Seeds

“Seeds planted in Kingdom soil grow.”

But what about Disease, Churches Dying, Christians falling away, Good People Suffering?

Yet Jesus still says the Kingdom is like a seed that grows.

The skeptic says, “I can show you a seed that didn’t grow.”

Jesus says, Look at the field.

Mark 4:26–32 ESV

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” 30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

“he knows not how”

Not knowing how…How the hotdog is made. (Elaborate) Sometimes we don’t know because we don’t know. Sometimes it is better not to know.

When you don’t know HOW something happens, you have to take things as you see them.

You could consider how the farmer sows the seed and then trusts in the growth process that he cannot control or fully understand.

“he sleeps and rises night and day” and the seed sprouts and grows

He can plant, he can water, he can protect, but he cannot make life happen

This is a picture of how Christians are called to act in faith, sowing love, kindness, and the good news of Jesus, without always seeing immediate results. We are encouraged to trust that God works beneath the surface, bringing growth in His time. Trusting Jesus, who initiated the Kingdom, will bring it to fruition.

Before photos, science experiments, and text books that studies on microscopic level growth of seeds, people had no idea. But even now, we may know how it grows, like the visual steps along the way, but we really don’t know what makes something grow? We don’t know why? What makes the seed reach out, push out, react to this or that…

There are still lots of things I don’t understand…

I don’t understand why you have to wait so long for something to fully develop.

I don’t know why you have to start out so vulnerable…that seems risky.

I don’t know why things have to go through tough seasons of life in order to become strong…

I don’t understand that when something produces what it was designed to do, at once gets sickled. That seems a little harsh.

Application:

What do you do when you don’t understand?

What do you do when you are confused?

What do you do when things don’t go the speed or way you planned?

Do you become like the skeptic, do you lose heart, do you get discouraged.

“The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed.”

The mustard seed reminds us that the Kingdom’s favorite starting point is small. Humble beginnings. Weak humble the mighty. The disciples looked insignificant. (Fishermen | Tax collector) Nothing about the beginning of the Churches story suggested or hinted at the ending.

Examples:

Church: the church was born in the middle of the Roman Empire. At its height of administratie power. She began as a tiny, persecuted sect of roughly 1,000 (0.000015% of population) followers inside of an oppressive superpower, known for her ability to squelch out any rebellious or unsupporrive groups. This small rag tag group of people led to Christianity eventually becoming the official religion of Rome. 313 legal to worship Christ. 380 state religion. Rome looked permanent. Jesus looked temporary.

Jesus: Ultimate example. Jesus is the ultimate seed that brings forth life and growth. In Him, the Kingdom of God was inaugurated, flourishing from small beginnings (like a mustard seed) into a reality that blesses all of creation. A carpenter from an obscure village. The parables highlight Christ’s central role in establishing God's Kingdom and His promise of growth and fruition despite initial perceptions.

Small Things over time and with consistency have the greatest impact. Conversations can lead to changed life. Sermons can lead to changed life. Songs sang can lead to changed life. Simple prayers offered day after day after day can lead to changed life.

Atomic Habits (James Clear): Just as money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your daily habits multiply as you repeat them. Tiny improvements (getting 1% better each day) yield massive results over time. BIG IDEA: Small, Tiny acts or efforts daily.

Application:

Seeds planted in Kingdom soil grow.

Mark 4:20 “20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Seeds

The evidences of God are everywhere.

God’s Word.

Easter eggs of evidence of a Creator are found in all of Creation. The longer we live the more we find evidence that things

Are you aware of all of God’s seeds planted in your life and the world around you. Prayers have been prayed for you.

Planted in Kingdom soil

Many of Europes great cathedrals took over 100 years to build. Imagine being a stone mason spending your entire life carving rocks for a building you will never see completed. One day someone asks, “Why are you still working on this? You’ll never see it finished.” The mason replies, “I’m not building it for me. I’m building it for those who come after me.”

Kingdom work often feels that way.

You teach a Sunday School class. You invest in your children. You disciple one person. You faithfully serve in a church.

You may never see the full harvest.

The farmer in Jesus' parable didn't need to understand everything. He simply needed to keep sowing.

Point: Faithfulness is often planting trees whose shade you'll never sit under.

hear and accept | sown

Are you hearing and accepting God’s word?

Are you helping others hear and accept God’s seed? (you cannot make them accept, but your can plant)

Reading the word. Prayer. Podcasts shaping your mind and heart in the mornings. Journaling about what God has done in your life. Do not make a goal that requires you to change within 24 hours. Make a decision right now to improve your walk with Christ by 1% each day over the next month.

-7 days Download bible app with daily bible verse notification. -Pray before every meal.

-Go to worship on Sunday, Join a discipleship group

-Read a devotion for 7 days. Straight (Don’t drop off prior improvements, build upon them)

-Before you know it you will be reading and listening to the bible and podcasts shaping you into the man or woman of God you wish you could be right now, with slow small, incremental changes that build

Those of you who have been planting:

-do not get discouraged.

-HAVE YOU walked the above steps with someone? Have you called daily and asked if you can read scripture with someone daily?

-Have you called daily that person you are praying for and encouraged them

-Have you modeled for them?

-Judgy vs helpful

Call Worship Team / Prayer Team

Conclusion:

Imagine a farmer standing in a field.

He has dirt under his fingernails.

He has sweat on his brow.

He has invested time, effort, and resources.

Then he walks away.

Why?

Because after the seed is planted, there is a point where trust becomes necessary.

Every day he wakes up.

The ground still looks the same.

Every day he goes to bed.

The field still looks ordinary.

Yet beneath the surface something is happening.

Roots are stretching. Life is forming. Growth is occurring.

The farmer cannot see it.

The farmer cannot explain it.

But the farmer trusts it.

Some of you are standing over a field today.

You've planted prayers.

You've planted Scripture.

You've planted acts of kindness.

You've planted years of faithfulness into children, grandchildren, marriages, friendships, ministries, and neighbors.

And today you may be tempted to wonder if any of it matters.

Jesus would say:

Look again.

The seed is growing.

You may not understand how. You may not see it yet. You may not be able to measure it.

But the Kingdom of God has never depended upon your ability to explain the process.

It depends upon God's power to produce life.

So keep planting.

Keep praying.

Keep serving.

Keep believing.

Because what Jesus started with twelve disciples has reached billions.

What began in a borrowed manger changed history.

What was buried in a borrowed tomb conquered death.

And what is planted in Kingdom soil still grows.

Final Statement

The world may focus on what looks dead, small, weak, or insignificant. Jesus focuses on what has been planted. And seeds planted in Kingdom soil grow.

You won’t know how. You won’t understand. You may even be able to find examples of things that don’t fit within this statement.

Not every timeline will make sense. Not every season will make sense. Not every circumstance will fit neatly into your understanding.