Sermons from Moorpark Presbyterian Church

The Invincible Seed

by Janet Loughry

Mark 4:26-29

October 8, 2000

My friend Gordon was about to celebrate his 50th Birthday. He had always thought his life had been pretty good. And yet it had been at least 30 years since he had gone to Sunday School and even longer since he attended vacation Bible school those few summers. He had faced losses. He faced crucial decisions - both in his personal life and in business. But God was never a part of that. He had never even thought about coming back to church for the sake of his 2 kids - like many of you have done. He began to wonder, why he would now be sitting in his office, reflecting at his desk, about God, when God had not even been an issue for him.

He said he thought it seemed to start when the new partner the firm hired brought a Bible to the office. This new guy certainly was not preaching or anything, he just had his Bible on his desk. Sometimes when Gordon went in to this person's office the Bible was open -- to different passages (Gordon said that he actually took a peek). Sometimes it was closed. Whichever way - it was there! Now Gordon was thinking about some of those stories he had heard those many years ago and thinking about God and his life. He was thinking that maybe he'd go and just have a little chat with this new guy.

You see, there was a new yearning in Gordon. Something was beginning to bear fruit in him that had actually been planted years before.

The Bible is filled with many images about farming. In the Old Testament God is described as a farmer. He prepares the soil. He sows and scatters the seed. He plants in rows. He weeds. God does all this - not with plants but with people and nations. Jesus also used many word pictures about farming to tell us about the coming of God's kingdom. The book of Mark includes several such parables. We will focus on the parable in chapter 4 verses 26 through 29. Jesus is speaking here about the farmer and what has been referred to as "the invincible seed."

Jesus does not tell us what is to be done before the seed in planted. HE just begins with the planting! The farmer must cultivate and prepare the land, breaking up the hard, sun baked earth. He must till it and fertilize. He must keep it clear of weeds, insects and other little critters. In the same way, we are to prepare hearts for Jesus. However, this parable is not about preparation. It is about planting.

This parable naturally breaks into four actions. There must be planting; then we must trust God with the secret destiny going on within; there is also progressive growth of the planted seed; and finally, there will be the harvest of the mature plant.

We are each called to do deliberate planting. I see the hearts of children as prime soil that have been prepared by the Holy Spirit and are now ready to receive. Parents are to plant the seed of Jesus, the Word of God, in the hearts of children at very early ages. Parents, Grandparents, are you planting? Are you talking about Jesus' love for them? Are you reading Bible stories and the Bible to them or with them? Are you praying with and for that child? Do you mention God in your everyday conversations? Saying things like... "The Lord helped me with ..." or "I talked to the Lord about..." will give you opportunities to pray with your children about important issues in their lives.

At the Women of Faith Conference last month one of the speakers said that Kids are like JELLO. Now I don't like plain Jell-o - no matter what color it is - the texture, consistency - blekkkk! So you can understand that my ears really perked up here - comparing kids with Jell-o - poor kids! The point was that we need to put all the good things in before it sets. All the good things about the gospel message, the Word of God, Jesus' love, need to be put into the hearts of our children before they set.

As that seed grows and sets and produces there are good results. Good character, good manners, respect for elders, perhaps good study habits, are some possible good results of your plantingYbecause of the healthy, balanced self-image the gospel produces. The ability to guard against the media, the internet, certain movies and books, and good and right choice of friends are other things the planting of that invincible seed of God's Word can produce.

When we as a body of Christ participate in and celebrate the baptism of infants and young children, we each promise to help plant the seed Jesus speaks about in this parable. These children have not yet made a personal profession of faith for Jesus. Yet the Holy Spirit has prepared the hearts of these little ones. In the Service of Baptism, we, the body of Christ promise to help these parents to teach, guide and nurture these children in their Christian growth. This parable really does not let anyone of us off the hook. Each believer in the Body, each is written all over this parable. Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to children about Jesus. It is never too early. And as we saw in Gordon's story, it is never too late to put in the good things.

We who have Jesus in our lives - know that Jesus has made and is continuing to make, radical changes in us. We also know that we continue to be recipients of God's mercy and grace. We have been healed, we have been filled with hope and have been given purpose for living. We have and continue to experience all this and more, because of the power of the invincible seed within us. The desire for each believer should be to see others come into a vital, alive and working relationship with Jesus.

The person of Jesus has not changed. The message we must share is the very same that the apostles preached. The message is that of salvation bought for us by the sacrifice of Jesus, our Savior. Our personal embarrassment, our lack of confidence, lack of education, and lack of practice in sharing, all seem to be only a few of the excuses that hinder our sharing the gospel message of Jesus with others.

You know, we get creative with school work and projects, we are creative in decorating our homes, even our work places. I challenge you - how creative can you get in sharing Jesus. I read someplace about a person who every time he got on an elevator, with other people on it, and after the doors closed, he would say something like: "So which way is the last trip, up or down?" Now this may be way outside your comfort zone for sharing Jesus, nonetheless, there are numerous ways to step out of our shells and share Jesus with friends, family, neighbors, school and business associates.

The best, of course, is to just be yourself in your natural environment and share what Christ is doing in your life Bright now! Let God do the hard the work

Once we plant that seed of sharing who Jesus is and what He is doing in our lives - the parable says we are to leave it be. We are to turn it over to God. We are to trust the power that is in that seed. We are to trust that which we cannot see. The farmer can't see the seed under the soil. We can only hope and pray all is going well under there. The farmer must leave it alone. The parable says, the farmer goes to bed. That means resisting the urge to dig it up to see how that seed is doing.

