Trinity Baptist Church

The Book of Mark

The Theology of Sleeping Well, pt. 2

Mark 4:1-20

 

Last week we talked about being able to sleep well in regard to evangelism.  There are some things about folks getting saved that are essential to the way we do evangelism.  If we’re going to have any peace of mind at all about the eternity of those we witness to, then we need to hear what Jesus says here in Mark 4.

 

Now when we look at these parables, we need to keep in mind they flow from the first story He tells, which is about the various types of soil that farmers encounter as they sow their seed.  And he likens their experiences to what the disciples are going to see as they go out to preach the gospel.  In fact, they were already seeing it as they witnessed the teaching and preaching ministry of the Lord. 

 

There were already those around who were rejecting the gospel.  They didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah and no amount of persuasion could make them believe it.  There were some who would follow for a while, but when the free groceries ran out, they would be gone.  And there were some who were going to go back to the comforts and pleasures of the world.  In fact, as close as Judas, they would see this story flesh out before them. 

 

 

 

 

 

But there were also some who were going to see God do some amazing things as well.  Which of them would have believed that on the Day of Pentecost, Peter would preach and three thousand souls would be saved?  In fact, the crowds were trying to get close enough to Peter just to be in his shadow.  They were going to see some amazing things happen within just a few months of when they heard this lesson. 

 

And through these parables, Jesus is telling them and telling us what to expect as far as how the gospel would be received.  And He tells them they are to sow and then go get a good night’s sleep because the seed growing and coming to harvest happens automatically IF there are certain essentials in place. 

 

So there is included here some instruction on how to sow the seed so the harvest can come in.  These are the essentials that need to be in place so the crop can grow and yield a harvest by itself (verse 28). 

 

We began looking at those essentials last week and we began with seed must be sown

 

 

The emphasis of the parable we looked at last week is on how we sow and a harvest happens and we can’t explain it.  It just happens and the farmer doesn’t know how.  So there is no reason for us to get all cocky and arrogant about what we do as far as the harvest is concerned.  Our responsibility is simply to sow the seed. 

 

The second essential is found in

verses 21-23

 

Here we discover we are to sow the seed

 

 

We are humble because we know we are not the power in salvation. But we are obedient because we know we possess the light. That’s the point of that story.

 

We must maintain the balance.  On the one hand, if you get too caught up in election and predestination and all that, you’ll say, “Well, salvation is all of God.  It’s all His choosing and His power and His will so I don’t have any part in it.”

 

So in order to prevent us from saying that, Jesus including this parable.  Jesus said we are to let our light shine before men so they can see our good works and glorify God. You and I are the lamps. You don’t put the lamp under a basket or under bed.  You put it out where everybody can see it.

 

We are humble because we know we are not the power to change the heart, but we are obedient because we know we are the means by which the light comes.

 

What did Paul say to the Romans?  “How will they hear without, what?  A preacher.  Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and make disciples. Go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost part of the earth because the Spirit of God will come upon you and you will be empowered for that.

 

He’s saying to them, “Use some common sense.  Lamps have one and only one purpose.  They are to spread light. You don’t light one just to cover it up with a basket or put it under the bed.  That makes no sense. You put it on a lampstand so it is visible and does the most good. 

 

We are to be lights in the world.  We are to let our light shine. These are all simple, foundational, basic, biblical concepts.

 

So while on the one hand it is not within our power to change hearts, it is within our responsibility to be obedient to let the light shine.

 

There’s a third essential for bringing in the harvest and that is we are to sow the seed

 

 

There are those who say, “If you believe salvation is all the work of God, then that destroys evangelism.”  That’s the big criticism of Calvinism.  But in fact, the opposite is true. 

 

 verses 24 and 25

 

Notice He begins with a warning.  “Take heed”.  Even though we believe we are not the cause or source of anyone’s salvation, we are the means of their salvation.  So we are humble about the power, but we are obedient regarding the means. 

 

That means we must be diligent when it comes to our responsibility to sow the seed and let our light shine.  So just how diligent should we be? Here’s the answer.

“With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you, and to you who hear, more will be given.”

 

In other words, what goes around comes around.  Usefulness and productivity in gospel evangelism is directly proportionate to the seed sown and it leads directly to eternal reward.

