Parables - Spiritual Growth

Intro

It is a fact of life that we are all too aware of that living things grow.

We are all too aware of this fact because we are constantly reminded of it.

We’ve been blessed this year with one of the wettest summers that I can remember in recent years. It’s been wonderful and we are thankful that here we are toward the end of September and everything is still green outside instead of the usual dry and dead brown that we have become used to this time of year.

But along with that rain comes the constant need to mow the lawn, and we see in such a small thing as a blade of grass that life grows.

But we are also reminded of the fact of growth in larger and more emotionally impactful ways than just our lawns.

We all likely remember a time when we were physically smaller than we are today. We can recall being children and how everything and everyone seemed so big but how eventually, over time we became bigger and everything else seemed to become smaller.

I’m of course reminded of the fact of growth everytime I look at our children and I’m just amazed at how big they are getting and how quickly the time seems to pass.

Yet while we are constantly reminded of the fact that life requires growth, it still somehow manages to surprise us.

Somehow every year when summer is coming to an end we are shocked to discover that last years clothes no longer fit any of our children and we need to go clothes shopping.

We went to Bridge Creeks Vacation Bible School this year and I was floored to see how much some of the children had grown since we last saw them.

I mean, we shouldn’t be surprised at these things because intellectually we know that kids grow! It’s a fact of life!

Yet because it happens so gradually, because we become busy with other aspects of life, it often times slips past our notice.

We forget what causes that growth to happen and we take for granted the fact that when life is given an ideal environment, that life sprouts and grows abundantly because that is how God designed life to grow.

Our Text - Mark 4:26-29

Context Considerations

Jesus has been doing amazing things

Healing the sick

Casting out demons

Chapter 3 tells us that when the people heard of these great things, large crowds of people began to follow him,

This has led to huge

So much so in fact, that Jesus had commanded his disciples to prepare a boat as they were teaching next to the sea of Gallillee so that the crowds of people would not crush them.

And in Chapter 4 Jesus gets into that boat that had been prepared, and he begins to teach the masses of people in parables

And as Mark records these parables, we find a very similar theme among the three major parables that Jesus uses to teach the crowds.

Parable of the Sower - Seed Growing - Mustard Seed

In fact, if you were there in the crowd that day, if you didn’t come away with anything else from his teaching, you would at least leave knowing two things

Jesus likes talking about seeds

and he likes talking about the kingdom of God.

In vs 3-9 he teaches about the parable of the sower,

Seed along the path - birds devoured it

seed rocky ground - springs up quickly but withers because of no roots

Seed among thorns - where it starts to grow but it is choked out and yields no grain.

and then the seed that fell among good soil that grows and produces man times what was sown.

in 13-20 he explains to his apostles the meaning of the parable, how the seed is the word of God and how the soils are the hearts of men, and how when the seed of the word comes into contact with the right heart that it GROWS and produces fruit where hearts that are not ready for whatever reason do not.

There is then a transition that takes place somewhere between v 21 - 29 where Mark returns from his explanation of the Parable to the apostles back to Jesus teaching the crowds. I tend to lean toward 21-25 being said to the apostles and then the attention returning to the crowd, but I’m not sure it changes the context for us much other than if 21-25 are not uttered to the crowds, then what we have as the public teaching of Christ recorded on this occasion is exclusively seed parables.

Spiritual Growth is from God

The power of Seeds, everything they need to grow is contained within the seed.

DNA instructions on how to grow. How the cells should divide and over millions and millions of replications growth occurs.

In fact did you know that you are constantly doing this even when you don’t realize it?

Every 27 days you end up with an entirely new largest organ.s

But there is a fatal flaw in physical seed.

The same is true for us - We are able to know the will of God because of the word of God and we are able to grow and mature in our faith because of the word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Growth is Gradual

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 ESV

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

2 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Hebrews 6:1 ESV

1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

NOTES

2 Corinthians 9:10 ESV

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

1 Peter 2:2 ESV

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—

Growth is

From God

Gradual

Orderly