 Mark chapter 4. We're going to be looking at verses 21 through 29, the purpose of the church. And so what I'll do is I'll read to you out of verses 21 through 23, verses 21 through 23. And I'm going to give to you, as I normally do, a synopsis from chapters 1, 2, 3 to give you some information that will bring us up to speed as we enter into chapter 4. And so I do that for several reasons, one of them being that there may be some joining us online or in this room right now who haven't been with us through the study. And so by giving you some information related to what's going on in the preceding chapters, I'm able to bring you to the point that we'll be looking at today as we look at verses 21 through 29. And so we'll be looking at verses 21 through 23. I'll give you an introduction, then move into the study and we'll conclude at verse 29. So let's begin here in Mark chapter 4 verses 21 through 23. We're looking at the subject of the purpose of the church. So Mark 4, 21 through 23. Also he said to them, is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lamp stand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret, but that it should come to light. Then he goes on to say in verse 23, if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Now Jesus has just given an explanation. Now so why people are rejecting the gospel? And that's an amazing thing to his disciples because when you begin Mark's gospel in chapter 1 and you proceed through chapter 1, 2 and into chapter 3, you're going to see that Jesus is traveling at this time. He's going throughout the nation of Israel and he's very busy ministering to people. He's preaching, he's teaching, he's performing miracles. He's delivering those who are possessed by the devil and he's even gone so far as to forgive sins. Because of this his reputation is growing. Multitudes are beginning to seek him out, but at the same time a growing opposition is now developing. The religious leaders of Pharisees begin to look at Jesus as a false teacher. He forgave a man of his sins and when he did that, they considered that to be blasphemy. We saw that in chapter 2, verse 7. He healed someone on the Sabbath. They considered that to be working thus violating the Sabbath, breaking the Sabbath and they made a statement concerning that in chapter 2, verse 24. So when he was doing this, when he's forgiving, when he's healing on the Sabbath, it gives evidence that he's rejecting both the Pharisees' authority as well as the religious traditions and these infractions of their understanding of the law is provoking them to anger, to the point that they eventually begin to seek his death. In the Gospel of John in chapter 5, that chapter records how Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. But the problem is, is he did this on the Sabbath and that provoked the authorities to desire his death. He was confronted over that healing and when he was confronted, Jesus responded in John 5, 17 by saying, my father has been working until now and I have been working. Well, when he said that the response of the authorities was intense in John 5, 18, therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his father making himself equal with God. And so Jesus in forgiving sins was declaring himself to be equal with God. And when Jesus is healing on the Shabbat, when he did that kind of work, they saw him as being blasphemous for forgiving sins and breaking the Sabbath, undermining their tradition. So that's a theme you see not just in Mark. You see that in other Gospels, including John. So at this point in Mark, the Jewish authorities are hardening their hearts in rejection of him. They can't deny his miracles. So what they do is they say, well, yeah, he performs them, but he's doing them through the power of Satan, through the power of Beelzebub. We saw that in chapter 3, verse 22. So in spite of the growing opposition, in spite of the Pharisees beginning to attempt to undermine his ministry, multitudes continue coming to Christ. And Jesus is ministering nonstop. Mark is pointing that out. He was working so hard that his half brothers became alarmed. They were concerned for him. According to chapter 3, verse 21, they thought he was out of his mind. And so because they thought he was out of his mind, they actually came to him, wanting to force him to rest. We saw that in chapter 3, verse 31. There were so many coming that Jesus now calls 12 men to assist him in the work. We know these 12 men as the apostles and they served next to him. And as they did so, they got an eyewitness as to what kind of man this was. What an amazing man he is. What a compassionate man he is. They heard his words. They saw his miracles. They witnessed his majesty. They admired his eloquence. And as they're seeing this up close, it may have caused his followers to now become puzzled. Why are people rejecting him? Why don't they follow him? Why aren't they believing him? So to reveal to them why this was happening, that's when we got to chapter 4 and Jesus began to give parables. He was illustrating the kinds of hearts that people have in response to the gospel. And he gave the parable of the sore in the seed to help them to understand their rejection. As we went through that parable, we saw that some people have hardened their hearts, are completely callous to the message. We saw that some people are shallow, uninterested in the depth of its meaning. And then there are those who are too filled with the cares and desires of this world to listen in. They resist believing. And each of these types