Seeds
PPT 1 Message Title
PPT 2 main text
Mr 4:26 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;
Mr 4:27 and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows — how, he himself does not know.
Mr 4:28 "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.
Mark 4 3 parables about seeds.
The first is about human responsibility. The second is about the divine power inside the seed, and the third is about the incredible increase of the seed.
I am only going to go over two, and not talk about the third today.
A parable is a story that is used to illustrate a truth.
For example the truth Jesus is teaching in the first parable is that not everyone responds to the bible in the same way. To illustrate that truth He tells the parable of the sower.
Jesus talks about the type of soil in which the seed is received will determine the effectiveness and yield of the crop.
In this parable there is no mention of plowing, no watering, no fertilizing. Because the emphasis is on the type of soil, not the care of the farmer.
Some places because the seed is unable to penetrate the soil there will be no crop at all (Explain), some places it will grow but because it is among the weeds, the weeds will steal the nutrients and kill it. (Explain) Some will grow on rocky soil, spring up quickly, but because there is little dirt under it, where there is little dirt, there is little moisture, the plant in the hot sun will die of dehydration. (Explain) The fourth type of seed is in good soil and grows and reproduces wonderfully. The overall message of that parable is what type of soil are you? The same seed produces different results, the difference is the soil.
PPT 3 text
Mr 4:20 "And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
In Luke's gospel he further explains that the good soil is a good and noble heart.
But I can find a second message in there, and that is about the crazy farmer.
He threw seed everywhere seemingly wasting it, in the thorns, the rocks, by the walkway.
Who plants seeds in the thorns? On the rocky soil? - Jesus does, that's who.
He is not willing that any should perish.
(Note to pastor's at this point in the sermon I began throwing seeds around some of the corners and obscure places around the pulpit then from behind a corner I pulled out a plant and said, "will would you look at that, this seed grew in the most unlikely of places)
God will sow in places where there is no logical hope for growth. We should be like our heavenly Father and sow into lives that in the natural it seems like a waste of time. God's seed is capable of springing up anywhere
There is also a third message I can find in this parable:
Message to us: you don't need a Ph.D. in plant biology to plant seeds. Just scatter them.
Illus: $150,000 farm tractor with 4 migrant workers on the back dropping seeds. The machine can do it much better. The heavenly farmer doesn't really need us, He could do it better all by Himself, but He chooses to let us have a part. Not simply let but He has hired us = responsibility!
Does it really matter how good you are at throwing them? Do you have to be able spin them just so for them to grow? (Illus with fanciful seed throwing, ) No just throw them around. Throw them everywhere and anywhere!
Life is in the seed, and the soil, not the sower. Trust the seed. Stop worrying about how good a sower you are. Isn't that a liberating thought?
So the first parable is primarily about human responsibility, as shown in the different conditions of the soil.
The second parable is about the inherent power God has placed in a seed.
PPT 4 text
Mr 4:26 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;
Mr 4:27 and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows — how, he himself does not know.
Mr 4:28 "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.
When this parable was written man had no idea how a seed grows. We do know there are certain conditions that are necessary for seed growth and they are:
Soil
Water
Temperature
Light
But that doesn't explain how a seed grows. It was until the 1800's that we began to crack that code. It is now generally believed that light and gravity are the two main forces that impact a seeds growth.
PPT 5 stages of a seeds growth. (Explain pic)
What had mystified science was why part of the plant grew down and part of the plant grew up. Part was more susceptible to gravity and part was more susceptible to light. Case closed, not exactly.
With advent of the International Space station. We were able to plant things in "zero" gravity and amazingly part grew into the soil, and part grew towards light. I don't think we fully understand the mechanism on how seeds grow. What I find interesting about the space station experiments is that in indicates to me that God intends for us to explore space. The question is what will happen when we get into space with real zero gravity. (The space between universes.)
Leave that aside, getting back to our parable it teaches that seeds have a wonderful ability to grow, and that we as people should have a good nights sleep and trust God about the growth of our seeds.
Seeds firstly in being true to the parable, represent telling others of the love of God. Whether they be strangers, friends, children. Whoever. The first parable talks about the need for good soil, this parable bypasses that thought and seeks to encourage us in that seeds have an incredible power to grow.
The importance for this parable is to keep us from ever saying someone is not very good soil. The soil is important but the seed is incredible powerful.
PPT 6 text
Isaiah 55:10 Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don't go back until they've watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
Isaiah 55:11 So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignment I gave them.
Some of you have shared your faith with friends, family or co-workers, only to be ignored, ridiculed or attacked. The people you love and desire to see come to Jesus seem as though they could care less about what you have to say to them about and the condition of their souls. That can be very discouraging.
This parable offers hope to those who take the time to share their faith with others. This parable teaches us that the Gospel seed has power. It teaches us that, while we may not see immediate results for our efforts, the Gospel will bear fruit in the Lord's time.
Never think for a minute that your witness for Jesus is in vain. You cannot see what God is doing! He is working behind the scenes and beneath the soil of hearts to bring people to Himself.
Here is an interesting text
PPT 7 text
Isaiah 32:20 How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.
The word beside is not in the Hebrew text it is added to give clarity, but many commentators feel it is the wrong word. The Hebrew translation, "beside," ought rather to be translated, "upon" (#Ec 11:1), where the meaning is, "Cast thy seed upon the waters when the river overflows its banks; the seed will sink into the mud and will spring up when the waters subside, and you will find it after many days in a rich harvest."
That is appended with the statement about letting out the ox and the donkey. That is how you plant rice. The ox going into the overflowed river banks and plow up the ground. Rice is a main staple for 2/3's of the worlds population. (Look at and explain pic)
The message is the seed will grow and you probably will not see it happen. Sow anyway!
PPT 8 Pic
Seeds can also represent our prayers. Something we are yearning for God to do. We sow the seed. The prayer. God is responsible for the seed to be able to work. He is the one primarily responsible for the conditions necessary for growth. You never know the ground may only be 1 degree away from the proper temperature for germination.
The moisture it needs maybe just now getting to the pod.
The root may have already started growing. The message of the parable is that if you plant a seed it will grow. You can rest in that. Staying up all night worrying will do nothing. Plant your seeds, trust God you will have a harvest.
As I close I want to challenge you to sow in unlikely places.
Also I am aware that there are some here today that seeds have been planted in your life by God and it is time to let them bloom. You want more of God. You want to be closer to Him. What I am saying is this, we often get worked up about the seeds we have planted and pray about God getting them growing. But, we should also be concerned about seeds God has planted is us, are they growing? Has God burdened you about something or some situation? Have you responded to the call to the "Sweet hour of Prayer?" What seeds has He placed in your life that He is still waiting to mature?
Pray with me. I am going to ask you to pray 2 prayers with me. The first is for seeds you have sown in the lives of others, the second is for seeds that God has sown in our life. Sometimes in life you sow kindness and you reap anger. Don't stop there. In Masada Israel, a 2000 year old date palm seed was found in the fortress there, hidden in a jar. It was taken by the archeology team and for 40 years it was in storage. In 2005 it was planted and bloomed! So follow me in a simple prayer for your dormant seeds.
Father, I thank you, that every seed I have planted will bear fruit. They will prosper, they will grow, the enemy cannot hinder them, for the power of God is energizing them, in Jesus name amen!
Now I want for us to pray for seeds that God has sown into our lives that haven't yet bloomed.
Father you have placed within me seeds that were designed for me to be a beautiful plant in your garden.
My own sinfulness or carelessness has prevented them from growing. Forgive me. I surrender to you, so that every plan you have for my life will prosper. In Jesus name, Amen!
