Kingdom Growth

Good morning. It's good to have you all here.

I want to begin this morning by telling you the story of David and Svea Flood.

In 1921, they sailed to become missionaries in Central Africa.

They had great zeal for the Lord.

They desired to go beyond the safe mission compound

into the places that had not yet been reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

They were rejected by the village that they chose to go live near.

They could only talk to one boy who would come out and sell them chicken and eggs twice a week.

They suffered repeated attacks from malaria.

Their co-workers found it too hard and left.

Svea gave birth to a daughter, but weakened by her childbirth and malaria, she died.

David despaired, returned to the mission compound,

handed his daughter over to other missionaries saying,

I'm going back to Sweden.

I've lost my wife.

I obviously can't take care of this baby.

God has ruined my life.

He looked at his life, his hopes, his dreams of the kingdom of God.

Dashed.

And he turned his back on God, a bitter man.

Have you ever felt that disappointment?

Have you ever wondered,

God's kingdom doesn't look the way I think it should?

We feel this way on a global level today, don't we?

We look, we read the news, we hear of war and famine.

We hear of violence and sex trafficking and misogyny and factional strife across the globe.

And we think, God's kingdom?

It's hard to see.

We here in the West have a particular flavor of this

because the idea of a Christianized West advancing

no longer seems to be true.

Now, we need to be careful of this narrative

because as a historian, I studied American history 200 years ago

and America was not necessarily super more Christian than it was today in some ways.

And yet, there is a truth that broadly,

our culture was more shaped by values that come from a Christian worldview.

And yet, today we live in Connecticut

where 3% of the population will attend church regularly.

And it's true that we live in a culture

where the values that have often been shared

between the church and a society are changing.

Some may be improving,

but others are not.

And in the midst of this, we may be afraid.

Where is God's kingdom?

Is it losing?

Maybe you've experienced personal disappointment.

Maybe you grew up with a lot of zeal with David Flood

but have suffered hardships.

You've come to faith out of a hard life,

expecting relief,

and you found that following Christ has not insulated you

from the trials and sufferings.

Perhaps you're here this morning exploring Christianity,

wondering,

what is it that God has to offer in His kingdom?

Where is the kingdom of God?

What can I expect of it?

It's a question, you know,

that the people in the first century,

particularly the Jewish people in the first century,

the nation of Israel asked,

as they lived under Roman rule,

as they lived a disenfranchised state,

as they wondered,

where is God's kingdom here?

They had known the kingdom of David and Solomon in the past,

its greatness, its glory,

the temple,

the palace,

the army,

everything.

And much of that was gone.

Yet there were still those in the first century

who expected the kingdom of God to come

immediately, impressively,

visibly,

with political change,

overthrowing Rome,

and restoring the glory of a nation Israel.

It was in that context that Jesus came

and ministered to us.

And it's in that context that our passage this morning happens.

We're continuing in our surf,

in our walking through the gospel of Mark.

This is actually our second to last one before Advent.

Goodness gracious.

So this is,

we're almost gonna,

we're gonna take a break after next week.

But we're in Mark chapter four in the Pew Bibles.

It's page 788.

If you wanna turn there with me.

And as you turn there,

what we're gonna see is two parables.

Two parables that Jesus tells about the kingdom of God

that answer some of the questions

that we've raised this morning

about what is the kingdom of God like.

So Mark chapter four,

we're gonna read verses 26 through 34.

If you're there with me,

let's go ahead and read it.

It'll be on the screen behind me as well.

Let's go ahead and read these passages.

This passage together,

these two parables,

and then we'll explore it for a few minutes.

And he, that is Jesus.

And he said,

the kingdom of God

is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

He sleeps and rises night and day,

and the seed sprouts and grows.

He knows not how.

The earth produces by itself

first the blade,

then the ear,

then the full grain in the ear.

But when the grain is ripe,

at once he puts in the sickle

because the harvest has come.

And he said,

with what can we compare the kingdom of God?

Or what parables shall we use for it?

It is like a grain of mustard seed,

which when sown in the ground

is the smallest of all the seeds on earth.

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.

And with many such parables,

he spoke the word to them

as they were able to hear it.

He did not speak to them without a parable,

but privately to his own disciples.

He explained everything.

Let's pray together.

God, we ask for your help this morning

that we would understand this word.

Lord, thank you for preserving it for us.

And we pray that by your spirit,

you would give us ears to hear

and hearts to receive your word.

Lord, help me that I would speak as I ought.

And Lord, help us to sit under your word this morning,

we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

In this passage, there are two parables.

They're the centerpiece of it

that describe what the kingdom of God is like.

And at the end, we see themes

that we're not gonna spend a lot of time talking about

because it's what we've seen already in Mark.

It said, Jesus is speaking parables

as a way to speak to both the crowds

and disciples at the same time.

And privately, he would explain them to the disciples,

but publicly, he would speak in parables

as a way of calling their attention to,

calling them to pay attention to his words

and sifting out whether their hearts

were really in a place to receive his word

or whether they were in fact sitting in judgment of him

or other things, which we've seen as this,

we've seen that the different people in the crowds

are responding differently to Jesus' teachings.

But he uses parables in a particular way

to put forth truth, but in a way that

for those who have ears, let them hear,

is the phrase that he uses.

And so we're gonna just spend our time today

looking at these two parables that answer the question,

what is the kingdom of God like?

And in the first parable in verses 26 through 29,

we see that the kingdom of God

is a sure and certain reality.

Now, this is the second of three agricultural parables.

Pastor Nick preached last week on the parable of the sower,

which is a longer parable.

And this parable, verses 26 through 29,

is actually the only parable unique to Mark.

All the other parables were recorded as well

in the other synoptic gospels, but not this one.

So that, it is what it is.

So something for you to chew on.

As we look at it, the point of the parable is this.

As the man sows the seed, it grows.

Certainly and surely.

Right?

He goes out, according to the parable,

he goes out and he sows the seed.

And then, as you see, he sleeps and rises day and night,

and the seed sprouts and grows.

He knows not how.

This is not a picture of careful cultivation.

He's not going every day and doing things

to help this growth.

He just says, the time passes and growth happens.

In fact, if you look at verse 28,

it says, the earth produces by itself.

This is, the earth produces automatically,

is the English version of the Greek word there.

On its own, it does this.

And this is a remarkable thing.

Right?

The kingdom of God advances on its own without our help.

And as it happens, it produces,

it progresses towards its desired goal.

Right?

Verse 28 says that it starts with,

first the blade, then the kernel,

and then the full ear of corn.

This is the picture that we're getting from Jesus.

And so, it not only acts automatically,

but it acts towards its purpose,

towards its end goal.

And Jesus is saying,

this is what the kingdom of God is like.

The kingdom of God is a sure and certain thing.

The seed that is sown is most likely the word of the gospel.

This is what we see back in verse 14 of chapter 4,

as Jesus is telling his first parable about the seed.

We need to be careful.

You don't always steal from one parable

to find meaning in another.

But it seems like it's a pretty reasonable,

that the seed is the word of God being proclaimed,

being spoken of in the nation of Palestine.

And so, it reminds you, if you were,

it reminds us of Isaiah 55

and what God says there about his word being spoken.

Isaiah 55 10 says,

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return, but there water the earth,

do not return there, but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.

It shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

The kingdom of God is a sure and certain thing

because God is going to bring about

what he is going to bring about.

It is, after all, his kingdom.

It is the kingdom of God,

not the kingdom of men,

not even the kingdom of the church,

but it is the kingdom of God

that Jesus is talking to.

And he is reminding us that the kingdom of God

is inevitable.

Why is this good news for us?

Well, because I think that we often

struggle with fear.

We are afraid that God's kingdom

isn't really going to happen.

Certainly not without our help.

Now look, we need to not overstate this

because Christians are called to faithful labor.

We are called to spend our lives,

to pour it out,

to serve God in every way that we can,

the way that God has enabled us

and gifted us and planted us

in different places to serve him.

We are called to do that

and to sow the word of the gospel

wherever we are is a calling that we have.

But we are not called to produce the fruit.

We are simply called to sow the seed

and God will make it happen.

You don't have to make the kingdom of God happen.

It is not up to you.

And this is good news when we're afraid

because when we're afraid that it's up to us,

it does all sorts of things to us.

We're going to come back to that in a minute.

Let's look at some other places in Scripture

where we're reminded that this is true.

The Apostle Paul, the great church planter,

the one who did all the work in establishing the church,

it seems like, in the book of Acts.

And yet in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 6,

1 Corinthians 3:6

what does he say?

He says,

I planted, Apollos watered,

but God gave the growth.

So neither he who plants

nor he who waters is anything,

but only God who gives the growth.

So we're reminded that what we're doing

even here in church

is not building our own little kingdoms.

