Perfect Plans
Notes
Transcript
This morning, we are continuing through Mark chapter 4. Just to summarize what has happened recently in the book, Jesus told them a parable. A parable is a story to help someone understand something about God. This parable was about seeds being sown. The central idea of this parable is that for fruit to grow, the ground that the seed is sown onto is important. To translate that into the spiritual nature that Jesus explained, only good soil (hearts that have been prepared by God) will be fruit (salvation and spiritual growth). Today, we pick up right where we left off. We go from taking 3 weeks looking at one parable to looking at 3 parables in one week.
21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?
22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.
28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
32 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.”
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
Pray
I grew up watching a lot of the shows from the 70’s and 80’s. Probably more of the crime and action type shows than anything. There was a line in one of the shows that has stuck with me and I am going to quote it and most of you will probably know it. “I love it when a plan comes together”.
When we think about things like the kingdom of God, we should love it when a plan comes together. But we should never be surprised. This is because we should acknowledge God’s sovereignty over building his kingdom.
I have been part of churches that were very focused on building the kingdom. They devoted themselves to it. But in many of those cases, it was the wrong kingdom. In many churches, the focus is on building a kingdom for that particular church. Or even for an individual to be building a kingdom inside of the church for themselves.
Our mission, as Immanuel Baptist Church, is to Build the Kingdom and Impact our Community. Not to build our kingdom but to build the kingdom. If you have been close to me in the ministry here at Immanuel, you will know that, yes, I love this church, but also, that I know that this church is not the end game. It is about the kingdom of God. This is why we should not get upset when people leave to go to other churches if God has led them that way. This is why we should celebrate things like The Garden Community Church in Richfield being started. We should never, ever, ever look at another church like it is competition. This is why, for the last 2 years, we have been praying for other churches in our prayer meeting and why we are doing it in our service now. The kingdom of God is not about Immanuel Baptist Church. The kingdom of God is about all churches, all believers bringing glory to God.
Main Point: God will grow HIS Kingdom
As we go through the text today, I want you to have this question in mind.
Question: Do you trust that God is going to grow his kingdom?
And keep asking yourself this question as we dig deeper into the text and at the end, we will put some application to it.
The Kingdom Cannot be Hidden
The Kingdom Cannot be Hidden
21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?
Jesus starts a new parable to them. He also changes the setting of the parable. The one before was about being in a field and planting seeds. He now takes their minds into the home. The home is more personal. Maybe not everyone can identify with planting seeds. But everyone can identify with being in their house and needing light. He is using the illustration of a lamp to signify light. He basically says to them, “what good is the light from a lamp if you cannot see it”?
And this is something that we all can identify with. I know that all of us have experienced having to go into a room at night and go to flip the switch on and the light just pop and then there is no light. Or maybe you have to go outside at night to look at something and you get out there with the flashlight and it just won’t cut on. This is the idea of a light being hidden. The light that does not shine is no good.
22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.
Exalting Jesus in Mark Mark 4:21–23
The light may be, for the most part, hidden at the moment. However, eventually the whole world will see the glory of this light. That which is hidden will be manifest. The resurrection of the crucified King assures this revelation. The second coming of the glorified King will establish it
It is like playing hide and go seek with a child. You know where the child is because they stink at hiding. Nothing is hidden from God. God is the one who is going to bring his kingdom to light and we are going to be in awe of this display of his glorious power. Then Jesus puts a stamp on this to show how important what he is saying is.
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This is a callback to verse 9 of chapter 4. What he is essentially saying is that what I am saying is important and you better listen up. And then he gives them a warning to go along with the parable.
24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Measure. Measurement is a part of every day life. We measure time, we measure our weight, we measure out food, we measure out laundry detergent when we put in a new load. It is unavoidable. But what is the measuring here referring to? We are coming off of the heels of Jesus exhorting them to open up their ears. He says, “pay attention to what you hear”. You may think that measuring and hearing don’t really correlate with one another. So how does Jesus put the two together.
Exalting Jesus in Mark (Mark 4:24–25)
Here the means of measuring is “hearing.” If your hearing is good, rich, and receptive to the Word, you will receive it back and even more. Indeed, “to the one who has, it will be given.
If your hearing is open to the word, you will get it back even more. “The more it will be added to you”. But the opposite is true to. Mark 4:25 “25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.””
