Will you take your Bibles and turn to Mark's gospel chapter four. We continue to examine every word, every verse, to glean all that the Spirit of God has for us through His inspired record. This morning, I've entitled my discourse to you "Three Fruits of Genuine Christians." Let me read the text to you Mark chapter four, beginning with verse 21, through verse 34. "And Jesus was saying to them, 'A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket is it? Or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lamp stand? For nothing is hidden except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.' And He was saying to them, 'Take care of which you listen to, by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and whoever does not have even what he has shall be taken away from him. And He was saying,' The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day in the seed sprouts and grows--how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself, first the blade than the head than the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.' And He said, How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.'" With many such parables, He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it. And he did not speak to them without a parable. But he was explaining everything privately to His own disciples."

Now this comes at the conclusion of his parable of the soils. And you will recall in Mark chapter four and verse nine, once again, he says, "He who has ears, let him hear." And only the redeemed will be able to understand and interpret and apply the great truths that Jesus is speaking. And it's a joy to preach the Word to those who have ears to hear. And certainly that is true of you or you would not be here. I often laugh, I would last about five minutes in many churches. But you continue to tolerate me because I just give you the Word, right? And you have a hunger for the Word, you have a passion to be obedient to it. And that is one of the most powerful indicators of genuine saving faith, a hunger for the Word and a desire to obey it. In John 8:32, Jesus said, "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free." And that's what has happened in your life and in mine, those of us who know Christ, and in First Peter, two two, we were told that we should be, "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation." I want to add that Calvary Bible Church is one of the most dangerous places on earth for those who sit under the teaching of the Word, and hear it week in, and week out, and yet refuse to obey it. Persistent rejection will permanently harden a person's heart, resulting in permanent blinding. And we've seen this in our study thus far. People tend to love darkness rather than light, right? In fact, in John 3:19, Jesus said, "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil."

Beloved, please understand Scripture is very clear that when a man willfully rejects the Son of God, with full knowledge of the gospel, God will reject Him. You will recall in Mark 4:11, Jesus said, "To you has been given the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that while seeing they may see and not perceive, and while hearing they may hear, and not understand otherwise, they might return and be forgiven." So again, there we have an example of what happens when there is willful, persistent and tractable unbelief in the face of full disclosure. It will result in divine judgment, Romans 1:26, we read and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things, which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil and so forth. God will simply leave that kind of a person in a state of permanent blindness, that is the darkness that they love. And somewhere along the line in their life, he will remove any possibility of them understanding or embracing the gospel. And certainly, Jesus parables are a testimony to this very thing, as he has stated, parables left them in the darkness that they love. I might add that parables were also an act of divine mercy. Because the more light they reject, the greater their eternal condemnation. John 12, verse 48, "He who rejects me," Jesus says, "and does not receive My sayings has one who judges him; The word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day." In other words, the degree of punishment will be commensurate with the degree to which the rejection was willful. Is that you? I hope not. Examine your heart dear friends. Jesus clarified this even more in Luke chapter 12, beginning in verse 47. He says, "And that servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to His will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not and did not commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given of him, shall be much required, and to whom men have committed much of him, they will ask the more." I must confess that it is a great burden of my heart to know that some of you sit under the teaching of the word again every Sunday, and yet you choose to continue to live in blatant disobedience proving that you're unsaved. Though you claim to follow Christ, though you claim him to be your Savior, you really want nothing to do with him. You live your life for yourself in a fool's paradise. Ruled by your lusts, wandering further and further and further away from the safety of his saving grace. What a heartbreaking reality that is for some of you. Hebrews chapter six, verse six says for those who have, "fallen away," referring to unbelievers who have fallen away from the full light of divine revelation, and the offer of salvation, those who fall away, "it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame." In other words, the greater the rejection, the greater the judgment, chronic rejection of the truth, which by the way, includes persistent indecisiveness, will gradually produce hardness of heart. The writer of Hebrews warns of this in Hebrews three and verse 12, he says, "Take care that there not be any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day as long as it is still called 'Today,' so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." In other words, the deceitfulness of sin that causes unbelief, and unbelief, with full knowledge of the truth, will turn your heart to stone. Yours will be the greater punishment. Matthew 11, verse 24, makes it real clear that the wickedness of Sodom wasn't anything to be compared to the wickedness of Bethsaida. Because Sodom never saw Jesus, and yet, those in Bethsaida saw him, they experienced His miracles, they heard him teach, and in full knowledge and experience of the truth, they rejected him. Remember, all sinners, who have never trusted in Christ as Savior, will pay for their sins in eternal torment. That's the reality of divine judgment, including those who have rejected natural revelation that is in creation, and thus were never given the truth of Christ to be saved. But that person's torment will be less severe than those who hear the Gospel, constantly know the truth, and yet want nothing to do with it. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 29, "How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve, who was trampled underfoot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? We know Him who said, 'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.'' And again, 'The Lord will judge His people.'" And then the Spirit of God moved upon the heart of his inspired writer to say, "It is a terrifying thing, to fall into the hands of the living God." But oh dear friends, the wonderful grace of Jesus in the gospel. God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness that we loved, he has transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son, as we read in Colossians one, He has adopted us as His children, He's caused us to delight in His Word, to actually hunger for his word, to joyfully obey His Word. Moreover, he causes us to bear fruit in our life. And part of that fruit is spreading the seed of the gospel that others might come to saving faith.

