THY KINGDOM COME!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Old Testament Lesson; Ezekiel 17:22-24
Epistle Lesson; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Sermon Text; Mark 4:26-34
This morning I brought a bag of tiny, little seeds from home, and would like to ask you a question,
"How important are seeds?
How important do you think these seeds are?"
You know, if we didn’t have seeds, we would not be able to grow cotton or flax. And then, we would not be able to get the cloth made from cotton and flax, to then make the clothing.
If we didn’t have seeds, we would not be able to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, corn, rice or beans.
If we didn’t have seeds, we would not be able to grow apple or orange trees. We would not have a great deal of food, if it weren’t for seeds.
If we didn’t have seeds, we wouldn’t have grass, trees and bushes that supply oxygen for you and me to live.
So, how important are these tiny, little things that look so insignificant? These seeds are absolutely critical for our lives and well-being.
When Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God, He relates it to seeds. He uses two parables in today’s scripture reading, to describe what the Kingdom of God is like. In both of those parables, seeds play a critical role.
In the first parable He says that the Kingdom of God is like a farmer, who went out and sowed seeds. And then, whether he was asleep or awake, the seeds grew. The seeds grew first into little stalks, then they grew ears, and then those ears grew kernels. And then, at last the harvest came.
What is Jesus telling us about the Kingdom of God, with that parable? Jesus is telling us that the seed is absolutely critical. It is the seed that causes the Kingdom of God to grow in our hearts. Without the seed, there is no Kingdom of God.
What is that seed? The seed is the Word of God. We know that faith comes into our hearts in one way and only one way. Scripture tells us that faith comes into our hearts, how? Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of God. The Bible tells us,
"My word will not return to me void,
but it will accomplish the purpose where onto I sent it."
We believe it is
only
through the seed of the Word of God that
the Holy Spirit
works in the hearts of people,
bringing them to faith in
Jesus,
making them members of the Kingdom of God.
That seed,
that Word of God,
is so critical.
You know that there is a temptation for us to think that there are things, other than the Word of God, that can bring us to faith. For instance, what if we all gathered together at the garden this afternoon, to plant these little seeds? But, before we planted them, we all sang some songs and did some dances, thinking that the singing and dances would somehow cause the seeds to grow. Well, that would be silly. There is nothing that you and I can do; there is nothing that we can add, that could cause these seeds to grow.
And, there is
nothing
we can do;
there is
nothing
that we can add,
that could cause the Word of God to grow.
But, sometimes there may be a temptation for us to think that somehow I can do something, to make the Word of God to grow. "If only my personality were better. If only I had a better personality, as a pastor, or as a congregation member, then when I went out and sowed the seed, it would grow better." Or, "If only our worship services had more entertainment so that people would go home feeling more entertained, then maybe the Word of God would grow."
But that is a mistake. My personality, your personality, or more entertainment during church services can’t make faith grow in anybody’s heart.
The only thing that makes the Kingdom of God grow,
the only thing that brings people to faith,
is that simple, little seed of God’s Word.
That is the only place
scripture promises to work faith in someone’s heart.
We may look at this simple, little seed and think to ourselves, "It looks so plain and simple. It seems so humble. Maybe it is even embarrassing, when we look at how simple and humble it is. Maybe if I spray-painted it and made it look pretty, then it would be more attractive to other people. Maybe if I would add decorations, then it would be more attractive to other people."
But, can I ask you something? Would those decorations and the spray paint, make that little seed grow? No, they wouldn’t. If we spray-painted the seed a pretty color, would that help the seed grow? No, it would not. In fact, it would probably hinder the growth of the seed.
There is a temptation among us, to think that if only we could "spray-paint God’s Word a pretty color" then it wouldn’t seem so humble. If only we could add some "decorations" to God’s Word with teachings that are not in the scripture, or change some of the teachings, then God’s Word wouldn’t seem so hard.
Does that help the Word of God grow? Does that make people members of the Kingdom of God? No, it can’t. That is what we call false doctrine, or false teaching.
The only thing that can create faith
in the heart of a person
is the pure,
true,
Word of God.
That is why we call the Word and Sacraments (the pure Word and pure Sacraments), the marks of the church. We know that wherever the pure Word of God and the pure Sacraments (which are the visible word), are planted in the hearts of people, we know that wherever they are planted, that is where the Holy Spirit works. That is where He creates faith. That is where the Kingdom of God comes.
So, what is that Word that the Holy Spirit plants in our hearts? It is the saving Gospel message.
I read a story the other day, about a family who was at Walt Disney World, and happened to be at Cinderella’s Castle. All of the children, who were in her castle, were waiting for Cinderella to come out.
Finally, Cinderella came walking out, on one side of the castle. She was so beautiful. Every piece of her hair was beautiful and in place. Her skin was beautiful. And, her smile was beautiful.
When the children saw her, they ran over to that side of the castle. If it had been a ship, it would have tipped over, because all of the weight shifted! All of those children gathered around her and were calling out her name, "Cinderella, Cinderella". They just wanted her to reach out and touch their hands.
