Parable of the Seed Growing

Intro

Good evening students! It is great to see everyone here. Tonight, we are continuing in our sermon series through the parables. If you remember, parables are short earthly stories told by Jesus with heavenly meanings. Also, remember that each of the parables found in Mark 4 build off of the parable of the sower. That being said, this week’s parable is very similar to the parable of the sower. In the parable of the sower, we saw the farmer out sowing seed. This time, we see the exact same thing. Jesus gives us another parable with a farmer out sowing seed.

Let’s take a look at

Mark 4:26–29 ESV

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Pray.

As we saw in the Parable of the Sower, the farmer has gone out to sow seed. However, this time, the focus is not of the soil in which the seed falls. Instead, the focus is on the seed itself as it works. Jesus is again teaching in parables. In this specific parable, Jesus is seeking to teach us about the Kingdom of God. As He does so, He provides us with a parable. As the farmer went out to sow the seed, he planted the seed and we see that the seed sprang up and produced grain. This is important as this parable teaches us about the power of God Himself and the Word of God. This leads us to our first point tonight.

The Kingdom of God is not dependent upon man.

Lets take a look back at verse 26-27

Mark 4:26–27 ESV

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.

Here, Jesus begin teaching and seeks to convey to His listeners truth about the Kingdom of God. Jesus has drawn away from the crowd and has gotten to a place with His disciples and those truly seeking to follow after Him. As Jesus gets away with these, He continues to teach them the truth about the Kingdom of God.

Within this parable, Jesus provides the story of a farmer sowing seed, yet again. Just as in the Parable of the Sower, the farmer represents the Christian going out and sharing the Gospel or the Word of God. The seed represents the Gospel. So, the Christian goes out and shares the Word of God. In other words, the Christian goes out and scatters the seed.

Now, with that in mind, the Christian does go out and scatter the seed. However, the The Word or the seed is not dependent upon man to work or be effective. The Word of God has power and is effective in and of itself. The Word of God is not dependent upon man. Notice, the man goes to sleep and wakes up day after day. He contributes nothing to the seeds growth. The text even says that he does not know how the seed grows.

You see, the Kingdom of God is under the sovereignty of God which means that God can work in any way that He wants to carryout His purposes.

Whenever we speak of the sovereignty of God what we are talking about is God’s supreme authority and control over all things. God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Moreover, God has created all things from nothing and has always existed. Before the foundations of the earth, God existed. He always has existed and always will exist. Likewise, God has all authority and all power. This is the sovereignty of God. He has all authority and is in control of all things.

Because of this, the Christian has no power over the seed. The Christian has no power over the Word of God. As the Bible is God’s Word, who are we to think that we have power or authority over the Word? Instead, as Christians, we understand that the Bible is God’s Word and because the Bible is the very Word of God, we submit to the Word as it has authority over us. We do not have authority over the Word; instead, we are servants of the Word of God. As servants of the Word of God, we, the Christian, spread the Gospel because the Word tells us to do so. Therefore, the believer does spread the Gospel; however, the believer does not have power over the Gospel to make it work as he or she would like.

As Christians, we are simply called to share the Gospel. God is the One who has the power to save, not us. Therefore, whenever we share the Gospel, it is not up to us as to whether or not that person will repent of sin and place their faith in Christ. It is up to God and the person hearing as to whether or not the person who hears the Word will repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord.

If the person hearing the Gospel does repent and believe, it is purely the work of God through His Word. Look with me at John 6:44

John 6:44 ESV

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

God does all the work in bringing the lost sinner to Himself. The Word does the work. All that we do is simply share the Gospel and God does all the rest. It is important that we understand this because what oftentimes happens in the life of the believer is that he or she will share the Gospel with someone. That person will place their faith in Christ. Then, the believer who shared the Gospel will decide to take credit for the salvation of that person. However, only God has the ability to save therefore, God gets all the glory because He is the One who saved you, His Holy Spirit enabled you to share the Gospel, then, His Holy Spirit drew the sinner hearing the Gospel to repent and believe in Him. Therefore, it is all the work of God that no of us can boast.

We understand that it is only by God’s grace that we, ourselves, are saved. Likewise, we understand that it is only by God’s grace that anyone is saved. We cannot be saved by our works or anything we do. We are saved through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross on Golgotha’s hill.

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

All that come to faith in Christ, are saved purely by the grace of God. This means God’s favor that we do not deserve. God does all the work in saving us. God sent His Son, Jesus to die. God raised Jesus from the grave on the 3rd day. After Jesus ascended back to heaven, God sent us the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct us. Then, God allowed for us to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and upon hearing, drew us to Himself with His Holy Spirit that we might be saved. It is all of grace, and it is all the work of God. Man contributes nothing but repentance and faith. God draws man to Himself through the Gospel. Then, man is left to either place their faith in Christ or reject Christ. Even the very body that God uses to proclaim His Gospel was made by Himself. All that man is capable of is repenting and believing under the conviction of sin from the Holy Spirit. That is how great of a God we serve.

The Kingdom of God grows on its own.

