Mark 4:21-34 - God will grow the harvest

Now Daisy's going to come and read God's word for us and then David's going to preach.

So Daisy, over to you.

So we're going to be reading Mark 4 from verse 21 on page 1006.

He said to them,

Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?

Instead, don't you put it on its stand?

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed,

and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.

If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.

Consider carefully what you hear, he continued.

With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more.

Whoever has will be given more.

Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

He also said,

This is what the kingdom of God is like.

A man scatters seed on the ground, night and day,

whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows,

though he does not know how.

All by itself, the soil produces corn,

first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

As soon as the corn is ripe, he puts the sickle to it,

because the harvest has come.

Again he said,

What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,

or what parable shall we use to describe it?

It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.

Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants,

with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.

With many similar parables, Jesus spoke the word to them,

as much as they could understand.

He did not say anything to them without using a parable,

but when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

David.

Thanks, Daisy.

Thanks, everyone.

Again, David, I'm one of the leaders,

and I've got the pleasure of sharing with you all today.

So let me just pray before we get started, all right?

Father, thank you so much for bringing us together this morning,

for waking us up, giving us the opportunity to open your word,

to read it, to consider what it has for us.

Father, I pray that you would give us understanding,

that you would open our minds and our hearts to see what you have,

to know what you're telling us,

to listen and to accept it as truth and beneficial to our lives.

Lord, would you move in this room this morning,

bring us closer to you and to one another.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Well, thanks again.

I'm excited to be up here.

So as Daisy read, we're reading in Mark chapter 4, verses 21 to 34,

Mark 4:21–34

and it contains these three little parables,

the lamp on the stand, the parable of the growing seed,

and the parable of the mustard seed.

And this passage, these parables, they're confusing.

They can be confusing.

They certainly take more effort to understand

than something that would be perfectly clear, perfectly laid out.

And Jesus, in the passage just before this,

spoke of the concept of parables and why he speaks in parables,

stating that the secret of the kingdom of God has been given to us,

but to those on the outside, everything is said in parables,

so that they may be ever seeing but not perceiving,

ever hearing but not understanding.

Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven.

And that statement can be difficult to digest,

or at least hard to understand initially,

because it seems to suggest that there are some

that aren't meant to understand,

or aren't meant to hear what he has to say.

And it raises some questions, and it should raise questions, right?

I recently had a big contract to work on at work,

and there were several lawyers involved,

a whole team of lawyers on both sides.

And we would spend hours, literally hours,

looking at clause by clause through this contract

that was some 70-something pages long.

It was not my favorite time.

And the whole contract is written by lawyers in legal language,

I think intentionally so that the other lawyers

are the only ones who can understand what's in there, right?

It must be how they keep the racket going

and keep the bills getting charged.

If any of you are lawyers, I apologize only slightly.

But all of this legalese, if you will,

like, I'd like to think of myself as a fairly smart individual, right?

That I understand what the words mean.

I can look at words in a sentence and put those together

and try to make sense of it.

I can read those words.

I can tell you what they mean.

But when they're put together in this way,

on this kind of document,

they just make my brain want to shut down.

I don't want to read it anymore.

And sometimes it's a little bit like these parables,

that you can read the words.

You know what the words mean.

You can see what it's saying,

but the meaning is harder to see.

And so for the contract,

I have to lean on and trust in the lawyers,

my lawyer, to explain what it's saying.

And then they're actually able to use plain language

so that I can understand.

And they help me see what it says.

And without their help, I can't understand anything.

And part of what these parables are doing

and what they're saying is

that you won't be able to understand these on your own.

That's not the intention.

You need an interpreter.

And you need the Spirit of God

to make these things clear.

And so what we'll see today

is Jesus is telling the crowd what's coming.

This is what these parables are.

He's saying in these parables,

what we'll see is that the kingdom of God

is being revealed.

And though it may not always look promising,

it will gloriously prevail in the end.

And so let's look at each of these parables.

The first parable is this lamp on the stand.

It says, Jesus asked,

do you bring in a lamp

and you put it under a bowl or a bed?

No, instead, don't you put it on a stand?

And he explains that whatever is hidden

is meant to be disclosed

and whatever is concealed

is meant to be brought out into the open.

And he adds, if anyone has ears to hear,

let him hear.

And so this parable, in this parable,

Jesus is talking about himself.

Jesus is the lamp.

Jesus is the light.

And we see this in other places

where Jesus is talking about himself.

In John chapter 8, Jesus says,

John 8 · chapter mention

I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.

