The King and His Kingdom
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Good morning, Montclair Community Church family and visitors:
Welcome, again, to our live stream; we are blessed that you’ve decided to let us into your home
My name is Ernie and I’m privileged to serve this church as the Lead Pastor
And, I’m excited to share the word of God with you all this morning
Just by way of introduction, we are in a series through the Gospel of Mark:
Last week, Pastor Lee spoke on the meaning and purpose of parables as to reveal Jesus
How parables and ultimately God’s word calls us to prepare our hearts to receive the Gospel and how we all need to look to Jesus as the sower of the Word (how we all should desire more of Jesus)
I don’t know about you, but I was amen-ing Pastor Lee throughout the course of that message
Today’s text is the second of four parables from Mark 4:1-34:
The theme of all four is how God’s kingdom emerges and grows with the appearance of Jesus who came to give His life as a ransom for many
Mark brings these parables together to reinforce the main parable of the soils (4: 1-20)
These stories drive home the need for the response of faith to God’s revealed Word
Today, we’re going to look at this text in two parts, as reflected by the title of this message — “The King and His Kingdom”
First, let’s review the King, Jesus Himself:
Verse 21 in the Greek reads, ‘Does the lamp come in order that it might be placed under the bowl or under the bed?’
Jesus says, “Does the lamp come in...” — reference to the lamp coming is more suitable of a person than an object
The phrase to “come in” has been used of Jesus Himself earlier
And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
The implication — this is no ordinary lamp; the lamp is simply a metaphor for Jesus:
Throughout the Old Testament, a lamp is a common metaphor for God or the Davidic Messiah
Jesus was speaking of Himself; He is the lamp of God who comes to bring light and revelation
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus set aside His crown, set aside His Glory, and came to earth to bring light to the darkness
But, let’s be honest here:
As Jesus spoke these words, there is still a ton of confusion as to who He is
He’s speaking to a crowd consisting of Scribes, Pharisees, locals, and His disciples
The Scribes and Pharisees think He’s a madman; His own disciples struggle to understand who He is
So, Jesus proceeds by offering some clarification on His identity and purpose:
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? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
A couple of questions for you — What happens if you put an oil lamp under a bed?
And, what happens if you put an oil lamp under a basket?
YOU BURN THE HOUSE DOWN!
Jesus didn’t come to burn the house down
Jesus came turn the light on!
Jesus came to be the light in a dark and dying world
And, the light of God’s hope and forgiveness in Jesus Christ is always on
I love that Motel 6 commercial. It says, “We’ll leave the light on for you.” The light of God’s hope and forgiveness is always on, welcoming those sinners home who what to repent and ask for His forgiveness.
The issue Jesus presents is, if you put a lamp under a basket or under a bed it doesn’t serve it’s purpose:
Oil lamps are intended to give optimum light to a large space
That’s why Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” and He is indeed
The person and work of Jesus was certainly not intended to be hidden
Instead, an oil lamp was lit and put on its stand in order to illuminate the room
These oil lamps could only give optimum light, if they were elevated:
This text echoes what Jesus taught earlier in this Gospel
No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
In other words, Jesus didn’t come to conform to the expectations of people
And, Jesus’ teachings weren’t intended to be hidden
The purpose of His parables was to reveal truth to those whose hearts were willing to listen and believe!
And, certainly Jesus Himself didn’t come to be hidden “under a basket, or under a bed”
Yes, He laid His crown aside, but He was set to pick it up at the resurrection
I heard someone say, “initial concealment, ultimately leads to full disclosure”
Jesus was ultimately intended, like a lamp, to be exalted and glorified
Paul writes a similar summary of Jesus, drawing what Mark wrote out a little more:
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Here’s the point, I believe Jesus was making:
He is the light by which people are enabled to see the truth
The illustration of the lamp testifies that God’s purpose in Jesus is to enlighten and reveal
The fact that that lamp was to be elevated reminds us that Jesus is not subordinated to anything, but supreme over all things and with good reason:
As Christ is the center and source of creation
He holds the universe together and is the head of the church
Jesus is God Himself and He is all powerful
He is the avenue to redemption
He disarmed and dismantled the evil spiritual authorities and strongholds
He is the ultimate reality over and above earthly rituals
He nourishes and grows the Church and He is seated at God’s right hand
Christ is where real life begins and ends
He is the source of unity and peace in the Church
He provides the impetus to do good work
Charles Spurgeon said, “In white, all the colors are blended. A perfectly white substance combines all the colors of the rainbow merged in true proportion, but green and indigo and red are only the reflections of a part of the solar rays. So John, Peter, Paul are parts of the light of heaven; they are differing colors, and there is a beauty in each one of them. But if you want to get the whole of the rays of light, you must get to Christ, for all light is in him. In him is not simply the red or the blue, but in him is light, the true light, the whole of light.”
