Seed of Change
NB. Sermon recorded at the Arts Centre Fatfield Durham 4 October 1998
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Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
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Witness
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8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)
9 I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. 10 These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. 11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
Setting the Scene
The readings for today, may seem a bit ‘bitty’ - all over the place. First there is a parable of a growing seed that is harvested, then there is a mustard seed that grows into a bush and finally the Old Testament passage was a section of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as told to Daniel. I hope we can bring these all together in a message for today.
But first I would like to tell you my own parable, the parable of the Ginger Beer Plant and as a visual aid I have brought some of the produce of this plant and several starter ‘plants’ for you to spread the Ginger pop in the neighbourhood!
Make a Ginger Beer Plant
‘The kingdom of God is like the brewers yeast which I took and added to two spoonfuls of ground ginger and two spoonfuls of sugar and ½ pint of water and it became a plant because of the life in the yeast.
And the people of Durham can drink of the ginger beer today (after this Sunday service) because the yeast caused it to come to life and to increase to a whole gallon of beverage.
Jesus frequently used parables to teach about the kingdom of God, the kingdom was at the heart of his message
Matt 4:17 ‘from that time on Jesus began to preach repent for the kingdom of heaven is near’
Luke 4:43 ‘I must preach the Goodnews of the kingdom of God to the other towns also because that is why I was sent.’
So I would like to ask two questions
Q1> Why did he speak in parables?
Q2> What did he mean by the Kingdom of God?
Answer 1
Jesus taught in parables because they were visual and being visual people they would have remembered the picture (if not the teaching). He taught in parables because they were stories from everyday life, and because they were story and not theory it held people’s attention and being everyday illustrations, people could relate to the parable and experience it.
I can imagine the people hearing Jesus teaching about the yeast and the bread in Galilee - they would have been able to smell the baking wafting from the open doors and windows. They would have known that the next day’s bread came by adding a piece of today’s fermented dough to tomorrow’s dough and so on, so that each day’s bread is divided to multiply into the next day’s increase. This was an everyday picture they would have known. People of this community, tell the story of your lives, tell the story of the Gospel and your friends will be drawn towards the kingdom of God.
So today I give you the picture of a ginger beer plant.
Eight days ago I mixed yeast, sugar and ginger and today I have a gallon of ginger beer and the sediment from the mixture has been divided and is here for 2 people to take home and makeup. Home group leaders, it is our responsibility to make sure this happens. It’s up to you to drain it off and give the sediment to someone else in your group and then they can make a gallon and hand the sediment on to someone else.
Friends, by Christmas (12 weeks from today) this church will have made over 4000 gallons of ginger beer (from just these two plants)!
Q2 What does Kingdom of God mean?
The parable doesn’t explain what the kingdom of God is - it just says [Mk 4:30]“with what can we compare the Kingdom of God…” and then gives us a picture. Have you ever asked what is the kingdom of God or what is it like?? Quick-fire answers:-
Kingdom of God; is a dynasty where God reigns as king;
It is an unseen kingdom, a kingdom where a change takes place from the inside out,
About the power of this kingdom is of God: we can do nothing to change ourselves (Ephesians 2:8) it is a gift of God
The kingdom is where small beginnings blossom into a great kingdom.
Historically we can read that Jesus shared it with the >> disciples >> who shared it throughout the Early Church >>Then it spread to the Eastern and the Roman Church >> It was Reformed into the protestant churches >> From whence it grew (not split) into ‘Multi denominational’ Churches).
Or, to put it in terms of your own personal faith journey: from small beginnings, you personally received the seed of the word in your heart . That seed of change brought you to new birth in Christ >> that brought change in every area of your life >> and you in turn have influenced lives for the kingdom.
Something else Jesus taught is that God’s kingdom is mysteriously at work in the everyday familiarity of life - yeast becomes one with dough to make bread, just as yeast becomes one with ginger to make ginger beer- through our everyday contact with God and our everyday contact with people God is at work.
Let us apply it this way - if we take the time in our everyday life to get to know several people, to care for them to pray for them we will wrap the kingdom of God around them and God will be mysteriously at work.
If we trust in God, if we are patient and persistent then we are ‘mixing it’ for the kingdom.
Like the yeast with the ginger so that those people will be won for the kingdom of God.
On the eve of the national initiative Alpha and in the run-up to the new millennium let’s be encouraged that from our small humble efforts - if we will just step out in faith and witness, [be assured] God will bring about an increase.
When Christmas comes you may be cursing me for the amount of ginger beer there is slushing around this fellowship and the community but remember the parable of the phenomenal increase the spirit can bring about if we will take this message seriously.
The seed and the branch
But what about the other picture? - [What is this? I hold up seed][What type of seed?] [No, not a mustard seed, it is a Lavateria seed!] [I hold up a Laviteria branch].
The kingdom of God is like a laviteria seed when it is sown it grows up and becomes a great shrub which puts forth large branches so that the birds of the air can perch. What surprises me here is Jesus gives the mustard shrub a big build-up but actually it’s not any great shakes as a shrub.
It grows to about seven foot tall but a Hawthorne or Berberis grows bigger so what is Jesus getting at?
We may get a clue from the reading in Daniel 4.
In the Middle-East the symbol of a mighty kingdom was often a tree like a cedar, cypress or today we talk about the mighty oak. ‘
“The tree grew large and strong… it’s leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant…and the birds of the air lived in its branches..” Daniel 4:11
I believe Jesus was using this shrub as an illustration of His kingdom. He is saying the kingdom of God is different, it’s not based on the might of an earthly empire such as the mighty Oak, it’s like a bush, a bush that is dense with branches to shelter and feed the birds and produce many seeds for next years growth. [Can you can see where I’m heading?]
As we allow God to reign in us and as we blossom into the shrub God longs for us to be we become a place where people can belong, where they can seek and find meaning & purpose for themselves. Secondly, we become the means by which the hungry are fed, the sick are cared for, the hurt people find a rest and a hope - in us.
Refer back to the 3 measures of flour, as we weave our world around people who have no meaning and no purpose no hope they see in the pictures of our lives and in the stories we tell them the meaning and purpose and hope that only the kingdom of God can give. Slowly but surely as our friends and relatives and neighbours light in the branches, feeding on the berries of our love and kindness they will be drawn into the kingdom of God - that’s the parables of the ginger beer plant and the Laviteria bush, from small beginnings God brings about an increase, God is at work in our stuttering efforts bringing a new kind of kingdom on earth just as it is in heaven.
I’d like to finish with a story which I hope draws these two parable pictures together. It’s a story without an ending because the story continues day by day. It’s the story of Steve a friend of mine in Wakefield. Steve is one of those people who you would think could never become a Christian. He lives on the edge of the law, two weeks ago he offered me ‘windows 98’ for £12. He has an array of porn videos that he offers me (in jest) from time to time.
His girlfriend moves in at week ends but moves ont on Monday’s because Steve won’t commit himself to a long term relationship. He left home when he was 14 and speaks openly about his hatred for his father who abused him by violence and threats.I’ve been praying for Steve for nearly 15 years now, taking the time to get to know him. I recently had the privilege of lending him some money - he’s lighting in the branches of the bush. Over the years I think I have grown to love Steve like a brother and I’ve had a few opportunities to tell him he is loved by God aswell.
But there has been some changes in Steve over the years, it started when he offered to do the electrical work in a monthly gospel presentation we did in Wakefield. It was called ‘the Big If.’ Then he and Viv started attending the Big If (he’s lighting in the branches of the bush). One Monday morning Steve phoned me and said:
“that was some do at the Big If last night, Viv and I sat in our car afterwards for over an hour talking about eternal life and what happens when you die.”More recently I’ve noticed his language is not so punctuated with swear words and double meanings and a couple of weeks ago he told me he had asked Viv to move in with him long term. He was ready to make that commitment now That is progress for Steve (he’s lighting in the branches of the bush).
I think if I had gone in heavy handsd at the start saying I have answers to all the questions you’re not asking he would never have sat in the branches of the bush. But by drawing along side him, wrapping the kingdom around him in care and prayer I believe he is being drawn towards the kingdom, (though he would not recognise that).
I hope that every day story of Steve encourages you to persist with those friends you think are lost causes, there are no lost causes to God.
We have had two pictures - the kingdom of God is like a ginger beer plant that spreads rapidly as we share it and it is like a laviteria seed which grows large in our gardens and birds light in its branches.
Here’s the challenge, if we allow the Lord to reign in us in every area of our lives and if we commit ourselves to praying for and caring for some non-Christian friends God will bring the increase from our small beginnings.
Footnote
Ginger Beer Plant
Method: To pass on ginger beer plant
Strain mixture through a tea towel into a jug. The sediment in the tea towel should be split (use a spoon) and put into two containers (e.g. jam jars). Add 1 teaspoon of sugar & 1 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/3 pint of luke-warm water.
Give the 2 mixtures away with a batch of instructions.To make ginger beer pop
Dissolve 1 lb sugar in boiling water. Add the juice of 2 lemons (or 4 table spoons of Jif). Add 1/2 pint of cold water.
Add the strained mixture in the jug (above). Make up to 1 gallon (8 pints!) with luke-warm water.
Bottle in recycled plastic bottles (or strong glass corked bottles) leave a 2-3inch gap at the top.
Leave for 7 to 10 days & it is ready to drink.
