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I remember as a kid, I used to help my father plant oats in the back pasture of our ranch in Columbus, Texas. We had an old red Massey-Ferguson tractor, model TO-30, that was built back in the early 1950s and I loved that tractor dearly. I would either be riding in my Dad’s lap or sitting on the hood with my legs straddle over each side. We would spend hours planting oats, cutting grass, or plowing fields and I loved spending time with my Dad. Later, I would grow up to be driving that tractor all by myself, doing chores around the ranch that needed to be done. We were weekend ranchers and would travel back to Houston for the weekdays. As a weekend rancher, I knew that one weekend, we would plant the seeds and when we returned the following weekend, there were signs of life. It was exciting to see the new growth. Then next weekend, we would return to green fields. Each weekend, we would return to see new growth in the field. It was hard work planting and tilling the soil, but it was rewarding to see the fields grow and then there was the harvest.

Today sermon is based on the Gospel readings regarding the two parables. Jesus often used parables in his teaching for two reasons: 1) the parable was designed to make spiritual truths easier to understand and easier to retain, and 2) Jesus’ parables served as a judgment against those who stubbornly remained in the darkness of unbelief. Jesus explains why he teaches in parables in Mark 4:10-12:

"When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, "‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ "" (Mark 4:10-12, NIV)

The Gospel Lesson today speaks of two parables. Jesus is teaching the crowds by the lake and uses the occasion to instruct them about God’s Kingdom. The Jews were looking for a mighty ruler like David to come, a royal ruler and warrior, a conqueror. Many today believe

that the kingdom is visible and it is here in the Church. They believe in a visible, earthly kingdom, but it’s not visible in the sense that when cannot tell who the believers are from the hypocrites, even in the Church. On the church rolls consist both believers and nonbelievers. The true church consists only of believers. God’s kingdom is not an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom. The kingdom of God is within you. God establishes this kingdom through the powerful working of his Word. There is power in the Word of God and it is often overlooked. We want to give or take credit for ourselves, or at least say we contributed to our faith by saying "I accepted Jesus" or "I found Jesus", when in fact, it is the other way around. He accepted you. He found you. Whether one "accepts Jesus" or not, does not change the fact that He died on the cross for the sins of the world. The power to believe is given to you. The famous passage John 3:16, or commonly known as the Gospel in a Nutshell, states:

""For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NIV)

The "whoever" in that verse does not single out any groups. Like the children’s song, "red, yellow, black, and white, they are precious in his sight". The seeds are to be planted to all.

Jesus speaks to us today in these two parables: 1) The parable of the Growing Seed and 2) the Mustard Seed. Let us first go over the parable of the Growing seed.

"He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."" (Mark 4:26-29, NIV)

The purpose of the parable is stated clearly in v 26 "This is what the kingdom of God is like". The parable starts off with a man scattering seed. It is interesting, and crucial that we realize that at this point of the parable, the "man", that is the sower, is finished. The parable tells us that… night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows. I remember as a kid, that each weekend when we came back to the ranch, I was amazed at the growth. Like in the parable, what did I do to make it grow? Nothing! It grew mysteriously by itself.

In the parable, the seed is the Word of God. The man who sows the seed has nothing to do with the power that gives growth. As Redeemer Lutheran Church plants the seeds of God’s Word into the community, the growth will take place. Scriptures tell us that only God can create faith in the heart of man. When we run ads in the paper, we are planting seeds. Whether the ad generates 10 visitors, 5 visitors, 1 visitor, or none, … It is not our responsibility whether it grows. Neither the one who sows the seed nor the one in whom the seed has been planted is responsible for its growth. The Power is in the seed itself, the Word of God. We cannot force Christianity. At the same time, we don’t want to be our own poison and kill off the growth. The power is in the Word of God. Remember that Faith comes to us from God. Paul writes in the book of Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the Salvation of everyone who believes." Paul speaks of the source of faith in Romans 10:17 "Faith comes from hearing, that is hearing the Word of Christ". We want the church to grow because that is the Great Commission. We plant the seeds and let the Holy Spirit work in the hearts of the people! Whether the church grows is not our responsibility, nor those who receive the Word, but it rests solely in the Word of God.

Jesus uses a second parable, the famous parable of the mustard seed.

"Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." (Mark 4:30-32, NIV)

Again, Jesus stated very clearly that the parable is explaining what the kingdom of God is like. The mustard seed is a tiny seed, yet it grows large enough to have large branches so that birds can get out of the sun. The mustard seed refers again to the Word of God. Such a little seed can grow and produce the largest of all garden plants. The growth comes from God.

It is so easy to sit back and to say that this program didn’t yield any results and we are looking at it from our perspective and not God’s perspective. Our specific failure doubts the power of God’s word. We resort to thinking or saying "if the parents had been more involved" or "if there was more cooperation" … we are trying to put the growth aspect on ourselves. We loose sight of the fact that our faith came to us from God, not our doing, but God’s work. All growth that takes place at Redeemer will be God’s work! We will continue planting seeds. The Gospel message can work and does work in spite of the circumstances. The Kingdom of God is explained in these two parables. We see the planting; He sees the harvest. We see the small seed; he sees the mature plant. Kingdom work takes patience while the seeds grow. There is power in God’s Word. Who gave us the Word? God gave us his Word! He is the one that has worked faith into our own heart and He will continue to work where the seeds are planted. Today, we give thanks for God’s gift of faith in us! You have heard the Word of the Lord and there is power in the Word!

Amen.