The Gospel Revealed, Sown, and Grown

The Gospel Revealed, Sown, and Grown

Intro

Please do keep your bibles open in Mark chapter 4 to follow along as we study God’s word this morning. And for those in gospel community groups make sure to take notes as this week in our community groups we’ll be reflecting on this passage and what we think about this morning.

This past week, I, along with a number of other Christians from churches across Dublin, including Sydney and Okiki, have been away at a Summer Camp for teens called Summer Soul. We had the privilege of being able to share the gospel with over 80 teenagers from a variety of different backgrounds. We were studying the letter to the Colossians, and our theme for the week was being rooted and built up in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The reason that we were there sharing the gospel, and the reason that most of you are here this morning, is because we have had the gospel revealed to us. Someone sowed the seed of the gospel in our lives, and as we seek to do the same to others, we seek the growth of the gospel.

Last week in our series in Mark we considered the parable of the sower, and of our role in the kingdom of God. And our passage this morning occurs in the same section of Jesus’ teaching. As we read our passage this morning you may have noticed the four and he said’s as we were going along. We’re going to consider the first two of these sayings together, and then another point each for the following two as we come to study God’s word together.

1 - The Gospel Revealed (4:21-25)

And so we begin our passage this morning with the first two of Jesus’ sayings to them, that is, to the crowd that had gathered to hear him teach and who are now waiting on the shore of the lake of Galilee while Jesus teaches to them from a boat.

Mark 4:21–25 · ESV

²¹And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? ²²For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. ²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. ²⁵For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Here in our first section in our passage this morning we see the gospel revealed.

1.1 - The Gospel Has Been Revealed (4:21-23)

Let’s look at the first of Jesus’ two and he said’s, as we consider that the gospel has been revealed.

You see if you remember back to when we started our series in Mark a couple months ago that Mark began his account of the life of Jesus by saying The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We then saw Jesus begin his ministry and declare The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.

As Jesus came to earth and began his ministry, he began by declaring that he had come bringing the gospel himself. The whole story of the bible up til now has been leading up to this point. We’ve had prophecies and types and shadows and hints of what was to come throughout the Old Testament, but they were just that. Shadows. Sufficient enough for some to believe in the coming Messiah, but the gospel was not fully revealed.

And Jesus tells us verse 22: For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. What was once an unrevealed mystery has been revealed. The gospel is being made clear as Jesus is teaching his disciples about the Kingdom of God.

(In fact it still isn’t even perfectly clear until after Jesus’ death and resurrection as it is then that the disciples fully understood what he taught them, but the fact remains that they reflected on these teachings of his which are made clear to us now.)

In John’s gospel account of Jesus, Jesus says I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. When Jesus was brought into the world he was not hidden, put under a basket or under a bed. But rather he made himself known — to us.

This was the time that God had decided was the right time to bring to fruition his plan of salvation for the whole world. The gospel would no longer be hidden by types and shadows as in the Old Testament, but Jesus would come and be revealed to all, shining as the light of the world.

And even as we’ll see further in the second half of our first section already Jesus here is teaching his disciples about peoples’ response to him. The response to receiving the gospel. Does someone who has received a lamp when they’re in darkness hide it away and stay in the dark? Of course not. As Jesus says the light is put on a stand for everyone to see, and to see by. The gospel, which is Jesus, is that light.

As Jesus’ disciples, as those who have seen the light of Jesus, we can’t hide the gospel away. That would be to show that we don’t truly think that it is a light to ourselves or others. The gospel is to be made manifest, Jesus is to be proclaimed. What use is the gospel to us if it does not help others to see as we see, or to hear as we hear.

As Jesus teaches in both these parables, as well as the proceeding ones, verse 23: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. This is a challenge to both Jesus’ disciples and to the crowd of people hearing his teaching on the kingdom of God, but who have not responded to the gospel. We need to have ears to hear. We should hear as Jesus’ disciples do, as the word of God is explained to us — in order that we may do as Jesus commands and make the gospel manifest to others. And those who have not responded to the gospel need ears to hear it. To see Jesus.

1.2 - The Gospel Is To Be Revealed (4:24-25)

And we see Jesus continue his insistence that the Gospel which has been revealed is to be revealed in the second half of this section with his second and he said to them.

Jesus doubles down on the command for those to hear, by saying to pay attention to what you hear verse 24. This is active language. Listening to, or hearing the gospel, is not merely hearing words that have been said, but is accompanied by action.