 

To put it another way using Biblical terminology, sow sparingly and you will reap sparingly. Sow bountifully and you will reap bountifully.

 

As we go out to sow the seed, we are to sow it diligently because we know that our usefulness is proportionate to our sowing and sowing is directly linked to our blessing and reward.  As Jesus says, “Whoever has, to him more shall be given.”

 

Have you ever heard someone say, “You can’t out give God?”  Generally that’s said in regard to money and tithing and offerings.  But did you know it’s true in regard to a whole lot of other stuff, including evangelism? 

 

And then notice, there is a companion truth on the other side of the issue. 

 

Verse 25b

 

There are a lot of fakes and frauds out there pretending to do the Lord’s work and Jesus said, “One of these days they’re going to want to talk about all the stuff they did.  But God’s going to tell them He never knew them.”

 

They’re not going to get what they think they’re going to get.  Instead they will get what they didn’t think they would get. 

 

On the other hand, the true believers who did the true seed sowing, they’re going to receive more than they ever thought possible.  You say, “More of what?”

 

More of everything!  More of all the grace and goodness and kindness of God. Matthew 13:12 says, “He will have an abundance. Your life will overflow and your eternity will overflow.

 

What a motivation to sow diligently!  Let me give you one more word.  We sow and we sleep because we humbly sow the seed knowing we’re not in charge of the results.

 

We sow obediently because it’s the very nature of being the light that we shine.

 

We sow diligently because our usefulness is proportionate to our faithfulness in sowing and it will be rewarded forever. And finally, we sow

 

 

verse 30

 

How shall we picture the Kingdom of Heaven?  If we had been around at the time, there would have been a tendency to say, “Oh yeah, the kingdom of God!  It’s nothing more than a little group of rag-tag followers in an isolated part of the world with no resources and no power and no influence!’

But that’s not all there is to it.  So here’s how we need to think about it according to Jesus:

 

Verses 31-32

 

Guess what. We can sow confidently because we know that God has determined there will be an amazing outcome that results from our sowing. 

 

Isn’t that amazing?  There is coming this exponential outcome. At one point, the whole kingdom is in a boat in a storm. They could have all drowned right there. Realistically, what should be expected from a tiny little mustard seed of followers? 

 

Jesus says, “Just stand back and watch because from a tiny little mustard seed comes a massive plant.”  They can grow as high as fifteen feet and as wide as 7 or 8 feet.  They grow strong enough for birds to roost in the limbs.  And all of that comes from one tiny little seed.  There is explosive growth potential!  

 

And the Kingdom is going to rise like that. No doubt, the kingdom knew small beginnings.  No one could have ever imagine that very soon they would be saying about this little kingdom, “These people are turning the world upside down.”

 

And by the way, I love the fact that dropped in to the end of verse 32 is this reference to Ezekiel 17 that talks about the birds nesting in the tree that grows.  Commentators love to fuss and discuss the meaning of that phrase.  What does it mean that the birds nest in the mustard seed?  I think it’s very obvious what it means.  All you have to do is read the original reference in Ezekiel 17.

 

The birds represent the nations of the world and Ezekiel is giving us a picture of the coming kingdom of the Messiah.  It’s not just for the Jews.  They were God’s people, but His desire was to use them to reach the world for His Kingdom.   

 

The same picture is provided in Daniel 4 in a human, physical way in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream regarding his kingdom. In this dream he sees this great tree reaching into the sky with wild animals finding shelter under it and birds nesting in its branches.  When Daniel is consulted, he explains the tree represents Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom and how it has extended to (Daniel uses a very interesting phrase) “the ends of the earth”.

 

And here in Mark, Jesus picks up that same picture to describe the Kingdom of God.  This little bitty mustard seed will grow and extend and flourish and just as Jesus said, it will reach the very ends of the earth.  And the very thing that they thought should happen, consistent with Old Testament prophecy, would happen and did happen and is happening. 

 

We’ve had the privilege of living in a time and being directly involved in the fulfillment of this parable and prophecy as we’ve seen the gospel and the church and the kingdom spread across the world.  ANd one day it will all come to a climatic culmination when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom on earth. 

 

So just remember, we are to sow the seed humbly, obediently, diligently, confidently, and leave the results to the Lord. I tell you what, it’s pretty exciting to be a part of this, amen?

 

Let’s pray.