Welcome to this week's posting of the Weekend Sermon. I am glad to be back posting on a regular schedule. There have been a lot of bad storms in my area over the past several days, but I am thankful to the Lord that I have been safe through them all.
I have a lot of decisions to make about work in the next few days. I would ask that you would please pray for me that I would know what it is that the Lord wants me to do. I would like to get back into writing more, but I am not entirely sure that it is going to be possible right now.
Please remember to pray this week for all of the people in the Midwest and South who experienced bad storms and flooding. Pray that they will quickly recover.
Continue to be in prayer for peace in this troubled world. Pray for peace in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Libya and Somalia.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us be in prayer for the nations of Lebanon and Albania. Pray that many in these two countries will hear the message of Jesus' love and mercy.
Over the course of the last several weeks, we have been studying the parables of Jesus and what they have to say to us. This week, we are going to study two parables that use different images but have the same basic message.
In the first parable, Jesus used the image of a mustard seed to get His message through. He said that the Kingdom of Heaven was like a mustard seed. Even though it is a very small seed, the plant grows to be quite large. The birds of the air can come and dwell in its branches.
In the second parable, Jesus uses the image of leaven. Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a woman who is baking bread. She mixes a small amount of leaven into the wheat, but it is enough to leaven they entire batch.
What lessons can when learn from Jesus' message in these two parables? First of all, Jesus is stating how the Kingdom of Heaven operates and expands. These parables are prophetic in a way.
When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He started out with just a few followers.
In the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost, there where about 120 people gathered together. This certainly isn't a large group. However, this was the group that had remained faithful to Jesus. These were the people that had the message of the Kingdom placed in their hearts, and they believed in the message of Jesus.
From this group of 120 followers, the message of Jesus spread all across the world. Just think of how amazing that is. This small group of people revolutionized the world.
At the time in which we live, the message of Jesus has gone around the world. People from all over the planet for the last 2.000 years have turned in repentance and faith to Jesus. They have trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Right now in 2017, about 30 percent of the people on earth claim to be some type of Christian. That is a significant number of people. Thanks be to God, the church is growing rapidly in some parts of the world.
There is still so much work to be done. The Great Commission still needs to be obeyed. As followers of Jesus Christ it is our mission and our responsibility to go into the world and share the message of the love of Jesus.
You might not think that you can do much to make a difference for the Lord in the world. However, even though you may think that your contribution is small, God can use you to accomplish something great for Him.
I know that when I started writing I wanted to use my writing to reach people with the message of Jesus. I started writing some devotional articles for a magazine. I didn't think that they would reach that many people. However, the Lord Jesus used these devotional articles to reach people from many nations. All the praise and glory belongs to the Lord.
I think that these two parables also speak to us about doing good in the world. There are many needs in these world and there are a lot of hurting people out there. Sometimes the problems are overwhelming. But if each one of us does something to make this world a better place, these good deeds will grow and grow and make a tremendous difference in the world.
I know that when the founder of Habitat For Humanity began his organization he never expected it to be what it is today. From a small beginning, that organization has grown to encompass projects throughout the United States and around the world.
The Lord may be calling you to start ministering to hurting people. You might not think that you can make a difference. With the Lord's help, you can do great things for Him.
There is one other thing that I want to point out about this parable. These parables speak to me about starting small and growing. I don't even mean this in a spiritual or a religious sense. You will never accomplish anything in life unless you just start.
There was a minister on television who used to say, "Beginning is half done." We have to launch out on our dreams and our goals if we expect to accomplish anything at all. At first, our dream or goal may seem small. But with hard work, our dreams can grow and grow and fill our lives and enrich the lives of others.
That's kind of where I am right now. I know what is in my heart to do. The mustard seed of a dream is taking root. It is up to me with Jesus' help to move ahead and work to make the dream a reality. I want to see the mustard seed of my dream grow into the plant Jesus spoke about in His parable.
Next week, I will post the verses on Monday. On Wednesday, I will post my book in its entirety. This will be in place of a review next week. On the following two Wednesdays, I will post reviews of two good dog books that I am currently reading. Next Friday, we will continue with our parables of Jesus series on the Weekend Sermon. May God bless you all. Amen.
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