Exalting Jesus in Mark Mark 4:24–25
In radical contrast, for the one who rejects the Word, “even what he has will be taken away.”
For those who reject the word, even what he has will be taken away. What is the word? The word is, at the very least, the gospel of Jesus. (gospel presentation)
Exalting Jesus in Mark Mark 4:24–25
Our spiritual health, our spiritual eternity, is at stake. How we respond to Jesus day by day is of the utmost seriousness.
Our response to hearing the word of God is one of the most pivotal responses to our life. So ask yourself some questions. And this isn’t just about responding to a sermon. Our response to God’s word is a daily task. This is why we must be engaging in the word of God on a daily basis. Yes, believers need to tie themselves to a local church body and be engaged in the consistent preaching of God’s word. But that is only the beginning of our engagement. We need to be privately and personally engaging God’s word away from the gathering of the church. And how we respond to that time is vitally important. So we ask ourselves if we are correctly responding to God’s word as it is preached in the context of the local church. But we also ask ourselves if we are correctly responding to God’s word as we privately read and study it. Our response is pivotal.
And our response should be one of praise to God that his kingdom cannot be hidden. We also see that…
The Kingdom will Grow
The Kingdom will Grow
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
Jesus takes them back to the analogy of scattering seed. This is to be seen as the sharing of the word of God. This is the thing that each and every one of us are called to do. I had someone say to me this week that it is the job of Christians to love people and accept them and not judge them, but that God will sort them out. They are half right. God is definitely going to sort out believers and non-believers. But it is our job to scatter seeds.
The seeds of God’s word. Things like the very first words that Jesus spoke in the gospel of Mark. Mark 1:15 “15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”” It is our job not to accept people but to call out people to repentance. We want to see people be brought from death to life. If not seed is ever scattered, then people will be content in their death. Paul talks about how we are saved from this dead life in Ephesians 2.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
God chose us to be saved by grace through faith. And we are saved because the seed was scattered. Praise God for men and women who faithfully share the gospel with others so that they know the truth of Jesus.
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.
28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The man in this parable scatters the seed. Then he leaves, goes to bed, comes back later, and the seed has sprouted and it has grown. And it says that he knows not how. Now there are many things that are unexplained in the world. Things like crop circles, the Bermuda triangle, and how my wife has put up with me for so long.
But we also must understand that there is a level of mystery of the kingdom of God. The seed is spread and grows unexplained. The gospel is presented and the person seems to be receptive yet rejects it. But also, the gospel is proclaimed to someone who has a rock hard heart and seems to be someone that will reject it and they repent and believe and their life is radically changed. We cannot rationalize this. This can only be explained by it being the work of God.
We need to see something out of these verses. First, it talks about the harvest. There are seasons in which we may feel that God is not working. Be encouraged that in times like that, often the ground is being tilled and fertilized and we do not even see it. More work goes into a harvest that just seed scattering. The rain and the sun will come and sprout and we never expect it.
We should be living our lives as believers in view of the kingdom of God. Do you work at a place you hate? View it as the place that God has put you in so that His kingdom will be known by those around you. Do you have neighbors that you can’t get along with? View them as people that God has placed in your life so that you can tell them about the kingdom of God. Do you have that friend that something is always going wrong with them and you seem to be their sounding board? Think of them as an opportunity to point someone to the kingdom of God.
And how we do point people to the kingdom of God? By teaching them his word. So, brothers and sisters, be bold in sharing the word of God. And be bold in sharing the gospel of Jesus. Because the kingdom will grow. And the kingdom is going to grow through the obedience of the followers of Jesus.
As we continue through these verses, we see that…
The Kingdom is Massive
The Kingdom is Massive
We come to a parable that Jesus gives about a mustard seed. Now, there is another parable about a mustard that deals with our faith. This is not that one. This one talks about a mustard seed and the Kingdom of God.
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
32 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.”
There are many who try to use this verse to discredit Jesus with the announcement of the mustard seed being the smallest of all the seeds on earth. Because it is not. Does this mean that Jesus is a liar? No. Jesus is not trying to make a categorically correct statement about the size of seeds here. If people try to think this, they are missing the point of the text. The point of this statement is that, out of all the seeds that would normally be planted, the mustard seed will go from being the smallest seed and grow into the largest plant.
And this tree serves as a resting place for the birds of the air. They can fly to it and make their nest in it. It serves as a place of rest and as a place of protection. It started off very small but grows into something that is massive. But when Jesus was telling this parable to his disciples, this was not something new that had never been said. In fact, Ezekiel spoke about this very thing.
Ezekiel 17:23 “23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.”
I want to quickly talk about the seed, the tree, and the birds. These are the three figures in this parable.
seed - The seed primarily represents the death of Jesus. This was what started the growth of the kingdom of God. He laid his life down for the lives of others. So that when they repent of sins and believe in him, they receive this adoption into the kingdom of God.
Tree - The tree represents the kingdom of God. It started as a seed and it has grown and grown and grown.
Birds - who are the birds that find their refuge in the tree? It is people who are part of the kingdom of God. Those who believe and trust in Jesus.
Think about it like this: unlike a tree, the kingdom of God will never shrink and will never die but will continue to grow until the day of Jesus’s return. This is something amazing to think about. The kingdom of God will always be added to - that was promised in the last parable. This parable promises that the kingdom is going to be massive.
Have you ever sat back and wondered how heaven was going to be. You think about the streets of gold, you think about the new bodies that we will receive after the return of Christ, you think about the unending worship of God where we will be singing “holy, holy, holy is the lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come”.
But have you spent much time thinking of the numbers of people that will be there. Now, I am sure that we have thought of loved ones that we will see. But think about the multitudes of people who throughout history have repented and believed in Jesus. All of those people will be there. People like Paul and James and John. I bet you will want to sit down and have a conversation with them. Or maybe like Augustine or Polycarp or Justin Martyr. Or maybe think a little closer to our time period. Men like John Knox or John Calvin or Jonathan Edwards. Or, one that I am looking forward to, the prince of preachers Charles Spurgeon. Just think of the multitudes of people that will be in the kingdom of God. And it is continuously being added to daily.
One thing that we know from this passage this morning is that the Kingdom of God is massive.
But there is one last thing that we need to see in this passage as we wrap these verses up. We see that
The Kingdom Needs Explaining
The Kingdom Needs Explaining
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
Jesus spoke to them this way for understanding. It wasn’t because they were academically smart and were able to understand things that others were not able to understand. It was because their ears had been open to be able to understand. Jesus began this thought earlier in chapter 4.
10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,
12 so that “ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ”
It isn’t about seeing and hearing. Everyone is able to see the words of God and hear the words of God. It is about perceiving and understanding. And that only happens when you have good soil. Remember in the parable of the soils that all 4 types of soil heard the word. But only one heard it, understood it, and obeyed it. That is because the soil was prepared by God.
Only those who abide in God are the ones who truly understand the parable that Jesus taught.
Conclusion
So the question is are you someone who understands these parables, and because of your understanding, you trust that God will grow His kingdom?
This kingdom is not about us. This is God’s kingdom that we are talking about. So do you trust that God is going to grow his kingdom?
If you say yes to that, are you going to show up to work now? Because God has sovereignly set us aside as people who scatter seeds. What seeds are we scattering? We are scattering the seeds of God’s word. We are telling others the gospel of Jesus Christ. (gospel presentation)
So how are we going to apply this to our lives? What does a verse like this mean to us as believers today in 2024?
These verses show us the sovereignty of God in the building of His kingdom. But, by his grace, he has chosen people like me and like you to be people who are used to expand this kingdom. This happens through scattering seeds. And we are to scatter liberally.
Remember that it is not our job to cultivate and to harvest. God will do that. He just wants workers that are obedient. So this week, lets challenge ourselves. Maybe you have not thought about people in your life that have rejected the gospel. Take this week to spend in prayer and write down the names of 3 people. Maybe you know and have identified people in your life that have rejected the gospel. Ask them if you could have a conversation with them about Jesus. And share what Jesus did for you and share the gospel with them.
I promise you that you will never regret sharing the gospel with someone. Remember that someone was bold enough to share it with you. And the gospel was headed somewhere else when it came to you. So when we read these verses we should be encouraged that God is going to use his people to build his massive kingdom.
Call to unbelievers to repent and believe in the gospel
End in prayer.