Growth in the kingdom
Mark 4. 26-29
It is always good to speak at a harvest service. To give thanks to God for His goodness to us. I hope we still realise it is the work of God and in the hands of God that we have food on our tables. The farmer can go about his work plant the seed but it is God who gives the increase. The tragedy is that people no longer believe this. People simply do not acknowledge Him in this work and actually believe that we can do without Him. The whole issue of GM crop’s is a massive one. I do not have the time or mind to understand it all, but I know this, in a season, in a moment the mysterious reproduction of seed is in the hands of God. We need to acknowledge this tonight, that growth comes because of His will and purpose. He spoke " let the earth bring forth grass and herb that yields seed." (Genesis 1. 11)
So I want us to consider this very truth of the place of Gods work not only in the natural harvest but the spiritual harvest that the Bible speaks of. There is spiritual fruit that God expects from His creation and His people. The spiritual kingdom of God is also to grow and yield a harvest. And this is also the work of God. These two points have not registered with we Christians living in Wales with such decline and famine of spiritual life. We need to believe that God’s kingdom is to be a growing kingdom. You read this in the parables that Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom of God. V8 and again in this v27 and again v32. His will is that by this" My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit so you will be my disciples. I have appointed you to bear fruit and your fruit to remain." It is His will for His church, every member doing their part for the growth of the body, so when we thank God for this harvest of natural blessings it reminds us of that spiritual harvest growth is part of His plan. Growth is the normative! This is the first point to remember. Then also this growth is the work of God and not of ourselves. One waters another plants but it is God who gives the increase. We live in a day when listening to the modern emphasis on church growth you would believe this is something that man can do by himself. We do not need God. We no longer pray. We simply have our own agenda ,statistics and plans .God does not come into our thinking .We can do with out Him. Now this is not what we are being taught here.
Turn to the parable of the seed growing secretly,(Mark.4.26-29) recorded only in this Gospel. Mark gives a very dynamic and powerful account of the ministry of the Lord and Saviour. It is a Gospel about the deeds of Christ. It is fast moving. It is all action. It is filled with the dramatic accounts of the Lord. So when we read here of how the kingdom of God grows quietly, secretly, gradually, It seems like it is a contradiction of all that is presented to us in this Gospel. It seems strange.
So let us first look at what the Lord Jesus Christ is saying about the kingdom of God, how it begins, how it grows, how it comes to an end. If we do not understand this we shall be disappointed. We want above all things that this work will prosper and grow.
It begins simply as if a man is going out into the field to scatter seed. The kingdom of God grows like this. Seed that is scattered. He makes this point three times just in case for some reason they fail to grasp it v3, v14. Behold a sower went out to sow and the seed is the word of God. This is exactly what has happened.Christ came to this earth.. He is the word of God incarnate and He preached to people the message of His coming. Crowds gathered to listen. Individual people came to Him and He spoke the word of God like the farmer scattering the seed on the ground.
These disciples were meant to learn this but even at the end of His ministry they still did grasp this fact. They thought that the kingdom was going to be taken by force and by outward works of mighty power, might and miracles. You can understand that. Other kingdoms have risen by the strength of their armies. It is not a soldier here but a farmer. It is not a work, a social work, a signs and wonders work, a sacramental work or signing work ,it is a speaking work..It goes forth with people speaking the Word of God. How did the church grow in the Acts of the Apostles? By preaching.
This section is encouraging and instructive. The kingdom of God begins with the word of God going forth. There is no final harvest, there is no grain, no blade, no fruit, if there is no seed. The Gospel must be preached and scattered. This is what the church is commanded to do. Not that we can give life or cause fruit to grow .It is simply to speak the word. Faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of God.. How can they call on Him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in Him who they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent,unless someone comes and brings glad tidings of great joy.
I am reminded of the worldly story of a person who asked God to help them win the lottery, not that I have ever bought a ticket. But nothing happened then this person says to God, well at least this week, buy a ticket. But this is the very attitude that permeates many chapels and churches. There is no harvest. There is no growth. No fruit from one year to the next and then when asking a bit more you find out there is no seed being scattered. No farmer in his right mind would spend his days looking on a field for a harvest on which they have not scattered any seed. In the principles of the kingdom of God and his growth the laws he has laid down in His spiritual kingdom seed needs to be scattered and people need to hear. Are you doing that?
But there is another work that man has no part in. It is the secret of Gods work. (V 26- 27) After he has done this scattering we are told that he goes home and he sleeps and he gets up in the morning. The Lord is pointing here to the empathic. He does not know how! The scientist does not know even this day the laws of growth. The seed dies first and then lives. This is a mystery in the natural realm let alone the spiritual. The farmer once he has scattered the seed has nothing else to do but wait. He has his cows to see to and much other work. He has milk quotas to see to, paper work galore. He does not stand by his field waiting and watching at night. I pass a field of corn every sunday and over the summer months I have never seen the farmer out looking at what is going on.
It is like this with the Gospel work. The seed is planted into the ground. We do not see what is going on under the earth, how the roots are formed and change is taking place. Similiarly when the seed of Gods word is planted in to the heart we do not see how faith comes to life. I know not how the spirit moves creating faith within. I used to try and look every five minutes. You drive people mad. You will drive your children mad. It stops growth if you dig the seed up all the time.
There is a secret about the work of God that we as human beings just do not know. When we are dealing with the Gospel and we speak about what is of God. Jesus said that the wind blows where it wishes who can tell where it comes from and where it goes?So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Although we may be Christians and our minds have been enlightened, we have masses of books and learning and teaching, we still do not understand how the Spirit quickens life in the heart. We do not know our selves when life began. We can not explain the effects of Gods word upon peoples' souls. We preach and we scatter the seed but what takes place in peoples' hearts is hidden. Like the seed in the ground, we can not see it, we do not know what is happening. How can one explain why the word effects some and not others? Why is it that some come through in a matter of weeks and others are unchanged for years and then something takes place? I heard of one who was years in an evangelical place .In the end the person came along all of a sudden .Yes she is different. These are the secrets of God. (Romans 11.34.) It is like this he does not know.
This is news for people. We live in a day that needs to see Gods kingdom grow and if we do not see anything we believe that Gods work is not going on. Power evangelism demands our seeing instant results. But instant results are no signs whatsoever. It is like this. Often there is a springing up of those who receive with gladness but there is no lasting work of God. So often as He explains, the kingdom is deep,it is secret, hidden it is not for us to know right away.
Some are huge on statistics, research, results ,reading. We like to see things happening and there is nothing wrong with that. Except this,that unless we see something happening we conclude that God is not at work. This is the day that we live in, it is a day of the spectacular. What is interesting about this parable is its Jewish reference to time. Night and then day. Jews request a sign. Everything has to be on the spectacular side in the things of the world and in the things of Christianity itself. We want to see results We want to see the dynamic power of God at work, and if we do not we are greatly disappointed. And one of the reasons for this is because we do not understand the ways of God and the workings of the kingdom of God
Then also I want you take note of the seed. Look at verse 28. There is an emphasis that this is the work of God and not of the farmer. The seed brings forth fruit of itself. It is not the farmers work. It is not of man. He has nothing to do with it.
This word (itself) literally means automatically it brings forth of it own accord. It takes root, there is life in it, and it is living and active. And when that seed of grace is planted in the heart there is nothing that can stop it. You see plants where there have pushed themselves through the sidewalk, through drainpipes, through walls, roofs of buildings. They grow no matter what .It is powerful.
The word of God will grow. No matter how hard a heart is or ,how dead a person is to God and Christ. There is life in this seed that has been planted. Fist the blade, a person has feelings and a love for God and faith appears in Christ and then one grows and lives the Christian life and a maturity should come in the living and believing of ones life glorifying God. There is a desire to obey God and to have his rule in ones life more and more.
There is a growth development that should be in ones life, the spiritual law of progress. Ask yourself has there been growth? Has one grown in the Christian life? A development that should take place. It is not that one becomes a Christian, that is it. There is this gradual law of progress. Growth takes place .This is what the kingdom of God is like,bit by bit by bit, the blade, the ear, the full corn. The law of growth that is in this world.A child is born and grows. A cow gives birth to a calf not a cow. A horse to a foal or to a horse. There is growth and it naturually flowers gives seeds that grow. So in the spiritual life. Grace is life. There must be growth in grace in our heart, in our lives, in homes in the spheres of all that we do.
There is a man I know very sincere and committed. He would say he had a meeting. It was wonderful, a Holy Ghost explosion.Tthe word of God is like dynamite, power. The word for power in the Greek. When speaking he used to make these sounds like bang,, bush,bomb .It was never a quiet unassuming meeting. Do not get me wrong. This is powerful and living and nothing can stop its work, but it is gradual. Look at ones own life, how it has taken time. But grace has been planted in the heart and it does its work. Second point.
Lastly there is a scattering of the seed and the secret solitary work of God that will bring the harvest to a successful end. (V29) There is an end to all of this. The harvest reminds us of this. There will be a time when the last of Gods elect will be gathered in. We have a harvest thank God but this will be the final harvest. And you can be sure of this in ones life. He who began a good work in you will complete it until that day. It may be imperfect but the Lord knows what He is doing. There is coming a day of the final harvest. This is then the kingdom of God. How it comes into being, how it grows with no one really knowing how. No one can stop this work once that seed has been planted.We know in our own hearts and we know it in the world. The day is coming when God will put the final stickle in. This is Gods work ,His kingdom, His word, His effectual work and His harvest. This has been the story of the church, of the people of God. Many times it has looked dead and buried but victory is secure. There is that word of life that lives and abides forever.
The point is you can know this word and work of God in your lives will bring forth fruit, for the final harvest.
Listen to what the parable is saying. This is what we are speaking about, the scattering of this seed. Are you tonight someone who is trusting in the work of men and of yourself ?There are those who actually speak of all they have done. This is plain, the seed brings forth fruit by itself by trusting and believing and taking this word. There are those who believe that it is in something that the church has given and blessed them with. But it is not that.It is in the word itself.
Now the sad fact is that in trying to achieve growth in that the church is turning wrongly to human effort. People no longer believe that the word is enough to bring forth-spiritual life thinking that it is a weak word which needs some help, some human aid thinking that the seed by itself can not bring about the increase in Gods kingdom. Let me remind you that this seed is the word of God. The Gospel of the Lord and Saviour 1Peter 1.23-25. It is about Jesus that he came that He lived, that He died and rose again. It is the word about eternal life. And there is something about this word. It has life, the word of God is living,, the word of God is powerful. It is the power of God to Salvation. It is only by the word of God that we can know of growth and it is this word that needs to be planted into the lives of the children in the Sunday school, the youth meeting, Bible studies and preaching services. It is encouraging there is only one seed. A good farmer would not sow inferior seed. I have a man in the church who sells seed. There are different returns This seed brings a harvest. Let’s take them and scatter them for the kingdom of God Amen.