I Can't See The Growth
Mark 4:26-32
Message #14
Three messages ago, we started looking at the only Chapter of parables in the Gospel of Mark. For the first two messages, we focused on how the parables of Jesus require us to “Check Our Heart.” Because the beginning of the chapter made it clear that the condition of our heart is what determines if we can hear and receive the life-changing truth of the Word of God – or not. And then last week we asked the question, what if the condition of my heart is not right? And we said God’s answer is to “Be Born Again.”
Today, to finish Mark’s chapter on parables, we look at two similar teachings that both illustrate the mystery and the growth of the Kingdom of God. Ultimately the growth of the Kingdom of God is a miraculous mystery, and so we are forced to trust God that he is bringing the fruit, and he is growing his Kingdom, even when we can’t see the growth.
These parables in Mark Chapter 4 are all about the growth of the Kingdom of God, and maybe more specifically the way in which the Kingdom of God grows And the more we look at these parables, the more we understand that some growth of the Kingdom of God we can’t really see, and we can’t fully understand. There’s a mystery to it – we can’t see it all – we can’t understand it all.
And so, the mystery of the growth of the Kingdom of God is the focus in these last two parables. Here’s the first one in Mark 4:26-29.
Mark 4:26–29 (NLT)
26 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground.
27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.
28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.
29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”
Jesus is back to the soil and the seed, but this time he’s not talking about the condition of the soil. He’s talking about the mystery of the growth of the seed. But Jesus is not describing the full agricultural process. He’s not writing the Farmer’s Almanac for the first-century farmers. Jesus is trying to draw our attention to one thing. What is it? Look for what Jesus is teaching by seeing what Jesus is repeating. Let's look at Mark 4:27.
Mark 4:27 (NLT)
27 Night and day, while he (the farmer) is asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.
Jesus isn’t referring to an inexperienced farmer. He’s pointing out the fact that there’s a mystery to the growing of the seed that the farmer is not involved in and does not fully understand. Then, Mark 4:28.
Mark 4:28 (NLT)
28 The earth produces the crops on its own (without the farmer). First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.
Again, Jesus is not focused on teaching the farmer how to manage his farm. Jesus is focused on the mystery of the seed growing because it explains a deep spiritual truth. Let’s try not to miss it. So, verse 27 says the farmer doesn’t understand how the seed grows, and verse 28 says the growth of the seed is a mystery. And then – Mark 4:29.
Mark 4:29 (NLT)
29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”
Now – the ultimate harvester is God, not us. And so, this can refer to us being involved in God’s harvest, OR it can refer to God bringing the harvest on his own and in his time.
But here’s the big picture we don’t want to miss. The growth of the Kingdom of God is a mystery, and it’s growing in another dimension (if you will) that we can’t see with our natural eyes. But, if the seed of the Word of God is going out when the seed falls on the soil of a receptive heart, it will begin a mysterious and miraculous process. We may not be able to see it, but it is happening, we have God’s Word on it.
Isaiah 55:10–11 (NLT)
10 “The rain . . . cause[s] the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
Guys, God is in charge of producing the fruit. We are responsible for sowing the seed that God sends us out to sow.
But, as this parable in Mark 4 describes, there is a time when there is little to show for the sowing of the seed. On the surface, it may look like nothing much is happening. But God promises us that: His Word will produce fruit, and his Word will accomplish all God wants it to, and his Word will prosper wherever he sends it. There will be growth of the Kingdom through the sowing of God’s Word, whether the natural eye can see it or not. Let me give you just two examples.
Just three days ago, at our Annual Harvest Festival, we presented the Gospel message 635 times in four hours. Not to a group of 635 people, but individually, one-on-one, we shared the love of God in Jesus Christ 635 times. Mostly to children. Approximately 200 of those children (and some adults) asked Jesus to come into their lives and be their Savior.
We are a church of 150 people, and we presented the Gospel to 600 individual people in one night. And this was our tenth year doing that. We’ve had as high as 350 commitments in one night, but just using the 200 average per year, that means in just this one event in the past ten years, (in this town of 7,000) we’ve had 2,000 people ask Jesus to come into their life and be their Savior.
But here’s the thing that challenges our faith. Our church is still the same physical size as it was ten years ago. Why? Maybe it’s because we don’t know how to grow a big church (which is true), but maybe it’s because most of those 2,000 salvations have been children.
So, let me ask, does God hear the prayer of a child when they ask Jesus to come into their lives? And so, what will happen to the new life that was planted in those 200 children (and some adults) last Thursday night?
In some for sure (and we would pray ALL), the seed of the Word of God will germinate… it will grow. And soon, one little blade of life will start sticking out as a sign. And then the Word that was planted will continue to grow, and ultimately, that new life will produce fruit, and the Kingdom of God will grow! That is how it really works.
It’s not a cooler atmosphere and better coffee that grows the Kingdom of God. It is salvation being planted in people’s hearts and God being trusted to grow his Kingdom – his way.
And it’s the same thing with our Word By Mail ministry. In the first 13 years of that ministry, we mailed out, or handed out (all free of charge) over 400,000 CD’s with the clear teaching of the Word of God on them and the family of God that’s been built from that – is HUGE.
I recently talked to a woman from South Africa who says she’s been listening to Word By Mail for years, and God has used that ministry dramatically in her life. And the Word By Mail phone app, which has over 800 messages we’ve taught here, has been downloaded by over 5,000 people. And I communicate through the phone app – each week with over 2000 of those people, and we are still a church of 150.
Guys, the Kingdom of God is growing through the existence of this church today as it is through the existence of every Bible teaching church on earth. The fact that we can’t see it with our physical eyes does not change the fact that God is growing his Kingdom as his Word continues to be sown and sent out.
So, the first parable is about trusting God when we don’t see any growth, trusting that growth is occurring in a dimension you can’t see, trusting that the harvest will come in God’s time and in God’s way – and not by your own effort or inline with your own logic.
And so, we finish today with the last parable Mark uses in his Gospel. Jesus taught a lot more parables than this. But Mark moves fast. As soon as he’s made his point, he’s on to the next big truth (that’s what we love about Mark). So, Jesus is going to start again with a different parable but with the same subject.
Mark 4:30-32 (NLT)
30 Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it?
31 It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds,
32 but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”
Here, Jesus is reinforcing the miracle of small beginnings by comparing the Kingdom of God – to the mustard seed. The mustard seed was widely used as a proverb or a figure of speech in the Jewish culture. They used it to describe the smallest of things.
And it seems kind of wrong, doesn’t it, to compare the Kingdom of God in its eternal grandness to something the Jews used to refer to the smallest of things. But Jesus is not talking about the eternal, heavenly Kingdom of God. He’s talking about the growth of the Kingdom of God on earth. And here, Jesus says the growth of the Kingdom of God on earth starts with the smallest of things.
We’ve been trained by our “succeed big” culture to not embrace small things – small works of God – or small churches. But Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like the smallest of all seeds – the mustard seed.
But (verse 32 says) “it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”
The mustard plant is a garden plant that easily grows to 9 feet tall or more and grows large enough for birds to make nests in its shade.
Now, some people don’t like this reference to birds, because, at times, birds are used to represent evil. However, birds are also used in a positive sense in scripture. In any case, the focus of this parable is not on the birds. The focus and the context are clearly on the growth of the Kingdom of God.
So, our second parable today is simply a reiteration that God uses small seeds, and he works mysteriously and miraculously with those small seeds, and he does what he wants to do, and he does it when he wants to do it. And ultimately, God will bring a great harvest from even the smallest seed of his Word when it is sown where he sends it.
Our responsibility is to sow the seed of the Word that God’s given us. Some of that seed will fall on hard hearts. Some on shallow hearts. Some on thorny hearts. And some will fall on fertile hearts of those who desire to receive the Word. And when that seed is planted in the heart of a person who desires to receive it. God is the one who germinates that seed. God is the one who grows that seed. And God is the one who brings that seed to harvest.
So, as you join God in his Kingdom work. Sow his Word in patient faith, knowing that it is God who causes the seed to grow. And know that as we continue to sow his Word where he sends us, God will cause a mysterious, miraculous growth in the spiritual realm.
And we may, or may not, see much of it. But if we will keep sowing God’s living, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword Word, God will produce the true spiritual fruit; God will bring the harvest, God will grow his Kingdom!
So, do we need human, tangible evidence? OR do we need more faith in God?
Today, to finish Mark’s chapter on parables, we look at two similar teachings that both illustrate the mystery and the growth of the Kingdom of God. Ultimately the growth of the Kingdom of God is a miraculous mystery, and so we are forced to trust God that he is bringing the fruit, and he is growing his Kingdom, even when we can’t see the growth.
These parables in Mark Chapter 4 are all about the growth of the Kingdom of God, and maybe more specifically the way in which the Kingdom of God grows And the more we look at these parables, the more we understand that some growth of the Kingdom of God we can’t really see, and we can’t fully understand. There’s a mystery to it – we can’t see it all – we can’t understand it all.
And so, the mystery of the growth of the Kingdom of God is the focus in these last two parables. Here’s the first one in Mark 4:26-29.
Mark 4:26–29 (NLT)
26 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground.
27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.
28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.
29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”
Jesus is back to the soil and the seed, but this time he’s not talking about the condition of the soil. He’s talking about the mystery of the growth of the seed. But Jesus is not describing the full agricultural process. He’s not writing the Farmer’s Almanac for the first-century farmers. Jesus is trying to draw our attention to one thing. What is it? Look for what Jesus is teaching by seeing what Jesus is repeating. Let's look at Mark 4:27.
Mark 4:27 (NLT)
27 Night and day, while he (the farmer) is asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.
Jesus isn’t referring to an inexperienced farmer. He’s pointing out the fact that there’s a mystery to the growing of the seed that the farmer is not involved in and does not fully understand. Then, Mark 4:28.
Mark 4:28 (NLT)
28 The earth produces the crops on its own (without the farmer). First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.
Again, Jesus is not focused on teaching the farmer how to manage his farm. Jesus is focused on the mystery of the seed growing because it explains a deep spiritual truth. Let’s try not to miss it. So, verse 27 says the farmer doesn’t understand how the seed grows, and verse 28 says the growth of the seed is a mystery. And then – Mark 4:29.
Mark 4:29 (NLT)
29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”
Now – the ultimate harvester is God, not us. And so, this can refer to us being involved in God’s harvest, OR it can refer to God bringing the harvest on his own and in his time.
But here’s the big picture we don’t want to miss. The growth of the Kingdom of God is a mystery, and it’s growing in another dimension (if you will) that we can’t see with our natural eyes. But, if the seed of the Word of God is going out when the seed falls on the soil of a receptive heart, it will begin a mysterious and miraculous process. We may not be able to see it, but it is happening, we have God’s Word on it.
Isaiah 55:10–11 (NLT)
10 “The rain . . . cause[s] the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
Guys, God is in charge of producing the fruit. We are responsible for sowing the seed that God sends us out to sow.
But, as this parable in Mark 4 describes, there is a time when there is little to show for the sowing of the seed. On the surface, it may look like nothing much is happening. But God promises us that: His Word will produce fruit, and his Word will accomplish all God wants it to, and his Word will prosper wherever he sends it. There will be growth of the Kingdom through the sowing of God’s Word, whether the natural eye can see it or not. Let me give you just two examples.
Just three days ago, at our Annual Harvest Festival, we presented the Gospel message 635 times in four hours. Not to a group of 635 people, but individually, one-on-one, we shared the love of God in Jesus Christ 635 times. Mostly to children. Approximately 200 of those children (and some adults) asked Jesus to come into their lives and be their Savior.
We are a church of 150 people, and we presented the Gospel to 600 individual people in one night. And this was our tenth year doing that. We’ve had as high as 350 commitments in one night, but just using the 200 average per year, that means in just this one event in the past ten years, (in this town of 7,000) we’ve had 2,000 people ask Jesus to come into their life and be their Savior.
But here’s the thing that challenges our faith. Our church is still the same physical size as it was ten years ago. Why? Maybe it’s because we don’t know how to grow a big church (which is true), but maybe it’s because most of those 2,000 salvations have been children.
