Mark 4:1-34, What’s the Center?

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Mark 4:1-34 What’s the Center?

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Mark chapter 4 verses 1 to 34 hear the word of the Lord Again, he began to teach beside the sea and a very large crowd gathered about him
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So that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land
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And he was teaching them many things in parables and in his teaching. He said to them listen a sower went out to sow and As he sowed some seed fell along the path and the birds came and devoured it other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil and immediately it sprang up since it had no depth of soil and When the
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Sun rose it was scorched since it had no root it withered away other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it and it yielded no grain and other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain growing up in increasing and yielding thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundred fold and he said
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He who has ears to hear let him hear and When he was alone those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables and he said to them
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To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God But for those outside everything is in parables
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So that they may indeed see but not perceive and may indeed hear but not understand
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Lest they should turn and be forgiven and he said to them. Do you not understand this parable?
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How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word and these are the ones along the path where the word is sown when they hear
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Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them and These are the ones who these are the ones sown on rocky ground the ones who when they hear the word
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Immediately receive it with joy and they have no root in themselves But endure for a while then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word immediately they fall away and others are those sown among thorns and they are those who hear the word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the
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Desires for other things enter in and choke the word and it proves unfruitful but those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit 30 fold and 60 fold and a hundred fold and he said to them is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed and not on a stand
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For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest Nor is anything secret except to come to light if anyone has ears to hear let him hear and He said to them pay attention to what you hear with the measure you use
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It will be measured to you and still more will be added to you For to the one who has more will be given and from the one who has not even what he has will be taken away
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And he said the kingdom of God as if a man should scatter seed on the ground
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He sleeps and rises night and day and the seed sprouts and grows He knows not how the earth produces by itself first the blade than the ear than the full grain in the ear but when the grain is ripe at once he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come and He said with what can we compare the kingdom of God or what parable shall we use for it?
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It's like a grain of mustard seed which when sown on the ground is the smallest of all the seeds on earth
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Yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large
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Branches so that the birds of the air can make nest and it's shade With many such parables.
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He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it He did not speak to them without a parable but privately to his own disciples.
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He explained everything And the Lord had his blessings to the reading of his
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Holy Word Well, what's the center for you the fundamental principle?
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That everything else is about What you measure everything by? the hub that everything either leads to or radiates from What are you talking about?
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You might think well, for example In the area of football anyway, I'm an
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Alabama football fan because I was raised in Alabama and that means That means I'm not so much a college football fan as an
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Alabama football fan That is I measure every college game by what it does for Alabama You know if Ohio State since we have an
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Ohio person here, Ohio State plays, Oregon I think well, Ohio State is ranked number three.
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They're serious competition for Alabama So it's better if they get beat by Oregon, so Alabama won't have to play
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Ohio State later. So therefore I am for Oregon Get it. That's the way
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I think Begin with what's in the center at least for football and that's Alabama. What's at the center of what it means to be an
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American? What's the definition? That is the core principle that Americans are for their identity now
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Americans used to understand that Freedom even if I disagreed with you maybe about politics or religion or about whether or not to get a vaccine
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I still believed in your freedom to believe what you believe and you believed in my freedom to disagree with you
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We were a people united around a belief That we didn't have to be united around very much else but things fall apart when the center does not hold and The 1990s the
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Christian author Oskin a brilliant man, by the way, I recommend his books and lectures if you can hear them he wrote a book in which he'd said that now the
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USA is divided by what he called a crisis of Cultural authority as we can't decide what's the authority anymore in our culture?
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We can't agree anymore on what is the center what holds us together? What's the core of our beliefs?
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that everything else emanates from Well, for example recently a leading politician said the purpose of government is to keep
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Americans safe Really now sure The government needs to keep us safe from threats to our freedom
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So we don't get invaded by some other nation that takes our freedom away as the oath goes from all enemies foreign and domestic but if safety if Safety is the central principle what it means to be an
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American keep us safe That's the core mission of the government which drives everything else keep us safe.
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Well, then we could be kept safe from our own choices
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Like about what medicines to take Be kept safe from your own decisions Maybe about what faith to believe in you got to be kept safe from that church that maybe they'll call a cult
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No, we used to understand that we were free To be wrong at least as far as it doesn't hurt other people we were free to be wrong
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Of course, you also have to bear the consequences if you choose to be wrong. It's kind of it's on you For what it does to you freedom means responsibility
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That's what we used to believe at the root of the at the anger in the division and the
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USA today Is that we're not united around an agreed -upon center?
