The Kingdom of God – the Great Mystery

Mark 4: 21-41

I was struck by Jesus’ words in verses 26-29. As much as we try to plan and strategize (both good things at times) our ministry at times, we must never forget that there is a bit of a mystery to how God chooses to work. We can’t him down. The Kingdom grows like the farmer’s field. The farmer doesn’t know everything there is to know about how the field grows. But that doesn’t stop it from growing.

The Kingdom is like that. Despite the mass amount of books available to us about church growth and ministry, no one can tell you definitively how the Kingdom grows. Something to think about when your ministry efforts seem a bit fruitless. Sometimes God just does what he does.

The Parable of the Sower

Mark 4: 1-20

I realized something this morning as I read this parable. Jesus didn’t actually explain why he told the parable. He explained what the parts of the parable meant. I for one would have liked an explanation for why the parable was told.

There’s a couple of ways you can see it I believe. Either Jesus’ point is that we better sow lots of seed everywhere indiscriminately since there’s a sizable percentage that will never actually bear fruit or he’s telling us to be strategic and not waste our time spreading seed in places where fruit won’t be coming. I’ve heard people make the latter argument in the missions community. Western Europe is a place that has been very resistant to the Gospel (particularly among native Europeans). On the other hand, places like Africa, China, and Latin America (and even to some degree the Muslim world) have been incredibly fruitful in recent years. Missions agencies have talked a lot about taking resources (missionaries and money) out of Europe and putting them in places that are more open to the Gospel. Why throw seed on a place that is obviously resistant to the Gospel (particularly a place that has had the Gospel for at least 1,600 years)? Why not focus instead on places that are more open and have not had much opportunity to hear the Gospel?

It’s an interesting question. If we have to make a choice (and sometimes we do) between sharing the Gospel with people who have been clearly resistant in the past and sharing it with people who may be more open and have not previously heard, should we do so? Is that good stewardship of our time, talents, and treasure?

A new idea of family

Mark 3: 13-28

I’m focusing on just the last few verses of today’s section of scripture. I think it’s interesting how harsh Jesus seems to be when talking about his family. He doesn’t mince words at all. He says that those who do the will of God are his family. Jesus redefines what most of us think about family. It’s hard to really interpret it any other way. Our families are traditionally ordered by our first birth (the physical birth). Jesus thinks about families in terms of the second birth (or spiritual birth).

I think we tend to devalue the church in general. I’m not talking about the physical building or even what happens inside of it on Sunday or Wednesday. I think we devalue the relationships within the church. We don’t really invest in building those relationships up. They’re just add-ons to our lives. We invest in them if we have time to. But what if we really looked at our church as a family and we gave those relationships priority in our lives? What if we cared for those relationships as if they have eternal significance?

The church is where we are to find support, encouragement, and help in times of trouble. It’s through these relationships that we should be celebrating the great events of our lives. What a calling the church has! To truly be the family of God!

Healing on the sabbath

Mark 3: 1-12

I was struck with Mark’s words today that Jesus looked around at the Pharisees with “anger and sorrow.” That’s an interesting mix of emotions. It’s the mix of emotions that comes over us when we see people who should know better care more about an interpretation of scripture than people.

I’d be the first to encourage everyone to obey what the Word of God says, but I get concerned when we force our own applications or interpretations of Scripture on others. The Old Testament simply said that we are to: 

8 Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.Ex 20:8-11 (HCSB)

God left what it means to “do work” to us. He could have spelled out everything we need to do to avoid work, but he doesn’t. Now he makes it clear that EVERYONE should stop working but he doesn’t define what he means by that. More than not that’s what God does. He often gives us a blanket admonition and then lets us work out the details. There are exceptions. We don’t have to work out any details for “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” But for most of God’s instructions, he leaves the details to us. But some people — like the Pharisees — aren’t satisfied with the blanket statements. As they start to define what God means for them to do (which they should do), they begin to broaden that command to everyone. 

But you know what I think really frustrated Jesus. Not only were they making their own interpretations the law for everyone, they were putting those interpretations over the good of people. I mean think about it. There was someone who needed healing here. And the Pharisees were going to let him spend another day with a paralyzed hand so that everyone could keep their narrow interpretations of the Law. How sad.

Take a look at your own life. Are there areas of personal applications that you have pushed on to other people as law? 