If I say that I have heard my wife tell me to wash the dishes, but I don’t actually do them, and then she comes up to me and says “Joel, did you not hear me telling you to do the dishes”, and I say “Yes, I heard you, I just didn’t do them”, then I haven’t really heard her. Because to hear her would be to respond by doing the dishes. Paying attention to something is also being diligent about what you hear. Not just skimming the surface or being content to not understand, but truly hearing what is being said.

As we saw last week, there are those who, verse 15 of chapter 4: hear the word but it is taken away by Satan. Or those, verse 17: who hear the word only for it to be forsaken in tribulations. Or verse 19: who hear the word but forsake it for the desires of the world. Really hearing requires a response. It requires putting a lamp on a stand. Making what was once hidden, and is still hidden to some, manifest.

If Jesus’ disciples truly hear his message, and pay attention to the gospel, and to his teachings in this passage, they will respond by preaching that same gospel to others.

Verse 25: For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Those who claim to have received the gospel, to have heard this good news, but do not respond in measure, do not truly love the gospel, do not walk in the light and thus have no light to show others, even that which they claim to have will be removed from them.

The 1689 Baptist Confession in paragraph 5 chapter 6 says:

As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as the righteous judge, for former sin does blind and harden; from them He not only withholds His grace, whereby they might have been enlightened in their understanding, and wrought upon their hearts; but sometimes also withdraws the gifts which they had, and exposes them to such objects as their corruption makes occasion of sin; and withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan, whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, under those means which God uses for the softening of others.

1689 London Baptist Confession · 6.5

In this present time God may remove gifts of his common grace to those who do not have the gospel, he may remove the preachers of his word from them, those people who bring the gospel to them, or bring the communities or countries they live in into further sin and debauchery that they would love the world more than his word. And for the one who has not Jesus, who has not the gospel, finally at the end of time every good thing that he has as a result of the common grace of God will be taken away.

The writer to the Hebrews warns the Hebrew Christians against apostasy, as they, rather than having ears to hear have become dull of hearing. He says:

Hebrews 5:11–14 · ESV

¹¹… you have become dull of hearing. ¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, ¹³for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

We must be careful to be growing and maturing as Christians, as evidence that we are those who have, not those who have not — continuing to pay attention to the word of God.

But, Jesus says, for those who do pay attention to what they hear, the degree to which his word is received, the degree with which the blessings and graces and responsibilities of the gospel are received, will be reflected in the response to it. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given.

Those who pay close attention to God’s word, and who respond accordingly to that close attention, will be rewarded proportionately by God. This is not a prosperity gospel of: do good things for God and he will reward you with health and wealth. Of course He may, God is free to do as he wants and may give temporal blessings of health and/or wealth to his children as he sees fit, but we should not expect that. Rather this is a fitting reward that we will receive both in this life and in the new heavens and earth for our labouring for the sake of the gospel.

Those who embrace the gospel, who study God’s word closely, who make manifest the gospel to others, shining like a lamp on a stand in the dark will have a greater love for God as they learn more about him, a greater portion of faith as they see him faithfully work in the lives of those they share the gospel with. They will be rewarded as faithful servants by a faithful master.

Gifts and graces multiply by being exercised; and God has promised to bless the hand of the diligent.

Just as children grow up and learn and become mature, or as those who learn a new hobby or a sport grow in their knowledge and understanding, and as they practice they improve and enjoy it all the more due to their having improved, so too does the Christian increase their measure of blessings as they mature.

As I mentioned, this past week I was away at Summer Soul, and part of my responsibilities there was to prepare multiple bible studies for my group of teens during the week. And that required me to spend lots of time studying a couple of passages really deeply. The same is true when I prepare to preach. And I only preach infrequently, but I love when I get the opportunity to, not only because I love to be able to share God’s word with people, but because the act of being forced to spend significant time in a passage of God’s word, paying close attention to it, is so rewarding personally.

Unfortunately, as Christians, we often need an excuse to do this, like I do which is when I’m preaching or leading a bible study. But from experience I know that God rewards us proportionately when we do. The natural reward for understanding and learning more about God is loving him more, growing more, being rooted more firmly in Jesus, and being encouraged all the more to keep going in our daily walks.

This isn’t works based righteousness. Our works in response to the gospel do nothing to add to our salvation. But is also isn’t even a works based reward. Because any maturity we have, any growth in knowledge or understanding, any blessings of faith or love, any gift that God gives us in this life is only by the Spirit of God working in us. We can do nothing good without him.

And so if we do anything good, which we should or would evidence ourselves as those who have not the gospel, then it is because of Christ alone, and so any rewards are just as gracious as his enabling of us to hear to and to respond to the gospel in the first place. Therefore, any grace or blessing that God gives us, whether now or in the future, is not a merit for ourselves, but of Christ in us.

Jesus is the good news. He has come to bring the kingdom of God, the gospel to those who have ears to hear. The gospel has been revealed in him, and for those who have heard the gospel it is to be revealed to others.

2 - The Gospel Sown (4:26-29)

And I wonder at this point if you’re feeling daunted or overwhelmed at the responsibility to preach the gospel then as you’ve heard it. And in some senses that is a right feeling. We should feel burdened to proclaim the gospel to others.

But in our next parable, and Jesus’ next and he said — Jesus shows us what happens when the gospel is proclaimed and the gospel message is sown.

Mark 4:26–29 · ESV

²⁶And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. ²⁷He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. ²⁸The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Does this sound familiar? Jesus is returning to his agricultural imagery from last week as he teaches again how the spreading of the gospel is like a man scattering seed. And we see three things in this parable on the nature of the work of sowing seeds of the gospel.

2.1 - Our Responsibility to sow (4:26)

First, we see man’s responsibility to sow seed. This is a given in the parable, and follows on from what we have seen previously, that those who have heard the gospel will proclaim it. It should remind us of the work of the sower last week, who scatters his seed in different places. The work of the sower is to scatter the seed, not to determine what kind of ground he is scattering on before he has done so.

2.2 - Our trust in God as we sow (4:27-28)

Next, we see that man should trust God as he preaches the gospel.

Verse 27: He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. After we have done our duty in preaching the gospel, we then trust that God will make the seed grow. The man in our parable sleeps, and while he is sleeping the earth is growing. Even as we sleep God is growing the seeds of the gospel.

This isn’t something that happens immediately. This isn’t like a child at Christmas who goes to sleep on Christmas Eve and wakes up the next morning to find a room which had been empty is now filled with gifts. No, this is a slow, gradual process. The man sleeps and rises night and day. Because he knows that growth is a slow process, he simply trusts that it will happen.

He doesn’t even need to know how it happens. A farmer doesn’t need a degree in biology or science to understand how a seed grows into a plant. He just needs to know that when he plants it in the ground it will grow. We don’t need to understand how God will make our gospel seeds grow in order for us to scatter them. We simply must trust that he will.

We don’t even need to fully understand everything about the gospel and about God to do the spreading in the first place. Some people may have been tempted to think that, verse 24 earlier: that we must pay attention to what [we] hear, means that only those who have studied God’s word for years and years, or who have theological training, or whatever other excuse we might have, are those then who should be spreading the gospel. And to be sure we should be growing in knowledge and understanding and paying close attention to the word, but as we see here, we don’t need to know everything to share the gospel.

We don’t need to be an expert on every theological question. We simply need to sow faithfully, with the measure we’ve been given, and trust that God will cause the seed to grow. When we think that it is up to us to grow the seed, then when we don’t see fruit immediately, or we see those who seem to have heard, but as we saw last week fall away for different reasons, then we will become discouraged and stop sharing the gospel. We will feel burdened for the belief or lack-thereof of others.

But that is not our responsibility. We don’t know the ground we will sow on, and we do not need to grow the seed. That is God’s responsibility. Our responsibility is simply to sow the seed and trust in him who grows it. Even when we are not working — God is.

We see verse 28 how the seed grows. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. It isn’t the seed which grows itself. Man upon hearing the gospel does not respond himself or grow himself. The earth produces for the seed, and God for the man.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit which regenerates the man, which gives him faith, gives him ears to hear, and a new heart which responds to the call of the gospel. And the grace of God in calling a new follower of Christ does not stop there. As we see there are different stages of growth in the seed. First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

The faith of a new believer, while true, is immature and fragile like a blade growing up from the earth. And as the Holy Spirit works in the follower of Christ they become more mature, growing in the fruit of the Spirit, in love for God and others, in understanding of the knowledge of God and his will. This is part of the evidence we see for the goodness of the ground that the seed was scattered on. That we should expect as those who sow the seed of the gospel — to see those who respond grow in maturity, and change from blades to ears and full grain in the ear.

The 1689 Baptist Confession says this in chapter 14 paragraph 3:

This faith, although it be in different stages, and may be weak or strong, yet it is in the least degree of it different in the kind or nature of it, as is all other saving grace, from the faith and common grace of temporary believers; and therefore, though it may be many times assailed and weakened, yet it gets the victory, growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith.

1689 London Baptist Confession · 14.3

Those who go to the gym, of which you can see I am not one, will know that the way muscles grow is by breaking and being repaired. Just so with faith.

Faith grows in stages. If you fear your faith is small, remember that it is God who is growing and maturing you. But also remember that with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. If you wish to strengthen your faith, allow it to be strengthened by exercising it. Put faith into practice and you will find it being strengthened.

