The Sovereign Sower

[0:00] Well, good morning. It's good to see you, brother. How are you? It's so good to be here. For those of you who don't know me, my name's Aaron Alloway. It's my Sunday name, so it is Sunday, so I'll give you my full Aaron Alloway.

[0:11] But for those who do know me, you probably more likely know me as Ron. So yeah, it's great to be with you this morning. And it is, again, my privilege to be bringing the Word of God to you this morning.

[0:23] And I was so thankful this week because I was meant to be going to the Pillar Conference over in Edinburgh. However, a couple of tickets came available, and I was there, I think, for two out of the three days, which was a major blessing.

[0:37] Really, really encouraged to hear what was going on. I was with Cal. I was with your pastor for those two days that I was there. And it was just that the first day was nothing because I wasn't with you.

[0:50] So yeah, yeah, the second and third day was just such an encouragement to hear what was going on and what God was doing in his church around the globe.

[1:01] And just to hear from different pastors and the struggles and the joys that they share and all that was going on and all that God was working through and in. And yeah, may I commend your pastor to you.

[1:14] He's a wonderful, wonderful man. If you don't know him well enough yet, get to know him. He's a wonderful brother, very dear brother to me, and has been a blessing to me. And it's not an easy job. And we heard that over the Pillar Conference of those who are working the fields and the harvest.

[1:29] And this is what we're going to look at today. And it's not an easy job. So pray for him, support him, be with him, and just get around him. And just because we're all saved by the same grace, and we all have different gifts.

[1:42] But everyone has the gift of prayer, and we can take everyone and all of us to Christ's throne room. So yeah, lift him up and bless him. So yeah.

[1:53] We are continuing our study in Mark this morning, and we're going to pick it up at Mark 4. So we're going to be looking at verses 26 to 34 this morning.

[2:05] So if you have your Bibles with you, let's open them together, and we're going to read the living word of God together here this morning in this place. So we're in Mark 4, starting at verse 26.

[2:19] And he said, And he said, And he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

[3:27] Amen. This is the word of the Lord. May he bless the reading of his word. Before we go any further, let's just pray, and we'll open up God's word together. Father, we thank you for this day.

[3:40] We thank you, Lord, that we can gather in your name. Lord, that we thank you for that. Lord, that we thank you that we can so openly come here to bells hill and we can sing praise to your name.

[3:50] that we can hear from your word that we can find Christ on these pages for he loved us first so much that he would lay down his life and greater love is no one than that so Lord would you help us this morning by your Holy Spirit would you bind these words to our hearts that we may go from this place encouraged and blessed meeting with the living Lord God Almighty that we would take this hope and this light into the world and offer it out as hope and love in only that is Christ in Jesus name we pray Amen when I was thinking about the sermon title for this morning so I think this is for Stephen at the back and obviously every good sermon needs a good title well I hope every sermon needs a title

[4:52] I'm not saying it's a good sermon I'll let you be the judge of that I stumbled across somewhere that the title for this sermon for this passage and someone had put down gospel ministry seemingly unimpressive I think that's rather underwhelming so I think for to focus our hearts focus our minds just a little bit on what the passage is really telling us and what we're going to bring before us I'd like to call this the sovereign sower for the title so let me start by asking you a question what immediately comes to your mind when you think of the kingdom of God what immediately comes to your mind what thought is provoked when you hear the kingdom of God is it the pearly gates the streets of gold a perfect place where there's no sin or death no more tears or is it the biggest banquet table you've ever seen with a Lord's Supper is it where the choirs of angels are singing the most beautiful songs of praise is it the throne room is it where Jesus is himself sitting on the most incredible throne reigning as the eternal king what picture comes to mind is it that warm embrace of when you walk through those gates that very first time that Jesus just wraps his arms around you is that the kingdom of God whatever the picture you have in your mind it will be so much more incredibly incredibly more magnificent and while some of the glimpses of the kingdom's future glory in our passages are here today

[6:45] Jesus gives us an insight into the more humble and more mysterious beginnings and growth of his present spiritual kingdom as with the whole canon of scripture that we have at the center of these parables stands Jesus himself as the sovereign master over the work of spreading and expanding his rule in human hearts calling all those given to him by the father to himself let's have a look at verse 26 to 29 we'll just open with this this tells us two aspects of this parable it sees God's sovereignty and it sees God's sorry our obedience as followers of Christ and how they both operate within the kingdom of God Jesus says in verse 26 the kingdom of God is sorry is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground right away we're seeing this analogy being made between the kingdom and seed being sown the seed represents the word of God being spread and the sowing suggests the preaching the teaching the proclaiming of that gospel message and notice that

[7:59] Jesus actually is not limiting the kingdom of God to a specific thing he's not saying that the kingdom of God is this or it is this the kingdom of God is not limited in its description or its definition it's not confined to a specific thing or dimension the kingdom of God as described here by Jesus himself leaves room for its growth and its expansion in any of the kingdom parables we notice that they're never described as being limited never because the kingdom is always greater than any of our expressions or our words or anything we could describe it as and you'll notice that actually it seems I notice that it seems quite ordinary it's quite plain language comparing the kingdom of God to someone scattering seed on the ground it's quite an ordinary thing to do it's a farming agricultural thing to do and Jesus here is linking his teaching to the parable of the sower or the other name for it was parable of soil previously in this chapter in chapter 4 whereby the seed that is the word of God is sown onto all different types of earth some fell along the path some fell on the rocky ground some in the thorns and it was choked and some fell into good soil and as we know these different types of earth are the different kinds of hearts and hearers that the word goes to the word of God the spiritually potent seed the gospel message of Jesus must be preached must be preached for even Christ said himself even the stones will cry out must be proclaimed

[9:51] Mark here is telling us that Jesus shows us that there is no fanfare there's no lights there's no major events on display just a simple sower doing his job day in day out and how is verse 26 then a reality for you and me how does this affect us how does this change us why is it important for us to know this well Jesus himself gives us the great commission we'll read that most notably in Matthew where Jesus is speaking to his disciples and at the end Matthew says now even in Matthew 28 it says now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them and when they saw him they worshipped him but some doubted and Jesus came and said to them all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you and behold

[10:58] I am with you I am with you always to the end of the age Jesus has all authority the Son of Man has come before the ancient of days and received everlasting dominion over all peoples over all nations tribes tongues all of it is his and since Christ's dominion is universal the gospel must go to all of it to the whole world to the ends of the earth this is our obedience and when we hear this this is our right response in scattering the seed to share this good news of Christ with those who don't know him or have even heard of him and what happens to this humbly sown seed then well verse 27 continues that it says the seed sprouts and grows he knows not how the original hearer of when

[12:07] Jesus was talking about this wouldn't have understood biology in fact this hearer doesn't understand biology I think my daughter Naomi she wants to take medicine when she's older she wants to be a doctor and she's understanding biology and human biology and all this and she's talking about this in the house recently and I have no idea how this works I just know that God is sovereign and he makes it work okay that's my layman's terms because I thank and I praise God that he knows these things so that I don't have to that's always a good thing but the original here in the first century that Mark was writing to they didn't understand the biological process that was happening here or happening in the soil and what you just put this in the soil that happens and it grows they knew they had to plant it they need to put it in the ground they knew they had to water it and then it was just a hope for the best hope that they would have a harvest at the end of their toil and of their work in the ground and the farming that they were doing

[13:07] God is truly one amazing in his creation but two God is so incredibly at work in his church and his people and in this world his incredibly intricate design for creation and he knows how it all knits together perfectly in perfect equilibrium in 2012 a Russian scientist from the Institute of Cell Biophysics so I'm lost already revived what is known as the psaline stenophilia and that is a native plant from Siberia and it has white flowers the seeds are thought to be thousands of years old and were buried about 124 feet beneath the permafrost now these seeds have an innate divinely created ability to sprout to take root and grow that again is beyond my comprehension and most other peoples

