Theme: The Harvest is the Lord’s
1.
In growth
2.
In bearing fruit
Those
of you who have worked with children before know that it takes patience. That’s
a no brainer, right? This basic truth is even more readily apparent when a
certain task involves carefully planned and executed steps that take time. I
remember as a child, the first time I tried to build something out of wood. It
was a TV stand. It was very basic – in part because I was inexperienced,
in part because I was impatient. The edges weren’t rounded down or
sanded. I used simple screws to attach the pieces, didn’t even drill pilot
holes or putty over the top – certainly didn’t use a jig. The stain was a quick
coat of a 2-in-1 stain and finish – not exactly to the standards of the word
working professional.
In
fact, long after that project, I remember the first time I learned about gluing
wood together with clamp, rather than using screws or nails. Again, though,
that takes more time. You have to be willing to let the clamp sit and the glue
dry overnight. If you’re going to stain something correctly, you need to
contemplate the number of coats, you need to sand and re-finish with poly. This
is really a microcosm for many other areas of life. We like to look at the
finished product of something and have that right away. This is exasperated
even more with ready access to viewing finished products. We see people who lose
tremendous amounts of weight, and we want that right away without exercising or
watching what we eat. We see lavish homes redone by do-it-yourselfers, but we
don’t consider the blood and sweat that goes into such projects. Even something
as simple as a well-manicured lawn. It looks neat, tidy, beautiful, but scarce
are we willing to fire up the mower, the edger, or even dust off the lawn
gloves from our garages.
I
recognize the times that I go through this with my own kids, when I want to
work on a project or build something with them. Too often, they’re more than
content to let me do the work or to give up if something takes too much time or
effort. They want the finished product – on demand. But though we speak of this
in the lives of children, it’s really something that is not bound to any age.
We even see it apparent in matters of faith, which is exactly where Jesus leads
us today in His Word.
Mark
4:26-32 "The kingdom of God is like this," He said. "A man
scatters seed on the ground; 27 he sleeps and rises-- night and day, and the
seed sprouts and grows-- he doesn't know how. 28 The soil produces a crop by
itself-- first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain on the head.
29 But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the
harvest has come."
32
And He said: "How can we illustrate the kingdom of God, or what parable
can we use to describe it? 31 It's like a mustard seed that, when sown in the
soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground. 32 And when sown, it comes
up and grows taller than all the vegetables, and produces large branches, so
that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade."
We
have before us two parables about planting and growing. This is a familiar
metaphor in the Bible to describe faith in the believer’s life and the effect
of God’s Word (John 15:5). Jesus spoke these two parables just on the
heels of perhaps the most famous growth parable – that of the Sower and the
Seed.
But
these two parables were shared only to Jesus’ 12 disciples. They are more
direct and specific than the Sower and the Seed. They peel back the curtain of
faith and describe exactly how God operates in His grace and power. And though
every word of God proves faithful, true, and relevant to every person, Jesus
here is specifically speaking to those who carry and bear the Word of God in
ministry and service. We think of public servants – pastors and teachers. They
are the faces of that work in congregations. But every believer has a part and calling
in that task and therefore every believer should listen, learn, and be
encouraged by the words of their Savior. For our purpose today, I propose to
narrow your thoughts down to two themes – one for each parable. Jesus is the
Lord of the Harvest, and as such He oversees the growth and He blesses the
fruit. In other words, He takes of the seed, and He takes care of the sower.
Part
1:
Growth
is a buzz word in Christian culture today. For many, it’s the mark of the true
Church. You may live close to your church, you may know the people there, you
may like the sermons, you may understand the doctrine, but the real question is
– is there growth? Not surprisingly, the meaning of growth in these terms is
often relegated to numerical growth. With such a fascination with growth in this
sense, for many the church has become something to put very little investment
or effort into. Like many things for our children – people would rather jump to
the results. Do I like it or hate it? – or maybe I’m too indifferent to decide.
How can the growth of one’s faith – which is really the purpose of church – be
quantified in such a shallow way?
Jesus
teaches us a bit about growth in the kingdom of God in this first parable, and
the way that He describes it sounds straightforward. It’s like any plant, The
soil produces a crop by itself-- first the blade, then the head, and then the
ripe grain on the head. The key to the parable is in the previous verse and
is captured in this phrase, he (the one who plants) doesn't know how the
seed sprouts and grows. The one who scatters the seed, in spiritual terms
the one who shares the Word, doesn’t know how it grows. It’s the same with a
literal plant. We know what we can see. We know that if you plant a seed in
soil and tend to it with water and sunlight, it will grow. But the deeper
reason why it works this way is not based on what we see or know. HOW God designed
the seed like that – with what properties and potential God put into it –
escapes what we can measure on our own. This is the method of growth and the
same principle is true in terms of spiritual growth.
