We have been looking at the Parable of the Sower. For the past few messages we have been looking at the thorny ground in the passage. Let’s get back to it again today. Jesus said:
“Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, but their lives become full of other things: the worries of this life, the love of money, and everything else they want. This keeps the teaching from growing, and it does not produce a crop in their lives.” (Mark 4:18,19)
For about a week now we have been focused in on the line, “the worries of this life,” or as other translations read, “the cares of this world.” Today, as we flow in the same vein, I want us to look at something Jesus said later on in this chapter. Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29)
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- Jesus likened the Word of God to seed and us to soil. The Word will work, Jesus explained, all by itself. A farmer does not require a degree in agriculture to farm. He does not need to understand how the seed produces. All he needs to do is sow the seed into the ground and then allow the seed and the soil to do what God created them to do. That’s the picture God gives us for His Word. The Word of God will work if you allow it to work. You don’t have to make it work. You don’t necessarily have to know how it is going to work. But you do have to ensure that you are not fighting against it from working. If you give your mind over to the cares of this world, the love of money, or the lust for selfish desires, you are literally creating and feeding weeds that are working against the Word. You are actively fighting against and God His Word from working when you give your attention, and your heart, to the wrong things. If this is you this morning, it is time to make some changes. It is time for you to enter into God’s rest, so His Word can work in your life.
- When God sows His Word into your heart He wants you to rest in what He said. If you rest in what He said, then the Word will work, whether you understand how it is working or not. You don’t need to know how God is going to do it, you just have to believe that He will. However, if you feed your doubts and meditate on the cares of this world, while you “claim” to be waiting on God, your heart will produce weeds and the weeds will choke-out the Word. That’s why your thoughts are so important to God. What you focus on daily is directly correlated to what you experience in Christ.
- While you are resting, God is working. If you truly rest in what God said, then He will work to ensure it comes to pass. Jesus painted the picture of a farmer who sows seed in the ground and whether the farmer is up or sleeping, the seed and the soil are still working. The farmer does not need to know how, it just produces. That’s exactly what happens when you rest in God’s Word. You don’t take on any pressure make it happen. You make yourself available to God to do something, if the Holy Spirit leads you to do it. But otherwise, you are trusting Him to do what He said He would do.
- Entering into God’s rest, in my experience, is one of the hardest things to do as a believer. If you are anything like me, then you are ready to go MAKE IT HAPPEN! I have no problem doing whatever God tells me to do when I have to DO SOMETHING. The hardest thing for me is when God says, “Stand still. I’ve got this. Watch me do it.” At that point I am waiting and I am supposed to be RESTING in God. But honestly, this is not easy for me. I would much rather God tell me to GO AFTER IT then simply rest while He does it. But this is the life of faith. Faith requires a level of trust and confidence in God. Faith requires resting when God says to rest and working when God says to work. When the farmer prepares the soil, he is working. When he sows the seed, he is working. But once the seed is in the ground, he has to trust that the seed and the soil are going to do what they were designed by God to do. He has to rest while God does the work. And as Jesus said, even when the farmer is sleeping, the seed and the soil are still working. So even when it does not look like anything is happening, God is working, the Word is working, and if you rest long enough, you WILL see the manifestation of God’s promise!
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. My expectation is tied to Your Word. I put Your Word through my eye-gates, and it gets down in my heart. I put Your Word through my ear-gates, and it gets down in my heart. Now that Your Word has been sown in the soil of my heart, I allow Your Word to work. I don’t need to know how. I don’t need to know when. I just need to trust that You, as the Lord of the Harvest, will see to it that Your Word produces in my life. Even while I’m sleeping, Your Word is working. My part is to ensure I don’t produce weeds that will work against Your Word. So I refuse to take on the cares of this world. For years I worked hard, on my own, with human ability, and I did not give You a chance to work in my life. Now I rest and allow You to work. I will only do what You lead me to do. This is a much better way to live! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
