Parables: Mirrors of the Soul #2 | Pastor Rob Thomas

It doesn't have to be loud. It doesn't have to be visible in moments. It doesn't have to be forceful to be effective. It infiltrates quietly and suddenly. It begins to spread and move and it begins through one faithful heart. One act of love one consistent prayer that you keep praying even when you're not seeing results in a moment. You keep standing on god's word and you keep praying. You keep believing. And with that, you'll see gradually families, communities, even nations will be reshaped from the inside out. [01:32:47] (37 seconds)  #QuietFaithChanges

God's not looking for you to get your life together to come to him. He has pulled out a seat at the table for you. All you gotta do is come. God's not looking for a thriving starting point. He can take what looks dead in your life and he can bring life. A broken relationship, a stalled out dream, an unanswered prayer, what it feels like weak faith. Guys, he can bring to life and he can grow something absolutely glorious and splendid from it. [01:24:52] (29 seconds)  #ComeAsYouAreToGod

It's amazing how often we can get lost in the muck of the world and we can feel like we're all alone and nobody understands and nobody's been where I'm at and and we we start having this pity party and then we stop and we have to stop and we gotta shut down those lies. We've got to remember that there's one who knows the number of hairs on our head. He knows it so intimately. He's so close that all he has to do is whisper. He's the father that no matter how far we've wandered, his arms are open wide and he's right there ready to receive us. [00:43:38] (32 seconds)  #GodKnowsYou

The smallest seed of faith, of obedience, of prayer, of love, of kindness. And then he comes in and he infuses it with divine supernatural growth potential. God is the god of miracle grow. He will grow your seed into something huge. He will transform the insignificant into something that shelters and blesses others beyond what we could ever orchestrate on our very own. [01:13:38] (32 seconds)  #DivineMiracleGrow

So wherever you are at today, whatever you're walking through, let me tell you, you've been marked. You've been chosen. There's a place for you at the table. God's calling your name. He loves you with an everlasting love. He is everything that you need. He is all in all. You're not alone. You're not forsaken. You are who he says you are. [00:44:10] (25 seconds)  #CalledAndChosen

And and so in this, Jesus shows us something massive that the kingdom of God doesn't come. It doesn't arrive with with a bunch of fanfare and and and and and whatever else. It doesn't come in this loud thing. It doesn't come by force. This kingdom of God comes, and it it starts generally as something tiny, something almost invisible, something almost hidden, and and it spreads, and it grows, and it transforms, and it transforms everything it comes in contact with. [01:07:11] (29 seconds)  #KingdomGrowsQuietly

The kingdom doesn't require us start with something impressive. It only requires us start with something genuine and real. No matter how small and entrusted to him. And so obviously this is encouraging for us especially in moments when our faith feels weak. We're not seeing the results that maybe we were thinking or hoping for in a moment. Maybe your your prayers don't seem like they're being answered in a moment. Maybe you feel like your impact is too limited. Guys, god, we serve a god who doesn't measure by size. That should be some of the best news you've heard. [01:15:52] (35 seconds)  #StartGenuineNotPerfect

We may shout together as a kingdom, but in the world, the kingdom silently transforms everything it touches. Don't think influence is too small. Don't think your kind word to the person working in the cubicle next to you is too small. Don't think that the gift that god has given you is too insignificant. It has the ability to transform everything it touches. [01:35:39] (27 seconds)  #TinyActsHugeInfluence

Maybe it's a kind word you gave to somebody when you were exhausted. Seems so insignificant, but you have no idea what happened in the spiritual realm. You have no idea the seed that you planted, and you have no idea the fruit that'll produce because you were willing to stop in a moment when you were tired and just say a kind word. [01:39:10] (24 seconds)  #KindWordCanChange

Maybe it's a persistent prayer that you've whispered for years and years, and you've seen no visible answer. And you found in your flesh, you find yourself getting frustrated. And maybe it just seems like this is insignificant. God's calling you to continue to stand and trust that he's faithful and trust that he hears you and trust that he's working all things together for your good whether you can see it in this moment or not. [01:39:34] (28 seconds)  #PersistentPrayerMatters

Maybe in you, maybe it's a hidden struggle. Maybe it's something that you're fighting in secret, and you wonder if God even notices. You've cried out to him, and you said, Lord, free me of this. And you're still struggling, and you're going, does God even see me? You feel like you're so insignificant to God. God sees you. He knows what you're feeling. He empathizes with you, and he's calling you today to trust him, to work all things together for his good, [01:40:11] (36 seconds)  #GodSeesYourStruggle

It shows us that the kingdom of god works in the same way that faith does. It starts small. It starts hidden, but it's anchored into god's promise and it produces visible lasting results. So Jesus makes this connection between the nature of of genuine faith and the nature of the kingdom of God. Both seem small, both may seem insignificant at first, they may seem overlooked, they may seem undervalued, but both contain divine life that cannot be contained. [01:14:48] (30 seconds)  #SmallFaithBigResults

Just say it. Tell yourself this morning. Say, I am who you say I am. I am who you say I am. Do you believe it today? Do you believe you are who God says you are? Can you allow yourself to begin to stop looking at yourself through the lens of your failures and your regrets and begin seeing yourself the way that God the father sees you? Yes. He sees you as a treasure. He sees you as a son and daughter. [00:44:35] (23 seconds)  #IAmWhoGodSays

But god prophesied through Isaiah that what looked dead, the stump of Jesse, talking about David, he prophesied something different. God promises that a shoot will rise from that very stump. A tender branch filled with the holy spirit that brings justice, peace, and a kingdom where even former enemies rest together. [01:23:55] (25 seconds)  #RiseFromTheStump

Jesus showing us again that a big dramatic arrival that that's not how the kingdom comes. He's showing us how it actually comes. In a seed so tiny that you can lose it in your palm, in a pinch of yeast so small that you couldn't ever imagine it making difference. And yet both grow and both transform everything they touch. [01:36:16] (36 seconds)  #YeastAndSeedChangeEverything

And so here's the question that Jesus is asking of us today. What small thing in your life feels too insignificant for God to use? What small thing in your life feels too insignificant to use? Because according to Jesus, that's exactly where the kingdom of God begins. It begins so tiny that it's almost invisible. [01:07:41] (25 seconds)  #SmallThingsStartKingdom