WEBVTT 00:00:02.670 --> 00:00:04.990 Hello, you're listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:05.129 --> 00:00:07.969 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:08.589 --> 00:00:11.029 This epiphany in Lent, we're back in the Gospels, 00:00:11.310 --> 00:00:14.189 specifically the Gospel of Mark. We are seeing 00:00:14.189 --> 00:00:17.390 the revelation of God in Jesus. Mark is showing 00:00:17.390 --> 00:00:21.030 us the true King becomes a servant for us. He 00:00:21.030 --> 00:00:23.769 says right at the heart, the Son of Man came 00:00:23.769 --> 00:00:26.489 not to be served, but to serve and to give his 00:00:26.489 --> 00:00:30.519 life as a ransom for many. And Mark is nearly 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:33.560 always asking his audience, what do you make 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:38.700 of that? So, what do you make of this good news? 00:00:40.979 --> 00:00:43.219 We'd love to meet you and we hope you'll consider 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:45.299 coming and joining with us each Sunday morning 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:47.380 at 10 a .m. in the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:47.899 --> 00:00:50.119 You can find us online at secondcitychurch .org 00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:53.039 and on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We hope 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:56.450 you enjoy this sermon. God bless. Lord again 00:00:56.450 --> 00:01:00.549 we ask that the words of my mouth and the meditations 00:01:00.549 --> 00:01:03.490 of all of our hearts would be pleasing in your 00:01:03.490 --> 00:01:06.450 sight that you would speak to us and that we 00:01:06.450 --> 00:01:10.430 would bear fruit we ask this in Jesus name amen 00:01:10.430 --> 00:01:15.739 all right I just heard that they have four hour 00:01:15.739 --> 00:01:21.079 services. Settle in. We're in Mark chapter four 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:24.219 and the entirety of Mark chapter four speaks 00:01:24.219 --> 00:01:28.659 to the power of the word of God and also the 00:01:28.659 --> 00:01:30.799 great need to hear it. Actually throughout the 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:34.319 chapter the need to hear and hearing is mentioned 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.659 some eight different times. It's a significant 00:01:37.659 --> 00:01:40.079 part of the entirety of the chapter and next 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:42.719 week we'll actually see the power of the Word 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:45.540 of God, specifically the words of Christ speaking 00:01:45.540 --> 00:01:50.280 over the tumult on the Sea of Galilee. But anyway, 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:52.099 last week we heard the parable of the sower and 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:54.519 how he went out to sow and some seeds fell on 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:56.519 fertile ground and some on not so fertile ground 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:00.480 and all of that. And we heard about how the explanation 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:04.189 of that parable And not just that, parable in 00:02:04.189 --> 00:02:07.469 some ways, all parables, how they hide and how 00:02:07.469 --> 00:02:10.250 they bring and bear fruit in some people's lives, 00:02:10.289 --> 00:02:13.629 those who have ears to hear, or who have hearts 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:16.050 to receive, or who simply are desirous to ask 00:02:16.050 --> 00:02:18.150 questions, like the disciples and those who are 00:02:18.150 --> 00:02:19.750 with them ask Jesus, what do these things mean? 00:02:19.770 --> 00:02:23.509 And he reveals them to him. Which is to say parables 00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:27.750 reveal our hearts. They're a test for other hearers. 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:31.360 Today we're actually taking on a number of parables. 00:02:31.379 --> 00:02:33.060 You heard them. There's a few short ones there 00:02:33.060 --> 00:02:35.240 all tied together. And in some ways they are 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:37.360 all related to this idea of hearing, but then 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:40.560 also acting upon what we've heard and also the 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:43.800 idea of growth. And ultimately it's actually 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:45.759 related to the idea of what God is going to do, 00:02:45.780 --> 00:02:50.759 the surprising work of God in the world. I was 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:52.680 preparing a sermon. I listened to a sermon by 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:56.069 the pastor that I had growing up. And in it, 00:02:56.090 --> 00:02:58.129 he gave an illustration of sorts that was sort 00:02:58.129 --> 00:03:01.310 of analyzing and giving some history behind a 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:04.370 hymn, a hymn which I love. It was written by 00:03:04.370 --> 00:03:07.810 the American Presbyterian William Pearson Merrill. 00:03:08.310 --> 00:03:11.969 That hymn is titled Rise Up, O Man of God, Rise 00:03:11.969 --> 00:03:14.569 Up, O Men of God. And I need to give you some 00:03:14.569 --> 00:03:19.050 context about why I love this. So I went to Western 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:21.150 Washington University, a university that all 00:03:21.150 --> 00:03:24.590 of you have heard of. because of its great fame. 00:03:26.669 --> 00:03:29.009 And my last year there, I lived with 10 other 00:03:29.009 --> 00:03:34.669 guys who were following Jesus together. And so 00:03:34.669 --> 00:03:37.810 we were near the end of our time there at Western, 00:03:37.909 --> 00:03:40.069 and some guys helped lead Young Life, the high 00:03:40.069 --> 00:03:41.810 school ministry, Young Life, and others of us 00:03:41.810 --> 00:03:43.770 were involved in different campus ministries. 00:03:44.349 --> 00:03:46.710 But all of us were involved in brewing the beer 00:03:46.710 --> 00:03:49.699 for our house. which had to happen in the garage 00:03:49.699 --> 00:03:52.460 because Young Life stipulated that if you were 00:03:52.460 --> 00:03:54.500 a leader, you couldn't have beer in your house. 