Sermons

3 Parables of Kingdom

I'm going backover the 3 parables of Mark 4 as both Omadachi and I had prepared the same passage and we both have completely different angles!

On Friday, one of Janet's colleagues heard that their school had got into the finals of a music competition in Birmingham and she “just had to tell someone” Good news travels fast!

The last couple of weeks the have been stories emerging of God at work in fresh ways. The Bible Society have published a report of at least monthly church attendance that shows a rise from 8% to 12% population. The kicker is Gen Z 18-24s 4% to 16%! And men more than woman. That is remarkable.
This term I have to do an essay on reverse mission which is reflecting on the rise of Africans coming to the UK and the effect it is having on the church. One Scholar Hollenweger commented that “British Christians prayed for a revival. When it came, they did not recognise it because it was black.” That's a challenge! In London 48% of the church attendance comes from the 8% Black population.
One of the New Frontiers churches in Southampton had J John on Easter Sunday and had 120 responses to the Gospel!

Let's just watch Andrew Johnston talk about that!
VIDEO

Grab your Bibles! Mark 4:8 – those are stories of fruit in the Kingdom!
Did you notice that the minimum fruit for seeds that germinate in the kingdom (ie you and me) is 30x and 60x and 100x can happen. There's a part we play but as we will see it is the Lord that gives the growth from the seed we scatter.

Do you want to be fruitful? What's stopping us?

DL Moody once said “The world has yet to see what God can do with. Man fully consecrated to him. By God's help I aim to be that man.”

Let us see what can stop us bearing 30x fruit in Mark 4:21-24.

Let's read it together.

3 parables- lamp, the seeds growing and the mustard seed becoming a huge tree,

The first parable is the Lamp

Clearly we are the lamp. No-one hides a lamp, it's job is to shine light into the darkness. The gospel in your makes you are lamp = Paul says we shine like stars in the universe. Phil 2:15.

If you are not bearing fruit, is it because you are hiding yourself under the basket or a bed? Do people know you are a child of God? Do they know the difference Jesus has made in you?

Don't put God in a Sunday box and be someone else the rest of the week. The first way to bear fruit is to let your light shine.

The goodness of God shining out – the fruit of the Spirit growing – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.
If you are working or studying – do the best you can, relying on God!

Then Jesus tells us to pay attention how we hear.
Hearing is meant to lead to faith – Paul says faith comes by hearing!
And hearing is meant to lead to doing, putting it in to practice.

Then Jesus tells us to use the measure that we have so more will be given!
That means putting into practice what the Lord has given us – the teaching, the gifts, the anointing. If you want more, use what you have!
If you want to prophecy more, start prophecying a little and often.
If you want to see sick people healed, start praying for sick people.
If you want to see people saved, start sharing your faith.

What God gives you – use it.
You can't lose your salvation, but you can effectiveness – use it or lose it.

Second Parable is the seeds growing

The man is scattering seed and then going to sleep. And while he sleeps God causes the seed to germinate and start growing.

Our job is to sow seed and reap when the harvest is right. God's job is to germinate the seed and cause it to grow.

In a moment or two we will consider ways to simply scatter seed.

But is interesting that Jesus says when the grain is ripe, at once, he puts in the sickle.
There's an urgency to leading someone to putting their faith in Jesus when they are ripe. There's a God moment of germination and readiness to be harvest. Jesus says at once! Don't miss the opportunity.
I am reminded of DL Moody who was doing an evangelistic event on the same night the great fire of Chicago broke out – he didn't offer a chance to come to faith and many died that night. He feared how many died without becoming Christians. It gave him a new resolve “I learned that night”, he said” a lesson which I have never forgotten; and this; when I preach to press Christ upon the people then and there to try to bring them to a decision on the spot. I would rather have the right hand cut off than to give an audience a week to decide what to do with Jesus.

So how we scatter seed in a culture that is largely indifferent? The EA Talking Jesus report found that 55% of people who know a Christian have had a conversation about Christ. That's great. And do you know what that also means they stayed friends!
75% people felt comfortable talking about Christianity with a Christian friend!

• Early offer of prayer – this establishes that you're a Christ follower. If someone shares something with you or is sick or injured. Offer prayer! At the least they will know you love them and at best they will be healed!
• Invite to the a churchService – 80% of people who came to faith were invited by someone they know
• Use an evangelistic tool like the 3-circles or ask Pat about the tool she has learnt in Wymondham.

 

Reality is that 67% of us find it hard to share our faith. You may have good intentions, at least I hope you do. But putting intentions into action is hard! I have found if I want to do something I need to write it down and put a date on it! You will be apparently 5x more likely to do it!

So we have created the ACTS section in our church app – a way to write down your good intentions to share life with people, share something of faith and share Jesus. You can write down your intentions and put a date on it – anonymously. And it will remind you with 3 days to go.

I'd love you to have a go – think of some people you are praying for and write down you good intentions so you can put them into action.

There's three parts to it
Share life – being intentional about the relationships you have = work colleagues, neighbours, family. Doing a bit of life together
Share Faith – being intentional about bringing your faith into the friendship – offer of prayer, talking about Sunday. Ask if they want a Bible. There's a surge in Bible reading – especially among the young!
Share Jesus – being intentional about inviting people to follow Jesus – invite to Alpha, or share the gospel yourself.

If you don't have the app, point your camera at the QR code on the screen to install it.
Or browse to https://ourchurchapp.online

The third parable is the mustard seed
In this story Jesus tells them the tiny mustard seed when it is full grown becomes a huge tree – there's a picture on screen. It's big.
God will grow his kingdom and it will be a blessing.

Maybe just maybe in these turbulent times there's an acceleration of Kingdom Growth. Did you know the biggest church in Europe is in Kiev?! 30,000 people

I love how Jesus talks of the birds of the air making nests in its shade.
Jesus was speaking in Israel a small country 70 miles wide by 270 long. Tiny. But it was on the migration route for birds going from Europe to Asia and North to South. So there can be 400 species of birds. Amazing!

And that's the thing about the kingdom of God – everyone is welcome from whatever their background, tribe or tongue. There is shade for you from the heat of life!

1) Do you need to start following Jesus?
2) Who will be intentional about Sharing life, sharing faith and the sharing Jesus – stick it in the app Acts page!