In this sermon, Pastor Babij examines Jesus’ parable of the growing seed. Pastor Babij explains how the parable describes the mysterious power of the Word of God, the secret but certain growth of the Kingdom of God, and the coming gathering and judgment in the Harvest of God.
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okay you can take your Bibles and turn to Mark chapter four Mark chapter 4.
and I’ll be looking at this morning versus 26.
to 29.
as I consider last week we considered the lamp this week we’ll consider the scattered seed and then I will be looking at the tiny Mustard Seed next time but let me just read that this morning in verse 26 to 29 of Mark chapter 4.
and he was saying the kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day and the seed sprouts and grows how he himself does not know the soil produces crops by itself first the blade then the head then the mature grain in the head but when the crop permits he immediately puts in the sickle because the Harvest has come let’s pray Lord this morning as I look at this passage of scripture Lord encourage us with it challenge us with it give us understanding of it and I pray Lord that in the end we may be prepared for what’s coming in the Kingdom and I just ask you Lord that you would give us understanding this morning Lord use me Holy Spirit to speak to your people I pray in Christ’s name amen now if you look up to verse number one of chapter 4 again it says and he began teaching Again by the sea such a very large crowd gathered to him that he got into a boat in the sea and sat down and the whole crowd was by the Sea on the land now again this is where Jesus is teaching these Parables he is in a boat right off the shore and the reason why is because the crowds are so great they want to grab him they want to touch him because of the Miracles he was performing so Jesus gets into a boat where they can’t reach him but I want you to notice it says by the sea now we know this is the Sea of Galilee but the Sea of Galilee is not really a sea it’s the biggest lake in Israel in fact um it’s seven miles wide seven and a half miles wide about 13 and a half miles long about 140 feet deep in the center and the most famous fish that they take out of that the most popular one is tilapia and tilapia is known as Saint Peter’s fish or some people call it Jesus fish so if you really want to have a holy meal you may want to buy some tilapia I know that’s popular these days and it’s pretty good tastes like flounder and you may want to do that so just a little trivia there and so Jesus begins in this section to remember teach in parables in verse number two and he was teaching them many things in Parables and saying to them in his teaching just again to remind you so you get a handle on what parables are is that they are comparisons there are analogies a parable is really an Earthly story with Heavenly meaning but specifically parables are not meant to be fully obvious or transparent to everyone who’s in the crowd now this is a very large crowd there we know in that crowd there are religious leaders who are already rejecting Jesus there are Hangers On who don’t really know what Jesus is all about there are the 12 apostles all right who are already chosen by Jesus and then there are the followers who are Disciples of Jesus who are sitting at his defeat of Jesus and learning everything Jesus is teaching and of course we could assume that they’re real Believers and followers also all right but because it’s not obvious and transparent when the parable is being taught the hearer or reader must respond either by repentance or by rejection there’s no middle ground in this so there’s definitely one thing a parable is not it is not simply stories illustrating General moral truths it is they they are not that all right and then Parables also provide insight into the nature the coming growth and consummation of the kingdom of God all The Parables that we’re looking at are about the kingdom of God remember Jesus has come into the world and when he came into the world he brought the kingdom near he brought the kingdom into the world but not in its fullness he of course is the king of the Kingdom but he comes the first time as a servant not as what they would think a king would be and so he is the servant King and that’s what the gospel of Mark is all about the king who serves people and so he comes speaking now in Parables and remember Parables also reveal more truth to those who have receptive ears and hide the truth from others and then also parables in the gospels ultimately draw attention to Jesus as God’s Messiah as God’s deliverer and calls us to make a personal decision concerning him you could never ever be neutral when it comes to Jesus Christ there’s no straddling defense there’s no one foot on the shore or one foot in the boat you either are in or you’re not matter of fact the illustration that Steve gave I don’t think any takers were there nobody got into the wheelbarrow over the Niagara Falls right they didn’t trust the guy if you want to go and you get over to the other side is good but I’m not getting in that boat that wheelbarrow with you so another there has to be a decision so Jesus begins to teach in Parables and Jesus is going to reveal uh the secret thought plans and dispensations of God which were hidden from Human reason and reveal them only for whom they are intended so Jesus give seven Parables concerning the secret form of the Kingdom the first Parable was the parable of the sower or better the soils the second one was that of the parable of the lamp which we looked at last time today we’re going to look at the parable of the growing seed each of these Parables is showing the kingdom of God will grow by the power of God until it takes every true disciple from every people group in every nation that is the point that Jesus has come and he has come remember not to bring the fullness of the Kingdom but to bring the gospel of the kingdom and that those who believe in him would now take the gospel of the Kingdom to all Jerusalem Judea into the uttermost part of the world and they’re going to preach the gospel and what’s going to happen people are going