So, let me ask, does God hear the prayer of a child when they ask Jesus to come into their lives? And so, what will happen to the new life that was planted in those 200 children (and some adults) last Thursday night?
In some for sure (and we would pray ALL), the seed of the Word of God will germinate… it will grow. And soon, one little blade of life will start sticking out as a sign. And then the Word that was planted will continue to grow, and ultimately, that new life will produce fruit, and the Kingdom of God will grow! That is how it really works.
It’s not a cooler atmosphere and better coffee that grows the Kingdom of God. It is salvation being planted in people’s hearts and God being trusted to grow his Kingdom – his way.
And it’s the same thing with our Word By Mail ministry. In the first 13 years of that ministry, we mailed out, or handed out (all free of charge) over 400,000 CD’s with the clear teaching of the Word of God on them and the family of God that’s been built from that – is HUGE.
I recently talked to a woman from South Africa who says she’s been listening to Word By Mail for years, and God has used that ministry dramatically in her life. And the Word By Mail phone app, which has over 800 messages we’ve taught here, has been downloaded by over 5,000 people. And I communicate through the phone app – each week with over 2000 of those people, and we are still a church of 150.
Guys, the Kingdom of God is growing through the existence of this church today as it is through the existence of every Bible teaching church on earth. The fact that we can’t see it with our physical eyes does not change the fact that God is growing his Kingdom as his Word continues to be sown and sent out.
So, the first parable is about trusting God when we don’t see any growth, trusting that growth is occurring in a dimension you can’t see, trusting that the harvest will come in God’s time and in God’s way – and not by your own effort or inline with your own logic.
And so, we finish today with the last parable Mark uses in his Gospel. Jesus taught a lot more parables than this. But Mark moves fast. As soon as he’s made his point, he’s on to the next big truth (that’s what we love about Mark). So, Jesus is going to start again with a different parable but with the same subject.
Mark 4:30-32 (NLT)
30 Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it?
31 It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds,
32 but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”
Here, Jesus is reinforcing the miracle of small beginnings by comparing the Kingdom of God – to the mustard seed. The mustard seed was widely used as a proverb or a figure of speech in the Jewish culture. They used it to describe the smallest of things.
And it seems kind of wrong, doesn’t it, to compare the Kingdom of God in its eternal grandness to something the Jews used to refer to the smallest of things. But Jesus is not talking about the eternal, heavenly Kingdom of God. He’s talking about the growth of the Kingdom of God on earth. And here, Jesus says the growth of the Kingdom of God on earth starts with the smallest of things.
We’ve been trained by our “succeed big” culture to not embrace small things – small works of God – or small churches. But Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like the smallest of all seeds – the mustard seed.
But (verse 32 says) “it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”
The mustard plant is a garden plant that easily grows to 9 feet tall or more and grows large enough for birds to make nests in its shade.
Now, some people don’t like this reference to birds, because, at times, birds are used to represent evil. However, birds are also used in a positive sense in scripture. In any case, the focus of this parable is not on the birds. The focus and the context are clearly on the growth of the Kingdom of God.
So, our second parable today is simply a reiteration that God uses small seeds, and he works mysteriously and miraculously with those small seeds, and he does what he wants to do, and he does it when he wants to do it. And ultimately, God will bring a great harvest from even the smallest seed of his Word when it is sown where he sends it.
Our responsibility is to sow the seed of the Word that God’s given us. Some of that seed will fall on hard hearts. Some on shallow hearts. Some on thorny hearts. And some will fall on fertile hearts of those who desire to receive the Word. And when that seed is planted in the heart of a person who desires to receive it. God is the one who germinates that seed. God is the one who grows that seed. And God is the one who brings that seed to harvest.
So, as you join God in his Kingdom work. Sow his Word in patient faith, knowing that it is God who causes the seed to grow. And know that as we continue to sow his Word where he sends us, God will cause a mysterious, miraculous growth in the spiritual realm.
And we may, or may not, see much of it. But if we will keep sowing God’s living, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword Word, God will produce the true spiritual fruit; God will bring the harvest, God will grow his Kingdom!
So, do we need human, tangible evidence? OR do we need more faith in God?