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:57.240 And so we followed the letter of law and had 00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:00.599 it in the garage. And two of those guys actually 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:02.240 went on to own their own breweries. They still 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:03.979 do. One of them has actually won international 00:04:03.979 --> 00:04:07.560 awards, Frem Family Brewers. They lived in that 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:10.240 house, but we all took turns. And if you've ever 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:11.680 brewed beer, you know that there's quite a bit 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:13.639 of time of just waiting while the grains are 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:15.560 steeping and the hops are giving flavor and all 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:18.300 that. And so during that time, we would sing 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:20.500 songs. At least many of us would sing songs together. 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:23.160 One of the songs that we would sing is Psalm 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:27.899 68 to Louis Bourgeois' famous tune that worked 00:04:27.899 --> 00:04:31.519 with Calvin in Geneva. That tune actually, interestingly, 00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:33.740 was outlawed for a little while in France. You 00:04:33.740 --> 00:04:35.980 couldn't even whistle it because it was signaling 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:38.550 that you were a Protestant. So there are parts, 00:04:38.589 --> 00:04:41.269 particularly around Paris, where that tune was 00:04:41.269 --> 00:04:44.189 outlawed. Anyway, one of the other songs we would 00:04:44.189 --> 00:04:48.410 sing is this song, Oh Men of God by William Merrill. 00:04:49.490 --> 00:04:52.910 Hopefully you know it. If you don't, it's my 00:04:52.910 --> 00:04:57.209 opportunity to teach you. Rise up, oh men of 00:04:57.209 --> 00:05:04.180 God, his kingdom tarries long. Bring in the day 00:05:04.180 --> 00:05:08.959 of brotherhood and then the night of wrong. You 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:13.100 see how it's like, come on, let's go. We found 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:16.699 it inspiring. Maybe more than you just did, I 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:19.839 don't know. But we had, okay, we can bring in 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.360 the day of brotherhood and the night of wrong. 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:23.060 It's a very inspiring thing, particularly for 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:26.939 young men brewing beer together. And so I learned 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:31.720 from this sermon that this minister, Merrill, 00:05:32.019 --> 00:05:34.220 he was part of the liberal wing of the Presbyterian 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:36.399 Church in the late 19th century, early 20th century 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:38.620 in America, which at the time often actually 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:40.060 literally meant that you didn't believe things 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:42.480 like the resurrection of Christ, or the virgin 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:44.480 birth, or miracles, or those kinds of things. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:46.720 And that was the fundamentalist liberal controversy 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:48.899 within the Presbyterian Church in the early part 00:05:48.899 --> 00:05:52.540 of the 20th century. But he was part of a movement 00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:56.879 called World Brotherhood. And that was this movement 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:00.319 that taught that really the Christian men particularly 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:02.980 were to rise up and to right the wrongs of the 00:06:02.980 --> 00:06:06.699 world, to take into their own hands the need 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:08.939 to bring the justice of God and the peace of 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:12.399 God and the kingdom of God into the world. And 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:17.019 that they could do it. While they set aside these 00:06:17.019 --> 00:06:21.019 great works of God, they could still actually 00:06:21.019 --> 00:06:25.699 bring in the reality of the kingdom. One of the 00:06:25.699 --> 00:06:27.560 other stanzas, I'm not gonna sing it to you this 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:30.680 time, says this, rise up, O men of God. The church 00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:34.660 for you doth wait. Her strength unequal to her 00:06:34.660 --> 00:06:37.939 task. You rise up and make her great, I added 00:06:37.939 --> 00:06:41.660 to you. Anyway, the British hymn scholar, Eric 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:46.060 Rowley says this, okay. He says, this is a British 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:49.439 writer writing about this American hymn. He says, 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:56.920 The genius of American Protestantism is that 00:06:56.920 --> 00:07:01.060 this author should write of men making the church 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:05.560 great. Englishmen have come to prefer an edited 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:08.920 version. Her strength shall make your spirit 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:14.819 strong. Her service make you great. But of course, 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:17.300 we Americans like the idea that we can get it 00:07:17.300 --> 00:07:20.980 done. Don't tell us what we can't do Don't tell 00:07:20.980 --> 00:07:24.600 us that we need others and the reality of the 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:28.019 supernatural God at work in his bride the church 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:33.160 his body We Americans don't like the idea that 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:37.740 we cannot make something happen But it's interesting 00:07:37.740 --> 00:07:40.939 Jesus did if you remember from last week he just 00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:47.189 did invite us to have ears to hear And he actually 00:07:47.189 --> 00:07:50.170 said that in so doing, right, in being that fertile 00:07:50.170 --> 00:07:53.509 soil of the kingdom, remember the surprising 00:07:53.509 --> 00:07:57.189 thing of last week was the utter astounding amount 00:07:57.189 --> 00:08:01.949 of grain that was produced, you know, 30 -fold, 00:08:02.149 --> 00:08:07.269 60 -fold, 100 -fold. So he invites us to have 00:08:07.269 --> 00:08:09.009 ears to hear, to come and to sit with him and 00:08:09.009 --> 00:08:11.310 to have questions for him that we might be those 00:08:11.310 --> 00:08:15.120 who bear the fruits of the kingdom. So anyway, 00:08:15.139 --> 00:08:17.759 this morning I think our texts as we take them 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:20.800 together are getting at one of the great mysteries 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.600 of Christian faith, the mystery of the working 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.319 of the kingdom of God, but also it talks about 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:29.300 its surprising outcome. Okay, the mysteries of 00:08:29.300 --> 00:08:31.500 the kingdom and yet it's surprising outcome. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:38.620 So here's the mystery. You get out what you put 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:46.269 in and yet it is all up to God. Feels kind of 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:47.769 Polar in a way. Let's break it down a little 00:08:47.769 --> 00:08:50.169 bit. Okay, first you get out what you put in 00:08:50.169 --> 00:08:53.129 So two parts to this first section, right? Let 00:08:53.129 --> 00:08:57.210 me read verses 21 to 23 open up your Bible there 00:08:57.210 --> 00:09:05.169 And he said to them is a lamp brought in to be 00:09:05.169 --> 00:09:09.289 put under a basket or under a bed and not on 00:09:09.289 --> 00:09:13.409 a stand For nothing is hidden except to be made 00:09:13.409 --> 00:09:15.889 manifest, nor is anything secret except to come 00:09:15.889 --> 00:09:21.110 to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let them 00:09:21.110 --> 00:09:27.690 hear. Stop there. We know that lamps are meant 00:09:27.690 --> 00:09:33.090 to bring light. Maybe we think in our day that 00:09:33.090 --> 00:09:37.870 leaving the lights on in the house is no big 00:09:37.870 --> 00:09:40.980 deal. You know, we walk in and out of one room 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.759 and we don't always turn it off. Some of you 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:49.720 do this. But you must remember that oil was what 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:52.360 actually fed the lamps in these days. Oil was 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:55.279 precious. You wouldn't just kind of light it 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:56.779 and then, you know, put it under so it wasn't 00:09:56.779 --> 00:09:59.299 being used. You would never do that. You would 00:09:59.299 --> 00:10:02.230 never light. a lamp and then cover it up and 00:10:02.230 --> 00:10:04.049 put it under a bed. In some ways, people are 00:10:04.049 --> 00:10:06.070 listening to Jesus and they're thinking, what 00:10:06.070 --> 00:10:08.250 a silly thing. Of course, you don't do that. 00:10:08.269 --> 00:10:13.470 You would never do that. The lamps are to illuminate. 00:10:14.049 --> 00:10:16.230 You would never light it and just waste that 00:10:16.230 --> 00:10:22.649 oil and put it under the bed. Cover it up. You 00:10:22.649 --> 00:10:25.649 place it on that state. Do what it's meant to 00:10:25.649 --> 00:10:29.570 do. Bring light. And Jesus of course is saying 00:10:29.570 --> 00:10:34.169 the word is meant to be heard. Seeds are meant 00:10:34.169 --> 00:10:36.690 to be received by good soil and bear fruit and 00:10:36.690 --> 00:10:40.049 lamps are made to give light. Fairly simple. 00:10:41.610 --> 00:10:44.629 So what do you do with what you've received? 00:10:48.190 --> 00:10:50.230 What do you do with the words of the kingdom 00:10:50.230 --> 00:10:53.230 of God? Do you come back to the sower as we just 00:10:53.230 --> 00:10:56.610 heard in the previous passage and say, I don't 00:10:56.610 --> 00:10:59.950 really understand. Explain it to me. I want to 00:10:59.950 --> 00:11:04.169 bear fruit. I want to receive the word. That's 00:11:04.169 --> 00:11:05.990 truly the word of God. And I want it to have 00:11:05.990 --> 00:11:09.450 an effect in my life. Give me your light. That's 00:11:09.450 --> 00:11:11.129 what the disciples are saying, what Jesus is 00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:14.809 encouraging us to hear, to say, that I might 00:11:14.809 --> 00:11:18.450 make the world a brighter place. Right? You would 00:11:18.450 --> 00:11:22.529 say, no way, you don't do that. Light lamps are 00:11:22.529 --> 00:11:26.330 meant to give light. Do you rise up at the word 00:11:26.330 --> 00:11:30.809 of God? You seek to put an end to the nights 00:11:30.809 --> 00:11:32.870 of the world, the wrongs of the world. Do you 00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:35.610 bear the fruits of the kingdom of God? Do you 00:11:35.610 --> 00:11:37.809 shine the light of the kingdom of God? That's 00:11:37.809 --> 00:11:40.250 part of the question Jesus is asking us in this. 00:11:40.549 --> 00:11:43.350 So he goes on, verse 24, and look at me down 00:11:43.350 --> 00:11:46.990 there. And he said to them, pay attention to 00:11:46.990 --> 00:11:51.809 what you hear. Listen up. With the measure you 00:11:51.809 --> 00:11:55.600 use, it will be measured to you, and still more 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.539 will be added to you. For the one who has, more 00:11:59.539 --> 00:12:02.440 will be given, and from the one who has not, 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:05.879 even what he has will be taken away. I think 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:08.279 this last part sounds a little bit harsh, at 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:09.840 least initially maybe, but I don't think the 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:12.320 meaning is too hard to get in its context, which 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:16.059 again is simply you get out what you put in. 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:19.440 If you don't really care for what you've been 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:24.049 given, it'll be taken from you. I'm thinking 00:12:24.049 --> 00:12:25.970 about another parable that Jesus gives in Matthew 00:12:25.970 --> 00:12:28.370 25, the parable of the talents. Some of you will 00:12:28.370 --> 00:12:31.169 be familiar with this. Jesus tells a story there 00:12:31.169 --> 00:12:34.509 in Matthew 25 of a man who's leaving and he calls 00:12:34.509 --> 00:12:37.149 three of his servants to him and he gives one 00:12:37.149 --> 00:12:41.350 of them five talents, some money. He gives another 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:43.129 one two talents and he gives another one one 00:12:43.129 --> 00:12:45.750 talent and he goes away. And the one who has 00:12:45.750 --> 00:12:47.649 five, he trades and he makes another five out 00:12:47.649 --> 00:12:49.610 of it, now he's got 10. And the one who has two, 00:12:49.750 --> 00:12:52.269 he trades and he makes them and he's got more. 00:12:52.669 --> 00:12:56.789 But the one who has one, he lives in fear. Yeah, 00:12:56.789 --> 00:13:01.289 he's fearful of the master. He says, I'm gonna 00:13:01.289 --> 00:13:03.750 bury this. I'm not gonna do anything with this 00:13:03.750 --> 00:13:07.809 thing because I'm fearful. And so he hides it. 00:13:08.070 --> 00:13:10.289 And so the master comes back and he says to the 