This would’ve been an incredible encouragement to Jesus’ disciples:
They’re hearing rumors of people wanting to kill Jesus
They’re seeing people misinterpreting Jesus message and ministry
Jesus is saying, “Oh, don’t worry I’m going to be exalted”
He’s like, “I didn’t come to be put under a basket or a bed; I came to be put on a stand” and “I WILL BE LIFTED UP!”
Church, this should be an incredible encouragement for us, as well:
It’s important for the church to hear; Jesus said in verse 23, “if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Listen with your mind and your heart to what Jesus is saying
The good news of Christ’s exaltation should comfort us also
He’s our Savior, but He’s also our King — He is sovereign over each of our lives
And when Christ returns, everyone will know and see Jesus for who He is as King:
Paul says, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord...”
Now, let’s be clear for some it will be too late
But, for those of us who follow Jesus, we can rejoice in that very present reality!
Now, let’s take a few minutes to focus on Christ’s Kingdom:
Jesus continues by offering some explanation on how His kingdom operates
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. 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.”
I love the phrase Jesus uses, here — He says, “with the measure you use...”
When Jesus says, “With the measure you use,” he’s referring to the way people respond to the message of the Kingdom
Those who heard the word of Jesus, were to treasure His word:
Even more, those who heard and understood were to share what they knew
The point is, the way people respond to the message of Kingdom, has a great deal to with their life’s trajectory and ultimately their eternity
What’s the message of the Kingdom?
Jesus tells us earlier in Mark’s gospel
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
“Pay attention to what you hear,” Jesus says
Jesus has been preaching this gospel message throughout His ministry —
the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel; “turn from setting your hopes on sinful pleasures, turn from preoccupation of self, or anyone else” and turn to Him
This was the message of the Gospel; it’s what Jesus was teaching everyone
Now, He’s reminding His listeners how things work in His kingdom:
Notice Jesus doesn’t say, “be careful how you live”
He doesn’t say, “be good and use your measure of goodness and more goodness will come your way”
He doesn’t say, “pay attention to what you do;” He says, “pay attention to what you hear”
Because, it’s not what you do that gets you “in” to God’s kingdom; it’s hearing and believing and repenting
Church, this is the beauty of God’s Kingdom:
It’s completely counter-cultural
In the kingdoms of this world rich are in poor are out, strong are in and the weak are out, the able and competent are in and incompetent and unable are out, good are in bad are out, the proud are in and the humble are out
In Jesus’ Kingdom, the opposite is true — the humble are in and the proud are out; those who recognize their need for Jesus are in, those who reject Him are out
If we insist on maintaining our power and our control, we cannot enter the kingdom
The kingdom requires complete submission to Jesus
Billy Graham said, “Sin diverts some. Pleasure diverts others. Social service and ‘religious’ activity divert others. We are told to be occupied with Jesus Christ Himself.”
The point is, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done we can’t expect to stand before a good and holy God on our own merits or accomplishments:
We need to stand on the merits of another and that’s the good news of the Gospel of Jesus; He is who makes us good before God
Because of Jesus’ work those who hear and believe, can stand before God having been cleansed by the blood of Jesus
Jesus continues by saying, “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you...”
Those who’ve heard and believed are clearly charged to pass along that understanding
In other words, there’s a responsibility attached to understanding and insight
Whether the believer has a lot or a little understanding, is not important
It’s what they do with it, once they have that understanding that matters
That’s the measure that’ll determine what more will be given to them
So, just like Christ was a lamp not to be hidden, believers are to not hide the light of the Gospel
And I love this next part of the scripture as Jesus says, “and still more will be added to you:”
Church, our openness to and understanding of the Gospel will bring immeasurable blessings
And our ultimate blessing, is the eternal blessing of our heavenly reward
Let’s look at how Jesus closes this parable:
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.”
