The parable of the seed - Part 2

 BY Argie Simonis

This message is the second part of the message :

The parable of the seed - Part 1

This along with the parable of the sower are the greatest parables the Lord spoke. He even said:

"Do you not know this parable? And how will you know all parables?" Mark. 4:13

"And Ηe said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knows not how.

For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come." Mark 4:26-29

We were in the book of Proverbs:

"My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.

Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the middle of your heart.

For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh." Prov. 4:20-22

God's word is healing and health in our life, so sow healing verses from God's word in your heart and you will be healed.

"He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Psalm 107:20

"It shall be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones." Prov. 3:8

God's word will set you free and heal you! The same is true for our prosperity and for every area in our lives. It is a process that follows specific laws. Have you ever seen an apple tree squeal and scream and suddenly an apple comes out? It doesn't work like that. But take a seed, plant it, give it time to grow and become a tree and you will see the apple tree produce apples because that is its nature.

Nevertheless, there are many Christians who find any change that may happen in their lives terribly difficult. And they complain to God:

"Lord why is it so hard for me to change?"

It's hard because you're not planting seeds. You pray and ask for prayers from others, you ask God to free you from addictions (eg drugs, cigarettes, pornography, gambling), you ask for a miracle without planting the word of God in you that has the power to break these bondages and set you free.

There is nothing difficult in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is simple. I have heard testimonies from people who at first wanted nothing to do with God, but they turned to someone of their own who urged them to attend a sermon, start going to church together and socialize with other believers. Little by little they began to study God's word and truths were revealed to them that they had never thought of. When they went back to their old bad friends, they realized they didn't "stick" with them because they no longer had common interests. I have even heard of cases of people who did not even hope or expect any change in their lives. But do you know what happened next?

"And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knows not how." Mark 4:27

There are people who have started entire ministries this way. Do you see what results you can have when you cooperate with the Lord? And that's because that's how God's laws work. You study His word, you learn the truth, and the truth sets you free:

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed;

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31-32

With this tactic you know it is not difficult to live a victorious life as a Christian. When you study God's word day and night and your thoughts are there, it's hard to get sick, it's hard to be afraid, it's hard to get depressed:

"This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success." Joshua 1:8

That is exactly what the word of God does. It supernaturally bears fruit in your life but you must study it day and night. The problem is not in the word, but in the soil, that is, in our heart, when we do not give this seed the proper care and attention so that it can grow and bear fruit.

We are in Mark's gospel in chapter 4. See what else he tells us here:

"For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." Mark 4:28

Here lies another great spiritual truth. All that Jesus describes to us here are laws for how the kingdom of God works:

"first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear."

Again it talks about development here, but it has some stages.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12:2

This is where many people make a mistake. They listen to sermons on prosperity and the blessing that God speaks into our lives, they see this blessing of God abundantly in other people's lives, and they go and get into debt and buy expensive houses or cars, taking loans with high installments that they cannot pay. The result is that the bank comes and forecloses on all of them. And then they wonder:

"Why didn't that work? I believed in God and waited for His blessing."

Remember what we read a little above:

"first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear."

You cannot jump from the point where you have never seen God move in your life and provide for your basic needs, straight to the point where everything is working perfectly and all your visions have been fulfilled. You can't accelerate your car from zero to 200 km/h in an instant. This will not give you accelaration, but a wreck! You have to start slowly and gradually speed up. You must trust God to supply you with 50 before you trust Him for 500 or 5000 later.

We have been living in Norway since 2011. Praise God, it is a country with peace and prosperity. Many admire the high salaries and benefits that exist, but don't forget that life is very expensive here. You know, if the Lord, before we left Greece, showed us all these monthly expenses we would have by living here, that would place on us an unbearable burden and stress.

While living in Greece, we have gone through difficulties and poverty, but we trusted the Lord to provide us with relatively small amounts at the beginning to cover our basic needs. Little by little, seeing the Lord really moving in our lives and answering our prayers, we diligently continued to trust Him and for bigger things, and the moment came that He led us to come to Norway and starting to see the vision He gave us to takes shape. Now we can meet our basic needs and at the same time support God's ministry. Of course we have not reached the end of the road yet, but we continue to trust in the Lord with the same diligence that we did back then:

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

You have to understand that it takes time. Let's make some humor now:

Do you know how you can eat an elephant? A bite at a time. If you try to eat it all at once you will choke.

In conversations I have had with people, either through the mentoring I do or during conversations, I have seen people who when they hear the word of God get excited and really get fired up. The Lord gives them hope and vision and that is wonderful! But some get impatient and go to the other extreme. I'll give you an example:

There are confessions of brothers that the Lord has delivered them from severe depression, their lives have completely changed and they are really on fire! They get excited and believe in the Lord for great things. They vision themselves as big businessmen, they make plans and calculations how to take a big project, complete it and bring them a lot of income. And they wonder if this is from God.

Can I tell you what's going on here? Be sure that if you have never worked in your life, if you have not learned how to make a living first, and if you have not learned to manage your household finances first so that you can handle the large amounts that such a project would require, then your vision is definitely not from God. God would never do such a thing to anyone. You must first learn to drive your car in a safe place without traffic before hitting the roads.

It's nice to think and vision such things, but start with the basics. Get a job first and learn to pay your own expenses. Start trusting the Lord in this. Then go and buy your own car, later your own house, and once you get to the point where you can manage and maintain those, you can start thinking about bigger things. Some people think that because God is a God of abundance who can provide supernaturally, they can skip these stages. But let us not forget that the Lord has placed spiritual laws and these laws are binding for him:

"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Psalm 89:34

I have also heard people pray and believe that the Lord will give them a great ministry that will change the world, but they have not even served at a church. They have never spoken in a Bible study or a Sunday meeting. They have never led anyone to the Lord. And they believe that they can bypass all this and the Lord will supernaturally open for them the door that they imagine.