00:13:10.289 --> 00:13:12.759 one who has now 10 and the one who has. now four 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:14.059 or you know they've doubled theirs and they're 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:18.919 like oh good job you know enter in uh have more 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:22.080 and yet to the one who has one it's a little 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:26.559 one just one he says specifically you wicked 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.259 and you slothful servant and he takes that one 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:34.179 from him he gives it to the man who had ten maybe 00:13:34.179 --> 00:13:36.600 you think that's a little bit unjust but this 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:40.980 is exactly what our lord is saying here It's 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:42.740 exactly what our Lord is saying here. If you 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:47.019 take the words of God for granted, if you do 00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:50.480 nothing with them, why do you expect fruit in 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:54.779 your life? Why do you expect God to be at work 00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:58.360 in your life? If you just say, ah, okay, I hear 00:13:58.360 --> 00:13:59.759 you gave this to me, I'm not gonna do anything 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:02.139 with it. You give me this opportunity, I'm not 00:14:02.139 --> 00:14:05.039 gonna take it. I hear the word, I don't really 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:07.379 care that much. Why do you expect God to be active 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:10.440 in your life? Let me change it a little bit. 00:14:10.580 --> 00:14:13.519 If you take the good fortune of having Christian 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:15.440 parents who prayed with you and taught you the 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:19.220 word and then you shunned that, why would you 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:20.960 think that God's gonna bear the fruit of the 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:25.299 kingdom in you? Or if you take the encouragement 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:27.779 of the saints that is on offer to you in small 00:14:27.779 --> 00:14:30.740 groups and on ministry teams, that opportunity 00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:34.220 that's there before you to walk alongside life 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:36.679 or walk in life alongside other people. You say, 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.960 I did not want that opportunity. Why do you think 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:41.879 the fruits of the kingdom of God would be born 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:50.080 in your life? Think of the proverb that we had 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:54.179 as our offertory verse a couple weeks back. One 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:58.639 gives freely yet grows all the richer. Another 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:01.379 withholds what he should give and only suffers 00:15:01.379 --> 00:15:08.210 once. What do we do with what's been given to 00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:15.250 us? You get out what you put in. Why do we think 00:15:15.250 --> 00:15:17.429 we can withhold from God, right? This is what 00:15:17.429 --> 00:15:19.929 that proverb verse was saying, that which He's 00:15:19.929 --> 00:15:24.669 given to us and it'll be okay for us. God says, 00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:28.009 I'm gonna give it to you and be generous, give 00:15:28.009 --> 00:15:30.269 back and listen to me. And we say, we can do 00:15:30.269 --> 00:15:32.429 what we want. And Jesus says again and again, 00:15:32.509 --> 00:15:34.470 the Bible tells us again and again, even what 00:15:34.470 --> 00:15:39.019 you have will be taken from you. You get out 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:43.159 what you put in. So this is a part of the truth 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:46.419 of scripture, right? I'm gonna say this, that 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:48.539 it's the first part of the mystery of this passage. 00:15:49.059 --> 00:15:52.759 You get out what you put in. But that in itself 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:54.539 doesn't sound too mysterious because actually 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:56.340 we know this is kind of true in most of our lives. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:58.220 It's true in our relational lives, right, with 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:00.460 friends. You don't call up a friend, you don't 00:16:00.460 --> 00:16:02.279 keep up with them, then that friendship dissipates 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:05.279 if you don't nurture your marriage. The marriage 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:07.419 does not grow and actually bear fruit. You know 00:16:07.419 --> 00:16:09.179 these kinds of things. That's not too mysterious. 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:11.879 But I think it's mysterious when you put together 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:14.200 the other side, the next thing that Jesus teaches. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:17.080 And this next thing is that it's all about God. 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:21.360 It's only ever the work of God, which feels like 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:23.379 something that is actually living in paradox 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:26.159 to what I just said. Okay, verse 26, look with 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:32.200 me down at that. And he said, the kingdom of 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:36.080 God, is as if a man should scatter seed on the 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:40.600 ground he sleeps and rises night and day and 00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:44.860 the seed sprouts up and grow he knows not how 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:49.039 the earth produces by itself first the blade 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:53.659 then the ear then the full grain in the ear but 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:56.279 when the grain is ripe at once he puts in the 00:16:56.279 --> 00:17:00.139 sickle because the harvest has come so again 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:06.259 The kingdom of God is like a seed. But here again 