And that is what Jesus is talking about here in this text. As he addresses his disciples and by extension, all of us with three additional, parables, three further illustrations that identify three fruits of true believers. In other words, those who heard the gospel and now bear the fruit of that seed that he was previously talking about. I have labeled these three fruits as follows. Hopefully, this will give you a little outline to hang these concepts on. First, fruit will be a passion to faithfully proclaim the gospel, secondly, an expectation of eternal reward for evangelistic efforts. And then finally, an unwavering confidence that God will build His kingdom. And I might add that if these characteristics are missing in your life, there is something terribly wrong with your faith, assuming it is genuine, saving faith. Every true believer will bear spiritual fruit. That's what happens. It will be like the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians chapter five, verses 22 through 23. But some will bear more than others. Therefore we are commanded in Colossians 1:10, "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him, in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." And that's what we are endeavoring to do here this morning.

So let's look at the first fruit. Jesus identifies and I'm calling it a passion to faithfully proclaim the gospel. Now bear in mind, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the evangelistic enterprise that they would soon embark upon, after he ascended into glory. And the concept here is that the seed of saving faith has germinated in their hearts. It's producing therefore, the fruit of gospel witness, a desire to share the gospel with others, and all true believers are going to have that desire in varying levels. John 8:31, "if you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine." So it doesn't matter what you profess to believe the proof is in the pudding, if you will, right? John 13:35, "By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have a love for one another." Matthew seven, verse 20, and following, "So then you will know them by their fruits." Jesus adds, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven will enter." In other words, what's going to happen, because of what has happened in your heart, is that others are going to see Christ in your life. Jesus said, that you will know that you are my disciples if you keep my commandments, and so forth. And one of the primary marks of genuine saving faith is that you will have a passion to faithfully proclaim the gospel; you won't be ashamed of it, you will want to share it with others. And Jesus is here, preparing them for this very thing. In fact, in Mark six and later on, in Luke nine, the Lord is going to send them out. And parties of two, as you will recall, moreover, later, he's going to commission them to do more of the same and in the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

