The Powerful Word

The Powerful Word Planted In & Through You

6.20.21 [Mark 4:21-36] River of Life (4th Sunday after Pentecost)

I am a very rich man. Look at all these packets of seeds. That would be a strange statement for anyone to make, right? When you go to your local home improvement store of choice, they have racks of seeds, just sitting there out in the open. There are other items that require the assistance of an employee to unlock sliding cases, but not seeds, right? It would be really strange to go to Lowes or Home Depot, looking for some tomato seeds and the employee to tell you that they’re in the vault.

But in Fort Collins, Colorado, that’s exactly where the seeds are kept. On Colorado State University’s campus there are more than 850,000 plant seeds and materials kept safe in subzero cooler rooms within a catastrophe-ready facility. It may seem like a lot of time, treasures, and talents just for seeds, but we only have that view because these seeds are so readily available to us right now.

Seeds may not look like much, but they are critical for life. It’s part of God’s design for creation. On the third day, (Gen. 1:11) God said, Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. And they did. (Gen. 1:12) And God saw that it was good.

Jesus also saw that vegetation was a good place to teach people about the kingdom of God. So many of Jesus’ parables involve plants—especially (Mk. 12:1-11) vineyards, (Mk. 4:1-20) fields of crops and (Mt. 7:15-20) good trees and bad. (Mark 4:1-20) This very chapter began with Jesus’ famous parable of the four kinds of soil: the hard path, the thin soil, the thorny ground, and the good soil. (Mt. 13:24-31) There is another parable about the weeds and the wheat. And each of the parables serves as kind of a warning to us about the fact that God’s kingdom will experience challenges and frustrations. Just as God’s creation has been (Rom. 8:20) frustrated by sin, so God’s kingdom will faces obstacles in this world. No one needs to sow weeds for them to flourish, and no one needs to advocate for sin for it to multiply.

But the parables before us are far more inspiring and encouraging. The first is about a farmer and his seed. Jesus emphasizes the power of that seed. All the man did was throw it on the ground. He didn’t give it any commands. He cannot even explain how it all happens. But it grows, (Mk. 4:28) all by itself, in stages, just as God designed it. (Mk. 4:28) First the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel. Finally, it reaches its objective in producing ripe grain so that it may be harvested and benefit the farmer.

The second is about the mustard seed. Renowned for its smallness as a seed, Jesus reminds the people what happens as it develops. (Mk. 4:32) It grows and becomes the largest of all the garden plants, with such big branches that even the birds can nest in it.

So what’s the point? Over and over again, the Scriptures compare the Word of God to a seed. In fact, in the parable just before this, with the four soils, (Mk. 4:14) the seed represented the Word of God. This picture is so well-known that Peter, James, and Paul all use it with little explanation. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul speaks of his work among that city. (1 Cor. 3:6-7) I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. Peter says we have been (1 Pt. 1:23) born again through the imperishable seed, the living and enduring Word of God. James implores us, to (James 1:21) humbly accept the Word planted in you, which can save you, (James 1:18) so that you might be a kind of firstfruits of all God created. You cannot read the Scriptures and not connect these dots. But we must understand why they all speak this way.

Consider what it takes to grow something good. You need proper soil, water, sunlight, and the right temperature. Those are what make up what we call ideal conditions. But even with these ideal conditions, we still need the seed. Without the seed, nothing but weeds are growing.

At the same time, the conditions are almost never ideal. Sometimes the soil is too thin or too thick. Sometimes, the water comes all at once, or not at all. The sun can shine too much. And the temperature can fluctuate wildly. Yet, even under less than ideal conditions, a seed can still germinate and grow and reach its goal. The soil doesn’t have to be perfect. The water can be infrequent. The sunlight can be spotty. The weather can be unseasonable and the seed can still survive and even thrive. Ideal conditions produce nothing without the seed and the seed can still grow in less than ideal conditions. That’s the power of the seed. And that is what makes the seed so precious to the farmer. He doesn’t purposefully put it in tough spots, but he also knows without it, he’s got nothing.

We are in a similar spot with the Word of God, aren’t we? What we have here is powerful. In ideal conditions the fields would quickly fill up with ripe grain. But conditions are never ideal in this world. And sometimes, because it feels like the deck is stacked against us, we diminish the power of the Word God has placed in our hands. We get so fixated on what isn’t ideal that we leave the seeds tucked in their packet, waiting for an ideal day or moment that may never come.

It’s not hard to do, is it? Survey the world around you and you will find a prevailing culture that despises everything God has said and Christ has done. Our world glories in what it should be ashamed of. It boasts of pride and love, without the slightest hint of self-awareness or irony. What can a Word do among hearts that are so hard?

Then we look around our own communities and we see problems and complications and troubles. All around us people are sick and sad and suffering. Neighbors are perplexed and frustrated by the many problems that plague us. Loved ones are worried about their futures. What can a Word do for someone who is battling chronic ailments and terminal diseases? What can a Word do for those who have tragically lost loved ones? What can a Word do for someone who is anxious and worried about so many things? In so many of these moments words feel trite and empty, cliched and stale, hackneyed and uninspiring, powerless and purposeless.

