The Power of Multiplication

Today we’re going to talk about, “The Power of Multiplication”.

Mark 4:3 NLT - “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. 15 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. 16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 18 The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. 20 And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Today’s text is what is called a parable. A parable is a short moral story with symbolic meaning. It’s a story often expressed with imagery, it paints a picture so you can better understand what’s being said.

Jesus often used parables so the people could relate to what he was saying and to get his point across.

Whenever Jesus spoke, it wasn’t just to be heard, there was always a lesson to be learned, a task to be completed, or a change to be made.

What we must understand is, the Bible is not just another book to be read.

It’s a guide for how we are to live our lives.

It’s encouragement when we’re down.

It’s chastisement when we’re wrong.

It’s a compass when we get off course.

It’s a push in the right direction when we get off track.

It’s a map when we lose our way.

It’s a light in the darkness.

It’s a how to book on raising children.

It’s history

It’s His story.

And so much more.

It can sometimes be challenging to understand, but when you ask God to make it clear for you; when you ask him for understanding, he will give it to you. Sometimes immediately, sometimes suddenly, and sometimes eventually.

The chapter begins saying once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. People gathered and he placed himself in a position to be heard. He got in a boat while they stayed on the shore. There were no microphones or speakers, so he had to speak loudly for all the people to hear and water is a great magnifier.

There’s another thing we can’t miss here. Jesus was preaching outside by a lake, not in a synagogue, and it wasn’t the first time he had done it.

Ministry doesn’t always take place inside the four walls of a church. In fact, we live most of our lives outside these walls, therefore more of the message of Christ should be experienced outside of this building than in.

When you come in here, it’s to get charged up, to get filled with knowledge, encouragement, or whatever else you might need to make it through your week.

Things will come up, situations will occur and there are decisions you will have to make. Make sure you have the tools and the information to make good ones.

And so, we have this parable about planting seeds.

Many of these people were farmers, so they would understand Jesus talking about planting seeds. They would know how they grow, how they get entangled with weeds, how they multiply, and how they die.

During this time there were no machines to help spread seed evenly and accurately. It was done by hand and the seed didn’t always fall where the farmer wanted it to, so the results were different.

The crop yield was affected by many things.

the amount of seed put down,

the nutrients in the soil,

how much water it received,

the weather, did it get too hot, was it too cold, was there enough sun

making sure bugs don’t eat up the crop

and keeping the weeds out as much as possible.

If you’ve ever planted a garden, you know farming is tough. It’s a necessary profession, but it’s not for the faint of heart.

As with most of the parables Jesus told, there were those who didn’t understand what he was saying. They failed to comprehend the significance of the story and how it applied to their lives.

Don’t we do that today? Some of you listening to this message right now will be thinking of how someone else needs to hear this, and that’s wonderful, make sure you share it. But don’t miss the part that’s for you. Listen for yourself and what you are to do as a result of hearing this message.

I’m not here to entertain,

I don’t preach to get views or go viral

And I’m not here because it’s fun

In fact, it’s a lot of work standing here, doing this. There are hours of prayer and meditation and study and listening and hoping that what I say helps someone. Hoping that someone will receive the message and as a result turn to God, give their life to him and receive salvation.

This here—this is my assignment, not my choice. I told the Lord yes and until he tells me to do something else, this is where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing.

How about you? Is there a yes you owe God? Is there an assignment you’ve been given? Are you doing it?

If not, why not? Is it fear, money, time, training, maybe you just don’t want to. I’m here to tell you this morning, it’s time to put aside all the excuses and move into what God has planned for your life. His plan is great, and no one can do what he called you to do like you can do it. It’s time to start multiplying.

Now make no mistake, what he wants accomplished will get done, even praise. The Bible tells us, if you don’t praise him the very rocks will cry out. But don’t let the rocks cry out in your place, don’t let your work go undone and don’t let your blessing go unclaimed.

We are fortunate that with this particular parable, Jesus explained it further to the twelve disciples and others who were gathered around, those who asked him what it meant. Sometimes you have to ask.

As Jesus begins to explain the parable, he tells them something quite interesting. He says, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.”

This answer denotes there are insiders and outsiders when it comes to the things of God. Not everyone is going to understand the Bible, not everyone is going to believe the Bible, so not everyone will be blessed by what the Bible says.

For those who are very analytical and have a strong need for everything to be explained, for things to be logical, there are certain passages in the Bible that will create even more challenges. Those passages are the ones that must be walked out by faith, not by reason.

Those who don’t understand faith, won’t necessarily understand the parables of the Bible. So it is the job and the duty of the preacher to make it plain.

Are you on the inside or are you on the outside?

Jesus went on to say about the outsiders, “When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.”