The farmer has done what can be done; and then goes to bed! Parents, teachers, all believers sharing Jesus with others, might be tempted to wake in the middle of the night, walk out and pull up the plant to see just how it is doing. But that defeats the purpose and halts the growth.

Trusting this way can be very difficult. This is especially true of you parents who have planted and watered. Now you are having a hard time with the trusting part. You cannot see what you want to see, or think you ought to see. The same speaker at the Women of Faith Conference also said: "When our children are little, we speak to them of Jesus. When our children are older, we speak to Jesus about them." We need to be on our knees praying and trusting God with the secret work that is going on in that planted seed.

We do not understand how that invincible seeds grows, because it is hidden. No matter how educated any of us ever becomes, or how many discoveries scientists make, Jesus tells us we do not and cannot fully understand certain things - even the growth of that seed. However, because there is life in that seed, it does grow. That is why the farmer plants. And that is why we must do our part and share the gospel message with others. The work is God's. Without which the life in the seed and our planting would be in vain. The Apostle Paul tells us this in I Corinthians chapter 15: "... be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

Now in real life, unlike this parable, the seed does not pass from being planted to being harvested over night, except maybe for zucchini.... Even though this parable presents overnight maturity, there is a process the seed must go through. Jesus knew that process includes cultivation, planting, watering and proper care for growth to take place. It is the same with people. We each must go through a process, a series of stages of growth.

We might be tempted to give up too soon, and stop watering, stop replanting in a larger pot, stop allowing it to get the proper nutrients and light. When we stop talking about Jesus' love for us and others, stop teaching, stop giving age appropriate spiritual nurturing, through different classes and Bible studies and reading the Bible to and with our children, and praying...we delay or frustrate the purpose of that soul's intended growth. We cannot create the growth, however we can facilitate it.

As soon as the seed of the Word of God is planted into the heart of the one with whom we are sharing, that process begins. That heart might literally still be in the womb, in the crib, in the highchair, at the table eating dinner after school and work, in school, in a restaurant, in a rest home. Or in the case of my friend Gordon, in a law office. In order for the harvest to come, there must be going on effort by the believers in that person's life. The Word must be planted so that that heart can stand up against all that Satan will throw at it. That heart will also know who the Word is in Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior.

We are not all gifted planters. I know that maybe our watering skills are a little rusty. I know we are not all called to be harvesters. Yet God has for us the privilege to plant that seed of the Word. Each of us has the privilege to be able to plant and water the seed, just by sharing what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives.

What a wonderful privilege to be able to participate in the eventual harvesting. Indeed, the harvesting does eventually come. Once the farmer plants the seed, the farmer must leave it alone, while he continues to waters and weed the earth. So it is with us. We must allow the process of God to work. When we step in, pull out, don't care, are not faithful, there are no good and lasting results.

Each plant is different. Planting might take place on the same day, in the same place, by the same person. One seed might show through the ground first and begin to bud while the other is still trying to break through. Each plant, each person is different. We each go through the different stages of development, at different rates and with different results.

In our own homes, we each hear the same stories, and respond differently. Parents and others of us who plant and water, might be so tempted to pull up that young plant to see what's taking; to see how it's going to turn out. Oh how patient we must be to allow God to show forth in each individual's process.

I haven't told you where I met my friend Gordon. After 30 years of God not being an issue for him, he had a special yearning to know more about God from a partner in his law firm - who just happened to bring a Bible to the office with him. It was not very long after their conversation that Gordon found himself at Seminary - where I met him in one of our mutual classes. The seed that was planted 30 years prior by Sunday School and VBS teachers was now producing fruit. After graduation he continues to be a practicing attorney. He and his wife plan and lead both short- and long-term mission trips around the world. Gordon is a valued and respected Bible teacher at his church and he takes any opportunity to speak out for and share about Jesus.

How exciting to know that this process of growth is going on in someone all the time. That process might have been going on for only a few months, or several years, like my friend Gordon. Yet right now is when the harvester is able to reap. Even reap the reward of someone else's labor. Gordon's Sunday School and VBS teachers were not to reap what they planted in Gordon. Gordon's law partner was ready to do the harvesting, some 30 years later.

According to an ancient story, there were four people walking through the woods when, suddenly, they came across a high wall. Intrigued, together they built a ladder and climbed the wall to see what was on the other side. When the first person climbed to the top, she cried in delight. The same thing happened with both the second and third people. When the fourth person reached the top, he also smiled at what he saw: wonderful, lush, green gardens with fruit trees of every kind, streams teeming with fish, and animals, wild and tame, all in abundance; and oh the beautiful flowers. Like the others, he was tempted to jump down. However, he then thought of his family, friends, and neighbors and went climbed back down on this side, and he went back to share with them the good news he had discovered.

Get off the wall, move out from behind your block of wood and comfort zone. Plant the seed of God's Word - wherever you are, whether at school, at the office, in the car pool, across the table with and family members or a neighbor. God is right there with you, helping you do the planting and already beginning to cause those precious seeds to germinate and grow. As we are faithful, God uses our efforts and brings that seed to full harvest.

Share what you have discovered - the good news and love of Jesus Christ.