The Mystery of Gospel Growth (Mk. 4:26-34)

Introduction

· Please turn to Mark 4

· Thousands of churches meet across the world today. Some are big and others are small. Some are rural and others are urban. There are Baptist and Methodist and Presbyterian and Non-Denominational. But one thing could be said of them all. Every church wants to grow.

· In his book 12 Keys to an Effective Church, Kennon Callahan outlines 12 central characteristics of an effective church: concrete missional objectives, visitation in community, dynamic worship, solid decision making, high visibility, adequate parking and landscaping, adequate space and facilities, solid financial resources.

· Growth is a good thing. But we must ask two fundamental questions (1) what is true growth (success)? (2) how do we truly achieve growth?

· True growth is seeing people saved, and seeing them conformed more into the image of Jesus Christ.

· Ephesians 4:13–16 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

· Read Mark 4:26-34

· These verses discuss one of the most important themes in the whole Bible – “the kingdom of God.” It is at hand, so repent and believe (1:15). Will not taste death until comes in power (9:1). To such as these belong the kingdom (10:14). Scribe is not far from the kingdom (12:34). Will not drink of fruit of the vine until the kingdom (14:25).

· John MacArthur defines this as “God’s sovereign rule over the sphere of salvation; at present in the hearts of His people (Luke 17:21), and in the future, in a literal, earthly kingdom (Mk 14:25; Lk 21:31; Rev. 20:4–6)”

· “With what can we compare the kingdom of God?” How would you answer that question? A mighty military fitted with the latest weapons and firepower? A giant Redwood tree, towering over the earth? A massive storm cloud, brewing with lightning and thunder?

· In these two parables, the gospel is like a seed, and its growth is often mysterious. [Show a picture of a Mustard Plant]

The Mystery of God’s Rule

· Growth is not mechanical. No quick and easy formula. It is organic. There are some things we need to do, but there is also much that is outside of our control.

· Read verses

· Unique to Mark’s Gospel

· Sleeps and rises – continuous action

· automatē, lit., “automatically,” “by itself”; that is, without human effort). Even in the midst of adversity.

· Mysterious growth of the kingdom, apart from human effort

· Many aspects are mysterious. Its timing (when, how it germinates). Its power (Holy Spirit. Jn. 3; God gives the increase 1 Cor. 3). Its message (the cross). Its process (divine sovereignty, human responsibility). Its spreading (foolishness of preaching). Its result (some believe, while others reject). Its progress (not always immediately noticeable). Its result (eternal life! Resurrection!).

· Sleep is a gift – Mahaney: “Lord, thank you for this gift. The fact that I’m so tired is a reminder that I am the creature and only you are the Creator. Only you neither slumber nor sleep, while for me, sleep is something I cannot go w/o. Thank you for this gracious, humbling, refreshing gift”

· Even here at our own church – God suddenly “turned on the switch.” No secret formula, no easy fix. Just staying the course and praying for fruit.

· Our Response – Humility and Hope! We work, we pray, and then we wait.

Its Growth of God’s Rule

· Read vv. 30-34

· Mustard seed - leaves were used as a vegetable and the seed as a condiment. It also had medicinal benefits. smallness seems to have been proverbial and Jesus employs it elsewhere (Matt. 17:20; Luke 17:6). smallest seed his audience was familiar with. 725-760 mustard seeds to weigh a gram (28 grams equal one ounce). reaching a height of 10–12 feet in a few weeks.

· Small beginnings

· Ezek 17:22–24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size

· Ecclesiastes 11:5 As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

· Psalm 92:5 How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep!

Conclusion

Story of Adoniram Judson - the first Baptist foreign missionary appointed in the United States, born in 1788. He and his wife sailed from America to Burma (now Myanmar), arriving in 1813. Shortly afterward, they were joined by two more missionaries. However, after six years of labor, not one Burmese person had trusted in Christ. Then on June 6, 1819, Judson received a letter from Moung Nau, a Burmese man who had shown interest in the gospel but up to that point had not acted on it. The letter read as follows:

“I, Moung Nau, the constant recipient of your excellent favor, approach your feet. Whereas my Lord’s three [i.e. three missionaries] come to the country of Burma—not for the purposes of trade, but to preach the religion of Jesus Christ, the Son of the eternal God—I, having heard and understood, am, with a joyful mind, filled with love.

I believe that the divine Son, Jesus Christ, suffered death, in the place of men, to atone for their sins. Like a heavy-laden man, I feel my sins are very many. The punishment of my sins I deserve to suffer. Since it is so, do you, sirs, consider that I, taking refuge in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, and receiving baptism, in order to become his disciple, shall dwell one with yourselves, a band of brothers, in the happiness of heaven, and therefore grant me the ordinance of baptism.

Moreover, as it is only since I have met with you, sirs, that I have known about the eternal God, I venture to pray that you will still unfold to me the religion of God, that my old disposition may be destroyed, and my new disposition improved.”

Three weeks later Moung Nau was baptized and the barrier of unbelief was broken.

What enabled Adoniram Judson to faithfully labor so many years before seeing any fruit? His motivation is evident in the following lines, which he penciled on the inner cover of a book used in his translation of the Bible into Burmese:

In joy or in pain,

Our course be onward still;

We sow on Burma’s barren plain;

We reap on Zion’s hill.

Today, there are more than 1.5 million believers in Myanmar, and 40 percent of the Karen people to whom Adoniram Judson directed his ministry are now Christians.