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:08.579 also we actually find a good lesson on how parables 00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:12.220 work. I mentioned, you know, one of the ways 00:17:12.220 --> 00:17:13.920 that you should, what you should do in parables 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.440 is always look for the thing that makes you go, 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:17.660 that doesn't seem quite right. or that makes 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:20.140 me scratch my head. You know, ears should only 00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:22.380 produce six or eight or tenfold at the most, 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:25.680 not a hundredfold. And right there, in that strangeness, 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:27.099 the part that makes you scratch your head that 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:29.980 seems odd, it's the original audience, is oftentimes 00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:32.299 the key in understanding the parable, okay? That's 00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:35.460 just a good thing to keep in mind when you're 00:17:35.460 --> 00:17:38.339 approaching parables. So you're supposed to say, 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:40.519 well, lamps are meant to bring light. Of course 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:42.880 you wouldn't, you know, put it under the bed, 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:45.829 stuff like that. But here we scratch our heads. 00:17:46.109 --> 00:17:48.869 You should be scratching your head at the passivity 00:17:48.869 --> 00:17:53.329 of the farmer. And it's actually highlighted 00:17:53.329 --> 00:17:56.170 for us in a number of ways. Maybe you notice 00:17:56.170 --> 00:18:00.609 this. Let me show them to you. So this man with 00:18:00.609 --> 00:18:02.470 scatter seed on this ground. And of course, the 00:18:02.470 --> 00:18:04.029 context of chapter four, there's already been 00:18:04.029 --> 00:18:05.829 the sower that goes out to seed, right? So this 00:18:05.829 --> 00:18:09.029 is the context of a farmer. He sleeps and rises 00:18:09.029 --> 00:18:13.970 night and day. He's just sleeping. He's sleeping. 00:18:13.990 --> 00:18:16.289 He's hanging out blah blah blah, you know, totally 00:18:16.289 --> 00:18:20.390 passive and it says it grows and then the last 00:18:20.390 --> 00:18:23.069 part of verse 27 little little Claude says he 00:18:23.069 --> 00:18:25.049 knows not how and you're like, wait a second 00:18:25.049 --> 00:18:27.849 That's not how farmers work. They don't just 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:32.690 throw stuff And they know how it works And then 00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:34.309 the next verse the beginning of the next verse 00:18:34.309 --> 00:18:38.910 says the earth produces it by itself You're like 00:18:38.910 --> 00:18:41.960 wait a second Peter. You just told us last week 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:44.440 that you would scatter seed and then afterwards 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:46.380 you would till it into the ground. That's exactly 00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:49.140 what the practice was. That's exactly what you 00:18:49.140 --> 00:18:51.259 would do in the ancient world. What you would 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:53.420 not do is be totally passive. You wouldn't just 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:55.359 scatter seed and then go to bed and kind of hang 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:58.480 out and then, whoa, look what happened, you know? 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:04.380 Just let time pass, right? What about all of 00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:08.420 the you get in what you put out stuff? What about 00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:11.890 the labor? What about the need to show up, to 00:19:11.890 --> 00:19:14.450 be present, to engage in community if you want 00:19:14.450 --> 00:19:19.069 to grow? Here the man just comes in at the end, 00:19:19.710 --> 00:19:21.990 he has ripe grain, he puts his sickle to it, 00:19:22.049 --> 00:19:25.769 he has a harvest. If only it were that easy in 00:19:25.769 --> 00:19:30.630 life, right? Seems as though he's done nothing. 00:19:32.569 --> 00:19:35.509 And here is the counter truth to the first truth 00:19:35.509 --> 00:19:40.910 that we considered. We really don't know how 00:19:40.910 --> 00:19:43.549 the fruit of the kingdom is born other than it 00:19:43.549 --> 00:19:48.890 is the work of God It's all about God it's all 00:19:48.890 --> 00:19:54.190 about his timing And really truly I'm sure some 00:19:54.190 --> 00:19:56.410 of you and I bet all of you actually if you have 00:19:56.410 --> 00:19:59.150 sort of been following Jesus for a little while 00:19:59.150 --> 00:20:05.430 or a good while least Know the experience of 00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:09.309 seeming to not grow in the Christian life, the 00:20:09.309 --> 00:20:12.710 life of faith, the life of a member of the kingdom 00:20:12.710 --> 00:20:19.390 of God. And you can see that sometimes even though 00:20:19.390 --> 00:20:22.190 you're not neglecting the word of God, you are 00:20:22.190 --> 00:20:25.289 giving yourself to its study and to its devotion 00:20:25.289 --> 00:20:27.789 and to seeking to know God better through it. 00:20:28.730 --> 00:20:32.309 You're not neglecting to come. to worship with 00:20:32.309 --> 00:20:36.230 the people of God and To seek to be attentive 00:20:36.230 --> 00:20:38.990 to what God is saying You're not neglecting the 00:20:38.990 --> 00:20:41.190 fellowship of other Christians as we are commanded 00:20:41.190 --> 00:20:45.789 to to not do in the book of Hebrews I Mean you're 00:20:45.789 --> 00:20:49.309 here this morning after all Hopefully listening. 00:20:49.930 --> 00:20:51.930 Maybe you're online near you're watching. Hopefully 00:20:51.930 --> 00:20:56.130 you're engaged You're not one who's spurning 00:20:56.130 --> 00:21:00.390 the work of God right you hear You hear God's 00:21:00.390 --> 00:21:04.150 call to love your enemies and to do good to those 00:21:04.150 --> 00:21:07.829 who harm you and you've also heard maybe a hundred 00:21:07.829 --> 00:21:12.589 times the Beatitudes, the call to be meek and 00:21:12.589 --> 00:21:14.630 to mourn and to hunger and thirst for righteousness 00:21:14.630 --> 00:21:17.130 and to be merciful and to be pure in heart and 00:21:17.130 --> 00:21:22.410 all the rest be peacemakers. You've heard all 00:21:22.410 --> 00:21:29.480 that time and again and yet Not only do we not 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:31.539 seem at times to receive the comfort that is 00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:33.519 promised or the mercy or all the rest that is 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:36.539 promised in the Beatitudes, but instead it seems 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:40.900 like you actually hate your neighbors more. Right? 