Kingdom Change

We are currently looking at the topic of the Kingdom of God

As I have previously mentioned the Kingdom of God is one of the primary topics in Scripture

Yet even with that being said, there is still a lot of confusion over what exactly the Kingdom of God is

In my opinion the Kingdom of God is basically us surrendering ourselves totally and completely to God’s rule

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is … righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

In Matthew 6:33 we are told to “seek first” the Kingdom of God

Even if we do not totally understand what it is, we are still to seek it

In our look at the kingdom of God – or kingdom of heaven as it is sometimes called – we are going to be taking a look at some of the teachings of Jesus

Often times we see Jesus making statements such as “the Kingdom of God is like …”

We are currently looking at some of these passages

In these passages Jesus is taking something that was familiar to his audience and relating it to what the Kingdom of God is like

I will admit that our parable today is one that I had totally forgotten about

When I was doing the research for this series I ran across this parable and, although I know I have read it countless times I had no recollection of it at all

Kind of took me by surprise honestly!

Just goes to prove that no matter how well you think you know the Bible there are always new things to discover!

This parable is just 4 verses long and only appears in the Gospel of Mark, just a few verses after Jesus gives the parable of the sower

We spoke about the parable of the sower a few weeks ago (recap)

Our passage today is found in Mark 4

Mark 4:26-29 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸  All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹  As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

Remember that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning

The culture in which Jesus was ministering was very much an agricultural society

This is why Jesus used so many farming stories like our story for today

And really, we can relate to this story as well

Not only do we live in a very rural area with a lot of farms, many of us are getting ready to plant our gardens

Personally I love fresh garden vegetables, but I do not enjoy gardening at all!

Back to our Scripture passage – this is a pretty powerful parable

The story itself is really straight forward, but the meaning behind it can get very deep!

What exactly is the meaning?

One of the things about parables is that they do not always have one specific meaning

One commentator had this to say:

“There is no easy take-home message for us in these parables. They ask that we engage our imaginations to follow the possibilities and incongruities that we distinguish between a world where everything is planned, linear, and logical, to one filled with mysteries and surprises into which a Sovereign God invites us.”

(source: http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?SermonID=137222 )

Okay, what is that commentator saying?

They are saying that there is not always one simple straight forward message in a parable

That sometimes the meaning we get depends on our life circumstances at the time

If you ask 5 different preachers to explain this parable you may get 5 similar, yet different messages

Typically when I preach I try to look at things through your eyes

To evaluate where you, as my congregation, are in life and what you might be dealing with

What I want to do today is a little different – I want to interpret this parable through my eyes

To do this I need to give you a little insight into my life

Not too long ago someone asked me why I do what I do, which is a very good question

My answer was pretty simple – I absolutely LOVE helping people

Everyone has their “thing” that brings them joy and fulfillment - my “thing” is when I can make someone’s life better

When I can help them see themselves as God sees them,

When I can help marriages stay together and parents relate better with their children.

When I can help people discover and fulfill their destiny.

When I can help someone break free from an addiction, a lie, or some other bondage that has been plaguing them for years

The ultimate is when I can help a person start their walk with Jesus

Even something as simple as making a person smile brings me happiness

My personal motto is that history will probably never remember the name Harry Colegrove, but I hope that the world will be a better place because I lived.

So, with that insight I want to take a look at this parable as I see it

Let’s read it again

Mark 4:26-29 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸  All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹  As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

So in this parable we have a man scattering, or planting, seed

After the man plants the seed we are told that no matter what he does – whether he is awake or asleep – the seed grows on its own

As long as the soil is healthy and the seed is good, the man does not have to do anything other than plant

It is the nature of the seed to grow all on its own

The man could sit my eagerly watching and waiting, but the seed will grow in its own time

He could try to speak words of encouragement or yell at it to get it to grow faster, but that will not make a bit of difference

The only thing the man could do is that if he noticed the soul getting dry he could water it, but that’s about it

The seed will sprout when it is time for it to sprout

That’s all fine and dandy, but what exactly is Jesus trying to say?

Here is what I believe Jesus is saying to me

I believe Jesus is saying “Harry, all you need to do is plant the seed and leave the rest up to me”

I like the “planting the seed” part a lot

What is this “seed?”

If you back up a few verses to the parable of the sower we see that the seed is the Word of God

The seed could be a direct “thus saith the Lord”, it could be an appropriate Scripture, it could be advice about a situation, or even a simple word of encouragement

All of these things can be the Word of the Lord

I love to plant seed in people’s lives

But I will admit that sometimes I really don’t like the “leave the rest up to me” part

Why do I say that?

Because sometimes that seed does not grow as fast as I want it to grow

Yes, there are times when the seed I plant sprouts and matures quickly – sometimes almost immediately

But then there are times when I plant a seed and nothing seems to happen – there is no noticeable change in that person’s life at all

In fact, sometimes their life gets worse – not because of the seed I planted, but because that seed did not grow in their life

No noticeable change is there

I’ll admit that this is tough at times

There are times when I know the seed I planted was a good one, that if the people just followed through their life would be so much better

Yet there is no change.

Oh how I wish I could make people change!

I’m not saying they would be better – but they would certainly be different!

The thing is, though, that I cannot force someone to truly change

I might be able to force them into a behavioral change, but I cannot force a heart change

What do I mean?

An addict in prison – they are not using because they can’t, as soon as they are out they go right back to using

Kids going wild after they leave home, the parents were able to force their behavior, but as soon as the parental influence was gone their true heart showed through

Here’s what I’ve discovered about change

Change happens when people:

• Learn enough that they want to
• Hurt enough that they have to
• Receive enough that they can

{explain}

As much as I want to force change, I cannot

All I can do is plant the seed and leave the rest up to God

I love what Martin Luther had to say about this

Although I don’t recommend doing exactly what Martin Luther did on Sunday afternoons, his attitude is right on the money when he said “After I preach my sermon on Sunday, when I return home I drink my little glass of Wittenberg beer and I just let the gospel run its course.”

        I will amend that to say “Birch Beer” instead of “Wittenberg beer”

 (source: http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?SermonID=137222 )

I’ll admit that it is utterly frustrating when someone is not changing – when the seed does not appear to be growing

However we must remember that appearance is deceptive

We only see the seed when it breaks through the soil – we cannot see what is going on underground

We have no idea what might be happening in someone’s life that we cannot see

Something else to note –

There may be times when God calls us to tend the soil (explain)

HOWEVER – make sure it’s God!

When in doubt, don’t!

So, what do I want you to take home from the message today?

 – Plant seed

 – Leave the rest up to God

 – Listen for God’s voice on tending the soil