This evening’s sermon is entitled, “The Word Is Not Void,” and it’s taken from what is called “The Parable of the Growing Seed.” So, what message does this parable speak to believers? It appears to address the fear of failure in evangelism. Allow me to share from the church statistical researcher George Barna, as he explains why so many Christians are afraid to evangelize. He says,
One dominant reason underlying the increasing reluctance of Christians to share their faith with non-Christians pertains to the faith sharing experience itself. In asking Christians about their witnessing activities, we have found that nine out of ten individuals who attempt to explain their beliefs and theology to other people come away from those experiences feeling as if they have failed . . .
The reality of human behavior is that most people avoid those activities in which they perceive themselves to be failures. As creatures seeking pleasure and comfort, we emphasize those dimensions and activities in which we are most capable and secure. Thus, despite the divine command to spread the Word, many Christians redirect their energies into areas of spiritual activity that are more satisfying and in which they are more likely to achieve success.(1)
Do you feel discouraged from sharing your faith, because you don’t see the fruit of your labor, and you feel as though you are a failure? If so, then I believe this parable is for you. Johnnie C. Godwin says, “This parable, which is unique to Mark, tells about the seed growing by itself; and it has been called the parable to end discouragement.”(2) God’s Word should end our discouragement this evening, and help us gain a boldness in telling others about Jesus Christ.
Our Ways Are Not God’s Ways (vv. 26-27)
26 And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.”
We are shown here that a farmer scattered seed, but he knew not how it grew. The farmer within this passage didn’t think to himself that the seed grew because he fertilized or weeded the soil. He didn’t attribute the growth of the plant to himself at all. David Garland says of this man’s viewpoint on farming, that at this particular time in history “Jews considered the growth of plants to be the wondrous work of God, not simply the result of a law of nature.”(3) This farmer knew that the plant grew by the power of God; not by chance, and not by his own hard work.
Some of us get the impression that we have to make the church grow by our own efforts. In reference to this parable, Walter Wink says, “We are not ‘building the kingdom,’ as an earlier generation liked to put it. We simply lack the power . . . We merely prepare the ground and sow; the seed grows of itself, night and day, until the harvest. And God will – this is our most profound conviction – bring the harvest.”(4) We ourselves can’t grow a church, or make a person accept Christ. Only God can do this. In the book Share Jesus without Fear, William Fay says that if we have “won” someone to Christ through our own efforts, then that individual is probably not saved.(5)
It is said that Dwight L. Moody, the evangelist, was riding on a train after a crusade. An old drunk came up to him and said, “You know, Mr. Moody, I’m one of your converts.” Mr. Moody looked him right in the eye and said, “Son, I’m afraid you are one of mine, because you are obviously not a convert of Christ’s.”(6)
The first step in overcoming our fear of failure in evangelism is to acknowledge that when we scatter seed, that we are not responsible for making the seed sprout, grow, and blossom. We scatter seed when we share the Word of God and tell others about Jesus. We plant a seed in the heart of each and every individual with whom we attempt to witness. Our problem is that we want to see the seed that we have sown sprout and grow before our very eyes. We want to see the person with whom we have witnessed accept Christ and become saved immediately.
If we’re not careful, we might try to push a person into accepting Christ by arguing with them. When we try to force someone into receiving Christ, then we have failed to give this individual over to God. When we refuse to place an individual in God’s hands then that says something about our faith, or our lack of faith in His power to change hearts. After we have witnessed to a person, we need to learn to that individual’s soul in the hands of the Lord. So, what is the easiest way to place someone in God’s hands? The easiest way is to pray for them.
Isaiah chapter 55 is helpful in understanding Mark 4:26-29, and will be used throughout the remainder of this message. Isaiah 55:8-9 speaks a word about placing our trust in God. These verses declare, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
God provides us a word of wisdom and assurance. He says that we are going to encounter things that are unexpected in our ministry efforts and things that we won’t understand. We are not always going to see victory, or reap the harvest of our labors. Jesus tells us in John 4:37-38, “For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
So, do not become discouraged if you sow by telling people about Christ, and then you don’t see the victory of reaping the harvest. We need to realize that we are not always going to reap where we sow. We have to place a person’s soul in the hands of the Lord, and realize that God’s ways are not our ways. We can take comfort in knowing that God has everything under control. The maker of heaven and earth is all-powerful and He can work in a person’s life something that we can’t even attempt to do by our own effort.
