They are known by several names like Giant Redwoods or Giant Sequoia, and they do not grow just anywhere. They are the largest trees in the world by total mass. They may grow to a height of 150 to 280 feet tall and have trunk diameters of 16 to 23 feet. The tallest had a height of 307 feet with a trunk diameter of 29 feet, and it is possible that the oldest is over 3,200 years old. They do not start bearing seed until they are 12 years old and start out from a very small seed that is only 1/8 to 1/4 inch long and about the thickness of a fingernail.
These trees remind me of a topic the Bible mentions numerous times. The Kingdom of Heaven!
The Bible says it started out like a very tiny seed but will grow to become very large.
Matthew 13:31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
It is where God abides and rules.
Isaiah 63:15 Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.
Matthew 66:1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?
Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Christ Jesus ascended there after His crucifixion ( Mark 16:19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.; John 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”), and it is not visible today but will be revealed in the future.
John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
Colossians 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Jesus taught that it is available to us ( Luke 8:1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him), but only to those that know Him personally.
Luke 10:20 “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, Those that have rejected Christ will never be allowed there.
Matthew 18:3 ... and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Hebrews 3:18, 19 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
See you in Church next Sunday.