This Is Gonna Be Big

Well, we are in this series, This is the Kingdom. And would you open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13? And the title of my message, if you take notes, is This is Gonna Be Big. This is Gonna Be Big. And my subtitle is The King is in the Womb. So my title is This is Gonna Be Big. My subtitle, The King is in the Womb. Matthew 13, verse 31. Another parable he put forth, this is Jesus speaking, to them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. And Father, would you open up our eyes today? Would you soften up our hearts to receive the word that you have, each and every one of us? Thank you that you are a God who sees us, who knows us individually. You see what we walked in here holding, carrying. And thank you that this is a moment in this season to be still and to know that you are God. We thank you that you speak to us through your word. And we ask that as we've gathered today, that you would open our eyes to see. We want to receive all that you have for us, Lord. And if there's anyone here who doesn't yet have a relationship with you, I pray

that you would draw them to yourself, that you would show them your love, your grace, and that they have a purpose and peace and power because of you. Lord, would you have your way in this time today as we study your word? In Jesus' name, amen. This is going to be big. I love the back story of someone who's famous, who you know has done great things. I love finding out how they began. My husband loves to read those thick books about them. And I love to watch documentaries about them. Who loves to watch documentaries? Yes, I love them because you get to see, in a shorter amount of time than it would take to read a book, the story of someone and where they began and their story unfolding. I read about Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk. But his first job, his first thing that he did in acting was in 1989 in a Clearasil commercial. Do you remember that, the cream that you put on your zits? That was his very first thing. And when Jimmy Fallon was interviewing him, Ruffalo was telling him about this very thing and what the director told him at his first job. He said to Ruffalo, it just seemed like you came right off the street, like you don't know how to act at all. And I just love that that was his beginning.

That was what he started in and how he was perceived. And now he kind of has that vibe, like just kind of like chill and unshoveled, but also as an amazing actor. I think of Sarah Blakely, who started Spanx. Don't we love and also hate Spanx, ladies? But she went from selling fax machines going door to door to just having this idea. It says, when Blakely first cut the feet off a pair of pantyhose in 1998, she had no idea she had just created a multimillion dollar idea. She started with nothing and then ended up with a lot. The third thing that I thought of was In-N-Out, and we got the chance to interview Lindsey Snyder, who's the CEO. But In-N-Out became California's first little hamburger drive-thru. And it was tiny and little, but now it's everywhere, except Montana. She said they won't be coming to Montana, sadly, because there isn't a warehouse close enough nearby, but it's fine. Not bitter. But these kind of stories are so intriguing. to me, because you see the beginning of something so big, but it started so small and seemingly insignificant. And I love that this is really how life goes. Like, you could ask anyone who is successful in what they do, who has done great things, where they started was very small.

This is how life is. But more importantly, it's the way of the kingdom. It's the way of the kingdom of heaven. And I'm just going to read these two verses again, because it never hurts to let God's words sink a little deeper. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. This is going to be big. In Christ, we are meant to grow, to flourish, to love what he loves, to hate what he hates. And the more we grow in relationship with him, the more we see the way he sees. And that's my prayer today, church, is that as you grow in him, that you would see your perspective would grow as well for your life and for the influence that God's called you to in your life. Jesus came to bring the kingdom of heaven. And much of his ministry on earth was teaching what the kingdom of heaven was like. And in this passage, he's telling the crowds listening about what the kingdom is like. And it wasn't what they expected. The Jews were waiting for a Messiah. But for them, the Messiah would come to destroy the Romans, to fight for the freedom of the Jewish nation,

and that he would come with a sword and rally the troops and fight for freedom, Braveheart style. This is what they're thinking, that the Messiah is going to come and diminish all their enemies and sit on his throne victorious. But this King, this Savior, this Messiah actually came in the most unexpected, strange way as a baby. He came as a tiny seed. He came in the womb. At conception, the moment a human is created, it's called a zygote. And this is 32 cells that come together about the size of a poppy seed. And this Messiah, the Savior, the God of all creation, came to humanity as a human, as a seed, the size of a poppy seed, seemingly insignificant, practically nothing. Before the King was in the room, the King was in the womb. Tiny seed, Jesus became the least of all, God in flesh, incredible cosmic power, tiny, little, little, little, little, little space. But he came the least of all to show us what it means to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. John 1 29 says, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And here he is. This is the Lamb of God. He's not a ferocious beast seeking to devour the enemies,

but he is a lamb, the Lamb of God. The beauty of the flourishing is bound in the beginning. The flourishing that happens is bound in that tiny seed. In that day, rabbis would use a grain of mustard to explain how minute something would be. So as they're teaching, their students are saying, this is so tiny. It's as tiny as a mustard seed. And so Jesus's audience would understand that this was the smallest of all the seeds. And the mustard shrubs, which could grow to a full height of 15 feet, could have very well been in their view. As Jesus was teaching these people, the shrubs and trees would grow along the sides of the shore of Galilee. And they could have just seen. I love how Jesus taught. He would teach in a way that was just clear. Oh, yeah, you're teaching about that. It's right there. There, that's amazing. Something small can hold something great at the same time. Something small can hold something great at the same time. Matthew 17, verses 20 through 21, the disciples were asking Jesus why they couldn't cast this demon out of this little boy. And 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. And it wasn't that the disciples were devoid of faith, but their faith was not functioning properly. Our faith can grow, and our faith can weaken. And I pray that over you today, church, that today would be a moment in time, maybe a tiny seed, but a seed nonetheless, where you are growing in your faith. Where even just the simple fact of showing up is something that would strengthen you and deepen you, and that God would plant something in you today. And God sees us. He sees our weakness. He knows we are frail. He knows that we struggle. He knows what He's working with when He's working with us. I imagine Him with His disciples, and He's teaching them over and over again. They're the ones that hear all these messages time and time and time again. And they're the ones that aren't tracking or have a hard time understanding. And I just imagine Him looking at them, just smiling like, oh, bless their hearts. But He knows what He's working with when He's working with us. He sees the possible within the impossible. He sees the beauty within the bleakness. He sees the message He wants to speak through the mess

you're in right now. He sees the raging fire within the tiny little spark of a flame. Matthew 12 20 says, He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally, He will cause justice to be victorious. God sees the tiny little bit of faith, a tiny little flicker of a flame. And He can blow on it and make it grow and make it into a raging, beautiful flame. Is there any sign at all of life? He will blow on the embers and create a flame out of nothing because this is who our God is. And this is how He sees the seed. This is how He sees the impossibility. And He wants us to see the same way. He wants our vision to grow. Zechariah 4 10 says, do not despise these small beginnings. For the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. This is going to be big. God sees something, and He sees the bigness of the tininess. And even though I can't see it, I can believe it. This right now might be tiny, the least of all the seeds, nothing significant. But what is the result? What do we see is the result? It's something surprisingly supernatural. It's something that you would never believe or dream of, something unlikely, probably not possible, actually impossible,

but not with God. What is the result of the mustard seed? But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs. I like when. When it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. We want quick growth. We want to see the seed, and we want to see the immediate growth. And I have been so obsessed with this YouTube channel. I spent way too much time looking at this. But this is just an example of seeds being planted, and it's all time lapse. So watered, oh, it comes right out. It is a little creepy, but it's so cool. It's just this actually has a really cool song to it. But because of copyright situation, we can't let you listen to it. But just imagine a really cool song, intense, and inspiring, and wonderful, and seeing the fruit. Or actually, the veggies in this situation grow at a really cool speed. And this is cool. This is inspiring. This is beautiful. And this is 52 days in 30 seconds. But this is how we want growth. We want to plant the seed, and then we want to see the growth.

We want to see the fruit. We want to see the glimpses that something is happening right away. But that's not how growth happens. And I just see in this text, the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and put in the soil. And it didn't happen immediately like this. It was slow. And under the soil, things are happening as you're watering it, but you don't see it until this tiny little thing pokes up. And that's there for a while. And then it just starts to grow. And then what I love so much is that something is happening under the surface that we can't see. And just because we can't see it doesn't mean the seed isn't producing. Growth is happening. Depth is happening. A foundation is being laid, but it's slow. But this is going to be big, the seed. I brought some small things, some seeds in my own life that I wanted to share with you, like a show and tell. This is my very first diary. My parents gave it to me when I was eight years old. And it's the kind that locks so no one can see your secrets. But my dad wrote a little note in it just praying that this would become something that would be special for me in my life. And it has.

And mostly at age eight, I was writing about boys that I liked and girls that were bugging me. And I hit my brother in the face, and I felt really bad. But then I did it again and that kind of stuff. But there is one here, July 7, 1990. Today, I did something very special. I asked Jesus into my heart. And I love that this is such a tiny little seed. Even my parents giving this to me, maybe not knowing exactly what would become of it, but this has been such a powerful thing in my life that I got to start when I was young, just journaling, writing things down that meant something to me. And then as I would continue to write, writing down my prayers, writing down my thoughts, writing down things that were hard, writing down things that were beautiful, you can look back and see God's faithfulness with your own handwriting. And even just the fact that I've gotten to publish a book or two and the seed for the things that God's doing in my life now, you look back and you see, wow, just a tiny little seed. Another one is my little book of prayers. My Filipino grandparents gave this to me when I was two, Easter of 1984. And they wrote a note. And I just found this recently. And as we've been digging more into prayer in the life of our church, I found this.