So with this background, let's look at the text more closely in verse 21 of Mark four, "And Jesus was saying to them, a lamp is not brought to be put under a basket is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light." And of course, that's going to be happening through the preaching of the Gospel. "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." Now, excavations have revealed many, many 1000s of the little hard baked lamps that the people used in that day, for light, they had a little handle a little spout, I have some, and in my home that I brought back from Israel, they would pour olive oil in there and have a little, little floating wick, and they would place those on stands in their homes, they didn't have electricity like we do. They would place them on stands, or there would be protruding shelves in the walls where they would place that so that the light would be able to beam throughout their dark little dwellings. And so this would have been a very familiar illustration to them. And light is used in Scripture as a metaphor for truth, the Light of the gospel, the light of Christ, as well as the spiritual, the spiritual life that we have in Christ. The Psalmist tells us that the word is a lamp unto our feet and a light into our path. In Ephesians, five, and beginning in verse eight, the apostle Paul says, "You were formerly darkness;" not just in darkness, you were darkness, right? "You were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord." So he goes on to say, "walk as children of Light, (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord." And in Matthew's Gospel, in chapter five, beginning in verse 14, we have a little sample of Jesus Sermon on the Mount and there he says, "You are the light of the world, a city on a hill, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." So he goes on to say, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Now, I might add, dear friends to make this very practical. This includes far more than just giving a little money for Operation Christmas Child, as wonderful as that is. This is more than just going over there and packing some boxes as wonderful as that is. What he's referring to here is a lifestyle that reflects the living Christ. Even the moon reflects the sun, but I might say that our lives don't just reflect Christ. They actually emanate the light of Christ because He dwells in us. This is what he's talking about. And practically speaking, whenever you come into a room, you need to light up that room with the glory of Christ. People need to know very quickly, as they watch your lifestyle as they listen to you talk. As they watch how you behave, as they watch how you love your wife, or you love your husband or your children, they need to say, wow, there's something different. And then when you have opportunity, you let the light shine even more, and you share with them the glory of the gospel. This is very different than those who walk in darkness. Right? When you get around those kinds of people. It's creepy. You know, you just listen to the way they talk and, and the vulgarity that comes out of their mouths because it's in their heart. Their souls are dark, they belong to the kingdom of darkness. They are living out the deeds of the flesh, not the fruits of the Spirit, which Paul describes in Galatians 5:19" Now the deeds of the flesh are evident," which are and by the way, as I read these just think, this is what we see in the ungodly that have never come to faith in Christ, "The deeds of the flesh are evident which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will never inherit the kingdom of God." And this is the type of stuff that is the basis of virtually every movie and every television show that we watch. When I was a little boy, we used to sing a song, "This little light of mine," any of you used to sing that? Or am I just that... Oh, good. I'm not completely in the dark here, "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, oh, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, let it shine all the time, let it shine," and so forth. I sang that with all my heart when I was a little boy having no real idea of what it meant. But I know what it means now. And I trust you do as well. So the first fruit of one upon whom the gospel seed has fallen, will be a passion to faithfully proclaim the gospel. "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

The second fruit will be an expectation of eternal rewards for their evangelistic efforts. Notice verse 24. "And Jesus was saying to them, 'Take care what you listen to,' it could be translated, pay attention, or consider carefully what you hear. I'm gonna say something very important here. I watch my son, with his little granddaughter, or my little granddaughter and their grandson. And a lot of times, I will see him get right in the face. And he will say, focus, focus. Listen to what I'm telling you. And that's basically what Jesus is saying here. Pay attention, focus. And then he says this, here's what you're supposed to focus on. "By your standard of measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given you besides." This is the concept of reaping what you sow, and then some. Now, this was a proverbial maxim, the Lord used in other contexts to communicate a great principle of, of divine administration. This is how God functions. For example, in Matthew seven in verse two, we read, "For in the way you judge, you will be judged and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." But here in Mark four it's used in connection with evangelism. God is going to reward our evangelistic service in proportion to the level of effort that we exert. He is watching, he will reward and that's Jesus point. He is underscoring the promise of eternal rewards for those who are earnestly devoted to sharing the good news of the gospel to the lost. I'm curious, does that describe you? Is that a passion of your heart? Now we know that in agriculture, if a farmer sows very little, he's going to reap very little. If he sows a lot more, he's going to reap a lot more, everybody understands that. In fact, the Lord uses this through His inspired writer Paul in Second Corinthians nine six in the context of financial giving. He says "he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." So in this context in verse 24, Jesus is saying, "By your standard of measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given you besides." And you want to ask yourself, what is my standard of measure? What is my degree of effort when it comes to evangelism? Is sharing the gospel with those that God is placed in my sphere of influence, is that something that I'm committed to? Am I devoted to that? Is that a passion of my heart? Or do I just leave it to others and feel good because I put a little money in the offering box so that other people, the pastor and missionaries, and folks like that will handle that for me? Are you motivated not only out of your love for Christ, not only out of a desire to be pleasing to Him, not only out of a passion for His glory, and a burden for the loss, but are you also motivated by an expectation of eternal rewards for your efforts? That's what Jesus wants you to hear.

