"Mustard Tree Christians"

Scripture Text: "The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." Matthew 13:31,32 (KJV)

If we look carefully we see the progression Jesus takes in His discourse of the parable of the seed as He speaks of the church in it's most raw form. As for Christianity, there had not been any church established as of yet - save the followers that met with Jesus and His disciples on the hillsides and followed him to the shores of Galilee to listen while He taught out of a boat. But He continued to point out that the Kingdom of God was made up of "the believers" of this world.

In the Parable of the Tares, He spoke of those who would infiltrate the church that were not "true believers", and would produce no fruit of repentance or otherwise.

Next, He speaks of the Parable of the Mustard Seed. At first glance and with what we know of the mustard seed, we would say that Jesus is speaking of the Power of a mustard seed as we know it.  You know, "having faith the size of a mustard seed": in fact let's read the text again.

"The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." Matthew 13:31,32

To see what Jesus is referring to here - we must look at it in context with the verses just before.

In Friday's devotional - Jesus was speaking of the "tares" in the field, and how it was suggested to let the tares remain in with the wheat, lest in pulling up the tares, the workman would also damage the wheat. We discovered that this was speaking of those folk who are in our midst that will pretend to be the real deal, but they are nothing more than "darnels". These are "workers" that portray that they are Godly, yet they seek to produce their own interests rather than to produce "fruit unto repentance, and righteousness".

The mustard seed parable Jesus speaks of here speaks of the church on the grow" - even to the place of a WORLD POWER and RECOGNITION! The problem with growth is, it doesn't always give us the true picture of "spiritual depth".

A few years back I had a Pastor friend of mine go into a church appointment that had won recognition for church growth inhis denomination for several years running. In fact, that particular fellowship had won the "TOP AWARD" given by that denomination three straight years in a row. He was elated and even ecstatic to be entering into such an appointment as the head Pastor.

For the first 6 months he just kind of observed the operations of things; and what he found was amazing. The glass that surrounded this "Crystal Cathedral" (no reference to Robert Schuler's Church or ministry), began to shatter, and what he found behind that glass facade was sickening and caused a great deal of soul-searching as to how this could have come to be the number one Church in his denomination. It had, like the mustard seed in our text for today, swollen to the size of a great tree, but sitting in it's branches were the clutter of fruitless programs, and fruitless people interested in seeking to benefit only their own interests. 

What that tells us is that numerical growth often serves only to harbor the "birds of the air" that Jesus was speaking of in verse 32. If you remember from another devotional - the "birds of the air" refer to the devil and all of his co-harts: NOT A PRETTY OUTLOOK FOR A CHURCH SUPPOSEDLY TO BE on THE RISE"!

By the same token, do we stop working on church growth because we are aware of the "birds of the air" sitting in the branches of our churches? No! We "occupy until He comes". (Luke 19 :13)

In fact, if we read the 13 - 27th verses of the 19th chapter of Luke - we see what we said in Thursday's and Friday's devotional with regards to being fruitful. Remember:

"... it is important to point out, that while Jesus has told us that the believer's fruit would vary, he gave no one the option, nor the right, to produce no fruit at all."

So the question is: "Should we put aside our programs, and put aside our desire for a better worship service?"

By all means NO! But it does behoove us to get it right the first time - by bathing our preparation in prayer, and asking God to truly lead us. I would rather start small and grow gradually, building on a foundation that will not "cave in" or a ministry that will quit "under fire" when the trials come, than to be sitting somewhere in a big fancy building where no one knows for sure what they believe - and even if they did - they would never declare it.

It is time that we get our mobile pew "in gear" and "IF WE ARE REDEEMED - SAY SO!" We are His Voice and we are His Hands and we are His Testimony.

ARE YOU REDEEMED? SAY SO!!! Just begin declaring the NAME of JESUS over your life today WILL MOVE MOUNTAINS that you may have thought were insurmountable.

Let's Pray,

Father, Having a Mustard seed type growth - doesn't always produce fruit - at least not the kind that is profitable to Your Kingdom. Many of those who never even proclaim YOUR NAME can draw massive crowds on Sundays that proclaim rather the POWER OF MAN and point man to his own inner strength to be successful. And they call that it a Church Service. Oh God, I know that your greatest desire for us is to be in health and to prosper - yet what so many don't finish reading there are the words that say, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (ref., 3 John 1:2 KJV)

 If there is no fruit, there can be no lasting success. A TREE is NOTHING MORE THAN A TREE unless it produces shade or gives food, or gives oygen into the atmosphere. Father, I want to be a TREE for You, with roots deep - grounded in Thy WORD and sprinkled daily by the fresh dew of Thine Anointing. Come Lord Jesus, and don't let me just GROW - but make me LIVE and bring forth PASSION FRUIT of the GOSPEL kind every day. In Jesus Name, Amen.