Sower of Seeds
GOSPEL OF MARK 4: 26-34
Good Morning to you all of you, it is good to see each of you on this second Sunday after Pentecost. May “The Lord lift up his countenance on you, and give you peace.” Nu. 6:26
I would also like to extend a happy father’s day greeting to all fathers’. Once again I find myself blessed with the opportunity to preach God’s word on fathers’ day. This will be the third year in a row. Praise God.
Now it is my prayer that each of you will open his or her heart to the precious word of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In this morning’s gospel Jesus gives us two parables, the Parable of the Growing Seed and the Parable of the mustard seed. Why speak in parables?
Jesus cited Isaiah 6:9–10 as an explanation of why He used parables, so that “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!” This Old Testament prophet predicted that the wise would understand God’s parables, but not the foolish.
Jesus makes his point by appealing to common experiences that people could recognize and identify with. Do you want to know what God is like, or how God works in the world? And then he would tell a story, and people could recognize and identify with the power and presence of God that was at work within.
In the first parable, that of the growing seed, we see that the emphasis is on the Seed itself. Yes, the sower casts it out there, and the soil is the medium in which it grows; but the living agent is the Seed. That’s what contains the power and life force and genetic data that becomes the plant that ultimately produces the desired fruit. It’s all up to the seed. Once the sower throws it out there, it’s really out of his hands. There’s nothing he can do to make the seed germinate, or bring the plant to life, or make it grow faster. The seed does all the work while the sower goes about his business, and takes his breaks, and goes to sleep and so on. Likewise, the soil is passive. All it does is receive the seed and hold it while it does its thing. We might say later that the field is fruitful and productive, but that’s not exactly true. The fact is that it’s the seed in the field that grew and produced the crop.
What is the meaning of this parable? If we look back to (Mark 4: v 13-14) we find Jesus explaining the meaning of the parable of the sower to his disciples.
13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?
14 The sower sows the word.
In the Gospel of Luke we find Luke 8:10-11 10 He said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets1 of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak2 in parables, so that 'looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.' 11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
The Seed therefore, is the Word of God. The sower is someone who casts it out there by speaking it. The soil is whomever it is that’s listening to and receiving the Word.
The point is that power of life – the power to create and sustain a living faith and to produce the fruit God desires – is contained within and adheres to the Word of God. That’s where the power is – The seed stands for the living power of God.
In the second parable of the mustard seed, Jesus uses an illustration, if you will, of marked contrast.
30 He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?
31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;
32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
The Parable of the Growing Seed shows how God causes his kingdom to grow; the Parable of the Mustard Seed describes the extent to which his kingdom will grow.
Now in biblical times a mustard seed was the smallest seed that people planted and yet, given the right circumstances, a mustard plant in that part of the world could grow to the size of a small tree.
Similarly, from the smallest of beginnings—one man (Jesus) preaching the good news of the kingdom—the kingdom of God will one day grow to become the greatest kingdom the world has ever seen.
So what does that mean to us?
A few moments ago, I said it was my prayer that each of you would open his or her heart to the precious word of God. For His word is the most precious gift one human being can give to another! It is to be planted with care for it is the gift of eternal life.
But you see, there is a problem of the fear - fear of failure – fear of failure in our ability to evangelize to others.
The Christian researcher George Barna gives use insight into why we Christians are afraid to share our faith with non-Christians. He says “In asking Christians about their witnessing activities, we have found that nine out of ten individuals who attempt to explain their beliefs and theology to other people come away from those experiences feeling as if they have failed… Can you imagine? - I can, you see it is safe to stay within the body of believers, for there is little risk of rejection or embarrassment. If this is true – then it is natural to avoid doing those things which place us in those experiences where we perceive failure. We end up discouraged.
We then find ourselves staying in the boat, where we perceive safety, rather than following Peter who exhibited s a quality of faith and trust in God, which I believe all of us desire to follow in our own Christian walk – To trust God to step out more fully into His will and purpose for our life – He will see us through the storms of life. Our Lord never leaves us guessing in the dark, but has, in His Holy Word, given us all the light we need for our walk of faith this side of eternity.
In John Ortberg’s book “If you want to walk on water you’ve got to get out of the boat”. He writes, that “Peter may have been the first one out of the boat, but Jesus’ invitation to walk on water is for you and me as well.” …”So what is your boat? According to Ortberg, Your boat is whatever represents safety and security to you apart from God himself. Your boat is whatever you are tempted to put your trust in, especially when life gets a little stormy.
Now I know you are probably asking, how did we get from getting our hands dirty planting to huddling together scared, in a boat. We’ll if we look closely at this parable of sowing, we will see that it gives us permission, to not only get out of the boat but to fail. We are responsible for planting the seed. We are responsible for doing is responsibly. But it is the seed itself – the eternal word of God – that creates of it’s self. Look at verse 28
28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.
It is a progression, beginning with the planting a small seed - the living word of God. Then it grows and matures. The sower does not know how it sprouts and grows, only that it does and this is a mystery to him.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
The first step for a person in overcoming his or her fear of failure in evangelism is to acknowledge that when one scatters seed, that he or she is not responsible for making the seed sprout, grow, and blossom. A person scatters seed when he or she spreads the Word of God and tells others about Jesus. One plants a seed in the heart of each and every individual he or she attempts to witness to. The problem with some people is that they wish to see the seed that they sowed sprout and grow before their very eyes. They want to see the person whom they witness to accept Christ and become saved immediately. It’s kind of like microwave evangelism. Instantaneous right before our eyes.
12 The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
13 The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away.
14 As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
15 But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
Isaiah 6:9 And he said, "Go and say to this people: 'Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.'