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anymore What is what's at the center of the Christian faith
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Now the answer to that should be easy should be obvious Jesus, of course, we believe in Jesus.
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Jesus is Lord, but How do you believe in Jesus?
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Let's just say how Do you believe in Jesus? How do you know who he is? What he says to believe what he says to do
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What it means to be a follower of Jesus says who according to what's the center what it means to be a
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Christian now There's been a division over church history among professed Christians over that to what what all that means with some saying
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That we know Jesus and we follow Jesus through the church and we get right with him by doing what the church
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Says it says do these rituals you do them? You're right with Jesus now about 500 years ago
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Some Christians got it reawakened and realized that the church had gotten off Center and so they reformed the church and here's the word reformed at our church's name, but because They were reacting about 500 years ago against something that was warped
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They were often shaped by what they were against, you know, we're not them they center on Ceremonies and rituals
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We're gonna be centered on the word on certain doctrines and maybe certain doctrines. They don't believe we're not them.
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So Instead of ceremonies, we're gonna put the pulpit in the middle just like this I believe in and they would preach doctrines.
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Maybe the the people they were not They're contrasting themselves to did not believe like John Calvin who said the justification is the main hinge or much religion turns
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Because the people they were reacting against had confused Justification how to get right with God They the
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Reformers spent a lot of time on on that and so focusing on Romans and Galatians You know the the other epistles particularly to the point that even still today
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I think and I'm here I'm saying something a little cut maybe a little controversial But but some believe that that was the center of our faith the center of what they believe that it's in it's in Paul right, for example,
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John Piper whom I respect and recommend I Really do has much of his teaching focus on the epistles particularly the letters of Paul of his look at the book videos
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About 10 minute teaching videos if you haven't seen them, they're very good again. I respect I Recommend them we often show them on our
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Wednesday nights To preface our own passage when they had what he has one on the passage We're doing but he has just to give you an example of what
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I'm talking about He has 65 of those videos from the on the book of Romans 145 from the book of Ephesians and 139 from Philippians meanwhile
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He has 25 from Matthew 7 from Mark 18 from Luke and 16 from John for a total of 66 from the
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Gospels meaning that he has more than twice as many just from Ephesians or Philippians than from all the teachings of Jesus now why
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And I'm not picking on him. He's what I'm familiar with so I can use him as a contrast an example I think
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Piper's which is typical of Protestants of us. So why do we? Center our faith that what make it sort of the the theological basis of it like our spiritual
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Constitution, right? Like the the government's what we centered should own the Constitution and ever the law is supposed to emanate from that Why do we kind of have this?
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Unexamined assumption that our Constitution is the letters of Paul and rather than Jesus We're not aware of it.
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That means probably something unexamined Not that Paul is an important are not inspired understand me he is
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But understand what Paul is doing in his letters He is taking the teachings of Jesus and he is applying them in an inspired
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Way infallibly by the Holy Spirit. He's taking that the teachings of Jesus and supplying it to mostly
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Gentile churches And he doesn't infallibly inspired by the Holy Spirit now sometimes he's vital to us for that reason because We need to hear his applications because we sometimes we follow in the same errors
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His teaching is emanating from kind of like sunshine emanates from the Sun His teaching is emanating from Jesus the very last verse of the book of Acts has
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Paul in Rome and it says he was there proclaiming You know what?
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What was Paul in Rome proclaiming? You think it's justification sanctification glorification election one of those doctrines that Paul is famous for No It says the very last verse of the book of Acts.
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He's proclaiming quote the kingdom of God and Teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ.
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You can't understand Paul Unless you first understand
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Jesus Jesus What's the center of our Christian faith Jesus so to begin with what he so we then must begin with what he taught in the
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Gospels Especially about the kingdom of God. That's the core and here in this passage is where he most clearly most explicitly teaches
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About the kingdom of God. That's why I began This is one of the most important passages in the entire
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Bible for understanding of the rest of it That's what everything in the Old Testament leads to to Jesus to his teaching about the kingdom of God and what everything else in the epistles
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Radiates from and here we are in Mark chapter 4 There's the second largest teaching passage in Mark and we see here
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Jesus himself in his own words Explain the heart of his message his central theme
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The kingdom of God and we see that in seven parts Right first the mystery of the kingdom second the inquiry of the kingdom third the diversity of the kingdom fourth the publicity of the kingdom fifth the priority of the kingdom and then the sovereignty of the kingdom and finally the prosperity of the kingdom first the mystery the mystery is
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What is? the kingdom of God Nice spiritual sounding phrase.
