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At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
Welcome to the Sandals Church podcast. My name is Scott, and I'm a part of the team here at Sandals Church. We're so happy to have you join us today as we listen to this message from pastor Fredo teaching us in our Matthew series. Series. If you've enjoyed our content, consider leaving us a rating to help this podcast reach more people.
Scott Schutte:But for now, let's get into the message.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:In 02/2009, Pixar released a movie called Up. Some of you might remember watching this movie. You also might remember it was like within the first two minutes of this movie that we were all crying our eyes out. And it wasn't because of, you know, the balloons or the talking jungle dogs. It was the sweet little moment where we saw a house and music was playing and we witnessed two people growing old together until one of them wasn't.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:I realized over the time of watching this movie that this movie wasn't just so much about animation as it was an analogy. That house lifted by balloons, drifting into the unknown. When you think about it, this was a story about grief. The kind of grief that lifts you off the ground of your life and carries you places you did not plan to go. And that's a good analogy.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:That's what a good analogy does. And some of you all sitting there like, dang, I didn't even think Up was about that. But it has that kind of power. Amen. Where it's what your heart knows but can't quite say it.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Analogies are especially important when we're trying to describe something that is bigger than mere words. And it's far more vibrant than just simple explanations. Which is why when Alicia Keys plays the piano and sings, this girl is on fire, none of us are trying to take her to a burn unit at the hospital. Right? We are relating with her emotional state.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Or when Kendrick Lamar, one of my favorites. I know I don't condone his music here, so just chill. But when he says, it goes like this. Halle Berry or hallelujah, pick your poison, tell me what you're doing. He's given us an analogy on his options for life.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Halle Berry or hallelujah. Pick your poison, they both have consequences. Tell me what you're doing. He now causes the the listener to reflect. Before you judge him and his decisions, what will you do?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:What will you do? Right? Analogies, they crack open the world. Amen. They they flick on a light that's kind of, you know, dark in our minds.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And and good artists know this. Good storytellers know this. And Jesus knows this too. You see, an analogy gives us handles for the truth when that truth is too big to hold directly. Which is why Jesus didn't just say things, he showed us things.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:With stories and metaphors and images. Jesus doesn't just define the kingdom like with a bullet point of list. He says it's like a seed. He says it's like yeast and bread. It's like this treasure in the field.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:He uses these kinds of stories to mash together what we kind of are familiar with, with things that we don't understand well. He used parables real simply to open our minds and to see things in a new way. And the parable that we're going to cover today, I believe is so profound that it has the power and the the potency to open our minds and and help us see God in a brand new way, help us see ourselves in a brand new way, and the world around us. Because I would believe at some level, you want God to work in your life. Amen.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You you wanna see his power flow through you. You wanna see him at work. But this parable is going to surprise you in how Jesus explains through an analogy the ways that God is actually at work. But before we get there, let me just ask you. Where would you say God is at work right now in your life?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Where is he at work? And I don't mean like in a general sense, but in a real specific sense. Like where is he at work when you're driving home in your oversized SUV and you're on the phone with a friend just lamenting how you can't connect with your teenager anymore? Where is he at work when you're fighting with your spouse last night? Where is he at work in your life when you're, that single young parent raising young kids and for whatever reason you're up late at night and asleep during the day wondering if all of these little menial tasks will will do anything actually.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Where is God at work when you're barely making it, living check to check, and you're showing up here to church just hoping to hear some kind of good news. Where is God at work in those areas? And the reason why I ask that is because there's all the tension. There's a tension all of us wrestle with when it comes to understanding where we see God at work in our lives. And the tension is this, We tend to look for God where we think he should be and not where he actually is.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Amen. Which is why this short parable, only two verses long, has the potential to shift everything for us. Because if we can grasp what Jesus is saying here, it's going to change the way we live our lives forever. Where we look for God, just in the the big, the the spectacle, the speed and success, but where we look to find him in the mustard seeds of life. In the small things of life.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And I say this with great caution because today we find ourselves living in a moment where we, dare I say the word, are looking for revival. And where are we looking for revival? In the bigness, In the crowds? In the moments where everyone hands are up and we're emotional? Where are we looking for revival church?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Are we looking for it in in political environments? That's where God's at work, where there's truth and courage and boldness. Where are we looking for God? Perhaps Jesus has a word for all of us today. Amen.