September 8, 2024 • 36 mins
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What if understanding Jesus' parables could change the way you see your own spiritual journey? Join us as we unravel the profound teachings of Jesus from Mark 4:21-33, delving into the transformative power of his parables. We'll contrast the eager yet shallow crowds with the unyielding hearts of the religious leaders, and explore how these stories reveal deeper spiritual truths to his disciples. From the assured victory of God's Kingdom in Revelation 11:15 and Daniel 2, we remind ourselves of the ultimate triumph that awaits, even in the face of today's darkness and challenges.
We'll also discuss how to live as beacons of light in a seemingly crooked generation, inspired by the writings in Philippians and Mark. Reflecting on Paul's call for believers to be blameless and harmless, we emphasize the importance of being discerning in what we hear and ensuring our hearts are open to God's word. Through the parable of the mustard seed, we'll illustrate how even the smallest acts of faith can contribute to the exponential growth of God's Kingdom. Join us in this episode as we encourage you to remain faithful, let your light shine, and trust God with the outcomes, no matter how small your efforts might seem.
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
Mark, chapter 4, verse 21.
Alright, so just a few chaptersinto this account of the life
of Jesus.
We see that Jesus has seen thecurrent situation ministering to
(00:37):
a crowd that was very excitedto see the miracles, very
excited to see the miracles,very excited to see him work,
but had very little root intheir hearts, no depth, kind of
like that soil we talked about,no depth of earth, and they
sprouted up in excitement.
(00:58):
But Jesus knows their heartsare just there for what they can
get right.
There's also that side ofpeople, the religious leaders we
would say, who are skeptical,who have gotten into the habit
of saying well, he casts outdemons, but it's by the prince
of demons, everything he does isby the devil, and their hearts
(01:21):
are getting harder and harderand harder.
So Jesus, for a time here,turns to his disciples to teach
them and instruct them.
He begins to speak in this formof teaching called parables.
They're earthly illustrationsof a heavenly truth and this is
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how he teaches his disciples fora time.
We'll start in verse 21, butskip over to verse 33.
And we see this With many suchparables, jesus spoke the word
to them, his disciples, as theywere able to hear it Without a
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parable, he did not speak tothem.
So here Jesus is kind ofzeroing in on parables when
they're alone.
Jesus explains them in detail.
Now he did that with theparable of the sower.
(02:26):
We studied it for almost amonth.
The parable of the sower, a verywell-explained parable by Jesus
.
The soil a picture of our heart.
The seed a picture of God'sword.
So we find in that parable, thefirst part of chapter four,
that our heart determines whatGod's word will do in our lives.
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If our heart is good, softground, uncluttered by the cares
of this world and those kindsof weeds, god's word will spring
up and produce fruit in ourlife.
If we're overcome by the caresof this world and things like
that, it can hurt what God wantsto do.
So Jesus has just got doneexplaining that and we studied
(03:12):
it for quite a while.
But Jesus is going to go on tospeak to his disciples there in
verse 21, of a couple things Ihave a couple things the truth
of the kingdom He'll compare itto light, he'll compare it again
to seeds, and then the kingdomof God itself.
(03:36):
That's really what these nextcouple parables are about the
kingdom of God and the truth ofthe kingdom of God.
So what is the kingdom of Godand the truth of the kingdom of
God.
So what is the kingdom of God?
Something we don't always thinkabout.
The kingdom of God is at hand,john would say.
Jesus would say what is thekingdom of God?
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Well, we'll start at the end ofthe story.
In the book of Revelation we'retold that in the end of the
story the kingdom of Godprevails there.
In Revelation, chapter 11,we'll get to Mark, chapter 4,
but Revelation, chapter 11, ifyou want to hold your place here
, you can and turn to Revelation11, verse 15.
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John sees heaven, he getstransported in the spirit.
It seems to heaven, and inRevelation, chapter 11, verse 15
says this then the seventhangel sounded a trumpet and
there were loud voices in heavensaying the kingdoms of this
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world have become the kingdomsof our Lord and of his Christ,
and he shall reign forever andever.
An encouraging line here aboutthe kingdom of God.
Handel, all you classical musicpeople, right, I'm sure there's
one in here somewhere Handeland his Messiah uses this word
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for word the kingdoms of thisworld have become a kingdom,
hallelujah.
It's all there in that song,right, and he shall reign
forever and ever.
There's a spot and I sang it inhigh school, by the way and
this is the end of the story forus that God's kingdom is
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established on earth, that Godreigns forever and ever, and
that's the end of the story.
Well, daniel, chapter two.
We see it a little differently.
Daniel has this dream.
Nebuchadnezzar the king, has adream, and Daniel interprets it
right.
It's a dream of these statues.
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This one statue with gold andsilver and bronze and iron,
represents the empires of theworld and that, as time goes on,
different empires come and ruleand reign.
God tells Nebuchadnezzar thisNow check it out.
The punchline of that dream isthe most amazing part, and you
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can picture it.
Here's this statue the empiresof this world, glittering and
gold and all these things.
And then this rock comes, thisboulder comes flying through the
sky and hits this statue WorldEmpires on its feet.
The statue crumbles and thisrock begins to grow.
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Picture it the rock Grows,that's the sound it makes and it
grows and it begins to coverthe whole earth.
A mountain that never stops,that never goes away.
That's God's kingdom.
Jesus will come as king.
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That rock hit the empires ofthis world on the feet and
they'll crumble and God'skingdom will engulf the whole
world.
That's the end of the story forus.
The kingdom of God becomes theworld's kingdom and it lasts
forever.
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Now this is how the story willend.
There's no doubt about it.
This is from eternity.
It's already accomplished inone way God's kingdom will
prevail.
But we don't about it.
This is from eternity.
It's already accomplished inone way God's kingdom will
prevail.
But we don't see it yet.
As we look at this idea ofGod's kingdom, we don't see it
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yet.
We look around our world and wesee darkness, we see evil and
it feels like darkness getsstronger and stronger.
Crimes get more and moredemented and more and more
common.
Evil fills this world, hurtsand all sorts of stuff.
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And we look at this world andthe kingdom of darkness seems
like it's getting stronger.
But that's not the end of thestory and that's what we see
here.
It's not darkness that prevails, but light.