And it was such a treasure. But the note that they wrote says, to our dearest Jenny, may our risen Lord Jesus Christ keep you safe from all harm. May he put his arms around you and keep you close to himself. Love you much, Lulu and Lula. And they're in heaven now. But what a precious thing. I didn't even know this was a seed that was planted. But the fact that they gave this to me, and it was in their prayer over me, and something that I can look back to and point to, man, that was a prayer. That was a seed. That was something so small that I wasn't even aware of, that I'm experiencing the fruit, and the life, and the joy, and the beauty of it now. And also, you never know what a tiny little thing, a tiny little gift could do in someone's life. This is the third thing that I'm going to show you. It's a Celestial Seasonings tin. I don't know what was even put in here, like one teabag. But this was given to me by Levi before we were even dating. And it's full of these little notes that he would leave on my desk. So basically, when we met, I was in a relationship with Levi. I was an intern, and he worked at the church. And I made a decision to not date, but he didn't. But not that he was pushing me to date him, because he knew my rule.

But he was over in my office all the time. And I would come to my desk, and there would be a little note. And one of them is stuff like this, not romantic at all, but it just says, Psalm 1832, in his handwriting. It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. And on the other side, he wrote, Jenny, fear him, period, Levi. And then he wrote another verse, but he didn't write it out, Colossians 1, 1 through 11. And then he said, I'm praying for two. So he said, I'm praying for you in Spanish. I'm praying for two. But the seed of, he was saying he loved me without saying he loved me. But it's just full of those little kind of notes. Oh my gosh, I didn't share this one last. Oh no, for some reason, he left a picture of Homer Simpson and Scarface. I don't know. He was trying to tell me something in his own way. But I love that this is just a tiny seed of what our relationship is now. And something that we've done actually only in the last year and a half of our relationship has been writing notes to each other in a journal. So we have this journal. We have our initials on the front. And I'll write a note in it, and then I'll put it in a place where he can find it.

And he writes in it, and then puts it. And maybe a couple of days or weeks later, it just goes back and forth. And it's just been such a rich thing for us. We've actually worked through some conflict that way, which I don't know if that's healthy, not doing it face to face. But it's actually been very helpful. I think we're able to write things out maybe a little better than we would in the heat of the moment. But all that to say, God can do something with a seed that we have no idea He can do. And to be faithful to give seeds like that, to give a gift, but also to let those things into our hearts, into our lives, sweet little seeds that God can use in huge ways. And I want to encourage you, church, this week even, maybe you have a box of memories, or notes, or little trinkets, or something. Maybe take some time this week and dig up some things. Dig up some treasure that maybe God could point to and say, hey, remember this? Or this is something that I planted in your life all those years ago, and you weren't even aware. We got to go to Monterey, California, where I was born and raised for Thanksgiving. And I'm always just so grateful that I grew up in such a beautiful place. But even just being there, and being by the ocean, and remembering things, I was just

kind of overcome by the seeds that God was planting in my life before I even knew it. The word Monterey means king of the mountain. And 23 years later, from me being born, moving to Montana, which means mountains, obviously, or mountainous countryside, I look back. And even the flag of California has a grizzly bear on it, which is just funny, because maybe they don't have grizzly bears anymore, but we have grizzly bears in Montana. But just those silly little things that seem kind of like, oh, that's just silly, but it's special. And God is the God of the details and the little seemingly insignificant things. The beauty to come is within the seed. And just a few takeaways for you to write down, if you'd like. Number one, see the seed for what it is and for what it will become. See the seed for what it is. It's small. It's insignificant. It's ugly. What beauty is in a seed? But see with the eyes of faith what it could become, what it will become, what God is doing as you plant the seed. It takes seeing with our naked eye, but then looking again and seeing with the eyes of faith. faith. It's this lifelong tension of what is and what will be. What is now. Are you in Christ? You are in Christ. God looks at you and he sees you perfect. He sees you pure. But we're not perfectly pure. We're still struggling with our sin, with issues, with