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:About where we actually find him in our lives. And if we can just slow down long enough to chew on it. And as Jesus would say, if we have ears to hear and eyes to see today, we might discover where God is actually at work in our lives. And so with that, would you stand with me? If you are willing and able.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And let's hear together the parable of the mustard seed. Matthew 13 starting in verse 31 and then I'll pray for us. Here is another illustration Jesus used. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds but it becomes the largest of garden plants.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:It grows into a tree and birds come and make its nest in its branches. This is God's word. Let's pray together. Heavenly father, we are so grateful that in this moment that we have gathered here. You are gathered here with us too.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And so we ask now that you would, as Jesus said, give us ears to hear and eyes to see so that we might become all that you desire us to be in him. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Thank you. You may be seated. Parable of the Mustard Seed. Matthew 13. Now unlike some of the other parables that we've been reading and exploring together, this one does not have an explanation.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Jesus just says it and then moves on to another parable about yeast and leaven and bread. Why doesn't he give us answers? Well, think there are moments when Jesus is teaching where he's not so much after giving you and I clarity. Which to be honest is just a little bit frustrating. Especially for someone who's trying to bring clarity as a bible teacher.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Right. But he wants to provoke our imagination. He wants us to sit with it. He wants us to chew on it. You know about six months ago, I started this journey with Invisalign.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:So I'm entering my adult with braces era very soon. And when I sat down to meet with orthodontist, they said, listen, you have a severe underbite. So before you can get to your Invisalign, you gotta do six months of a retainer and a rubber band. I'm like, six months? Are you kidding me?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And so, over the time, because my jaw grew after I had braces, so I'm going for braces round two. Let's hope it gets it done this time. But apparently my jaw grew, and I had this severe underbite, and he said, listen, we need to do this or else you're gonna have to have jaw surgery. I'm like, jaw surgery, man? I know I'm trying to get healthy, but I don't need jaw surgery to help me get there.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Dropping pounds like that would be helpful, but there's gotta be other ways. And so alright, let's do the retainer and the rubber bands. But over time, over the last six months, this has been a little frustrating. Number one, because I'm learning how to talk again. So if you've been wondering like, why does pastor Fredo sound a little bit like Mike Tyson lately?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You're onto something. I got a little bit of a lift. So it's it's vulnerable because I pastor and talk for a living. But secondly, it's changed the way that I eat food and chew. And I remember, you know, sitting there one day with the orthodontist, know, and I'm this big grown man in a room full of young kids, my feet are dangling over the seat, know, like, hey doc, I can't, it hurts to chew sometimes.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:He's like, yeah, that reminds me. You need to slow down and chew your food. In fact, I want you, as often as you can remember, to chew and count 20 times before you swallow your food. He's like, this is something we in America don't do well because we often eat at the pace of our lives. But I need you to slow down and chew your food.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Jesus right now in this moment with this parable wants us to slow down and chew our food. And so with that, let's look at, verse 31 together. Here is another illustration Jesus used, Matthew writes. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. The kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, the place where God's rule and reign is exerted, the place where you and I can find God.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Right? The kingdom is exactly where what God wants, he gets. The way that I talk about the kingdom today is a little something that I got at my house called dad tax. And my kids, they're 11 and seven, know all about dad tax because why? They've been living in my kingdom for some time.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And so they know that when that food gets delivered on the table, I have the right to exert dad tax and take whatever they want or take whatever I want before they get to eat. Why? Because it's my kingdom, My rule. My reign is being exerted in that moment. Kids hate it.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:I love it. Stat tax. The same is true here. The kingdom Jesus is talking about is the rule and reign of God. It's where what God wants, God gets.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:But his kingdom is not defined by me taking, but by him giving. And notice the irony here. The kingdom, oh it's gone now, but the kingdom of heaven, he says, is like a mustard seed. Right. Not a mountain.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:The kingdom of heaven is not a not like a palace. Not like an army. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. Why would he say this? Well, in this day, the mustard seed was the smallest seed known in Palestine at that time.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:So small that it takes 750 of these little things just to make one gram. That's tiny. And this was a proverbial phrase they would have used back then. The and the proverbial smallness of the mustard seed would have shocked the crowds listening. Why?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Because Israel, when they have been expecting the kingdom of God, they've been expecting greatness, and grandeur, and spectacle. They wanted to see God move in massive, massive ways. But Jesus is saying, no, it's the way that God works. It's like a mustard seed. This tiny little thing.