(08:35):
Now we look at Mark, chapter 4,verse 21.
Verse 21.
That it should come to light.
If anyone has ears to hear, lethim hear.
Then he said to them take heed,what you hear.
With the same measure you use,it will be measured to you, and
to you who hear, more will begiven.
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For whoever has to him, morewill be given.
But whoever does not have, evenwhat he has will be taken away
from him.
So picture a dark room.
It's dark and then you turn onthe light.
We get it right.
That's what Jesus is talkingabout here A light, a lamp,
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brought into a dark room, and weunderstand it.
It does its job.
In this first parable, darknesscan be a problem, right,
traveling this last couple weekstraveling, there's always that
first night isn't there.
Does anyone else have thisproblem the first night?
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You know you're used to yourroom, you're used to where
things are, the door, you seemaybe the light of the
nightlight under the door.
You know you see the light fromthe window on one side of the
bed.
And you wake up that firstnight and it's always just so
confusing.
You know you have thatconversation with yourself when
am I?
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How did I get here?
You know, and you know how do Iget around and the darkness is
pretty confusing, right, youwalk around with your phone out
or whatever it is and you try tofind your way.
There's confusion.
You might face plant on yourway to the bathroom there in the
middle of the night.
It happens.
Light does a lot of good for usin beating the confusion of
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darkness, finding our waysaround.
That's obvious.
It's an obvious story here.
So light in the ancient world,light in the middle of the night
, was a luxury.
And we got this from a souvenirshop in Israel.
This is what Jesus is talkingabout.
I don't know if you can see it.
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It's a lamp, right, it's alittle, you know, clay lamp.
Actually there's a wick insideof it and you know, you fill it
with oil and you have the wickand it lights up the room.
But check it out, it was aluxury.
What did you do in those dayswhen it got dark?
You went to sleep.
That's pretty much what you did, unless you sat by the fire.
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You didn't burn oil everysingle night, you didn't stay up
and, you know, push thedarkness out.
You would just kind of livewith it.
But a light was a luxury.
Light costs money, and so Jesushere says if you had a lamp, you
wouldn't hide it under a basketor a bowl.
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Right, that's not what you do.
It wouldn't be safe to hide alight under a basket anyways, or
under your bed.
But Jesus says if you had thatluxury of a lamp, you'd put it
on a lamp stand, something madeto actually bring the light up.
It's like when the lights goout, the power goes out, right,
you get your little mag lightflashlight and, if you're like
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me, you hang it from thechandelier or something.
You bring it up, you put it ina room with a mirror to kind of
get the most out of light thatyou can and you huddle around
that flashlight and you enjoylife, you know, but you make the
best of it.
A lamp stand was meant to bringit up, to make the best of the
lamp.
You want to use every bit ofthat oil for good.
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And so Jesus, here, speaking ofthis kingdom of darkness, says
you don't take a light in thedarkness and hide it.
You put it where it can be seenand where it can be used.
So what is the light here?
A picture of?
Well, check it out.
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Light is the truth of thekingdom.
That would be an easy one toget out of this.
Because, right, the psalmistthere, david, in Psalm 119, 105,
says your word is a lamp to myfeet and a light to my path.
God's word shows us where to go.
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Psalm 43.3 says oh, send outyour light and your truth and
let them lead me, let them bringme to your holy hill and to
your tabernacle.
So God's word, god's truth, islight to us.
It shows us where to go in life.
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That's good, that's a strongpicture of God's word, the truth
of the kingdom, and we have itin front of us, useful for life,
every bit of our life.
Now interesting, come back forsome Greek here.
I know you're excited.
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Notice, in verse 21 it says Is alamp brought to be put under a
basket or under a bed?
Is a lamp brought?
Now, this is actually kind ofunfortunate because that's not
really what it says.
Is a light a lamp brought?
In the Greek it would actuallybe the light comes.
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Does a light come to be putunder a basket or under a bed?
And we have trouble with thatbecause light doesn't bring
itself into any room.
You know, unless you're thePixar, you know lamp that
bounces in and you know that'skind of the picture we're
getting here.
It is a light come into a roomjust to be hit.
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And so in this we see a greatpicture of Jesus, the light, who
wasn't brought into the worldbut came into the world.
John talks about this a lot inhis books John 1, verse 6,.
Listen to this.
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There was a man sent from Godwhose name was John.
This man came for a witness, tobear witness to the light that
all through him might believe.
Now, john was not that light,but he was sent to bear witness
to the light.
That was a true light whichgives light to every man coming
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into the world.
The light was Jesus.
In fact, in John, chapter eight,jesus says it very clearly I am
the light of the world.
So Jesus is the light we couldsee here that comes into the
room, into the darkness, intoour dark world.
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But Jesus also said in Matthew,chapter five for the light of
the world, disciples, a citythat is set on a hill cannot be
hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp andput it under a basket, but on a
lampstand it gives light to allwho are in the house.
Let your light so shine beforemen that they may see your good
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works and glorify your father inheaven.
So God's word is like a light.
We understand that, a lamp intoour feet and a light into our
past.
Jesus is the only light whocomes into this world, this dark
world to save us.
But Jesus then sends us out andsays you are the light of the
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world, and so the picture iskind of threefold.
We could look at this in a lotof different ways, but it's also
our responsibility to be light.
Let's turn to Philippians,chapter 2.
Get those fingers going.
Philippians, chapter 2, verse14.
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Philippians 2, 14.
Paul says this Do all thingswithout complaining and
disputing, and that would beenough for us to take for today.
Right, you know, if you wantsome application for your life,
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do all things withoutcomplaining or disputing.
Man, I worked my whole life onthat.
Can I do it without complaining?
Paul says that's the way itought to be.
Why Verse 15,?
That you may become blamelessand harmless children of God,
without fault, in the midst ofthis crooked and perverse
generation among whom you shineas lights in the world.
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So Paul here lets us know it'sa crooked and perverse
generation.
That sounds right, doesn't it?
And we, by the things that wedo and the attitudes, that we
have become like lights in thiscrooked and perverse generation
that we want to shine.
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As Jesus said, you're the lightof the world.
Shine as light in this world.
So we're called to be like thislamp in a dark room.