in the already, but we're also not yet. So there's this tension of being in Christ, but not being fully, perfectly pure in his presence. But that's how God sees us. It's confusing, right? Well, that's kind of the tension of faith. But today, some of us are living in the middle of heartache, betrayal, abandonment, disappointment, frustration, grief. We're in that now. And it feels heavy. It feels like a big, ugly seed. And yet in Christ, we know that what will be is so much bigger, is so much more beautiful than what we can see or even imagine. What is and what will be. What we see with our naked eye, what we see with the eyes of faith. See what the seed is now and see what it will become. In that process, there's power and there's strength. Number two, see the growth and embrace the process. See the growth. See the little sprig coming out of the ground. See the branches forming. See the leaves budding and embrace the process that you're in because it's deepening you. It's strengthening you. It's reminding you how desperate you are for the God of creation, for your Savior. Some steps for us to hold onto in the middle of the waiting, in the middle of this process, is number one, behold the beauty of the seed, which we just talked about. Look at the seed. There's beauty in it. Let's try to see the way God sees. And then believe in faith. Believe that God's going to do something with that seed. Be patient. Let's practice being patient. Let's practice waiting. Be obedient when God asks you to take a step, when God asks you to stay, when God asks you to take a leap. Be obedient. Be bold. Be bold in faith. Be bold in believing. Beware. Be watchful. Be prayerful. Be ready. Be on your toes. And then behold the beauty of the outcome. What's the outcome? Behold that beauty. What if we had the eyes to see each part of the process and to embrace each part of the process, to embrace each part of the growth? What is your reality? What is your everyday reality that might seem so insignificant? What's the huge cry of your heart, your dream, your desire? What's an impossible thing that you believe God has for you? Consider the seed. Maybe you're praying for a baby to become pregnant. Offer that to God. Surrender that to God. Maybe you're praying for a child who maybe once believed but has walked away from the faith. Surrender him or her to the Lord. Rest in your Savior. Whatever that seed is today, He's the God of it. He's the God of the mustard seed. And even though you might have a mustard seed Christmas this year, God has something for you, through you, the people around you. And He wants to minister to you with that mustard seed.

And the color is epic. So mustard yellow is so awesome. So just embrace it. Prayer. So let's offer these things to the Lord. As God has the seed in front of you, give it to the Lord. Keep on praying. Keep on watering. Keep on showing up. Remember, God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are higher than ours. Number three, see the fruit, rest, multiply, and worship. I love this thought that the result of this tiny, insignificant seed is a tree. A tree. And it says, so that the birds of the air can come and nest in its branches. Now, when I was a senior in high school, I was failing my econ class. And I blamed the teacher. He was not very patient. He was not helping me understand things. But I went to him and I said, mister, I'm failing. And he's like, yes, you are. And he didn't offer any help, any remedy. He just said, yes, you are. And so I said, well, what do I do? And he's like, well, you should probably just take an elective. Like, just take another class. And so I took bird study. So I know a lot about birds. If you want to know anything, I might be able to help you. But what I've learned about birds is that when they're nesting, they are looking for a place that is safe. A place where their nest, as they build it,

will be protected as they lay their eggs. No predators will come to get their babies. And so birds are looking for a place to come to nest in its branches. And I love that this is a result of this seed. A result, a supernatural result, is these birds nesting in its branches. And I also love that in a season, in a time of fruitfulness in our lives, we can lean into it. I think sometimes we are doing all the things that we are supposed to do, and praying, and coming to church, and in our small groups, and doing all the things. But I think sometimes we don't feel the growth. We don't feel the fruit. But then sometimes we look back and we see all kinds of fruit. It's like, wow, I didn't even know that this was possible. But it's the sowing that we've been doing. It's the sowing of the seeds. It's the doing things when we don't necessarily feel like it. It's the practicing patience, the exercising faith in the little things. And all of a sudden, there's fruit. And there's a tree. And there's birds nesting in the branches. And so my encouragement is that if you're in a time of fruit, things are being produced out of your life, and you feel the growth, lean into that. Multiply. What are you doing to multiply yourself? God is a God of multiplication. How are you multiplying the things that He's shown you, the things that He's teaching you? Has He been putting on your heart leading in some way?

Maybe leading in a small group, or leading on a team, or coming to your pastor and just saying, hey, I feel this. What should I do? What is God putting on your heart? As you walk in purpose, as you see the fruit, keep showing up. I love our church. I love this church, Fresh Life. I love that we are a multi-generational gathering of people who love Jesus, who focus on Him, who tremble at God's word, who worship Him, who risk the ocean. And I love that we are a people who realize that we are all 5 o'clock hires. And we set the table for others to come to taste and see that the Lord is good. This is who we are, and this is what God calls us to. But how are you allowing the fruit in your life to be multiplied? How are you sharing what you've learned? How are you letting it strengthen someone else's faith? We all have next steps. What is a next step for you? Is it the first step of surrendering your life to Christ? Do it today. Is it to start serving on a team? Do it. Just see what God is going to do. Just see what God wants to do in you and through you. Is it to start in a Fresh Life group? Maybe you haven't been in a small group yet. But has the Holy Spirit been nudging you to ask the team at the circle, how do I get in a group? They've been waiting for you to ask. And they want to help you find the best group. Is it to just keep showing up to your small group?

