THE GOOD SEED!

THE GOOD SEED!

Mark 4:1-8

4:1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.

2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

           The seed is the Word of God and so we can not fault the seed for lack of performance. The difference is in the soil and the soil represents those who hear it. Some are so hard packed that Satan easily snatches away the message before it can have any result. Other lives are so tangled with cares that the message is strangled. There are three principles that attract our attention this morning.

           First, the seed must penetrate. If the ground is hard packed and resistant to the Word then it will have no effect. Don’t allow your heart, the field where the seed is sown, to become hard and bitter. Don’t become hard and calloused to the message of God.

           Second, the seed must go through a process. Jesus said that unless a “corn of wheat” or kernel falls to the ground and dies it abides alone but if it goes through the process of dying it brings forth fruit. It takes time for the seed to grow. Don’t expect instant change where there is a long pattern of behavior. Give yourself and others time!

           Finally, the sower must exercise patience. Jesus is coming soon! I know you have heard it for so long but it will be soon for not only is it God’s promise but there are signs everywhere.

James 5:7-8

7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

Dear Lord, help me to have the patience to wait for the process of growth to take place in myself and in others. AMEN