8-1-21 From Grace to Growth: Mark 4:30-34

We are back in Mark, chapter 4. I’ve titled this message “From Grace to Growth,” because it lives in context of last week's message. If you missed last week, the message was about the grace of God (that means He blesses us, shows us favor, and gives us good things even though we don’t deserve them). Last Sunday, we looked at the parable of the growing seed and how the farmer really didn’t know how, or rather why, the seed grew. It was a mystery to him. In a similar way, we don’t really comprehend how or why God has chosen to give us grace, why He chose to send His Son to die on the cross for our sins, or why He loves us so much. It’s truly amazing grace. And in this next parable Jesus tells, the one we’ll look at today, Jesus continues using illustrations with seeds. We could do an entire study on seeds and their significance. God talks a lot about seeds. He started talking about them way back in Genesis. Genesis 1:11 NKJV Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.” In other words it’s important that we understand a little about seeds so we can better understand God’s kingdom and how it works. As you probably know, seeds turn into full-grown plants. The seeds grow into what they were created to be - some into herbs, some into fruit trees, some into shade trees, and some into a lot of other plants. I didn’t know this until this week, but apparently there are about 391,000 different species of plants that we know of, and we discover about 2,000 new plant species every year.1 My point is, though, that just like plant seeds start small and grow into the fullness of what they’re supposed to be as they receive light, water, and a proper growth environment, we are also supposed to move from grace to growth into 1 Dasgupta, Shreya. “How many plant species are there in the world? Scientists now have an answer.” 2016. Mongabay, https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/many-plants-world-scientists-may-now-answer/. From Grace to Growth | 1 maturity in our relationship with Jesus. We move from a small seedling of God’s grace into a stately tree or other kind of plant, with strong roots and ripe fruit as we yield to God’s will and God’s ways. God turns us into what we were created to be as we put ourselves in the proper soil and receive the light of Jesus face and the rain of His Holy Spirit. How do we know God wants us to grow in Him? It’s an obvious answer, I know; most of us probably know intuitively that we want to grow with God and get to know Him better. But the bible uses a plant analogy again and tells us what we will be like when we trust Jesus, when we walk with Him day by day and follow Him in obedience. Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” The growth process of this tree planted by the water is what we all ultimately long for in life - growth unto stability. What I mean by that is that we all want to know we are truly loved and accepted by God our Father. That’s stability in relationship with our Creator. We want to know that the storms of life won’t shake us; that’s stability in the knowledge that God will keep us safe (this safety isn’t always temporal, sometimes it’s eternal). In other words we want to know we don’t have to be afraid. Matthew 10:28 HCSB Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. We want to be stable and have a deep community (we want to be known by our brothers and sisters - those around us); stability in relationships with others. From Grace to Growth | 2 We want to know that we’ll be productive and satisfied with our purpose, and that we’ll leave a lasting legacy when we move from this earth to heaven to be with Jesus. Even though the context of this next verse is Moses talking to Pharaoh, what he says applies to our life purpose too. Exodus 9:16 NKJV “But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” The purpose in life for all of us is to love God, be loved by Him, and then show Jesus through how we operate so others can come into His love and grace, too, and start their journey unto growth with God just like we did. My point is that, when Jesus talks about seeds, there is more to it in all of these parables than just the fact that it’s a picture of real life that many people (especially at that time) can relate to. And so with this theme of grace to growth in your mind, let’s pray and then take a look at the parable of the mustard seed. Father in Heaven, thank you for your grace and your mercy to each and every one of us. Thank you for loving us more deeply than we could ever imagine, for blessing us so abundantly, for providing overwhelming love and care to meet every need we could ever have. I ask You to bless Your Word today Father, and Holy Spirit we ask you to quicken our hearts to hear you, ignite the message in our hearts to burn away all that is not of You. Have Your way in this place, Lord Jesus, and as we speak Your Word in this place may You minister Your heart to all of us, no matter what needs we may have. We love You, Jesus, we worship You, and we give You all of the glory and the honor. In Jesus’ Mighty, Power, Magnificent, Holy Name we pray, amen. Mark 4:30-34 NKJV “Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32 From Grace to Growth | 3 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” 33 And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. 34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.” Jesus talks about mustard seeds 5 times in the gospels. 