to trust in the Gospel of Jesus Christ be saved be born again and come to the kingdom like you have all right the gospel came to you the gospel’s still going places from this time forward so it’s still happening we’re still in this seed casting age all right we’re still there and so we’re part of the process we’re part of doing the work of God so this morning I want you to focus your attention on verse 26 to 29 and we’re going to look at the parable of the growing seed and so the first thing you see here is that there’s three things going on in these verses there’s the casting of the seed secondly there is the mysterious growth of the seed and thirdly there is the definite Harvest because of the seed all right so let’s look at the casting of the seed for the kingdom growth and of course that’s part of our responsibility as disciples the emphasis of this Parable is the mysterious power of the seed itself to produce a crop look at verse number 26 and 27 and he was saying the kingdom of God is like a man who cast seed upon the soil and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day and the seed sprouts and grows how he himself does not know so stop there the the power of the seed is the focus not the man casting this even though even though that is an important part the power of the seed is the focus because it is the innate power of the seed which is cast out and is planted that produces a crop produces growth produces life so the disciples responsibility is to scatter the seed however the man who cast the seed upon the soil has no power in himself to make the seeds sprout and yes the seed must be brought to the soil but no person can make it grow so what the man who scatters the seed must do is he must Trust that it will grow see that’s what happens in fact uh this Parable teaches us something about ourselves that when we do the work of casting the seed of the Gospel there is also a helplessness that goes along with it it accompanies the work of God that is we know we have an inability to make the seed grow just as a farmer does not make the seed grow the farmer’s job is to get the seed to the soil right and then what does he do now I know by experience that when we do evangelism there’s a sense of you feel a helplessness I mean we have a desire to want to see people saved right but we know that we can’t make them get saved we can’t save them ourselves even though our desire may lean towards that so we must step back in our helplessness and trust that we get the seed out to them and what is the seed the weight of the parable is what the seed does when it gets into the Earth the seed is equal to the word of God that’s what the seed is the seed is the word of God and contained in the seed is everything needed for life and growth once the seed hits the ground it does all the rest so that’s what we have to trust the seed grows mysteriously that all life is in that seed and the power to produce growth is already in that seed and to develop maturity so then the seed of the word of God must be brought to the natural human heart it must Lodge there and then it must grow mysteriously the power of the word of God to regenerate to renew to Sanctified a soul is utterly beyond our comprehension matter of fact that is not our work that’s God’s work that’s what he does so in a very real way evangelism is all about trusting God’s work to save people and he does he does save people that’s his work the parable also teaches us something about the growth of the Kingdom that is its growth is indiscernible yet constant and that’s what he wants his disciples to pick up that this seed when it is cast you can’t really discern what’s going on once it’s cast just like a farmer once he puts the seed in the ground he doesn’t really know what’s going on underneath there he doesn’t know where the life comes from all right but he does know this that he has to cast the seed in fact in our passage of scripture and um verse number 27 the man who cast the seed is described as going on with his ordinary routine of Life leaving the seat alone notice what it says the verbal phrases in Mark chapter 4 verse 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day now why is that there because it denotes reoccurrent action which goes on night and day day after day and he does his regular routine as he does his regular routine the seed literally is lengthening itself in other words the seed sprouts and grows but it is slow growth and almost undetectable so what a mystery is that this mysterious growth of the seed into a plant even today challenges modern man’s ability to explain completely what actually takes place it’s it’s a mystery even today they can’t really explain it no we’re not when Jane and I uh moved to East Millstone this was really country to us I lived in a town all that they made was chemicals so year years before I planted a little flower garden mostly of marigolds by a little trailer home that we had and I came to light those marigolds because they were such Hardy flowers after summer was over there was an early snowfall in late fall and after the snow melted those marigolds were still flowering so I thought I’m going to pick off those seeds and grow them when I get to East Millstone so I got my an old empty vitamin jar plucked off the seeds stuck them in the Jarred well it wasn’t for 20 some years did I come across them again in fact I was rummaging through some stuff in our old prone flood-prone basement and there rolled out an old vitamin jar and the seeds were still in there and they were still dry so of course you know what I thought I’m going to plant those seeds and I’m going to stick them in the ground to my surprise they sprouted and produced some hearty marigolds that year how is it possible for those seeds to lay dormant for such a long period of time and still have the Mystery of Life in them I don’t know I don’t know in fact when I was I was reading archaeologists found seeds in an Egyptian too that laid dormant for four thousand years when they planted those old seeds they still sprung to full life after four Millennia how is it possible collectively no one really can figure it out look at the end of verse number 27.
