Mark 4:21-34
Thank-you to….
§ all who made the benefit concert for the Canby Community Center a success!
§ Eileen Swigert & her crew for the Food Panty ministry
§ thanks for your faithful giving to General Fund, Great Commission Fund, building fund over the summer months
§ those who came to pray during our First Friday 24 hours of prayer 2 days ago – hope to fill the open slots when we pray next on October 6th
the church is people, a group effort, working together, serving, learning, loving, praying, giving & being transformed together!
+++
1. if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear (4:23) says Jesus. And consider carefully what you hear (24).
2. Jesus lived in an oral culture. Truth was spoken & only rarely written down. We have no record of Jesus ever writing a book. I don’t find Jesus passing out notes in the gospels. He spoke & called people to hear. These words of Jesus that we have before us in the gospels were ‘heard’ long before they were ever ‘read.’
3. one of the mysteries of our faith is that Jesus still speaks words for us to hear today. IN his written Word & THROUGH the spoken word of the sermon.
4. if anyone has ears to hear, let her hear. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus wants to speak to us today. Let’s be ready to hear!
hear these 4 parables
1st notice how ordinary their subjects are
1. a lamp, a measuring cup, scattered seed & a mustard seed. Nothing extraordinary about these things. The stuff of everyday life – the living room, kitchen & field.
2. Jesus was a master at taking the ordinary things of daily life & using them to illustrate the extraordinariness of the kingdom of God.
2nd notice the meaning of these parables
Lamp on a Stand
1. lamps give off light. They extinguish the darkness. The light is meant to shine. To hide the light is to misuse it.
2. the theme of these parables is the kingdom of God. In Jesus the reign & rule of God has come to earth. In Jesus God is doing a new thing. In Jesus God is revealing his love, justice, compassion, salvation, healing, deliverance & kingdom ethics.
3. the followers of Jesus are to let the kingdom shine. They are to spread it in the darkness. The kingdom is not to be hidden or concealed, bottled up in the church or confined to the religious ghetto. Disclosure & openness are to characterize the kingdom.
4. Jesus is speaking directly to us this morning. Some of us have covered our lamps at work. Or at family gatherings. Or on soccer field sidelines. Or even among our Christ-following friends – we seldom ever share with them what God is doing in our life.
5. Jesus wants us to bring the light of kingdom of God out into the open. I believe this is what happened at the benefit concert. The lamp of the kingdom of God sat out on a stand in Wait Park for all to hear.
Measuring Cup
1. the picture Jesus paints is of a measuring cup filled with the kingdom of God. The more we live by the kingdom, the more of the kingdom we will receive. The more kingdom truth we appropriate, the more kingdom truth we will understand and metabolize into our souls, lives, persons.
2. the opposite is true as well. If we don’t live by the kingdom, less of the kingdom will be ours. Little application turns into little apprehension. Little regard for the truth of Christ translates into little profit from the person & power of Christ.
3. what’s in your cup this morning? is it empty? Half full? Full?
4. read the story of Jean from When God Interrupts by M. Craig Barnes. 78 yrs old, dying in hospital, strong faith, quoting Scripture, prayed for husband, children, grandchildren, pastor before she died. She was a window into heaven for Barnes.
5. by living her faith with passion & intensity, God kept her cup full!
Growing seed
1. Jesus reminds us once again that these parables illustrate the kingdom of God. They show us what the kingdom is like.
2. the seed is the kingdom of God. There is power in the seed. The seed grows totally apart from human action. The kingdom of God is growing, expanding, advancing & will day reach its apex at harvest time.
The mustard seed
1. here we learn that the kingdom of God has insignificant beginnings but will have a gigantic finish. The smallest seed will grow to become the largest garden plant.
Lessons from these 2 parables
1. we can find confidence to overcome our despair. It’s easy to look around & wonder if the kingdom of God is making any impact in our world. These 2 parables remind us that there’s a hiddeness to God’s kingdom. We don’t always ‘see’ what God is doing.
2. M. Craig Barnes – the kingdom moves mysteriously when a baby was born in a stable in Bethlehem on a silent, holy night, and 33 years later when an innocent man was crucified on a cross in Jerusalem. When a tired African American woman silently refused to move to the back of the bus, when an old nun quietly washed the bodies of the dying in Calcutta. When a solider in Iraq silently woke up this morning & returned to his duty, placing his life in harm’s way. When somewhere, a young man chose not to be a terrorist or a suicide bomber. The world will never know about that heroic decision because God was working mysteriously, but who knows how many lives were saved?
3. it’s good to be reminded that the seed’s success does not depend upon our feeble efforts. In both parables the seed grows by the mysterious power of God. God’s will will be done, his kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.
4. of course we have a part to play. We are to work, serve, love, sacrifice & give. But ultimately it all comes down to God.
5. we are encouraged to exercise patient faith. There’s an element of waiting in these parables. The kingdom doesn’t come or manifest itself overnight. It’s a slow but certain coming.
6. confidence to overcome or despair; a reminder that the success of the kingdom doesn’t depend upon our efforts; patient faith is called for.
7. I don’t know about you but these parables call me to rest in God. To trust in Him. To become more vertical in my perspective. God is at work advancing his kingdom & nothing in our world can stop him!