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Listen now. God's work has always been a seed sized work. For whatever reason, God loves to choose what appears to be insignificant, what appears to be very small, to do incredible things through. And I wanna say this as a word of encouragement for you and your lives right now. Some of you, like you're in college, you feel small.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You're at a massive university, so many professors, so so many students, so many opportunities and pathways for your life. You're like, I'm I'm just so small. You're not small. God has placed a passion and a vision in your life. And what appears to be insignificant is gonna grow into something beautiful.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You are far from small. Some of you are single parents in here today struggling to make it. And you feel, man, I I am so small, so insignificant. You're not just a single parent trying to make it. You are a single parent breaking generational curses and changing the direction of your family forever.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:For those of you who are, you know, maybe you you don't like what you do for a living, and and you you know, you're crossing guard for kids at a school, you're not just out there blowing your whistle, you know, stopping crazy cars in California. You're creating life and pathways for children to grow and thrive. For those of you who clean for a living, You're not just a cleaner that we neglect and forget about. You are, when you think about it, you're reordering the world into cleanliness and health. You're displaying the art of God in the way that you bring order out of chaos.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Right? God loves to choose what appears to be insignificant, and this has always been his way. When you think about biblical history for a second, Abraham, of all people, chosen to be the father of the nations. You talk about a mustard seed. The man is 99 when he's told he's gonna have children.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And then he has to wait twenty five years before his first kid pops out. You talk about a mustard seed. And then you think about Israel, as they go into captivity, four hundred years of groaning. A seed is small, it's slow, it's it's apparently weak. You think about how long these people are waiting for God to act.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And then when he finally does act, you you have the mustard seed of Moses. He's 80 and he can't talk. And now he's gotta go. And and then and then you think about, you know, as the history continues, that the the the great king of Israel, David, he's the youngest son of Jesse. When Jesse brings out his sons to present to the prophet, he doesn't even bring David.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You talk about a mustard seed situation. Then you get into the prophetic era. You have prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. Man, do you understand that they preached for decades and nobody listened to them? That's not an effective ministry for church.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Right? Nobody cared to listen to them. Oh, and by the way, the world was falling apart around them. And then you get 400 of silence between the old and new testament, before the arrival of the messiah, who by the way is born as a baby in a in a place called Bethlehem. You guys can't even find Bethlehem on the map.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And then you you talk about a mustard seed of a situation. He has to go through the stages of childhood. He's born as a baby, becomes a toddler, then a kid, then a preteen, then a teenager. Like, think of think of the mustard seed ordinary slowness of Jesus growing up, going to church in the synagogue, having to hear bad sermons. Like the son of God, the word made flesh, just sitting there listening to you ramble for forty minutes.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:He grew up listening to bad sermons in the midst of really bad leadership. And then you think about his temptations, right before he begins his ministry in Matthew four. Jesus is tempted by the devil to do what? To become successful. Oh, you're hungry?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Let's see spectacle. Turn that rock to bread. Right. Oh, you are the son? Fall off the cliff.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:The angels will come. What a spectacle that will be. Oh, you got the kingdoms? Worship me, I'll give you all of them. The temptations, when you think about it, of the devil himself were to shortcut smallness, slowness, and weakness.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Do it with grander, Jesus. Do it with spectacle. The way that God has always chosen to work, you all, has been through slow, small, apparently weak things. And you gotta remember, this parable would have, when you think about it, upset the hearers a little bit. And it probably would have upset some of us too, if we're being honest.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:That's right. Because, you know, if if God's here, if God's in your marriage, if God is in in the process of you raising your kids, then shouldn't I be seeing a, b, and c? Should I be seeing certain things happen? Now now that, you know, concern, when you think about it, is rooted in the assumption that you and God are always on the same page. You're just not.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:We call him holy holy holy for a reason. Why? Because he is different. He is unlike us. He is something other than you and I.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And so it's very possible that if God is real, just maybe you and him are not on the same page. But let's press further. Let's continue to chew on this parable. Look at verse 32 with me. Jesus goes on.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:It's the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants. Notice the contrast. It's the smallest of all, but becomes the largest of all garden plants. Now, for you botanists out there who are like, no, hold on Alfredo, the mustard seed's not the smallest. We get it bro.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:It's like, it's a proverbial statement. Right? There's nothing wrong with scripture here. He's he's just making a statement that they would have understood. The smallest becomes the largest.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:It grows into a tree. And then Jesus says, birds come and make its nest in its branches. In other words, Jesus is giving us this analogy, this picture, this metaphor of a tree that grows so big that everything in the world flocks to it for life and shelter. Amen. Think about that.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And it started from the smallest of all things. Now I wonder, being a bit of a bible nerd, if Jesus, who knew his old testament well, isn't harkening back to Daniel chapter four. Talk about a mustard seed of a situation. Daniel, not under Roman rule like Israel, I'm sorry, like Jesus and his contemporaries, but he's under Babylonian rule. King Nebuchadnezzar is in power.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And Daniel through a mustard seed of situations gets elevated into a role of being a dream interpreter. Y'all might remember this. And one night in Daniel four, the king, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of this massive tree that grew so big that what? All the birds of the air flocked to live in it. I wonder if what Jesus is helping his audience to remember.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:It's all you remember when King Nebuchadnezzar was in all of his great power? In all all of his great glory? Where is he now? He's dead. Where is Babylon?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Gone. This tree is what we're all working towards. Amen. Then I wonder if he's also thinking of Ezekiel 17 where the prophet there had another vision. Where it says the sovereign Lord told him he would cut a branch from a cedar.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:He would place it at the top of a mountain. And on that mountain would grow this massive tree so big that what? All the birds of the air would flock to it to find life. And then he adds, Ezekiel adds, all the other trees that were so great and big were cut down. And then he says, the Lord says through Ezekiel, the smallest of trees has now become the largest.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Jesus in this short beautiful analogy has is just repeating what the bible has been saying from the very beginning. Amen. The smallest of things in life will grow into the largest of realities. This is true for your life. That's right.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Now before we get all excited about this, let's remember the context. Herod just built a beautiful palace. He built the Temple Mount. And then you have Rome who rules Israel by the way. They they have a magnificent city.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:They're known for glory and pride and sensuality and power. And then you got the religious system of the day, Pharisees, Sadducees, they got their schools, their teachers, all of their history. And then you got Athens, you got the likes of the teachers of, you know, Plato and Aristotle. And then in the midst of all of that glory and wonder in history, you got this traveling Palestinian Jew who doesn't own his own home, who's out in the wilderness talking to illiterate farmers about, hey, it's like a seed, y'all. You know, you just kinda throw it.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:So, like, even though it kinda lifts us up, gotta remember the reality of this original here is that would have been, what are you talking about Jesus? Rome is in charge. And you have this vision of this beautiful tree. And again, what I love about Jesus is he's not convinced or persuaded to flex his intellect on anyone. Or to flex his power.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:In other words, he's more than contempt to give us his parable and let us chew on it. Amen. Let us chew on it. Let it provoke our imaginations. Let you watch up once again and see, oh my gosh, this is what he's been saying the whole time.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:He has always been about invisible work. The smallest of things. The principle becomes really clear now. The smallest of things turns into grandest of things. That's the point.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Now, that that that's one kind of way to view the principle, right? That smallness turns into something large. But I think there's a deeper meaning here. The mystery of the kingdom of God, listen now. The mystery of the kingdom of God is that littleness is powerful.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:That's the point. The mystery is not so much in what turns large over consequential, you know, planting seeds. But the mystery and the beauty is found in the smallness of the mustard seed. Littleness is powerful, y'all. Little things are far more powerful than you can possibly imagine, and this is the upside down way of the kingdom of God.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Small things are significant. Slowness is actually far more steady. Weakness is powerful. And so let me just take a moment and ask you, what in your life right now have you deemed too small, too insignificant, too weak, that you have forgotten that perhaps God is at work in that area of your life? What's too small?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Because there if we're being honest, we naturally resist things that just don't look cool. And God seems to be in love with choosing that which is not cool. And he loves things that are small and insignificant. If if you need any more proof, remember the words of Paul from first Corinthians one. When he describes why God chose you and me.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:He says this, remember dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. In other words, God doesn't love you because you're wealthy, because you're smart and you figured it out, because you're strong, because you've got influence. No. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish. In other words, God chose things the world considers to be mustard seeds.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Mustard seeds. In order to shame those who think they are wise. Notice what he says. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those that are powerful. Littleness is powerful.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And so, what are the mustard seeds of your life right now? What are the small things? Because the invitation of Jesus for all of us as a church right now is that we would adopt a kind of mustard seed mentality. That's the invitation. A mustard seed mentality.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:What do I mean by that? I'm so glad you asked. Exodus four. Moses questioning his calling. God, I can't go.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:What does God say to him? What's in your hand Moses? A staff. A small mustard seed of an insignificant tool God used to work miracles through. God used that staff to deliver his people.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:God, Moses carried that small staff through the Red Sea. Amen. That's what a mustard seed mentality looks like. That's right. Mustard seed mentality looks like first Kings 17.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:In the middle of a famine, a widow of all people. A poor woman is told by God, take the last small bit of your bread and bake it. I got a hungry prophet coming to meet you, Elijah, and you're gonna feed him. It's like, but this is all I got. You're gonna feed him.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Right. And what are we told? She's fed for weeks. That's a mustard seed mentality. A mustard seed mentality is John chapter six, when Jesus has been talking for hours, because he was good at talking, to thousands of people who have not eaten food.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And what? A child. One child. You want me to believe only one kid had food that day? But one kid had a mustard seed mentality that day.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And he brought what he had to Jesus. And what little he had, what smallness he had, what seemingly insignificant portions he had, Jesus made much of. Here's the principle. What you offer which is so little, Jesus can do so much with. Amen.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:A little in the hands of Jesus goes a long way. That's right. You are not small, you are significant. And I'm wondering if it's at that point where we have to really sit with that. What if in moments where you feel scared to serve because you're too small, what if that's the point?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:What if in moments in your marriage where you feel like I don't have enough in me, what if that's the point? What if when you're at work and you're like, you know, I'm successful. I'm making money, but I'm a Christian. And so I got integrity at work and I'm being marginalized. I don't know how to move this.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:I feel too weak. What if that's the point? Your smallness is the point. Embrace it. Why?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Because littleness is powerful, you guys. It is powerful to embrace it. And because littleness is powerful, two things as we close. Number one, I must and you must start to prioritize small acts of obedience. Amen.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Small acts of obedience. Few weeks ago, we're reading through Matthew 10, where Jesus sends out the disciples. And he gives them instructions. You're gonna be, you know, you gotta be as wise as a serpent, gentle as a dove. And then he said things like this, whoever welcomes you, you also welcome them.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And in that same moment he said these words, from Matthew 10 verse 44. If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, just a cup of cold water, truly I tell you that person will certainly not what? Lose their reward. So in the mind of Jesus, someone who offers a disciple of his just a cup of water has a reward coming to him? Yes.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:That's mustard seed obedience. That's small acts of obedience. A cup of cold water. And so honestly, when you think about it, maybe, just maybe, the most seemingly insignificant act of obedience you do today might just be the holiest thing you do today. Sit with that.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:When you make a decision to text your friend today who needs a conversation, mustard seed obedience. When you quietly pray, pray for that family member who've been waiting to come to Christ. You know what that is? That's mustard seed obedience. You showing up to someone who can't offer you anything.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You know what that is? That's mustard seed obedience. Amen. When no one else notices. And I I I just wanna say this to you.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You know, I'm a pastor here. This church is beautiful, growing, large church. And we always talk about like we're so excited to see people of impact coming to our church. Like awesome cool people. You know, have friends who live live in LA and they talk about like celebrities walking into the church and they're like, man I would love, I would just love if LeBron just walked in for one sermon.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Like, Lord, just give me one sermon with this man. But but what if you and I started to see mustard seed obedience through serving the kinds of people who can't offer us anything? So much of our Christian communities, like you know when you make a decision to join a small group, it's like, what do they have to offer me? What if that's the point? They're small, seemingly insignificant.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You're supposed to go there and give yourself to them. Right? It's the smallness that we should be attracted to. That's right. The small acts of obedience.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:You know, in 1865, there's a British minister, his name was William. And for whatever reason, one night William, instead of going to preach in his church that was full by the way, he felt a burden from God to go outside and find the unreached part of East London. He actually stood outside of a pub under a street lamp and he preached to drunks, prostitutes, and factory workers. And over time, you know, this wasn't a strategy. This wasn't a movement.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:People actually thought he was wasting his time. His wife surprisingly, supported him, which is a beautiful thing. And this one small act of just everyday obedience, going outside of a pub to preach to the marginalized turned into a massive organization that you and I know today as the Salvation Army. They serve people in over a 130 different countries. Providing what?