Representatives of Jesuspointing to him were light
bearers in this dark world.
Now let's go back to Mark,chapter 4.
That light isn't meant to behid, it's meant to be used.
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Look at verse 24.
He said to them take heed whatyou hear.
But the same measure you usewill be measured to you, and to
you who hear, more will be given.
So first thing Jesus says hereis take heed to what you hear.
This is important for usbecause there's lots of things
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that we can hear in this world.
Right, you just look at theworld in general and the
attitudes and the things thatpeople live for.
Just commercialism, right, wegot to be careful what we hear.
But even in the church I'll sayit about myself just be careful
what you hear, be critical ofwhat you hear and what you take
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in, because even in the church,some attitudes are encouraged.
Greed is actually encouraged.
Self-esteem right, esteemingourselves is actually encouraged
.
Pride could be encouraged.
You know that the whole reasonI'm here is to get, get, get you
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know.
Prosperity, health and wealth,all these things.
There's a lot of lies that justkind of float out, even in our
churches.
Compare it to God's word, eventhe things I say.
Please compare it to God's word.
Be careful of what you hear.
But in Matthew and Luke theword is be careful how you hear
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is what Jesus also says here Becareful how you hear.
And that takes us back to theparable of the sower right.
Be careful of how you receiveGod's word, because what your
heart is like will determine howGod's word will grow in your
life.
So watch out for your heart inyour life.
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So watch out for your heart.
Why he says here the measureyou use it will be measured to
you.
So this is interesting how youuse God's word will determine
what you get from God's word.
God's word is meant to be used.
Believe it, but don't just takeit in and believe it.
Let your life be based on whatGod has to say.
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Now come back for a second anddon't miss that.
We're actually called to useand live what God tells us.
God says he wants truth from usIn our inward heart.
He wants truth.
Lying is not something thatshould be part of a believer's
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life.
I bring that one upspecifically because in our
world we're okay with, we expectpeople to lie In this political
season, we expect to have factchecking.
But we're not that upset whenpeople lie to us because
everybody lies.
But that's not what God hasmade you for.
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God has made you for truth.
Please take that to heart inyour world.
God has made you for truth, notfor lies.
Live it out Now, check it out.
As you live out God's word andyou put it in practice in your
life, god will bring more truthinto your heart.
And it's that kind of thing inmy life.
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It's like I can tell you know,there are things, attitudes,
that God works on for years andis still working on in my heart
constantly.
But you know it's like he workson that and then a little later
in our life he's working onsome other part of our character
and our attitudes.
So the more you use it, themore you'll get.
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Use God's word, share God'sword.
That's the other thing.
We're actually here to shareGod's truth with others.
I have a hard time with thatone.
It's super easy for me to talkto you about these things.
It's a little harder for mejust to talk to somebody I meet,
you know, down at auto.
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You know at the auto dealer,you know, get my car fixed or
something.
It's a little harder for me toshare truth there.
But when you look at thispicture, jesus says you're a
light, don't let your light beunder a basket.
You're not just, you know,anonymously, a Christian, you
know a secret Christian.
You know we're meant to belight in this dark world, and
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who knows how God wants to useit?
But he does want to use it.
So Jesus gives them thiskingdom truth.
It's a dark world, it's akingdom of darkness, but you're
a light.
Shine as a light in this world.
Look at verse 26, though we'removing on, and he said the
kingdom of God.
That kingdom of God is as if aman should scatter seed on the
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ground.
So we're back to seed and sleepby night and rise by day, and
the seed should sprout and grow.
He himself does not know how,for the earth yields crops by
itself First the blade, then thehead, after that the full grain
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in the head.
So we're talking about seeds,again, plants, and Jesus brings
up an interesting thing here theprocess of a seed growing.
It's kind of mysterious, I mean, it is kind of amazing when you
really look at it.
You know you take a seed andyou know you put it in the
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ground and you water it and itjust begins to grow.
It shoots out a little stem asJesus gives us the whole process
here, you know and that startsto grow and just come out of the
ground and you know, before youknow it.
You just come out of the groundand you know, before you know
it, you have a tree with fruitand all these kinds of things.
But you think about how amazingthat is.
I mean science, yeah, sure, weuse photosynthesis and all these
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kinds of words to explain whatgoes on, but it's this little
factory, you know this littlefruit producing factory in a
seed, and it grows and you canwater it and you can put it in
good ground, you can make sureit has lots of sunlight, but you
really can't make it grow.
Even today, we can't make itgrow.
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You know, this mystery of aplant growing is something that
only God can do, and that's agood word for us here.
It's a good word for us totrust God with the results.
This is a picture of evangelismyou could say right, if the
seed is God's word, then we'reout there scattering God's word.
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That's what you're made for,that's what your life is for
Just giving out God's truth.
You can give out God's truth,but you can't make it grow.
Right Now, check this out.
Study it up.
Know what you believe.
Know why Maybe you want to getsome apologetics.
You know a reason for why youbelieve what you believe.
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Be able to defend it.
Have some facts behind it.
Now check it out.
You can do all of that.
You can know the word.
You can have a reason for whatyou believe.
That's good, but you absolutelycan't make it grow in someone's
heart.
We take a lot of responsibilityon ourselves concerning our
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family and our friends.
Oh, if only I could just saythe right word, then they'll
believe.
Probably not, because it'sdeeper than that.
Only God can make it grow.
Let's turn really quickly hereto 1 Corinthians, chapter 3.
To 1 Corinthians, chapter 3.
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1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse5.
1 Corinthians 3, verse 5.
So Paul was having someproblems there in Corinth.
People were taking sides.
People were big fans of Pauland other people were big fans
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of a guy named Apollos who wasvery classy in the way he put
the word out.
He was a great teacher andthere was teams.
You know people had theirt-shirts on.
You know, I'm of Paul, I'm ofApollos, and they were choosing
their favorites for real Verse 5.
But then Paul says this who then?
Well, look at Paul, says inverse 4.
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For when one says I'm of Pauland another I'm of Apollos, you
got your t-shirt, are you notcarnal?
You guys are so fleshly?
Verse 5.
Who then is Paul and who isApollos?
But ministers through whom youhave believed, as the Lord gave
each one.
Now check it out.
He gives us a picture.
In verse six I planted there'sthe seed, right.
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I planted.
Apollos watered, but God gavethe increase.
That's really important for usto have in our heads.
When we share the word, we canplant God's word.
That's what we're supposed todo Give out words about God's
love.
God so loved the world.
Just take that simple verse.
God so loved the world that hegave his only begotten son.
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God loves you.
Whosoever believes in him wouldnot perish but have everlasting
life.
That can be you.
Now check it out.
Let's check it out.
You throw the seed of God's wordout there, but you have to let
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the growth up to God.
You may water it like Apollosdid.
You may come back and throwthat verse that you know, the
water of the word, back on there.
Maybe some love you show andsome service you show to them as
that water to water it, but youcan't make it grow.
That's God's job.
You will never save anyone, Ipromise you.
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We say things like that oh, Igot somebody saved, you did not
save anyone.
God makes it grow.
It requires God to do it.
But that's a good thing to keepin mind, because the pressure
isn't on us.
We can't do it, but God can,and that's what God wants to do.
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And so Jesus throws that out tohis disciples, this thing of the
kingdom, back in Mark, chapter4, that you throw the seed and
God makes it grow.
Trust in that Now, verse 30.
And then he said to what shallwe liken the kingdom of God?
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Or with what parable shall wepicture it?
Of God, or with what parableshall we picture it?
It's like a mustard seed which,when it is sown in the ground,
is smaller than all the seeds onearth, but when it is sown it
grows up and becomes greaterthan all herbs and shoots out
large branches so that the birdsof the air may rest in its
(29:12):
shade.
So here Jesus says the kingdomof God is like a mustard seed,
and we see in this very simply,the result of God's kingdom is
bigger than what's planted.
Right.
A seed grows into what we seehere, a big old tree, right, but
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the mustard seed Jesus sayshere is the smallest of all.
Now, jesus isn't giving ascience lesson, and many have
gotten stuck on this because themustard seed is not the
smallest seed that there is.
That's it.
Throw it all away.
Jesus is a liar.
Really.
You're going to like base thewhole thing off the fact that
(29:55):
Jesus said it's the smallest ofthe seeds and we get it here.
He's not trying to teach us ascience lesson, he's just saying
that is one small seed.
And here's my guess.
I think I don't know, but Ithink Jesus probably had a
mustard seed in his hand.
There was probably mustardgrowing all around him and he
(30:15):
said look, this is a tiny littleseed, this is like the tiniest
of seeds, and yet it grows.
So mustard in that part of theworld, more than a condiment is
an invasive plant.
It's invasive.
I think we had it in California, right, it's just on the
(30:36):
hillsides, it's like the mustardkind of stuff, I think.
But here maybe not as valuable,but maybe you would look at it
like I look at ragweed or whatthey call it here milkweed.
Some of you guys call it, Ithink, in the front field.
Right, you'll see it, it'sthere.
When spring comes, I look out onmy field and go looks pretty
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good, that's going to be somegood grass there.
But it doesn't take long andthe ragweed starts to spring up
and it doesn't grow as big as atree but it grows prolifically
right.
And then it's like everythingis ragweed and you're just like
I didn't have to work hard forthat, it didn't need rain.
Why did it need rain?
You know, and I think themustard seed is a little bit
(31:21):
like that, it's invasive.
You don't really have to plantit, it just happens.
It happens everywhere.
And you look around and you gomustard seed, right.
And Jesus here says well, themustard seed of the kingdom,
it's little but it spreads.
It becomes like the tallest ofthe trees.
Now it's not the tallest of thetrees either.
(31:43):
So this is some supernaturalgrowth, but it does get big.
And Jesus says picture it, thebirds rest in it, whole colonies
of birds.
Now you could look at this inlight of the parable of the
sower.
The birds could be the evilthat camps out in the kingdom of
(32:03):
God.
Be careful, there's birds.
Maybe he's just saying thestuff can grow everywhere.
The kingdom of God is like amustard seed it starts off small
.
Check it out.
It starts off small.
You ever stop and think aboutit.
(32:23):
That every single one of ourfaith.
In one sense, maybe we'll dothis with our time in heaven.
But in one sense we could trackour spiritual heritage back to
one of these dudes that wastalking to Jesus, twelve minus
one, right.
We could track our spiritualheritage back to one guy who
(32:48):
shared the truth of what Jesushad done and then through the
ages, you know, it's like thisfamily tree of salvation.
It started in this very smallgroup, like a mustard seed, but
here we are, 2,000 years later,a part of the kingdom sitting in
(33:10):
this house.
God multiplies it and he takesa little thing like his word,
the truth of the kingdom, and itconsumes the world and it will
consume the world.
So a little thing God uses foramazing things.
Now, who knows what your weekis all about?
(33:37):
Who knows who's going to bethere tomorrow when you go to
work?
You know when you go to school?
Who knows if that little bit oflight that you put out there
doesn't change somebody's world,that little bit of hope in what
God has done for this world,you know, spark something in
(33:59):
someone's life where, a hundredyears from now, you know they're
the ones.
God took the good news toanother country.
Who knows?
You don't know.
Little things turn into bigthings in the kingdom of God.
It's all worth it, right?
It's not just the grind of life, it's the kingdom of God.
(34:19):
And so here we're, given somegreat encouragement.
The kingdom of God is going tospread like Daniel, chapter two,
a rock.
Jesus.
That rock will consume thewhole world.
That's a great comfort.
Jesus, that rock will consumethe whole world.
That's a great comfort.
God brings the growth in ourlives and the lives of people
that we love.
We just hand out the truth.
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We let our light shine thatpeople will see our good works
and glorify our Father in heaven, and that's the week that we
have in front of us.
It's the little things thatmake big returns right.
So be encouraged by that asJesus' disciples, as we go out.
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God again, certainly isn't a peprally that we need, but, god,
we consider the people thatyou've put around us, the people
in our own family that you'veput there for a purpose.
God, help us to be faithful, toshare your word.
Help us to be faithful to letour light shine and when they
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don't shine, god, help us to behonest and confess that we
messed up.
God, help us this week, god.
We know there are eternalthings at stake here, maybe
multitudes coming to know whoyou are just by what you have in
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front of us.
This week, god, we want to doour best and we want to trust
you to the results.
So, god, take these things andmake them real in our hearts
this week.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
Mark, chapter 4, verse 21.
Alright, so just a few chaptersinto this account of the life
of Jesus.
We see that Jesus has seen thecurrent situation ministering to
(00:37):
a crowd that was very excitedto see the miracles, very
excited to see the miracles,very excited to see him work,
but had very little root intheir hearts, no depth, kind of
like that soil we talked about,no depth of earth, and they
sprouted up in excitement.
(00:58):
But Jesus knows their heartsare just there for what they can
get right.
There's also that side ofpeople, the religious leaders we
would say, who are skeptical,who have gotten into the habit
of saying well, he casts outdemons, but it's by the prince
of demons, everything he does isby the devil, and their hearts
(01:21):
are getting harder and harderand harder.
So Jesus, for a time here,turns to his disciples to teach
them and instruct them.
He begins to speak in this formof teaching called parables.
They're earthly illustrationsof a heavenly truth and this is
(01:45):
how he teaches his disciples fora time.
We'll start in verse 21, butskip over to verse 33.
And we see this With many suchparables, jesus spoke the word
to them, his disciples, as theywere able to hear it Without a
(02:06):
parable, he did not speak tothem.
So here Jesus is kind ofzeroing in on parables when
they're alone.
Jesus explains them in detail.
Now he did that with theparable of the sower.
(02:26):
We studied it for almost amonth.
The parable of the sower, a verywell-explained parable by Jesus
.
The soil a picture of our heart.
The seed a picture of God'sword.
So we find in that parable, thefirst part of chapter four,
that our heart determines whatGod's word will do in our lives.
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If our heart is good, softground, uncluttered by the cares
of this world and those kindsof weeds, god's word will spring
up and produce fruit in ourlife.
If we're overcome by the caresof this world and things like
that, it can hurt what God wantsto do.
So Jesus has just got doneexplaining that and we studied
(03:12):
it for quite a while.
But Jesus is going to go on tospeak to his disciples there in
verse 21, of a couple things Ihave a couple things the truth
of the kingdom He'll compare itto light, he'll compare it again
to seeds, and then the kingdomof God itself.
(03:36):
That's really what these nextcouple parables are about the
kingdom of God and the truth ofthe kingdom of God.
So what is the kingdom of Godand the truth of the kingdom of
God.
So what is the kingdom of God?
Something we don't always thinkabout.
The kingdom of God is at hand,john would say.
Jesus would say what is thekingdom of God?
(03:57):
Well, we'll start at the end ofthe story.
In the book of Revelation we'retold that in the end of the
story the kingdom of Godprevails there.
In Revelation, chapter 11,we'll get to Mark, chapter 4,
but Revelation, chapter 11, ifyou want to hold your place here
, you can and turn to Revelation11, verse 15.
(04:20):
John sees heaven, he getstransported in the spirit.
It seems to heaven, and inRevelation, chapter 11, verse 15
says this then the seventhangel sounded a trumpet and
there were loud voices in heavensaying the kingdoms of this
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world have become the kingdomsof our Lord and of his Christ,
and he shall reign forever andever.
An encouraging line here aboutthe kingdom of God.
Handel, all you classical musicpeople, right, I'm sure there's
one in here somewhere Handeland his Messiah uses this word
(05:02):
for word the kingdoms of thisworld have become a kingdom,
hallelujah.
It's all there in that song,right, and he shall reign
forever and ever.
There's a spot and I sang it inhigh school, by the way and
this is the end of the story forus that God's kingdom is
(05:26):
established on earth, that Godreigns forever and ever, and
that's the end of the story.
Well, daniel, chapter two.
We see it a little differently.
Daniel has this dream.
Nebuchadnezzar the king, has adream, and Daniel interprets it
right.
It's a dream of these statues.
(05:48):
This one statue with gold andsilver and bronze and iron,
represents the empires of theworld and that, as time goes on,
different empires come and ruleand reign.
God tells Nebuchadnezzar thisNow check it out.
The punchline of that dream isthe most amazing part, and you
(06:10):
can picture it.
Here's this statue the empiresof this world, glittering and
gold and all these things.
And then this rock comes, thisboulder comes flying through the
sky and hits this statue WorldEmpires on its feet.
The statue crumbles and thisrock begins to grow.
(06:32):
Picture it the rock Grows,that's the sound it makes and it
grows and it begins to coverthe whole earth.
A mountain that never stops,that never goes away.
That's God's kingdom.
Jesus will come as king.
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That rock hit the empires ofthis world on the feet and
they'll crumble and God'skingdom will engulf the whole
world.
That's the end of the story forus.
The kingdom of God becomes theworld's kingdom and it lasts
forever.
(07:14):
Now this is how the story willend.
There's no doubt about it.
This is from eternity.
It's already accomplished inone way God's kingdom will
prevail.
But we don't about it.
This is from eternity.
It's already accomplished inone way God's kingdom will
prevail.
But we don't see it yet.
As we look at this idea ofGod's kingdom, we don't see it
(07:34):
yet.
We look around our world and wesee darkness, we see evil and
it feels like darkness getsstronger and stronger.
Crimes get more and moredemented and more and more
common.
Evil fills this world, hurtsand all sorts of stuff.
(08:03):
And we look at this world andthe kingdom of darkness seems
like it's getting stronger.
But that's not the end of thestory and that's what we see
here.
It's not darkness that prevails, but light.
(08:35):
Now we look at Mark, chapter 4,verse 21.
Verse 21.
That it should come to light.
If anyone has ears to hear, lethim hear.
Then he said to them take heed,what you hear.
With the same measure you use,it will be measured to you, and
to you who hear, more will begiven.
(08:55):
For whoever has to him, morewill be given.
But whoever does not have, evenwhat he has will be taken away
from him.
So picture a dark room.
It's dark and then you turn onthe light.
We get it right.
That's what Jesus is talkingabout here A light, a lamp,
(09:17):
brought into a dark room, and weunderstand it.
It does its job.
In this first parable, darknesscan be a problem, right,
traveling this last couple weekstraveling, there's always that
first night isn't there.
Does anyone else have thisproblem the first night?
(09:38):
You know you're used to yourroom, you're used to where
things are, the door, you seemaybe the light of the
nightlight under the door.