And I might add, that these rewards actually begin in this life. I'm sure you can join me in attesting to the exhilarating joy of seeing loved ones and friends come to faith in Christ. What an incredible thing that is, to see sinners saved, and to see them sanctified to see them grow in the grace of knowledge of Christ. I mean, when this happens, God fills our hearts with with an overwhelming sense of of praise and excitement and joy, and it animates our will to stay in the fight, does it not? We rejoice not only over the extent by which the Lord exerts himself, to seek and to save the lost, but also over the one who has been rescued, sometimes one that we have prayed for, for years, and they finally come to Christ. Oh, what a reward that is. But we all know that the celebratory joy is just a temporal reward, but it is a sample of the ultimate joy and a reward that we will receive in glory. We all know that evangelism requires effort. It's difficult, requires compassion requires boldness. Most people don't want to hear it right. We all know that. And so often we suffer for our witness. But Jesus also promised that those who suffer for his namesake will be rewarded, right? Luke 6:21, "Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven." So again, what is your standard of measure when it comes to evangelism, because it will be measured to you. And more, besides. And it's important to understand that the rewards we're talking about here, as we look at it biblically, is not that we're pursuing some reward so that we can elevate ourselves to some superior perceived, superior status in heaven, but rather, to exalt the lover of our soul and enlarge our enjoyment of him forever. And of course, this will, in effect, increase the enjoyment of all of the redeemed. And dear friends if none of this resonates in your heart, if none of this is characteristic of you, then there there is something terribly wrong with your faith. Don't kid yourself.

This is evidence of one who has genuinely been transformed by the power of God. Jesus went on to add in verse 25, "For whoever has, to him more shall be given." The parallel passage is in Matthew 13, verse 12, "and he will have an abundance." I like what John MacArthur says, quote, "As believers dispense truth to others, God blesses them with more power, joy, satisfaction and reward." Well, isn't that true? Absolutely it's true. But notice, Jesus uses this as a stark contrast to the lack of fruit in the life of an unbeliever. At the end of verse 25, Jesus says, "and whoever does not have," referring to not having God through saving faith in Christ, "even what he has shall be taken away from him." In other words, one day their superficial faith will be exposed and their self deception will be uncovered. Again, we read about this in Matthew seven, beginning of verse 22. I mentioned it earlier, "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name, perform many miracles?'" And yet, despite their supernatural works, that were empowered by demons, Jesus says that "I will declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" Earlier in verse 18, he said, "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit." Very clear. John 15, verse six, Jesus says, "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." And dear friends, evangelical Christianity is filled with people that do not know Christ. The landscape of Christianity is littered with corpses down through history of people who profess Christ, but they do not possess him. Churches that are utterly bereft of sound doctrine, without even a modicum of personal holiness. And we're all aware of this. And many of these churches now embrace even the most vile forms of perversion, things that are literally unspeakable. Hell is going to be filled with religious people who were Christian in name only. So again, in Mark four, verse 25. At the end, he says, "Whoever does not have,” referring to saving faith, "even what he has shall be taken away from him." Jesus words in Luke 18 clarifies this even further. He says, "Whoever does not have even what he thinks he has, shall be taken away from him." Jesus elaborates on this concept again, in Matthew seven, verse 24. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against the house. And yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock." But then he contrasts that by saying, "Everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and it fell, and great was his fall." Oh, dear friends, the inevitable tragedy of divine judgment that will fall upon those who built their life on the shifting sands of some false religion or built their life on the assumption that, hey, I'm a good person and my good outweighs the bad, so certainly, God will save me. That person that has a perceived sense of self righteousness, rather than the person who will say that I am a sinner, saved by grace, and my only hope is in Christ.

So what true believers will have, those that heard the gospel and now bear the fruit of that seed, they will have number one a passion to faithfully proclaim the gospel and an expectation of eternal reward for evangelistic efforts. And then finally, they will have an unwavering confidence that God will build His kingdom. Notice verse 26. "And He was saying the kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day and the seed sprouts and grows, how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself, first the blade than the head than the mature grain in the head. When the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle because the harvest has come."

