So we do not lose heart...

The Lord of the Harvest

(Mark 4:26-29, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 28, 2018)

[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. [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.”

Introduction

What is the kingdom of God? The answer is very mysterious in a way. It is already here, but in some other sense we pray together, “Thy kingdom come,” so the kingdom has not yet fully arrived. “The kingdom of God is within you,” but there is not one square inch of the universe that will not be transformed and renewed by the power of the King who says, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Planting

Jesus tells a little story about it. The story of the kingdom begins with “a man” who has a job—he is to “scatter seed.” In an earlier parable, the seed was the Word, and we know that this is what the early church did in Acts 8:4 when they were forced out of Jerusalem by persecutors: “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”

One of the things that was noted when we went through that earlier parable two weeks ago is that the farmer scattered seed somewhat indiscriminately—not just on the good soil, but on the path, on the rocky soil, and among the weeds and the thorns. This is surprising, and is the first suggestion that this work is not all about our own understanding or strategy.

Growth

What happens next? The farmer goes to bed. He “sleeps and rises night and day.” Some of the most significant events that happened in the Bible required that man be put to sleep. God made Eve from Adam's rib, but first the man had to be put to sleep. God revealed to Abraham his 500 year plan for Israel taking them from Abraham to Moses, but first he the patriarch first fell into a deep sleep. Why did God do this to Adam and Abraham? It was a very good way to make it clear that these men were not the main agents of kingdom building. Someone else was the Prime Mover.

The farmer in the parable does not understand how the growth comes. He can only observe it. “The seed sprouts and grows.” How does it all happen? “He knows not how.” He was asleep. In fact, man does not even understand sleeping. This activity is something that we still are trying to study. Why do you sleep? Why do you wake up? The answer requires a very deep knowledge of the chemicals in our bodies that send out important biological signals. If that's true about sleeping and rising from sleep, imagine how little we know about one person coming to faith, or about the growth of the kingdom of God throughout the world. This is all so humbling, which is very good for us. We do know this: God is in charge of it all. While He uses us as agents of truth, He alone causes the kingdom to grow. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” So God did it, and He gets the glory.

Back to our text: It might appear that the earth is doing all the work producing the crops, but this is just the straightforward observation of a farmer who talks about what he sees. “The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” The reality is that this unseen resurrection kingdom comes into being according to the express plan of God.

In this great endeavor, the Lord is not stopped-out by evil men. When Jacob's son, Joseph, was persecuted and sold by his brothers, he still knew that God had a plan. He later said in Genesis 50:20, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Peter makes this same point in Acts 2:23 when he preaches about the cross of Christ that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” but also that Christ was “crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” The Lord is the one who is working out His kingdom purposes. As we learn in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

The growth of the kingdom is of course massive, though not instantaneous. As Jesus said, “first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear,” so there is an orderly process superintended by the Almighty. This great work of God is the fruit of centuries of Old Testament preparation and the driving force of all New Testament mission. Jesus is at the center of it all.

Harvest

One day, the final harvest will come. The Lord of the harvest will know when the harvest is fully ready, and he will send forth His angels and gather together His church. Even now the church is involved in receiving those who have faith in Christ.

God and His Kingdom

As we apply this passage, consider what we know about Abraham, our great father in the faith.

First, God was in charge of the promise to Abraham from beginning to end. Abraham slept while God first made a commitment to Abraham and signified the death of Christ in the ritual contained in the Genesis 15 vision. Do you see the Lord of the harvest?

Second, what then was Abraham's participation in receiving the promise? It was His privilege to believe the Word of the Almighty even though He could not see the fulfillment with His eyes, yet He saw the unseen, and so should we. See Hebrews 11:13-16 and consider 2 Corinthians 4:16–18:

[16] So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. [17] For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 81 – Rescued and Tested for Worship

New Testament Reading—Hebrews 10 – I have come to do Your will

Turn these brief saying into parables... with your lives.