When the Word of God is rightly divided and those who have not been converted hear it, they will turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness, they will asked to be saved.

It should be that

when a person realizes the state they’re in spiritually,

when they recognize they are here but by the grace of God,

when they can acknowledge it’s only God who has allowed them the successes they’ve had,

and it is God who has brought them through the trials, tribulations, and failures in their lives...

it would stand to reason that they would ask for forgiveness and invite Jesus into their heart, they would ask him to be Lord of their life…or so it should be.

So we arrive at verse 14 of this 4th chapter of Mark and Jesus explains the parable plainly.

He begins 14 “The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others.” We are the farmers and taking God’s Word to others is evangelism. We are commanded to go into all the world and make disciples.

We are making disciples of Christ, not us. So it’s important that you have a good understanding of what it is you’re going to say.

You may not have memorized the 23rd Psalm, you may not have memorized John 3:16, but here’s what you do know.

What God has done for you

What He’s brought you through.

How he saved you.

How he brought out of whatever you may have been going through.

How he sent help right on time.

How he sent a word in due season.

You know your testimony and you mustn’t be ashamed to share it. What you went through was to indeed strengthen your faith, but more importantly it was for the person coming behind you going through the same thing.

Like the man who jumped into the hole with the man who was trapped, you’ve been there before and you know the way out. It’s okay to get in the hole, in the trial, in the tribulation with them as long as it’s to show them the way out, as long as it’s to show them the way to Jesus; as long as it’s to let them know that

Jesus is their help

their hope

their way up

their way over

their way under and

their way through

Let them know that when they get on their knees, whether it’s falling to their knees or rising to their knees after a fall, they are in the perfect position to talk to God.

Let them know they can have a little talk with Jesus, tell Him all about their troubles, He will hear their faintest cry, and He will answer by and by.

Let them know, when they feel a little prayer wheel turning, they will know a little fire is burning, then they’ll find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

When you’re evangelizing you have to give them a reason to follow Jesus, one that’s relevant to them, not just because you do.

You must be able to answer that WIIFM question, what’s in it for me. Until you can answer that question, your chances of converting them is little to none.

Before you can plant a seed you have to know what kind of soil you’re working with. Before you can plant a seed you may have to break up the fallow ground. That ground that has been sitting untilled, left to harden. Before you can plant the seed of the Gospel you have to meet people where they are.

When you evangelize you’re spreading the seed of the Gospel and the seed falls everywhere. Now let’s look at the soil.

15 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.

This is the person you invite to church in Sam’s Club, Wal~Mart, or at the Mall, the place doesn’t matter so much as the time you get to spend with them.

These are the ones who will say just about anything to get you to go away. Even yes they are coming even when they have no intention of doing so. It’s okay, that’s their nature, for now.

Don’t take offense, don’t be disheartened and don’t do what I did when I first got saved. I would invite someone to church, they would say they were coming and I would spend the whole service looking for them, instead focusing on what was going on in the Service, instead of hearing what the Lord had to say to me.

You have distributed the seed, now let the Lord do his work in them.

Then there’s the rocky soil. 16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.”

These are the ones who will come when you invite them, they may even join the church and want to get busy working right away. They are excited and raring to go.

That seems wonderful on the surface, but the problem is, they haven’t yielded themselves to the teaching yet. They haven’t given themselves time to develop.

They think it’s a waste of time to sit and listen, to sit and learn, to sit and study, to sit and meditate. The don’t know, nor do they understand there is power in being still and knowing that He is God and that He is in control.

They’ll tear the church up shouting, then cuss you out in the parking lot.

When the first or maybe the second trial comes or when what they see as a barrier or roadblock presents itself, they will give up instead going deeper. They will givein instead of digging in, because they have no root to help them hold on. They haven’t sat at the feet of Jesus to learn who he is, what he’s done and what he will do.

These are the ones who are potted rather than planted. The church hoppers, going from this church to that church to find the perfect one, not realizing that there is no such thing.

Our God is perfect, our mission is perfect, but we are frail and fallible people who will at some point fall and fail. The thing is, will we get back up, dust ourselves off, ask for forgiveness, receive it, and move on?

If you fall six times, get up seven. You’re not alone, reach out for help and know someone has been where you are. Let their experience help teach you.

And then we have “18 The seed that fell among the thorns [which]represents others who hear God’s word, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.”

These are the people who measure success as the world defines it and they try to apply that same standard to the church. They have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. They’re in but they’re not all in.

Their theme song is, “I Did It My Way” not “Have Thine Own Way Lord”.

They still subscribe to the world’s motto of if it feels good do it rather than Jesus’ teaching of, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

They want the seven steps to success instead of allowing God to lead in all things.