God’s Word Does Not Return Void (v. 28)
28 “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.”
We often define success in evangelism as seeing someone come to Christ. We believe that we have to see the seed sprout, and see the blade, the head, and the full grain in the head before we have done what God expects of us. William Fay, in Share Jesus without Fear, defines success in evangelism quite differently. He says, “Success is sharing your faith and living your life for Jesus Christ. It has nothing whatsoever to do with bringing anyone to the Lord. We need to get away from the ‘win them’ mentality.” He says, “When people reject your message, it is not you they reject; they are rejecting Jesus and God’s Word.”(7)
God calls each of us to spread His Word. Some people who hear the Word of God will reject it, but others will accept it. The hearts of some people will be like rocky soil, but the hearts of others is fertile ground in which the seed will take root. We don’t know ahead of time whether or not the soil is fertile; but if we are faithful at broadcasting the seed of God’s Word, then if it happens to land in fertile soil it will begin growing just as the Scripture reveals.
Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and does not return there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
The Lord tells us not to be discouraged if we don’t reap the harvest, and if we are not around to see the seed sprout and grow. Do not consider yourself a failure if the person doesn’t accept Christ on the spot. Do not be hurt even if you never see that person come to Christ in your lifetime. If the seed falls on fertile ground it will grow. God says that His Word will not return unto Him void, but that it will accomplish what He pleases. Luke 1:37 says, “For no Word from God shall be void of power.” Be assured that God’s Word is powerful enough to accomplish what He desires if we are just faithful in spreading it abroad.
We should take comfort in knowing that if we are faithful in sowing, God will work in the life of an individual. Isaiah 55:12 says, “For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” God says that if we spread His Word we can be comforted in knowing that it will not return void. We can have joy, and we can sing and shout, and clap our hands.
If we are proclaiming God’s Word, then we can have peace in knowing that we are being faithful, and we can rejoice. The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:12: “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world.” Paul said that he rejoiced because his conscience was clear. He knew that he had done what was required of him, which was to proclaim the Word of God with simplicity, sincerity and grace.
The Fruit of Our Labor (v. 29)
29 “But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
This verse reinforces the fact that the seed will indeed grow. It will one day become full grown and ready to be harvested. Isaiah 55:13 says, “Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
In “The Parable of the Sower,” in Matthew 13:22-23, Jesus said, “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choked the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
If we preach the word faithfully, then whoever receives it will be as the seed on good ground that hears the Word and understands it. Those people will then bear fruit themselves; and once they bear fruit, others will spread God’s word, and the drawing of people to God will be an everlasting sign that will be recognized and never be cut off, as Isaiah declared.
If we are faithful at spreading the Word, then God will be faithful at bringing people into the kingdom. If we are persistent then we will personally see some of these people come to the Lord, and we will be able to reap some of the harvest. However, we must keep in mind that some people whom we see receive Christ may be the result of someone else doing the sowing.
Time of Reflection
Johnnie C. Godwin called this “the parable to end discouragement.” What we have gained from this parable is comfort that when we are faithful in telling others about Jesus Christ then we have gained God’s favor. Success in witnessing is being faithful in telling other people about Jesus. We may not see a person accept Christ after we witness to them, but God assures us that the words we have spoken in His name will not be void of power, but that He will use them to change people’s lives.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Perhaps, for someone here right now, the Word of God is piercing your heart and discerning your thoughts. The Word is pricking your conscious and convicting you of your need to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. If you feel Jesus knocking on the door to your heart (Revelation 3:20), then please do not hesitate to surrender to Him. Be willing to walk the aisle and confess Him as Savior and Lord.
NOTES
(1) Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1991), 102-103.
(2) Johnnie C. Godwin, “Mark,” The Layman’s Bible Book Commentary, vol. 16 (Nashville: Broadman, 1979), 46
(3) David Garland, “Mark,” The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 176
(4) Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 165.
(5) William Fay, Share Jesus Without Fear (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1999), 17.
(6) Ibid., 17.
(7) Ibid., 17.
