A small store in north-east Arkansas eventually became a huge retailer: Wal-Mart. From a garage in Bellevue, Washington, Jeff Bezos began a small business to sell books on-line. Eventually, that business became Amazon, an e-commerce giant. Both were small beginnings when it comes to retail. In our passage today–we see Christ’s vision of the Church and its growth and development.
The Church Is To Be Involved In Transformational Growth
“Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” Luke 13:18-19 (NIV)
A mustard seed is tiny–and then grows into a large shrub. Birds could nest in the shrub. Jesus: Growth is tremendous and transformational compared to small beginnings.
Crestview had an inauspicious beginning. The first meeting of the church was at a house at 2702 Delano with 81 present. There was nothing in the Midland Reporter-Telegram about the beginning of the church. Crestview at that time was located on the far western side of Midland. There weren’t many houses built around the church, but very soon, with great faith, a building was built. The dedicated Christians involved wanted the church to be on mission to help people to know Christ.
The Church Is To Depend On Christ’s Power
“Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Luke 13:20-21 (NIV)
Yeast in the dough causes the whole loaf to rise. Jesus’ point is—the Church started with a little baby in a manager, not a palace; the birth was announced to shepherds not the elite, Jesus lived for 30 years and we didn’t hear much about Him before that, Jesus then picked some disciples (and none of them were too impressive).
But later 120 followers of Jesus met in an upper room. In Acts 2—sermon preached by Peter—and 3000 saved, then in Acts 4:4 more expansion, as many as 5000 men were followers—about 20,000 total in the church at Jerusalem. Acts 17:6 tells us—the whole world began to know about Jesus and that He was the Way.
It was a small beginning that grew into tremendous growth because of the power of Christ.
The Church Shares Jesus
The danger is to take God’s blessings and power for granted. Never lose the wonder of how Jesus changes lives.
When you see someone lost–saved, children learning the Bible, people finding fellowship, the sick ministered to, skeptics finding faith, the aimless finding purpose, the hopeless finding hope, the needy ministered to—those realities ought to change you. Never lose the wonder of what Jesus can do. So that when someone encounters the Church, they say these people are passionate about Jesus and what they are doing for Him.
Jesus said: I will build My church. That Church is to be a place where people matter. A people who move forward because Jesus brings Life Change. We can’t not tell because we know it is true what Jesus can do. That salvation, hope and purpose is found in Jesus Christ. And we know God loves people more than anything, no matter how insignificant we feel. Just a little of anything placed in His hands–has amazing life changing power!