Jesus is saying, those outside of Christ are on like an endless descending escalator all the way to judgement
He says, “the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away”
Jesus is referring to what we call common grace
What we get to enjoy, even outside of Christ, are gifts of common grace
It’s grace that we’re alive right now, whether you’re a Jesus follower or not
Jesus talks about common grace in Matthew 5:45
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Paul to the church at Rome writes:
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Church, this parable and Paul’s charge to us is not to presume on the grace of God
God is gracious and just
We shouldn’t presume on His kindness and His patience; it’s all meant to turn you to Jesus
And God is not mocked; if you refuse to turn to Jesus it’s going to end bad for you:
Listen, on your own outside of Jesus, your end is death and a Christ-less eternity — that’s true for all of us
And Jesus, reminds us in verse 25 that even the common grace given to all people will be stripped from those who refuse to heed the message of the Gospel
But, the good news of the gospel is found in this text, as well:
We don’t have to live on that descending escalator to a Christ-less eternity
Instead we can, in faith and humility, hop onto the other side
When you put your faith in Jesus, when you “pay attention to what you hear” in the gospel, it’s like you step off of that descending escalator onto the eternally ascending escalator
And, instead of a downward trajectory we can continue upward towards Christ
Jesus says, “For to the one who has, more will be given...”
The people who listen and understand are those who have
To them God will increase their understanding and shower down his blessings
They will grow because they allow God’s word to make a difference in their lives
In other words, the one who’s believed on Jesus, will receive more of Jesus:
Church, that should be our hope — to live on that upward escalator receiving more of Christ’s life
That’s the good news of the Gospel — we were all on that downward escalator because of sin
And now, those of us who’ve heard and believed are now on that trajectory towards Christ
The good news of the gospel is not just that you escape hell, but that you get to have more of Jesus!
The point is how we respond to Jesus day by day is of the utmost seriousness:
The more we refuse Jesus and the Word, and you lose the little you may once have had
Our spiritual health, our spiritual eternity, is at stake
Listen to me:
If you don’t know Jesus this morning, this is the perfect opportunity to get to know Him
It is grace afforded to us, to be able to hop off of that downward escalator and hop on the ascending escalator where we get more and more of Jesus
I would encourage you, if you don’t know Him to put your faith in Jesus Christ, who died so that you might have eternal life
Now for those who are in Christ, I want to charge you with two tasks according to the text:
Your first imperative is to exalt Jesus
EXALTATION
EXALTATION
Charles Spurgeon said, “It is the duty and the privilege of the church of God to exalt the truth into the open view of all mankind.
Now, the church of God is a pillar that lifts up and publishes, far and wide, the achievements of our conquering Lord, saying to all mankind that God ‘was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory’ (1 Tim 3:16).”
Too many of us operate as secret agent, basket and bed hidden Christians:
We’re reluctant to be identified according to our faith
But, a lamp that doesn’t help people see isn’t worth much use at all
So, each of you ask yourselves this question:
Does your life point others to Jesus?
Does your life shine the light of Jesus for others to see?
If not, what proverbial baskets or beds have you hidden your light under?
Maybe it’s complacency; like you have been overcome with the notion that other people will share Jesus, so you don’t have to
Proverbs 1:32, reminds us that complacency ultimately leads to demise
We are to be passionate and on fire about the opportunities presented us to share the gospel
Or maybe, there’s a sense of embarrassment that keeps you from being a light:
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Or maybe, it’s just sheer disobedience; you don’t want to share the gospel, so you don’t:
Disobedience to this charge will only lead to confusion and internal conflict in our hearts
Disobedience always costs something and in this case, according to the text, we are robbing ourselves of immense blessing if we refuse to be that light to the world around us
Your second imperative is to intentionally and daily apply His word:
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
To the degree that you apply God’s word in your life, you will bear fruit:
The more you accept and apply His word, His kingdom agenda, the more fruitfulness God will entrust to you
But, disobedience and a failure to apply His word in your daily living will lead to spiritual barrenness
A good compass always points to true north, no matter what. God's Word is our life compass. We should be intentional to apply God’s word, to make sure that we're pointing in the right direction.
The truth is, if we’re not intentional about applying God’s word it will forever slip our minds:
So, we have to get into the habit of reading His word daily and applying it to our lives daily
The more we read and apply, the more fruit-bearing we will become
Even more, as we read and apply God’s word, the more of Jesus we’ll receive
I’m going to close with a word of prayer and Pastor Lee is going to come and lead us in communion.