§ all who made the benefit concert for the Canby Community Center a success!
§ Eileen Swigert & her crew for the Food Panty ministry
§ thanks for your faithful giving to General Fund, Great Commission Fund, building fund over the summer months
§ those who came to pray during our First Friday 24 hours of prayer 2 days ago – hope to fill the open slots when we pray next on October 6th
the church is people, a group effort, working together, serving, learning, loving, praying, giving & being transformed together!
+++
1. if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear (4:23) says Jesus. And consider carefully what you hear (24).
2. Jesus lived in an oral culture. Truth was spoken & only rarely written down. We have no record of Jesus ever writing a book. I don’t find Jesus passing out notes in the gospels. He spoke & called people to hear. These words of Jesus that we have before us in the gospels were ‘heard’ long before they were ever ‘read.’
3. one of the mysteries of our faith is that Jesus still speaks words for us to hear today. IN his written Word & THROUGH the spoken word of the sermon.
4. if anyone has ears to hear, let her hear. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus wants to speak to us today. Let’s be ready to hear!
hear these 4 parables
1st notice how ordinary their subjects are
1. a lamp, a measuring cup, scattered seed & a mustard seed. Nothing extraordinary about these things. The stuff of everyday life – the living room, kitchen & field.
2. Jesus was a master at taking the ordinary things of daily life & using them to illustrate the extraordinariness of the kingdom of God.
2nd notice the meaning of these parables
Lamp on a Stand
1. lamps give off light. They extinguish the darkness. The light is meant to shine. To hide the light is to misuse it.
2. the theme of these parables is the kingdom of God. In Jesus the reign & rule of God has come to earth. In Jesus God is doing a new thing. In Jesus God is revealing his love, justice, compassion, salvation, healing, deliverance & kingdom ethics.
3. the followers of Jesus are to let the kingdom shine. They are to spread it in the darkness. The kingdom is not to be hidden or concealed, bottled up in the church or confined to the religious ghetto. Disclosure & openness are to characterize the kingdom.
4. Jesus is speaking directly to us this morning. Some of us have covered our lamps at work. Or at family gatherings. Or on soccer field sidelines. Or even among our Christ-following friends – we seldom ever share with them what God is doing in our life.
5. Jesus wants us to bring the light of kingdom of God out into the open. I believe this is what happened at the benefit concert. The lamp of the kingdom of God sat out on a stand in Wait Park for all to hear.
Measuring Cup
1. the picture Jesus paints is of a measuring cup filled with the kingdom of God. The more we live by the kingdom, the more of the kingdom we will receive. The more kingdom truth we appropriate, the more kingdom truth we will understand and metabolize into our souls, lives, persons.
2. the opposite is true as well. If we don’t live by the kingdom, less of the kingdom will be ours. Little application turns into little apprehension. Little regard for the truth of Christ translates into little profit from the person & power of Christ.
3. what’s in your cup this morning? is it empty? Half full? Full?
4. read the story of Jean from When God Interrupts by M. Craig Barnes. 78 yrs old, dying in hospital, strong faith, quoting Scripture, prayed for husband, children, grandchildren, pastor before she died. She was a window into heaven for Barnes.
5. by living her faith with passion & intensity, God kept her cup full!
Growing seed
1. Jesus reminds us once again that these parables illustrate the kingdom of God. They show us what the kingdom is like.
2. the seed is the kingdom of God. There is power in the seed. The seed grows totally apart from human action. The kingdom of God is growing, expanding, advancing & will day reach its apex at harvest time.
The mustard seed
1. here we learn that the kingdom of God has insignificant beginnings but will have a gigantic finish. The smallest seed will grow to become the largest garden plant.
Lessons from these 2 parables
1. we can find confidence to overcome our despair. It’s easy to look around & wonder if the kingdom of God is making any impact in our world. These 2 parables remind us that there’s a hiddeness to God’s kingdom. We don’t always ‘see’ what God is doing.
2. M. Craig Barnes – the kingdom moves mysteriously when a baby was born in a stable in Bethlehem on a silent, holy night, and 33 years later when an innocent man was crucified on a cross in Jerusalem. When a tired African American woman silently refused to move to the back of the bus, when an old nun quietly washed the bodies of the dying in Calcutta. When a solider in Iraq silently woke up this morning & returned to his duty, placing his life in harm’s way. When somewhere, a young man chose not to be a terrorist or a suicide bomber. The world will never know about that heroic decision because God was working mysteriously, but who knows how many lives were saved?
3. it’s good to be reminded that the seed’s success does not depend upon our feeble efforts. In both parables the seed grows by the mysterious power of God. God’s will will be done, his kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.
4. of course we have a part to play. We are to work, serve, love, sacrifice & give. But ultimately it all comes down to God.
5. we are encouraged to exercise patient faith. There’s an element of waiting in these parables. The kingdom doesn’t come or manifest itself overnight. It’s a slow but certain coming.
6. confidence to overcome or despair; a reminder that the success of the kingdom doesn’t depend upon our efforts; patient faith is called for.
7. I don’t know about you but these parables call me to rest in God. To trust in Him. To become more vertical in my perspective. God is at work advancing his kingdom & nothing in our world can stop him!
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