God’s Works: from Small to Big

At fertilization, a new human begins as a single cell. Roughly one tenth of a millimeter across, that's about the size a tiny grain of sand.

At about five weeks of pregnancy, it's still very small, about the size of a sesame seed, yet already the heart and primitive circulatory systems are developing, while the brain and the spinal cord begin to develop.

At about seven weeks, it's roughly the size of a blueberry. The developing arms and legs are spreading, and the heart is already exhibiting cardiac activity.

And at about eight weeks, it's about the size of a kidney bean. About 1.7 centimeters long, the fingers and toes are beginning to take shape. At that size, the developing body is already capable of movement, even though the mother at that point really can't feel it yet. That little, tiny being.

At about ten weeks, it's around the size of a strawberry. Major organs are continuing to develop and the fetus is beginning to make movements. The kidneys are producing urine and the fetus can make breathing-like movements and swallowing amniotic fluid.

At about twelve weeks, this is only three months into pregnancy, it's about the size of a lime. The fingers and toes are formed, the kidneys are making urine, the pancreas is producing insulin, and the fetus is making breathing-like movements and swallowing.

At sixteen weeks it's about the size of a stick of butter. It's about four inches long. The limbs are becoming more coordinated, the baby is moving actively. Again, those movements might be too subtle for the mother to tell them, but it's moving around.

And by twenty weeks, halfway through pregnancy, the baby's roughly ten inches long from head to heel, maybe the length of a banana. The baby has developed regular periods of sleeping and waking, can move and kick, and the mother may begin to feel those movements. There's a term they call quickening for those movements.

By about 25 weeks, the baby can respond to familiar sounds, including the mother's voice. Not with its voice, but by moving. That's how a baby responds.

By about twenty-nine weeks, the baby can kick, stretch, make grasping movements, the eyes can open, and the baby can sense changes in light.

And then at about forty weeks, after about nine months, the tiny being, the one that started as just like a tiny grain of sand, has become a newborn roughly twenty inches long.

And then over a period of fifteen, twenty years, your child may grow taller than you, and you're looking up at them as they go about, all from that tiny little bean.

The growth of a human being is actually a pattern that we see with God in His works.

Now, last time we talked about God and how He does things one hundred percent. Today we're going to talk about a pattern with God and how He starts with something very small and He completes it to where it is big.

Let's turn to Mark chapter four.

We see this over and over again through Scripture, God's work from small to big.

Mark chapter four. We're going to read this small parable. Verse thirty. Jesus is speaking.

Mark 4:30-32

He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

Yes, God starts things that are very small in the beginning, but they grow over time and they're developed. It becomes something grand. It becomes something incredible, wonderful, beautiful. God is doing something wonderful.

Let's look at a specific biblical example. Let's talk about Israel.

We're reminded of this often, but let's turn back to Genesis and be reminded again, Genesis chapter twelve.

God speaks to Abram.

Genesis 12:1-2

Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.”

A great nation from one being—well, from two beings, Abraham and his wife Sarah.

Genesis 13:16

And also:

Genesis 15:5

Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

Again, from just two beings. But this took time. It took time to develop.

Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah was ninety. So this didn't happen immediately; it took time.

And then of course, that was just one generation, and we're following the promised family, although Abraham had other children. Isaac was just one, and then he married. Isaac had two sons. So they're not exactly the dust of the earth at this point. It took time to develop.

Then Isaac, the one again following the chosen line, his son Jacob had twelve sons, so now we start to expand.

Let's turn to Genesis 46.

Okay, so we have this progressive plan from Abraham, from Sarah.

Genesis 46:27

And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

Alright, so we know Joseph was already there, but then Jacob comes with seventy members. So he started with just Abram. And then Abram and Sarai, now seventy persons in Egypt. And we know that over hundreds of years the Israelites grow.

We see this in Exodus chapter one, verse seven, and I'm just going to read Exodus twelve, verse thirty-seven, save a little time.

Exodus 12:37

Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.

Started small, and as they leave Egypt, they are a multitude.

Let's turn to Deuteronomy chapter ten. We want to see God's signature on this.

Deuteronomy 10:22

Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.

God fulfilled what He said He would do, and this is a pattern that we see within the works of God. He deals with the small to the very large, and not just in volume or size. He develops these into maturity. They grow.

Now, God had plans for Israel, but if we're being cynical, we might say, “Well, look how that turned out.” Because ultimately we see what they did in the wilderness, we see what they did when they entered the promised land, the cycle of the judges, the failures of the kingdoms, the punishment, Israel and Judah both going into captivity.

But let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter four here, a couple pages, because this isn't God's fault. He didn't do something wrong. It wasn't a lack of instruction. He wasn't negligent, just like we heard in the sermon that God doesn't sleep either. He provided all that they would need to be mature, to grow, and to shine. He had an expectation for them.

Deuteronomy 4:5-10

“Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’”

God gave them very good instruction. He had expectations for them to generationally teach and practice His ways so that they would develop and be who He wanted them to be, to be a light among the nations. That's what God's desire was.

Now, we're not going to suggest God didn't know it would go this way, but yet it didn't. We know that the fruit wasn't producing what God wanted it to do.

Let's jump forward to Deuteronomy chapter twenty-six.

If they would have followed through, we read what the fruit would be.

Deuteronomy 26:18-19

Also today the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.

So what went wrong? Why didn't this work?

Well, we know all of us have been given free will, just like each one of the Israelites. We understand when we sin, we are corrupted. We have a corrupted human nature. We have a carnality in it that fights against us. God isn't going to make us choose to follow Him. He gave us the laws. He gave us the good expectations, and now we must choose.

And we know what the Israelites chose. Now some did follow. We have good examples, but if we look at the whole, we understand it wasn't the shining example very many times that God expected it to be.

We also understand that many of them didn't have the Holy Spirit, the benefit that many of us have, that we can succeed because of the power that God has given us.

Now, Israel maybe wasn't one hundred percent willing, but in God's hands, what if somebody is willing? What if somebody is willing to do what He says? What can God do with them?

Well, we're going to consider the example of one person. We're going to consider the example of David. King David, but as we know, he didn't start as a king. He started as a shepherd. Actually, he started as a little tiny dot, but then he became a shepherd, and the shepherd is the starting point that we have in Scripture.

We can turn to 1 Samuel and look at some of these evidences.

Again, understanding David was a shepherd, and he, at one point, was ready to throw down with this giant, this killer of men. One that made other large and strong and successful men afraid, but he was ready.

1 Samuel chapter 17. And we're going to jump in as David is speaking to Saul.

1 Samuel 17:33-37

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And whether David realized it or not, he was verbalizing the development of the growth that God had done with him to be ready for this point on the field. God had given him that training. He had learned to trust God and defend the sheep while he was young.

He probably had the examples of his brothers or maybe his father to learn how to tend the sheep, how to protect and defend them. But he had the courage to step up and do so, and this development led him to the point where, because of his faith in God, he was fearless before the giant, that he would stand against him to protect his people.

He trusted in God, and David became a warrior.

Fast forward to 1 Samuel chapter 18.

1 Samuel 18:5

So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

Now it happened, as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. So the women sang as they danced, and said:

“Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.”

Now, we're not necessarily taking literally that David slew tens of thousands of men with his own arm, but what we see here is that he developed into a warrior, and not just a warrior, he developed into a leader. He was now leading men into battle, using wisdom, trusting God.

1 Samuel 18:13-16

Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

David had become a leader, a well-respected commander, a servant of the people.

Leadership development takes time. It doesn't just happen in a moment, and God had worked with him from a very small shepherd to the point where now he is a leader of men, a leader of armies, a respected person.

And not just growth as a leader. As we know, God developed David to be the king. He had something very special in mind for David.