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What is it? Jesus came teaching that the kingdom of God is at hand Remember that we're almost right off the bat in Mark.
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He comes teaching the kingdom of God is at hand Right. Something is at hand when is so close you can reach out and grab it with your hands
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The people thought that they knew what that meant. The kingdom is the rule of God Where he rules is his kingdom
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And so the kingdom of God is where he rules Are you in his?
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kingdom and they the people thought they understood that what that meant that there would come a king from the line of David from David's Dynasty, and he would overthrow the
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Romans and he would reign from Jerusalem Like Solomon did bringing
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Israel back to its glory days That was the kingdom of God That's what they were expecting and so into that Jesus comes and says the kingdom of God is at hand and so they were okay
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Wow, you're looking with the revolutions about to start this guy Jesus. He's descended from David.
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He's gonna start it and so when they hear that kingdom of God's at hand, that's a that's a call to a
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Revolution, that's a call to rise up. And so they understood him. They see I'm picking up disciples.
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That's momentum starting to build He's starting to get a following. He's gonna get his army but then
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Things start to look a little different with Jesus While this teaching, you know, what's that about?
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You read the David David didn't go around teaching What the miracles and the healings?
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casting out demons Yeah, what what's that about? And rather than uniting the people behind him already the scribes the religious scholars and the quote
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The Herodians that is the political people who were in league with the Romans They were already lined up against him conspiring to kill him publicly accusing him of being an agent of Beelzebul Now the people thought the kingdom of God was a coming harvest like the
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Messiah would take over and he's gonna separate the sinners probably gonna have him chop off their head or make him convert and He's gonna reward the good people
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It's a harvest harvest of good and Jesus comes with his preaching he's training his disciples to preach as if It's planting time
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It's not what they expected It's an enigma It's a mystery to them and we still have
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Christians today who don't understand the kingdom of God who basically think there's a segment of Evangelical Christians who basically think the
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Jews were right Yeah, they were right about the kingdom. It was supposed to be a harvest
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It was supposed to be an offer by Jesus to the Jews to set up a kingdom But they rejected him and So they'll say the kingdom offer that it's at hand
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You can have it was withdrawn and God resorted to you know kind of a plan B something to keep himself busy before he gets back to the kingdom thing and That plan
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B was the gospel for the church Kind of an alternative thing and that's why for them the center of our
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Christian life is now the epistles Especially Paul all of the teachings of Jesus like this about the kingdom of God They will say yeah, sure.
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It's inspired He really said that but it's just not for us because we're Gentiles and the kingdom is not didn't apply to us
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That's for another era another Dispensation they would call it When I was preparing for my debate on original sin a little over two years ago.
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I watched some of the videos of my opponents debating pastors on the same topic and I saw one who
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When this pastor was challenged by them with something from the Gospels and he responded to that Well this quote from the
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Gospels. Well, that was before Pentecost what Jesus said that was before Pentecost That was before the church.
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That's for another Dispensation and so it's not really relevant to us doesn't apply to us
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Jesus of teaching they say was for the Jews to bring in an earthly kingdom centered in Jerusalem In other words, this pastor had the same view of the kingdom of God as did the
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Jews here So this confusion about the kingdom of God It persists to this day
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Understand there's Christians around us who believe like us in many ways, but on this that they would say well
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The kingdom was for the Jews and they're just like the Jews here They're just as confused but it's precisely this mystery of the kingdom the mystery that the kingdom of God is different From what the
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Jews then or what dispensational is today? Expected is precisely to solve that mystery that Jesus teaches the parables in this chapter while sitting in a boat
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Using the lake shore like a amphitheater The mystery of the kingdom is that God's kingdom is different Than what you expected
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What is the kingdom of God like? It is like Jesus s starting in verse 3 a sower going out to plant seed
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They thought the kingdom of God is like a harvest the Messiah Judging people harvesting the good for with reward and the evil for punishment and Jesus says it's like a farmer's scattering seed
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Some seeds fall on the hardened path And they never get in the ground and so the birds eat them up Some feed some seeds fall on thin soil where it sprouts briefly
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But it soon dies off under the heat of the Sun some seeds fall among thorns where they grow a little
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But they're stymied and so don't mature to bear any grain Finally some falls in good soil
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Where it brings in an abundant harvest 30 60 or a hundred times as much as what was planted now
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They thought the kingdom of God was like a harvest and Jesus says it's first Like planting and then he says in verse 9 he was ears to hear let him hear
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And that's it That's the explanation of the kingdom now imagine
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If you were there you had been raised to believe that the kingdom of God when it comes it comes as a revolution it comes as a harvest of judgment when the sinners are punished and the
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Messiah rules and the good people are rewarded and He messiahs ruling over a newly revived
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Israelite Empire and then along that's what you believe. That's what you come To this meeting with Jesus It's what you come expecting and then along comes
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Jesus saying the kingdom of God is coming you hear of miracles and you're attracted to come listen to him and you're crowding with this bunch of people in the lake and So he uses the boat to get enough distance to teach a crowd.
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You're excited to hear finally That does the announcement of the kingdom that is here the revolution is about to start and you hear from Jesus sitting in that boat you hear him say a
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Farmer scatter seed on all kinds of different soil That's a mystery
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So second the inquiry It's some later time that the disciples asked
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Jesus in verse 10. Why are you speaking in parables? You know, they're hard for people to understand what's going on with that.
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It's the inquiry About the kingdom now some say that this is one of the hardest passages in the
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New Testament to understand That's what I read in the commentary this past week This is one of the hardest passages in the New Testament to understand from verses 10 to 12
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No, it's not There's nothing particularly difficult about the Greek to translate and there's nothing really difficult about the
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English to understand You read it in English. You pretty well can understand it Don't let anybody fool you that this
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Greek word really means something else. No, it doesn't it just means what it says What they mean, of course is that it is so different from what they expect
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Jesus to say They just can't accept the words at face value. They just let way he could not have really have said that so it's got to be
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Something else, right? But the disciples inquire is why Jesus is using parables
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It's making it harder for people to understand it And so in verse 34, he was only speaking to the public and parable at the end of the passage
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It tells us that right. He's only speaking in these kind of parables. The explanations were for the disciples
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Just the parables were for the others now imagine If all you had
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About this parable is what we've heard so far You know farmer goes out plant seed and different kinds of soil.
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You're going what no explanation. That's it Could you figure out what it means?
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Now I've heard people today say that Jesus used parables They'll say he is parables to make it easier for people to understand, you know
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Concrete stories that capture the imagination that illustrate a point. It's brilliant communication
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They say in a way it is brilliant communication He's brilliant for accomplishing what he wants to accomplish
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But again, if all you had was this little story about a farmer scattering seed on different kinds of soil Would you know what he meant?
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Here Jesus explains it verses 11 and 12 That he's using parables precisely
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So that some people will not understand to you
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It has been given notice that in verse 11 To you you disciples.
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They were inquiring about why using parables Jesus. Well to you It's been given but not those other people
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It that is the mystery of the kingdom. It has been given It's like a gift.
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It's a gracious gift Given by who by the way notice the way this sentence is structured to you.
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It has been given Given by who it's in the what in grammar. It's called the passive voice
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Passive voice leaves the subject that is the one doing the action the actor unnamed assumed
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You remember they talked about this last fall. It's been almost a year ago now in Luke We talk about the divine passive anybody remember that divine passive that is sometimes especially in the teaching of Jesus Jesus uses a lot when
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God is the subject that is God is the actor God's the one doing the action The sentences are in the passive voice so to leave him to leave
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God unnamed So it is you could translate it is to say to you it has been given by God Or you could say
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God has given to you the secret of the kingdom of God God has given you the privilege to know the mystery of the kingdom
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As a gift, this is from God. God is revealing the secret to you. Now. The secret is that the kingdom of God is
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A lot different than what you were expecting So the inquiry is why he was speaking in parables about the kingdom of God Jesus says
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God is giving you the secret about his kingdom, but not and here's the hard part But everyone likes the first part to you has been given to know the secret.
