Waiting - "Confidant Waiting" 2-8-26

Overview

Confident Waiting

No one enjoys waiting—not in lines, not on hold, and certainly not when a loved one has yet to come to faith. Yet Jesus calls His people to a particular kind of waiting in the parable of the growing seed: "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow; he does not know how" Mark 4:26-29. The kingdom Jesus describes is not the earthly, political restoration that many in Israel anticipated. It is the spiritual reign and rule of God in the heart, entered through faith. As Jesus says elsewhere, "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed... the kingdom of God is among you" Luke 17:20-21.

What is striking about the farmer in the parable is what is absent: no fretting, no clawing at the soil to force the crop, no panic over the mystery of germination. He simply scatters seed and goes about his life. Many of us, however, are tempted toward the opposite when we long to see Christ take hold of someone we love. We replay our words—if only I had said it differently, at a better moment, more clearly—and we begin to believe their faith depends on our performance. We can lose sleep, doubt the seed, and try to pull the crop up with our own hands.

The gospel frees us from this burden. Christ has already done the decisive work: the spotless Lamb of God bore our sin on the cross, the tomb is empty, and we have been claimed in the waters of Baptism. From that finished work flows a freeing word about the seed itself. God promises through Isaiah, "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose" Isaiah 55:10-11. Paul reminds us, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, and that our faith rests "not on human wisdom but on the power of God" 1 Corinthians 2:4-5. Peter likewise testifies that we have been born again "of imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God" 1 Peter 1:23.

So what shall we do while we wait? Live in this freedom. We are seed-sowers, not harvest-makers. He is God; we are not. Plant the gospel faithfully, then sleep and rise, trusting the power that lies in the Word itself. One day, in heaven, we will see the full harvest—the multitudes God has gathered across the centuries, including the fruit we never glimpsed on this side of glory. Until then, having sown the imperishable seed, we wait—and we wait with confidence.

Transcript

Would you open your Bible's please with me to mark the fourth chapter for our time and 3s

God's Word if you're using a Pew edition of Holy Scripture, you'll find the fourth chapter 8s

of Mark on page 33 in the New Testament. 13s

Mark the fourth chapter. 18s

You know, I have never met anyone that ever said, I love to wait. 21s

Never. 31s

I've never heard someone say when someone told, oh, the line is right over there, that 33s

they say, oh, fantastic, it's long. 40s

I've never heard that. 43s

I've never heard someone say when the representative says, can I put you on hold? 45s

I've never heard them say that would be fantastic. 51s

Please take your time because I love to wait. 55s

I love to listen to the endless loop of the music. 58s

How it keeps clicking back and thinking to myself, I wonder how many times it'll loop back. 61s

It really entering in and enjoying the music. 66s

I've never heard anyone say that. 69s

I've never heard anyone say, I love to wait when I'm having a perplexing problem. 73s

When I don't know, oh, it's going to resolve or even if it is going to resolve, I just 85s

love to wait. 91s

Never heard that. 95s

Never heard it. 97s

Now, there can be joy and expectation. 100s

There can be joy and anticipation, sure. 104s

But the actual process of waiting, who likes that? 109s

I think of Mr. Rogers, the childhood, the show for children. 117s

He would oftentimes write song. 124s

Some of them were quite short. 126s

Mr. Rogers understood that waiting can be difficult for young and old alike. 129s

And one of his shows, he had this little song. 139s

The lyrics went like this. 142s

I think it's very, very, very hard to wait, especially when you're waiting for something 145s

very nice. 153s

I think it's very, very, very hard to wait. 155s

We're going to take a look today at one of the peribos of our Lord and repairables are 164s

earthly stories with heavenly meanings. 170s

As we take a look here in this section of the red letter words on the stories, some of 173s

them that Jesus told, we're going to take a look at a parable today that addresses the 178s

subject of waiting, waiting. 184s

Look when they place, at verse 26 of our text, Matthew or Mark IV chapter. 192s

He, Jesus, also said, the kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground. 199s

Let's pause there. 209s

In each of the understanding of the kingdom of God, what was prevalent was a physical entity 212s

and earthly kingdom. 223s

What you could point to and say, there it is, there it is. 226s

They were expecting the Messiah to come and the Messiah would usher in a restoration to Israel 233s

of the prominence going back to the days of David and Solomon. 240s

So the anticipation then was for the earthly kingdom that you could point to. 246s

