Sermon Tone Analysis

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?

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?

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:

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.