One of the astonishing and amazing things that God has done for us at CBTS over the last several years is the number of churches that have partnered with us as church partners. And I am humbled and grateful that Grace Covenant Church Weatherford is one of those churches. I understand that my friend Ralph Hall was quite insistent that your elders take a look at us, and I thank Ralph. When you see him again, thank him for me. So it's really wonderful to be here. Thank you for your support, fellowship in the Lord, and it's a special blessing to be here for your Missions Emphasis Week. We do regard ourselves as a missionary organization, if I can put it that way. This is true for CBTS proper with its around 325 students worldwide. It's also true because of our six affiliates in South America that have over 350 students in them. We're amazed and grateful to be a part of the great work of God that is going on in Latin America right now. And I hope to do something in the preaching this morning to encourage you and your church in missions, and I want to do that, and I'm echoing a little bit, I want to do that by turning you to Luke chapter 13, verses 10 to 21. Luke 13, verses 10 to 21. Follow as I read there the parable of the mustard seed in the context in which it comes to us in the Gospel of Luke. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and there was a woman who for 18 years had had a sickness caused by a spirit, and she was bent double and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, woman, you are freed from your sickness. And he laid his hands on her. Immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, there are six days in which work should be done, so come during them and get healed and not on the Sabbath day. The Lord answered him and said, you hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for 18 long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day? And as he said this, all his opponents were being humiliated, and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by him. So he was saying, what is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches. And again he said, to what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three packs of flour, until it was all 11. How should you as a church, how should you as Grace Covenant Church Weatherford relate to the parable of the mustard seed? Does it have anything, especially anything encouraging and relevant to say to you? These are the questions I want you to have in mind as we come to our subject for today. I will open the parable of the mustard seed up under seven heads. And I hope that doesn't sound like it's going to take two hours to you. And they all, surprisingly and miraculously, begin with this. The subject, the symbolism, the substance, the setting, the safeguarding, the substantiation, and the significance of the parable. First of all, the subject of the parable. It is obviously Jesus' purpose to enlighten his disciples further regarding the kingdom of God in this parable. He asks the question, what is the kingdom of God like? Now, this requires, then, that you have some notion of what the Bible means by the kingdom of God. And many and large volumes have been written upon this immensely important biblical theme. But I want to give you a brief definition and say something about it so that you can bring with you to this parable something of a proper notion of what the Bible means by the kingdom of God. So here it is. What is the kingdom of God? It is the long prophesied reign of God, mightily present in the world through the word of God, producing sons of God, intimately associated with the church of God, and ultimately revealed in the destruction of the wicked, the revelation and glory of the Redeemer, and the glory of a redeemed world and a redeemed race. You say, I didn't catch all of that. Well, I'm gonna go through it a part at a time. It is long prophesied. The thematic heart of Old Testament prophecy was the coming of the kingdom of God. Isaiah 9, 6, and 7. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom. To establish it, to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 52.7, how lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation and says to Zion, your God reigns. Daniel 2.44, in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed. That kingdom will not be left for another people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Zechariah 14, 9, and the Lord will be king over all the earth. And that day, the Lord will be the only one, and his name the only one. It is long prophesied. It is the long prophesied reign of God. The term kingdom in the Bible is not a static word, it's an active word. It isn't a realm, it's a reign. Classic illustration of this is Psalm 103, 19, the New American Standard Bible, which I'm reading from this morning, translates it this way. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty, but the word is kingdom, rules over all. Now, you can see why it has to be translated sovereignty, or it is. The word translated in the New American Standard sovereignty is the word kingdom. What can it mean for a kingdom to rule over wealth? Well, it doesn't mean a piece of real estate or a territory. It means a throne. The kingdom of God is, first of all, the reign of God. It's what that king is doing on the throne. Yes, sometimes it comes to me in a realm, but that's a secondary meeting to the main meeting. It is mightily present in the world through the word of God producing sons of God. In Luke 13, the kingdom is associated with Jesus teaching in the synagogue. Significantly, Luke 13.10 also begins by saying, and he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. This is one reason why I assert that the kingdom of God is mightily present in the world through the word of God producing sons of God. But I also say this because the parable of the mustard seed, if you look at its context, especially as it occurs in Matthew and Mark, occurs in parables that have to do with the word of the kingdom being the seed of God. That's true in the parables of the four soils. Four soils upon which the seed is sown, and only in one of which it bears fruit. It's true of the parable of the wheat and weeds, or the parable of the tares. Again there, the seed is the word of God producing sons of God. In Matthew 24, 14, the gospel is described as the gospel of the kingdom. But then, I also want to say, and it's important that I say, and that you understand that this kingdom is intimately associated with the church of God. Intimately associated with the church of God. Now, don't think you should, in your minds, put an equal sign between church and kingdom. I think that's a little bit off. But we can't also not fail to closely associate church of God with reign of God. because it's in the church that the reign of God becomes manifest in this present gospel age. This is true in the first two passages that talk about the church in the New Testament. Matthew 16, Peter is given the keys of what? The kingdom. Matthew 18, the church unlocks and locks the door of the church. because it has, the local church in this way too, the keys of the kingdom. And of course, we have to say that this kingdom is ultimately revealed in the destruction of the wicked, the revelation in glory of the redeemer and the glory of a redeemed world and redeemed race. Because the kingdom is not just something that's present, it is present, but it's also something yet to come. And many passages might be called to bear witness to this, but in Matthew 13, 37 to 43, you see this made explicit in the explanation of the parable of the tares. We read there, then he left the crowds and went into the house and his disciples came to him and said, explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. And he said, the one who sows the good seed is the son of man, and the field is the world. And as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. And the tares are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness. And we'll throw them into the furnace of fire, that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let him hear." This is the glorious future of the kingdom of God. So what is the kingdom of God? Let's do it again. It's a long-promised, prophesied reign of God. mightily present in the world through the word of God, producing sons of God, intimately associated with the church of God, and ultimately revealed in all that accompanies the return of Christ in glory. That's the first S. Here's the second one, the symbolism of the parable. Now here I'm just wanting to make sure that you understand the physical things to which Jesus refers in this parable. They're drawn from things common in agricultural Palestine. The smallest of the common garden seeds in first century Palestine was the mustard seed. This is why it is said in Matthew 13, 32 to be smaller than all other seeds. Here's what Jesus is thinking. If you went out to the garden shed beside the field of a first century Jewish family, you might see a number of clay pots with the planting seeds in them. If you compared the seeds in those pots, you would see that the smallest of all the seeds in all those pots was the mustard seed. The mustard seed. But the smallest of all garden seeds was proverbial for its ability to grow. Though at the beginning of the summer, it was the smallest seed, by the end of the summer, it was the biggest plant. In fact, it was vastly the largest of the garden plants, growing to heights of 8, 10, and even 12 feet. And thus it came to visibly dominate the entire garden. And then in the fall, when its branches became ridges, birds would even build nests in those branches. The mustard plant was now, then, the size of a small tree. Now this understanding of the parable and its symbolism brings us in third place to the substance of the parable. But what does all this to do with this kingdom of God? What does all of this business with the mustard seed have to do with God's reign? Well, this parable is about the kingdom of God, as we've said. Jesus introduces the parable by asking what the kingdom of God is like, but how precisely is the kingdom of God like? How is it like a mustard seed? The matters which Jesus emphasizes in telling this parable, as they're recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it occurs in all three synoptic gospels, indicate at least three respects in which the kingdom of God is like the mustard seed. Now, this is really important. It appears at first as the smallest, weakest, and most insignificant of things. Both in Mark 4.31 and Matthew 13.32, this is emphasized. The texts say it is smaller than all other seeds. Yet, it has a marvelous power to grow. And this is the second thing. It has a marvelous power to germinate, grow, and increase. Luke 13, 19 reads, and it grew and became a tree. Mark 4, 32 says, yet when it is sown, it, and then there are three present tenses that are like time-lapse photography. There are three durative present tenses here, and it goes like this. It grows up. becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches. You just see it happening before your eyes. And third point of similarity, this mustard seed plant of the kingdom of God will finally dominate all the world. Here the reference to the birds of the air in Luke 13, 19 is important to understand. This language of the birds of the air is a reference to a couple of passages in the Old Testament, Ezekiel 17 and Daniel 4, which speak of birds of the air nesting in the branches of a great kingdom. In fact, why don't you look at Daniel chapter 4, 20 to 22, and this will help you see what Jesus is thinking about here. Daniel 4, 20 to 22, the tree that you saw He's speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth, and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged. It is you, O king, for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky, and you're dominion to the end of the earth. So you see, these passages, when it speaks of the Birds of the air nesting in the branches of a tree speak of the nations of the world as birds of the air which take shelter in a great kingdom likened to a giant tree. Jesus is thus asserting that the knowledge of the Lord proclaimed in the gospel of the kingdom will finally rule the world. He is asserting the fulfillment of Isaiah 119 for the earth, will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And in these three points, I think we have grasped the beating heart of the analogy between the mustard seed and the kingdom of God. But if further confirmation is needed, we come to our fourth point, the setting of the parable. There is a pointed connection, I emphasized it when I read the parable. Verse 18 begins, I think the New American Standard said, so, but it's the Greek conjunction, therefore, he was saying. Therefore, he was saying. Luke believes, The incident in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath is a clue to the meaning of the parable of the mustard seed. What happened there that day? The kingdom appeared at first as the smallest, weakest, and most insignificant of things. It was smaller than all other seeds that day. Nothing could have seemed more insignificant more ordinary than the appearance of that young Jewish carpenter turned rabbi from Galilee of the Gentiles. Nothing could have seemed less like the entourage of the coming king than the motley band of followers who came with him that day to the synagogue, fishermen and Jewish zealots and all sorts of people there with him. It was smaller than all other seeds. And yet this mustard seed manifested a marvelous power to germinate, grow, and increase. The word of the kingdom in the mouth of Jesus manifests an unseen potential to liberate those in bondage like that woman he healed that day, to humiliate his enemies as the Pharisee and Jewish synagogue leader was humiliated, and to excite and rejoice Jesus' friends. And this mustard seed of Jesus says in his followers, says Jesus, says Luke in this therefore that begins verse 18, this mustard seed will finally dominate all the world. So in the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus is asserting to his followers that what they have just seen is characteristic of what the kingdom of God will always be like. It will always be like that mustard seed. It will always come in apparent weakness, but will always surprise us with its marvelous power to grow. And finally, says Jesus, finally the message I preach along with myself and my despised followers, one day we will rule the world. The birds of the air, the nations of the world, will nest in the branches of my eternal kingdom. They will take shelter under My word, this, nothing less than this, brothers and sisters, is the astounding assertion of Jesus of Nazareth that day in that synagogue. It is a great and exciting prospect, but it has been misunderstood in various ways in the history of the church, and those misunderstandings require us to consider a fifth S, the safeguarding of the parable, the safeguarding of the parable. And there are two wrong interpretations from which it needs to be safeguarded. There is the pessimistic interpretation. You say, what? There's a pessimistic interpretation of this parable? How could it be? Well, yeah, it's right there in the pages of the Schofield Reference Bible, I'm sorry to say. They see, it sees in the twin parables of the mustard seed and leaven, I kid you not, a prophecy of the progressive corruption of the professing Christian church. Leaven, they say, is always an evil influence, and a vegetable becoming a tree is a monstrosity. Leave aside the fact that it actually happened, but nonetheless. How can I show you, by the way, just look at the comments of the old Schofield on Matthew 13, 32, if you don't believe what I'm saying. How can I show you the absurdity of this interpretation? Well, we can do it two ways. Let me just read the passages they interpreted. What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It's like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his own garden, and it grew and became a monstrosity. And again he said, to what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It's like an evil influence which a woman took and hid in three packs of flour until it was all evilly influenced. Really? You're going to read the Bible that way? No, no, my friend. And then let me remind you of the connection of this parable as well. That context speaks of the triumph of the gospel that day in that synagogue on the Sabbath. It speaks of the triumph of the gospel. And out of the optimism of that day, these interpreters glean pessimism about the future of the church. How can it be? So it's impossible to conceive an interpretation which more completely misunderstands the true meaning of this parable or more completely frustrates its proper application. But let me come, without killing that dead horse or beating that dead horse more than I need to, to the overly optimistic interpretation. the overly optimistic interpretation. I believe that this parable, I've just been saying it, haven't I, should make us really optimistic for the church. But there is a school of interpretation which I must tell you makes an overly optimistic use of this parable. Some interpreters see in these parables a prophecy of the complete triumph of the gospel in the world politically, externally, economically, and spiritually, prior to the second coming of Christ. And I have quotations from two of them in my notes here. I don't know if I want to bother you with them or not. Well, here's one of them. Christ will through those people accomplish and put into force the glorious prophecies of Isaiah and all the scriptures. that he shall overcome all his enemies through his covenant people, and that he shall exercise his power and kingdom in all the world and over all men and nations, so that whether in faith or defeat, every knee shall bow to him and every tongue shall confess God. And he's saying that about the period prior to the second coming of Christ, because it happens through his covenant people. How is Christ's kingdom to come? Scripture's, again, very definite and explicit. The glorious peace and prosperity of Christ's reign will be brought about only as people obey the covenant law. What is needed is a view of history that guarantees to Christians external visible victory in time and on earth as a prelude, a down payment to the absolute and eternal victory which Christians are confident awaits them after the day of judgment. Well, now this interpretation of the parallel muster seed thinks that it promises the victory of the gospel over the world before Christ comes back. Well, it's certainly more plausible than the last one. Therefore, it is especially necessary that I remind you of the fact that it has two bodyguards. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 13, where you have the seven great parables of the kingdom, this parable, the mustard seed and the leaven, is surrounded by two, is preceded by the parable of the four soils. Remember four soils? And the seed of the kingdom comes to nothing in all but one, right? And it's surrounded by first the telling and then the interpretation of the parable of the wheat and weeds, which contains the words of Jesus, let both the evil seed and the good seed grow together until harvest. And so coming in that context, we must understand that when Jesus speaks of the complete triumph of the kingdom of God here, He is not talking about a complete triumph that comes before his second coming. There is progress. There is growth. It comes before Christ's second coming, but it doesn't come to world domination till the harvester comes back at harvest time. See, there's this whole analogy of seed time and harvest, isn't there? In the parable of the four soils, in the parable of the wheat and weeds, it's there. But you see, the thing about that analogy of seed time and harvest is you don't get harvest, you don't get fulfillment until the harvester comes back. And so, yes, we look for a time when Jesus rules the world outwardly, visibly, but it is after he comes back and brings harvest with him. Well, The growth of the seed, then, never by itself produces harvest. This takes the intervention of the harvester. We should understand that the seed will grow, make progress in this age, but the last enemy is not destroyed until Jesus returns and batters down and destroys death itself. We should understand that the seed will grow and make progress in this age, but the ultimate and unchallenged triumph of the kingdom of God must wait till the return of the king in glory. So, what's the bottom line? What are you saying? I'm saying this. We can be really optimistic for the church. I don't think we can be so optimistic for the world before Jesus comes back. Does that make sense to you? We ought to be optimistic and encouraged about the future of the church, but all that does not mean that we may entertain the same optimism the world. Even as the church grows and gets better, the evil seed will grow and get worse. A lot of people that doesn't make sense to, but there is actually an inward logic to that. Good makes evil worse. And there's a sense in which when people repent of evil, it makes good better. What the mustard seed teaches, the scriptures teach in many places, and that's my sixth S. That's hard to say, sixth S, okay. The substantiation of the parable. I have asserted that Jesus is emphasizing the growth of the kingdom in the parable of the mustard seed. And I want to show you that it's not just here. Well, this is one of the places that just being raised in a dispensational home just knocked the socks off me when I first understood what the parable of the mustard seed in 11 actually meant. But some people have rejected the idea. I won't mention the fine interpreter's name that rejects the idea of growth. But he's wrong at this point. He thinks there's something like evolution here. And there's no evolution in our text. But there is growth of the seed of the word of the kingdom. And this is confirmed by four other things we find in our New Testaments, at least. The parable of the sower itself. There in Matthew 13, of course, it says there are three Three soils that do not bear fruit, but it says the other soil is characterized by the amazing fruitfulness when it speaks of 30, 60, and 100-fold produce of the seed. And then there's the parallel occurrence of the parable of the mustard seed in Mark 4.32. It emphasizes the idea of growth. Yet when it is sown, I've already told you about the three present tenses, grows up, becomes larger, forms large branches, so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade. That's an emphasis on growth in this parable. It's not just a small beginning and a big ending, it's the growth in the middle that is emphasized. And then also in Mark 4, You have this parable that immediately precedes the parable of the mustard seed and leaven. It's the parable of, I don't know if this is a good name for it, but the parable of the seed growing by itself. And he was saying the kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil and goes to bed at night and gets up by day and the seed sprouts up and grows, how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself, first the blade, notice the emphasis here, First the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head, but when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle because the harvest has come. And then elsewhere in the New Testament, it's interesting. Paul in Colossians 1, and I'm leaving aside Christ's promise, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I'm not even turning you there. Got a message on that that you might want to hear, but nonetheless, I'm not turning you there. I'm looking at Colossians 1, 6 to 11. Here's what's interesting here. The gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world, also, listen to what it says, is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it, and understood the grace of God in truth, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience, joyously. Now, the thing that's interesting is that in verse six of Colossians one, and verse 10, The same verbs are found there as are used in the parable of the sower and the mustard seed to talk about the growth of the kingdom. And so I think Colossians 1 is kind of an inspired commentary on these parables that confirms that there is the idea of growth in them, not just a small beginning contrasted with a great ending, but growth leading to that great ending. All of which brings us to the seventh S, the significance of the parable. What should this mean to you? Well, this parable gives us a biblical vision of the kingdom of God, right? And I want to point out four different parts of that vision. In the parable of the mustard seed, we see the advancement of the kingdom of God in the gospel age. The kingdom will advance in this age, so teaches Jesus. This advance means the increasingly powerful proclamation of the word of God, producing sons of God, resulting in the building of the church of God. That's what it means, and that's what it means for you. I have heard preached and I have heard said that the days of great revival are past and the professing church must now only become increasingly apostate. I've heard that, maybe you have too. It's true that the church has violent enemies. It is true that evil men will grow worse and worse. But it is also true that the name of the king will endure forever. it will increase as long as the sun shines. Of the increase of his government on his throne, and he is on the throne, there shall be no end. The church then must continue and increase as the pillar and foundation of the truth, 1 Timothy 3.15, So we must reject these pessimistic notions. Oh, revivals are a thing of the past. No, absolutely not. I don't know what God will do. I'm not saying the revivals that come will be exactly like the revivals in the past, but I am saying this. God may pour out such a work of his Holy Spirit on the church in our day and in the days to come. that it will know levels of purity, blessing, and usefulness beyond anything heretofore in the history of the church. That's what I think the Bible teaches and allows us to believe. Praise God for that. It ought to encourage us to sing and to labor. We love thy kingdom, Lord, the house of thine abode, the church our blessed redeemer bought with his own precious blood for her, My toils, to her my toils shall be given. For her my prayers ascend. That's what we ought to do. In the parable of the mustard seed, we see also the location of the kingdom of God in the gospel age. You want to be at the heart of God's work in the world? Be here. The church is the location of the kingdom of God. It is the church that wields the keys of the kingdom in the gospel age. So the parable of the mustard seed, that's a direct application to you here at Grace Covenant Church. Yes, it would be correct to say, of course, that there's no guarantee etched in the word of God that this church or any other particular church will certainly grow, advance, and see great victories of the gospel. I say that's true, but it would be a terribly insensitive way to react to this parable, wouldn't it? It would completely miss the application that Jesus intended for his disciples and for you in giving this parable. As we have seen, the kingdom of God, which is the subject of this parable, is intimately connected to the word of God, the sons of God, and the church of God. The kingdom comes, brothers and sisters, in this age through Christians like you and churches like this one. That's how it comes. Why did Jesus give this parable if not to encourage you today and the church assembled here today? Did he not intend for us to find in it power to hope, pray, plan, and in general bust our gut for the advancement of the kingdom through this particular church? If you're not a part of the church, get there, because that's where God is working. That's where God wants you to be. And that's what God has made his promises to. If you believe that this is the true church of Christ, that it is preaching the true gospel, that you're a genuine Christian, then Lord Christ intended for you to have a heart swell with boldness, joy, triumph, and courage on the basis of his words. No, I know. It will not be easy. It certainly will not be painless. There is no instant gospel success. The progress of the church is always through many dangers, toils, and snares. The more Satan fears God's work here, the more he will attack it. But what will sustain us in this fierce warfare? Only the ability to confidently apply to ourselves the glorious promises of Christ to his church. But in the parable of the mustard seed, we see the paradox of the kingdom of God and the gospel of age. I was teaching a college class of mostly unconverted young people, introduction to the Christian religion. And I tried to use the term paradox, and nobody knew what it meant. College freshman. So let me tell you, just in case. A paradox is the combination of two things that don't seem to go together. When Jesus talked about, unless you die, you will not bring forth life and fruit. That's a paradox, right? And there's a paradox, isn't there, at the heart of the parable of the mustard seed? The coming of the kingdom of God is likened to the smallest and most apparently insignificant thing, the mustard seed. And this illustrates the great paradox of the gospel. Oh, there's a glorious paradox in the gospel. This paradox means majesty in the midst of insignificance. It means, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12, nine, power in the midst of weakness. It means, as Paul teaches the gospel in Romans 4-5, the imputation of righteousness to the ungodly. And all of this is grounded in a savior who was crucified in weakness, but raised by the power of God, 2 Corinthians 13-4. The terrible and daunting objection against hope and confidence is familiar to every Christian. All that may be good for somebody else, but you don't know what I'm like. May be good for somebody else, Pastor, but you don't know how weak, frail, small, and just plain sinful I am. Listen to me, the whole point of the parable of the mustard seed is to answer just this objection. Nothing seemed more small, more weak, more insignificant than the mustard seed, yet there was the power of God. contained in it, hidden within it, coexisting with its mean exterior, was a mighty unseen potential. And that gives us hope. So it is with the kingdom of God. The preaching of the word seems so trivial a thing. The sons of God look like ordinary people. The church seems small, full of defects, yet within unseen. There is a mighty potential for good. Can I give you a modern illustration? It's 1942 in Chicago. Some guy's hurrying out of a building with, in fact, it almost looks like a stadium, out of a building with a briefcase. He bumps into you and the briefcase pops open and out of it just flows a pile of gray rocks. He scurries around to gather them up, then he looks at you and says, with these rocks, we will win the war. And they did, because it was uranium in the Manhattan Project. You see? Mighty power. hidden in ordinary looking things. Your very weakness and simpleness qualifies you to experience God's grace and power. God has chosen the foolish, weak, the base, the despised, the things that are not, that he might nullify the things that are, and that no man should boast before God, that just as it is written, let him who boasts boast in the Lord. Your felt smallness is no argument against believing God for power to deal with your sins, to overcome and to do your overwhelming duties. It qualifies you, don't you see, as a mustard seed. Your greatest danger as a Christian and as a church is when you are no longer small in your own eyes, but stay small and God will be great. Saul was anointed king, when? When he was little in his own eyes, but he was rejected when in pride he was guilty of rebellion against the word of the Lord. The kingdom of God may be present where there seems to be only outward insignificance. There's a gospel application here. To him who works not, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. You say, I'm here this morning. These people on here look so nice. They look like they have it all together. I don't have it all together. I'm ungodly. You know what? You're exactly the kind of person God justifies, because his strength is made perfect in weakness, and his righteousness comes to the ungodly. And you must take hold of Christ, believing the promises, and that the paradox of the gospel can be true for you, that you can be righteous though you feel yourself nothing but ungodly right now. Well, my fourth and last thing I want to say under this last heading is that in the parable of the mustard seed, we see the manifestation of the kingdom of God in the gospel age. How does it manifest? Where do we see the kingdom of God? in the word of God. Where you find the faithful preaching and teaching of the word, there you will find the kingdom of God. It's nothing out of the ordinary. You just stand up there like that famous preacher in Southern California who has changed, who has had influence around the world and you just preach one passage after another, practically, humbly, passionately, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. And the word of God does its work. And this has three important applications and implications. I'll state them and be done. The life and ministry of this church must remain focused on the propagation of the truth of the gospel. All your desire to expand in other ways, In all that desire, you must perform this great task and keep it central. And then it has this implication. The secret of power, life, and growth in any church resides in the faithful preaching of the truth. It is through such proclamation that the reign of God is revealed. It must be prioritized. And then if our church life is to retain this focus, we can't lose confidence in the word of God. We must maintain our confidence in the power of the truth of the kingdom. It'll be frustrating. We'll toss the seed on one soil and nothing will happen. We'll toss the seed over there on another soil and nothing will happen. We'll toss the seed on a third soil and nothing will happen. It's easy to lose confidence in the word of God and the preaching of the word of God, the teaching of the word of God with those kind of experiences before us. Ah, but my friend, that foresoil will bear fruit. And we must not lose our confidence in the word of God. Many so-called churches have lost their confidence in the power of the word. They want to be culturally relevant up to including the abominations that plague our nation. They're looking to many other things to revitalize their ministries. But though these things may be good in their own way, They are not the central task of the church. The reign of God becomes manifest in and through the proclamation of the word of God. Let's pray. Father, we are thankful for the encouragement and consolation of the scriptures. Lord, there are hearts here that need to hear that your strength has made perfect in weakness. They need to hear that there's a majesty in the midst of insignificance. They need to hear that you are a God, shockingly, that justifies the ungodly. Grant this, we pray. Grant your people to embrace your truth and be blessed by it. We ask this in Jesus' name.