Good morning.  Today we will be finishing our series called Life On The Farm.  Our first sermon was from Mark 6:6-12 and was titled Putting Up Hay.  Kingdom work, like putting up hay, is daunting, but doable, and accomplished most effectively through teamwork.

Our second sermon was from Mark 6:30-44 and was titled Dealing With Manure.  We often see manure as a waste but it is filled with untapped potential.  In a similar way it is life’s inconveniences and discomforts that produce the greatest opportunities for grace, and to share Christ with others.

Our third sermon was from Mark 7:1-23.  The sermon was titled Water, Weeds, And Bugs.  We discovered that just as there are natural enemies for the crop farmer, so citizens of the Kingdom must also be aware of and be able to defend themselves against the spiritual enemies that we will face.

Last week, we took a look at Matthew 13:3-9.  This was the parable of the sower.  During that sermon we looked at the importance of not living on the path, in the rocks, or in the weeds.  Rather we focused on the productivity of living in the good soil.

And finally, that leaves us with today!  Today we will look at Mark 7:31-37.  And as we look at this passage, we will be looking at the importance of Silos And Seeds.  This morning’s goal is for you to realize the importance of keeping the main thing the main thing!

Before we get started this morning, let me open our time with a word of prayer.  Let’s Pray!

Let me tell you another quick story from our time in Indiana on our friend’s Dairy Farm.  One of the days that we were there, they asked us if we wanted to help feed the cows.  Of course, Nellie jumped in and volunteered without knowing what she was getting herself into.  So we head out to the feeding area, and we enter into this little room, which by the way is full of gnats and flies.  Needless to say, Nellie didn’t like that very much.  Then, as you walk in, you are met by a foul smell.

If you think the smell of cow manure is bad, this is worse.  This is the smell of fermented corn, and old hay that has been in the silos for a good bit.  It is almost enough to gag you.  So, Nellie gets in there, and flips the buttons and we feed the cows.  Now, I want you to notice a few things with me this morning.  First, the importance of the seeds, and then the importance of silos.  And keep in mind, we are wanting to make the main thing the main thing.

Now, just as the purpose of seeds is not to store them but to spread them and the purpose of silos is not just to fill them up but to empty them; so it is with the Good News of the Kingdom.  God’s word should not be just stored inside of you, but rather it should be spread out to others.

As you look at a silo, you realize that they serve an important purpose.  They are storage for seed and feed.  For commercial crop farmers grain is placed in silos, some as tall as 90 feet high, and from the silos it is unloaded into rail cars, trucks, or conveyors where the crop is taken to market or to the mills.

Silos are important.  But they are not an end in themselves.  A farmer is not itching to build new silos just to have more silos.  The reason the silo is important is because of what it represents … seeds, or grain!  And the reason the grain is important is because of what it represents … harvest time, and money!

Now keep that in mind as we read Mark 7:31-37.  I think that, in order to understand what is happening in this story, we need to go back to another time in the ministry of Jesus.  We need some background.  We don’t know how long ago it was, maybe a year or two.  But we read about an interesting and related event in Mark 5:18-20.  Let’s read the ending of another miracle story, the one where Jesus delivered a man with demons.

Mark 8:18-20 says, “1”

Now, let’s read Mark 7:31-37.  It says, “2”

Did you catch the connection?  What you may be looking at here is the first successful Gentile missionary in the New Testament.  According to Matthew 5:20 this man “got it!”  He understood the value of the truth he possessed and rather than hoarding it he did indeed share it with everyone that he came in contact with.  He went home and told the people what Jesus had done.

Now, I want to propose to you that what we see in chapter 7 is the harvest of this man’s labor.  The people believed the man, he was from their community and they could see the difference.  These are the same people who banished him to the graveyards to live.  Now he comes back, and not only is he healed, but he has an amazing story to share with them!

They believed him and then, then THIS MIRACLE WORKER ACTUALLY CAME TO VSISIT THEIR HOME TOWN!  They then seized the opportunity and then they saw first hand what Jesus could do.  The result was that there was a renewed amazement.  Another result was that they now had first-hand knowledge of the Savior.  They could now believe because of their own eye-witness testimony.

Now, you probably see the connection between this missionary event and Seeds and Silos now.  Allow me to make a couple simple observations this morning.

First, The Purpose Of Silos In Not To Fill Them, It Is To Empty Them.

In a similar way, the purpose of church is not to fill it, it is to empty it.  We have gotten accustomed to looking at the size of church buildings or church attendance and determining a church’s success.  But I believe that there is a better indicator of a church’s success, and that is: What do the people of God who gather there do when they are away?

The indication of a spirit-filled and obedient church is what the congregation looks like when they are away and what they are doing while away.  If they look like the world and act like the world then the church needs to rethink it’s effectiveness.  If, on the other hand, the people disperse and take Kingdom values and the Good News with them into the other arenas of life, then that church is a huge success!

The purpose of the silo is to empty it and reap the harvest of income that comes from the year’s labor.  So it is with you, and with this church!  When you leave here you take the Gospel with you and it is there that you reap the harvest.  As you associate with others outside of this church, and impress on them the importance of believing and following Christ, it is then that the harvest takes place.

Jesus did not pray “Thy church come,” rather, He prayed “Thy Kingdom come.”  You see the church, like the silo, is merely a tool, it is a means to an end.  You were saved to serve.  You were not designed to set on a pew.  You were designed to get up from that comfortable chair and be sent into the world as an ambassador for Christ.

That is where the Church shines the most.  That is the purpose of the church.  So, the purpose of silos is not to fill them, but it is to empty them.

Secondly, The Purpose Of Seeds In Not To Store Them, It Is To Spread Them.

The way I see it, that stuff they put in a silo has two names.  The name that is used depends on what the farmer is going to do with it.  Name #1, “Grain.”  That is the portion of the yield that the farmer sells to markets and mills.  That is the portion that he makes money on.  But then there is a second name.  Name #2, “Seed.”  That is the portion of the yield that the farmer replants.  Good seed will bring in a harvest of about 7 times it’s input, and let me tell you, a 1 to 7 ration is a good harvest.

I think that the question God asks Israel in Haggai 2:19 is certainly applicable still today.  In Haggai 2:19 YHWH asks the question of Israel, “Is there yet any seed left in the barn?”  You see, rather than sharing love and God’s divine favor, they were hoarding it to everyone’s demise.  So the question is, “Where is your seed?”

Now I have to be honest with you.  I am genuinely disturbed at how many of God’s people never share His love and salvation with another human soul.  Don’t get me wrong, I know that it can be tough at times, but do you even try?  As a side note, let me just tell you how excited and proud I am of our youth group.  They have finally started to get the big picture.  2 months ago, we would be doing good to have 2 or 3 kids show up for things.  But guess what?

Over the past month and a half, when we do our mid week meetings, we have been running anywhere from 8-10 kids.  Now that may not seem like big numbers, but realize that that is a 3-4 hundred % increase just in a few months.  Now imagine the impact that you as adults could have.  If you will just get out there and share that good news with others and invite them to share in it with you, you will see amazing results.

These first followers got it, they are the ones who emphatically stated that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  They were talking about Jesus.  They got the point.  (Acts 4:11-12)

The first generation of disciples understood that they were responsible to spread this seed of faith which they were entrusted with.  What we need to understand is that WE are given that same commission.  To spread the good news to all those around us.

Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in his second Epistle to the Corinthians.  II Corinthians 5:11, 14&15 says, “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. … For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

Then in verses 17-21 Paul goes on to say, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Do you get it?  Do you realize what the main thing is?  You are to persuade men.  You are given the ministry of reconciliation.  You are Christ’s ambassador!  So, is the seed yet in the barn?  If so … why?

1. The purpose of silos is not to fill them … it is to empty them.
2. The purpose of seeds is not to store them … it is to spread them.

Any farmer that spent money to build silos and never used them would be foolish.  And any farmer that filled his silos and then locked the grain up and never distributed it would also be a laughing stock.  This first missionary was successful because he left the pew and went abroad through the Decapolis.  He was successful because he shared God’s Good News with others.

As we close this morning, remember that, “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with Him.  Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”  So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.  And all the people were amazed.”

You see, all it takes is a willingness to be used by God, and a faithfulness to go out and spread the seeds.  Like we said last week, there are different responses to the word of God, but your job is to spread the seeds to all those around you.  Don’t store it up just for yourself, because then it will be no good.  Instead, share it with the people you work with, the people you go to school with, the people that live next door.  You see, God wants you to spread His seed to everyone.  Do your part, and let God do His.  Make sure that you keep the main thing the main thing!

Let’s Pray!