2 of the 5 times, or 40% of the time, He talks about the mustard seed in context of faith. You may have heard that before - have faith as small as a mustard seed and God can do a lot with it. Trust God and He’ll bring good things to pass, He’ll lead you where you need to go, He’ll take care of you, provide for you, and give you eternal life. That is totally true. There's nothing wrong with that explanation of the mustard seed. There’s a lot of helpful things to talk about regarding faith in God and how it grows and develops in us. But 3 out of the 5 times, or 60% of the time Jesus talks about the mustard seed, He just tells the parable along with other parables about the kingdom of God. He doesn’t add any comments about faith. I think that’s significant because it means there’s more to this parable than just “have faith and God will do great things in you and around you.” Again, that is totally true and many bible teachers develop a lot of great points of encouragement around it. But there’s more to this parable of the mustard seed than that. Would you repeat after me - GRACE. Now GROWTH. God gives us grace (we talked about that last week) so that we can grow in Him. God gives us grace so we can grow. That’s the reason for it. Grace has a purpose, and it’s unto growth. God wants growth in our relationship with Jesus, growth in how we interact with Him, how we listen to Him and in learning to do what He says. It’s about growth in how we treat one another and how we respond when people treat us well and when they treat us poorly. From Grace to Growth | 4 It’s about growth in ministry, or how we serve people and minister Jesus to them by the way we act. It’s about growth in holiness, or progressively throwing off worldly mindsets and activities and replacing them with Godly kingdom-oriented ways of operation. So let’s pause and break this down a little - Mark 4:30-31 NKJV “Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;” First, I want you to know that the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God is not a mustard seed. Well, duh; you knew that already. But I want to make a point here, because in the Jewish culture of that time, the mustard seed was literally the smallest seed they knew of. What I mean is that God’s kingdom is not small. It’s not small, it’s not weak, it’s not insignificant, it’s not without enormous potential in your life. It’s not that we mean to, but sometimes it’s easy to think of the kingdom of God as something that plays a small role in our lives and gets bigger over time because we get older. Or, we get closer to physically going to the kingdom of heaven. But the kingdom of God is not small now. It may be difficult for some people to see, but the work of God in you is hugely significant, bursting with life, peace, and hope and full of life-changing potential. Maybe you’re here today and you don’t have much hope in some area of your life. Maybe it’s a relationship, maybe it’s finances, maybe it’s your life purpose or a besetting struggle you keep dealing with. And even if God’s kingdom power that’s available to you now may look small; your relationship with God might not seem like it’s doing much to help in your circumstances; but I promise you it will turn out to be a game-changer, it will turn out to be a huge factor in your life and in your struggle. God will change your life as you yield to His process of growth. From Grace to Growth | 5 And so the kingdom of God and its effects on you and in your life is never small, it is not insignificant, it is not without huge potential to change everything you know. It is not a mustard seed, even though it might look or feel that way on the surface or in difficult circumstances we go through. But the kingdom of God is not a mustard seed. The Bible says it’s like a mustard seed. In English, saying that ‘something is like something else’ doesn't necessarily communicate the full meaning of what the person is saying. It’s simply explaining something using a picture. As we keep reading in this passage, we see that Jesus doesn’t mean that His kingdom is like a mustard seed in terms of the seed itself; it’s like what HAPPENS to a mustard seed. In other words, there is a certain process that a mustard seed goes through, and that kind of process is what we want to go through so the kingdom of God can be made manifest, or so that God’s kingdom will be made known here on earth. So what is the process - what happens to the mustard seed in this scenario? You guessed it - it’s the process of growth. The mustard seed grows. And it grows fast. God wants us to grow quickly in Him just like the mustard seed grows quickly in good soil. 1 Peter 2:1-3 NKJV “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” The Bible is saying that if we have tasted of the goodness of God, if we have found God’s grace, then we should want to grow in our relationship with Him! How do we do it - how do we grow? Well, we need to abandon how we behaved before we came to Christ - especially in our heart attitudes (malice, deceit, hypocrisy), and move forward in thinking about the things of God. I will pause and say that sometimes our initial thoughts when we read this list (malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking) are not to think about ourselves. From Grace to Growth | 6 In other words, we don’t think about whether or not those are things we struggle with. “Lay aside deceit? I wasn’t a deceitful person anyway before Jesus. That’s not me.” But Jeremiah 17:9 ESV “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” In other words, God is talking about our hearts. Before we came to Christ, we were all deceived by the entire way our worldly