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Okay, that's great. I get I've given it Here's the hard part though, but not To those outside not to the mere spectators to the unbelievers
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He's not giving it to them They don't get to know the secret So in order to keep it from them notice it says for this
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This is the purpose To keep it from them Jesus says that he that's why he's speaking in him to them in parables
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The kingdom of God is like a farmer scattering seed if you have ears to hear hear me Listen to me become my disciple and then you'll be given the secret if not
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It'll just be riddles to you It'll be a mystery But I thought
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Jesus wanted everyone to know him. Well, the inquiry is why he's using unexplained parables to the outsiders
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Jesus says that's that's all that's been given to them. Just a mystery
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So that That's the purpose in verse 12 So that this is the reason that all they get is parables without an explanation
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All they get is a riddle a mystery. They can't understand so that what's the reason so that they might see the mystery of the kingdom
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But not perceive what it means That they might hear the parable But not understand it
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That they'll hear a little story about the kingdom how it's like a farmer Spreading seed to different kinds of soil and nothing.
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What in the world is he talking about and they'll walk away shrugging their shoulders Because if they perceived it if they understood it
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Then they would repent they would turn around and be forgiven to them that has not been given
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So lest knows that word lest that is meaning that is to prevent something that you do not want to happen
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Lest to prevent it from leaving to avoid what has not been given To to keep them from repenting here
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He's using parables notice he controls who does and Does not believe
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It's not hard to understand It's just hard to accept but it means that if you have seen and perceived if you've heard and Understood and so you've repented and you've believed and been forgiven
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That's only Because it was given to you by God third the diversity of the kingdom
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Starting verse 13. Jesus explains the parable now. You should be able to understand it. He says you should be able to First the sower sows the word
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You got to sow the word you got to give the word, right? There's this saying that some people like some Christians like praise the gospel at all times and if necessary use words
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It's always necessary. Okay faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word not just by doing good deeds
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So the sower sows the word the kingdom of God spreads not by conquest by revolution by armies and swords and slingshots and arrows
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But by the word that is by the announcement that in Jesus God's rule has come
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You'll be in his kingdom submit to Jesus how it grows depends on the different kinds of soil The word is planted in rather than the kingdom coming
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To impose its way on all kinds of people regardless of whether they want it or not He like a conquering army, you know takes over people whether they accept it or not the kingdom of God for now
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Gets a diverse reaction depending on diverse people everything depends on the state of the ground on the people and there is a diversity of character
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There's a diverse response to God's kingdom depending on the character of the people
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First there's the hard -hearted there in plackable That is they won't listen.
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They don't care. You cannot get through to them. They're like concrete The word has no place in their life.
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And so Satan like a bird takes the word away So they can't even remember it and then there are those who are like shallow soil.
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They're like thin dirt over rock When they hear the word They immediately react with joy
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They in acceptance. They like it. They say they claim to believe they respond positively at first So if you have an altar call
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They'll come up Now you can get them to come up the organ softly playing just as I am.
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They'll come up. They'll profess their faith If you baptize
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Immediately or maybe you the next week, you know soon they'll get baptized and you count them as a convert and you feel good about yourself and If that's all it takes to be a church member you say that prayer you get baptized the next week
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They'll become a church member they'll stop coming to church after a few weeks and then 20 years later, they'll show up at a members meeting and vote on the who the next pastor will be but We know that's but that's another story
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But they are temporary believers when some hard times come when it starts to become costly when it means sacrifice
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When it means like you expect me to keep going to church. I come two weeks in a row That's all I want.
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Well, they'll fall away They're shallow Then there's the distracted
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Their life is just too full of other things to grow It's like seeds scattered among thorns notice verse 19
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It says the cares of the world that is they care about the things of the world care about being successful You care about keeping people happy?
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whatever that crowds their life and the deceitfulness of riches
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Notice that deceit. There's an interesting phrase the deceitfulness of riches riches deceives money lies
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Deceitfulness of riches the way that money fools us into thinking that it is the most important thing and if you only have enough
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You don't have more, you know, it's always more actually you only had more You could be perfectly happy.
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You can get anything you want. And so if for a while Until you get more you have to miss church.
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You have to skip praying. You don't have time to seek God You have time to read the Bible. You don't have time to you don't want to give because you want to keep it to make more
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That's the way you think Money is deceiving you riches is fooling you money is lying to you and is crowding out the word in your life
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So the cares of the world the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things besides the kingdom of God big houses
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Fancy vacations luxury cars the newest gadgets the next I whatever All of that choke the word
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Cutting off its air so it can't live Stifling it so it can't flourish Suffocating it so it dies the kingdom of God and your life won't thrive if You're too full of a desire for reputation or money or stuff
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Finally the word of the kingdom comes into the lives of those who are like good soil They're not hard -hearted.
