Sermon: Trusted with Much

Trusted With Much

We are in the Gospel of Mark, looking this morning at three parables Jesus was sharing with the crowds. He just finished the parable of the seed and he is further explaining the Kingdom of God and the responsibilities of those entrusted with the gospel or the truth revealed.

We start in Mark 4:21-34

The first parable we talked about not to long ago, is presenting the gospel as a lamp. Jesus asks the question do you hide the lamp under a bowl or under your bed…where it is of no use. Would you turn on a lamp to hide its light? Of course not, you put it on a stand so that it’s light shine for all to see. You put it high enough to drive the darkness away. You read by it, you use it to guide your foot steps. Without the light we would be groping around and running into all kind of problems.

The second parable shows a man sowing seeds. He scatters the seed the best he can. He is unsure what will happen, but he hopes for the very best. He walks the field spreading the seed, throwing it on the soil. He patiently waits for the harvest to grow. He doesn’t know how the seed grows. He just knows they’ll grow. He can’t make them grow, the seeds sprout, form roots and grow leaves all on their own. The plants produce fruit and the man then harvest the crop.

The third parable is about a muster seed the smallest of the seed, it is planted in the ground and it grows and grows. Until its so large birds can nest in it’s branches. Again the farmer doesn’t control how big the seed grows. He plants the seed and it does all the rest.

So how does this relate to us, how are we to apply this to our lives…Firstly “We have been “Trusted” with the Gospel”

As Christian’s we have been entrusted with the Gospel. The gospel is given to us to be shared with others. We are never to keep it to ourselves; it is meant to be shared. The light of the gospel is to shine into a very dark world and we are the ones to carry it.

How serious is this? What is there to be lost if we fail in our mission? People’s lives, people are walking around in our communities lost. Lost in loneliness, lost in debt, lost in work, lost in self, lost in sin…there is no escape for the prisoners, they are lost. They try to find comfort in material ‘stuff’, big screen T.V., cars, recreation vehicles; they pursue the American dream, only to find emptiness. We have the answer, we hold the key. It’s Jesus Christ, Jesus who set us free from the bondage of our own selves, frees us from the burden of sin, “When the son set’s you free, you are free in deed.”

Not only that but we will be held accountable for this incredible responsibility. In verses 23-25 Jesus says this…

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (Mark 4:23-25 NIV)

Jesus opens with a warning, if you can hear this take heed! Consider carefully what you are hearing, weight it, it is important you understand!

He continues by telling us if we do share, what we share will come back as a greater blessing. How many of you have ever taught someone? Isn’t it true many times the teacher learns more by studying the lesson and learning from the students themselves? It’s the same way with sharing the gospel, you will greatly blessed…

Many times when I have the opportunity to lead someone to Christ, I’m just as excited as the person receiving. But on the flip side of this, if I fail to share the gospel, what has been given to me, will be taken from me. This is what happens to us if we continually refuse to share Christ. This can happen to us personally and it can happen to us as a church.

As a church we have been charged with the responsibility to save lives, if we ever get out of ‘saving lives’, we will become the ‘club’ and the tragedy will be the deaths of many, who will simply drown in their world around them, they will die in their sin. Many churches slowly die because they have lost their way and have become comfortable. We cannot do that, we have to be about sharing the gospel!

The second parable shows a man sowing the seed he has no idea how the seeds grow, especially in Jesus day. The picture here shows we have two parts to play in the planting of the God’s kingdom. The first is to plant the seed, we are to spread the good news, we are to scatter the seeds of the kingdom, we do not grow the kingdom…think about that for a moment. We do not grow the kingdom God does that part. How a person responds to the gospel is between God and the individual, but we are to share our faith.

The second job we have in this parable is to harvest the crop. We are to receive what God has given to us; we are to prepare the grain for use. We are to receive new believers; we are to disciple them and prepare each person to reach their full potential in the Lord. For the purpose of spreading more seed!

The power of the gospel, to change people’s lives, it changed my life, its changed many of your lives.

Lastly it starts small and grows large.

We can look at the world around us and see the task at hand is daunting! It looks impossible, we cannot even begin to make a dent in the sea of the lost. We cannot impact our community, it’s to big, we are too small. What difference can I make! I am but one person. These thoughts can impact the way we think, it can impact our church. We have to remember small things can make a difference; a little faith goes a long way. If we believe in God is who he says he is, nothing is impossible. God loves to give out God sized task to the small, because he alone receives the glory, he alone is worthy of praise.

Stuck in a dead-end job and strapped for money, Kyle MacDonald came up with an improbable plan: starting with one red paperclip, he would trade on the Internet until he exchanged it for a house. First, he traded the red paperclip for a fish-shaped pen. Next, he traded the pen for a doorknob. He traded the doorknob for a Coleman stove. He traded the Coleman stove for an electric generator. He traded the electric generator for a Budweiser sign and a keg of beer, which he then traded for a snowmobile. Exactly one year and 14 trades later, MacDonald finally reached his goal: he exchanged a part in a Hollywood movie for a home in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The true story of Kyle MacDonald is told in his book One Red Paperclip. Now the book is being made into a movie. Fame, fortune, a book, a movie deal, and a home—it all began with one red paperclip.

Sounds incredible, doesn't it? But I believe our Christian faith is like that red paperclip. Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we will be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:20). A mustard seed is very small—far smaller than a paperclip. And yet, Jesus says if we have that much faith, "Nothing will be impossible for you."

So as the opening video asks a simple question. Are we going to be a club or a saving station? As a church are we going to take on the responsibility of sharing the gospel with our community? Is saving lives going to be our focus? Or are we going to be a club, where our buildings are more important than reaching our community. Where we no longer gather to reach the lost, but gather for our own comfort. We have to be about reaching the lost, our church has to become intentional in everything we do to reach those who are without the hope of Christ. Whatever it takes has to be our attitude.

What will you do with what you have been entrusted with? Will you keep this precious gift to yourself, or will you share it with others. Will you hide it under your bed, or put it out there for the world to see. Will you become a rescue boat, risking your life for the lives of others, or will you simply stay on the shore in the comfort of your own club.

We have to share Christ, we have no other choice.