You know you see the light fromthe window on one side of the
bed.
And you wake up that firstnight and it's always just so
confusing.
You know you have thatconversation with yourself when
am I?
(09:58):
How did I get here?
You know, and you know how do Iget around and the darkness is
pretty confusing, right, youwalk around with your phone out
or whatever it is and you try tofind your way.
There's confusion.
You might face plant on yourway to the bathroom there in the
middle of the night.
It happens.
Light does a lot of good for usin beating the confusion of
(10:24):
darkness, finding our waysaround.
That's obvious.
It's an obvious story here.
So light in the ancient world,light in the middle of the night
, was a luxury.
And we got this from a souvenirshop in Israel.
This is what Jesus is talkingabout.
I don't know if you can see it.
(10:44):
It's a lamp, right, it's alittle, you know, clay lamp.
Actually there's a wick insideof it and you know, you fill it
with oil and you have the wickand it lights up the room.
But check it out, it was aluxury.
What did you do in those dayswhen it got dark?
You went to sleep.
That's pretty much what you did, unless you sat by the fire.
(11:06):
You didn't burn oil everysingle night, you didn't stay up
and, you know, push thedarkness out.
You would just kind of livewith it.
But a light was a luxury.
Light costs money, and so Jesushere says if you had a lamp, you
wouldn't hide it under a basketor a bowl.
(11:28):
Right, that's not what you do.
It wouldn't be safe to hide alight under a basket anyways, or
under your bed.
But Jesus says if you had thatluxury of a lamp, you'd put it
on a lamp stand, something madeto actually bring the light up.
It's like when the lights goout, the power goes out, right,
you get your little mag lightflashlight and, if you're like
(11:51):
me, you hang it from thechandelier or something.
You bring it up, you put it ina room with a mirror to kind of
get the most out of light thatyou can and you huddle around
that flashlight and you enjoylife, you know, but you make the
best of it.
A lamp stand was meant to bringit up, to make the best of the
lamp.
You want to use every bit ofthat oil for good.
(12:14):
And so Jesus, here, speaking ofthis kingdom of darkness, says
you don't take a light in thedarkness and hide it.
You put it where it can be seenand where it can be used.
So what is the light here?
A picture of?
Well, check it out.
(12:37):
Light is the truth of thekingdom.
That would be an easy one toget out of this.
Because, right, the psalmistthere, david, in Psalm 119, 105,
says your word is a lamp to myfeet and a light to my path.
God's word shows us where to go.
(12:59):
Psalm 43.3 says oh, send outyour light and your truth and
let them lead me, let them bringme to your holy hill and to
your tabernacle.
So God's word, god's truth, islight to us.
It shows us where to go in life.
(13:20):
That's good, that's a strongpicture of God's word, the truth
of the kingdom, and we have itin front of us, useful for life,
every bit of our life.
Now interesting, come back forsome Greek here.
I know you're excited.
(13:42):
Notice, in verse 21 it says Is alamp brought to be put under a
basket or under a bed?
Is a lamp brought?
Now, this is actually kind ofunfortunate because that's not
really what it says.
Is a light a lamp brought?
In the Greek it would actuallybe the light comes.
(14:02):
Does a light come to be putunder a basket or under a bed?
And we have trouble with thatbecause light doesn't bring
itself into any room.
You know, unless you're thePixar, you know lamp that
bounces in and you know that'skind of the picture we're
getting here.
It is a light come into a roomjust to be hit.
(14:23):
And so in this we see a greatpicture of Jesus, the light, who
wasn't brought into the worldbut came into the world.
John talks about this a lot inhis books John 1, verse 6,.
Listen to this.
(14:43):
There was a man sent from Godwhose name was John.
This man came for a witness, tobear witness to the light that
all through him might believe.
Now, john was not that light,but he was sent to bear witness
to the light.
That was a true light whichgives light to every man coming
(15:05):
into the world.
The light was Jesus.
In fact, in John, chapter eight,jesus says it very clearly I am
the light of the world.
So Jesus is the light we couldsee here that comes into the
room, into the darkness, intoour dark world.
(15:26):
But Jesus also said in Matthew,chapter five for the light of
the world, disciples, a citythat is set on a hill cannot be
hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp andput it under a basket, but on a
lampstand it gives light to allwho are in the house.
Let your light so shine beforemen that they may see your good
(15:46):
works and glorify your father inheaven.
So God's word is like a light.
We understand that, a lamp intoour feet and a light into our
past.
Jesus is the only light whocomes into this world, this dark
world to save us.
But Jesus then sends us out andsays you are the light of the
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world, and so the picture iskind of threefold.
We could look at this in a lotof different ways, but it's also
our responsibility to be light.
Let's turn to Philippians,chapter 2.
Get those fingers going.
Philippians, chapter 2, verse14.
(16:33):
Philippians 2, 14.
Paul says this Do all thingswithout complaining and
disputing, and that would beenough for us to take for today.
Right, you know, if you wantsome application for your life,
(16:56):
do all things withoutcomplaining or disputing.
Man, I worked my whole life onthat.
Can I do it without complaining?
Paul says that's the way itought to be.
Why Verse 15,?
That you may become blamelessand harmless children of God,
without fault, in the midst ofthis crooked and perverse
generation among whom you shineas lights in the world.
(17:20):
So Paul here lets us know it'sa crooked and perverse
generation.
That sounds right, doesn't it?
And we, by the things that wedo and the attitudes, that we
have become like lights in thiscrooked and perverse generation
that we want to shine.
(17:40):
As Jesus said, you're the lightof the world.
Shine as light in this world.
So we're called to be like thislamp in a dark room.
Representatives of Jesuspointing to him were light
bearers in this dark world.
Now let's go back to Mark,chapter 4.
That light isn't meant to behid, it's meant to be used.
(18:05):
Look at verse 24.
He said to them take heed whatyou hear.
But the same measure you usewill be measured to you, and to
you who hear, more will be given.
So first thing Jesus says hereis take heed to what you hear.
This is important for usbecause there's lots of things
(18:27):
that we can hear in this world.
Right, you just look at theworld in general and the
attitudes and the things thatpeople live for.
Just commercialism, right, wegot to be careful what we hear.
