Hanging out with Jesus XI: Kingdom Unmatched Greatness

Hanging out with Jesus XI: Kingdom Unmatched Greatness

Mark 4: 21  - 34

No greatness can match that of the Kingdom of God - meaning the reign or rule of God. If you miss the kingdom, you have missed Jesus. Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God. It was what he lived, preached and taught. To him it was good news to humanity. He prayed 'thy kingdom come'. He demonstrated its compassion and power. He told its mysteries through parables - the greatest mystery being ‘Christ in you the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:27). The kingdom is in you because the king lives in you. If you know who is in you, he will show you who you are in him. Knowing who you are is the hope of glory. He exhorted his disciples to seek the kingdom and it's righteousness in order to find everything else (Mathew 6:33). For everything is in the kingdom of God.

Disciples are people who live and are learning to live under the reign of God. Paul wrote that ‘for He rescued us (past tense) from the dominion of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13)’. We were rescued from being captives of darkness to being citizens of the kingdom of God where his beloved son rules. The kingdom of light for he is light. He in you and the kingdom word in you is light (Psalm 119:10, John 9:5). The joy of our faith is that the throne is not vacant. Our king reigns. As long as he is on the throne all things are under control. All we do is to submit to him. Discipleship is about loving the kingdom because you are in love with the king.

Today's passage brings out four ways to bring out the unmatched greatness of God’s kingdom in the real world of your life with its real challenges and opportunities.

Way 1. Make it known (v. 21 – 22)

 Jesus compared the kingdom of God to the oil lamp  used in those days. The lamp  represents the light that comes into the heart of believers. It came concealed that is why many miss it. God concealed kingdom of light in you not to hide it from everyone else but  for you to shine the hidden light out for all to see and benefit. The time for concealing your light is over. As a believer, you are either a bushel by hiding it or a lamp stand by lighting up the room or life situations in which you find yourself. Let the hidden light in you shine in order for the darkness that keep people from knowing God to flee.  Many are still in the dark to the true significance of the Kingdom of God  and need the illuminationation of the light in you. The light exposes the hidden sinfulness and secrets in the works. Without your light shining  evil in the world will remain hidden.  Let the world see the greatness and glory of the reign that is inside you.   That is the purpose for your transformation and the thirty, sixty, hundredfold fruit in Christ.

Choose to be a lamp stand and let the light come out by:

• Your verbal testimonies of how Christ has touched your life. Cultivate the culture of sharing what God has done for you whether you think it is small or great.
• Through your actions of good works that show God’s character of integrity, wisdom, power, mercy, tenderness and compassion. Spiritual fruit is light that must be on a lamp stand shining brightly and not hidden.
• Through a loving community of believers. The way believers live and interact with each other. As they worship together, serve together, pray with each other etc  they are putting out the light or letting it shine to observers. They will know we are his disciples if we have love, one for another.

Way 2. Make use of it (v. 23 – 25)

Let him who has ears hear or take heed (Mark 4:24). In other words, let him who hears the kingdom message hear with understanding and faith. The challenge is to invest in high quality listening. The  Greek is 'Look at what you hear.'   You can easily miss treasure unless you invest time and effort into listening, examine and take seriously, what you hear. Do you enjoy, zealously apply and utilize it in everyday life.

Making use of what you hear is very important because the measure with which you utilize it is the measure with which more is given to you. The level of response is the level of revelation and anointing. Utilization of what you have received  is the way to open doors for more. (Also refer to parable of talents (Mathew 25:29)).

Way 3. Trust it to grow (v. 26 – 29)

Kingdom seed is designed to grow. It is a growing seed. It works and produces a harvest. Any faith action or action in response to God's word is seed put to the ground. So is any word of God shared or sown in people's hearts. The seed grows 'all by itself' v.28. The Greek is ‘automatos’ meaning 'without visible cause' or apart from human effort. You cannot grow the seed by your effort. You will end up frustrated with religion that has no power. Trust the seed to grow mysteriously. Trust God to do his part. You do not need to understand how the result will come, how the answer will come and how the break through will be. The power of God works 'automatos'. Divine 'automatos' is the behind the scenes workings of God in your favor. All you need is to faithfully sow, obey and expectantly wait. In the story, the sower went to sleep. If there is something making you sleepless, you need the rest and patience of kingdom sowing. Trust that God is working even when you cannot see him, even when You cannot feel him,  even when it seems there is no answer from him. Believe that he is still ruling, he is still in charge. Believe he is in control and in due season he brings together all things made beautiful. Eventually the harvest will be there.

Way 4. Respect it always (v. 30 – 34)

Trust God even when kingdom seed or initiative looks small. Do not look down on it. Despise not its humble appearances and humble beginnings. It is through the small and unimpressive little things in life that God brings about the big things.  The kingdom is like a mustard seed. Even faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Mathew 17:20). A seed so small that you almost cannot see it without a magnifying glass yet grows to a large bush of up to five meters tall. 

The seed was so small that people of the day used the simile ' as small as a mustard seed' to describe any extreme smallness. However, what started unseen grew to being impossible to ignore. It attained such influence that it dominated the view. The kingdom of God also had a humble beginning among ‘have nots’ and with a few committed followers. The four became twelve and in the upper room was a  120 group of insignificant people from a human perspective. Yet they executed the mammoth task to reach the world - clearly a mission impossible. Yet now there is no world system uninfluenced or challenged by God’s kingdom and there are billions recorded as Christians.

In the end according to Ezekiel 17:23, birds of the air meaning other nations will find shelter under God’s kingdom. It will bring its influence and light to all nations.  When all kingdoms fall, God’s kingdom will be the only one that will still be standing. And we are its citizens to live forever with the King of Kings when the kingdom of God manifests in its fullness. At that time evil will be judged and tears will be wiped away. We will gather with the multitude around the throne of God -  every nation, language, and people with one voice praising God.

Begin now to show forth his kingdom unmatched greatness:

- Let the light shine for the world to see

-Apply the word and see it perform  wonders

- Trust the seed you have sown to grow and you will enjoy harvest

- Uncompromisingly resist the temptation to despise the kingdom seed because of its circumstances, delays or appearances. By faith, always be aware of its unlimited potential and endless possibility. 

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa