MANIFESTATION OF THE SEEDS OF THE KINGDOM
Pastor Tony read two portions of scripture – Matthew 13:3-23, 24-30.
He then explained that Jesus spoke in parables most of the time. The reason is so that those who hear will take time to reflect, learn and glean wisdom from the story.
He explained the striking comparison between the two parables in the scriptures read.
The Parable of the Sower
This parable describes the dynamics involved in what makes a seed to be fruitful or unfruitful, as well as the degree of fruitfulness (or otherwise) of the seed.
The scripture tells us of seeds that fall by the wayside, on stony places, among thorns and on good ground.
In response to the disciples’ request for clarification on the parable, Jesus makes clear what each of these seeds mean and the consequence the different grounds on which they fall carry.
In this first parable, Jesus is the Sower, the seed is the word and the ground is the heart of man.
The seed that falls by the wayside typifies the man who hears the word but for lack of understanding demons (birds) attack the word sown and devour the life out of it.
The seed that falls on stony ground typifies the man who receives the word – at times with great excitement – but gets offended when life’s pressure, pain, tribulation and persecution hits, for the sake of the word, and he bears no fruit because he lacks no root.
The seed that falls among thorns typifies the man who receives the word with shallow expectations. Hence, when the word places a demand on his character and integrity, he’s not able to bear for the cares of this life. He lacks the patience, determination, diligence, as well as the willingness to pay the price and sacrifice required for the word to produce result in his life.
The seed that falls on the good ground captures a man who receives the seed and bears fruit by what he has heard.
Jesus however introduced a different meaning to the concept of the seed with the second parable as we find in Matthew 13:24-30.
In the first parable, we understand that the sower is the Lord himself, the seed is the word and the ground is the heart of man.
However, in this second parable, the Sower remains constant in the equation; but the seed here is now represented as the children of the kingdom while the ground (field) is the world.
The point Jesus wants to get us to with the second parable is that the seed sown in the good ground of a man’s heart will not always remain a seed; the man with the seed of the kingdom sown and working in his heart eventually becomes the sower/carrier of the seed in the world.
Two things are of significance here as we compare the first and second parable:
“The seed sown in the good ground of a man’s heart will not always remain a seed.”
Disturbed by this observation, the servants of the Sower pleaded that the tares be uprooted so they don’t choke up the wheat, to which the Sower responded that the tares be left to grow with the wheat.
What’s the significance of this?
We see how the devil has messed up human culture, family, marriage institution, education, politics, finance and business; and at times we feel our best response as God’s children is not to get involved in these things so we don’t get messed up by them.
But God is saying to us that we cannot afford to leave things in the hands of those under the devil’s influence. We carry much more grace, light, power and wisdom to operate masterfully in these things than the children of darkness.
Jesus tells us to be harmless as serpent but wise as doves. That statement carries powerful implications of how we are expected to operate as well as the mind-blowing results we must deliver in the deep waters of politics, education, business, family, and the marriage institution regardless of who the other players are, without the fear of being polluted or corrupted by the system of the world.
We must face the world with such audacity and fearlessness, for we carry within us the INCORRUPTIBLE SEED of the word of God (1Pet. 1:23).
Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, while the Father makes a mockery of everything that rages against our dominion in Christ, for we are fighting a battle that’s already won for us. (Psalm 2:4).
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