2. Mark 4:26-29... “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. 28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

3. THE PARABLE ANALYZED WHAT THIS PARABLE REVEALS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD... While the "seed" is not identified in this parable as the Word of God... Mark 4:14… “The sower sows the word. Luke 8:11… “"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

4. The growth produced by the Word...We don’t really know how the growth is produced. I would says that: It is a mystery Mark 4:26-28a… “And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground “And should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how

5. It is gradual The growth produced by the Word...We don’t really know how the growth is produce I would says that: Mark 4:28b… “28 For the earth yields crops by itself: then the head, after that the full grain in the head. Mark 4:29… “29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

6. COMPARING THIS PARABLE WITH THE ONE OF "THE SOWER"... The parable of "The Sower" emphasizes human responsibility The seed would not produce the desired fruit unless it fell on good soil. It takes "a good and noble heart" for the seed to produce fruit! Luke 8:15 … “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

7. But the parable of "The Growing Seed" stresses the divine power within the Word. A "good and noble heart" cannot bear fruit by itself! It takes a seed that has within itself the power to germinate and grow in good soil And this parable emphasizes the need for those who sow to trust and hope in the power of the seed, i.e., the Word of God

8. THE PARABLE APPLIED THE WORD OF GOD IS A POWERFUL "SEED" DON’T YOU EVER UNDERESTIMATE HIS POWER.... It can cause us to be "born again"... 1 Peter 1:22-25… “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, Because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

9. It can help us "grow" 1 Peter 2:1-2… “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, It can indeed "save your souls" James 1:21… “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls

10. All of this is possible because the Word of God is living and powerful, filled with Spirit-giving life Hebrews 4:12… “For 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. John 6:63… “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

11. THERE ARE SOME WAYS TO UTILIZE THIS POWERFUL "SEED"... By receiving it into our own hearts Luke 8:15… “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Acts 17:11… “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

12. THERE ARE SOME WAYS TO UTILIZE THIS POWERFUL "SEED"... By receiving it into our own hearts James 1:21… “and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls 1 Peter 2:2… “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

13. THERE ARE SOME WAYS TO UTILIZE THIS POWERFUL "SEED"... By receiving it into our own hearts 1 Peter 2:2… “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

14. But to receive the Word we must "lay aside" those things that would "choke" out the Word in our lives- James 1:21; 1 Peter 2:1 When the Word is received, growth will occur "first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head..." - Mk 4:28

15. Therefore the need to continue to feed upon the Word of God, "that you may grow thereby" - 1 Peter 2:2 By sowing it as far and wide as we possibly can 1 Corinthians 3:5-7… “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Growth comes only through the divine power of the seed

16. Growth comes in stages, not all at once There will be days when all we seem to be doing is "waiting" Like the farmer, then, we must be patient James 5:7… “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. There will be days when all we seem to be doing is "sowing"

17. Philippians 1:6… “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

18. Romans 1:16-17… “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." James 1:21… “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls