What's growing on?
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And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
What’s growing on? it’s what was planted! What is growing on in your life?
there is a principle with life. with the earth and with us. the principle is what is planted, will grow. or what is on the inside, will become what is on the outside, what we will see.
probably each one of us has planted a garden before..... lot’s of work, to have a good garden, yes?
a few questions that are easy.
(Picture seeds)
How small are seeds? Small
What do they do? Grow
Why do they grow? That is their purpose.
NOW DON’T LET THIS QUESTION TRICK YOU....
Does every seed grow? No.
Why does one grow and another doesn’t?
Depends where it is planted.
this morning, let's think about one seed in particular. The seed of a maple tree. If I plant it in soil and water it and give it sun, what can I expect? It to grow.
what if I put that seed in a dark room, on a concrete floor with no moisture. will it grow?
let’s take that same principle, and apply it to the word of God, since the word of God is called a seed in the scriptures.
What is it
The seed is God's word.
is His word just words in a book, like the newspaper or magazine? No!
His word is more than words on a page. His word is living and active,
And His word if grown within our hearts, can turn something that is simply sinful and ordinary into someone that is extraordinary! imagine your in a dark room, you can’t see, then comes a light to shine the way out for you.....He can make you become a light that is beaming into the darkness! He can transform us into a strong tower that can withstand even the darkest attack! Like a house built on a rock!
God’s word transforms..... think about the disciples and think about them before they were transformed, they were scared, hiding from society, outcasts, but when God planted His seed in their hearts, they broke out of fear, they stepped out of hiding and stepped into a society with a message of hope, with a message of life and they were unashamed and unapologetic.
they were men on a mission from God! and nothing would stop them from doing what God called them to.
that was all because, God planted a seed, and it grew, it took off!
there is a few parables about seeds.....
in , which we read..... did you get it? did you catch what Jesus was saying?
a sower, sowing seed, we see in interpreted by Jesus to His disciples after.
the sower is the one that speaks the word of God. the seed is the word of God.
what happens to the word of God?
4 areas the word of God is being planted
we have the path, the rocky ground, the thorns, and the good soil.
what happened with the word of God when it fell on the path?
And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
do you hear that church? this is crazy! the word goes out.... out to a persons heart....and it is stolen by Satan himself!
every had that experience? where the word goes in, but it disappears from you before it can take hold?
I tried to plant some grass seed a few weeks ago. watered it pretty much every day. some took hold. some did not. it is disappointing when you try to plant and it doesn’t take hold and grow, eh?
same way you feel when you share the word of God with an unbeliever and they just look at you...... blank, deer in the headlights stare. very disappointing.
does the word of God always grow in your heart? does it always make roots? if it did, you would notice. it would change behavior. thats what it does. it transforms us. If you haven’t changed for years and years, ask yourself a question. what is being planted and what is taking root in my heart?
because what is growing on is what was planted.
listen to the next one.... the rocky ground, what happened there with the word of God?
Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.
think about a little patch of soil. there is limited nutrient.... which means limited means of growth. its like a church that barely opens the bible! ouch.
I have a picture of a tree, that is growing, but it is growing on a rock and there is a limited amount of soil on this rock, so the tree will only get so big..... but if that tree, were planted somewhere so it could get more nutrients, where it could grow deeper roots....it would have a chance to grow bigger! grow stronger! so, it is being suppressed by it’s environment.
can we get suppressed by our environment? if we don’t choose to pick up the word? if we don’t spend time in prayer? if we don’t go to a bible believing, bible preaching and bible living church? we are suppressed in our growth.
so some is up to us, and how we follow God’s principles of living and some is up to the world around us or where we allow ourselves to fellowship. it is important to go to church. to a church that shares God’s word.
It is also important what you take in the rest of your week as well. what is coming through the T.V.? what is it doing to the word of God seed in your heart? is it growing it or stealing it away? We gotta ask these questions. this parable demands it.
