PENTECOST 3 – June 13, 2021 – Mark 4:26-34
“THE KINGDOM OF GOD GROWS”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel lesson just read, from Mark 4. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Jesus utilizes the mystery of life and growing things to make a point about the kingdom of God. It is amazing to me how many things are truly mysterious, including many things that are quite common and seemingly simple.
- We tend to focus on the things that we have to do in order to “earn our bread by the sweat of our brows.” We have to dig up the soil to refresh it and make it plantable and growable. We have to actually plant the seeds and plants. Then we have to water, and we have to weed.
- But all of this would be futile if the plants and seeds would not grow. And although there much that is known about genetics and how DNA controls growth and maturation, the question as to why still remains. And also, the question remains as to how things got this way in the beginning. Unless you know Who God is and that He made it all this way for us.
- Still, we plant and water. We also sleep and rise night and day as the seed sprouts and grows, even though we do not how. But the seeds do grow, for the most part, and the plants do mature. And we are blessed to enjoy them immensely!
- Again, the comparison Jesus draws to this is the kingdom of God! And we can learn much from what He says – about what we are responsible to do, and what He does. And frankly, this takes a great deal of pressure off of us! It all begins with activity:
I. The Seed Is Sown – The Gospel Is Preached
Text: “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.”
Statement: You remember the parable that Jesus told regarding the sower in Luke 8. Jesus explained it to His disciples:
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. [Luke 8:11-15]
Statement: We must mark these words carefully, for we have the same sinful human nature as others. We have rocks and stones in our hearts as well – and we should pray not to fall away in times of testing. And we also have much of the “cares and riches and pleasures of life,” which drain our energy and life-force and can sap away our very faith and discipleship! And only the Lord can make our hearts honest and good, so that we bear fruit with patience.
Application: Thank God that has begun this good work in us by the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, the good news of God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness! And that God, even as He has begun this good work in us He will complete it to the very day of Christ Jesus! He continues to work this His gracious plan in the world to this very day! And:
II. We Are Blessed To Be Sowing The Seed Of The Gospel In The World Today
Matt. 28:18-20 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Statement: We have the command and authority of Jesus to sow the seed of the Gospel, to “proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light.” This we do through our support of the church, through out support of missions, and in our own personal lives, the conversations we have with others.
Application: The seed is still being sown, and the types of soil are still being revealed. But through this work “THE KINGDOM OF GOD GROWS.” We know not how, but God does, because it clear from our text and the rest of Scripture that:
III. God Grows The Kingdom Of God – Even Though We Don’t Know How
John 3:5-8 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 6:29 “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him Whom He has sent.”
1 Cor. 12:3 “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
A. The Kingdom of God Starts Out Small
Text: “The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground is the smallest of all the seeds on earth.”
B. But God Grows It Big And Strong – So That It Is Mighty And Sheltering For Us
Text: “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.”
Statement: You see then that the growth of the kingdom of God is not one of our challenges or tasks, it is God Who does it. It grow “we know not how,” except that it is by the power of God when we sow the good seed of the Gospel. How the Spirit works we also know not how, for like the wind the Spirit blows where He wills.
Application: That means we are blessed to focus on one thing, and that is the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, the good news of God’s love in Christ Jesus, the salvation He has accomplished for us. Yes, we are privileged also to prune and fertilize and water by means of the Word of God and the Sacraments, but always it is God who provides the growth. The apostle Paul explained this to the Corinthians:
1 Cor. 3:6 “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.”
And we are privileged to participate in this also through our mutual admonition and consolation of one another. And we are to remember that:
IV. The Harvest Of The Kingdom Of God Is Soon To Come
Text: “Then 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.”
A. For Some Of Us This Is At Death
John 14:2,3 “In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so I would not have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.”
This is the same as what He said to the repentant thief on the cross
Luke 23:43 “Today you shall be with Me in paradise.”
B. For Some Of Us, This May Be At The Return Of Jesus On The Last Day
1 Thess. 4:15-17 “ For this we declare to you by a Word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
Statement: And this is how “THE KINGDOM OF GOD GROWS.” It is planted by the Gospel of God, which like a seed has the power to grow faith in our hearts. It is powered by God, the Holy Spirit. It is watered and tended to within the fellowship of the church, by the Word and by the Sacraments. God gives the growth; He is the One Who matters – all glory, praise, and honor be to Him.
Application: We too watch our hearts and minds to insure that we not be choked out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And we are so blessed and privileged to participate in the “baptizing” and “teaching” that Christ commands by our support of the church!
Conclusion: “THE KINGDOM OF GOD GROWS” much like mundane things around us, but it is eternal life! May God ever keep us in the joyous fellowship of His kingdom, Amen.
Votem: And the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding will keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.