Sometimes we even leave this place feeling like the Word of God is something less than as advertised. God tells us that his Word is living and active, but to our ears it has become worn out and tired. Sometimes, we treat our heavenly Father like we do our earthly fathers. Dad, we’ve heard this one a thousand times before! Maybe it’s inspiring and thought-provoking for others, but not for us. Not anymore. This is where Jesus’ warning serves us well, (Mk. 4:24) Consider carefully what you hear. (Mk. 4:25) The one who recognizes what a great treasure he has in God’s Word will be given more great treasures, the one who thinks nothing of this, even what they have will be taken from them.

Jesus wants us to see the powerful gift we have in God’s Word. It may start out small. At first glance it may be anything but impressive. But it is embedded with unrivaled power. It is designed and destined to be productive. (Is. 55:11) God’s Word always accomplishes what he desires and achieves the purpose for which he sent it.

This was not some platitude that Jesus placed before the people because it sounded good. He lived it. Consider Satan’s first temptation in the wilderness. Jesus had been fasting for forty days and forty nights. The devil then tempted hungry Jesus to use his divine power to turn stones into bread. Jesus didn’t say, I’m not that hungry. Rather he recalibrated the matter around his relationship with his Father. A full plate doesn’t mean a full life, and an empty stomach doesn’t mean an empty life. We are more than our stomachs. Man was not meant to (Mt. 4:4) live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

This is why, over and over again, we hear Jesus quoting the Scriptures. He repeats the words of Moses and David, the prophecy of Isaiah, and points to the life of Jonah. These weren’t fanciful stories or mere historical records. These weren’t even the wise words of wise men. The grass withers and the flowers fall; the wise sayings of mere mortals are just like those plants. These were the Words of God himself and, as such, they (1 Pt. 1:25) endure forever. God’s Word dwelled in Christ. Which makes sense because John describes him as the (Jn. 1:17) Word made flesh. Christ came to be and do everything the Scriptures promised.

That is why, when his enemies attacked him, he went back the Scriptures. He invited them to compare his life with the 10 commandments. He showed them in the Word of God how he had come to be the Messiah God had promised. He demonstrated through the Word of God that they were rejecting God’s cornerstone, just as God said would happen. He wanted them to see that the Scriptures were shining a light on him as their Savior from sin. And even as he suffered and died on the cross he continued to quote the Holy Scriptures, because (Lk.1:37) no Word from God can ever fail.

And that should resonate with us. We may think our world has stacked the deck against God’s people, but was Jesus’ world much better? Yet, instead of waging a culture war, he spoke the powerful Word of God to individuals. Instead of lobbying and politicking, he loved sinners and put the Word of God into practice day after day.

We may think the people around us have problems the Word doesn’t address. They are sick and sad and suffering. Wasn’t that true in Jesus’ day? Yes, Jesus’ words and touch and presence had the miraculous power to heal. But what did he tell us was the greater gift, physical healing or the forgiveness of sins? The chronically ill need to hear that Christ has come to set them free from their constant battle against a sinful nature. Those facing a terminal diagnosis need to know that Christ has defanged death and overhauled it so that it has become the gateway to eternal life, where pain and sadness and suffering are forever stripped away. Those who grieve can be comforted with the assurance that in heaven we will be eternally united with all those whom Christ is not ashamed to call brothers and sisters. Those who are anxious and worried about many things must be told that those thoughts are detrimental to our physical and spiritual health and that there is no reason to worry. Not once you know who God is and what he has done, what he is doing, and what he promises he will accomplish. That God has counted every hair on your head. That omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God is working out all things for your good and continues to keep you close to himself. The Word God has given us gives us hope and comfort, direction and consolation in all kinds of situations.

And like a seed, it starts small. Think back, if you even can, to the first day you heard the Word of God. Did you know it all at once? Did you know the power that had been planted in you that day? Of course not! You were told marvelous things about yourself and your God. Things too wonderful for you. Things that you did not understand or appreciate until much later. There are things you have read and learned that are still yet to bear fruit, too. But they will. And not just in you. But in those you share the Word with.

And there are few more powerful and influential voices than that of the earthly father. Our world recognizes this easily, though usually in the negative sense. They understand that what a father says—and even what he doesn’t say—can have a lifelong effect on his kids.

Dads, do you see how God has positioned you? What you say matters. So don’t you want to say something that matters, share something that (Jn. 15:16) lasts, plant something that bears abundant and everlasting fruit? You can. And you must. Keep planting the Word of God in the fertile minds and hearts of your children—no matter how old they are. Rebuke them with clarity and confidence—knowing that what you are holding them to is how God holds his children close. Restore them with gentleness and patience. Teach them that they can never earn forgiveness. It is a gift of God. It is through the hard-earned sacrifice of Christ that all our sins are taken away. Encourage them with zeal and unconditional love. Urge them to live lives that glorify God in all that they think, say, and do. Nothing could make a dad prouder than that. Support them when they are weak with the powerful promises of God. Keep sharing with them the Word of God that gives you the endurance and the direction to run the race that God has marked out for you. Remind them over and over again, what a rich man you are, because you have the seeds of something special right here—the powerful and productive Word of God. Amen.