Back to the Basics: (Lack of) Understanding the Growth of God’s Kingdom Sermon (6)

Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:9-14

Passage: Mark 4:26-29

Title: Back to the Basics: (Lack of) Understanding the Growth of God’s Kingdom

Intro: When I was in the sixth grade, my class went to Huntsville Alabama, and I was able to go to space camp with my class. Now at space camp, our group gets to participate in two mock space missions. The people who run the camp decide what job you get, but you participate in that mission. Some of the jobs are the: Command Mission leader, the Pilate, and other positions that are needed for space missions. You had two groups of the mission. Ground control, and the mission. And you were typically able to do the mission, so in the space shuttle for one mission, and in ground control on the other mission. During the first simulation I was the shuttle tech. So, I was on the shuttle, and got do a “space walk to fix the shuttle.”

On the second mission I was the weather guy. I cannot remember the official title, I just remember being the one who watched the weather and gave the official command for launch because the weather was good enough for that launch.

Now this might surprise you, but on the second mission, I almost ruined it, because the weather was bad on their return trip. And they did not receive the weather report. All because I could not figure out how to use a fax machine.

Now you might be laughing, but when I was in the sixth grade computers were still fairly new. Not every home had one yet, and fax machines were beyond my 6 grade expertise. In fact they are still beyond my expertise. In fact, to this day, I still have no clue how fax machines work. How in the world, does a machine get a form, and send that form to places on the other side of the world? I have no clue.

I do not know how they work, I just know that they work.

The same thing is with the kingdom of God, we may not know how it works or how it grows, but we do know that through God’s character his church and his kingdom will grow.

In today’s passage we are going to look at a parable where Jesus compares

Passage Context: As we continue going through the book of Mark we are continuing to go through the teachings of Jesus. Remember that chapter 4 contains 4 parables that Jesus taught. Remember a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. And as we continue through chapter 4 we see that chapter 4 is mostly showing what Jesus taught. Compared to what we have seen before in Mark, we have seen the works of Christ, we have seen those that followed and opposed Christ, and we have seen what Christ claimed himself to be.

But chapter four shows the parables that Jesus taught. Remember three weeks ago we looked at Jesus’ giving the parable of the seed and the four different soils. Then last Sunday we saw Jesus teach the parable of light, and how you do not take the light and hide it.

Today we are looking at Jesus’ next parable: the growing seed.

READ PASSAGE HERE

Passage explanation: When we look at this passage, we see that Gives us a parable about the kingdom of God. But in this parable Jesus also tells us two characteristics about God, that display how God’s kingdom grows, and work.

Call to Action: This passage shows the two characteristics of God that are shown in God’s kingdom that man cannot comprehend.

Main Point: The Main point of this passage is that even when man cannot see or comprehend, God’s kingdom is growing and moving.

Part 1: The Comparison. Mark 4:26-27

Point 1: God’s Kingdom Grows because God is omniscient (All Knowing).

Explanation: Look at how this Parable starts, “And He (Jesus) said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.”

Now I want you to realize, that when Jesus teaches this parable, he opens the parable with a simile. A simile, is a comparison using the words “like and as.” Because Jesus uses a simile, we can better understand what two items Jesus is comparing. Jesus is comparing the kingdom of God to a farmers knowledge of how a plant grows. See notice what Jesus says in the parable. That the kingdom of God is like; a man should scatter seed.” So I would like for you to picture in your mind what is happening. A man, is outside planting seeds. Again, when I think of a farmer, I think of my grandpa out in his garden planting seeds.

But the kingdom of God is not compared to the planting me, but to his knowledge. Look at what this farmer does, “He scatters the seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow.” The farmer that plants the seed does nothing in order for the seed to actually grow. All the farmer does is plant the seed. See look at what Jesus says next, “He Himself (the farmer) does not know how.” See the farmer does not know how the seed grows, he only knows that the seed grows.

And Jesus, in his parable, is comparing the kingdom of God to this act, that planting a seed is like the kingdom of God.

Illustration:

Application: Now I want you to realize something, that Jesus used an illustration to explain a concept that man would struggle to understand without this explanation.

See we might not understand, how they works, but God does. God is all knowing. God knows the hearts of man, and God knows the trials of man. We may not see God’s kingdom grow, and we might not understand how it is growing, but we can trust that through the all knowingness of God, God’s kingdom will grow, and it will glorify the father, through the Son and through the Holy Spirit.

Transition:Now this comparison could be confusing. How is it that the Kingdom of God is like that of seed? Well Jesus answers in the next section.

Part 2: The Explanation of the Comparison. Mark 4:28

Point 2: God’s Kingdom Grows because God is omnipotent (all powerful)

Explanation: After making the comparison to the Kingdom of God and a plant that grows with out the farmer knowing how it works, Jesus explains the comparison starting in verse 28. Look at verse 28, “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.” See now Jesus explains that the seed grows from the earth, that it first shows the blade, then the head of the grain, and then the grain. The farmer did nothing to the seed, but plant it. The earth grew the grain. The main did nothing to grow the seed.

Yet even though the farmer did not do anything to grow the seed, he still harvests the wheat. Look at verse 29, “But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

So look at what Jesus is saying, that even though the sower did nothing put plant the wheat, the farmer still gets to partake of the reward. He still gets to harvest the wheat, even though he has no idea how the wheat grew.

Illustration:

Application: See I want you to understand the point that Jesus is making, that even though, we do not know how, God’s kingdom still grows. Remember that when you share the gospel, you may not get to see the reward, you might be the one who is planting the seed, and someone else will see that reward. Yet your job is to plant the seed.

Conclusion:

I want you to understand something church, we might not be able to understand how God is working, but we can trust that he is.

And we might not see the product of planting the seed, but we must trust that God is moving. That God is doing work beyond what we can see. And maybe we won’t see the harvest, but we can trust that the Lord is moving.