[14:19] I would imagine all the sower can do is so faithfully and leave that germination that growth up to the sovereign God and his purposes it's such a powerful picture of how the kingdom of God operates and advances through the spread of the gospel Peter speaks of believers since you have been born again in 1st Peter 1 23 since you have been born again not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God we are to preach the word we are to spread the word humbly faithfully like the sower but the true life changing power that brings new spiritual birth is not ultimately in our persuasive words it's not in our convincing logic that we have this brilliant argument and we can go ha gotcha it's not that it is through and in the power and the work of the Holy

[15:32] Spirit at work in people's lives and hearts this is the regeneration the Holy Spirit recreates the human heart transforming it from spiritual death to spiritual life it's by God's divine initiative and it is an act of his sovereignty we should be encouraged by that that it has nothing to do with us it's wonderful let the word breathe comes through that inexplicable power of the word of God itself the living and abiding word of God that is as we hear in Hebrews living and active and sharper than any two edged sword all we can do is deliver the seed and then leave the rest up to the sovereign work of God be encouraged dear brother dear sister be encouraged this is good news it should give us great comfort because phew it's not up to me because if it was

[16:37] I'd probably screw it up just as the growth of the seed happens organically and mysteriously in stages so does spiritual growth in the lives of believers look at verse 28 with me the earth produces by itself first the blade then the ear then the full grain in the ear there's a natural progression and process that's happening here from first the tiny seed to a shoot poking up his new life I was speaking to my wife just as we were singing and I looked over my shoulder and apologies brother sister you've got a tiny baby and I just went oh man I miss that stage don't ever and that new life is wonderful it's amazing just seeing that little baby and it's the same as this it's the same stages but it's nurtured it's taken care of by the father by the mother by our father it's a natural progress to the gradual development of the fuller stalks the fuller heads of the plants until finally the grain is matured and ready for the harvest that

[17:57] Jesus refers to in verse 29 Cal's already mentioned it but oh how we need to learn patience and trust in that sovereign timing of the work of God we're so prone I think at times to demand instant results this could be of your partner this could be of your husband your wife your children that one friend who you've been witnessing to for years and you just go why don't you just get it why don't you get it is here it's so obvious Christ he lives he's king yeah but maybe for you not so much me does that mean we should be put off does that mean that we should we should just go nah forget it then right he's never going to believe that person's never going to believe she's never going to believe forget it no it means that we should abide in patience it means that we should abide in one another in love as we diligently work through the word and let the word do what it's meant to do just spiritually nourish us transforming us we're never going to see

[19:09] I say never that's apologies we may never see fruit straight away because fruit needs time to grow think on the goodness and the kindness that the lord has been in in your life in your walk with him so far sanctification it's a big word but it's becoming more and more like Jesus as the holy spirit works within you it's not a quick process how many sinful habits do you still have how many groans and mumbles and gossips do we still have which is why we talk about and we live under this new covenant of grace and it is wonderful I remember speaking with a friend of mine who I happened to bump into just as I was out shopping and after we got there hellos how are you all that kind of stuff how's your week been out of the way

[20:10] I was like so how are you really doing those things told me he was struggling with his faith he went on to state that his faith wasn't quite where it should be he really enjoyed the church services he really enjoyed what church was church is sorry to him but he stated that he was just feeling like he'd just been left behind a little bit as other people were getting baptized he felt like he should be farther along you know in his walk with Jesus and in I should have said that yeah I'm from Calderwood Baptist by the way yeah I failed to mention that one for those who don't know me apologies we're going through Romans in our series in the morning at the moment and we hear that faith comes in Romans 10 comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ now I think sometimes we over complicate that we over complicate what we need to say to people and I've touched on it a little bit but let the scriptures do the talking it's God breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking correcting and training in righteousness it's God breathed let it breathe