There it is. 254s

Jesus corrects that. 257s

For Jesus tells that the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality and Luke the 17th chapter, 260s

Jesus says, the kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed. 267s

Nor will they say, look, here it is or there it is. 274s

For in fact the kingdom of God is among you. 279s

The kingdom of God, this spiritual reality is the reign and rule of God in the heart. 286s

And what becomes a citizen of the kingdom through faith? 295s

So when Jesus says in verse 26, he says, the kingdom of God, the reign and rule in the heart 302s

where you become a citizen by faith, the kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on 309s

the ground. 317s

Then notice what else he says, verse 27. 319s

And would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow. 322s

He does not know how the earth produces of itself first to stalk. 330s

Then the head, then the full grain in the head. 335s

Notice what's absent here. 343s

Notice what's absent with this farmer that so is the seed. 345s

What's absent is any kind of fretting with regard to the crop. 352s

We don't read here that the farmer was fretting about whether or not there would be a good crop. 360s

There was no fretting. 367s

There was no kind of reaching down in the soil and saying, I'm just going to pull this crop up. 368s

Myself, there was none of that. 377s

No, he just plants a seed and waits. 380s

Wades. 386s

And just goes on with life. 388s

Verse 27, the farmer would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow. 392s

He does not know how. 402s

He didn't understand about the germination process. 407s

That's a mystery. 410s

How from a little seed here, can you get this crop? 412s

And how from the crop, you can get more seeds that this can just perpetuate here. 415s

You understand how all that work. 420s

He just planted the seed and he waited. 422s

Got up in the morning, went to sleep at night, went about his things. 429s

He just waited. 434s

When you read that, do you think to yourself, I wish I were more like that guy. 442s

Oh, I wish I'd be more like him. 451s

Because it's very, very hard to wait, especially when you're waiting for something very 458s

nice. 466s

I think it's very, very, very hard to wait. 468s

You know, Mr. Rogers also wrote some other songs. 479s

There is this one. 484s

Such a good feeling to know your life. 486s

Such a happy feeling. 490s

You're growing inside. 492s

And when you wake up, ready to say, I think I'll make a snapping day. 495s

And then lovely. 501s

Well, there's this one. 504s

It's you a like. 507s

It's not the things you wear. 510s

It's not the way you do your hair. 512s

If you, I like. 515s

Of course, it's a classic. 520s

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood. 523s

A beautiful day for a neighbor. 527s

Would you be mine? 530s

Could you be mine? 531s

Do you know what they discovered? 538s

There were adults that were watching that show that didn't have children. 539s

Because they wanted to hear the message. 548s

And they were drawn to the calm of that message. 552s

Rogers wrote another song about waiting. 564s

He got it. 568s

Waiting's hard for the child. 570s

You know, I went like this. 573s

Let's think of something to do while we're waiting. 579s

While we're waiting till something's true. 584s

Let's think of something to do while we're waiting. 588s

Let's get specific here about a certain type of waiting. 597s

I think of that type of waiting where you're waiting for the rain and rule to come in the 604s

heart of your loved one or friend or neighbor or work associate. 616s

Where you're waiting for them to become a citizen in the kingdom through faith. 624s

That can be hard to wait, get it. 635s

And what do we tempt to do? 641s

We're tempted to do that which is not constructive. 645s

On one hand, we plant the seed of the gospel that obviously is good. 651s

It's what we're called to do. 658s

We plant the seed of the gospel. 659s

But then what are we tempted to do? 661s

We're tempted to fret. 663s

To fret over is there going to be a crop here. 665s

What's going to happen when will the seed sprout? 671s

We can fret. 675s

We can be tempted to try and pull that faith out of the person. 676s

It's going to pull it right out of them. 683s

We can be tempted to be fretful over the outcome which can affect our sleep so that we rise 688s

groggy. 702s

We can think that we've got it all figured out. 705s

We'll figure it out. 707s

If I just, if I just would have shared the gospel at that moment, I missed the opportunity. 709s

I just would have shared it then. 716s

Or if I just would have changed some words there, I just fumbled through it when I 720s

shared the gospel. 726s

If I just would have presented it differently, well, then they would have come to faith. 728s

Then I'm believing this is my fault because I didn't share it properly. 734s

We can be tempted to doubt the seed. 739s

Because it can be hard to wait. 748s

Very, very, very hard to wait for the rain and rule of God to come in the heart of that 752s

loved one that cherished neighbor. 767s

It can be really, really hard to wait. 772s

The Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross. 783s

On the cross, He bore all of our sin. 790s

All the thoughts, all the words, and all the deeds, and all we've done, and all we've left 794s

undone. 802s

He bore all of that on the cross. 803s

The second number of the Trinity, God in the flesh, the spotless lamb of God, and he went 807s

to the cross to free us, from sin and death and the devil. 814s

That's what He did on the cross for us. 825s

The tune of our Lord is empty. 829s

The sacrifice has been accepted. 831s

We are forgiven. 835s

We've been claimed in the waters of baptism. 836s

We belong to Him, freedom, freedom. 838s

And He keeps coming with His word of freedom to us. 851s

He keeps coming with His word to continually free us. 858s

Look at verse 27 again. 864s

The farmer would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow. 867s

He does not know how. 875s

You see, that's a freeing word because there's power in that word. 880s

It's power in it. 886s

We're taking beyond ourselves to focus on the very message that we proclaim. 889s

It's dynamists. 895s

It's powerful. 897s

The scriptures tell us. 899s

He frees us as we plant the seed. 902s

He frees us through the words of Isaiah. 905s

Listen to this promise. 908s

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there until they've 910s

slaughtered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the soar and bread 916s

to the eater. 924s

Look at this. 925s

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth. 927s

It shall not return to me empty. 932s

It shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 935s

When God's word goes forth, when that gospel goes forth does not return empty. 948s

It will succeed in accomplishing exactly what God will for that word. 956s

That frees us, doesn't it? 964s

He frees us in the planting of the seeds, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3 chapter. 969s

He says, I planted a pos water, but God gave the growth. 975s

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but only God who gives 986s

the growth. 991s

What do we freed from? 992s

We're freed from thinking that we're the ones that pull up the crop out of the heart. 993s

And Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit reminds us, that's God's 1002s

work. 1008s

That's God's work to bring the growth. 1010s

We read in Scripture the freeing word that Peter writes in 1 Peter 1, you've been born 1014s

a new, not a perishable, but an imperishable seed through the living and enduring word 1020s

of God. 1027s

That word of power. 1029s

He frees us. 1031s

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2 chapter, my speech and my proclamation were not with plausible 1033s

words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the spirit and of power so that your faith 1040s

might rest, not on human wisdom, but on the power of God. 1048s

You see, our faith doesn't rest on. 1053s

My eye articulated that gospel, absolutely perfectly. 1056s

My eyewitnessed it just the appropriate and right time. 1061s

No, it all rests on God. 1066s

So it's a demonstration of the spirit and of power. 1069s

He frees us, verse 27 of the text once again. 1073s

The farmer would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow. 1078s

He does not know how. 1086s

It's not human power. 1091s

It's God's power that causes the seed to grow. 1095s

And God is at work as the seed is planted. 1102s

God is at work in us because we're all. 1112s

We're all. 1121s

A work in progress, aren't we? 1124s

Something to do while we're waiting? 1133s

Yes. 1139s

Live in the freedom. 1143s

Live in the freedom. 1146s

The freedom that we're the seed sores. 1149s

We're not the harvest makers. 1153s

To live in the freedom that he's God, we're not. 1157s

Something to do while we're waiting, you bet. 1163s

Knowing that as that seed is planted, that word will not return, 1167s

void in a accomplish what God wants to accomplish. 1174s

Something to do while we're waiting. 1181s

Have so look, live in his freeing world. 1184s

Last look at verse 29. 1193s

But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, 1197s

because the harvest has come. 1202s

One day, when we're in heaven, we'll see the final harvest. 1207s

We'll see it. 1216s

We'll see the extent of it, the breadth of it. 1219s

There will be amongst the throngs, the multitudes. 1226s

And we'll see with our own eyes, we'll see what God has been up to 1233s

through the centuries. 1243s

You'll see it. 1247s

And as we live, this side of heaven, for however many years God blesses us with. 1251s

We can be freed by knowing that this side of heaven we might not see, always the 1261s

sprouting of the seed in the growth. 1275s

We might not see it. 1279s

But one day, one day, we'll see the extent of his glorious action in the lives of people. 1285s

The kingdom of God is if someone would scatter seed in the ground, would sleep and rise 1306s

night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow. 1314s

He does not know how. 1320s

And in that confidence, we wait. 1322s

We wait. 1334s