Gardening, Growth, and the Kingdom of
God
Mark 4:26-34
Introduction: One of the pressing questions tied
to the Messianic hope of the Jews was the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom
(cf. Acts 1:3,6). Even after the resurrection the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel?” You might think, well that was an odd question! Shouldn’t
they have asked about missions or about the Master’s plan for discipleship or
something? But remember, for 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus was
appearing to them and teaching them, about what? About the Kingdom! God had promised David a son who would have
an eternal kingdom, and who would also be called the Son of God. In John
1, Andrew found his brother Peter and said, “We have found the Messiah!” (1:41). Later in that chapter,
Nathanael expresses his idea of what that means when he says to Jesus: “You are the Son of God! You are the King of
Israel!” (1:49). Messiah—Son of God—King.
Those titles were inseparable.
Mark, in his gospel,
would lead his readers to a proper understanding of the person and work of
Jesus. In part, he was correcting an inadequate messianic hope among the
people. Most of what we’ve seen so far in Mark can be fit under three
questions: 1) Who is Jesus, 2) Why did He come? And 3) What does it mean to
follow Him? His kingship, rightly understood,
will impact the answer to those questions. Much of Jesus’ “kingdom” teaching
was given in parables (4:26,30,33,34). These stories were a gracious invitation
to all who would hear: He who has ears to
hear, let him hear! They provoked thought and invited the hearers to
consider and to seek the message Jesus taught. And now that invitation goes to
us as well…
The Maine* Idea: Trust the King! His Word will
accomplish His work in His time.
I. Be Patient! Growth is normally slower than we
think. The first of this pair of
“kingdom parables” is the only parable that is unique to Mark, none of the
other gospels repeats it.
26 And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed
on the ground. 27 He sleeps
and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.
Here Jesus uses
some of the imagery of the famous parable of the Sower that we looked at in the
beginning of this chapter, but as we’ll see, the point is a little different. In
the “Sower and the Soils” there the emphasis was on the different “soils”
representing the different conditions of the hearts of people. Only in the
fertile “prepared” soil, did the seed take root, and grow and produce fruit. It
seems as though this parable reflects a bit more on that kind of sowing, i.e. what happens when the “seed” falls
on the prepared, fertile soil. His point
is that the Word will accomplish God’s purpose in God’s time in those hearts.
His Word will not return void, but will accomplish the purpose for which it is
sent. Read the first two verses: "The
kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground…”
The purposes of
God often develop slowly. He has a plan, and He is not in a hurry. The great
New England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his poise and quiet manner.
At times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability.
One day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. "What's the trouble, Mr. brooks?" he
asked. "The trouble is that
I'm in a hurry, but God isn't!" Haven't we felt the same way many
times? Have you ever prayed, “God, please, give me patience, NOW!”? Notice that
the man in Jesus’ parable sows the seed, and then goes about the business of
life, without stressing about the results, “He
sleeps and rises night and day…” Can’t hurry the process God has
ordained! One writer commented in the
devotional magazine Table Talk…
…this is not a call to passivity. As Paul notes in 1
Corinthians 3:6, some believers focus on planting seed (evangelism) and others
focus on watering (teaching and discipling); however, even in these activities,
God is the one who gives the growth.
Stay faithful (trust
and obey!), and be patient, trust
God, He is the Lord of the harvest! Some of the greatest missionaries faithfully
spread the seed of God's Word and yet had to wait long periods before seeing
the fruit of their efforts. William Carey, for example, labored 7 years before
the first Hindu convert was brought to Christ in Burma. Adoniram Judson toiled
7 years before He saw someone saved... In New Zealand, it took 9 years; and in
Tahiti, it was 16 years before the first harvest of souls began. What if they had given up? Well, God would
have found a way in His time to get the word to them, but they would have
missed the blessing of seeing the seed “sprouting” and new life beginning.