[21:27] I naturally for my friend went into the scriptures and I told him that these things and I started to offer my own advice he's a keen gardener so I tried to give an analogy of gardening for him which by the way I have to say is a very limited knowledge on my part I'm not a keen gardener at all however I said you couldn't expect to plant a tomato plant in a pot you get your soil you get your seed and you put it in you water it and then expect the very next day to come back to it and expect a salad from it just doesn't happen it needs time to grow needs time to produce tomatoes just doesn't happen like that I also told him that we cannot compare ourselves as Christians as believers to other brothers and sisters in Christ we just can't comparison is the thief of joy it truly is my closest friend has taught me this over many many years because it's something

[22:42] I've previously struggled with if truth be told I probably still do you know I wonder if you've asked the same question to yourself I wish I could do it as well as that person oh I wish I was like that person they seem to have life all figured out they seem to have that perfect Christian life all figured out I wish I had their knowledge about the Bible I wish I was so theologically sound as them I wish I could you know read the word or pray as much as that person I wish I could preach as well as Cal does I jest but it's true or some other person does that sound familiar sounds familiar for me Jesus reminds us that growth is a process we must have faith that the seeds of his word will inevitably bear mature spiritual fruit in his timing

[23:44] Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians 3 I planted Apollos watered but God gave the growth so then neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything but only God who gives the growth one theologian put it like this the power and process is all in God's hands as the sovereign master over the spiritual harvest what a comfort what a glorious comfort so encouraged because he is the one who reigns over the harvest our role is to simply to be faithful sowers and waterers I don't know if you ever viewed yourself as that are you a waterer are you a sower this morning how is it we do this we do this by obediently reading the word spending time with Jesus be in prayer often pray for opportunities for conversations with those that are in your life who are unsaved pray for those opportunities take them as in that is the unsaved your friends your family take them to the feet of

[24:59] Jesus in prayer not forsaking the gathering on a Sunday in our corporate worship together being present in the lives of your fellow brothers and sisters as iron sharpens iron as these patterns become your life it's only natural in the Christian walk you'll become closer to Jesus and more Christ-like as the Holy Spirit works within you it's only natural that you will want to share this with others who don't know Jesus laboring diligently while resting in the knowledge that apart from Christ we can do nothing but that in Christ our labor is not in vain we read in John 15 that is the case 1st Corinthians 15 tells us therefore my beloved be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the

[26:03] Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain Jesus Christ is the Lord of the spiritual harvest working out his unstoppable divine sovereign purposes through his word by his Holy Spirit for those of you who didn't know and probably it's most of you I went to a church in Stockport many years ago which is how I met my best friend my very dear friend some who were in the testimony night yeah I was talking about that in fact yes brother yeah you know John Rochford his father my best mate's dad in Stockport this was I was maybe 18 at the time and he and his family praise God my best mate and his wife and three kids are moving up to East Colbride which is wonderful from Manchester and it's to come and plant a church with us out of CBC out of Calderwood and we're to plant a church hopefully in the coming the future we'll see we'll just put it as future at the church we went to both together in

[27:12] Manchester where I lived at the time there was a very godly man an older wiser man of the faith a man who had walked with Jesus for many years and being young and stupid hard to imagine I know I know I'm just now not young I don't think I ever truly appreciated the advice that he gave me and again it's a maturing it's a growing aspect that you appreciate these things the advice he once gave both of us both myself and Roch he said to me he says you may never see the fruit of your labour you may never see the fruit of your labour the time that you invest in someone the energy that's given the late night conversations on the phone to someone the years of being a good friend loving your neighbour telling them about Jesus you may never see that fruit all the different ways in which we minister to someone about

[28:18] Jesus you may never see that fruit because that glory is not for you or me it's for Jesus alone now is that enough for you is that enough he's sovereign master of the harvest not us and that's not to say that we won't see fruit you know the Lord may bless us in it and he may provide us with that but just because you don't always see the fruits of your labour that doesn't mean there aren't any be true and obedient to Christ and love others taking that great commission in your life wherever you may be whatever stage of life you are at for God's word says in Isaiah 55 for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth making it bring forth and sprout giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which