I consider David was anointed to be king before he served as king. So he had a period of time where he was trusting God. He was going to follow God's lead. And God developed all the things He would need to be as king through that period and into David serving in His kingdom.

David had learned many things. Here's a few that I'm just going to mention. You might have others.

David learned responsibility. He learned this early when he started caring for the sheep, and probably even before that.

David had to learn to protect. He learned that as a shepherd as well. We read about some of that.

David had to learn service and humility, and being the youngest child, he probably had learned some of that at home. But we know that after he was anointed, he served Saul. He was before Saul. He played music for him. You're anointed king, and you're serving the other king. That's humility. He's learning service as well.

We also know that he learned repentance and humility after some major mistakes he made later on as he was king. It wasn't hidden. People know what had happened, and that affected him the rest of his life. He learned that humility. He learned repentance.

David had to learn leadership and courage as that warrior commander. He had to learn dependence on God, which again, he learned early. It didn't just stop after he was a shepherd. He continued that dependence on God through the time when he had to fight Goliath, through the time where Saul was trying to kill him in multiple different times, and all the battles David went through and all the conflicts. That dependence on God was there because God had developed it in him.

He had to develop restraint. Remember those opportunities he had to kill Saul himself, being the anointed one, and yet he didn't. He didn't want to put his hand against God's anointed, as Saul was.

David learned to govern. In all his experiences and the closeness that he had with Saul, he was witnessing how their country ran. He was gaining valuable experience being right there in an inner circle. And he turned to God whenever he had to make decisions that affected the people himself.

All these things God was developing in David to serve, and then David became the king. But he didn't become the king of both Judah and Israel right away. First, he served as Judah's king, and then he became the king of Judah and Israel together.

You see these steps, all from being a shepherd boy, from small to big, because God does amazing things with a willing heart.

What He can make, what He can craft from something so small. And each of us have that very minute beginning, like a tiny grain of sand, and God puts before us steps that we might grow too.

Now, God makes no secret about developing us. He wants us to develop. He wants us to be mature. He wants us to be producing, and we see it through the Scriptures.

As a reminder, Jesus tells us to be perfect in Matthew chapter five, and sometimes perfect feels unattainable to us because we know perfect means flawless. But also remember, a synonym is complete. He wants us to be complete. He wants us to be mature. He wants us to be developed.

His hand is in that process, just like we see with Israel. We can stumble and jumble and conflate whatever that process may be. We understand that the development and the growth is going to take time.

Jesus called His disciples to follow after Him. He said that you're going to become like the teacher as a disciple. So we understand that's part of our development.

Let's turn to John chapter fifteen.

Familiar scriptures, worth repeating.

John 15:1

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”

Jumping down to verse five.

John 15:5

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Verse eight.

John 15:8

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

It's very clear here. Jesus tells us He is the source for our growth, for our development. That connection to Him means everything, because we are nothing without Him.

To go from small to mature, from being immature, is going to be connected to our Savior. And then you have the Father who's ensuring the development of the fruit. He's taking care of it. He's pruning it. He's making sure the growth is there. They're both involved, but all this hinges on our connection to the vine. That's critical for our development and our growth into what He's going to have us become.

Now we can consider our own path on this. Consider baptism.

We've had a multitude of baptisms recently. It's been wonderful, and that choice of baptism is a spiritually mature decision. It's a commitment made to God forever, that this is the way we are going to go, that we are going to be connected to our Savior, all things in His hands, all things according to His will. And that is good, and that is the right thing that we should do.

And it is a beginning point.

Many of us that have been baptized for a multitude of years, we may look back on the moment of our baptism and say, was I ready to be baptized back then? Because we can see that there's been a development that has happened over that time, because God works with us personally as we're connected to the vine.

Now, just because we have those feelings doesn't mean we weren't ready. We were a tiny cell, just a tiny little speck, just like we were when we were born physically. God has a plan. It takes time. It's a wonderful plan. It has a wonderful conclusion, but God develops us over time.