All of them had run over there, except for one little 7-year-old boy. He was still on the other side of the room, watching with his family, and holding onto his big brother’s hand. This 7-year-old boy, unfortunately, was very deformed from birth and due to that was rather hideous looking. And, that little 7-year-old boy didn’t run over to Cinderella, because he was worried. He was worried that if he ran over there, the other kids would mock him. He was worried that Cinderella would not want to touch him or even look at him.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if Cinderella had walked right up to him? Well…that is exactly what she did! She made her way through that crowd of kids! She walked right up to that little 7-year-old boy!!! And, she gave him a kiss on the cheek!!!
That is such a touching story. But, it is nothing compared to the Gospel, that we find in the Word of God, which is the seed of God’s Word. So, what is that saving Gospel message? The Gospel message tells about a Prince. That Prince is the Prince of Peace. You and I are that disfigured child, only we are disfigured by our sins of thoughts, words, and deeds. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the one who walks up to us.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if Cinderella could have given that little boy her beauty and taken his disfigurement as her own? But she couldn’t do that. But the Prince of Peace has done that for you and for me! The Prince of Peace has taken your disfigurement as His own. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquities of us all. He has taken your sin and He has gone to the cross. By His stripes we are healed. He has paid for every single one of your sins. And, in exchange, He has given to you His beauty, His holy perfect righteousness. God made Him, who had no sin, to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
That righteousness has been given to us!
That is the message of scripture. Those are the seeds that are planted in the hearts of people. It is through that saving Gospel message, by the power of the simple Word of God, that the Holy Spirit comes into hearts and brings people into His Kingdom.
It is our joy, our privilege, and our duty as God’s Church, as His people, as people who belong to His Kingdom, to protect that Word of God so that it remains pure and holy. We want to use that Word of God. And we want to spread it abroad. We want to do this, so that it is not only in our hearts, but also in the hearts of many, many people. All that we can do is plant the seed and water the seed. It is God alone who causes the seed to grow. God alone works through that Word, to bring people, one by one, into His Kingdom.
When He has brought you into His Kingdom, once He has brought you in, once you have come to faith in Jesus as your Savior, once you know what your Savior has done for you, then what do you want to do? Don’t you want to grow in the Kingdom? Don’t you want to grow in your faith? Don’t you want to grow in your productivity, as a citizen of God’s Kingdom?
And, how does that growth happen? It doesn’t happen by putting those seeds up on a shelf, and just looking at them. It happens through using God’s Word. It is through the Word, that we continue to grow in our faith, grow in our knowledge of Jesus, and grow in our knowledge of His Will. Then, we are not just the stalk, but next grows the ear and finally the fruit that is produced for the Kingdom.
Jesus tells another parable about the Kingdom of God. He says, "It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground." It is the smallest seed, just a tiny, little, humble seed. And then He says, "Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." That tiny seed becomes the greatest, biggest plant in the garden. It is such a big plant that even the birds of the air come and find rest in its branches!
What is Jesus talking about, there? The Kingdom of God had such humble beginnings, didn’t it? It began in a little manger, in poverty and meanness. It began on a cross, where God died. It began with 12 simple men, who were not by any means great in this world, but they planted the seed. They planted The Seed. They followed Christ’s great commission, "Go therefore into all the world, and make disciples of all nations."
And, they did that. The Kingdom of God has grown, and grown, and grown, so that now it is what we would call the Universal Kingdom! That Kingdom is found wherever the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity. What a comfort, joy, and privilege it is for us to know that!
Sometimes we may sit back, in our own homes, or maybe we are at work and we look at all the people around us and we feel all alone. "I am the only one in the Kingdom of God."
Maybe we are at school and we look at all our friends around us, all the people around us, and we feel all alone. "I am the only one in God’s Kingdom."
We look at a little congregation and think, "What a little group we are. We are all alone.
And yet here Jesus gives us that great, profound comfort, "We are not alone. We are not alone." The Kingdom of God has spread throughout the world. You and I have brothers and sisters in faith, in Jesus Christ, in Shawno, Wisconsin, in Minnesota, in Nebraska, in Chili, in the Czech Republic, and all over this world, wherever the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity.
There, in His Word, we have found rest, like a bird in the shade of a tree. We have flown to our Savior Jesus. We have found the forgiveness of sins there. We have found the promise of Heaven. We have found the strength for this life. We have found that strength through trials and troubles. We have found the joy of knowing that all things work for the good of those who love God!
And we have found we are not alone. We are in fellowship. We are united with believers, throughout this world. They have the same Jesus, the same forgiveness of sins, the same promise of Heaven, the same Holy Spirit, the same baptism, the same LORD, the same scriptures. We find great joy and comfort, together with our fellow Christians, finding strength in the Word, and uniting together in our mission, because we have a common mission. That mission is to spread The Seed all over this world, so that the Kingdom of God may grow.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Kingdom come.
We probably say that so fast that we probably don’t even think about what it really means.
Thy Kingdom come.
But what does that mean? Lord, may your Kingdom come into my heart. And, how does His Kingdom come into my heart? It comes into my heart through the Word and Sacrament.
And, Lord, may your Kingdom come into the hearts of others. And, how does that come into the hearts of others? It comes into the hearts of others by the Word of God being spread among the nations, until finally Jesus takes us to that eternal Kingdom, in Heaven.
Amen.
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