FRUITFUL FAITH THE CALL TO FAITH Damon Life Group 04.28.13
Thank You!
Fruits of Sowing
The Living Word of God For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Heb 4:132
Duck Dynastyology The Bible is a weapon of mass instruction. Jase Robertson
How Can we Have a Fruitful Life? How do we leverage the living power of the Word of God to yield fruit in our lives? Does the idea of a fruitful, joyous life sometimes seem out of grasp? Do you ever feel like the mysteries of God are just that? Wouldn t it be nice if Jesus just came right out and told us how to have a fruitful life?
Explain the Color Blue How do you explain the unexplainable? How do you make the infinite translate to the finite mind? In Matt 13, Luke 8, and Mark 4 (today s focal passage) HE DOES He reveals what the kingdom of God is like and tells us how to change our lives
Passage Overview - Mark 4:1-34 The Parable of the Sower Mark 4:1-10 The Purpose of the Parables Mark 4:10-20 A Lamp Under a Basket Mark 4:21-25 The Parable of the Seed Growing Mark 4:26-29 The Parable of the Mustard Seed Mark 4:30-34
Why the Word is Like a Seed (ala Tim Keller) Three implications about God s Word that will bring fruit to your life Interestingly, of all the ways Jesus could describe the kingdom, He likens His Word to a seed because It has power Of how it releases that power It s weakness is the key to its power
Outline: Keys to A Fruitful Life: The Word of God is Like a Seed Focal Passage Mark 4:1-20 Because it has power Because of how it releases that power Because its weakness is the secrete of its power
Outline: Keys to A Fruitful Life: The Word of God is Like a Seed - Mark 4:1-20 Because it has power Because of how it releases that power Because its weakness is the secrete of its power
It Has Power In the beginning of the Gospel, we see the power of God s spoken Word let there be light His Word not only has creative power, it has re-creative power James 1:21- Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.. 1 Peter 1:23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God; for All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever.
Power Released Yes, the Word has information but its more than information it has power, like a seed The Word releases that power Does anyone plant gardens? Have you ever planted glass, metal, iron, etc? They don t have the power of life in them The Gospel has the power to release the very power of God in you!
What is New Life? If the Gospel gives us new life, does that mean we are dead before receiving this life? Three orders of life Plant Animal Human Each order of life sees more reality Plants can t see object Animals can t sense right and wrong So what is Jesus saying when He says the Word of God brings you eternal life? His Word has the ability to bring you into a new order (a higher order) of life Of course, this doesn t mean you are more/better Rather, the spiritual life opens your eyes to a new reality that you have never seen before (holiness of God, hope of the resurrection, etc.)
Is God s Power a Reality? Before experiencing new life we either deny this reality or we just intellectually assent ( believe ) to it Remember, most people believe in God The litmus test is this when real trouble/failure comes your way, can you fortify yourself in the reality of who God is, or do you just freak out? But if you have received the Word in you and it is a reality in your life, you are living in a new order of life Living in this new order of life means the applause of heaven is more deafening than the demands/distractions/criticisms of this world Then, the Gospel is not just information, but power living in you
What Does Change Look Like? Real change involves organic growth, not mechanical growth What does this mean? In the first three chapters of Mark, we see Jesus pushing against religion Religion = I obey, therefore, God accepts me and now He owes me Gospel = God accepts me, through Jesus. Therefore, I want to obey. Both religion and the Gospel will produce change (one mechanical, the other organic) Mechanical (religion) piling on of more bricks Organic (Gospel) like a bulb growing into a tulip (inside out, becomes more complex, more rich, more beautiful
The Power of the Word When we grow in Christ (organically) we get tougher to the criticism of the world, yet more sensitive to others, more confident and bold yet more humble, more generous, more forgiving If you have this kind of growth in you, it is the power of the Word of God Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes Paul doesn t say the Word brings power, has power, or results in power he says it IS THE POWER OF GOD Have you felt this power? Has the Gospel moved beyond information in your life? Is is living in you with power, coming after you?
Outline: Keys to A Fruitful Life: The Word of God is Like a Seed - Mark 4:1-20 Because it has power Because of how it releases that power Because its weakness is the secrete of its power
How the Power is Released What determines if a seed takes root and ultimately produces fruit? Bottom line is how deep the seed penetrates the soil Look at the three soils that do NOT produce organic growth in each case, it is a depth problem The 1 st soil does not produce life b/c the seed doesn t go in at all The 2nd soil doesn t produce life because it doesn t go in deep enough The 3rd soil, the seed does go in, but it goes in at the same level as the weeds and thorns (worldly concerns just as important as the Gospel) So, in each case, the problem has to do with depth
What Getting Deep is Not When you plant a seed in a flower pot, you are not using a pick axe It is slow, gentle, and gradual process Jesus is telling us that the way we get initiated into a whole new order of life is by taking the Word of God and listening, reflecting, contemplating, discussing, and applying it over and over again we work it in our lives just as you work the seed deep into the soil The Gospel does not do something to you that is without you - you work it in through thinking, listening, understanding, studying, etc - this is how the Gospel power is released in your life
From the Inside Out Galatians 2 two apostles having a fight Peter refused to sit down to eat with gentiles Paul confronts He could have said, racism is against God s will could have come right after him to get mechanical change Rather he goes for the heart to get organic change Gal 2:14 basically says, Peter, you are not walking in light of the Gospel In other words, think about the Gospel of grace you were saved by grace the Gospel needs to go deeper and become the controlling reality This is very different from religion and very different from how we try to get people to change
Make Beautiful Art CS Lewis biography by Allen Jacobs People wrote to Lewis following the Chronicles of Narnia about being a Christian artist and asked how you do it He says, some people think I began by asking myself how to say something about Christianity to children, then fixed on fairytale to do it, then studies child psychology and decided on a target audience, then hammered our symbols for Christian truths crazy Lewis says, you should not ask what children want, or even what they need, don t start with a moral and then try to come up with a story rather, let the images and stories that come to mind tell you their own moral for the moral inherent in them will emerge from the spiritual roots in you Work the Gospel deep into the roots of your life and then whatever comes out will be deeply Christian Have you worked the Gospel deep into the soil of your life so that whatever comes out reflects Christ instinctively? You must keep working it in, deeper and deeper so that it is reflected in all you do and say
Outline: Keys to A Fruitful Life: The Word of God is Like a Seed - Mark 4:1-20 Because it has power Because of how it releases that power Because its weakness is the secrete of its power
Strength in Weakness Think about the image Jesus has chosen to represent the Word of God There are many images He could have chosen Hammer, fire, or sword Why does he chose a weak seed? It s not something that strikes fear in the heart of man Remember, 3 out of 4 soils reject the seed 1 st one does not accept it at all 2 nd one excited at first, but really just wants miracles 3 rd group concerned about what the world thinks and gets choked In each case of the soils, the people respond to the Word with extrinsic or intrinsic faith (Gordon Alport Harvard psychologist) Extrinsic serve God for what He can do for you to get things Intrinsic - serving God to get God
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Faith It s easy to come to church and not come for Christ It s easy to think we are coming to Christ, but really we are coming to get something for us What s the key? Has the Word made its way deep into your heart? It doesn t do so with force, but by invitation that keeps working it deeper This is very different from a hammer that smashes opposition, or fire that consumes opposition, or the sword who cuts through it rather, the seed is weak There is a paradoxical weakness in strength Consider the power of one acorn The hammer, sword, or fire can t do that Yet, the seed is week and can be destroyed
Uproot the Heart G. Campbell Morgan Visited graveyard in Italy Two things It is easy for our hearts to become cold and callous to the Gospel If allowed to penetrate deeply into the soil, the power of the Gospel can break through the hardest slab of marble over any heart Again, why would Jesus use this example of the Word of God being like a seed?
The Gospel Response Up to this point in Mark, every soil represents how people have responded not only to the Gospel, but to Jesus 1 st soil Pharisees and religious leaders (rejected) 2 nd soil crowds (happy as long as doing miracles) 3 rd soil his family (upset they are loosing face) So, here s the thing the parable of the soils is not just a parable about how people respond to the Gospel, but how people respond to Jesus But Jesus did not come as a hammer, as fire, or as a sword He came not to Judge, but to be judged not to be strong but to be weak and die Why? What does this mean for me?
The Paradox of Weakness How is Jesus weakness made into strength? A seed is only fruitful when it goes into the ground and dies If Jesus had come as a hammer, fire, or a sword (what the people wanted), then we would have no victory Rather, Jesus came as a seed When discussing that the time had come for him to die, Jesus says in John 12:24, unless the seed falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. In the Garden of Gethsemane - He asks if there is any other way The answer from heaven was that eternal life could not be made possible unless Jesus becomes a seed that goes into the ground and dies THAT is the secret of the Gospel s power! The power of the Word is the weakness of the Lord When we see the beauty of His weakness, that will change you
Back to Peter & Paul Again, Paul could have said, stop being a racists but that would have just stirred up more fear Too often we try to change ourselves (or others, especially our kids) through more fear that they must conform (extrinsic faith) - the most they can hope for is mechanical growth Rearranging fear does not push the Gospel deeper into the heart s soil that s why Paul says, Peter, you are not living in light of the Gospel think about what Jesus did for you, how He was rejected for you so you could be included be happy enough to not be a racist anymore, let it capture your imagination and control your heart It is the weakness of the Lord that transforms your heart from the inside out (intrinsic faith) that is organic growth
Spiritual Fruit Until we let the gravity of the sacrifice made by Christ for you, we can never understand that in His weakness we are more than conquerors The power of the seed is the weakness of the Lord His weakness transforms us at the very root it makes us want (not have) to love the unlovable, find joy in difficult circumstances, experience peace in chaos, have patience with others, express kindness instead of bitterness, show goodness rather than evil, live with faithfulness instead of disloyalty, display gentleness instead of anger, and walk with self-control instead of an undisciplined life
Hymn from John Newton Our pleasure and our duty, Though opposite before, Since we have seen His beauty Are joined to part no more. To see the law by Christ fulfilled And hear His pard ning voice, Transforms a slave into a child, And duty into choice.
Wrap Up This passage ends in triumph While ¾ of the soil reject the Gospel (Christ), the soil who works the seed deep produces God math (30, 60, and 100 times over) Nothing produces this kind of fruit its supernatural! This means, it doesn t matter what kind of marble slab is over your heart (addiction, fear, alienation, failure, hatred, bitterness, disloyalty, anger, etc.) the Word, Christ, has the power to crack it wide open and roll it off The secret of the Word is the weakness of the Lord, weakness for you and me and in that weakness, we are more than conquerors through Christ who is our strength http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pllmzr3pfgk