[29:39] I sent it let's move on to look at verse 30 Jesus now is further explaining and illustrates to us the mysterious growth and expansion of the kingdom of God in a very familiar parable of the mustard seed it's quite a stark picture for us it's quite a stark picture that Jesus paints for us he's not speaking botanically in the words here but he's speaking proverbially and yes there are smaller seeds and bigger plants and trees but Jesus is teaching here is to contrast the size and the spread of such a seed Jesus is talking about the amazing advance that will take place concerning the kingdom of God his kingdom for context the mustard seed itself is quite small there are smaller seeds but they would have known this where they were in that time it's about one millimetre which is tiny tiny stuff however when a mustard plant grows matures into bushes and they can reach an average height of two metres or anywhere between two metres and five metres with a spread of about four metres wide from something this big

[30:56] Jesus says that that is a picture of the growth of the kingdom of God this insignificant tiny mustard seed has a God designed quality that allows it to grow into a substantial plant large enough to host birds building nests in its branches you feel insignificant and small at times you feel that the work you're doing the work you've done just hasn't done much this is the unassuming ever hidden nature of the kingdom start how significant the short ministry of Jesus can really be because he was only in ministry for three years what can one man do in three years he had a handful of followers he had no title no financial backing and lived in what was considered a back water part of the world can anything good to come out of

[31:58] Nazareth I think someone once said kingdom of God doesn't operate like the world's grand kingdoms or dominating empires doesn't depend on military might or strength through war and expanding its territories but elsewhere in scripture the kingdom of God is also pictured like that of a tree and Jesus teaching here in the parable of the mustard seed is parallel with a tree on the high mountain!

[32:28] it's very small beginnings to a sizable sheltering place where we can find rest in Jesus for it's Jesus who is exalted Philippians 2 tells us therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father another commentary puts it like this the kingdom of God spreads in an upside down mysterious anti monumental way through the foolishness of the cross and the quiet uncelebrated preaching of

[33:29] Christ crucified there are churches up and down this land there are churches all over the world who uncelebrate uncelebratedly I think that's a word preach the name of Jesus week in week out diligently sowing that seed it advances quietly it it is not of this world like the mustard seed it contains an intrinsic life that cannot be quelled or stopped hallelujah no matter how small or humble the beginnings no matter how unimpressive the means the kingdom Christ is building will inevitably flourish and thrive what starts as a solitary mustard seed tiny little thing will become a towering tree providing shelter for all those who put their trust in Jesus foolish or seemingly foolish mysterious stumbling block of a crucified messiah will become the corner stone that is the very foundation of

[34:41] God's eternal kingdom for this world those who embrace Christ as king and the surprising seed of the gospel message are now part of an eternal living force and reality that is destined to prevail over all things no earthly power or worldly philosophy can stop the victory that is in Christ and the growth of his kingdom we can take heart we can remain faithful in the smallest and mustard seed ministries for the seed of the gospel contains the very power of God for salvation to all who believe as we're told in Romans no opposition is too strong no one can stand not even the gates of hell can prevail against it so how do we as Christ's disciples respond to this this present time that we're in the advancing kingdom revealed through the seed of parables and what is to come

[35:49] Mark gives us a clue in these concluding verses he explains in verse 33 that with many such parables Jesus was speaking the word to them so far as they were able to hear it parables hid truth in riddles hiding its full meaning from those whose hearts were closed unreceptive and allowing only those with spiritual open hearts to grasp it this again reminds us that the king and his kingdom's ways remain spiritually foolish to what the world would call wise only those given eyes to seek and recognize the true power and wisdom hidden under parables simple stories and though his kingdom starts small and works through humble means we cannot dismiss it as weak or insignificant for it is advancing we saw that this week at the pillar conference the good work when we put your head above the parapet and you learn of things going on it's unstoppable scripture says the zeal of the lord of hosts will do this we must see we must get past what the world thinks of what seems great and what it seems small to recognize the movements of spiritual reality unfolding before us furthermore verse 34 adds that Jesus did not speak to them without a parable but he was explaining everything privately to his disciples and Jesus graciously gave clear explanation to deepen the understanding to his disciples for the rest parables obscured the truth of the ministries how do we as