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Shelter to those in need. Shelter like this massive tree that all the birds of the air flock to. What would it look like for you to do one small act of hidden obedience this week right now? What is the mustard seed act that God is calling you to embrace? In secret, hidden, seemingly insignificant.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:What is it? Where you don't get congratulated for it. You don't post it. It's not about what Christian influencers have to say about it. What is the small activity of God in your life that maybe you've been resisting that he's inviting you into now?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Think about that. Think about that. Maybe it's writing a letter. Maybe it's visiting someone old in your neighborhood. Some of you got a vision to preach and teach, but let's be honest, you're not great yet.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:That's okay. You'll get there. Prison ministry needs you. Small groups need you. Our youth need you here at the church.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:What's the small act of obedience that God is calling you towards today? Because littleness is powerful. Secondly, this is also what we need to wrestle with. Our weakness. You know, the seed, in order for it to grow into the tree, has to be thrown into the soil and then it what?
Pastor Fredo Ramos:It dies. It dies. And this is perhaps the most frustrating part of obedience to Jesus, is learning to surrender. Learning to accept defeat. Learning to embrace the parts of our lives that feel like they're dying.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Because let's be honest and I'll go first. I love to be known as helpful. You know one of the favorite things I love to hear after I preach, thank you for being helpful. When I finished a call with someone in Idaho who watches Sandals Church, man that was a helpful conversation, thank you. I love that.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:I float out of the room, I go home, guess what, I was helpful today. But I struggle. I struggle at a deep level to admit that I'm actually helpless. Like a seed that dies in the soil. Weak, helpless.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:But friends, the good news is that helplessness is the prerequisite to power. It really is. And because littleness is powerful, you and I must choose weakness so that God's power might come through us. That's the invitation. Paul in second Corinthians 13 says these words.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:For to be sure, he was crucified in what? Weakness. Yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him. Yet by God's power, we will live with him in our dealing with you.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Now, I don't know about you, but I desire the power of God in my life. And I think you do too. The weight of that power is your own helplessness. That's right. The weight of that power is you admitting and choosing actively weakness every day.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:God I'm weak. You know when Jesus taught us to pray, Lord, don't lead me into temptation. You know what that is? That's a confession of weakness every day. Every day.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Lead me, God, not into temptation. Lord, you know I'm weak. I'm weak today. And I share this, not as a throwaway point, but honestly. Especially for those of you in here today.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:For those of you who are who are suffering right now. Maybe those of you who have lost someone. You're face You're facing a major setback. Like, I wanna encourage you to offer that weakness as an act of obedience to God. And know that weakness is not the end, it's actually the way forward.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Amen. Weakness is our way forward in the Christian life. That is the surprising upside down way of the kingdom. The more weak you are, the more power flows through you. Like a seed in the middle of an empire.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Thrown in a hidden place that no one even knows. It's going to grow into something. And so our invitation today as we close is number one, I think to confess our self sufficiency and embrace weakness. I think it's to ask God to help us locate the small acts of obedience in our lives. So that we might actually begin to see where Christ is at work in you.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Because I love that Jesus didn't just talk about weakness, he embodied it. He died in weakness. He rose in power. Amen. That is the gospel that you and I live in.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:That gospel's gotta lift you off your feet some days. He died in weakness, but he rose in power. Your loss, your setbacks, they are not the end of your story. Glory is. A tree is one day.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:So big that everything will come to find life in it. And you know where it starts? Right now, with a simple act of obedience. Amen. Let's pray that into our day.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:God, ask now that by the power of your spirit you might help us to embrace smallness, littleness. And in so doing, we might experience your power, God. I pray for those right now who are maybe, you know, they they've been living life with the hopes of success and speed and spectacle. And God, maybe they're ready to repent. Would you lead them to a place of confession now where they can chew on this beautiful word and embrace mustard seed living.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:Jesus, would you make Sandals Church a community of mustard seeds that helps serve the beauty of your coming kingdom. We pray this now in Jesus name. Amen. So I wanna take a moment to say thank you for all of you who are watching online wherever you might be. Our prayer is that you would become a mustard seed this week and see how God is at work in your life.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:And maybe over the course of your time watching Sandals or you maybe are a part of our church, I wanna invite you to support the work. Support the mustard seed work that God is doing in and through our church. To do that, you can go to sandalschurch.com/supportgraceandpeace. Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you want more content from this series, we have the YouTube playlist linked in the description.
Morgan Teruel:And if you want more information about who we are and what we do, you can go to sandalschurch.com.