ON YOUR MARK: WEEK 4 DAY 6
Mark 4:26-34
The Parable of the Seed Growing
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
Can you grow a seed with your mind? Guess what, no one can! I don’t care what kind of powers people may think they have, we cannot force a seed to grow. There are a few things, however, that we can do:
Plant the seed in good soil.
Water it.
Wait.
We do not “grow the seed” of the good news that has been planted in somebody’s life, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. So once you have planted the seed by sharing the Gospel with someone, water them with prayer; don’t stop praying. If the Holy Spirit prompts you to do something, obey, but otherwise just pray for them. It may take days, weeks, or years, but just like we can’t make a seed become a giant mustard tree, we can’t make someone a believer, only God can. We need to remember, however, that there is no hope for the unbeliever if a seed has never been planted.
Who should you be praying for? Take time to pray right now for them!