THE COMPONENTS OF GROWTH
#115 THE COMPONENTS OF GROWTH
Scripture Mark 4:1-20 NIV Orig. 12/11/83
Rewr. 8/19/86
Passage: Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Purpose: Continuing a Prayer Meeting series form Mark, sharing with my people the need to commit oneself to the task of learning the Kingdom of God.
Introduction
Helen Keller once responded to a student’s question about the difficulty of blindness by responding that it was worse to “have eyes and not be able to see.” She merely wanted to shock the shortsighted into the realization that one must pursue for understanding, even of the Kingdom of God. The hearer must not only be aware of the words spoken, he must heed them with the intent to understand and believe.
There is a great host of people, to whom the gospel has been revealed, yet who choose not to believe. Opportunity may be extended. Obligation is clearly demanded. Open heartedness is the need of the hour. But all too often, opinion is allowed to cloud the mind and close the door of faith.
The issue addressed by Jesus in this parable is simply in determination of whether we hear Him or another. Matthew 13:15 (context) “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should turn again, and I should heal them.”
Isaiah 6:9-10 “9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Mark 4:24 “And He said unto them, ‘Take heed what ye hear.’”
Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear.”
I. The First Component Is the Seed as the Hearing of Faith. V4 “. . . as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside . . . v5 other fell on the rocky ground . . . v7 and other fell among the thorns . . . and others fell into the good ground.”
Recall the occasion of this teaching, somewhere in Galilee with a large crowd, curious, concerned, confused, contentious. He was positioned to teach effectively (Mark 3:9). They saw also the fields, paths, sower, and birds.
As the parable revolves around seed, we must briefly examine it. No distinction is made in the quality of the seed. Farmers go to great length to compare seed types and their yields, using computer records and magazine recommendations. Here, the seed stands for “the word of the Kingdom.” Luke 8:12 “The seed is the word of God.” Mark 4:14 “The sower soweth the word.”
What we know is that in every instance the right seed is used. I Peter 1:23 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever.”
II. The Next Component Is the Soil: The Heart Seeking Fulfillment. V4f “. . . wayside . . . stony ground . . . among thorns . . . good ground.”
The wayside hearer has a hard, beaten, worn pathway. There is good seed, but no soil. Seeds roll before the wind, and are scavenged by birds. The seed does not even germinate.
The stony ground hearer has good seed, but the soil is poor. The seed did germinate, but no depth of earth existed to offer moisture. Without roots it wilted under a hot sun. This is the hearer who listens but does nothing with what he hears.
The thorny ground hearer has good seed and good soil, but competition for soil moisture and nourishment is acute. For instance, at an athletic contest there are ability and desire; victory often belongs not to ability but to desire. Player and coach communication are the key. How preoccupied are we at Bible study or worship or witness opportunities?
The good ground hearer has good seed and good soil. Growth begins quickly with singlemindedness.
III. The Final Component Is that the Sower Is God. V3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.” Jesus, in Matthew 13:18, calls this the “Parable of the Sower.” Note that there were no distinctions in the quality of the seed, nor in the intent of the sower. The singular difference is the soil. The sower, however, is not incidental. We perceive that he stands in the place of God. Little else is known. Mark says, “Listen! Behold!”
Other scriptural references to sowing are:
Ezekiel 28:25, “I gathered Israel from the people among whom they were scattered.”
Amos 9:15, “I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be pulled up.”
Matthew 13:37, “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man.”
IV. Lessons
No farmer plants his seed minimally. Farmer Buddy Fairchild replanted with 80% growth. God will not do less than we. II Corinthians 9:6 “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he that sows bountifully will reap also bountifully.”
The responsibility for receptivity is our own. Keep the components clear, encourage children, influence others. The end result is judgment on what we do with what we have. I Corinthians 2:14, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.” Galatians 6:8, “He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Conclusion
I remind you that the land we eagerly wait to plow and to plant in the spring owes us no bountiful crop; it owes us only the right to get out of it what we can and will. The schools of the parish owe no student an education; but he is owed the right to pursue the fullest of which he is capable. God’s creative genius does not owe the nations peace; He owes us the right to pursue peace and to show that we are worthy of it.