Look back with me at verses 27-28

Mark 4:27–28 ESV

27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

As we saw, previously, God does everything in the process of drawing sinners to Himself. Upon drawing sinners to Himself through the proclamation of the Word and the work of the Holy Spirit, the Word or the Gospel begins to work within the life of the believer. We see this clearly evident within this parable. Notice that the man or the farmer goes to sleep and rises over the course of time. What we notice is that he contributes nothing to the growth of the plant. The seed is planted and grows on its own. This is the same with the Gospel. The Word of God is not dependent upon man as we just looked at. The Kingdom of God has the power, under the sovereignty of God, to grow on its own. God gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 ESV

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 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. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

Here we see it clearly laid out. You see, Paul is addressing the church in Corinth. As he does so, he is calling out division within the church at the time. The Corinthians were claiming that they followed Apollos who was a preacher. Then, others claimed that they followed Paul. However, Paul points out that he and Apollos both were simply doing what God had called them to do. They are called to follow Christ above all else. Likewise, Paul reveals that God is the One who gives the growth not Apollos or Paul. God gives the growth.

Therefore, we understand from the parable of Jesus and the message from Paul that God is the One who builds His own kingdom. God has the ability to act however He wants. We must simply be willing to allow for Him to work in us.

John MacArthur states, “Clearly, it does not depend on the evangelist but only on God, who imparts life through the power of the gospel.”

God’s Word has the power to change lives. The Gospel is the message of Jesus Christ. As one hears of his or her sin, they are left hopeless. They understand that they stand before God condemned because of their sin and their only hope is the message of Jesus Christ. As we inherit a sin nature from Adam, we are desperate for salvation. And salvation is found in Christ alone. We must understand that the seed is the Gospel that has the power to save. Jesus Christ stepped down from heaven to save us. He came down from heaven to dwell among sinful humanity though never ever sinning. Then, He went to the cruel cross to die for our sins. His blood was poured out as He bore the wrath of God in our place. He was our substitute. Then, He was buried only to raise from the dead after three days with victory. That is the gospel message of Jesus Christ that has the power to save. It is the message that we, as Christians, possess and are called to share.

Look back with me at verse 28

Mark 4:28 ESV

28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

Notice, that the plant sprouts and grows on its own. Understand again that God does all the work in saving someone. The believer is simply responsible for spreading the seed or sharing the Gospel. Upon doing so, we allow for God to do the rest of the work in drawing the sinner to Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Whenever I was in high school, I had a dear friend of my named Dustin. Share story of Dustin’s rejection.

Once I was in college, I had a dear friend named Austin. Tell of the work of the Word. I planted the seed and God worked in his life bringing him to salvation.

The call for the believer is to plant the seed, step back, and let God do the rest.

MacArthur further says, “Their (the disciples) responsibility was to faithfully preach the message. Having done so, they could trust God with the results.”

It is time for us to be serious about sharing the Gospel and entrusting God with the results. Understand this:

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Let the Gospel do the work because it is the very Word of God that has the power to convict and save the hell-bound sinner.

Upon the sharing the Gospel, the believer gets to rejoice in the work of God.

Mark 4:29 ESV

29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Jesus closes this parable pointing out that once the seed is ripe, the farmer gets to rejoice in the harvest. In other words, when the sinner repents and believers in the Gospel, the believer gets to rejoice in God’s work of saving them.

There is no greater joy than sharing the Gospel with someone, sitting back, and seeing God save them. I found this to be the greatest joy in life. First, I rejoice in being faithful to Christ to share His Gospel. Second, I rejoice knowing the seed of the Gospel has been planted in the life of a nonbeliever. Lastly, if they repent placing their faith in Christ, I get to rejoice as God has saved them. What a treasure it is to see the salvation of a sinner.

Upon their salvation, we rejoice and we will rejoice together for all eternity with that person as they will be saved because of Christ’s work on the cross. This is the promise of the Gospel. We are saved by the work of Christ.

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

This is what we rejoice in as believers. We have been saved by Jesus. He took out place on the cross. He stepped down from heaven taking on human flesh though fully God. He lived perfectly when we could not. He then took our place on the cross. You deserve the cross. I deserve the cross. But you see, if we would have went to the cross it would not have been sufficient because we cannot live up to the law. Jesus is perfect and lived perfectly according to the law. In doing so, He was the only One who could pay for our sins. God provided the perfect sacrifice for our sins all for the sake of saving us. That is grace. We do not deserve Christ lifted up on the cross. We deserve the wrath of God because of our sin against Him. However, we rejoice in the grace of God in giving His very own Son for us to be saved. Jesus took our place on the cross and died. Then, as He was buried, Jesus rose from the grave victorious on the third day. Jesus is the victor.

We must rejoice in this message of Christ and Him crucified in order that it is upon our heart and lips to take it to the lost and dying world. This our call. We are called to scatter the seed of the Gospel. Are you doing that? Are you spreading the Gospel seed? Are you planting the seed, sitting back, and waiting to see God work?

When God does work, understand that we will celebrate with those whom He saves. We will rejoice for all eternity before the throne of God forever.

Who will you seek to share the Gospel with in hope of worship God with them for eternity?