Now, it was a long time since I went through with my biology courses in college, so I wanted to look up the process of germination, all right? Now I'm gonna sound very erudite, but quite honestly, I don't have a clue. What most of this is saying, but I want you to just understand a little bit of what the scientists have discovered. In the miracle of the seed germination process, there's basically five different steps First, it's called imbibition, when water fills the seed when it's in the soil. Secondly, the water activates enzymes that begin the plant's growth. And then thirdly, the seed grows a route to access water underground, and the seed grows, shoots that grow towards the sun, and then the shoots grow leaves and begin photo morphogenesis. Now, I wanted to understand a little bit more what photo morphogenesis was. And here's what the textbooks say, "In developmental biology photomorphogenesis is light mediated development, where plant growth patterns respond to the light spectrum. This is a completely separate process from photosynthesis, where light is used as a source of energy phytochromes, cryptochromes and photo troponins are photochromic sensory receptors that restrict the photomorphogenic effect of light to the UVA, the UVB, blue and red portions of the electromagnetic spectrum." All of that to say is, folks, this is really amazing, right? It is amazing. And this is what happens when a seed lodges is in good soil. I just can't fathom the evolutionary process that would bring this all about, can you? I mean, this is a process that boggles the mind. This is an example of the hand of the Creator. An example of the creative genius and power of God. You will recall that on the third day of creation, according to Genesis one in verse 11, "God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit in them, and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them after their kind. And God saw that it was good." And later, he speaks to Adam and Eve in verse 29. "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed, that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which has fruit yielding seed, it shall be food for you." This Psalmist tells us in Psalm 85, verse 12, indeed, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. And what's fascinating is, the farmer cannot create the seed, right? You can't create the seed God had to do. Nor can he cause it to germinate and grow. That's something that just happens by the power of God, all he can do is sow the seed, maybe put a little fertilizer and water on the ground, and then harvest it. So he who gets the glory, that God gets the glory.

Oh, dear friends. But the contrast here is so stark. Compare that to the miracle of regeneration. When the seed of the gospel lodges in the heart, of one of God's elect, and supernaturally, suddenly, instantaneously, there's the impartation of spiritual life, spiritually dead. Suddenly, a nature is changed. Suddenly, a person is made a new creature in Christ. The old things pass away, the new things come, that person has changed so that now their entire disposition is moving in a radically different direction than what it was. You begin to love what God loves and you hate what God hates. This is the power of regeneration. It's a spiritual resurrection, from spiritual death to spiritual life characterized by both washing and renewal.

Paul used the term and Titus three five, the term regeneration "paliggneseia." By the way, "he saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy by the washing of," here it is, "regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us so richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior so that being justified by his grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." I love the way JI Packer defines regeneration he says "It is the spiritual change right in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit in which his or her inherently sinful nature is changed so that he or she can respond to God in faith and live in accordance with His will. It extends to the whole nature of man, altering his governing disposition, illuminating his mind, freeing his will and renewing his nature." And we're told in first Peter 1:23, that you have been born again, that's regeneration, "you have been born again not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For all flesh is like grass and all its glory, like the flower of grass, the grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which was preached to you." And so the point of all of this is simply God in his infinite grace has provided this, this gospel seed, and he has prepared the soil of His elect, that were chosen before the foundations of the world, the good soil upon which that seed would one day fall and germinate. And in that germination process, there would be the miracle of regeneration. And it was as a result of that change nature, a person will begin to manifest the fruits of Christ like this. Paul spoke of this in First Corinthians three, verse six, he said, "I planted," and he said, "Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth," right. "So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor." There it is, again.

So back to what Jesus says Mark four 26. "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil, and he goes to bed at night, gets up by day and the seed sprouts and grows, how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself, first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." The point is simply this. Guys, I want you to sow the seed. Ladies, I want you to sow this gospel seed. But I want you to do this with the unwavering confidence that God is going to build His kingdom through those seeds. I've been privileged to witness this over and over again over the 30 plus years of my gospel ministry. I've seen the seed fall by the road on the rocky ground among the thorns and among good soil. And I've seen how it can bear much fruit. I look at many of you. Look at some of you young people, I remember when I went to the hospital, to welcome you in to this wicked old world. And now I'm seeing you bring glory to God through your faithful witness. It's an amazing thing. And to know that someday when the Lord calls me home, there will be others. I believe some young men in this church right now that God is going to raise up, maybe even to fill this pulpit. We don't know. But that's what God does. And he wants us to be encouraged with this.