00:21:40.900 --> 00:21:43.000 Like the world that we live in is largely teaching 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:47.019 you dismiss those who disagree with you. Harden 00:21:47.019 --> 00:21:52.079 your heart toward your enemy. At least we know 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:55.619 we're hearing this politically. Come on. And 00:21:55.619 --> 00:21:58.000 if you kind of do an assessment of your heart, 00:21:58.019 --> 00:21:59.700 you do one of these heart scans and you go, you 00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:02.700 know what? I think I have grown more along those 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:10.059 lines. Seem to grow more and more in the belief 00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:12.839 that it's better to hoard than to give. Even 00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:15.059 though our Lord tells us the exact opposite, 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:16.799 right? Horde our hearts and our energy and our 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:18.940 time and our talents, our money and our minds, 00:22:19.099 --> 00:22:26.289 right? So what I'm saying is that sometimes it 00:22:26.289 --> 00:22:28.329 seems as though little fruit is born in our lives, 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:29.769 even though we don't seem to be like that man 00:22:29.769 --> 00:22:35.369 who has the one talent who just buries it. It's 00:22:35.369 --> 00:22:38.190 very strange, right? The working of God. It's 00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:42.309 a great mystery. How strange is the growth of 00:22:42.309 --> 00:22:46.309 the kingdom of God? Sometimes the growth seems 00:22:46.309 --> 00:22:50.299 so small it is imperceptible. And then actually 00:22:50.299 --> 00:22:53.640 just as truly the growth seems to shatter our 00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:57.140 expectations. I mean, if what I just said is 00:22:57.140 --> 00:22:59.500 true, which it is true in many of our lives, 00:22:59.559 --> 00:23:01.920 at least at some times where we seem to think 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:04.579 far from growing in the Christian life, I may 00:23:04.579 --> 00:23:10.799 be going the opposite direction. And then at 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:14.180 other times, it seems as though we have gone 00:23:14.180 --> 00:23:16.559 to sleep one day, one kind of person and woke 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:22.369 up the next day another. Massive growth. Real 00:23:22.369 --> 00:23:29.849 heart change. I bet there are, I bet many of 00:23:29.849 --> 00:23:32.710 you know folk that have actually thrown in the 00:23:32.710 --> 00:23:36.470 towel, they've given up on all of it because 00:23:36.470 --> 00:23:38.910 they've seen so little of the fruit born in their 00:23:38.910 --> 00:23:41.650 lives. They think, I was supposed to change and 00:23:41.650 --> 00:23:44.710 grow in all of this. So little has happened. 00:23:46.170 --> 00:23:49.619 I bet others of you know, people that have no 00:23:49.619 --> 00:23:52.359 desire to engage with Christians because they 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:56.960 see where is the fruit of that life of that faith 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:02.160 in their lives and then on the other side I Bet 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:06.119 some of you have actually had the joy of another 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:11.400 person Looking at you looking at your life and 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:15.420 telling you things like this You are different 00:24:15.420 --> 00:24:20.329 than you used to be You are far more patient 00:24:20.329 --> 00:24:26.930 than you used to be. I can see self -control 00:24:26.930 --> 00:24:31.930 growing in you. You've looked at others or maybe 00:24:31.930 --> 00:24:33.329 you've heard those things from others and you 00:24:33.329 --> 00:24:37.930 really have seen unbelievable change. Change 00:24:37.930 --> 00:24:44.930 that would shock anyone. You care more for those 00:24:44.930 --> 00:24:50.259 who disagree with you. Imagine this and maybe 00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:52.559 some of you actually see this in others and you 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:56.539 should tell them that I Could see you dying for 00:24:56.539 --> 00:25:02.460 your enemies like Jesus died for you Sometimes 00:25:02.460 --> 00:25:05.400 there is radical change unbelievable growth in 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:10.019 the kingdom Sometimes it is so slow as to be 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:13.740 imperceptible and the truth is is that it is 00:25:13.740 --> 00:25:18.890 all a great mystery Growth in the Kingdom of 00:25:18.890 --> 00:25:22.430 God is a great mystery. On one hand, we really 00:25:22.430 --> 00:25:26.369 are told, you get out what you put in. Just a 00:25:26.369 --> 00:25:30.670 huge encouragement to show up, work hard, seek 00:25:30.670 --> 00:25:33.190 to bear the fruits of the Kingdom of God. And 00:25:33.190 --> 00:25:37.630 on the other hand, we are told, scattered, went 00:25:37.630 --> 00:25:40.630 to bed, doesn't even know what's happening, and 00:25:40.630 --> 00:25:44.710 goes out and gets a great reward. Totally the 00:25:44.710 --> 00:25:49.680 work of God. Now I want to move to the surprising 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:55.259 outcome of the kingdom But I actually want to 00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:56.980 invite you again, okay, I invited you to go down 00:25:56.980 --> 00:25:58.960 and look at the cross I want you to go see what 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:03.180 Casey Casey has is going to show you but Would 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:07.259 I invite you please talk to somebody today? Talk 00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:09.160 somebody today. Maybe your roommate. Maybe your 00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:13.160 friends. Maybe your spouse. Okay, and I want 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:17.609 you to share with one another where you tend 00:26:17.609 --> 00:26:20.829 to fall. Because I think there's an inclination, 00:26:20.950 --> 00:26:24.289 I think we tend to fall in the, you rise up and 00:26:24.289 --> 00:26:28.150 make her great or the total passivity. We tend 00:26:28.150 --> 00:26:32.470 to fall in these two ditches in a way. And I 00:26:32.470 --> 00:26:34.650 think Jesus putting these together is calling 00:26:34.650 --> 00:26:37.130 us to this active life of faith and what he's 00:26:37.130 --> 00:26:41.250 going to do. Anyway, the last thing that we have 00:26:41.250 --> 00:26:46.259 here is Jesus. saying that despite the mystery 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:50.000 of the working of the kingdom of God, there is 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:55.480 a certain outcome. And that outcome is surprising 00:26:55.480 --> 00:27:02.799 and grand. Verse 30, and he said, with what can 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:08.480 we compare the kingdom of God? What parable shall 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:11.569 we use for it? And I wanna pause for a moment 00:27:11.569 --> 00:27:13.789 there and then I'm gonna read the rest. But I 00:27:13.789 --> 00:27:16.289 picture Jesus actually speaking to this crowd 00:27:16.289 --> 00:27:19.529 and actually offering up this question. What 00:27:19.529 --> 00:27:22.809 should we compare to the kingdom of God? What 00:27:22.809 --> 00:27:31.190 kind of images should we compare it with? As 00:27:31.190 --> 00:27:39.180 they do now. And I get, I would bet, Then as 00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:44.700 now they would say Something powerful Jesus Let's 00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:46.799 do a crown. Let's compare the kingdom of God 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:53.180 to a crown sit on a throne Jesus you're gonna 00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:55.079 hear this in the communion song if you listen 00:27:55.079 --> 00:27:59.579 attentively, how about a sword? Let's do away 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:05.259 with our enemies images of power How about faith 00:28:05.259 --> 00:28:10.869 family and I go all wrapped together Instead, 00:28:10.910 --> 00:28:14.170 he goes back to seeds. Jesus, haven't we had 00:28:14.170 --> 00:28:18.750 enough seeds? Verse 31, it's like a grain of 00:28:18.750 --> 00:28:22.430 mustard seed, which when sown on the ground is 00:28:22.430 --> 00:28:25.650 the smallest of all the seeds on earth. Yet when 00:28:25.650 --> 00:28:30.769 it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than 00:28:30.769 --> 00:28:34.490 all the garden plants and puts out large branches. 00:28:35.470 --> 00:28:39.089 The birds of the air can make nests in its shade. 00:28:42.329 --> 00:28:46.170 seeds again Not just any seed what he says it 00:28:46.170 --> 00:28:47.730 which is really does go against what they would 00:28:47.730 --> 00:28:50.930 have thought is the smallest seed now Okay, I 00:28:50.930 --> 00:28:53.210 know you can argue people say well, there's there's 00:28:53.210 --> 00:28:54.970 smaller seeds He says the smallest seed of all 00:28:54.970 --> 00:28:56.970 the earth in the context This would have been 00:28:56.970 --> 00:28:59.549 the smallest seed that they would have sown and 00:28:59.549 --> 00:29:01.390 would have really been engaging with regularly. 00:29:02.029 --> 00:29:08.829 Okay and Actually very interestingly to a pound 00:29:08.829 --> 00:29:15.799 let me say there are 240 ,000 mustard seeds in 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:20.140 one pound. It's that small. I have, since actually 00:29:20.140 --> 00:29:25.440 before I came here, my office, a little jar that 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:29.039 has a tiny mustard seed in it. It's across, if 00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:31.759 you are in my office, across from my desk, eye 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:34.839 level on the bookshelf. I cannot see that mustard 00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:37.519 seed. I have to pick up the jar and look for 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:43.319 that mustard seed. It's tiny. And that's so often 00:29:43.319 --> 00:29:47.839 how the kingdom of God works. Little tiny seeds 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:52.500 sown, little conversations about our inclinations 00:29:52.500 --> 00:29:55.079 towards active or passive engagement in the kingdom, 00:29:55.240 --> 00:29:58.140 right? Those kinds of things can bear the fruit 00:29:58.140 --> 00:30:03.319 of the kingdom. Little decisions to no longer 00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:06.220 let Twitter be the loudest voice in your ear. 00:30:08.019 --> 00:30:11.410 Little acts like changing diapers. Bringing cookies 00:30:11.410 --> 00:30:15.589 over to new neighbors. Little acts like playing 00:30:15.589 --> 00:30:19.690 Legos at 3rd and the Berg with logos. Little 00:30:19.690 --> 00:30:23.069 acts like showing up week in and week out and 00:30:23.069 --> 00:30:27.390 month in and month out. Desirous and attentive 00:30:27.390 --> 00:30:33.549 to the word of God. And a tree takes root. Tree 00:30:33.549 --> 00:30:40.980 takes root and it begins to grow. Did that just 00:30:40.980 --> 00:30:44.579 cut off? No, it did, sorta. It's working all 00:30:44.579 --> 00:30:48.859 right, okay. I would guess that some of you have 00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:51.220 seen mustard plants. You know that there's different 00:30:51.220 --> 00:30:52.559 varieties of mustard plants, a lot of different 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:55.019 varieties. Some of them grow just like ground 00:30:55.019 --> 00:30:57.960 cover. They get a foot or maybe two feet tall. 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:01.279 There's some, and actually the one that was most 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:03.039 common around the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:07.559 was teaching, remember the Bay of Parables? There 00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:09.420 was the black mustard, and the black mustard 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:12.079 actually was a little bit bigger. Often it would 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:15.079 grow to about four or six feet. And sometimes 00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:16.720 when it's cultivated, it can be more like 10 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:19.819 feet. But even when it's cultivated, it's very 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:24.920 gnarly and snaggly and it's not something that's 00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:29.099 shooting out branches into the world. It's really 00:31:29.099 --> 00:31:31.160 not shooting out branches to the extent birds 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:33.099 are like, let's go make our nests over there. 