To
simplify spiritual growth to numbers is foolish. Jesus says, you know not how
it grows. Paul expounded on this mystery about ministry in 1 Corinthians, by,
again, speaking of growth - 1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered,
but God gave the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who
waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. HOW exactly God
accomplished spiritual growth was also unknown to Paul. But, like growing a
plant, we don’t need to know the growth of faith as God knows it. We’re content
to use what God provides and that is simple. (How many times have you planted
without seeing the growth?)
Isaiah
tells us most simply about spiritual growth (in our Scripture reading): “For
just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without
saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to
sow and food to eat, 11 so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to
Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send
it to do." For a long time in my ministry I struggled with this
passage – as I still do at times. I reasoned, how could it be possible that
God’s Word accomplishes His purpose if so often we are met with skepticism,
cynicism, rejection, and unbelief? How can it be possible even in my own life
when I despise and manipulate God’s truth so often? And it caused me to doubt,
not just this word from God, but others. Really it came down to this – is
the Word of God effective for growth? He says it is, but what I see and
experience seems to be so much to the contrary.
But
I realized, in part through a passage like the parable before us this morning,
that I was captive to my own thought of growth – to the world’s insistence that
the value of faith must be measured in numbers, like the bottom line of a
budget. The growth that God is concerned about is growth of faith – growth of
trust and reliance on our Savior, Jesus – with His works, efforts, and merits
leading the way. At times, God’s purpose is to rebuke, admonish, and
disassemble the human constructs we build in our hearts. The method is akin to
(our other Scripture reading) 2 Timothy 4:2 Proclaim the message; persist in
it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great
patience and teaching.
And
this is why, scatter though we may, plant as we try, we know not how God
achieves the growth. We leave it to Him and we concern ourselves with the
matters He has entrusted to us.
When
we understand this about growth, it helps us see properly about bearing fruit.
This is where our second parable comes in. Jesus taught that His kingdom –
think of this as the ruling activity of God in your heart by faith – is like a
mustard seed. Tiny. Almost indiscernible from a grain of sand. Easily trampled
or crushed. Fragile. Yet, it has the potential and ability to produce abundant
fruit. That’s really the purpose of growth right – to produce fruit? Growth
without fruit is pointless – in spiritual terms it’s hypocrisy. But, important
as fruit is, it’s still at the end of the line. Faith starts as this tiny
mustard seed.
The
world has it turned around. Whatever the philosophy or religion you think of,
it uses a person’s actions as the catalyst for growth. It starts with the
fruit. And it can happen to many Christians too. No one boasts about the
mustard seed. No one lavishes weakness, fragility, and complete and total
reliance on God for life. Those are not things that people are proud about in
their lives today. But that is true faith. And properly understanding spiritual
growth and bearing fruit in that faith is essentially to sharing the Word of
God and serving others. But these parables are more than heavenly lessons of
how to be a good Christian. Most importantly, they are messages of hope.
There
is hope for your ministry. You are an unobservant mustard seed – that is the summary.
You know not how growth comes. You are tiny and fragile. Yet, God works through
you. God entrusts to you the message of salvation. God allows you to lead young
and old to their Savior’s arms. Jesus walks with you in His Word, and teaches
you, admonishes you, trains you, encourages you, and blesses your efforts, and
he renews you – He lifts you up in forgiveness which is the single greatest
attribute for ministry. So, it does not depend on your eloquence of speech, on
your quick-witted intuition, on how well you relate to millennials, or any
other demographic. The simple voice that speaks, the ordinary hand that gives,
the gentle mind that considers, the attitude that willingly says, “Here am I,
send me!” – when combined with the powerful Word of the gospel, with the hope
of Jesus Christ - are all tools that God uses to effectively grow His Kingdom.
But
hope reaches beyond your ministry, your service, as well – to the greatest
mystery of all – that God would love a sinner like you enough to die for you.
That’s the renewal – and why it’s the single greatest quality of ministry, you
are simply giving what you have already been giving. Grace is concerned with
your salvation just as much as the unbelievers’. These parables stretch beyond
the scope of service and touch on you as an individual child of God – because
your faith is at the heart of sharing the gospel with others. You are not here
on earth as just as worker for God. You are a living, breathing, walking,
talking proof of salvation in Jesus Christ. You live by the same gift you give
– unconditional love from your Heavenly Father – displayed by His Son, brought
to you daily by His Spirit.
This
is your hope. It’s not just for your neighbor, or your student, or the next church
or missionary prospect. It’s not just to be shared with the world or your
community. Most of all it’s yours, through Jesus, the Lord of the Harvest. The
One who know the growth. The One who blesses the fruit. The One who died for
all. Amen.
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