And notice how Jesus uses another parable here to illustrate this third fruit that will grow on the vine of the redeemed this unwavering confidence that God will build His kingdom. And by the way, this would have been so encouraging to His disciples who were faced with the daunting task of preaching the gospel, knowing all of the rejection that is out there. He says in verse 30, he said, "How shall we picture the kingdom of God or by what parable shall we present it? He said, it's like a mustard seed which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade." Now, listeners would have understood this they knew the tiny mustard seed, they planted it in their gardens. The tree would grow to roughly 15 feet or so, it was probably a reference to the black mustard tree which was grown for its oil, and to be used as a condiment. And though its size originally is very, very small, it grew to an impressive size. And of course, that is the purpose of the simile here. And Jesus point is simply this, though the kingdom right now is very small, speaking back at the first century, though, it's very small. Don't underestimate its humble beginnings. Don't underestimate my power to grow it. Don't be impatient. And think how much it has grown since the first century. Look what God continues to do. And in its branches, it will provide shade and shelter for countless saints from all over the world.

I might add that the imagery of a tree was used to illustrate mighty kingdoms in the Old Testament, we see this, for example, in Ezekiel 31, with reference to the Assyrian kingdom and the Babylonian kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel speaks of this in Daniel four beginning in verse 10. "Now these were the visions in my mind, as I lay on my bed I was looking at behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great, the tree grew large became strong, and its height reach to the sky, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, its foliage was beautiful, and its fruit abundant. And it was food for all the beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, and all living creatures fed themselves from it." So now here in Mark four, again, Jesus makes it clear that the kingdom is going to start out small, it may seem insignificant, but it is going to grow. And beloved, this should be an encouragement to all of us. As we spread the gospel seed, I think of the profound influence that Christianity has had on our world, culturally, economically, morally. Contrast this to the devastating influence of theological and political liberalism, and Marxism and communism. I mean, as we look at America, we know that it is the product of the Protestant Reformation that began with Luther back in 1570. And we can see how God used so many of the principles of Scripture to build this great nation. And yet now you look at people, especially those in power today. I mean, the political platform of the Democratic Party is, is just a satanically inspired bunch of beliefs designed to oppose the righteousness and the justice of God. And many Republicans and independents doesn't matter what strike many of these people believe this stuff, because they're lost. They have created a cultural and an economic and a moral freefall from which I don't think our country will ever recover.

But oh, dear friends, don't be deceived. Don't lose heart. God is building his kingdom. I think what the psalmist said in Psalm two, beginning of verse two, "The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 'Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us.'" You know, I can hear this in the White House. I can hear this in Congress, I can hear this in the United Nations, I can hear this in the European Union, I can hear this with the communist rulers of the world and the socialist rulers of the world and the World Economic Forum and on and on it goes. But that text goes on to say "The Lord sits in the heavens and laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury saying, 'But as for me, I have installed My King upon Zion, my holy mountain.'" Christ has promised to build his church right? The gates of Hades will not overpower it. The day is coming, beloved, as the prophets foretold when the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. And all genuine believers know this full well. Therefore, when you look at the life of someone that truly loves Christ, you will see a passion to faithfully proclaim the gospel, you will see an expectation of eternal reward for their evangelistic efforts and you will see in them an unwavering confidence that God is going to build His kingdom. Jesus then closed in verse 33. "With many such parables" or the writer closes by saying, "With many such parables, Jesus was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it. And He did not speak to them without a parable, but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples." And that by extension, is what I am doing with you here today, explaining the Word of God to you, that you might know it, might be changed by it, that you might obey it, and enjoy the fullness of all that Christ has for you, because of you being united to him, What a glorious truth right? What an amazing God we serve. Let's pray together. Father, we are so thankful for the many ways you manifest your love for us and I pray that each of us will be challenged to be serious about our evangelistic efforts to ask you for opportunities to ask you for boldness that we might so abundantly and reap abundantly. Because we know that you were able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. To you be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to every generation forever and ever. Amen.