of people explain why some are rejecting him as well as this message. Those who are hardened in religion, those who are shallow, those who are worldly, they have no desire for Christ or the salvation that he's offering because they're content. They're content to remain as they are. But he pointed out that there were those who were hungry. And they were the ones who responded to the things he had to say. Not every one of them responded equally, by the way. They produced various amounts of fruit. And the last that he had spoken of, well, they all respond, but some are more committed than others. And so with this opening parable, Jesus began giving an understanding of the kingdom of God. And those who hear his word and believe it are those who bear fruit for the kingdom. And part of the fruit that they produce is becoming sowers of the seed that saved them. And so with that, we're going to be looking at various following parables. And so we begin at verse 21, when he begins to speak concerning a lamp. He says in verse 21, is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lamp stand? Notice how he uses the image of a lamp. What he's doing here, if you take notes, is he's illustrating the church's purpose. What is the purpose of the church? What is our mission? And lamps, we know, are used to illuminate darkness. And so he's telling us what lamps are and what Christians are. We are lamps. As lamps, Christians are to shine brightly in the midst of a sin, darkened world. It's like what Paul said in Ephesians 5, verse 11, when he said, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, rather expose them. Have no fellowship. That word fellowship is a word that speaks of partaking or sharing in. It speaks of participation. Have no fellowship with those works of darkness. We're not to share in or tolerate or endure sin. He says instead, expose it for what it is. Now, how do you do that? How do you expose sin for what it is? Well, that comes through the way that we live. It's seen in what we say and what we do. It's like what James 2.14 says. When he asked the question, what good is it? My brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds. And he goes on to say, can such faith save them? Because faith without works, he says, is dead. It has no life in it. And so what are we to do? We're to not only claim to have faith, but we're to live our faith. And when you live your faith, it is like a light in a dark place. In the book of Ephesians, Paul exhorted the church to live a loving and a sacrificial life. In Ephesians 5, verses 1 and 2, he instructed the church to be imitators of God. He said, walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us. Be an imitator of God and walk. Have a certain walk. Walk in love and demonstrate the love of God by the way you treat people. And so throughout that letter, Paul wrote up what it is called, the walk of the believer. So when you look at Ephesians in chapter 2, verse 10, he says our walks are to be known by our good works. When you read Ephesians 4, verse 1, he said our walk was to be worthy or appropriate of a life-changing gospel. If we proclaim a gospel that changes lives, he's saying walk appropriately, walk worthy of that because you are demonstrating that you're demonstrating the truth of the proclamation. The gospel you're telling people will change their lives. It needs to change yours too. And throughout that letter, Paul began to walk of, talk about the walk of the believer. Ephesians 2, verse 10, as he said, good works. Ephesians 4, 1, walk in appropriately. Ephesians 5, 3, 3, 7, he said our lives are to be free from fornication and sexual uncleanness, sexual lust, filthy speech, empty-headed talking, and language filled with sexual innuendo. So as believers, we are not to be molded by the system that crucified Jesus Christ. Instead of taking our cues from the world, he said influence it and influence it for good. Have no fellowship with these things. Live a life that exposes them. Again, have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. Expose them. We don't just endure evil. We don't get used to it so that we might be able to get along with people. We live in such a way that our lives reveal what evil is by way of contrast to the way we live. And that that's why we on a personal level are not to tolerate, minimize, or practice sin. We love those who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, but we don't tolerate sin in our lives. Sin isn't something we entertain. A sinful life is not something that we intend to live. When you read your Old Testament, you read concerning a man named Abram who is also known to us as Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. Abraham had a nephew. His nephew, we all know by the name of Lot. And Abraham's nephew Lot lived in Sodom, a famously evil city, but Sodom never lived in him. He lived in the city and its evil was around him, but that evil did not find a home in him. He didn't allow himself to be seduced by Sodom. He actually rejected its influence, which is what we the church do in our own age. Instead of just yielding to it, we resist it. In 2 Peter 2, 7, and 8, Peter said that God rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men. For that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard. His soul was tormented, grieved immensely by the evil of the world that he lived in. He didn't compromise and just go with the flow. Oh, we got to accept these Sodomites because we need to do that. No, his heart was grieved. His soul was grieved by the evil that