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They're not shallow They're not crowded out with a love of ego or wealth now in them the rule of God Thrives that is
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Jesus rules over all their lives and it transforms them and it transforms others around them turning them into sowers
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Transform others into sowers who go out and plant the word in others lives So that what was planted in them?
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Eventually gets harvested as many many more times Than what was planted
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The point Of what is better called the parable of the soils is that the kingdom of God?
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It's a diverse response Depending on the diversity of the people on their character.
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So the kingdom of God flourishes where people are not Implacable just stubborn or superficial or money mad fourth
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There's the publicity of the kingdom Now Keep in mind Jesus has said that he speaks in parables in order to keep the secrets of the kingdom from some people so they won't repent
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We've just seen that the word of the kingdom of God is only going to grow in good soil
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You know and people who aren't hard -hearted or are shallow or greedy so Rationally some people are gonna think
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Why bother preaching to those other people? Why bother sharing to them just keep it to ourselves save your seed for the for the select few for the good people
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By which they usually mean people like us my friends and my children keep it keep it for us That's what some might think is a lesson to get from the parable of soils
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Don't waste your seed on hard shallow or thorny ground, but that's not the lesson because we don't know
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If someone is hard shallow or greedy Until after we plant the seed in their life and we see their response to it
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So Jesus tells the parable of the lamp from verses 21 to 23 No one likes a lamp to hide it under a basket or under a bed
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Now that doesn't make any sense. Does it? How would you put a light under a bed or a basket?
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It's a waste of their days oil lamps a waste of oil Lights are to be placed where they give the most light
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You can put it on a lampstand or today. We usually fix our lights hanging them from ceilings gives the most exposure for the light the gospel of the kingdom that is the good news that Jesus is the king of the kingdom of God and now the good news is he can rule you
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Rather than the world the flesh of the devil ruling you That should be given the most exposure that should be given the most publicity in verse 22 all these secrets of the kingdom
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That he's keeping from some people They will come to light So that everyone who has ears
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Can hear them. He's gonna put it out there. He's not gonna hide it anymore Now it might be a mystery to many people
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Because they don't have ears to hear Many will be hard -hearted or superficial converts or too obsessed with chasing dollars
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But still we are supposed to put the gospel of the kingdom where it will get the most
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What do you call it publicity? Do you have ears to hear that? You know what it means for you
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Fifth the priority of the kingdom versus 24 and following be careful what you hear he says
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There's a seed. What are you planning in your life when you hear the mysteries of the kingdom? Do you understand?
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You understand those mysteries you understand the parables how much attention do you give to Understanding the kingdom of God how big a priority is it to you?
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You know, you're measuring out whether you know it or not. You are you're you're measuring out your thoughts You're budgeting your attention like you budget dollars
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You know, if you don't budget your dollars, you're probably just throwing it away If you don't think carefully about how you're giving your attention, you're probably doing the same thing
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Just throwing it away. Whatever distracts you When you're budgeting your attention, how much do you give to Jesus to what he teaches
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You just throwing your attention away on whatever the shiny thing right in front of you whatever's on your screen
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You might give a lot of attention To me how to make money how to improve your business your career
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Now give a lot to your family To your relationship to your maybe you give a lot to your favorite football team
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What about to the gospel of the kingdom? to the Word of God How much do you how much do you measure out to that?
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Here he says pay attention to how much of a priority seen by What you read what you listen to what you consider what you put on the radio.
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How much do you measure? Out to Jesus of a priority Do you put on Jesus the measure or the priority you put on him that will be measured to you
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If you pay a lot of attention to the kingdom of God You'll get a lot of it in your life If you pay none, you're just too obsessed by your career or money or sports whatever's distracted you at the moment
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Even what little bit That you have the knowledge you have of the kingdom of God that will be lost
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He says it will be taken away in verse 25 Taken away by who by the way taken away by Who takes it away
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Well, there's another divine passive if you budget out to God little attention You place him so low and your priority list that he doesn't deserve much time or attention in your life
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He'll take away from you What little you know about him Next is the sovereignty of the kingdom in verse 26
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Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like a man and there's another farmer who plants his seed plants the seed
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How does it grow? Notice there in this parable starting verse 26. How does the seed grow he plants it it says it grows
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He knows not how how does it grow he doesn't know How does the kingdom grow
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How does it grow by How does it grow just by us running programs by our strategies by our work, but what we do
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No, like the farmer we plant the seed we hope for good soil We give it publicity.
