June 20, 2021
Pastor John Hering
Mark 4:26-34
Mark 4:26-34
He said, “The kingdom of God is like this: A man scatters seed on the ground, 27 and while he sleeps and rises, night and day, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 The ground produces fruit on its own: first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 When the crop is ready, he swings the sickle without delay, because the harvest has come.”
30 Then he said, “To what should we compare the kingdom of God? Or with what parable may we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which when sown on the ground is one of the smallest of all the seeds planted in the ground. 32 Yet when it is planted, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches so that the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.”
33 With many similar parables he continued to speak the word to them, as much as they were able to hear. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.
King David was busted! He did it. He tried to hide it, but he got caught. It was his fault. There was no escaping his sin when confronted with committing adultery with Bathsheba. You can see what sin did to his heart. He tried to cover it up. He didn’t want to fess up. But the truth was the truth. He dishonored God, brought shame to the position of the king, ruined several marriages and even killed a person. If you were going to describe the condition of his heart at that moment, would you call it a dried up, parched field?
So, what sins are you hiding today? Were you telling the truth when asked this morning, “How are you doing?” and you said, “Fine.” What pesky temptation keeps coming back at you to get the best of you? What scowl are you suppressing behind your smile because you can’t wait to criticize that person again? Does the prophet Nathan need to confront you like he did King David? And when you’re caught and your curled up on a ball in your lazy-boy chair pushing back tears, now what—you dried up, parched field!
Today in Mark 4 we learn a very important truth from Jesus that brings dried up, parched hearts a great deal of comfort, encouragement and peace as we deal with the evils of a very real world, a very powerful enemy, and a very dry heart. He restores hope and joy by reassuring us that the Kingdom of God is very much alive and well, growing and going with God’s solution. And just what is God’s solution? Jesus talked about seeds! That’s right, seeds! Today Jesus tells us two stories about seeds so we can have hope. Yes,
Hope in God’s Seed
It’s Powerful
When I walk out of the Tom Thumb down the street my eye catches a little display of seeds by the door. What would happen if I would purchase some carrot, radish, cucumber and parsley seeds, open up the packets of seeds and dump them on a plate and put the plate on the kitchen table? What’s going to happen? Nothing! You can stare at them, talk to them, toss them into the air, but nothing is going to happen to them. But, if you bury the seeds in dirt then all by itself the seed will come to life, sprout, grow and produce veggies and spices. Truth be told, I don’t really know how this works, but I do know it works. Get the seeds into soil and they grow. So, listen to Jesus, ““The kingdom of God is like this: A man scatters seed on the ground, 27 and while he sleeps and rises, night and day, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.” Jesus’ point is this: The seed that is scattered on the ground is the Word of God that proclaims the forgiveness of sins. That good news powerfully penetrates our ears, plants itself in our hearts and minds, takes root and grows. There are no fireworks. Our body temperature doesn’t rise. Our blood pressure doesn’t go up. Our skin doesn’t turn green. We don’t see a sunbeam burst through the clouds and light up our faces. But, the word that proclaims forgiveness for all our sins gives us Hope. It works even though a person may not feel it working. It works because God promises that his Word works. Nathan told David, “The Lord has taken away your sin” (2 Samuel 12:13). No if, ands or buts, just plain done. Planted, sprouted, growing to give Hope in God’s Seed planted in a dry, parched heart.
It’s so fun to plant seeds with kids and teach them how God makes things grow. It makes understanding parables like this easy to understand. You can catch on right away. It’s really amazing that a tiny little seed can be planted in the ground and turn into a big plant with green beans, tomatoes or corn. For you folks from up in Wisconsin/Minnesota, you know farmers plant in the spring, and it’s usually way higher than knee high by the 4th of July, and then with 90 degree temps and 90% humidity that corn seems to grow a foot a week! How can that little seed be so powerful? “28 The ground produces fruit on its own: first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head…..30 Then he said, “To what should we compare the kingdom of God? Or with what parable may we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which when sown on the ground is one of the smallest of all the seeds planted in the ground. 32 Yet when it is planted, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches so that the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.” A mustard seed is so small and may seem insignificant, but it is oh, so powerful!
