GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO … WAIT.
Mark 4:1-20
From the Sermon Series: “Ten Cultural Myths that Drive America”
We are in the throes of our sermon series, “Ten Cultural Myths that Drive America.” It is taken from the first six chapters of Mark. We are highlighting different adages or aphorisms imbedded into the American psyche that serve to reinforce our cultural philosophies. We have discovered that Jesus’ worldview goes against the grain of much of mainstream America. Specifically we have looked at.
• Might Makes Right (Mark 1:1-12) – Christ’s counter-cultural ethic of serving humanity rather than working from a position of force and manipulation.
• Image is Everything (Mark 1:32-39) – Jesus rejects this Western philosophy. Jesus had the crowds eating out of his has but walked away from the populace specifically because their ambitions did not coincide with those of the Heavenly Father’s.
• Shop ‘till You Drop (Mark 2:13-17) - Jesus reminds us that there are better ways to find meaning in life than materialism.
• Rules are Made to be Broken (Mark 2:18 – 3:6 -) Jesus rebukes and challenges the worldview which says the ends justifies means. Jesus says there is no place to bend or violate God’s eternal law. Period.
• Live and Let Live (Mark 3:1-6) Jesus challenges the individualism that dictates so much of the American lifestyle and offers us an alternative – community.
In coming weeks we will look at other slogans that have become embedded into the American psyche, other idioms that define us and motivate us as a people. We will look at:
• If It Aint Broke Don’t Fix It (Mark 4:1-20)
• God Helps Those Who Help Themselves - Mark 5:25-34
• Stand Up For Your Rights - Mark 5:17, 6:1-6
But today we are looking at chapter 4:1-20:
1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that, " ’they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’"
13Then Jesus said to them, "Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
There is an entire industry created around this common practice. Inventors are always seeking to design the right gadget to compensate for it. People will spend money to enable its ongoing existence.
Songs are written about it and social clubs are designed with it in mind. It is berated while at the same time being celebrated. It is … procrastination.
Our culture has fine-tuned it. Government is highly skilled at procrastination – always passing the buck, or hiding their heads in the sand, or delaying action until next committee or party or generation. Our economy has made it an art form; we can buy a home with no money down and we can buy a car and pay no interest “until next year”
Procrastinators are everywhere! We are all probably its victim. I found a creed on the internet called “The Procrastinator’s Creed.” The author plans to copyright it but hasn’t gotten around to it yet.
Procrastinator’s Creed
• I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.
• I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.
• I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.
• I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect from missing them.
• I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.
• I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.
• I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesimally small, is not exactly zero.
• If at first I don’t succeed, there is always next year.
• I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.
• I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.
• I will never put off tomorrow, what I can forget about forever.
Procrastination takes many forms and certainly has its share of reinforcing proverbs. Some of which were cited in the creed I just read.
• “Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.”
• “If it aint broke, don’t fix it.”
• “Tomorrow is another day.”
• “If you feel ambitious, lie down until it passes.”
• “Good things come to those who wait.”
Procrastination is a cousin to a greater “human flaw” – resistance to taking responsibility. When this happens there are other aphorisms used:
• “Let someone else do it”
• “It’s not my job”
Now such a posture “might” be okay when it comes to life’s incidentals but when it comes to our spiritual life there is no place for irresponsibility. There is no room for neglect. There is no excuse for delay.
“Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.” Is not a recommended proverb when your walk with God is in question.
In today’s Gospel story, Jesus brings your spiritual condition to the forefront. Jesus forces us to come face-to-face with ourselves and calls us to task (not to tarry).
It is seldom useful to categorize people. When someone tells me “There are two kinds of people …” I often find it entertaining but seldom accurate. But when Jesus does it, well, that’s a different story.
Jesus says there are four kinds of people …
First, you have the CALLOUSED CROWD (v. 4, 15).
The Word of God cannot make an impact on some people. Their hearts are like well-worn pathways that are so hardened it cannot receive life.
Jesus probably has his critics in view when he talks about the Calloused Crowd. These are the ones who not only reject but oppose the Gospel. The Calloused Crowd is skeptical and dull and has no God-ward interest.
The Calloused Crowd is to be pitied and prayed for … this kind of life is strictly for the birds!
I believed such a person’s heart can be softened and transformed – pray that God would make Himself known to them.
Second, you have the SHALLOW SWARM (v. 5-6, 16-17).
Galilee has a limestone rock shelf that runs underneath it. In much of the region nothing can grow deep because it hits this stone. The roots remain shallow and vulnerable.
The Shallow Swarm resembles Galilee’s terrain. Whatever grows there will have problems taking root and growing deep.