So situations, experiences we have, time itself, time in God's Word, all of these things lead to spiritual growth, to that maturity, to that completion, that perfection, that He not only desires for us, He expects.

One of my favorite scriptures:

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

That's why I always like to say baby steps, because the development that we have isn't too hard for us. He is laying it in front of us a little bit at a time. And we can march along that path in faith, knowing He is doing something incredible.

We are literally the work of God's hands. He's shaping you. He's shaping all of us.

Now, just like Israel, we can refuse. We can be stubborn, willful. We can choose our own way. But we need to choose to stay connected if we want to be fruitful.

We must choose a spiritual focus to get to that completion, and that ability to stay connected, it's in our hands.

So we need to follow through. That's why we always are repeating, read the Bible, read the Bible, read the Bible. Study it. Meditate on it. Pray. Think about it. Don't just do it once a week. Do it every day. Make it a habit.

Fast to draw close to God. Think of that connection to the vine when you think of fasting. It is us drawing close to Him. It's us opening ourselves to receive the nutrition that we need.

Have you ever seen a toddler sitting in a seat, eating, but refusing to eat? “Eat your vegetables! You aren't getting out of that chair till you eat those peas.” Well, because the parent wants them to receive the benefit of the good food.

God is the good food. Eat your vegetables. Stay connected to God. That is how we develop.

But God doesn't force us. We have to choose.

God is going to give us opportunities for growth, and we all know we're not going to like them all. That's okay. God'll get us through.

But when we have the opportunities, try to say no sparingly, because God has something in mind for you. He has something good that He wants to develop in you. Something incredible, something that's going to last beyond your time here on Earth.

But it's a choice.

We're all part of the very body of Christ.

If we had time, we'd go to 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 13 into 14. If you want something to read over the next week or so, consider those. Consider that connection. Romans 12 as well.

God gave us gifts, each one of us. Nobody's exempt. You're baptized, you're here, you have gifts. Through the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit Himself, He gave us those to use, to grow, and not just for us to grow, but for us to grow collectively, together, into what He is developing.

He wants that from you so that you fit into His grand design and plan. Don't be the part that says no. Don't be that part where He said, “Well, I'll get it from somewhere else.” He's giving you that opportunity.

And why? What is He developing us to be?

Just like how He creates, He's creating us small to big.

And this leads into the holy day plans, the fall holy days that we're about to get into now.

Let's go to 1 Peter chapter two.

1 Peter 2:5

you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

He's developing us into a priesthood. Into a group that will serve God through Christ, a team.

1 Peter 2:6-8

Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”

and

“A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

We reviewed that God gave some an opportunity and they didn't take it. That choice is before us. We can seize that opportunity. We are seizing that opportunity. We're excited about that, especially as we approach the feast and we look forward. That's why we're here.

1 Peter 2:9-10

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

If we look back on our lives as an individual, we can see we've come a long way. There's been development in our lives, and as we, every year coming up to Passover, we examine ourselves. Yes, we do examine those parts that we need to work on. But we can also see the growth and the development from where we began, a tiny speck, to a piece that is more and more mature and ready and contributing and working.

We're in God's light. We have the Holy Spirit, and we are to shine that light as part of our responsibility.

1 Peter 2:11-12

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Even though we're not totally developed right now, while we are here, while we are shining, we are actually planting little seeds among the people that we live around, that see our example. And yes, that may lead to persecution at times, but Peter points out here that God's work started small for us. Well, start small for them too.

God is working, and He's doing something incredible. And we know the next phase of His plan gets into the Feast of Trumpets.

Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

We're going to breeze through these holy days here. We'll spend more time on them, of course, on the days.

1 Corinthians 15:51-53

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

We know Jesus Christ is going to return. We know that the saints will be changed and resurrected at the time Jesus Christ does return, and when He does, we'll have a fully developed spiritual existence, a fully developed spiritual body of believers, all raised incorruptible, ready to work together, ready to jump in and serve for the purpose that He is creating us for.

As kings, as priests, as teachers, and as lights.

Let's jump forward to Revelation chapter twenty, considering the Day of Atonement.

We know that the adversary never sleeps. He's always out to get us. But there is hope in the future.

Revelation 20:1-3

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Day of Atonement pictures a time where Satan is bound, he is judged, there is a reconciliation with mankind. It happens in a more pure and true way than is possible when the dragon's running around.

So at Christ's reign, that enemy will be bound. He'll be confined.

Can you imagine the growth possible for humanity when they don't have the tempter going around back and forth making his attacks? He's very good at what he does. He's got a lot of experience, but he's going to be shut up. He's going to be stopped.

There'll be true, pure reconciliation for mankind. And think of us as spirits as well. Satan interacted with the spirit world too, but for a thousand years we won't have to worry about that. He's not going to be trying to trip us up or use clever arguments or attempt to discourage us. He's not going to be flying around where we are. He's going to be gone.

True growth won't be stunted.

And now let's talk about the feast. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven. The Feast of Tabernacles, that is.

Ezekiel 37:21-24

“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

“David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.”’”

We understand this picture and all the development that David had gone through. David's development didn't end, or his purpose wasn't complete with his physical kingship. He is going to be king here.

God developed him through his time on earth so that he also might serve in this way, from something very small to this purpose that goes on for a thousand years.

We also have the people of Israel and Judah, those people separated now, those that maybe they didn't choose the best. Those nations, they became nations. God's going to bring them back. They're going to be reunited. They're going to be one kingdom.

God said He will multiply them here. It's not just volume, because we know how God works. He is going to develop these peoples.

Let's go to Isaiah chapter thirty.

How is God going to develop these? Through the leadership of David, Jesus Christ of course being King of Kings.

Isaiah 30:19-21

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem;
You shall weep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
When He hears it, He will answer you.
And though the Lord gives you
The bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.

We, those that God is developing now, will serve. We will shine. We'll be there, visible. We'll be ready to jump in as teachers and priests and as kings.

We'll serve under great leaders like David. Of course, none being greater than Jesus Christ Himself, but that is what God is developing us for.

He has done all the heavy lifting to bring us to this point in the future. And so when His government is here, that government, it'll be on His shoulders.

Let's turn backward to Isaiah chapter nine.

God developed something starting very small, and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger, just like we as individuals. We grow and we develop for a great purpose.

Isaiah 9:2-7

The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.

You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Jesus Christ Himself leading, we being developed to serve with Him. And the kingdom goes on forever.

And this leads us into the last great day, the eighth day.

Let's go to Revelation again, Revelation chapter twenty.

Revelation 20:11-13

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

Mankind started with one man and one woman, and as we know, over thousands of years, there have been billions and billions of human beings on this earth. Not many of them, percentage-wise, have been developed, but at this time in the future, billions of them will have their eyes opened, will be ready to learn.

It'll be a time for them to choose. In this judgment period, you'll have a nation of Israel that has been trained by who? By the Christ, by His body that now are active and ready to serve all humanity at this point.

A developed Israel serving with a mature body of Christ, led by Jesus Christ Himself and our Father.

Mark 4:30-32

Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

When God starts something, we see often it begins very small, but over time and over development, it becomes something grand, something incredible, something wonderful, something useful, something joyful, something beautiful, and that includes you and I.

We start as just a little tiny cell. Each one of us, God grows us and He develops us. He wants us to develop right into part of the family, and so we are. We develop into our own physical families, but we develop as a church family.

We're being developed so that we can serve in God's kingdom as kings, as priests, as teachers, as helpers, as a light. And His kingdom will expand into the millennium and beyond to the many multitudes of mankind that have ever been born.

So that's where we are today. Let's seek the kingdom. Let us run this race to win. Let us seize the opportunity of growth and development that God has given each one of us.