Because sometimes that can be hard. Or life can just get in the way. Is it to keep serving and to keep showing up? Is it to start a Bible study on your campus? Church, God is doing something beautiful in our youth. In this church, and in this country, and in this world. We have some families, a part of our church, who their kids, they're eight, nine, six, who started a Bible study on their campus. And it's not a Christian school, but they decided to start a Bible study. And they're going through Levi's book, Roar Like a Lion. And they asked Levi to come and be a guest speaker at their little Bible study. And I got to come. And it was life changing for me to see these kids leading each other. No adults were a part of making this happen. It's all student-led. And seeing them worship, seeing them pray, seeing them encourage each other, I was encouraged. I was strengthened. And I believe that God is using the youth today to build up adults, even, and to remind us that it's the childlike faith that causes us to enter into the kingdom of God. What is God asking you to do in this season? What is your next step? Church, this is healthy soil. And I just want to encourage you to keep planting your roots

deep down. Psalm 92, 13 through 15. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. Amen? They shall be fresh and flourishing. To declare that the Lord is upright, there is no unrighteousness in Him. Plant your roots down deep. Get comfortable in the sense that you're here, and you're serving, and you're letting God move. But don't get comfortable in just sitting. Get ready to move. Get ready to risk. Get ready to go. In His kingdom, there is always growth. There is always multiplication, always abundance, always flourishing, always rest. I'm going to end with Isaiah 61, verses 1 through 3, pointing to Jesus. Maybe hold your hands out in a posture of receiving. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn. Are you mourning today? To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. This is Jesus. This is our Savior. This is the God of all. Coming in human flesh as a tiny little poppy seed. Being born into this world, living this life, dying on the cross, rising from the dead. To comfort all who mourn, to give them beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that we would be trees of righteousness. Why? So that He may be glorified. And that is what we are called to, to bring glory to our God, to bring glory to our King, to be the tree, to be the tree of righteousness. That is a safe place for others to come and grow and be changed and to experience fresh life. And Father, we thank you so much for your love. We thank you for your faithfulness. We thank you, God, that you loved the world so much, that you gave your one and only Son, that whoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. We wait on you, God. We need you desperately. And I just want to take a moment and pray for anyone who is holding a seed in their that they feel like they can't even see what the end result is going to be.

They're having a hard time seeing the beauty, seeing the flourishing in this tiny and significant seed. And I just want to take a moment and pray for anyone who is feeling that this Christmas season. There's so much weighing on our hearts. But God sent Jesus so that we could surrender that to Him afresh. And that's what's so beautiful about the daily reminder that we are desperately in need of our Savior. May that be a reminder today. And if that's you, would you raise your hand? I just want to pray for you. I just want to pray over you. I want to pray His grace over you. Lord Jesus, I do pray over these who are raising their hands all across our church. Lord, I pray that even in this act of raising their hands, that it would just be even a sign of surrender, of releasing to you maybe what they've been holding tight in their hands. But a seed can't grow in our hands. It has to grow in the soil. And so I pray that they would release it to you. I pray for even the promises that you have given, but they're not seeing the results of those promises. Lord, would they trust you? Would you grow their trust in you? Would they trust in you with all their heart and lean not on their own understanding, but in all of their ways acknowledge you? And Lord, I pray that you would direct their paths, comfort them, bless them. Give them eyes to see the way you see. Give them your perspective today, Lord, to do what only you can do with an insignificant, tiny seed. You can put your hands down.

And Lord, we just wait on you. We worship you, Lord. We worship you, Lord. I also just want to pray, take a moment, for anyone who hasn't yet given their lives to Maybe this message, throughout the message, that's me. I want to give my life to Christ. I want to have, I want to grow in my relationship with God. I want to see that. The way he sees, I want to see the struggles and the heartache and the issues that I'm in. I want to see them with eternal perspective. So if that's you, I want to lead you in a prayer. And it's simple. It's the prayer of faith that saves. But if that's you, would you repeat after me? I'm going to have the whole church pray this with us, just to show you that we've got your back and we're excited for you. And this is what it's all about. You can pray. Dear God, thank you for your love. I know that I'm far from you because of my sin. But thank you for sending Jesus to bring me near, to give me life, to give me purpose, to give me hope in death and purpose in life. I give my life to you. In Jesus' name.