But even in the church I'll sayit about myself just be careful
what you hear, be critical ofwhat you hear and what you take
(18:48):
in, because even in the church,some attitudes are encouraged.
Greed is actually encouraged.
Self-esteem right, esteemingourselves is actually encouraged
.
Pride could be encouraged.
You know that the whole reasonI'm here is to get, get, get you
(19:09):
know.
Prosperity, health and wealth,all these things.
There's a lot of lies that justkind of float out, even in our
churches.
Compare it to God's word, eventhe things I say.
Please compare it to God's word.
Be careful of what you hear.
But in Matthew and Luke theword is be careful how you hear
(19:34):
is what Jesus also says here Becareful how you hear.
And that takes us back to theparable of the sower right.
Be careful of how you receiveGod's word, because what your
heart is like will determine howGod's word will grow in your
life.
So watch out for your heart inyour life.
(20:02):
So watch out for your heart.
Why he says here the measureyou use it will be measured to
you.
So this is interesting how youuse God's word will determine
what you get from God's word.
God's word is meant to be used.
Believe it, but don't just takeit in and believe it.
Let your life be based on whatGod has to say.
(20:23):
Now come back for a second anddon't miss that.
We're actually called to useand live what God tells us.
God says he wants truth from usIn our inward heart.
He wants truth.
Lying is not something thatshould be part of a believer's
(20:44):
life.
I bring that one upspecifically because in our
world we're okay with, we expectpeople to lie In this political
season, we expect to have factchecking.
But we're not that upset whenpeople lie to us because
everybody lies.
But that's not what God hasmade you for.
(21:05):
God has made you for truth.
Please take that to heart inyour world.
God has made you for truth, notfor lies.
Live it out Now, check it out.
As you live out God's word andyou put it in practice in your
life, god will bring more truthinto your heart.
And it's that kind of thing inmy life.
(21:26):
It's like I can tell you know,there are things, attitudes,
that God works on for years andis still working on in my heart
constantly.
But you know it's like he workson that and then a little later
in our life he's working onsome other part of our character
and our attitudes.
So the more you use it, themore you'll get.
(21:48):
Use God's word, share God'sword.
That's the other thing.
We're actually here to shareGod's truth with others.
I have a hard time with thatone.
It's super easy for me to talkto you about these things.
It's a little harder for mejust to talk to somebody I meet,
you know, down at auto.
(22:08):
You know at the auto dealer,you know, get my car fixed or
something.
It's a little harder for me toshare truth there.
But when you look at thispicture, jesus says you're a
light, don't let your light beunder a basket.
You're not just, you know,anonymously, a Christian, you
know a secret Christian.
You know we're meant to belight in this dark world, and
(22:32):
who knows how God wants to useit?
But he does want to use it.
So Jesus gives them thiskingdom truth.
It's a dark world, it's akingdom of darkness, but you're
a light.
Shine as a light in this world.
Look at verse 26, though we'removing on, and he said the
kingdom of God.
That kingdom of God is as if aman should scatter seed on the
(22:57):
ground.
So we're back to seed and sleepby night and rise by day, and
the seed should sprout and grow.
He himself does not know how,for the earth yields crops by
itself First the blade, then thehead, after that the full grain
(23:21):
in the head.
So we're talking about seeds,again, plants, and Jesus brings
up an interesting thing here theprocess of a seed growing.
It's kind of mysterious, I mean, it is kind of amazing when you
really look at it.
You know you take a seed andyou know you put it in the
(23:42):
ground and you water it and itjust begins to grow.
It shoots out a little stem asJesus gives us the whole process
here, you know and that startsto grow and just come out of the
ground and you know, before youknow it.
You just come out of the groundand you know, before you know
it, you have a tree with fruitand all these kinds of things.
But you think about how amazingthat is.
I mean science, yeah, sure, weuse photosynthesis and all these
(24:05):
kinds of words to explain whatgoes on, but it's this little
factory, you know this littlefruit producing factory in a
seed, and it grows and you canwater it and you can put it in
good ground, you can make sureit has lots of sunlight, but you
really can't make it grow.
Even today, we can't make itgrow.
(24:26):
You know, this mystery of aplant growing is something that
only God can do, and that's agood word for us here.
It's a good word for us totrust God with the results.
This is a picture of evangelismyou could say right, if the
seed is God's word, then we'reout there scattering God's word.
(24:49):
That's what you're made for,that's what your life is for
Just giving out God's truth.
You can give out God's truth,but you can't make it grow.
Right Now, check this out.
Study it up.
Know what you believe.
Know why Maybe you want to getsome apologetics.
You know a reason for why youbelieve what you believe.
(25:12):
Be able to defend it.
Have some facts behind it.
Now check it out.
You can do all of that.
You can know the word.
You can have a reason for whatyou believe.
That's good, but you absolutelycan't make it grow in someone's
heart.
We take a lot of responsibilityon ourselves concerning our
(25:33):
family and our friends.
Oh, if only I could just saythe right word, then they'll
believe.
Probably not, because it'sdeeper than that.
Only God can make it grow.
Let's turn really quickly hereto 1 Corinthians, chapter 3.
To 1 Corinthians, chapter 3.
(25:58):
1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse5.
1 Corinthians 3, verse 5.
So Paul was having someproblems there in Corinth.
People were taking sides.
People were big fans of Pauland other people were big fans
(26:19):
of a guy named Apollos who wasvery classy in the way he put
the word out.
He was a great teacher andthere was teams.
You know people had theirt-shirts on.
You know, I'm of Paul, I'm ofApollos, and they were choosing
their favorites for real Verse 5.
But then Paul says this who then?
Well, look at Paul, says inverse 4.
(26:40):
For when one says I'm of Pauland another I'm of Apollos, you
got your t-shirt, are you notcarnal?
You guys are so fleshly?
Verse 5.
Who then is Paul and who isApollos?
But ministers through whom youhave believed, as the Lord gave
each one.
Now check it out.
He gives us a picture.
In verse six I planted there'sthe seed, right.
(27:04):
I planted.
Apollos watered, but God gavethe increase.
That's really important for usto have in our heads.
When we share the word, we canplant God's word.
That's what we're supposed todo Give out words about God's
love.