Shallow hearts respond to the truth with emotional enthusiasm but have no moral or spiritual character. Hence, when offended they fall away. When the heat is on the wilt, wither, and die.
The problem isn’t that they don’t respond – they just don’t respond for long.
It is easier to begin a thing than to finish it. But there is no reward in beginning – only finishing. A man must be totally committed to Jesus for there to be safety and reward. The Word must captivate the will; humankind must received it and repent of sin (turn to God). But there must be more. As important as turning to God is it is not enough. This is only the beginning; it is not the destination. The Shallow Swarm must allow the Word of Life to take deep root in the emotions and intellect or there will be no maturity
The Shallow Swarm is a warning to any who, because of persecution and trials, may have been thinking of defecting from the faith.
Will your faith get you through when the heat is on or will you wither and die when the trials come?
Third, you have the PREOCCUPIED PEOPLE (v. 7, 18-19).
There are many who wish to follow Jesus but they have so filled their lives with other things that they can’t. Or more accurately, wont. For the Preoccupied People the Word is received and rooted in a divided mind. The result is a full size plant but no fruit … it fails in the final stage
The mind is divided by competing forces. Fruitfulness is choked out.
Preoccupied People have “strangled hearts.” This “spiritual strangulation” comes by one of three thorns or weeds.
1. The cares of this world (anxieties of the age)
In Matthew 6:34 Jesus says Do not worry about tomorrow.
Some of us are preoccupied with the wrong things. When that happens it is hard to rest in God. You cannot have confidence of His blessing and prosperity.
Sometimes the wrong thing is a good thing – but it is still the wrong thing. Christ-followers do not have the luxury of preoccupation with other interests unless they are willing to forfeit spiritual growth.
2. The deceitfulness of riches (passion for accumulation)
Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:24).
According to Jesus passion for wealth is a weed. People who are chasing wealth are deceived. They are fooled into thinking that it will bring the solace in life they crave.
Both Jesus Christ and chasing wealth demand your time, your focus and your energy. Unfortunately, many people give themselves to the one that is fleeting and temporal.
3. The lust for the remaining things
In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.”
Restlessness emerge in this heart by desiring what you aint got!
May I ask you a question, do “the things of life” compete with the plan God has for you? Sooner or later the desire for things will entangle and dull the Kingdom’s vision within you. Sooner or later you’ll begin chasing after the weed we call “want” and you’ll find God’s Word failing to bring forth fruit within you.
Three weeds: worry, wealth, and want.
o Worry shows a lack of faith
o Wealth shows self-sufficiency
o Want shows a lack of contentment
Beware of packing life with such a multiplicity of interests that there is no room for Jesus.
Fourth you have the FRUITFUL FLOCK (v. 8, 20).
Did you notice what the “litmus test” was for Jesus in this parable? It wasn’t responding to the Word. It wasn’t growing. It was fruit. Responding and growing have a purpose – fruitfulness! That is what God is looking for, and expecting.
In fact, when God is made central to life the harvest we bear will far out pace the normal harvests of life. A better-than-average agrarian crop is a yield 7-8 times what is sown. what Jesus offers spiritually far out paces anything this life has to offer!
The Fruitful Flock:
• Gladly receive the Word
• Allow the roots to grow deep
• Keep the soil clear of rival growth
• Bear a HUGE harvest
The Fruitful Flock is neither hard, shallow, nor preoccupied; rather, it produces a virtuous life.
WRAP-UP
This passage is often called “The Parable of the Sower.” I think, more accurately, it should be called “The Parable of the Soils.” The sower longs for a harvest wherever he spread the seed. The seed is the same in each scenario and able to produce life in each case. The key to the parable is the condition of the ground – the soil the “x-factor.”
The condition of the heart is the central issue – the “x factor.”
• A Hard Heart > No growth
• A Shallow Heart > Temporal Growth
• A Crowded Heart > Stunted Growth
• A Fruitful Heart > Full Growth
This not only describes people in general – it describes YOU!
• We have all been callous at time
• We have all been impulsive at times
• We have all been distracted at time
• We have all been receptive at times.
The question is … what is your heart like right now?
Our society will encourage you to “Put off today what you can do tomorrow.” It may be okay for you to put off repairing the light switch or changing the oil but it is NOT okay for you neglect God until another day.
Grace is not a license for neglect. Grace is not a permission slip for distracted living. Grace is empowerment for purposeful holiness … for fruit.
Later in Mark Jesus “speaks plainly” to his disciples (Mark 8). It includes these words.
34 …Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. 36For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
It may be okay for you to put off repairing the light switch or changing the oil but it is NOT okay for you neglect God until another day. After-all, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”
Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
(Mark 4:9)