And so what he's saying is that

something is being initiated in his coming.

It's a prophecy about what he has come to do.

Jesus is saying,

don't you realize the light has come?

That God has sent his lamp into the world

and this lamp is Jesus.

He's the word of God.

Literally the way we can understand God.

Right?

In the same way that we use words

to articulate a thought or an idea,

God is articulated to us in Jesus.

Right?

This Jesus in whom all the treasures of wisdom

and knowledge are hidden.

We don't understand what God is doing

until Jesus.

Right?

The religious leaders of the day,

they thought they understood what God was doing.

They thought they had an idea of it.

And so when they saw Jesus,

they rejected him.

The disciples thought they understood

what God was doing.

They thought they understood why Jesus was there.

But when Jesus would predict his death,

they couldn't comprehend what he was up to.

God's plans had been hidden.

But now,

in Jesus,

they're being brought into light.

Just a couple chapters earlier in Mark 1,

Jesus comes into Galilee,

proclaiming the good news of God

by saying,

the time has come.

The kingdom of God is near.

Repent.

Repent.

And believe.

And this is the beginning of the revelation of the gospel,

that the light has come,

that the king has come to bring his kingdom.

And God will continue in that work

until all the truths of the gospel

and all the mysteries of the gospel

have been revealed.

And through the life of Jesus,

the truths are being uncovered.

And in his death,

in his death,

God's true purposes are being revealed.

And in the work of the Spirit

through the apostles,

what he had done was brought into clarity.

Right?

This is what we have

in the books from Romans to Revelation.

It's God fulfilling the promise of understanding

and fully uncovering

the lamp of understanding.

And the lamp that's pictured in this parable,

the lamp of the Spirit of Christ,

it still operates.

He still teaches.

He still unfolds the mysteries of God to us.

And he's come to unfold them

so that we might understand,

we might see him clearly.

And that,

so the veil would be lifted

and that we can worship him.

And so how do you respond to that?

First you listen,

it says,

let him hear.

And then you respond.

See, the reality is,

some will hear Jesus teaching

and they'll seek to understand.

And those are the ones described

as the good soil in the chapter just before,

the passage just before.

And for those who seek to understand,

God will give understanding.

But some will hear Jesus' teaching

and they won't seek to understand.

And they won't be bothered.

Right?

As we saw previously,

for some,

it's the pleasures of the world

that keep them from understanding.

For some,

it's the worries of the world

that keep them from seeking.

For some,

it's the trouble and persecution

that come from the world

that keep us from seeking.

And for some,

it's the hardness of their heart

that keeps us from hearing it all.

Look, what it says here is,

pay attention to what you hear.

With the measure you use,

it will be measured to you.

Right?

In your kitchen,

I imagine we're all the same here.

In your kitchen,

you have a variety of measuring tools.

I brought one.

This is the smallest one I could find.

It's one quarter teaspoon.

It's a very tiny amount.

And this one isn't in my kitchen.

But this one's really large.

This is a 30 liter jug.

Right?

And what Jesus is saying here

is that if you seek

one quarter teaspoon of understanding,

then you'll receive

one quarter teaspoon of understanding.

But if you seek

a 30 liter jug of understanding,

God promises to give you

a 30 liter jug of understanding.

Right?

Do you see that?

This is a theme in Mark.

It's happened already

and it will carry on.

But faith in God

is not an intellectual exercise.

Faith is an active thing

that you have to step into.

And if I grab a hold

of the understanding

that I have now

and I live

in the basis of the gospel,

and as I do that,

God continues

to mature me.

He continues

to open my mind

to the things

that I didn't understand before.

And he continues

to grow me

in knowledge

of what his word

is saying.

And the one

who uses it,

more will be given.

And the one

who doesn't listen,

doesn't hear,

what even he has

will be taken away.

Sounds harsh at first,

doesn't it?

But actually,

it's not as harsh

as it initially sounds.

Because what do we know?

We know that everything

that we have,

our possessions,

our success,

our position,

our status,

our notoriety,

even our health

and our vibrancy,

right?

Everything we have

will be taken away

at some point.

For the unbeliever

and for the believer,

right?

Everything will be taken away,

but the knowledge

and the understanding

and our faith

in Jesus Christ.

And those

who hold that,

it says,

everything will be given.

Right?

As Jesus promised,

he says,

ask and it will be given to you.

To the one who seeks,

and you will find,

knock and the door

will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks,

receives.