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We make it a priority and We sleep that we get up Morning after morning and we pray that it will grow
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That it will grow in our family and our children that hard hearts will be plowed
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So they're not hard anymore that the shallow will grow depth. So they're not shallow anymore that the greedy will love
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God more than their money But this but the seed it germinates it sprouts in verse 27
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We know not how We don't know It's out of our control it grows in verse 28 in Greek it says here's a word, you know, actually
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Automata, that's the Greek word sound familiar. It's where we get automatic from It grows literally by itself
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Not because of our programs because of our strategies not because of our altar calls of our emotions or manipulation
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It grows by itself by itself the kingdom of God grows from the first little sprout to a full harvest
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They thought the kingdom of God was just a harvest but here Jesus says the kingdom of God will grow Not by our extending it by our imposing it our arrangements our methods
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Not by our politics that by what we do not like 19th century Christians in America thought they could have got a range of revival
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You could call a revival and get a man who could preach a revival You can organize the salvation of people you're the right music and the right setup and your organ softly playing just as I am you have it all set up the counselors have come forward and you can
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You can manufacture Salvations like you manufacture a car No It doesn't work
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The kingdom doesn't grow by our engineering it That's why the
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Bible never tells us notice that never tells us anywhere Never gives us a command go grow the kingdom.
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It doesn't Why doesn't it because it tells us right here we can't do it doesn't say go expand the kingdom
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You can't do that We can publicize it. We can put the word out that Jesus is the king of the kingdom of God We can scatter this the news of it to all kinds of people
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We can do that here through Jim to Jim jr. You can do it in your families to others
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But we can't grow it Only God can do that. He is sovereign over his kingdom
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Finally the prosperity of the kingdom in verses 30 to 34 the
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Lord Jesus shows us that the kingdom will prosper even though it starts out small
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What do we compare the kingdom of God knows that's how it begins what should we compare the kingdom of God?
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What's it like now to his audience on the lakeshore they were thinking I know what we compare it to we'll compare it to the
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Roman Empire, you know huge impressive powerful and Emperor and legion the laws
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Imposing the government of Rome on people. That's what we compare it to and Jesus says no you compare it to a mustard seed
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It's tiny That's why the phrase grain and mustard seeds like a grain of sand
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They the average they average mustard seeds average two millimeters in in diameter tiny
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The kingdom of God starts out looking tiny insignificant puny
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Paltry It's like that. It's small It's how it starts.
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Anyway, it has come with With Jesus this carpenter from an out -of -the -way town and a backwater province in ancient
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Rome surely only something trivial small minor league
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Will come from that but he says Sure, it starts out small
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But it grows it grows larger than everything else in the garden. It grows so large
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That even the birds can make nested it gets that big It gets big enough.
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It can support birds nest and so the kingdom of God in contrast to its its tiny Apparently insignificant beginnings grows to be great
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It prospers Eventually, it will have so much prosperity so much growth
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It will fill the whole earth It will be the center of the universe
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What's your center? Eventually, it will be the kingdom of God God's rule will be the hub that everything else even you is arranged around either to your joy or To your sorrow your sorrow that you measured out so little of your life now to God's kingdom instead of staying stubborn in your sin set in concrete and your refusal to listen or maybe you heard you liked it at first but you
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Withered away when you learn the discipleship that is following Jesus living in the kingdom of God that it took some sacrifice
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Or you believe you believe the lie That deceitfulness of riches you believe the lie that money tells you that it can make you happy And so you followed it instead of Jesus you submitted to the
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Almighty dollar Instead of to God's rule. What's your center?
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Well that depends on what you're made of doesn't it What if you're made of stone? or or without depth are just are too full of Other things other quests like your ego or your wealth.
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The kingdom has now been made known to you It's on a lampstand.
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It's shining. What priority will you measure to it? That depends ultimately?
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Whether God will grow it in your life, but you can be sure you can be sure
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Whether you grow with it or not That the kingdom will grow