Parables - Kingdom of Heaven - Growth
Parables of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
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· 28 viewsParables of the Soils, the Mustard Seed, Leaven, and Growing Seed.
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Why Parables
Why Parables
Harper’s Bible Dictionary Parables
parables, very short stories with a double meaning.
In the Scriptures, parables are used to teach a spiritual lesson using an analogy people can understand.
Which leads us to a question Jesus’ disciples asked.
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
Why does Jesus use so many parables?
Wouldn’t it be easier just to get to the point?
He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
So we see the purpose of parables.
They are analogies, so that those who are to know the mysteries, the secrets, of the kingdom of heaven can understand them,
While at the same time, those who are not to know the mysteries just get a good story.
Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
There are several parables about the Kingdom of God.
Quite a few of which are in Matthew chapter 13.
Today, I want to look at the Parables Jesus used to describe the Kingdom of God through growth.
Parable of the Growing Seed
Parable of the Growing Seed
And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Most of us know how crops grow.
I do not have a green thumb.
But my wife plants a garden every year, and we watch as the plants grow.
Even though we know how to germinate seeds and what conditions different plants need to grow, do we really understand how it works?
How does this compare to the Kingdom of God.
Do we scatter seed?
Do we spread the news about the Kingdom of God around us like we’re scattering seed?
Most of us do not.
We look for programs or tools that will “bring people to Jesus”.
But that is not the way Jesus describes it.
We are to scatter seed.
Then, day and night, the seed should sprout and grow.
Faith in God will be small and tender at first.
Then, it will mature until it is read to be “harvested”.
It is not our job to grow the plant, or to increase the faith of others.
We do not bring people to Christ.
We are to scatter the seed, tend to the garden, and let God bring the person to harvest.
But there is no guarantee that the seed we scatter will grow the way we expect.
Parable of the Soils
Parable of the Soils
Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Again, we see the sowing of seed. But as we study this parable, especially across the Gospels, we see something different.
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
The seed is the Word of God.
Not “What God has done for me.”
Not even “the Roman road”.
But the Word of God.
The sower sows the word.
The sower sows the Word.
And notice, the sower isn’t particular about where he or she sows God’s Word.
It isn’t our job to find just the right place to sow God’s Word.
It isn’t our job to prepare the soil.
We are to sow, because that is what our Lord has told us to do.
So let us understand the Parable of the Soils
The Wayside
The Wayside
“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
Sometimes, the Word of God will simply “bounce off” someone.
There isn’t an argument you can make that will change their minds.
They will not open up and even give God a chance.
They do not understand, and Satan snatches away the seed.
Stoney Ground
Stoney Ground
But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
Sometimes, a persons heart is stoney ground.
They hear the Word and receive it immediately.
And we rejoice.
But their heart is stoney.
The Word remains near the surface.
There are no roots to support the seed,
No access to nourishment.
So as soon as things get tough, the seed withers and dies.
Did we tell them that life would be easy as a believer?
Did we not warn them that friends and family would not be happy?
Were we there to help nourish the seed of faith in God.
Or did we simply scatter the seed and walk away?
Thorns
Thorns
Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Whereas the stoney heart fades away from tribulation or persecution, the “believer” whose heart is thorny ground gets choked out by the cares of this world.
“I want to follow God, but...”
“I work, I don’t have the time”
“I can’t afford to do what God is calling me to do”
“People will think I’m a ‘Jesus Freak’”
In other words, the things of this world choke out the Word of God.
Put another way:
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Sometimes we plant the seed on soil that seems good,
But their treasure is here, so the things of this world take priority.
Good Ground
Good Ground
But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
But what about the “Good Ground”?
What makes the ground good?
It hears the Word and takes it to heart.
It protects the seed, even during tough times.
It doesn’t let the world choke out the seed.
It nurtures the seed.
And that seed grows.
But our job is to sow the seed.
And where we can, help nurture that seed so it can grow.
And bear fruit.
Parable of the Mustard Seed
Parable of the Mustard Seed
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
Now we go to another seed, the mustard seed.
Most of us have only seen mustard either ground or prepared into a spread.
The mustard seed is very small, yet it grows into a large tree.
So what does this say about the Kingdom of Heaven?
In the previous parable, the seed was the Word of God.
Some people say they don’t have enough faith,
But it only takes a little to have a tremendous effect.
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
It reminds me of the says, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
It’s not how much faith YOU have, but how big the God you have faith in it!
That tiny little seed you scattered, may become a giant tree in someone’s life.
One that others can find rest and shelter there.
Parable of the Leaven
Parable of the Leaven
Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
Who here as ever baked bread?
You mix in a little bit of leavening, give it some time, and two things happen.
First, the leaven spreads through the whole loaf.
Second, the loaf rises.
If the kingdom of heaven is like this, what can we learn?
All it takes is a little bit of leaven to spread through the whole loaf.
That means a little bit of the kingdom of God can spread throughout your entire life.
Just as in Matt 16:6, the leaven of the Pharisees can spread throughout your life.
Maybe we should take time and consider what leaven we are placing in our lives?
Conclusion
Conclusion
These three parables do have a common theme;
When the Word of God is placed into a good heart, it will grow.
It may start out small, but it can grow to be a large tree.
And it can spread,
Not just through you, but through your family, and even your community.
But what is the other theme in these stories?
Our job is to spread, the growth is up to God.
We are to spread broadly, we do not know which hearts God has prepared for the seed we spread.
And even in our own lives, if we hide the kingdom of heaven in our heart, it will spread.
But if we hide the leaven of the Pharisees, it will be what is spread.
As we start this journey through the parables, ask yourself,
Have you been given to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven?