growing

Hebrews 13:17 NLT

Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

says that my job is to watch over your souls & that in that I am accountable to God

believers come to faith and we should grow

healthy things grow

Mark 4:1–9 NLT

Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 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!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

same seed

different results

Jesus goes on to explain

Mark 4:13–15 NLT

Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.

lose faith before it sinks in

Mark 4:16–17 NLT

The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 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.

no roots

trials take away

often grow fast at first but can’t handle the heat

not willing to allow God to use them when it is difficult

not willing for God to change them if it interrupts their agendas

Mark 4:18–19 NLT

The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 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.

choked out by distractions

that looks good so let me go over here for a while

and the enemy comes in to kill steal and destroy so that we will not have the abundant life

Mark 4:20 NLT

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!”

prep soil for planting

break up hard soil and remove rocks

kill off weeds & other undesired items that are growing

plant seed

water it

apply the Son

Now you have a full lawn

have come to faith

SO WE ARE DONE RIGHT?..........

NO

It takes continuous care

when we use the lawn rather than care for the lawn it’ll begin to kill it

place something on it for too long....

walk the same path repeatedly...

share a mower with the nieghbor who has weeds....

don’t treat it...

don’t feed it...

don’t water it...

before long our faith begins to look like our lawns in August

dried up

with dead spots

shows signs of once being a yard but has lost it’s beauty and is no longer growing

while our lawns are starting to grow now this spring

many of us have found ourselves in a season where we are no longer spiritually growing

allowed sin to sit too long in our lives....

kept traveling the “old ways” too much and wore a rut our faith...

some had filled the old rut in and put down new seed but because you never stopped walking the old path you have worn it back in

in attempt to reach the world you went out but rather than taking the words of the Bible and being in the world but not of the world

you allowed your nieghbor to bring their weeds into your yard because you didn’t have a maintenance program set up to take care of them

it grew in the beginning because you watered it but you put the sprinkler away and just hoped that God would send enough rain

but you forgot that you had the umbrella up to keep the heat of the Son down and when you were keeping the heat off you also blocked all of the rain and so you may have gotten yourself comfortable but you missed two important keys to growth

we need the sun and we need the rain

both can be uncomfortable at times but are necessary for growth

what keeps me up at night is knowing that one day I will stand before God and give an account for those under my watch

I want Him to say Well done my good and faithful servant

I hope that He also says that your obedience was not in vain and here are these that recieved the seed and have grown

but whether or not you grow is beyond me

it’s up to you

the seed has been spread....

is your faith growing?