The title of this message will not make sense until later on, theme today will be around getting serious with God, Coming away from the periphery and getting right in with God. Giving yourself a system check, giving yourself an update, every now and again you will be prompted for an update if you are acquainted with computers. Windows will request and update of your current system, security update, to cleanse you from viruses, or for various program updates.
This message is just an update, a spiritual sound check.
As a foundation for my message I would like to endorse the message of Paul that we are in Perilous times, problematic times, challenging times and we need to lay hold of the word of God more so now than ever before. We need as Peter says to make our calling an election sure.
Let me just say that THE WORD OF God is sufficient to do the Job.
The bible says in Timothy that the time will come when we ( the church) will not be able to endure sound doctrine BUT we will form our own teaching programs even colleges pump them with theology, and Ideologies to teach things that draw the crowd.
We need to get back to the word the word it still works, modern Christianity avoids issues such repentance, sanctification, dying to self, or shall I say self denial.
We need a good dose of sound scriptural doctrine, the problem in society is not just that kids eat more but it is what they eat.
The foods are fatty, full of sugar, the meat is pumped up to look fatter and even given certain drugs so the meat looks really red.
You GM foods, genetically modified food, to be insect resistant and to produce more crops.
The full waiting lists of hospitals, indicate to us that we are no longer a healthy people.

Could it be that we have so modified our teaching touched it up to give it more appeal.
Could it be that with our emphasis on money and blessings that we have missed the point.
We need some good teaching like good food, with the nutrients of the righteousness of God.
I pray that as I teach this it will not just be a reformers message, telling people off, but that It we be one that stirs you to be on fire for God.
So this will not be a bless me message, that teaches you how to get things from God.
God has already given me so much I just want to give to him.
Let us turn to Mark 4:30-34
One of the points I am going to make is that we should not isolate the parable or the passage.
There is always a build up you must read the preceding text that will give us an indication to what follows.

If I can get theological I will call it "the read the whole text principle" (Just Joking)
To understand this text we must read the parable that came before
Is about the sower and the seed, in this parable the seed is the word of God
In this message it talks about, the wayside, stony places, thorns ….We can note that it is not talking about a really positive aspect of the Kingdom, in fact in this parable only one ¼ has good ground and actually produces something, and the fruit is so good that it does not matter to the extent that it makes up for the rest.
It is then only in the Light of this that we can proceed with a clearer understanding.
With that in Mind we can really get an understanding of the parable.
So Jesus says what shall I use as a comparison for the thought or the Idea I am going to Bring out.
So Jesus is looking for a metaphor, or an anecdote, to express the thought.
He uses the mustard seed.
Through studying the bible we can see that he has used a mustard seed before.
In Mark 11 he uses a mustard seed to explain how such small faith, not because of any other qualities of the mustard seed, but that such a insignificant, almost unnoticeable seed, can grow too such a mighty tree. It is a mystery of nature, how something so small could grow to such an extreme size, and such magnitude.
So when Jesus said if you have faith as a mustard seed, he not saying that with tiny faith you can move mountains NO, but he is saying that even if you have small almost insignificant faith, yet if it is the right kind of faith it will grow to such dramatic size after which you will move physical mountains.
So the Kingdom of God is as a mustard seed so small at the time he was speaking but that it would experience mysterious rapid growth.
Now this is when we need to pay attention to scripture, it so small but becomes so great, larger than an oak tree, gigantic, and then the fowl of the air would lodge under it in its shade.
Now this is where it gets meaty: when the bible speaks about fowls or birds it is never anything good, it always has a negative connotation.
There is a bible language that we need to understand, just as this language, for instance if you were taught Queens English in your country and then go to school or colleges you would be dumbfounded because of the language they use is different it is cultural. When they say wicked they mean its great, when they say heavy they mean something completely different to what we know, and amongst certain groups you have words like bling bling, they have a meaning, even so when you look at fowls or birds, it has a meaning that means more than birds.
Fowls are used describe uncleanness, false spirits, false prophets, heresy ungodly and such like.
In the Kingdom of God there is so much false it can deceive you from the truth, Jehovah witnesses are fowls, Gnosticism are fowls, Moonies or the unification church, Mormons. And fowls cannot be saved.
False preachers as Peter prophesied, that preach a gospel message where gain is godliness.the Doctrine of balaam, his teaching was influenced by his greed for money wealth and power.

I suggest that if the parable is right that we are in the greatest time of deception in the history of the church…
Fowls are in the shade of it. There are benefits in the shade you are warm but not scorched by the heat, there is a certain amount of shelter. Jesus is saying that even evil false people will experience some benefits from the Kingdom, but they are just in the shade, they are not part of the tree.
Could it be that there are some people in the modern church who are just in the shade never really get deep, they never really commit, but they experience a few benefits, a few answers to prayer, some according to Jesus will have a miracle ministry, and in that day they will say did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons…..Jesus will say that's true but I never Knew you.
Could it be that there are some people in the shade who really believe that they are safe.
You just wait for the wind, or autumn when the leaves fall
We need to come out of the shade in become a part.
Lets come out of this liberal gospel, that allows you to accept Christ as savior but not as your Lord.
Get out of the shade, get into him be passionate have faith in him

I know there are some people in that are no longer the shade but are a part of Gods kingdom
Make Jesus your savior0 and lord
Make your calling and election sure
Do not be mocked what you sow you shall reap, get out of the shade and benefit from the tree
I will list some of the benefits
You are drawing from the sap
Nourished by the sap all the nutrients feed you
Safety in the storm you wont blow away like the fowls
Eternal Life …did you know that some trees can last up to 1000s years. All God needs is your will, and that you submit wholly to him.
Get into Christ come out of the shade.