was around him. It's this kind of moral pain and distress that actually will provoke you to speak to those who are trapped in sin. That's what happened in the life of Paul. When you read Acts chapter 17, verses 15 through 17, it says, the men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-faring Greeks, as well as in the marketplace, day by day with those who happened to be there. He was greatly distressed. His soul was grieved by the idolatry that the whole city was given over to idolatry. You can go to some of the more beautiful places in the world and you can see the beauty of those places, but that doesn't mean that your heart turns towards desiring those things. And Paul was there in the intellectual center and there he is in Athens where they have these philosophers who all day long like to hear some new thing and argue over a variety of things. And yet the Bible tells us he was grieved over what he saw and he was so grieved and so provoked that he ultimately had to stand up and speak and he has a very famous preaching message there in the book of Acts chapter 17 when he says, men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious men and he goes on to speak a very strong message concerning the condemnation of idolatry and the fact that God is not worshiped with the works of man's hands but that God has given his Son Christ Jesus and that's what he did. He was provoked and he proclaimed. So that's what Jesus is illustrating to his followers. The church is like a lamp. We shine brightly in the moral and spiritual darkness and that's because the world lives in spiritual darkness and as a result is living in spiritual bondage. In 1st John 519 the apostle John said it like this. He said, we know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one and that's indeed true. When's the last time you saw a commercial about going to church and loving God? The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. Watch your baseball games, watch your football games and start noticing all of the commercials for beer and bars. Watch it. That's what it is because everybody knows anybody who likes sports likes to get drunk too and that's what they do and they're pushing that constantly on you. Constantly on you. Why is that? Because sin sells. That's why and so I enjoy the games but I certainly don't enjoy the festivities that are related to that. Well this particular parable illustrates for us that Christians are to openly manifest the light of Jesus Christ. You see again darkness is the condition of every person who doesn't have a relationship with Jesus. Ephesians 418 Paul again to the Ephesians said that unbelievers have their understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. You see before coming to Christ people are blind. They're spiritually blind. They live in spiritual darkness. Second Corinthians 4 3 and 4 Paul said even if our gospel is veiled it's veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. I was sitting in an airport and here comes a a Hindu and they're trying to sell the Bhagavad Gita and so I saw them coming so I positioned myself so that they could come to me so I could talk to them and hit them no so I could talk to them and and they walked up and I always remember this conversation they said to me I have a book I am selling you a book they were selling I am selling you a book that will give to you the light of life and I carry a Bible on me at all times and I pulled it out and I held it and I said I already have a book that gives me the light of life it gives to me Jesus Christ who saves people from their sins and as I began to share they said okay and they walked away because that's what they do so I ran chasing them hitting them with the no I just just teasing but that that that happens you've had it happen I've had it happen where people are preaching a false message and they bring it to you and so I'm very quick to say no I already have the light of life it comes through Jesus Christ is the light of the world and and my my understanding was dark and spiritually blinded but my eyes have been open to see what the Lord can do and it came through the gospel of Jesus Christ and so that's what the church is to be where to be the spiritual light in the darkness of the world system that we live in that's the purpose of the church and so he says to them in verse 21 is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed what are we for well we're to be the light a light in a sin darkened world it's like what the apostle Peter said in first Peter 2 verse 9 you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation a peculiar or unique people that you should show forth the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light so you don't light a lamp in and put it under a basket you don't hide it under a bed those who have received the light of the gospel we don't hide it we are intended to proclaim this message to those who live in darkness because it's the message that sets the captive free please please church please don't forget that we're forgetting that in this age when we're in Mexico just this weekend we were picked up you know we we park on the United States side and then we cross through and then we're picked up by one of the people who are residents there in Mexico and that's what we did and so we were picked up and we're taken care of by a young man who listens to us on on he he listens to our services and he reads and listens to the things that John and I do with what we what's it called unfiltered but they're unfiltered thing he