Mark 2: Thankful Heart, Abundant Life

[This sermon was first preached at Folsom Community Church on 27 November, 2011]

Thankful Heart, Abundant Life
Mark 4:2-8

Introduction

In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy." The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat -- only the nine of us." [1]

Who are we thankful to at thanksgiving? Thanks-giving requires an object. Thankful requires someone to be thankful to. Some people try to celebrate this holiday by essentially thanking themselves or else thanking some non-specific grandfather-like power.

Thanksgiving is not a natural habit of ours. Complaining, yes. Worry, yes. But giving thanks? Benjamin Disraeli, former prime minister of England, said:

I feel a very unusual sensation - if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude. - Benjamin Disraeli

Who are we giving thanks to? Thanks – giving. Thanks to God for the blessings over the past year. Thanks must have an object. Here's what the Bible says:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights… James 1:17a

What really produces a full life? Jesus said:

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10 (ESV)

Not just a stingy life. Not just a starving life. Not just a getting-by life. An abundant life.

But what is the abundant life? The abundant life is not the stuff. The abundant life is not the great experiences. The abundant life is the love, the joy, the peace with which we deal with the stuff and the experiences.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23

The abundant life is God’s character and power in us every day.

And the key to an abundant life is your heart attitude toward God.

Jesus tells a story that lists 4 heart attitudes toward God.

1. We Refuse to Listen To God.
2. We Restrict God’s Access in Our Life
3. We Reduce God’s Influence in Our Life, or …
4. We Receive God In Our Life.

Jesus told a little story about the abundant life:

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  

Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” – Mark 4:2-8

There are four keys to understanding what Jesus says in this story. You can find these a few versions down in the same chapter, because Jesus conveniently tells you what his whole story is about.

• The seed is God’s word—what he says to us.
• The soil is our heart. The condition of the soil reflects how we respond to God’s word.
• Our heart attitude toward God’s word reflects our heart attitude toward God.
• Our heart attitude towards God determines how abundant our life will be.

The story describes four completely different responses to what God has to say—but only one of those responses to what God has to say leads to the abundant life. Let’s look at each response.

We Refuse to Listen to God.

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.” – Mark 4:3-4

 “As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.” – Mark 4:15b

There are a lot of reasons we might refuse to listen to God. Maybe…

1. We don’t listen because we don’t even believe in God.
2. We don’t listen because we don’t believe that God speaks, in the Bible or in voices or via tea leaves or any other way.
3. We don’t listen because we know people who claim to listen to God and they are real jerks.
4. We don’t listen because, based on what we know about God, we don’t really like Him (or Her or It).

So even if God were speaking to you, the attitude of your heart would prevent you from ever hearing him. Jesus called that “ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding.” (Mark 4:12a) So those seeds are just spilt, like grains of rice to feed the chickens. So, even if God was speaking, if you refuse to listen, then God’s word is just bird food.

The Bible has a word for refusing to listen to what God says: Sin. Sin, in the Bible, is not tied to chocolate. It is tied to a heart attitude that will not listen to God’s word. But if we will not listen to what God has to say, then we can never have the abundant life that he promised.

You have to be honest about it. God is speaking. God is a communicator. Jesus is the “Word” made into flesh. God is speaking. Be honest, we are not listening. If we want the abundant life, though, we have to allow at least a little crack so that the seed (God’s word) can make it down to our heart and start to make a difference.

If we don’t listen to what God says, we can never have the abundant life.

We Restrict God’s Access in Our Life

“Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” – Mark 4:5-6

“Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” – Mark 4:16-17

In this story, the seed is not just God’s word, it is life. Show avocado seed. Each seed carries within it life, and around the seed there is just enough sustenance to get that seed rooted and established. The soil, our heart, is really dead until the seed gets there. But when it gets there, the natural processes take over, the first sprout and first leaves reach up toward the sun and the first roots begin to quest downward into the soil. It is a time of rapid growth. But then the sun gets hot, like it does here in the Sacramento area. Or the wind begins to blow. And, as quickly as it grew, it now fades because its roots are limited by a layer of rock just underneath the surface.

Sometimes we don’t enter into the abundant life, because our roots are too shallow. You see, we wanted just a little bit of God. We want God in our life, but we have decided we want to restrict God’s access; we give him the stuff that’s easy to give, but not really give him control. We want the abundant life that God offers, but we aren’t willing to give God the access to our life that is necessary to make it happen. Maybe it is a relationship. Maybe it is our job. We say, “God I really want you; change my life, rock my world, but don’t change the real me, I’d like to control that part.”

Listen to this:

I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. . . . I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want about a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. – Walter Rees, $3 Worth of God (Valley Forge, Penn: Judson Press, 1971)

With the “$3 worth of God”, when the tough times come (and notice that, in Jesus’ story, they will come), the seed has never really become established. The new life has never become viable, because it has not tapped into the life source directly. At some point, it must tap directly into God’s love and power—but, if the soil is rocky, it never can do that. If you want the abundant life, you must give God access to all of your life. Here’s what the Bible says: 

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” – Ephesians 4:17b-18 

If we don’t give God full access, we can never have the abundant life.

We Reduce God’s Influence in Our Life
So, one response we can have to God, is we can refuse to listen to him. Another response is that we can restrict God’s access to our life. The third response is we can reduce God’s influence in our life. Look at what Jesus said:

“Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.” – Mark 4:7

Jesus explains this a little bit:

“Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” – Mark 4:18-19 

God’s word needs enough space in your life to produce the big crop—the 30 times crop, the 60 times crop or the 100 times crop. God not only needs access to all of our life, he also needs you to not give access to other things that crowd out the abundant life. These other things, they are weeds! A weed is just a plant out of place. Sometimes, weeds look really beautiful when they are small, but soon they are taking up the space in your heart that should be reserved for God’s word.—taking up too much of our attention.

Recently I saw this article in the newspaper about Rishab Chatty in Folsom, CA, who was honored with a $1,000 savings bond for raising the largest cabbage, with a 30lb head. As you can see from the picture, it takes a lot of room. That cabbage is almost as large as he is! It takes a lot of room. Just like the work God wants to do in us. We need to make room.[2]

Jesus says there are three things—three weeds--that, if we let them in, can reduce God’s influence in our life:

• Worry. Rick Warren calls worry, “Stewing without doing.” Did you know worry is a form of meditation? It is meditation on what could go wrong. More and more of our mind is focused on a problem, and we stop thinking about God. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.”
• Wealth. We try to use money to get the abundant life without being changed people. One time I bought two dozen roses and brought them home to Helen. And she said, “What did you do?” I was just being loving, but she thought maybe I was trying to buy love. We think if we had enough money, we would be joyful. Or if our savings account were large enough, we would have peace. But the abundant life is not purchased, it is given by God.
• Wishes (or Desires). “If only…” If only I could do this-I would be fulfilled. If only I could have that car, or experience, or concert ticket or iPhone, life would be so much better. If only he would like me. When we put our abundant life under the control of something or somebody else other than God, we fall into the “if only trap.” Because it is really squeezing out the changes that God wants to make in you, convincing you that your good life is somewhere out there.

Every time we allow something to be planted in our garden; every time we allow something else to take root in our hearts’ desire, there is less room for the changes that God wants to make—his influence becomes less and less. Take out the bolo! Take out the machete, the weedwhacker. If I were to ask you, what is taking up all of your time or your checkbook, those would be the things that threaten to compete with God in your life.

If we don’t give room for God to work, we cannot have the abundant life.

We Receive God in Our Life
So far we have looked at three negative responses to God. We refuse to listen to God. We restrict God’s access in our lives. We reduce God’s influence in our lives. But in this 4th response, Jesus tells us what we should do. Jesus says that the best response is when we receive God in our life. We need to welcome God into our lives.

“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” – Mark 4:8

“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.” – Mark 4:20

Conclusion
Let me ask you a question: what is the condition of your heart?

• Maybe your heart is hard, asphalt-big do-not-enter signs posted-not giving God any chance to speak? Maybe now is the time to give Jesus the chance to speak. It is time to let him in.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. – Revelation 3:20

• Maybe your heart is like the shallow soil over rock. Just a little bit of God.
• Maybe your heart is so full of weeds and distractions that God doesn’t have room to work.
• Or maybe your heart is plowed and ready to grow. If you are ready to receive God’s word and act on it, he causes the growth.

You need to receive God-to welcome God. Jesus spent his life on the cross so that God would welcome you. Welcome you now and welcome you forever. Do you know why? Because when you receive God, he receives you as his children. Here is what the Bible says:

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. – John 1:12-13 (NIV)

If we don’t receive God in our life, we cannot have the abundant life.

If you need to do that, you can pray a simple prayer to God: “Dear God. I have been refusing you. I have been restricting you-reducing your influence. But now, as best I know how, I want to receive you into my life. I know that Jesus paid for all of my sin and stubbornness up until now, so that I can be welcomed by you. I want the abundant life, and, with your help, I will follow your plan—your words-to get there.”

If you prayed that prayer, would you tell me or Pastor Tito today? We would like to pray with you about it and help you take the next steps in learning how to live the abundant life.

Jesus says we can have the abundant life, full of the grace and mercy of God, full of the 30 times love, the 60 times joy and 100 times peace that only God can provide. That is worth thanks-giving.

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[1] George Mike, How to be Decadent (Andre Deutsch: London) as cited on http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/t/thanksgiving.htm, retrieved on 11/25/2011.

[2] Seeds: Serious cabbage and good causes raising some green, Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee (26 November 2011), Home and Garden, pg. 3.