00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:36.180 Again, the place where you might listen to this 00:31:36.180 --> 00:31:38.400 and you'd scratch your head. That's not how mustard 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:45.240 plants grow. Now if you were attentive to Ezekiel 00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:47.440 passage, or actually passages from Daniel and 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.539 other parts of the Old Testament, you'd know 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:53.170 that there was images given. parables, Old Testament 00:31:53.170 --> 00:31:55.130 parables in a way of the time when God would 00:31:55.130 --> 00:31:57.710 work and he would plant a tree that would grow 00:31:57.710 --> 00:31:59.750 so large that the birds of the heavens would 00:31:59.750 --> 00:32:01.450 come and make their nests. And in those images, 00:32:01.569 --> 00:32:04.250 the birds of the heavens are the nations of the 00:32:04.250 --> 00:32:08.829 world. It would find their life in the unassuming 00:32:08.829 --> 00:32:12.369 reality of what God would do. And that's what 00:32:12.369 --> 00:32:13.829 Jesus is saying here. He's grabbing on to all 00:32:13.829 --> 00:32:16.970 this imagery. And he's saying, you would never 00:32:16.970 --> 00:32:20.509 expect what's gonna happen. It may be a mystery 00:32:20.509 --> 00:32:23.190 how it happens. Sometimes you work so hard and 00:32:23.190 --> 00:32:25.890 you grow and you thrive and sometimes you work 00:32:25.890 --> 00:32:29.210 so hard and it seems like nothing is going right. 00:32:29.849 --> 00:32:33.089 Sometimes new life sprouts overnight and sometimes 00:32:33.089 --> 00:32:36.589 it feels like the long slog of faith and yet 00:32:36.589 --> 00:32:41.430 Jesus says I am going to do it and you will be 00:32:41.430 --> 00:32:45.970 so utterly shocked at what happens. The outcome 00:32:45.970 --> 00:32:51.190 is secure. I imagine most of you have a sense 00:32:51.190 --> 00:32:54.190 of the story of Christianity. I would think that 00:32:54.190 --> 00:32:56.950 at least some of you have this sense. The most 00:32:56.950 --> 00:33:00.849 basic idea, this is the most basic synopsis, 00:33:00.990 --> 00:33:04.589 at least. The night Jesus died, his closest friend 00:33:04.589 --> 00:33:07.430 ran away from him. His closest friend, Peter, 00:33:07.930 --> 00:33:09.529 one of his closest friends, Peter, denied him 00:33:09.529 --> 00:33:12.710 three times. Jesus rose from the dead and he 00:33:12.710 --> 00:33:16.230 appears to the disciples and women because Judas, 00:33:16.329 --> 00:33:18.450 one of his disciples, betrays him and then commits 00:33:18.450 --> 00:33:22.279 suicide. And after he ascends to heaven, even 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:24.019 though we hear later that there were about 400 00:33:24.019 --> 00:33:26.680 that engaged with him, 120 are there, which is 00:33:26.680 --> 00:33:29.099 interesting. I think, okay, if you saw the risen 00:33:29.099 --> 00:33:30.759 Christ, you might want to hang out for a while. 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:33.240 At least about three quarters of them weren't 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:39.359 there. And after the first Pentecost, there's 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:41.299 a preaching by Peter there, the one who had denied 00:33:41.299 --> 00:33:44.059 him. Now there's 3000 followers. And by the end 00:33:44.059 --> 00:33:46.039 of Acts, it seems as though the knowledge of 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:49.009 Christ has gone throughout the entire Mediterranean 00:33:49.009 --> 00:33:51.250 at least. And then we know actually by at least 00:33:51.250 --> 00:33:55.650 the end of the fourth century, a whole 50 % of 00:33:55.650 --> 00:33:57.470 the Roman world would have claimed to follow 00:33:57.470 --> 00:34:03.690 Jesus, despite massive persecution. And we kind 00:34:03.690 --> 00:34:05.970 of just think just in that little story, how 00:34:05.970 --> 00:34:08.989 wild is it that all of his disciples, people 00:34:08.989 --> 00:34:11.829 that saw him heal and teach and all that scattered. 00:34:12.949 --> 00:34:15.690 And yet now thousands upon thousands are worshiping 00:34:15.690 --> 00:34:19.440 Christ. Let me end with a modern story, more 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:22.679 modern story. In 1895, there's a missionary, 00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:25.820 Peter Cameron Scott, he was a Scottish missionary. 00:34:26.699 --> 00:34:28.800 Scotland was one of the great places of missionary 00:34:28.800 --> 00:34:32.380 standing in the 19th century particularly. But 00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:35.960 Peter Cameron Scott with 15 others from Scotland 00:34:35.960 --> 00:34:40.800 landed on Mount Battery in Kenya. One year later, 00:34:40.820 --> 00:34:44.449 he died. And this is what he said. The people 00:34:44.449 --> 00:34:49.630 have hazy ideas about God. He led this great 00:34:49.630 --> 00:34:51.670 mission and that's what he said when he died. 00:34:52.710 --> 00:34:55.730 Two years later, all but one of the original 00:34:55.730 --> 00:34:59.289 missionaries had either died or returned to Scotland. 00:35:00.809 --> 00:35:03.829 14 of them within three years. They died or they 00:35:03.829 --> 00:35:09.909 left. It was weak, unimpressive. It seemed as 00:35:09.909 --> 00:35:11.710 though they were sowing these seeds and very 00:35:11.710 --> 00:35:15.780 little was happening in the world. hazy ideas 00:35:15.780 --> 00:35:21.980 of God at best. And yet at the centenary celebration 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:26.440 in 1995, there were 25 ,000 Kenyans that gathered 00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:30.219 together in Nairobi to celebrate the 100th anniversary 00:35:30.219 --> 00:35:35.699 of the organization of the African. They sang 00:35:35.699 --> 00:35:38.380 together, to God be the glory, great things he's 00:35:38.380 --> 00:35:43.130 done, shocking things he's done. At that time, 00:35:43.269 --> 00:35:46.610 1995, the African Inland Mission had in Kenya 00:35:46.610 --> 00:35:54.329 one million members. And today, a full 85 % of 00:35:54.329 --> 00:35:59.489 Kenya's 55 million people population claims to 00:35:59.489 --> 00:36:06.989 follow Jesus. With those beginnings, how does 00:36:06.989 --> 00:36:15.280 God work? What we can say is, mysteriously, will 00:36:15.280 --> 00:36:20.880 God work? We can say, absolutely. Thank you for 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:23.639 listening to Second City Sermons podcast. We 00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:25.400 hope this sermon has encouraged you to worship 00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:28.719 God and to celebrate the gospel of Jesus. Please 00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:31.000 consider subscribing to this podcast and joining 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:34.239 us in person each Sunday at 10 a .m. You can 00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:36.500 find us online at secondcitychurch .org and on 00:36:36.500 --> 00:36:39.519 Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Thanks again 00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:40.880 for listening. God bless.