Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
It’s been claimed that over 2,200 years ago a seed began to grow in the ground in the western part of North America. It continued to grow rapidly over time, throughout the middle ages, the dark ages, the Great depression, and two world wars. It is considered by many as the world’s largest tree, at a height of 275 ft and a 36 ft diameter at the base. At 60 ft above the ground, it is still 17 ft in diameter! It is a giant sequoia known as the General Sherman. When you see it your jaw will drop at the sheer size of it. It’s breathtaking. There are numerous other trees that surround it as you take a walk down the Congress trail, each of them towering over the forest, and each of them sharing one thing in common, they all began as a tiny little seed.
This reminds me of a Christian Life.
It only takes a small seed to mature into a tree this size, and it only takes a small seed of faith inside the fertile ground of a good and obedient heart to become a mature man of God.
Mark 4:30-32 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. It’s a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion. Just a small seed of faith can yield big results. Just like this tree, the Christian life is about growing each day in our faith. It begins with the very first step of faith, when like a seed, we are germinated deep in the water, completely submerged and baptized into the name of Jesus Christ. Just as a plant will poke its head out of the dirt, we rise up out of the water to begin a new life, completely forgiven of our past misdeeds so that we can begin to grow into the person that God wants us to become. We must possess genuine faith so that we can please God and do his will, and like a Sequoia seedling, eventually grow into spiritual maturity.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
In order to obey scripture and do the will of God, you must have faith. God rewards a seeking heart. If you’ve ever had a greenhouse or grown indoor plants, we are responsible to plant the seeds and water them, but God causes them to miraculously grow. This is very symbolic of the Christian Life. The little seed of faith needs to be nurtured each day and watered by God’s Word.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
People can have a lot of head knowledge from God’s Word, but knowledge by itself is not enough. You must possess faith, because without it, you will never please God completely. If you truly believe in Jesus with all of your heart, conversion is going to happen in your life. Only through the narrow passage of faith can you meekly submit to God and become a doer of His will.
James 1:21-25 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
It’s the Word of God that fills us with spiritual food, but it is faith in God that causes us to mature. It is God that causes that seed to grow when we place our complete trust in Him. The Word of God is like the dry ingredients in a recipe, but to complete the task at hand you must add the water of faith.
Hebrews 4:1-3 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
A spiritual seed cannot grow without faith. Genuine faith is going to possess works, just as the life of the Apostle Paul clearly teaches us. God’s grace, and Paul’s seed of faith towards Jesus, resulted in a mammoth of a tree. A lot of the New Testament that we have today was written by his hand. It is his faith that caused him to do the things that he did. Genuine faith will possess works just as his life exemplified.
James 2:17-20 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Works are the evidence of the unseen things of God at work inside a person’s heart. Even though there were certain people who didn’t believe in Jesus, He told them to believe in Him because of the works that he was doing.
John 14:11-12 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Faith in Christ will result in following His path, and being involved with the works that He does. Just one little seed of faith can result in huge things. Noah’s faith caused him to build a huge ship to save his family from the destruction of the world. His huge ship was a result of his huge faith. Moses’ faith caused him to walk away from all the treasures in Egypt, and His huge faith produced huge results, eventually leading thousands of Israelites out of Egypt, to freedom.
So if you ever get out by Wolverton Road in California, I want you to think about what one small seed can produce. One little seed of faith in our hearts can grow into something incredibly big. Remember this if you ever get the opportunity to see,….
……The General Sherman
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.♥️
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