There are plenty of things that impress us. When Divine Peace bought this property 20 years ago, many of the surrounding homes were pretty old and run down. But, if you drive around this neighborhood and compare today with back then, you’ll be impressed at the many improvements done around here. If you watch a young person who didn’t seem to have much going for them years ago, graduate and begin a career with a high paying salary, you might be impressed. But, if you really want to be impressed then consider the miracle transformation that takes place when the powerful Word of God turns a child of Satan into a child of God. How many of you have already told stories about friends and relatives with attitudes and lifestyles that reflected a careless relationship with God, yet today they cling to the powerful arms of Jesus’ forgiveness that gives them hope and peace. Or maybe that person is you. You see, there are people here who once had no special understanding of God’s mercy, grace, and no close relationship with Jesus. But, they agreed to take the Bible Information Class and slowly but surely God’s Word powerfully worked in their hearts. There were no bells, no flashes of lightning. But, they have Hope in God’s Seed growing in their hearts to trust in Jesus for their eternal salvation. That’s how the Kingdom of God grows. It is the Powerful Seed of God’s Word that gives Hope! And it is planted seed that is productive.
It’s Productive
When you walk out of the Tom Thumb and see their display of garden seeds, what is always printed on the front? Not the seeds that you’re planting, but the veggies and spices you can expect when you plant those seeds. That’s the purpose for planting seeds in the ground. We plant seeds to enjoy its fruit. The story of seeds planted isn’t complete until you pick that first green bean, carrot, radish, or tomato. Jesus said, “29 When the crop is ready, he swings the sickle without delay, because the harvest has come.” No wonder there is so much hope in God’s Word because it is so productive. Can you see the face of the farmer swinging the sickle and dreaming about the grain he’ll harvest so his wife could make him fresh bagels for breakfast tomorrow! His heart would be filled with thankful joy and hope because the seed was so productive! The seed had a small but powerful beginning, then grew to be a productive plant. Oh, what joy!
The Bible is filled with examples of people who we see rejoicing in the productive results of the Word of God planted in their hearts. Let’s talk about Zacchaeus a second. Jesus saw him, called him, and changed his life with the powerful and productive seed of God’s Word. “5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 He came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. 7 When the people saw it, they were all grumbling because he went to be a guest of a sinful man. 8 Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I am going to give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The Word changed his life. He couldn’t sit back and do nothing! The Word of God worked in his heart to be thankful and generous. These are the fruits of the Productive Seed of God’s Word.
I remember that on more than one occasion when we talk about the powerful forgiveness of sins that someone says, “Well, that sounds like a license to sin. You go commit adultery, murder, and lie and then you get forgiveness.” Not at all! The Seed of God’s Word planted and growing in a believer’s heart always produces fruit. You don’t have to yell at a good apple tree to produce good apples. You don’t have to squeeze the trunk of a cherry tree to produce cherries. Fruit just grows.
Would you like to see what the Productive Seed of God’s Word looks like in the lives of people. Then look around. You are here in God’s House to worship. You are here to listen to God’s Word so that your faith is watered and nourished. Then you encourage others around you by being here. You encourage each other when you learn about the gospel ministry being done here, and in Rockwall, in folks supporting the ministry here to the tune of a ½ a million dollar Ministry Spending Plan approved by the Voters last week. Look at the Kingdom Kids teachers, the lawn mowers, the church cleaning, the people who are sharing Jesus with their family, relatives, acquaintances and neighbors and you are looking at the Productive Seed of God’s Word in action. Yes, there is always room for improvement and growing. This desire to do so is produced by God’s Word.
Let me end with this story. There was a young man who did very well for himself. He went to visit his grandparents who still lived on the farm. Grandpa still plowed with his horses and Grandma still wore her fingers to the bone doing laundry on a wash board. He went into town and bought Grandpa a tractor and a washing machine for Grandma. Three months later he came back to visit them and saw that the gifts he got for them were still unused. “Why?” he asked. Grandpa said, “These gadgets are hard to figure out. It says, ‘Push a button or turn a key and the work will get done. I want to know how these things work!” The young man replied, “I can’t explain how a tractor works, but if it’s so powerful and productive, why not use it? I can’t explain how a washing machine works, but if it’s so powerful and productive, why not use it?” My friends, I can’t explain how the Seed of God’s Word works on your heart, but if it’s so powerful and productive, why not use it?
I know why. Because we are still sinful people, just like King David, with hearts that all to often look like dried, parched fields. We get busted. We can’t hide anything from God. We know what sin does to our lives. We see how sin is destroying the society in which we live. We understand that more and more people are drifting away from God. Where are we going to go to get the courage to keep sharing God’s Word. How can the Kingdom of God grow in the hearts of others? When we are worn out from the battles we fight because our sinful nature won’t leave us alone, where can we go for hope, forgiveness and peace? Walk into the pages of God’s powerful and productive Word and receive hope in the Seed of God’s Word that points us to Jesus. Amen.