Jesus also explains what the parable meant in verse 17 where it endured for a little while but what comes after a little while? tribulation....troubles, maybe persecution, people pick on you because you call yourself a Christian. you read your bible at break time at work and people laugh at you. you want to share your faith but a person who is against Christianity speaks up about how stupid religion is. you start withering.
how about the next one. the thorns. what happens to the word of God?
Mark 4:
And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,
And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
can you picture it? a person like this? maybe it’s you? they heard the word......but were torn between the stuff they wanted..... they wanted money so much that their focus was taken from allowing God’s word to grow in their hearts to focusing in on more stuff.
I know a rich man, he was grossing $35 million a year with his business, and he was looking to next year to make more. He was consumed with money, and he always tried to make more. that was his life. God was no part of it. what a waste of a life. where does all that money go when he dies? to someone else for them to squander it. He takes non of it with him to the next life. and where is his next life? hell. so what was it worth to gain the entire world? worthless. that is my cousin.
a person is unfruitful in the Lord if they do not allow the “seed” to grow in their lives. that is God’s word in their hearts.
we can’t forget the final area where God’s seed is planted. the good soil!
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.”
we have the word going forth..... and a person here is hearing and accepting the word. that means they are truly believing it. they trust it. they trust it so much that they live it. rely on it. and it, the word, changes them. it has to. they are not the same when the word grows inside them because, listen, they were a product of what they learned in their lives from their family, friends, circumstances..... their heart was filled with the world. so what came out in their behavior? the worldly junk.
we have all been there. no one is immune. no matter how good your upbringing was, you still had the sin nature within you and you still lied, deceived, stole, swore, and worse...... we don’t have to go any farther, right? if I do, I will land on yours, that thing you are thinking right now.....
But God has done something about that stuff. and for the one who hears and trusts the word of God, they are transformed, not all at once, it is a work in progress, but the word grows within and it is shown on the outside. that is why you and others should see change in you life since it is the word growing within.
God will continue to grow His word in your heart as long as you keep the nutrients and water and the Son around it!
are you seeing the picture in all of this? this parable is describing the word of God growing or not growing. where is the seed planted? in the heart.
are you seeing the picture in all of this? this parable is describing the word of God growing or not growing. where is the seed planted? in the heart.
so who is responsible for the environment that the seed is in? Well, where is the seed planted?
you are. you are. you are not responsible for your salvation, God did that. But you can choose if the seed grows or not.
Let’s remember another parable that Jesus shared. it was about talents. remember? there was 3 people, all recieved talents, and two people grew their talent. they were able to give back all the fruit of the growth. one chose not grow the talent but hid it away until he gave that same talent back.....
imagine, holding the seed in your hand and not allowing it to grow in your heart to its fulness where it could make fruit and multiple seeds upon seeds to give back to the Lord!!!!!, but it stays a seed until Christ returned???
imagine the horror of Christ looking for fruit, looking for millions of seeds that could have been and seeing just one seed....the very seed He gave you???
I don’t even want to imagine. but that is what it will be with some. maybe you? I hope not. not after hearing this message. let it grow. let it grow in you. let the word grow....that is what it wants to do. that is what God wants it to do. that is why it was given to you.
anyone who hears the word has had the seed planted......just wait and see if it takes root. wait and see if it grows without withering. wait and see if it gets choked out or not. see if it grows to the point to bear fruit..... that is a mature tree, one that can bear fruit. that has grown in the heart for awhile and the ground has been tended with prayer and teaching. over time there will naturally be fruit for a tree that grows full.
here’s the real deal.... John doesn’t hold back so I am not going to either.
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
1 John 3:
did you hear that? God’s seed abides in him..... in the one who doesn’t go on continually sinning. this isn’t teaching perfection. but it is teaching that if God’s word is inside our hearts, then we will be convicted of sin, repentant of sin and walk seeking His righteousness. we won’t want to sin like we used to. we are being transformed.
what’s growing on? it’s what’s been planted in your heart.
what seed has been planted in you?
if it is the word of God then what are you doing to cultivate it?