A calling to seek and save the lost

Mark 2: 13-28

What really struck me today was Jesus’ line that he came to seek and save the lost. He didn’t come for those who are well but those who are sick. If the church is the body of Christ on earth, we have the same mission. We’re not here to build ourselves up; we’re here to help those without a relationship with God find him. That’s a complete redesign of the mission of most churches. Most churches exist to meet the needs of members instead of mobilizing it’s members to meet the needs of those outside of the fold. God could have called us up to Heaven the moment we accepted Christ, but he left us here so that we would help others develop a relationship with him. All too often I forget that. All too often I forget about the utter urgency of the message of the Gospel.

As a church we are called to focus on those who don’t know Jesus. There can be no greater calling for the Body of Christ.

Working together to see people come to Jesus

Mark 2: 1-12

I heard a preacher one time make a point on this story that it took a group of men to get the paralyzed man to Jesus. He connected that to our lives in saying that we need to enlist others in helping to bring someone to Christ. We can work together by praying for the evangelistic efforts of our friends and co-workers in Christ. We simply need to  partner with others in our lives who are trying lead people to Christ.

How can your Sunday School class, how can your family, partner together to lead people to Christ? What about hosting an evangelistic party? What about starting a prayer chain for people to pray about those they are trying to lead to Christ? There are all sorts of possibilities!

A teaching that has authority

Mark 1: 16-45

You can already see a glimpse of one of the great themes of the Gospel of Mark. Mark, with only 16 chapters, is quickly moving. It focuses much less than any of the other Gospels on Jesus’ teachings. It shows Jesus as a man of action. You can see in the passage we looked at here how he goes from one activity to another. Sure, Jesus still teaches, but Mark doesn’t record what he says.

What he does say about Jesus’ teaching is that he teaches as a man with authority. Isn’t that true? You can tell when Jesus speaks, he knows what he talks about. Why? He’s God. The Bible says he was involved in the very creation of the world. What he says has authority.

But sometimes we don’t treat his words as if they have authority. We read them as if they are some sort of suggestion. I can be guilty of that at times. I start explaining his teachings away by saying, surely he doesn’t mean that. Surely, I can’t love people as I love myself. Surely, he’s exaggerating. I can’t really surrender my life for him, can I?

He speaks as a man with authority. I need to treat his teachings like they have the authority they do.

The rule of God is near

Mark 1: 1-15

OK, this will be short today. I’d love to hear something you got from the passage. I’m a bit dry. Jesus ended this passage by saying, “The time has been fulfilled, the Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the Good News.” What does it mean to say that the Kingdom of God has come near? Well the Kingdom of God is the rule of God.  Jesus is saying God’s rule is near. Jesus rules in the people who accept him as Savior. What great news, Jesus says! When we turn from our sins and trust in Christ, he rules the believer and God’s rule expands.

The Great Commission

Matthew 28

You’ve heard the phrase “famous last words.” Well the Great Commission would be Jesus’ “famous last words.” It’s what he told his disciples right before he left. If you think about it, Jesus knew he was leaving. He had time to plan or think through exactly what he wanted to say. In fact he had several millennia to do that! And he chose for his last words to be the Great Commission. It must have been important.

The Great Commission tells the disciples to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. It tells them to 1) share the good news and 2) teach them everything he has commanded. We need to be willing to go wherever God tells us to tell others about him — but we can’t leave people after they’ve accepted Him. We’ve been called to help people grow as well.

Three questions related to the Great Commission…

1) Am I willing to go wherever God asks me to tell others about Jesus?

2) Do I have two or three people I am praying for to receive Christ and am I prepared to tell them about Jesus when an opportunity comes around?

3) Am I actively learning the commands of Jesus so I can pass them on to those I lead to Christ?

Handling mocking and criticism like Jesus

Matthew 27: 32-66

It shouldn’t surprise us when we are criticized and mocked. It really shouldn’t. If Jesus, the unique Son of God can be mocked, so can we. Even those common criminals dying next to him on the cross mocked him. You’d think that those dying right beside Jesus would have the compassion not to rub salt on his wounds; you’d think that they wouldn’t mock him as they die next to him. But they did — or at least one of them did.

We too will be mocked and criticized when we stand up for the things God wants us to. I pray that the next time that comes in my life I’ll be able to handle it with the grace, dignity, and faithfulness that Jesus did.