That's not how the Kingdom of God works. The same principles apply here. The kingdom of God is based on the law we read just before:

"... first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." Mark 4:28

Please don't think I'm trying to discourage you. Rather the opposite. I'm trying to encourage you. You must always keep the hope and the vision alive in your heart, but you cannot take a shortcut on God's laws. You can't cheat in the harvest. The kingdom of God operates on these principles and laws set by the Lord.

God's word is that seed that makes everything work, but you have to plant it, give it time to grow and it will give you:

"... first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear."

Perhaps you cannot understand how this is done, but the Lord promises:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jer. 29:11

We MUST all look to our future with hope and anticipation, we MUST all have the vision that the Lord gives us:

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he." Prov. 29:18

But it won't happen overnight. And the reason the Lord calls us to study His word is to plant seeds in our lives, to teach us, equip us and prepare us:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" 2Tim. 3:16

You know, if the Lord revealed to us from the beginning the whole plan He has for our lives, then two things could happen:

That would frighten us so much that we would turn in the opposite direction,

or,

if we accepted it, we would become so impatient that we would never use the proper time to mature and prepare to do what the Lord has called us to do. God always reveals His plan to us little by little, in steps, and if you don't complete the first step He showed you, He won't reveal the next one. And He doesn't do this because He doesn't love you. On the contrary, He does it exactly because He loves you. I will explain it.

Consider this for a moment:

Why would God give you His whole plan for your life and make you accountable for it all at once, so that you feel responsible for every failure in such a big thing since you don't yet have the maturity to handle it? 

"His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter you into the joy of your lord." Matt. 25:23

God wants to train you step by step. He will show you things step by step and help you grow and mature until you are ready to handle bigger things. And all this because He loves you so much and wants to protect you. He won't suddenly throw you into the sea

and tells you "now you learn how to swim".

------------- A word for you -------

If you complain to the Lord and say:

"Lord why don't you use me?"

The Lord's answer is:

"Because you're not ready to be used yet"

Know that God wants more than you to use you, but He loves you so much that He will never throw you out there unprepared to become a snack for the devil, when you are not mature enough to face him:

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1Pet. 5:8

So stop praying "Lord use me" and start praying:

"Lord make me ready for use."

Start meditating on God's word day and night and I guarantee you God will use you!

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Let us now go a little further to verse 35. Before I read it, let me remind you that Jesus that day has already spoken about the parable of the sower and about the parable of the seed that grows in a mysterious way. Taking information from both Matthew and Luke, Jesus spoke 14 parables in a row, the most recorded parables He ever spoke in one day.

"And the same day, (the same day He spoke all those parables about how the kingdom of Heaven works) when the even was come, he said to them, Let us pass over to the other side." Mark 4:35

"And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships.

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say to Him, Master, care you not that we perish?" Mark 4:36-38

Have you ever felt this way?

"Lord don't You care what I'm going through?"

"I need healing. Why haven't You healed me?"

"Oh Lord, make me prosper, save this man, give me this job. Lord why don't You do something?"

This is exactly what His disciples are doing here:

"Master, don't you care that we're getting lost?"

And He was asleep. Also imagine that we are talking about an open boat. It had no cabins or second decks. I'm sure everyone was soaking wet. The Lord knew very well what was happening, but He was asleep.

"And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

And He said to them, Why are you so fearful? how is it that you have no faith?" Mark 4:40

Perhaps someone will think here, how is it possible that Jesus in such a situation was so strict to them while they were about to drown? Don't forget that on the very same day just before they entered the boat, He was teaching them how the word of God is a seed. A supernatural seed that when received will produce a miracle. All you have to do is sow him in your heart. What the Lord did here was testing His disciples on what He had been teaching them all that day. He taught them about the power of God's word and then gave them a word:

"Let us pass over to the other side." Mark 4:35

He didn't say let's go halfway and then drown. He who created the Heavens and the earth said: 

"Let us pass over to the other side."

The disciples received a word from the Lord, but they allowed the storm and winds to distract them from that word and begin to move in fear. Something similar happened to Peter when he walked on water and began to sink as soon as he saw the waves. The Lord had already taught them about the power and authority they had:

"Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19

His disciples had to rely on this word He gave them. Do you know that normally it was their job to rebuke the storm and not the Lord's? Do you know that it is not God's job to heal you? It's something He has already done:

"Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed." 1Pet. 2:24

Past tense is used here. He has already done it! He has already given you the seed. So take it, plant it in your heart and start speaking healing over yourself. Give it time and be sure that this seed will do its job:

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Rom. 8:6

This is the greatest revelation you can have in all  Scripture. Take these seeds, plant them in your heart and wait day and night meditating on them. Don't try to dig them up. Be firm and diligent and protect them. 

(This is what I will talk about in the next lesson on the parable of the sower. How do you protect those seeds from situations that try to steal them from you or choke them).

When we apply these principles that Jesus teaches us here, it is impossible not to change our lives! You don't even need to be a scientist to understand how it works. Study the word of God day and night and do what it says. That way you will have prosperity and success in whatever you do. Our part is to abide in the word and in its study, to hear the voice and instruction of the Lord, to do what He tells us, and the Lord is the One who will bring the increase in a supernatural way:

"So then neither is he that plants any thing, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase.

Now he that plants and he that waters are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.

For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building." 1Cor. 3:7-9

Amen!

Watch on our YouTube channel the video with English subtitles: