Mark 4 1-20
Hunched over his desk penknife in hand, Thomas Jefferson sliced carefully at the pages of Holy Scripture and pasting them together to form a bible more to his liking. The Jefferson bible.
He was removing everything that went against what he wanted to do in life. So he is taking the word and shaping it to his liking.
Now as I look around now see some of you are rightly horrified what arrogance.
But let me ask you don’t we sometimes do this with the word of God in our own minds.
We leave out the bits that we don’t like.
So what can this passage teach us about not leaving the bits of the word out we don't like?
What should we do with the Gospel word about Jesus.
The answer is my first and only point.
Real Christians accept the word and produce fruit.
Real Christians accept the word and produce fruit.
So what do real Christians do they accept the word and produce fruit.
And were am I getting this from well look with me at
20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Did you notice that Jesus compares us to dirt or soil. Notice that the seed is the word.
So what is this word that is sown? Well lets go all the way back to mark 1 verse 15
The kingdom of God is breaking into the world as its king has arrived what will you do?
Will you accept the word ie believe that Jesus is lord of all of your life.
Will you produce fruit or repent or turn to him?
But I did that Clint I answered that alter call all those years ago.
See here in the passage jesus is not so interested in if you became a Christian but weather or not you are still one and will be one.
In the the verses before v20 we see 3 different kinds of dirt that all hear the word.
And in each case there is no long term fruit. Non of them. Accept the word and bear fruit.
Let me ask you are you still a real Christian hear today.
Here is my concern for you and I.
Are we still accepting Gods word but more than that are you still putting it into pratice or bearing fruit or
Or Do you as we notice in verse 19 were it talks of letting the deceitful ness of wealth choaking and strangle the word causing it be under fruitful is this what we do. Well as I meditate on that verse I realized that I am wicked. Don't you like me desire wealth and comfort more than what the word say in mark pick up your cross and follow me. I want to come to college and get a nice middle class ministry posting in a leafy suburb. But that is me giving into how money can lie to us and kill the word. Part of me bearing fruit must be dieing to that desire for wealth and working with the millions of poor people in our country. Think of any inner city in Sa. Real Christians for the most part have left these areas to the prosperity Gospel. No Jesus want me and others to hear just how poor he became to make me rich so that I may hear the word accept the word and bear fruit in those areas.
What about you. Have you come to college looking for a comfortable middle class ministry placement. Are you looking for wealth. Been a pastor in Africa is good work I used to visit pastors in the eastern cape they live in the biggest house have the nicest cars. Are you letting that desire for wealth choak the word.
Will you hear the word that says you need to follow jesus and give that up and minister to the poor. Hear the word accept the word and bear frui
letting the cares of the world stangle your accepting of the word.
This is my danger right now right now I I want to let my concern about my Mark assignment become so all consuming that I am not loving my wife as I should like Christ loved the church.
What worries are preventing you from bearing fruit. What word do you need to accept to counter it. Right now pick apart of the word that deals with your concern and accept it and think on it until your care subsides.
