And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4:31-32 ESV)

God’s kingdom is established and started with imperishable seed. We’ve already established that the enemy scatters seeds (weeds) in with the good seed, and wherever the river flows, everything grows, both good and bad.  Only in the end time harvest, will the good be distinguished from the bad and the chaff burned up, but that doesn’t mean we wait for that day in order to sow seeds of the Kingdom of God instead of  to our flesh.

Galatians 6:7-8 states 

“For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

I want to draw your attention to the difference between building for the kingdom using imperishable seed, instead of perishable seed–chaff, weeds, wood, hay and stubble.  I think I’ve covered this extensively elsewhere, but this will be a bit more of review and looking at the difference between the perishable kingdoms of this world versus the kingdom of God–the heavenly imperishable realm.

Everything the believer does must be founded on the Word of God, not the flesh.  Usually we refer to the flesh when we think of sinning and not living a holy life, but Scripture uses it for other concepts as well.

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.“ (1 Peter 1: 25).

For our intents and purposes today, flesh is that which perishes, is not of God, is man’s strength, and that which can be accomplished without God’s help, or even accomplished in contradiction to His help. By default, this includes sin and living and functioning without Him.  But I want to take it further than the obvious.  There’s many ‘good’ works being done in our lives (in man’s eyes), but they are of the flesh, and like grass will wither and burn up.

Recall with me some of the things we know about seeds.  If you take seed, both good and bad, and sow them into a field or plot of land, both will grow and use up the resources in the ground.  The more you sow to the flesh, the more it will strengthen and develop, and the more you sow to the Spirit,  then the more you reap in that realm.

All flesh is destroyed eventually with the test of eternity.  If flesh is ‘like grass’, then thinking of things we know about grass is a good way of understanding what’s going to happen to the works of the flesh on that day–such as the imagery and analogy of seeds the Lord has had me writing about lately.  There will be much work that has been done by men, in the name of Christian religion, that will burn up on that fearful day and have NO significant eternal impact, because it was built with wood hay and stubble (1 Cor 3:12-15).  Therefore, allow me to challenge you by asking what are you building with?  What are you sowing with?  Are you building with perishable substance or imperishable?  It may look big and righteous now, but is it of eternal significance?  Will it withstand the fire of God on that day?

The difference Between Perishable and Imperishable

I mentioned how not all flesh is inherently spoken of as being sin, though it IS in that category by default.  The only two kingdoms the Bible refers to are the kingdoms of darkness, and the kingdom of light.  I’m not going to be harsh and specifically calling many of the works going on in this world as being sinful, but it IS true they are of no significant impact for eternity.  Jesus said it, and he said anybody not working for Him is working against Him (Matt 12:30). Many ‘good’ social programs exist today that take care of the immediate needs of people, and this is a good thing, not bad.  God’s Word says that pure and undefiled religion is taking care of the widow and orphan (James 1:27).  In no way am I knocking things that Scripture commends and commands.

However, unsaved people can also take care of their widows and orphans without the Holy Spirit’s touch involved in it, and spend eternity in hell despite having started good social programs.  A lot of ‘good’ people, who are doing ‘good’ things, are still going to hell.  It’s not our good works that make us right with God because Scripture says they’re like filthy rags anyway (Isaiah 64:6).  The Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection is the only way into His eternal kingdom (John 14:6).

The kingdom of man can invent hearing aids, without the Cross–or even WITH God’s help and motivation in the inventor’s life.  But Jesus, in His kingdom opens the ears of the deaf and they hear.  People can train seeing eye dogs, and come up with a language that involves touching the surface with one’s fingers in order to help the blind read and understand.  But Jesus Christ opens blind eyes and gives sight itself to the blind.  It’s a noble thing for men to enter the medical profession, invent or discover cures for diseases that ail the flesh–the temporary earthsuit man inhabits–but Jesus Christ heals all those things in both the earthly flesh realm and operates out of the heavenly imperishable realm.

Simply put, the difference between that which will withstand the fire on that day and that which won’t, is the stuff that can’t be done without the power of God in it.

Even of miracles the demonic realm has a counterfeit that looks just like the genuine.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matt 7:21-23)

For our context, that would be like ministers reminding Jesus that his name was on their ministry, or they accomplished many things as a charitable not-for-profit organization or even as 501c3 church status organization.  But what will His response be?  Will He know you?  Does He recognize you from the secret place as you’ve had personal relationship with Him, and repented of man-made efforts?  Remember in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:24-30), that tares look exactly like wheat in seed form but eventually by the harvest time their real DNA is made obvious, and their end result is destruction by fire, even if for a long time they looked alright compared to the wheat.  They are but grass…

The manner in which things are done in the flesh compared to how they are done in the kingdom of God is different in that the stuff that is birthed and originated in the flesh does not withstand the eternal fire, but that which is birthed in the heavenly realm can exist in the fleshly realm but not burn up when tested and salted with Holy Spirit fire.  The perishable–that which is flesh and not born of above doesn’t, and can’t exist in the imperishable Spiritual realm.  But the imperishable does and can exist in the perishable temporary realm, but it still exists and lasts in the eternal realm.

That being said, which realm do you want to be found living in?  Which realm do you want to build ministry and things that *look* like they are of the kingdom of God?  Which realm do you want your works to originate in?  Which type of seed do you want to sow–that of the flesh or that of the Spirit? Unsaved people can take care of the blind.  Muslims can care for their sick.  Hindus can look after their orphans.  What marks a difference with you and the kingdom you purport to be a part of, dear reader?  When the seeds have grown and harvested, which category will they be of –flesh or Spirit?  When the wheat and the chaff are separated at the end of the age, which side of the flame will your life and ministry be found on?

There is a lot of ‘good’ works being done, but that’s just the thing–they are ‘good’ and ‘noble’ things.  But if they can be done without the Spirit of God, their worth is NOTHING in eternity, and only matters in this ‘grass’ realm temporarily before being burned up.

Another difference between the two realms is the fear of the Lord versus the fear of man.  Whose praise do YOU seek?  Just recently I was listening to someone I respect and look up to weigh his options and use me as a sounding board about ministry he’s considering severing ties with because of how much more money-focused said ministry is becoming and losing its focus on spreading and sharing the Gospel.  It was this brother’s impression that this other ministry is more concerned about having a large reputation in the media and man’s eyes, but has left its first love that it was started on in the first place.  The ministry being referred to has no mention whatsoever on its website about the Gospel or that it’s supposed to be Christian in nature.  The idea is that it will not receive government grants and money from organizations that won’t sponsor them if they are overt in their Christianity, so they ‘tone it down’.  Friends, such a ministry is made of grass.  It may seemingly accomplish much in this realm in the short few decades or centuries it’s functioning today in this earthly & fleshly realm, but Jesus said  “whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 10:33)  Whoever one fears usually determines what realm the ministry or work is birthed in and functioning out of.

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—  each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Cor 3:12-15)

Father, let us be a people whose works last and remain when tested by fire!  Let us be a people who are built on the cornerstone of Christ Jesus rather than be crushed by it and ground to powder from rejection of Him.  Make us into the living stones joined together into a kingdom of lasting significance and may you destroy all works of grass from our midst that we may be a pure and lasting kingdom of royal priests.  Let us not be ones who build with substance that doesn’t withstand the fire of your presence in eternity.

Amen.

For further meditation, here are other articles worth reading on our site that significantly overlap with what I covered in this post:

Separating Seeds of Righteousness & Wickedness, What Are You Building With?, Mixing in The Counterfeit with The Genuine

True & False Apostles – Bryan Purtle

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