[37:40] Christians here now in the present deepen our understanding how is it that we get a clear gracious explanation well we do all the things we've said so far we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as believers we have the awesome privilege and responsibility of being the ones to whom Christ continues to reveal and explain the once hidden mysteries of the gospel kingdom we have to joyfully tell others about Jesus laboring as ambassadors with the time that we are given we are called to be obedient in the sowing of the seed faithfully not in our own strength but through prayer asking the Spirit to strengthen us to use us to make known the good news of the gospel Christ's message plain and understandable to all who will hear and believe some calling isn't it but we're all as believers have different gifts whether that is teaching whether that is preaching whether it is being a mother being a father being a friend we all have different gifts but we all have the one great commission go and make disciples of all nations we're all called to be evangelists every one of us so in summary these two seed parables pack a powerful revelation about

[39:24] Jesus his absolute sovereignty over the growth and expansion of his present spiritual kingdom here on earth though it's rooted in humble even hidden beginnings and spread through weak and foolish means the word of Christ implanted contains the very potent and undying life of God that is destined for growth and victory through the spirit's power have patience folks I urge you have patience with one another as believers and trust in God's timing for spiritual growth and fruit just as the seed sprouts and grows through an extended process beyond what I know of biology must exercise patience in God's word that it takes root that it produces spiritual maturity in our lives first and foremost but in the lives of those around us you can't force it you can't rush it growth must be faithfully sown the seed and trust the Lord of the harvest to give the increase that he wills harvest will come we just may not be there to see the results recognize the small beginnings and ultimate universal expansion of Christ's kingdom the parable we've looked at today of the mustard seed it shows us despite its small beginnings despite its insignificance being so small humanly unimpressive the kingdom of God would inevitably experience monumental growth worldwide and that is still happening today we would do well to avoid prideful boasting saying look at what I've done for God look at how much I have changed for the kingdom of God rather remain humble have an eternal perspective about you recognizing that it's Christ who will build his church and nothing can stop that triumph of his kingdom however insignificant it may feel now last thing to leave you with make discipleship a priority by explaining spiritual truth clearly marking these passages here shows us that Jesus pattern not only using vivid parables to engage the people but also taking additional time to unpack meanings carefully with his closest disciples we should follow this example by not only evangelizing and sowing the gospel seeds widely but also investing heavily in making disciples becoming disciples through patience through the patient reading of his word fellowshipping together building one another up in love for it's

[42:32] Christ alone determines the timing and process of spiritual germination that maturation and the coming final harvest all growth in the believer is his work that he accomplishes mysteriously yet unstoppably our role here is simply faithfully sowing and watering obedience as we surrender and acknowledge that Jesus and his sovereign lordship over all things let us trust that Jesus who began a good work in us will complete it in his time the same grace that transforms tiny seeds into abundant abundant harvests is at work in our lives in our families in our friends and in the community that God has placed us in for this time the kingdom of God is both here and coming both small and magnificent both hidden and revealed praise

[43:36] Jesus all glory to him who in this passage teaches us to wait with hope and work with faith and knowing that his grace makes all growth possible hallelujah let us pray together father what a wonderful wonderful lesson we're taught here that you are the lord of the harvest that you call all peoples to yourself that you make that call and the sheep know your voice help us this week to abide in patience to ask the holy spirit for help with the conversations that we have let us have that boldness let's have a spirit of boldness and not fear fear of rejection of what someone might say if we actually tell them that Jesus is king

[44:36] I better not tell them but lord give us that boldness give us that zeal that you have for the lost help us this week lord god to meditate upon your word to deepen our roots that we may be lord a light on the hill lord pointing those holding out that branch of hope that that faith carries them to christ lord we thank you for your word we thank you for this place and it is all the glory and all the honor due your name in jesus name we pray amen i'm gonna invite dylan back over you