And the one who seeks,

finds.

And to the one who knocks,

the door will be opened.

So maybe you're here today

and you aren't quite sure

what you believe.

Maybe there's something

about God,

something about the Bible

that you find hard,

that you're not quite sure

how to trust,

how to put your faith

in the God

you think you see

in that.

The question is,

have you asked him

to understand?

Have you asked him

to help you understand?

God says,

he promises,

whatever is hidden

is meant to be disclosed.

It's not meant

to be hidden from you.

It's not meant

to be a secret.

He wants to show you.

He wants to reveal it to you.

Maybe you are a Christian

here today.

Maybe you genuinely believe,

but there are things

that seem murky,

or not quite sure

how to make sense

of that bit

or this bit.

Right?

There are things

that if you're pressed

on them,

you might struggle

to articulate

to someone

and you might keep you

from wanting to explain

that to a friend.

Ask God to reveal them

to you.

He certainly wants to.

His intention is

not for things

to be hidden.

He wants to show you.

It would please him

deeply

for you to ask him.

And so the kingdom

is at hand.

The light of the world

has come.

And he is ready

to reveal what the kingdom

will be like.

And so we hear,

as Jesus continues

in the next parable

of the growing seed,

he states,

this is what

the kingdom of God

is like.

A man scatters seed

on the ground.

Night and day,

whether he sleeps

or gets up,

the seed sprouts

and grows,

though he does not

know how.

The soil produces

grain on its own.

First the stalk,

then the head,

and then finally

the full kernel.

And when the grain

is ripe,

the man puts the sickle

to it,

and the harvest has come.

See, this parable

is about the kingdom

of God.

The kingdom that

was ushered in

as Jesus is the lamp

into the world.

And this shows

what the kingdom

of God is doing.

The fact is,

the kingdom of God

is coming.

And the kingdom

of God is growing.

Whether it looks

like it or not,

even when it feels

like God is distant

or inactive

or asleep,

the seed is growing.

We may not

understand how.

In fact,

we certainly

won't understand how.

But it's producing grain.

And one day,

God will come

and harvest

that ripened crop.

And even today,

I venture to say,

I want the gospel

to be a straight line,

a linear path

with no curves

or unexpected turns.

I want the chart

of faith

to go up

and to the right

forever.

You're right.

But we know

from life

it's not like that.

We know from the Bible

that's not how it works.

We struggle

in our relationships

as they go

through ups and downs,

sometimes growing

healthily

and other times

it's a real challenge.

We struggle

with our children

or grandchildren

or nieces

and nephews.

They grow

and we might see

glimpses of maturity

and maybe even faith

in them

and then other times

it seems like

they're on a path

that we have no idea

how they got there.

We struggle with it

as we share

or try to share

the gospel

with our friends.

Sometimes they seem

eager to hear

and they're accepting

of our invitation

and sometimes

it's like speaking

to a wall.

We struggle with it

as we look at our church.

Sometimes there are times

of growth

and health

and other times

it seems stagnant

and tired.

we struggle

as we look

at the surrounding world.

More often than not

it seems like

the culture

is careening off

into an abyss.

We wonder

if all of this planting

is actually doing

anything at all.

If the seed

that we put in the soil

will ever grow.

If we'll ever

look at the soil

and see that bright

green shoot

popping up

above the surface.

Or was it just

a waste of time

and energy?

The temptation

for us

is this.

We might feel

like we need

to do something.

Let me say that again.

We might feel

like we need

to do something.

We try to somehow

manipulate the results.

Like a novice gardener

says maybe we should

dig it back up

and put the seeds

in a different way.

Maybe we should

massage them a little bit.

Maybe they're not

quite ready.

Maybe we should put

just a bit more water

on top.

Maybe a little bit more.

Maybe a little bit more.

It doesn't work,

does it?

And there's a tendency

in the church

to look at the results.

To be centered

and focused

on the results.

And if we aren't

getting the results

we want

or think we should,

we tend to think

that we need

to do something.

Maybe we need

something that will

be more attractive

to people

who don't know

the gospel yet.

Maybe we aren't

being clear enough

about sin

and punishment.

Maybe if a famous

person or someone

that people

generally like

would come to faith

that would help

people really

understand.

Maybe we need

different music

or we should sing

different songs.

Maybe we should

stand here or there.

Maybe we should

go longer or shorter.

Maybe we should

start earlier or later.

All of that,

it's forgetting

our place.

It's forgetting

our role.

It's forgetting

our job.