2.3 - Our expectation of harvest after we sow (4:29)

Finally, in this parable, we see that we who scatter seed should expect a harvest.

Verse 29: But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. The grain is ripe. It has borne fruit and evidenced itself to have been sown on good ground, as we saw last week, those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit.

But what is the harvest that is in view here? I think there’s two harvests that are in view.

The first is the responsibility of those who preach the gospel to be prepared for what comes after. We don’t simply share the gospel with people and say jobs done, even though we are trusting that God will work in them. Rather when God has worked in them our work continues. We baptise those who believe into the church, we teach them, encourage them, mature them, walk alongside them, disciple them.

Lots of modern missions unfortunately miss this. They devalue the importance of the local church and simply focus on preaching the gospel and once someone is ‘saved’, then that’s it. They move on and what becomes of this seed? It doesn’t know what to do and has nowhere to go. The sower, who has waited patiently night and day must be ready and expectant for the harvest, for that is when his work continues.

Jesus not only commands us to preach the gospel, but in his great commission commands his disciples to Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. It is the responsibility of those who have scattered seeds of the gospel to continue to preach the gospel to mature those who have responded to it.

But ultimately what this harvest is pointing towards is the harvest that will come at the time when Jesus returns. As Christians we are those with hope, hope that he will return again to reign on earth as he does in Heaven.

And at this return we read in Revelation that another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” When Jesus returns he will harvest all those who have been called by the gospel. Who have responded to it by the grace of God alone. They will be presented before him and his glorious throne as those who have been made perfect and mature in him.

And so we can sow the seed of the gospel, knowing that we do so with a great harvest in mind in the future.

3 - The Gospel Grown (4:30-34)

Which leads us to our final parable this morning.

Mark 4:30–34 · ESV

³⁰And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” ³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. ³⁴He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

3.1 - The Gospel has grown and will grow (4:30-32)

Jesus here continues his seed parables, this time comparing the growth of the Kingdom of God to that of the growth of a mustard seed. The mustard seed is a tiny seed, so much so that it would look like barely a spec in your hand. And yet that tiny seed can grow into a tree big enough for birds to nest in and have shade in.

This is what the gospel can appear as to many, even to ourselves. We can think of the gospel as unassuming, unattractive, weak looking. Something which doesn’t seem like it could accomplish anything, cause change. If the seed is so small, then when it grows we think it must be like a small flower.

And yet as we look back over the past 2000 years of the church, of the spread of the gospel and the Kingdom of God on earth we see this parable has been true. The church began, as is recorded in the book of Acts, as but 120 people in the upper room, and is now comprised of hundreds of millions of people across the world — people of every tribe and tongue and nation.

And yet despite this, how often do we revert back to thinking in the ways of our flesh rather than the Spirit. How often can we feel like the gospel alone isn’t enough, this tiny seed. We think that to make a real change in our community we need to do more. We need to have political activism, or social activism, or whatever else to make change. We’ve seen this time and time again in history when people try to bring the gospel in with force, which is not the way of the gospel at all.

Real revival happens in communities and countries through the ordinary means of grace. Through churches preaching the gospel plainly and administering the sacraments. Through churches praying sincerely and persistently for their communities. Through ordinary Christians spreading the gospel with their neighbours, shining like a light in the darkness. And those same Christians loving their neighbours as themselves.

How often do we think this is not enough, that it is too small to have a real impact. It might be a good start, we’ll grant, but we need to do something extra to make change. We need different programs, or to be more pragmatic, or to be seeker-sensitive, or to dumb down the gospel, or to fight for conservatism, or for liberalism, or to think that we can force revival by whatever steps.

But brothers and sisters, this small seed of the gospel is more than sufficient. All we must do is sow the seed. We must not hide the seed away like a lamp under a bushel. The seed may be the smallest of all when sown, but for each of you here this morning who is a Christian, who has heard the gospel then you know that it is powerful to change lives.

As a local church Redeemer has only been in Churchtown a little over one year. We must patiently sow the seed of the gospel in this community. Trusting that as God causes it to grow, it will grow into a mighty tree where all can find their rest.

And even as we go about this kingdom work in our community, we can be rejoicing and praising God for the growth of the Kingdom that we have seen both over the course of history, and today in different places around the world, whether near or far. The church has been growing for the last 2000 years and will culminate in the new heavens and earth with the fully consummated kingdom.

Let us be praying therefore that God will use this small seed, that we would spread it faithfully here, that the gospel would grow, and the kingdom be seen on earth here in Churchtown even as it is in heaven. That many would find their rest in the branches of the tree of the kingdom of God.