God so loved the world.
Just take that simple verse.
God so loved the world that hegave his only begotten son.
(27:25):
God loves you.
Whosoever believes in him wouldnot perish but have everlasting
life.
That can be you.
Now check it out.
Let's check it out.
You throw the seed of God's wordout there, but you have to let
(27:45):
the growth up to God.
You may water it like Apollosdid.
You may come back and throwthat verse that you know, the
water of the word, back on there.
Maybe some love you show andsome service you show to them as
that water to water it, but youcan't make it grow.
That's God's job.
You will never save anyone, Ipromise you.
(28:07):
We say things like that oh, Igot somebody saved, you did not
save anyone.
God makes it grow.
It requires God to do it.
But that's a good thing to keepin mind, because the pressure
isn't on us.
We can't do it, but God can,and that's what God wants to do.
(28:29):
And so Jesus throws that out tohis disciples, this thing of the
kingdom, back in Mark, chapter4, that you throw the seed and
God makes it grow.
Trust in that Now, verse 30.
And then he said to what shallwe liken the kingdom of God?
(28:49):
Or with what parable shall wepicture it?
Of God, or with what parableshall we picture it?
It's like a mustard seed which,when it is sown in the ground,
is smaller than all the seeds onearth, but when it is sown it
grows up and becomes greaterthan all herbs and shoots out
large branches so that the birdsof the air may rest in its
(29:12):
shade.
So here Jesus says the kingdomof God is like a mustard seed,
and we see in this very simply,the result of God's kingdom is
bigger than what's planted.
Right.
A seed grows into what we seehere, a big old tree, right, but
(29:33):
the mustard seed Jesus sayshere is the smallest of all.
Now, jesus isn't giving ascience lesson, and many have
gotten stuck on this because themustard seed is not the
smallest seed that there is.
That's it.
Throw it all away.
Jesus is a liar.
Really.
You're going to like base thewhole thing off the fact that
(29:55):
Jesus said it's the smallest ofthe seeds and we get it here.
He's not trying to teach us ascience lesson, he's just saying
that is one small seed.
And here's my guess.
I think I don't know, but Ithink Jesus probably had a
mustard seed in his hand.
There was probably mustardgrowing all around him and he
(30:15):
said look, this is a tiny littleseed, this is like the tiniest
of seeds, and yet it grows.
So mustard in that part of theworld, more than a condiment is
an invasive plant.
It's invasive.
I think we had it in California, right, it's just on the
(30:36):
hillsides, it's like the mustardkind of stuff, I think.
But here maybe not as valuable,but maybe you would look at it
like I look at ragweed or whatthey call it here milkweed.
Some of you guys call it, Ithink, in the front field.
Right, you'll see it, it'sthere.
When spring comes, I look out onmy field and go looks pretty
(30:57):
good, that's going to be somegood grass there.
But it doesn't take long andthe ragweed starts to spring up
and it doesn't grow as big as atree but it grows prolifically
right.
And then it's like everythingis ragweed and you're just like
I didn't have to work hard forthat, it didn't need rain.
Why did it need rain?
You know, and I think themustard seed is a little bit
(31:21):
like that, it's invasive.
You don't really have to plantit, it just happens.
It happens everywhere.
And you look around and you gomustard seed, right.
And Jesus here says well, themustard seed of the kingdom,
it's little but it spreads.
It becomes like the tallest ofthe trees.
Now it's not the tallest of thetrees either.
(31:43):
So this is some supernaturalgrowth, but it does get big.
And Jesus says picture it, thebirds rest in it, whole colonies
of birds.
Now you could look at this inlight of the parable of the
sower.
The birds could be the evilthat camps out in the kingdom of
(32:03):
God.
Be careful, there's birds.
Maybe he's just saying thestuff can grow everywhere.
The kingdom of God is like amustard seed it starts off small
.
Check it out.
It starts off small.
You ever stop and think aboutit.
(32:23):
That every single one of ourfaith.
In one sense, maybe we'll dothis with our time in heaven.
But in one sense we could trackour spiritual heritage back to
one of these dudes that wastalking to Jesus, twelve minus
one, right.
We could track our spiritualheritage back to one guy who
(32:48):
shared the truth of what Jesushad done and then through the
ages, you know, it's like thisfamily tree of salvation.
It started in this very smallgroup, like a mustard seed, but
here we are, 2,000 years later,a part of the kingdom sitting in
(33:10):
this house.
God multiplies it and he takesa little thing like his word,
the truth of the kingdom, and itconsumes the world and it will
consume the world.
So a little thing God uses foramazing things.
Now, who knows what your weekis all about?
(33:37):
Who knows who's going to bethere tomorrow when you go to
work?
You know when you go to school?
Who knows if that little bit oflight that you put out there
doesn't change somebody's world,that little bit of hope in what
God has done for this world,you know, spark something in
(33:59):
someone's life where, a hundredyears from now, you know they're
the ones.
God took the good news toanother country.
Who knows?
You don't know.
Little things turn into bigthings in the kingdom of God.
It's all worth it, right?
It's not just the grind of life, it's the kingdom of God.
(34:19):
And so here we're, given somegreat encouragement.
The kingdom of God is going tospread like Daniel, chapter two,
a rock.
Jesus.
That rock will consume thewhole world.
That's a great comfort.
Jesus, that rock will consumethe whole world.
That's a great comfort.
God brings the growth in ourlives and the lives of people
that we love.
We just hand out the truth.
(34:40):
We let our light shine thatpeople will see our good works
and glorify our Father in heaven, and that's the week that we
have in front of us.
It's the little things thatmake big returns right.
So be encouraged by that asJesus' disciples, as we go out.
(35:06):
God again, certainly isn't a peprally that we need, but, god,
we consider the people thatyou've put around us, the people
in our own family that you'veput there for a purpose.
God, help us to be faithful, toshare your word.
Help us to be faithful to letour light shine and when they
(35:27):
don't shine, god, help us to behonest and confess that we
messed up.
God, help us this week, god.
We know there are eternalthings at stake here, maybe
multitudes coming to know whoyou are just by what you have in
(35:48):
front of us.
This week, god, we want to doour best and we want to trust
you to the results.
So, god, take these things andmake them real in our hearts
this week.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
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