They want to keep their old ways and their old friends, instead moving to the new way and the new group that’s going to take them higher in the Lord, the group that’s going to hold them accountable to living a life that’s holy and acceptable to God.

Because they can’t make up their minds they end up with no fruit. We talked about that before.

A tree that’s planted,

a Christian that’s living,

that’s praying,

that’s studying,

that’s abiding in Christ

that’s witnessing

that’s telling of the goodness of the Lord will bear fruit.

And now let’s talk about multiplication. Verse 20 says, “And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

We want to be people God can use to multiply. We want to be a churchGod can use to multiply.

Multiply blessings

multiply increase

multiply healing

multiply joy

multiply deliverance

multiply glory

multiply honor

multiply stability

When God places things or circumstances in your hands, he gives you the authority to multiply it.

What do you mean preacher? I’m just a man, I’m just a woman. Well let me show you.

It’s in the 14th chapter of Matthew when the five thousand men, plus women and children were fed with two fish and five loaves of bread.

Matt 14:19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he [Jesus] blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

It was when the food was put in the disciples’ hands that it multiplied. Jesus blessed it, but when the disciples were obedient there was multiplication.

They had to exercise faith because until they moved the miracle didn’t occur.

Until they did something, you gotta do something for the miracle to happen.

You can’t sit at home in your chair and expect God to bless you. Get up, get out and get busy.

Perhaps you will start on your computer, but at some point you will have to leave the house.

To witness to others, you will have to leave the house. Oh the computer is okay. Social media is okay. But how many know much of what you see is a lie, it’s staged in an effort to get likes and followers?

A social media influencer is a thing now. How about being a disciple influencer. How about influencing people to follow Jesus instead of you. How about influencing people to help others instead of thinking only of themselves.

Sometimes we do have to put ourselves first, we have to replenish, recharge in order to keep going, that’s called a Sabbath. But it shouldn’t always be about us, what we want, what we think we deserve. A Sabbath is a day of rest every seventh day, that means there is work to be done the other six days.

The truth of the matter is we deserve death, but Jesus came that we might have an abundant life.

We deserve an eternity in hell, but Jesus came that we might have everlasting life.

God is long-suffering, He’s patient and He’s delayed Jesus’ return giving the outsiders an opportunity to become insiders.

Jesus came as a redeemer, he gave his life for ours. Sin demanded a sacrifice and Jesus was the spotless lamb of God who died for our sins. Jesus paid the debt we couldn’t pay.

There’s no amount of good work you can do. You don’t work to get into heaven, you work because heaven is already your home and you want as many people as possible to be there with you.

To grow and develop good fruit, you must start with good seed, the Word of God. You must plant that seed in good soil, which is the open and receptive heart of a person and you must cultivate the plant as it develops.

Cultivation in the word comes by

reading your Bible

prayer

meditating

regular attendance at worship

regular attendance at Bible study

If your heart is humble, holy, and heavenly, you will produce good fruit. It will abound and multiply.

What has God put in your hands to grow? What kind of soil are you? Are you taking care of it?

I was looking at some reels and this one popped up. I don’t know who the author is and you may have heard it before, but it’s worth hearing again.

I asked God to take away my habit.

God said, “No.” It’s not for me to take away but for you to give it up.

I asked God to grant me patience.

God said, “No.” Patience is a byproduct of tribulations. It isn’t granted it is learned.

I asked God to spare me pain.

God said, “No.” Suffering draws you apart from wordly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to give me happiness.

God said, “No.” I give you blessings, happiness is up to you.

I asked God for all things that I might enjoy in life.

God said, “No.” I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.

I asked God to help me love others as much as he loves me.

God said, “Ahhh, finally you get the idea my child.”

Do you love others enough to help break up the fallow ground? Do you have enough patience to break through the heart that’s been hardened by the trauma of the world? Or even by church hurt. Multiplication takes place when the seed falls in good soil.

The first step to preparing the soil that is your heart is ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and savior. If you’ve never done so let’s pray

Father, I confess I’m a sinner in need of forgiveness. I believe Jesus is your Son, that he was born of a virgin and he died for my sins. Jesus please come into my heart and be Lord of my life. In your name I pray. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer for the first time, welcome to the family, now find a Bible believing, Bible teaching church to unite with and begin your journey to becoming the good soil that produces fruit.

If you’re here in the sanctuary and you’ve never accepted Christ as your Savior and would like to do so, simply raise your hand.

If you’re here and you don’t have a church home and you would like to unite with Love Christian Center, raise your hand where you are.

If you would like to rededicate your life raise your hand.

When you’re good soil, you can be a multiplier, now the question is are you a 30-, 60-, or 100-fold multiplier. You become a multiplier by being submitted and obedient to God. I’m shooting for 100, how about you?