I'm of Paul.

I'm of Apollos.

That's what was happening in Corinth

was conflict as personalities,

human actors in God's kingdom

were claiming some kind of lordship

or factional rule.

And Paul said,

no, it's not like that at all

because none of us can do

the thing that we most want to see happen.

We want to see God's kingdom happen,

but we can't do that.

Only God can cause the growth.

And what great news that is

because it means it's not up to us.

We can preach the gospel with freedom,

with joy, with abandon.

We can live with anticipation

that God is at work in the world

and that God is going to do

what he wants to do

in this season,

in our lifetime,

and throughout the scope of history.

But we know that this has a progression

and an end

because the seed sown

will produce fruit.

And God said,

the kingdom of God is inevitable.

It will happen

and it will be brought about

in the end.

And this is good news for us

globally, organizationally,

as a church.

It's also good news for us personally.

So the Apostle Paul

reminds the Philippians of this

in Philippians 1, 6.

I am sure of this,

that he who began a good work in you

will bring it to completion

in the day of Christ Jesus.

Maybe you fear

that the kingdom of God

is not going to happen in you

in this lifetime.

That somehow it's up to you

to get yourself over the hump.

That somehow it's up to you

to get through the trial

or the hardship that you're facing.

Paul reminds us that

it's God

who has taken hold of you.

God who has planted

the seed of the gospel

in your heart.

And he will bring it to completion

on the day of Christ Jesus.

And what great comfort that is.

Friends, when we don't have this comfort,

when we don't have this confidence

that the kingdom of God

is sure and certain,

both out there and in here,

we often live in fear.

And do you know what happens

when we live in fear?

We grasp.

We grasp for power.

We grasp for control.

We try to force things to happen.

We become desperate

because we think it's up to us.

And when we don't see things happening

on our time frame in art,

we then think,

well, the kingdom of God's not enough

and God's not enough

and I have to make this.

So I'm going to go out into the world

and find what works

and I'm going to put all my trust

in those things

because God isn't doing.

We end up relying on ourselves

and our techniques

and our strategies

rather than looking to God

to build his kingdom.

And I think Jesus knows this

because I think that's why

he goes to his second parable.

If the first parable

is about the certainty

and surety of God's kingdom,

the second one is about

the surprising nature

of God's kingdom.

It is surprising

because it is small in appearance

and great in impact.

So he uses this image

of a mustard seed.

This is verses 30 through 32.

He uses a mustard seed.

Okay, for those of you

who are technical,

it's not the smallest seed

in the world.

Oregano seeds are much smaller.

But they're like

one to two millimeters wide

and there are 15,000 seeds

in an ounce of mustard seed.

Okay, so just,

it's really small.

And just like today

in the first century,

it was proverbially

the smallest thing around.

Okay?

And so Jesus is using

a first century image

that would have been known well

to say this is the smallest thing

in the world.

And yet it is planted.

And the contrast is

that this smallest seed

produces the largest bush.

Right?

Oregano plants don't grow

to 10 feet.

But mustard trees,

bushes, do.

I guess,

in the Middle East at least.

They grow to 10 feet tall.

Right?

And so Jesus is using

this well-known imagery

to make this contrast

between the smallness,

the seemingly insignificance

of this little thing

and the greatness

of what it produces.

Jesus says,

this is what the kingdom

of God is like.

It starts small.

It starts insignificantly.

And yet it grows

into this great bush.

This bush that recalls

the imagery from Ezekiel 31

that we read earlier

that is large enough

to welcome not just a bird

but many birds to come

and nest in its branches

and find shelter.

The kingdom of God

that starts so small

is going to be so big

that it's going to welcome

many comers

from the outside.

This is, of course,

the model of the church

that God uses seemingly

in the eyes of the world

insignificant things

to accomplish great things

for Him.

So again,

in 1 Corinthians,

we're reminded,

Paul writes this,

God chose what is foolish

in the world

to shame the wise.

God chose what is weak

in the world

to shame the strong.

God chose what is low

and despised in the world

even things that are not

to bring to nothing

things that are

so that no human being

might boast

in the presence of God.

And because of Him,

you are in Christ Jesus

who became to us

wisdom from God,

righteousness,

sanctification,

and redemption

so that,

as it is written,

let the one who boasts

boast in the Lord.

God chooses the insignificant

things of the world

and even the things

that are not

to shame the things

that are

so that we might see

that the kingdom of God

comes

by the work of God.

Right?