Because trees in the bible are significant imagery. And just as how in the previous parable Jesus is foreshadowing the final harvest when he returns, here again our eyes are brought both to the past and to the near future for Jesus’ disciples, and to the future for us.

The kingdom of God is a kingdom of life, and this tree of the kingdom should remind us of the tree in the Garden of Eden, which was a tree of life, a tree, which had Adam not failed in his disobedience to God and fall into sin, he would have been allowed to eat from. And since then mankind has been cut off from that tree, unable to go back to life, and life with God.

But even as Jesus speaks this parable he has his eyes set on a second tree. The tree to which he would be crucified upon at Calvary. Jesus’ death upon this tree is what pays the penalty for sin. His sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice, his blood the blood which cleanses us from our sin and allows us to boldly approach the throne of God.

This is the good news of the gospel, and as Jesus rises again and then ascends into heaven he sends his Holy Spirit to his redeemed people, who in their local churches bring the Kingdom of God on earth.

And finally we look forward again to another tree. At the end of the book of Revelation we read these words of the new heavens and earth of the heavenly Jerusalem where God’s redeemed people will dwell with him forever.

Revelation 22:1–2 · ESV

¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; ²also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

When we arrive in the fully consummated kingdom of God in the new heavens and earth we will take our rest as birds in the branches of the tree of the mustard seed.

And as we think about gospel growth, we must think both in terms of number, as well as maturity. We read time and again in Acts as the gospel is spread:

The disciples were increasing in number — Acts 6:1

The word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly — Acts 6:7

The word of God increased and multiplied — Acts 12:24

The word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region — Acts 13:49

So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily — Acts 19:20

When communities are affected by the gospel that will mean the people in those communities are affected. But growth is also as we’ve seen not just a growth of more people, but of people growing up. When we see the growth of the kingdom of God in our communities we should expect to see both growth in numbers, as well as growth in maturity and strengthening in faith — not merely one or the other.

3.2 - You have heard the gospel and must hear the gospel (4:33-34)

As Jesus teaches these parables, verse 33: he does so as they were able to hear it. We can only hear and understand the word of God as the Holy Spirit enables us to do so. We need God’s word to be explained to us, as Jesus does to his disciples.

Verse 34: He did not speak to them, that is the crowds, without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. Jesus explained his parables and teachings to his disciples, just as we saw last week, in order that they would be able to preach the gospel and teach others — extending his ministry and going out in the power of the Spirit after he ascended to heaven.

In fact John tells us that even as Jesus taught them they still did not understand everything. His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

As we considered earlier, what was hidden — whether by the Old Testament types and shadows which pointed to Jesus, or Jesus’ own parables and teachings, has now been revealed. What was hidden has been made manifest. Jesus does not leave his people in the dark, but is their light — and he will teach us his word that we may follow him.

Not all are able to hear these words that we’ve heard this morning. And they are not just for those who have not heard them before either. We need to hear the gospel ourselves constantly, because we constantly forget it. We need to be reminded to mature and grow because we are by nature complacent, and our fleshly selves do not want to.

When we gather together as a church on Sunday we gather to worship God yes, but we also do so to be equipped to go out into the world for the rest of the week to spread the gospel. We need the gospel to do that. We need it to encourage us, to renew us, to strengthen and mature and grow us. We may grow, but we will never out-grow our need for the gospel.

Conclusion

You may have heard the word for the gospel in Greek: εὐαγγέλιον, described before as the good news that would be proclaimed in ancient times when a nation like the Romans had victory over their enemies and the good news of their victory was then proclaimed to others.

All the great kingdoms of the world have risen and fallen. We still hear of wars in this day and age, and our own nations now may look completely different in another hundred, two hundred, five hundred, or thousand years. But Christ’s Kingdom will persist. The good news of the victory that Christ has won over the powers of sin and death, and of his coming return to reign is a certainty.

And while his kingdom as seen through the church may be bigger or smaller at different times and in different places, it is growing, and will ultimately culminate with a worldwide kingdom when the kingdom of heaven descends to earth as Jesus returns to reign, even as he is now already reigning at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

The gospel has been revealed. It has been revealed to us. And so we must scatter the seed of the gospel, shining the light of the gospel in the darkness, making made manifest that which was hidden, Jesus Christ.

And as we sow the seed of the Gospel we must sow trusting that it is God who causes the seed to grow, and sow with an expectation of a great harvest.

We must patiently spread the good news of the gospel in our communities knowing that the gospel has grown and will continue to grow as God causes it to grow.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.