Because our job

is to plant.

Our job is

to plant the seed

and you see

what it says here

about the farmer?

It's really humbling

actually because

it says this,

he sleeps and rises

night and day

and the seed

sprouts and grows

and he has no idea

how.

He has nothing

to do with the

growth of the plant.

All he did was

plant it in the soil

and wait

because the earth

produces it by itself.

Once you've planted

the seed,

you've done your job,

everything else

belongs to the Lord.

Why is it that

sometimes someone

will respond

and another person

right next to them

hearing the same words,

the same presentation

of the gospel

won't respond?

Why is it that

some people's growth

seems rapid

and others

seem to grow

so slowly?

Why is it that

some churches

seem to grow

in numbers

and explode

in fruitfulness

and others

remain small?

These are the

mysteries of the

kingdom of God.

We're looking

at the soil

and wondering,

is there ever

going to be a shoot

here?

Is it ever going

to grow?

How is this

going to work?

And so it's

really important

that we know

our place,

that we plant

the seed

and God grows

the harvest.

Right?

You don't have

to hold the

harvest on

your shoulders.

We don't have

to put it on us.

It's not on us.

Right?

Parents,

you have no

capacity whatsoever

to produce belief

in your children.

Grandparents,

the same.

Right?

You can't do it.

Friends,

you have no

capacity to

produce belief

in the friend

or colleague

that you wish

so much

to come to

faith.

You have

no ability.

I have no

ability.

Steve has no

ability to argue

a person into

the kingdom of

God.

That's not how

it works.

So we have

to know our

place and we

have to trust

in God to do

what he has

promised to do.

It's not that

we don't know

what's going to

happen.

We actually know

he's promised

to do the work

and so we can

trust him to do

it.

Because even

the harvest

of our own

hearts,

God is still

working.

There's no

moment where

hope is lost,

when it's been

too long,

you've come

too many times

and it just

hasn't clicked

yet.

That's not

how it goes.

Even when it

doesn't feel

like it,

God has been

working to

bring you to

him.

Wherever you

are, if you've

been a believer

for a long

time, if you've

been a believer

for a week

or a day,

there was a

moment at which

you thought,

I don't know,

it doesn't make

sense.

And then God,

in his timing,

brought you to

him.

Maybe you've

heard about

Jesus before.

Maybe you've

sat in these

seats for weeks

and weeks

and weeks

and it hasn't

ever quite

sunk in.

it's never

made sense.

The reality

is today could

be the day

of harvest

for you.

Today could

be the day

where you

realize that

you've been

trying to

make sense

of the world

on your

own,

but you

need Jesus

to bring

the understanding

that only

he can give.

he's growing

the kingdom.

We don't

know how

and we

don't need

to.

But we do

know that

one day

the harvest

will come

and it

will be

massive.

And what

we see in

the final

parable here

in Mark

is that

this parable

of the

mustard seed

where Jesus

asks,

what shall

we say

then the

kingdom

is like?

He compares

it to a

mustard seed,

the smallest

of all the

seeds on

earth.

And yet

when planted

it grows

and becomes

the largest

of all

the garden

plants,

with branches

big enough

for birds

to perch

in its

shade.

The kingdom

of God,

once small,

is destined

to grow

into something

mighty.

The funny

thing is

at the time

that Jesus

spoke these

words,

there was

no established

church to

speak of.

He only

had a small

group of

followers.

This little

band of

followers,

and as

we know

looking back

because we

can read

it,

that it

would shrink

even further

and that

the crowds

that once

listened to

him,

they would

fall away.

Even the

disciples would

cower in

fear and

deny Jesus

even to a

little girl.

And all

of the

kingdom,

all of

God's

kingdom at

the moment

of the

cross is

literally

just one

man,

one man

called

Jesus,

hung on

the cross.

And at

that moment,

wouldn't it

be tempting

to think,

is this it?

Is this

the kingdom?

Is this

the kingdom

that you

promised

Jesus?

Is this

what it's

going to

be?

Maybe you

felt that

way.

You know,

if you

look around

this city

that we

live in,

if you

listen to

the news

that you

see every

day,

does it

look like

you that

the kingdom

is gloriously

expanding?

Here in

northwest

London,

where there

is the

lowest

proportion of

gospel

preaching

churches

in all

of London,

it's easy

to look

around the

room and

say,

well,

it's just

us.

This little

group of

people,

is this

it?

See,

from that

tiny mustard

seed,

the plant

will grow

until it

becomes the

largest of

all the

plants.