And again,

we may think,

we may think

that we need

the slickest programs

or the biggest bank account.

We may think

that we need

the most cultural power

or political control.

We may think

that we need

the most impressive people

that we can collect

for the kingdom of God

to come about.

But Jesus reminds us

in this parable

that for the kingdom

of God to flourish,

it needs only

a mustard seed.

Something small

and insignificant.

something that

has no wisdom

in the eyes

of the philosophers,

has no power

in the eyes

of the miracle workers.

But as he said

in 1 Corinthians,

Jesus Christ crucified

is the wisdom of God

and the power of God.

For friends,

this is the very heart

of the gospel

that we've believed in.

That Jesus,

who though he could

claim all glory,

made himself

insignificant.

insignificant.

He took on human form.

He was born

as a baby

in mean estate,

as the hymn says,

right?

Wrapped in swaddling clothes

and laid in a manger.

He ministered

in obscurity.

He didn't create

an institution.

He didn't write a book.

He left a band

of scared,

scattered followers.

believers.

And he died

in social disgrace.

There is no reason

to think

in the annals

of history

that Jesus

would be anything else.

And for those of us

who are in the church

and see the world

through the history

of church,

it's kind of hard

to believe.

But all you have to do

is go over

to one of those institutions

right around the corner

who's going to teach history

where it's not a big deal.

The church

is not a big deal.

It is insignificant

insignificant in the world

in what is,

in how the world

has progressed

and where we are now

and where we are going.

But God raised

this insignificant one

from the dead.

And the kingdom foes

of sin and death

were defeated

and the sentence

against evil

was rendered

and good had conquered.

And Jesus is the place

where we know

that the kingdom of God

has conquered

and it is certain

and it is sure.

Because he has risen

from the dead,

we know this is happening.

And we know

that it will be

one day

finally accomplished.

When he returns,

he will bring

the fullness

of his kingdom

and we will see it

in all of its glory.

And it will be

a beautiful thing.

So the kingdom of God

begins in insignificance.

And it grows.

And one day

we will see its glory.

And we see this

in some ways.

Because that mustard seed

that has become a plant

is now,

if this refers

to the church

and the growth

of the church

in this age

as we're waiting

for the fullness

of the kingdom,

if the church

is the primary expression

of the kingdom of God,

there are birds

from every tribe

and tongue

and nation

coming

to find rest

and comfort

in the shelter

of the gospel

and the good news

about Jesus Christ

in the church

all over the world.

And friends,

we might even be

so bold as to say

we can see it

here at Trinity.

This church

that was not a church

50 years ago

and 30 years ago

was a small

and struggling church.

And yet God

has seen fit

as the seed

has been sown

to continue

to build it

for the good

of many

who are a part

of this.

And look,

churches aren't

the kingdom of God.

Individual churches,

churches sometimes

grow and then die.

But the church

universal

has continued

to grow

and advance.

Not perfectly,

but has continued

to grow.

Friends,

this is what

David Flood

found out

as well.

the boy

who sold them

chicken and eggs,

he heard the gospel.

After the floods

left,

he went to his village

and he shared

with them

the message

that he'd heard

from these strangers

who had come

to live near them

for a short period

of time.

And that daughter

was adopted

by other missionaries,

raised,

one day found out

what had happened

to her birth parents,

to her birth mother.

She tracked down

what happened

to this boy

and she found out

that that boy

had gone back

and the village

had believed

and he was now,

she met him

at a conference

where he was now

the national head

of a Christian

Sunday school program

that had over

110,000 people

in it.

She tracked down

her dad.

She said,

dad,

God's been good

to us.

And he said,

no,

he's not.

He's ruined

our lives.

And she told him

the story

and God redeemed him

and that day

he repented

of his bitterness

because he got

a taste

of the certainty

of what Jesus

wants us to know

that the kingdom

of God,

though small

and insignificant,

is certain

and it is sure

and we can bank

on it

and we can spend

our lives

trusting in it

and looking for it

because of the gospel.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we thank you

for this word.

Lord,

we pray this morning

that you would help us

to not be afraid

but to have faith,

to trust in you

and in this word

that,

Lord,

the kingdom

that you have begun,

Lord,

you will bring

to fruition.

Lord,

we pray

that you would help us

to have this hope.

Lord,

in the midst

of the trials

that we face

and the discouragements

that we feel,

Lord,

to know that your kingdom

is certain.

Lord,

gives us great strength

to persevere.

May it be true in us,

we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.