thought process worked. But now, because of Jesus, we can cast off those old ways of operating and grow by getting into God’s word and getting time with Him. We grow by hearing the word of God and doing it. One pastor once told me that for most people, the spiritual growth process is painstakingly, awkwardly, and terribly slow. That’s probably true about most people - but I want you to know today that you are in control of how fast you grow with the Lord! Growing in our relationship with Jesus isn’t as complicated as we think it is, either. Read God’s word so you’ll know what He wants you to do and how He wants you to operate, and then do what He says! Spend time with Jesus just like you would a friend - talk to Him, listen to Him, and recognize He is with you every moment of every day. He’ll talk to you, too, if you’ll choose to listen. And as you continue to dialogue with Jesus, you’ll grow in your knowledge of Him; you’ll grow in knowing who He is and what He wants you to do. Remember we’re talking about both grace and growth today. Peter doesn’t stop writing after He tells us to grow by receiving the milk of the Word of God. In his second book (2 Peter) he keeps talking about growth. 2 Peter 3:18 NKJV but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” This is a command. The bible says grow. Grow in what? Grace. It’s actually a command to grow in grace! From Grace to Growth | 7 Did you know that having God’s grace poured out on us and receiving it is actually how we overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, and how we’ll see the miracles of God made manifest among us? What I mean by that is that as we grow in learning to receive the grace of God - that’s His favor, His blessing, and His presence that comes as a result of His work on the cross - we’ll also grow in our relationship with Jesus, grow in ministering to others and in grow in responding to any situation we face the way God wants us to. We’ll be better conduits for the miracles of God to flow through us as we learn how to better receive God’s grace. God’s grace is the way we overcome. Look at what Zechariah says to do; Zechariah 4:6-7 NKJV So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. 7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” Have you ever thought about yelling “grace” at whatever temptation you face, at whatever obstacles stop you from growing in holiness, whatever of the world, the flesh, or the devil gets in the way of God’s best plans for your life? Good, because I don’t often think about doing that, either. I tend to think up some plan for navigating the problem, some practical way to improve whatever situation I find myself in. Now I’m not putting down planning necessarily - but what I am saying is that God’s plan for overcoming, for growth, comes from grace. Zechariah tells Zerubbabel to shout “grace” at his mountain (which was rebuilding the temple of God - it was hard work and the people were demoralized and faced enemies) and as he yells at it, then the Holy Spirit will take over and he’ll see the obstacle taken away. From Grace to Growth | 8 Zechariah the prophet encouraged Zerubbabel (he is the governor of Judah after it’s taken over and the Jews are allowed to go back) that building the temple is a great work, and that He needs to do it. In other words he encourages Zerubbabel that his work matters to God and that he can do it by God’s grace. To relate this to our growth, it means that the work we put into our relationship with Jesus is not insignificant. It matters. It’s important that we grow and learn how to let the Holy Spirit dwell in the temple of our hearts. It’s important that we cultivate a place where God can live within us that is well-maintained and clean. And God will complete His work within you because of His grace. The prophet Zechariah is saying the same thing Jesus says in the parable of the mustard seed in a different way. He says, “The people should not think that small beginnings are unimportant.” Zechariah 4:10 EXB. In other words it all starts with a small, mustard seed-like faith. But the process of growth that happens to that seed is extremely important - the way it grows is like the Kingdom of God in you! We need to recognize the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to grow us as we choose to press into our relationship with Jesus! Remember the words of the prophet - we don’t grow, overcome, or see miracles happen by might, by our strength but by the work of the Holy Spirit within us! We grow by grace and we grow into grace so that we can grow in receiving grace. We grow by grace and we grow into grace so that we can grow in receiving grace. So let me offer this suggestion - next time you’re tempted, tried, or otherwise pulled on by the world, the flesh, or the devil, instead of trying to come up with different ways to overcome those temptations on your own or figure it out in your own power, just shout GRACE at the problem! God, I’m in a situation I can’t handle - cover it with Your grace! From Grace to Growth | 9 God, I’m struggling in this area of my life right now - cover me with Your grace! God I don’t know what to do - give me your grace! Zechariah 4:7 NKJV ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” Maybe you’re struggling with something in your life today and you don’t know how to move forward. It could be a relationship, it could be finances, it could be lack of peace, lack of joy, or even a lack of understanding how to have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. I urge you to get before the Lord, think about that thing you struggle with and shout at it! Shout GRACE towards the mountain that holds you back from experiencing God’s best. Shout GRACE at whatever obstacle you find stopping your prayer requests and holding you back from looking into Jesus’ face! Shout GRACE to that area of your life where you haven’t seen a breakthrough yet. Remember, it’s always God’s amazing grace that paves the way for our growth and our breakthrough. It’s God’s kindness and compassion that blesses us even though we really don’t deserve a thing. It’s God’s grace that overcomes the darkest night, the deepest despair, and the blackest depression of the human spirit. GRACE! GRACE and GROWTH is your inheritance as a son or daughter of the King of the Kings. Zechariah also says that the capstone will be brought forth with shouts of grace. The capstone or headstone was a pre-carved piece, the opposite of the cornerstone or the foundation. It was at the peak or top of the gable, or the arch. The Lord’s word to Zerubbabel was that the project was going to be capped off by grace. Capstone is another word for headstone. It is this pie-shaped stone that goes at the peak, or top of an arch. While the arch is being constructed, the entire thing has to be fully and separately supported until the keystone is dropped into place. From Grace to Growth | 10 Once the capstone is in place, the weight of the structure all focuses on that capstone.2 For us, this means that when you allow God’s grace to penetrate and permeate whatever situation you’re in, you’ll see His grace take the weight of it all. No matter what breakthrough we receive in life, it’s because of the grace of God. And knowing that Jesus has complete and total victory by His death and resurrection, we can shout GRACE at what we face today because we overcome Zechariah 4:6 NKJV “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” We don’t do the heavy lifting, God does. That can be a difficult thing to remember. It’s important that we all understand that anything good in us comes from God Himself. Mark 10:18 ESV “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Any ministry that happens here, any happiness we get, or love we feel, or warmth we find - it all comes from the grace of God! Our growth on every level comes by the Holy Spirit, who gives us grace in every moment we face. And so I’ll ask you - what are you facing today where you feel overwhelmed? What area of your life do you need a breakthrough? Stand on the finished work of Jesus on the cross, and know that by His blood He has given you grace so that whatever obstacle you face will move right in front of you. I’m going to throw another G-word at you, because it’s important, too. We can’t forget to give God glory. GRACE, GROWTH, and GLORY. God gives us grace, He gives us growth as we press into Him, and then we are called to give Him the glory for everything He does for us, in us, and through us. 2 Hayford, Jack. Defining the Grace of God. Sermon. 15 August 1976. Gateway Legacy Library, https://app.gatewaylegacylibrary.com/legacy-library/4/sermon/2320. From Grace to Growth | 11 In other words, God will do all the hard work; but we have to make a decision that we will always and forever give Him the glory, honor, and praise for doing it. We call that an attitude of gratitude, and it’s a huge principle in our spiritual lives; we must acknowledge Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith, as the One who causes all of the growth and good things in our lives to happen. Psalm 29:2-3 NKJV “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters.” The psalm says that the voice of the Lord God is over many waters. That means that He has control over everything, even the way the storms and the seas rise and fall. And glory is due Him. In other words, we owe it to Him. We owe Him glory, because He deserves it. He is the One who has created all things that are beautiful and Holy; He is the One who causes mountains to move by One Word of His voice. And as He moves on our behalf, we give Him the glory. As He gives grace, we give Him praise. And here is something crazy - God will actually share glory with those who walk in His grace and give Him glory. That means that as you grow and receive more grace, He’ll raise you up as an example of His son or daughter. He will use you as an example to others of how graceful, loving, honoring, and glorious He is. Psalm 84:11 NKJV “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.” God gives you grace and glory! Do you see this! He won’t hold back His blessings from you - He will make your mountain move before your eyes as a result of His grace! But we have a part to play, too. We have to walk uprightly. That means we have integrity of heart. From Grace to Growth | 12 It means that, from our hearts, from the deepest parts of who we are, that we are trying the best we can to give God honor, glory, and praise. We put forth effort in our lives to make sure we listen to God’s word and walk according to God’s ways. We make sure our hearts aren’t deceived by worldly wisdom but instead accept the Bible as total truth, and adjust when we realize we’ve messed up in some area. And so, just like a mustard seed, even though we begin with small faith, and small spiritual maturity, we can grow quickly as we realize the depths of God’s grace and the work of His Spirit within us. And as we give God the glory, honor, and praise for every point of growth in our lives, He comes and shares His blessings, His abundant life, His grace and glory with us. Let’s worship Him today. From Grace to Growth | 13