It is not wrong
to be watching and evaluating our service for the Lord. We need accountability
and encouragement to stay faithful. What would be wrong, is to be anxious about
the results coming more slowly than we would hope. Chuck Swindoll said, “True patience is waiting without worrying.” Think about it, could
it be that God is using “delay” to teach us something about trust? Commenting on our need for patience, M.H.
Lount has said,
"God's best gifts come slowly. We could not use
them if they did not. Many a man, called of God to...a work in which he is
pouring out his life, is convinced that the Lord means to bring his efforts to
a successful conclusion. Nevertheless, even such a confident worker grows
discouraged at times and worries because results do not come as rapidly as he
would desire. But growth and strength in waiting are results often greater than
the end so impatiently longed for. Paul had time to realize this as he lay in prison.
Moses must have asked, 'Why?' many times during the delays in Midian and in the
wilderness. Jesus Himself experienced the discipline of delay in His silent
years before His great public ministry began."
Even Jesus waited for the time set by the Father to reveal
himself publicly and to begin the journey that would including mentoring His
disciples, revealing himself to the multitudes, exposing the unbelief of the
Jewish leadership, and ultimately, reach a climax at Calvary. God wants us to see results as we work for
Him, but His first concern is our growth. That may be why He withholds success
until we have learned patience! What is
God trying to teach you? What is He trying to teach us as a church family? Be patient! Trust the King! God’s Word will
accomplish His work in His time.
II. Trust God! Growth is an organic process,
designed by God, it is not mechanical!
28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then
the full grain in the ear. 29
But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest
has come."
I see a lot of articles,
some of them containing a “to do” list: Five
steps to making your church grow. Really?
The text here emphasizes that the farmer does not in any way cause the growth of the seed. The
phrase, “…by itself…” translates a
single Greek word: automatos = “of itself, without visible cause.” That may sound familiar, it is
the Greek term from which we get the English word “automatic.” There is no
effort, and therefore no credit, that can go to the farmer. If you came in the back door here, behind the
platform, you may have noticed that some wildflowers are growing in a little framed
flower bed. Two or three years ago, I sowed some assorted “wild flower” seeds
in the bed. They grew that year, but since then, I did nothing. There was no
effort on my part, no tilling, no fertilizing, no watering… but behold, some
wild flowers have sprung up! Who did that? The old flowers must have gone to
seed, the seeds fell, and BAM… flowers!
There was no plan, no human effort, just the design that God had placed
in the DNA of the wildflowers… the circumstances allowed it, and there was
life! God said, “My Word will not return to me void, but will accomplish that for
which it is sent…” Do we really believe that? Then why are we so easily
discouraged? We need to trust God! I read a story one preacher told of a time
that he and his young son were out in the country, climbing around in some
cliffs…
…I heard a voice from above me yell, "Hey Dad!
Catch me!" I turned around to see Zac joyfully jumping off a rock straight
at me. He had jumped and then yelled "Hey Dad!" I became an instant
circus act, catching him. We both fell to the ground. For a moment after I
caught him I could hardly talk.
When I found my voice again I gasped in exasperation:
"Zac! Can you give me one good reason why you did that???"
He responded with remarkable calmness:
"Sure...because you're my Dad." His whole assurance was based in the
fact that his father was trustworthy. He could live life to the hilt because I
could be trusted. Isn't this even more true for a Christian? [Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, 46-47].
Do we trust our Father, even when we don’t see the “results”
we were hoping for? Be patient, you can trust Him! Have faith, because God’s
Word will accomplish His work in His time.
III. Have Faith! Don’t despise “small beginnings.”
30 And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what
parable shall we use for it? 31
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the
smallest of all the seeds on earth…
Think about the
context in which Jesus is speaking. He had a relatively small group of genuine
disciples, committed followers. Even those
that are closest to him would be put to the test when he is arrested! Even
after the cross and resurrection, in the light of the opposition that they
would face, how hard it must have been to have faith! The Jewish leaders had rejected Him. The
Roman oppressors had been complicit in His death. Against such opposition, against
Rome and Jerusalem, what could a handful of followers possibly hope
for? It is such a small beginning.
Like a tiny mustard seed. And think about this: as Mark is writing his
Gospel, maybe 20-30 years after the death of Jesus, the church was being
ruthlessly persecuted. It was such a small, unlikely beginning! Bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth? It
was enough of a challenge just to stay alive! How many times they must have
prayed, “How long O Lord?” Can we have
faith even when nothing seems to be happening, even when it seems the obstacles
are unsurmountable, the needs too great? Mary Ann has a little plaque in the
kitchen: Don’t tell God you have big problems, tell your problems you have a
big God!
Faith in God makes great optimists. Over in Burma,
Judson was lying in a foul jail with 32 lbs. of chains on his ankles, his feet
bound to a bamboo pole. A fellow prisoner said, "Dr. Judson, what about
the prospect of the conversion of the heathen?", with a sneer on his face.
His instant reply was, "The prospects are just as bright as the promises
of God."
That is faith! Believing God’s promises, even when we don’t
see the answer! “…Faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…”!
George Mueller is renowned as a great example
of faith and faithfulness. He made that point that our trials don’t catch God
by surprise, and that in fact He would use those times of testing to grow our
faith…
God delights to increase the faith of His children...I
say, and say it deliberately--trials, difficulties and sometimes defeat, are
the very food of faith...We should take them out of His hands as evidences of
His love and care for us in developing more and more that faith which He is
seeking to strengthen in us…
Do have a confident hope about the future? Trust the King!
God’s Word will accomplish His work in His time.
IV. Have Hope! The End of the Story is going to be
bigger and better than you think! The previous parable looked ahead to the harvest.
This too looks ahead…
32 …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."
This story
looks ahead, anticipating a conclusion that goes beyond what can be seen. It
calls us to a confident expectation in the future. Just a tiny mustard seed,
but God can grow it into something amazing!
“Hope” in the future motivates us
to perseverance and faithfulness in the present.
The school system in a large city had a program to
help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city's
hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine
call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and room
number and talked briefly with the child's regular class teacher. "We're
studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said,
"and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't
fall too far behind."
The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that
afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and
was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told
him, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and
adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn't accomplished much.
But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did
you do to that boy?" The teacher felt she must have done something wrong
and began to apologize. "No, no," said the nurse. "You don't
know what I mean. We've been worried about that little boy, but ever since
yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to
treatment. It's as though he's decided to live."
Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely
given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a
simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a
teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"
Homework gave him hope! No one is giving you “home work” today,
but do you believe that God has a plan, and that you are included in it? O.K., here’s
some homework: read His book, trust Him! Do you think He has a part for YOU to
fulfill in His program? We have passed through some trials. Our patience has
been stretched, and hopefully grown, along with faith-trust-and hope. This I know: Jesus is building His church… and
we have been entrusted with a mission… until Jesus comes or until He takes us
home, we are here for a purpose. Stay faithful, and…
What is God saying to me
in this passage? Trust
the King! God’s Word will accomplish His work in His time.
What would God have me
to do in response to this passage? The parable of the soils told us that we should keep on
sowing, we don’t know the condition of the hearts of people, only God does.
Some will receive the Word, believe, and bring forth fruit. These parables are
related, we should be encouraged as we sow, trusting that God is the Lord of
the harvest, having faith that He will bring the increase, that His Word will
accomplish the purpose for which it is sent. I like something Greg Laurie said,
about the church’s mission. He said, you may think…
…Let the preachers do this preaching stuff. I’m just
an ordinary person.” There are many people you can reach far more effectively.
You can reach them because they know you. They work with you. They live next to
you. You are able to speak to them like perhaps no other person could. God has
given you a group of people whom you can influence. God wants to use you right
where you are. It will start small, like a mustard seed, but take hope, the end
of the story is going to be greater than we can possibly imagine!
Sound
familiar? You have an oikos, an extended
“household.” God has put those people in your life, and you in theirs. Keep
sowing! Keep inviting! Keep sharing! Trust
God. His word will accomplish the purpose for which it is sent. AMEN!
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