And the

growth,

it might

be

imperceptible.

For years

and years,

you can't

tell anything

is happening,

but it

is.

And we

can take

hope in

the knowledge

that the

kingdom

will

ultimately

prevail.

Jesus

says,

let me

tell you

something.

From what

seems like

the lowest

of all

moments,

from the

absolute

devastation

of hope

at my

own

death,

he says,

in three

days I

will rebuild

this temple.

The brilliant

glory of the

resurrection

will come,

and out of

this small

band of

followers,

is going

to come

a kingdom.

A kingdom

that will

spread from

the east

to the west,

from the

north to

the south,

and it

will transform

the world

as we

know it.

And beyond.

Because one

day,

every knee

will bow.

And one

day,

every tongue

will confess

that Jesus

is Lord.

And it

will be a

worldwide,

eternity-wide

kingdom.

kingdom.

And Jesus

says,

listen,

my kingdom

will come.

My will

will be

done on

earth as

it is in

heaven.

Amen?

I want to

be part of

that kingdom.

And the

beauty of

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ is

that we

can.

Because of

Jesus,

because this

Jesus came

into the

world as

the lamp

to bring

light and

understanding,

namely the

understanding

that we

could not

enter that

kingdom on

our own.

That there's

no way.

And that we

would need a

savior.

And in a

completely

unexpected,

unplanned,

something we

could not

fathom,

in this

crazy turn

of events,

the king

of this

kingdom

gives

himself

as the

sacrifice,

as the

payment,

as the

ticket to

open the

gates to

the city.

And to

let you

and let

me in.

And all

it takes

is a

little

faith.

Even

faith the

size of

a tiny

mustard

seed.

Mark

concludes

by stating

that Jesus

spoke in

many

parables.

And that

he spoke

the word

to them

as much

as they

could

understand,

and he

didn't

say anything

to them

without using

these

parables.

Right?

Interestingly,

despite the

stories and

the teachings

that you

read,

that Jesus

shared,

many,

including the

disciples,

didn't fully

understand at

the time.

They were

there with

him,

they heard it

from his

mouth,

but they

didn't

understand.

They

needed

Jesus to

explain the

parables to

them.

Just as we

need the

Spirit of

God to

open our

minds and

help us to

comprehend his

teachings.

And the

parables sort

of act like a

filter for the

crowds that

might follow

Jesus.

Right?

then and

now.

They would

be,

they would

blind,

the parables

would blind

the eyes of

those who

wouldn't

believe.

And they

would put

deep questions

in the hearts

of those who

would believe.

But Jesus

would explain

it to them.

And the

Spirit will

explain it to

you.

And the

question is,

will you

ever understand?

Yes,

we will

understand.

There will

be a day

when we can

look back

and we can

say,

God,

now I

understand

your plan.

Now I

understand what

you were

doing all

this time.

It all

makes sense

now.

When I was

going through

that challenge

and I

couldn't see

it because

I was stuck

in the

middle,

now it's

all been

made clear.

When I

couldn't make

sense of

that circumstance

that I found

myself in and

I didn't

understand what

you were

doing,

I needed

understanding and

now you've

opened my

eyes.

I

see how

you are

the lamp

and that

you're

bringing

light and

you don't

want your

light to

be hidden.

I believe

that you're

at work

even when

I can't

tell and

when I

can't see

the shoot

out of the

soil,

even if it

doesn't look

like it.

And that

your kingdom

grows without

your help,

without our

help,

without my

help.

I trust

that your

kingdom will

grow and

that in

time your

will will

ultimately be

done.

And that

your promises

will come

true.

And that

the sad

things of

this earth

and this

life will

come untrue.

So like

the man

who looks

at Jesus,

he says,

Lord,

I do

believe.

We do

believe.

Please help

our unbelief.

Shall we

pray?

Just quietly

take a moment

to pray

silently where

you are.

Ask the

Lord for

understanding

something that

he's put on

your heart

in this

moment.

And

you

Thank you.

For how you have sown the seeds to implant in our hearts that we might grow to know you.

Thank you for sending Jesus to be the lamp to illuminate our hearts and minds to reveal the true purposes of your kingdom.

We praise you.

That even when we can't see, we can't understand how you're working, that you never sleep nor slumber.

And that through it all you're working to bring the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

And God, we look forward to the kingdom of heaven.

That we might spend eternity with you and that our hope would be fully realized.

And we might spend our days bringing you glory and enjoying you forever.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.