This morning, we continue our series on “The Parables of Jesus.” We will seek to glean “Pearls from the Parables.”
Before we get to the parable, let’s look at a scripture we have been looking at all year. This is something I believe the Lord wants us to meditate on.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us.
We have been looking at “The Mother of All Parables.” Let’s get back to it today. Jesus said:
(Mark 4:13-20 ERV)
The farmer is like someone who plants God’s teaching in people. Sometimes the teaching falls on the path. That is like some people who hear the teaching of God. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them.
Other people are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching, and they quickly and gladly accept it. But they don’t allow it to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.
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.
And others are like the seed planted on the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce a good crop—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.
For days we have been studying “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 in this chapter. We looked at this yesterday and will look at it again today.
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.
1. Jesus likened the Word of God to seed and us to soil. The Word will work, He explains, all by itself. A farmer does not have to have 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 and 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, but you do have to ensure 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.
2. 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 going to work 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, your heart will produce weeds that will choke out the Word. That’s why your thoughts are so important to God. What you focus on daily is critically important to what you experience in your journey with Christ.
3. 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 to make it happen. You make yourself available to God to do something if He leads you to do it. But otherwise, you are trusting Him to do what He said He would do.
4. Resting in God’s Word requires surrendering control and trusting in His faithfulness. Those who fail to rest in what God said will inevitably “put their hands” on something God is working on for them. In other words, they meddle in God’s work while He is doing what He planned to do. As a result, they can delay their blessing or mess it up all together by fabricating a replacement.
This is what Abraham and Sarah did. God gave them a promise to have a child. They tried to have a baby for years. But after 13 years, since they were still not pregnant. The “care” of the situation overtook them. They came up with an alternate plan. They “put their hands” on the situation while God was working. They created a child with Abraham and another woman, but that child was not the promise. All that child did was: a) delay the blessing and b) cause problems still being felt today.
Resting in God’s promise is not easy. The writer of Hebrews told us that we have to labor to enter into God’s rest. We have to work on not working. But if we do, God will do what He does, and His Word will produce the harvest it was intended to produce!
5. The key to resting in God and His promises is to align your thoughts with God’s Word and resist the temptation to entertain doubts and worries. You must stay focused on God’s promises, on His grace, His love, His faithfulness, and His ability to bring it all to pass! Remember, IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM!
6. Just like the farmer who trusts the process of seed growth without understanding all the details, you must learn to trust God’s Word to produce results in your life. It’s not about your understanding of the process. It’s about your unwavering faith in God and His Word. You must be so convinced of what God said that you do not allow the cares of this world, the love of money, or the lust for other things to interfere with what God is doing on your behalf! In other words, God is working; don’t mess it up!
7. Resting doesn’t mean you are doing nothing.
— Resting doesn’t mean inaction, but rather an attitude of peace and confidence, knowing that God is at work behind the scenes. It’s about cooperating with His divine timing and allowing Him to bring about the harvest in His way.
— Resting in God’s Word is not passive; it’s a deliberate choice to rely on His strength, wisdom, power, and timing. It’s an invitation for Him to work in and through you, bringing about His purposes and glory.
— As you rest in God’s Word, you maintain a posture of expectation and gratitude. You trust that God will fulfill His promises, and you live with a thankful heart, expecting Him to do it at any time! Living this way will help you resist the urge to pursue something else.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
Your Word is powerful and effective. It works all by itself, just like the seed and the soil. I don’t have to make it work; I simply need to allow it to work in my life.
I choose to rest in what You have said, regardless of my understanding. I believe that You will fulfill Your promises in my life, and I refuse to entertain doubts and worries.
While I am resting, I trust that You are actively working on my behalf. I don’t need to take matters into my own hands or feel pressured to make things happen. I surrender control and rely on Your faithfulness.
I refuse to meddle in Your work and fabricate replacements for Your promises. I know that doing so can delay my blessings and create unnecessary problems.
I understand that entering into Your rest requires effort and a deliberate choice to align my thoughts with Your Word. I focus on Your promises, Your grace, Your love, and Your faithfulness.
As I rest in Your Word, I maintain a posture of expectation and gratitude. I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
