And that's why the church must
grow. Look in 1 Corinthians 3 for a
moment. This is so encouraging to me. I love this passage of
scripture. Verse 4. For while one saith,
I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal?
Are you not acting just like unbelievers? Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos, but ministers?
instruments by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every
man. I planted and the polis watered, but God gave the increase. And this is why the church must
grow. God gives the increase. We read scriptures like this,
Acts chapter 19, verse 20, so mightily grew the word of God
and prevailed. That's chapter 6, verse 7, and
the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied. And why was that? Because the
Lord added to the church daily, such as should be saved. And
I love the way that sounds. You know why they should be saved?
Because Christ died for them. Because God elected them. They
must be saved. They should be saved. It was
the purpose of God. The Lord added to the church daily, such
as should be saved. The church is described in Colossians
2.19 as increasing with the increase of God. And then we read in Ephesians
4.16, of every part making the increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love. Now, the church whose beginnings
were so small is the apple of God's eye. The church is the bride, the
precious bride. of the Lord Jesus Christ, truly
the greatest among herbs, trees. How great is the Lord Jesus Christ?
That's how great his people are in him. This mustard seed becomes
this great tree that even the fowls of the air can lodge in. Now, despise not today's small
things. It begins small, but look at
the Lord's blessing upon it. But here's what I wanted to dwell
on mainly. This mustard seed typifies the
believer. The workings of God's grace begin
very small. You know, I got to thinking about
this when I was thinking about trying to preach on this message.
It could be that the workings of God's grace begins in somebody's
heart tonight and they won't even know it. won't even know
what's going on. You know, when the Lord first
began working with you, you didn't know it. You didn't know what
was going on. But the Lord does. It may start
very small, but when he starts his work, it's sure to take place. And it can seem so small a thing. Perhaps a sermon like one being
preached now. Perhaps a single verse of Scripture
brought into the heart. Perhaps a timely rebuke from
a friend. Perhaps an act of kindness received
from a Christian. Makes somebody think. What is
this all about? God's grace in the soul begins
so small, but it grows. You see where there is life.
There is growth. Living things grow. Dead things
don't grow, but living things grow, and little by little, God's
grace will work its way through the whole lump, just like the
leaven hid in the three measures of meal. The mustard seed will
grow to a great tree. And I can say to every believer
regarding this thing of growth, are you interested in growing
in grace? And in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, I know you are. Every believer wants to, I want to
grow up, don't you? I want to become a strong man in Christ
Jesus. I want to be a mature man in Christ Jesus. I want to
grow. Now, every believer has every reason to be encouraged
about this thing of growth, growing in grace, because it's God who
gives the increase. I just read that passage of scripture.
He gives it. You don't earn it. He gives it
by his grace. He gives it freely. He grants
it. He bestows it, this increase. And think of this. It's a growth
in grace, this thing of growing. I love thinking about this. It's
a growth in grace. 2 Peter 3.18 says grown grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now
there are two things you can't separate. Grace and the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But what is grace? Well,
great, growing unmerited favor. That means there's nothing you
have to do or be in order for him to do this for you. Is that
an encouragement to you? There's nothing you have to do
or be in order for him to increase you and him to cause you to grow,
because it's a growth in grace, unmerited favor that he gives
to sinners for Christ's sake. And it's both irresistible and
invincible. We grow in our understanding
of grace, and I tell you what, I've grown in that. I know I've
grown in that. I understand more now than I
ever had before that my only hope is the grace of God, but
that all I need is found in His grace. I understand that. You
know, as I've grown, I'm understanding more of my need of grace, more
of my dependence upon the grace of God. And remember, God's grace
is not something He offers. It's not something He just puts
out there for you to improve or accept. No, you don't use
God's grace. God's grace uses you. God's grace
does something for you. Grow in grace. The grace of God. Saving grace. Grow in grace and
the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And if
we grow in grace, we grow in graciousness. Every time. If I know anything about the
mercy of God, it's going to make me merciful. Now, the food we
live on ensures growth. Turn to 1 Peter 2. Peter says in verse 2, as newborn
babes desire, crave the sincere milk, and that simply is pure,
the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby. You see, if you drink this milk,
and this is what we're doing right now. What we're doing right now,
if by the grace of God, God gives me the grace to drink this milk,
the pure milk of the word, it's going to cause my growth. You
can't hear and receive the word of God without being changed,
without growing, without it having some kind of effect on you. Desire
the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Now, what does the Bible have
to say about this thing of spiritual growth? And we just read that
parable, this mustard seed, which is the least, the most insignificant
of all the seeds. It's the smallest one you'll
ever see. Yet it grows into this great tree. What does the Bible
have to say about this thing of spiritual growth? Well, we
see that it's God that causes it. God gives the increase. And we see that it's through
grace that it grows. And that's an encouragement right
there, growing grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. And we see the means that God uses is the Word
of God. It's through the sincere milk
of the Word that I grow. Well, here's how spiritual grace
or spiritual growth is utterly unique. It's like no other kind
of growth. Because what happens when things
grow? What happens? They get bigger.
Isn't that so? They get bigger. When something
grows, it gets bigger. In spiritual growth, It's different. When you grow, you get smaller. Every time. If you're getting
bigger, you're actually shrinking. John said he must increase. And I must decrease. You see, when you grow, You grow
lower in your own sight. In true growth. If that's not
there, true growth is not there. Now, I love to think of the Apostle
Paul. What a man the Lord blessed in
such an unusual way. The man that God used to expound
the gospel more than any other man. Now, at the first of his
ministry, he was the least of the apostles. And then he grew. He grew in grace and the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You know what he said
about himself after growing? I'm the less than the least of all
the saints. Paul would have looked at every
believer in here and would have said, you're better than I am.
And as he grew more, you know what he became? The chief of
sinners. This growth is a growth in humility,
where I humble myself before the Lord. When I grow in the
fruit of the Spirit, when fruit grows, what does it do? It hangs
down. Growth is always downward. Now, it's upward to God, but
it's downward in and of myself. And it's outward to other people,
but it begins downward. He must increase, and I must
decrease. And I know this, the smaller
we are in our own eyes, the bigger he is. Isn't that so? The Bible speaks of growing in
faith. Paul said to the Thessalonians, your faith groweth exceedingly. I want my faith to grow exceedingly,
don't you? I know this. If our faith does grow, we're
going to ask the Lord to cause it to grow. You know, the disciples
said in Luke chapter 17, verse 5, this was a prayer of the disciples.
They said, increase our faith. Can you pray that, Lord, increase
my faith? Make it stronger, make it bigger,
make it more powerful, increase my faith. Now, you think of the
importance faith is in the life of a believer. Faith, my dear
friends, is the salvation grace. For by grace are you saved. How? Through faith. And that not of
yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast. Faith is the salvation grace.
Without faith, it's impossible to please God. Now, not only
is faith the salvation grace, it's the grace that causes all
other graces to grow. If my faith is in grace, you
know what else is going to be in grace? My love. My humility. My zeal for his glory, but the
key is increased faith. Lord, increase my faith. It's
only it's the only way we can have his blessings. Did you when
when Brother Sherry was reading that passage of Scripture? Lord
said to that woman, go my way, thy faith has saved thee. So you and I say when I look
at my faith, I mean, I'm thankful for the faith I have. My faith
is so weak compared to what it ought to be. It's so. filled
with weakness and unbelief. I'm always having to pray, Lord,
I believe. Help Thou my unbelief. Lord, increase my faith. Oh, what's that mean? Enable
me to trust You more completely. Enable me to walk by faith and
not by sight. Enable me to rest completely
in the Lord Jesus Christ where I'm totally carefree. Give me
the grace to honor you. You know, faith doesn't honor
the Lord Jesus Christ. So every believer cries, Lord,
increase my faith. Increase it to its extent, what
it will receive, and increase it in its intensity. Abraham
believed God and how he believed God. He offered up his only son
in obedience to God. Lord, increase our faith. And
then we read in the scriptures of increasing in knowledge. I want to increase in knowledge.
I want to increase in the knowledge of the word of God. I want to. And this thing of knowledge,
it's not just talking about a cognitive. Giving of the facts and accurate
data and so on. Love is always involved in knowledge.
You can't know the Lord and not love it. And you, I want to increase
in the knowledge of God. The scripture actually speaks
in Colossians 1 of increasing in the knowledge of God. I want
to know him better. I want to know His way of salvation
better. I want to know myself better. Not totally. Not totally. I mean, here's what I mean by
that. I remember one time, I remember
one time I prayed, Lord, show me what I really am. And I won't pray that prayer
anymore. Show me just enough to drive me to Christ. I don't
want to know any more than that. I mean, I'm sure of that. I can
remember what I thought The ground is going to open up and send
me to hell. I like that. It was strange. I don't pray that prayer
anymore. But I do pray, Lord, give me
enough knowledge of myself that it drives me to the Lord Jesus
Christ. We read of increasing in strength.
That word growth is increase. We read where Paul increased
the more and more in strength. I want to be stronger in every
aspect of walking with Christ. We read of growing in love to
God and one another. Listen to this scripture. 1 Thessalonians
3, 12. The Lord make you to increase
and abound in love one toward another and toward all men. I'm
growing through the Holy Spirit. I love to think of the fruit
of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. I want
to grow in love. I want to love the Lord more
than I ever have. And I want to love you more than
I ever have. And I want to love all men more
than I ever have. I want to grow in love. And I
want to grow in joy. Love, joy, the joy of believing,
the joy of resting in the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to grow
in peace. I don't want to ever worry. I don't want to dishonor my Lord.
I always worry. I want to just have the peace
of knowing He's in control, the peace of knowing that I'm complete
in Him, that I have perfect righteousness before Him. What peace there
is in believing. I want to grow in long-suffering. Patience. I don't have much of
it. I sure want to grow in it. I want to be patient, knowing
that the Lord's on the throne. I want to be patient with you.
Because I know you're just like me. I feel sorry for you and
be patient with you because you're just like I am. I want to grow
in gentleness, kindness. I want to grow in goodness. I
want to grow in meekness. I want to grow in faithfulness.
I want to grow in temperance, self-control, control from within. I want to grow in the fruit of
the Holy Spirit. Let me give you something to
consider about growth. Turn to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Verse 22. And he said of his disciples,
Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what
you shall eat, neither yet for the body, what you shall put
on. The life is more than meat, and
the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens, for they
neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn, and
God feedeth in. How much more are you better
than the fowls? And which of you, by taking thought,
by worrying, can add to his stature one cubit? How much can you make
yourself grow? That's what he said. How can
you add to your stature? I know that that's a proverbial
way of saying, how can you add a minute to your life? But he
says, what can you do to make yourself grow? If you're not
able, man, what can you do? That's what I'm reading. Which of you, by taking thought,
can add to a stature one cubit? Not one of us. If you then be
not able to do that which is least. Why take you thought for
the rest? Now, consider the lilies. How
they grow. You want to grow, don't you?
You want to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. You want to grow up into him. You want
to honor Him. You want to grow in faith. You
want to grow in love. You want to grow in all the fruit
of the Spirit. You want to grow. I know you do. I do. I want to
grow up. I want to be a strong man in
Christ Jesus. Henry Mahan told me one time,
a young couple came in to talk to him about their problems.
And he listened to them for a few minutes. And there's a moment
of silence. He said, grow up. I want to grow up, don't you?
Grow up. Now consider the lilies, how
they grow. How do they grow? They toil not,
they spin not. And yet I say unto you that Solomon
in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now how do
the lilies grow? It's not by their toiling. It's
not by their laboring. It's by the power of God causing
them to grow. Isn't that so? That's the way
they grow. Now, you don't worry about it any more than the lilies
do. I want to grow. Oh, I want to grow. I'm not going
to worry about it. In this sense, the Lord will
cause this growth. You look to the Lord Jesus Christ
and you will grow. clothing of the lilies. Don't worry about this. You know, the Lord has brought
such a hard time on this nation. And he's got his purposes behind
it, no doubt. I mean, there are people going through hard times,
people losing their jobs. Who's in control of it, though?
Who's the first cause behind it? You know, when Caesar Augustus
taxed the world. Remember that scripture in Luke
chapter 2? It said, there went out a decree
from Caesar that all the world should be taxed. I want you to
think of how many different people were affected by that. I mean,
there were people who were enriched by it, and there were people
who were impoverished by it. And it affected everybody. But
what was the Lord's purpose behind that taxation? You see, his son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, was still in the womb of Mary. And they lived in Nazareth. And
it was according to the prophecy of Micah, he was to be born in
Bethlehem. So Joseph and Mary have to go
to Bethlehem in order to be taxed. That was God's purpose. Now,
all the world was affected by it, no doubt. But he caused that
to happen just so his sons would be glorified, so his son would
answer whatever the scripture said he would do. And what that
lets me know is this, all this stuff that's going on, Lord's
going to clothe you. Lord's going to feed you. You
don't have anything to be worried about, do you? I love to think about this, you
know, nothing to worry about. Lord's going to clothe you. Lord's
going to feed you. And this clothing, the way the
lilies are clothed, this is not just a reference to us having
nice clothes to wear or clothes to wear. Our clothing is the
Lord Jesus Christ. His perfect righteousness clothing. Now, you consider the lilies,
how they grow. They toil not, neither do they
spin. They don't work for this. And yet Solomon, in all of his
glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Now, if then God so
clothed the grass, which is today in the field and tomorrow is
cast into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you
of little faith? And isn't it wonderful that your
little faith is not going to prevent Him from clothing you? You see,
little faith is great faith because of the object of that faith.
Your faith can be little and your faith can be great, but
that doesn't have anything to do with your clothing. It's the
Lord that clothes you. It's the object of the faith
that saves. So he says, Seek ye not what
you shall eat or what you shall drink, neither be ye of a doubtful
mind. For all these things do the nations
of the world seek after, and your father knoweth that you
have need of these things. but rather seek ye first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, is what Matthew says. Seek ye
first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added
to you. Now consider the lilies. Let us sink down. Consider the
lilies, how they grow. May God enable us to do that
and be encouraged about this thing of growth. Since God gives
the increase, since it's a growth in grace, you're going to grow. Let's pray together.