I'd Rather Have Jesus

(Mark 4:21-25, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 21, 2018)

[21] And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? [22] For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. [23] If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” [24] And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. [25] For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Introduction

Do you want to be a missionary? I received a letter from a couple this week with the title “Our toughest week in five years.” They have been working for several years with two men, both of whom deceived them and departed the country. I wrote them to try to encourage them onward and received this reply: “Thanks for writing and your prayers. Yes! Holy Spirit come. We’re still kind of working our way back to normal after the emotion of this week. At the same time, we feel like God is just filling us with zeal for what He’s going to do and how to see His vision realized across this entire land. So that’s encouraging and pretty cool.” Missionaries see the unseen. They wait while they do today's work. They serve within uncomfortable settings when God open's doors.

Do you want to be the kind of Christian that is full of the Holy Spirit? The pathway from the Old Testament prophets to the New Testament church is a fascinating one. The experiences that a prophet like Joel had in his day (many centuries before the coming of Jesus) set him apart from other worshipers. In the face of the coming Day of the Lord he urged them all to call upon the Name of the Lord in covenant assembly. He then prophesied about a future era when all of God's people would be filled with Holy Spirit as he was. Peter used Joel's words in Acts 2 to announce that the era Joel referred to had now begun with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Do you want to be a resurrection lamp with Jesus. Do you want to have the divine ear and even the Savior's voice? Do you want to be filled with an overflowing measure of true godliness granted by the hand of the One who “fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:23)?

We are in a section of Mark's gospel that is exploring the strange way that Jesus teaches the crowds all around Him and the disciples that follow Him. It includes some little stories and also some briefer pithy sayings. Today we look at a few of the latter.

A lamp

God has a purpose for all of creation, and He has a role for everything in creation. His purpose for a lamp is to make that which is hidden in the darkness to be revealed by the light.

“A lamp is for a lampstand.” Ok. What's that about? Jesus is a shining lamp. He came into a world with long shadows. God's light shows the difference between truth and falsehood, or in terms of moral judgment between right and wrong.

Jesus is the perfect person of truth and moral integrity. Think of the Messiah (John 1:4-5) and His brothers (John 7:3-7)? Who was the light of the world? Jesus or His brothers who would advise Him concerning self-promotion and the kingdom? See John 8:12.

We can be sure of this: Whatever people try to hide, and whatever secrets people are hoping to keep from God, will surely be revealed by Jesus in His second coming. Even now, the preaching of His Word reveals the inner truths of our hearts.

A voice

Jesus is not only a lamp. He is also a clarifying voice. But will people hear? He says, “My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:27). They hear and believe. Then making the story fuller, they speak with the voice that they have heard (2 Corinthians 4:13-14).

If we have spiritual ears, we should use them. Hearing is not only a matter of the ear, but also of the soul. The Bible connects the best hearing with a renewed will that is ready to follow Christ and obey His Word.

His may not sound like the loudest voice, but He is dedicated and persistent with those who will receive His instruction. Both wisdom and folly are mentioned in the book of Proverbs. Both have something to say. Will we have the willingness today to pay attention to the voice of the Lord in the Scriptures, and thus eventually to speak?

One note: Hearing the Lord and then speaking with His voice may be a thirty year project for any people group according to one professor of missions (Dr. Wonsuk Ma at Mission Romania 2018). The same may apply for a church, a family, or a person.

A generous measure of a worthy treasure

Jesus is a Shining Lamp. Jesus is the Voice of the Lord. Jesus is a generous measure of every good gift that God has for His children. He shines and then we shine. He hears and speaks and then we do the same. He gives and thus so do we (Eph. 1:23, 5:18-21).

The one who has Jesus

The Old Testament prophets were a lamp, a voice, and a measure from God. Greater than all of them was John the Baptist. Yet there was someone greater (John 5:35-36).

Beyond every prophet was the One who secured for us a most complete redemption. He has won for us the glory of heavenly light. All those who put their trust in Him will hear His voice. They will experience the boundless glories of the eternal divine benediction.

Jesus' cryptic and strange-sounding words are worthy of our close attention. He is a shining lamp in a dark world. He is a quiet voice of truth in the midst of many loud deceptions. He is heaven's greatest treasure. The person who has Jesus has more than anything that can be gained in this fading world.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 80 – The Shining Face of the Lord

New Testament Reading—Hebrews 9 – The High Priest of the good things that have come