listens to us and he writes me and and he he has a very sweet wife and my name is Claudia and so I had told him because he had he had invited me to come and speak in Mexico I had told him that I want to bring my wife and he had written and said oh that would be so good because my wife wants to to meet your wife and so my wife had an opportunity to meet to meet his wife and all and and his his testimony is very very simple in this is that he spent time in prison he spent time in prison for drugs and attempted murder that's why he spent time in prison spent time in the United States prison and for drug use and attempted murder and now he's a police chaplain in one of the departments there in Baja and that didn't come because one day he just decided I'm going to be a nice guy it came because someone loved him enough to tell him the truth of the gospel a gospel message that takes you from darkness and brings you into light that's why we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ that's why we do that it's because it's the only message God has ever given to man that when received by faith will make you into an entirely different person why for if anyone's in crisis a new creation old things are passed away behold all things are become new that's how that works that's how the gospel transforms and so Jesus is saying don't hide that light under a basket the lamp that he's referring to would be an oil lamp and the oil is what is the fuel for that lamp to be lit and to remain a light and so the gospel is a message that transforms but the the oil that we have is of the Holy Spirit and when you're filled with the Holy Spirit and you're on fire for Christ your life is going to be a light to those who live in darkness that's how it works God transforms people and you are a person that people will look at and they will say there's something different about this person what is it what it is is Jesus Christ who transforms life and so he says you don't light a lamp just to put it on top of a lamp stand you don't put it underneath a bed it's there to be bring in light in verse 22 there there's nothing hidden which will not be revealed nor has anything been kept secret but that that it should come to light if anyone has ears to hear let him hear though people don't want their sin exposed the gospel will do just that in the preaching of the gospel sin is identified it's exposed and people don't like it when their sins are exposed who who who likes it they have a sin exposed they don't like it when their sin is exposed they're not thrilled about that John 3 19 and 20 says it like this this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil for everyone practicing evil hates the light does not come to the light less as deeds should be exposed we don't like our deeds being exposed so we try to cover up our sin but we always fail you see God brings to light every hidden thing and God is the one who judges righteously based on that which is exposed Ecclesiastes 12 14 God will bring every deed into judgment including every hidden thing whether it is good or evil we may think that we're hiding things from God but we're not he sees it and no matter what the response may be even though people reject and even though being they do get upset we are to faithfully preach this message you see the seed that has been received is to be given to others and that's why verse 23 if anyone has ears to hear let him hear carefully consider what i am saying he is saying listen attentively he goes on in verse 24 then he said to him take heed what you hear with the same measure you use it will be measured to you and to you who hear more will be given so that's an appeal to what is called spiritual perception pay attention to what you listen to if you receive this you need to act on it because verse 25 for whoever has to him more will be given but whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him so that's an interesting thing you see in the things of the spirit a person is either gaining or losing either advancing or declining when you receive an act in faith your life begins to grow in maturity spiritual experience you're the one who already has but you already have but you're going to receive even more you're going to receive blessings you're going to get a taste of future blessings experiences in the Lord and and when you sow a great amount of seed you're going to be rewarded with a large harvest your your faithfulness will be rewarded in proportion to the amount of seed that you sow it's like what it says in psalm 62 verse 12 loving kindness is yours oh lord for you recompense a man according to his work so you receive and you give and you receive reward in proportion to that in revelation 22 12 look i'm coming soon my reward is with me and i will give to each person according to what they've done and so he says it's going to be measured to you to you who hear more will be given but in verse 25 for whoever has to him more will be given but whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him well that phrase even what he has is explained in another passage in the gospel of luke in chapter 8 verse 18 whoever does not have even what he seems to have will be taken from him so that draws our attention back to the parable of the sower and the seed there are false converts jesus spoke of them as being the stony ground or the seed among thorns false converts they have a false appearance of being believers but they are unfruitful they have superficial faith and that is exposed in the day of judgment it's interesting how when we looked at those those two parables they appear to have some kind of a fruit that's produced but in fact it was superficial and really unreal in matthew 723 jesus speaks of the day uh he says where he's going to say to those who claim to have cast out demons and done great works he says he's going to say plainly to them i never knew you away from me you evildoers they're going to be people who are surprised in other words that's a picture these are people who thought themselves to be believers when in fact they weren't at all they only had a superficial appearance of belief there are a lot of people in the united states we already know this who who claim to be christians but they're christians on easter and on christmas and they're christians you know for baptisms or things things of that nature maybe in weddings or marriages you know they're christian in name and and they really think themselves to be believers because they've participated in certain religious rituals or whatever and and they grew up perhaps in a believing home and they can say well you know my mom was a believer my dad was a believer my sister's brothers were believers but that doesn't automatically mean that that that person himself or herself is a believer it's just that way we know that to be true that there are people who claim to be christians they don't know the lord they don't know the lord and jesus's words are very strong i never knew you you're an evildoer but wait a minute i cast out demons that proclaimed your name i did all these works no i never knew you we never had a relationship that's why it's really important for us as believers to check our own spirits and see whether christ is really dwelling there or not well he goes on and we'll look at these last verses verses 26 through 29 and he said the kingdom of god is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground and should sleep by night and rise by day and the seed should sprout and grow he himself doesn't know how for the earth yields crops by itself first the blade then the head after that the full grain in the head but when the grain ripens immediately he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come well this is unique this particular parable this is unique to the gospel of mark and what it's doing is inviting a comparison with the first parable of the soar in the soil there's an emphasis here you can notice that there's an emphasis on sowing seed on growth and harvest so this parable reveals another characteristic of the person who has received the seed as they sow seed they faithfully and patiently wait on the lord to produce the results and so the kingdom of god is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground the sower is busy scattering seed on the ground and we are the sowers the seed that's being scattered would be the word of god we saw that in verse 14 so what we see is a combination of human responsibility and god's activity we faithfully sow the seed of the word but god produces results in first Corinthians in chapter three verses five through seven paul said what then is apollos and what is paul they are servants through whom you believed as the lord is assigned to each his role i planted the seed apollos watered it but god made it grow so neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything but only god who makes things grow he says and should sleep by night and rise by day and the seed sprouts and grows so the sower doesn't control when the seed sprouts and begins to blossom all he can do is faithfully sow the seed and wait patiently by saying night and day he reveals a period of time in which the seed is at work in verse 20 70 he said the seed should sprout and grow that reveals that the seed produces on its own so god's word brings life when deposited in soil that is receptive in james 121 is as humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you verse 28 says the earth yields crops by itself the crop that has been sown spontaneously grows without the help of man it is god who brings growth through his word sown and received in genuine faith the kingdom of god expands through faithful preaching of god's word so i'll share a little bit with you about that because this is something very important for me and i want to share the same kind of thoughts with you about this the kingdom of god expands through the faithful preaching of the word of god that's how it expands it doesn't expand because of human genius or human effort it does not expand and rely on a preacher's personality on church events on a certain denomination or the name of the church the kingdom of god does not depend on advertising gimmicks on building programs or great locations it doesn't rest on great music special speakers or even if the congregation is made up of people who are like us the truth is when a church is built on superficial things it results in superficial people you end up in a church that's built on superficial things you end up with spoiled event oriented people and not one of them is willing to serve god's kingdom is built on the faithful teaching of the word of god and it's god who produces the fruit you see during the time of the prophet Jeremiah god made a promise to the people in Jeremiah 3 15 i will give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding the disciples of Jesus are to sow the word of god and they expect god to produce the fruit there to trust god's word to produce conversions that's how it works in the kingdom of god i think today we've made a big mistake i think today in the church we have become so entertainment or issue oriented that we're failing to teach the people the word of god that is able to build them up and i believe what's happening is we have we've yielded not every church but in many places we have yielded over to the entertainment orientation of the people they want something that's going to tickle their ears and make them happy for right now and i'm telling you something it takes time for the word of god to blossom in your life it doesn't happen overnight you receive the word of god but it takes time to germinate it takes time to begin to produce fruit you water it daily you pray you seek the lord you're in the word of god and you say god use me i want to be used by you i want my life to to count i want to infect other people with the joy of jesus christ i want people to know the kingdom of god and what you can do and it's not by saying oh you need to come in here this great speaker or we're going to have this special subject it comes to you loving god loving his word walking in his spirit and being willing to stand up and be counted as a believer in jesus christ and in a world that we have today where people are so afraid of being cancelled you have to be careful not to be afraid of being cancelled i'm not afraid of being cancelled you know why i don't really care you know why because i have someone who loves the name jesus christ and that's that's how i live my life it doesn't matter to me i had somebody saying in between service were asking me well do you not speak on certain things because you're afraid of losing people no i'm not afraid of that you know why because i know that if people want to be here they'll be here if they don't they'll go anyway i've been doing this for a long time every person i've spoken to hasn't stayed if he did we'd need over 30 000 seats we've reached many people over the years many people many many more than i can imagine multiply 40 years of ministry and then look at another eight years of ministering prior to plant planting this church and try and understand the multiple thousands and thousands and thousands of many thousands that god has given me the privilege of ministering to and sharing the word of god with and you want to know something i've never cared in that personal way whether people want to come back the next week you know why because it's not about me it's about him and if people want to have the word of god i will give it that's how it works and and and then that and that can sound so arrogant and everything i'm not asking for you to pat my back it doesn't matter you know who will jesus christ one day i want to hear the words well done my good and faithful servant and that comes to give in the word of god and not everybody and you know what i'm saying is true you know what i'm saying is true i've had people say oh i left the church because i've heard too many of the same stories are you here for stories what is this you know bedtime where i sit next to you and read you want new stories you can find new stories you want a bible study we'll give you a bible study that's what it's all about why because i have discovered that it is the word of god that changes lives it was the word of god that saved my mom and my dad it was a word of god that saved my brother and my sisters it is a word of god that saved the girl that became my wife it's the word of god that has saved my four children it's the word of god that has saved their spouses it's a word of god that will save my grandchildren that's how important the word of god is so we are not entertainers in this world system we are proclaimers in this world system that there is a god and he will change your life he will transform you that's what we do and that's why we so faithfully one sews the other waters it is god who gives the increase in here we are saying oh that person can't be saved unless i take him to this particular place to hear the message from this particular minister that's not true god can save anybody anytime he wants and sometimes he just does it where somebody picks up the bible begins to read it and says i'm a sinner i need you jesus i've heard the testimony of people who said i didn't hear them i didn't hear anybody preach the gospel i picked up a bible i read it and god's word spoke to my heart and that's how i came to faith in christ and so what i as a pastor am called by god to do is divide this rightly presented to you let the seed sprout on its own there are those who have a desire to oh i want to know god and it will blossom there are others that say i don't care it doesn't matter to me i've heard that before that's between them their conscience and their god but our job is to plant that seed where to sow the word of god and we expect that god will produce fruit it is god who produces conversions you see in in this parable the farmer isn't the one who produces the believers it's simply his responsibility to sow the seed and it takes responsibility and it takes the responsibility of the conversion of souls off the shoulders of the one who sows the sower is the faithly so but it's the lord who saves listen to what god said through the prophet ezekiel in chapter 3 verses 17 through 19 son of man i have made you a watchman for the house of israel therefore hear a word from my mouth and give them warning from me when i say to the wicked you shall surely die and you give him no warning nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity but his blood i will require at your hand yet if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness nor from his wicked way he shall die in his iniquity you have delivered your soul you have the responsibility of sowing that wicked person has responsibility of receiving and it's god who actually produces the fruit notice in verse 28 how he says the earth yields crops by itself so the sower sows god's word soil that's receptive receives it and produces and when they receive the seed the holy spirit produces a spiritual life in them you see the evangelist is not the one who gives life it's god god does so through his word it's like what it says in first peter 123 you've been born again not a perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of god then he goes on in verse 29 and he says when the grain ripens immediately he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come see the preacher has the joy of reaping the effect of the reception of the gospel the one who sowed the word rejoices in bringing the person to faith in christ as they pray with that new believer that evangelist receives joy and reaps the harvest it causes joy in the heart of that man or that woman who shared the gospel so jesus is giving his disciples instructions for the future of their ministry they're to go forth with the seed of the word and they're to sow it in psalm 96 verse 3 it says declare his glory among the nations his wonders among all peoples in matthew 28 19 and 20 go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the son of the holy spirit teaching them to observe all things that i've commanded you and lo i'm with you always even to the end of the age one of the added joys of this is that they will be together in heaven for eternity and the joy of bringing someone to the kingdom lasts forever i don't know if this is true or not i'll close with this but it's something i heard when i was a young believer that i'll kind of close with and share with you again i don't know that this is true or not there may be it may be true i don't think it's a lie therefore i'll share it with you but it did speak to my heart because one i heard a speaker one time a teacher saying this he said you never know who you're going to encounter in heaven and who you may have impacted without even knowing you never know so perhaps one day in heaven you may have someone approach you and say by the way i'm here because of you i'm here because you shared with me so you never know and i was in the army i went into basic training and i was a new believer i was three months old in the lord and during the first week or so there was a an event there was going to be a christian event on at fort uh fort ord and i asked my drill sergeant for permission to to go to that event it was a christian event and so my drill sergeant sergeant bulky said yeah you can go and i went as i walked into this event nobody showed up except for me but i saw a guy who was the assistant to the to the chaplain and i looked at him and i recognized him he was from wittier and i looked at this guy and as i was looking at him i remembered he was the only guy who ever witnessed to me outside of my friend bill and george and i remembered having a conversation with him at a tasty freeze right across the street from seara high school in wittier i remembered the conversation and i walked up to him because he had approached me with the bible and i was standing there as a loady just uh just a look that's what we used to call and i just like drugs and alcohol and stuff and he walked up with the bible and he tried to talk to me about god and i was always respectful to those who spoke concerning god because i respect those who believe in him but i i wasn't one who did so not like he did and he tried to tell me about christ and i still remember telling him how do you know that the writers of that bible were inspired by god how do you know that i said i think that they were all loaded on acid that's what i told him i said i think they were all loaded on acid and they just wrote some weird stuff down and people just embraced it how do you know that how can you prove to me that that's true how can you he says well we just take it by faith i said your faith isn't enough for me and i remember that conversation and i was i was i was up front with you always have been up front with people but then i never forgot that conversation and there i am standing in these barracks there's this guy who shared with me in this little area and i walked up to him and i said this to him i said you didn't you won't remember me but i remember you you walked up to me a few months ago at the tasty freeze in a wheat year and you shared with me the gospel of jesus christ and he's just kind of looking at me and i said i just came here tonight because i wanted to hear the christian message i said but now that i see you i want you to know that your efforts did not go unrewarded that i came to faith in jesus christ and i am now a follower of christ myself you never know who you're impacting so don't stop impacting don't stop because people are listening they may not immediately respond but you're sowing seeds you're sowing seeds that's what you're called to do you're called to sow or to water but it is god who gives the increase don't take the credit for their salvation and don't take the blame when they reject it just do your ministry and you one day will rejoice and in heaven who knows maybe someone will walk up to you like i walked up to that young man and say your efforts did not go unrewarded i'm here because of what you told me never forget that and father we asked that you would work