scripture Bears this out how he himself does not know see there’s in when the Sea of the word of God is cast out there and it’s planted in a heart it has everything in it to produce spiritual life because it’s the seed of God and so how does that seed grow I don’t know how it grows but I know it does grow because God says it grows and God’s the one who grows it so see he alone in this passage he is not alone in grappling with this mystery the comparison between the kingdom of God and the entire action described here a man casting seed sleeping rising and the seed growing to maturity without him knowing how he does not even know how it grows but it does grow it can only mean one thing it is God’s sovereignty and the power of the word of God at work that means the mystery growth of the Kingdom of God is God’s initiative behind all things God his power and his will is being worked out quietly and consistently that’s what’s going on right now it is growing the kingdom of God is growing behind the scenes and of course the church being the custodian of preaching the gospel and so that’s what’s going on now and so Christians are born again by a living seed the living seed of the word of God so when the seed of the Gospel of the kingdom is cast into the proper soil of a person’s heart The Good Seed in plants in that heart and grows to produce life now there’s several scriptures that bear that out there’s one I want you to turn to and that’s in First Peter chapter 1 verse 23 just look in the back of your Bibles dear in First Peter but as you turn there there’s another passage in James chapter 1 and verse number 18 where it says in the exercise of his will he brought us forth by the word of Truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits among creatures look at the passage there in First Peter 1 23.
it says for you have been born again First Peter 1 23 you have been born again not of seed which is imperishable which which is perishable but imperishable that is through the living and enduring word of God so it links up the seed of the Gospel that is planted to the heart with the living and enduring word of God in other words would God starts and plants will come to fruition so complete trust in the word of God is the only reaction that does Justice to a seed casting seed sowing process there’s no other way to describe that it must be trust in the gospel so we cannot lose faith in the seat of the word of God or try to mix it with imitation substitutes we cannot do that we should not do that so that is the first part there’s the casting of the seed all right but the second thing there is something else in this Parable that teaches us about the growth of the kingdom of God and that its growth is certain and it is inescapable it’s certain and inescapable verse number 28 there’s a mysterious growth of the Kingdom this is also God’s initiative notice what it says the soil produces crops by itself first the blade then the head then the mature grain in the head now there’s a very familiar Greek word translated here by itself it is the word automete or automatos it means by itself or of something that happens without visible cause can you hear it we get the word automatic it is the word is the very word automatic in other words plant the seed and automatically the Earth bears fruit that’s all you have to do is plant the seeds so plant the word in a receptive soul and off it goes and off it grows see that’s what he’s saying to his disciples that’s how it’s going to work so in other words he’s telling them the fullness of the kingdom of God’s not coming yet it’s this process has to take place and this process is taking place where you can’t really see it it is in a way uh undetectable but it is certain and it is inescapable because if you notice the stages of growth in verse 28 it says they are given uh actually they’re given right here in our text it says first the blade you see the time words then the head then the mature grain in the head so you have first the grass-like blade then the ear and then of course the the fully ripened grained again so once the process of sowing has begun it is destined to be complete the growth of the seed happens independent of man’s action the farmer can’t even help move the development along but must patiently wait for the process to be complete so that’s what we do we may witness to somebody we may cast the seed but we may not see someone come to uh eternal life and bear fruit of that for a while in fact even new Believers take a while to mature in certain areas to put off some some of the old sins you know and but it’s going to happen if the seed is in the heart they are going to the place where they are not going to habitually sin it doesn’t mean they become sinless it means they will sin less and less in their life as they learn to live in light of the Holiness of God and in light of the word of God so the process but however once the process is complete the and the crop is ripe then the farmer is needed to bring the Harvest so I must agree uh somewhat with one commentator when he wrote sometimes the work of the Lord can become frustrating and disappointing we work hard but we see little fruit we Shine the Light of the gospel and sow the seed of the word but not much happens it seems almost futile and we wonder why even continue see that’s what the Lord doesn’t want his disciples to conclude nor us today because it’s the same thing that’s going on just keep casting the seed it is our job to cast the seed it is our job to give the gospel right keep casting the seed keep casting the seed and you know what some people may come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and you may never know them until you get to into heaven right because you were just faithful to cast the seed just faithful to give out the word of God just faithful to do what you ought to do so in spite of this faithless view that I just gave our passage assures us that there will be a definite Harvest so in spite of man’s rebellion and Disobedience God’s work goes on nothing in the end can stop the purpose of God nothing in the end can do it see so our last one last thing the parable teaches us about the growth of the kingdom of God is its growth leads to a definite end and that means this there is a day when the Harvest will come there is a day that it will end there’s a day in other words there’s a day of consummation see that becomes a very important point in the parable because if there is a day of consummation then there’s a definite Harvest of the kingdom and that is God’s initiative because look at verse number 29 it says this but when the crop permits he immediately puts in the sickle because the Harvest notice has come perfect tense of the verb it will come and it will have continuing results so there are several views of the the phrase immediately puts in the sickle but the harvests have has come one of the views uh is really they see the parable as a picture of the work of the Gospel in the life of an individual the development of the spiritual character follows a slow but orderly process and cannot be forced prematurely by human means and then of course the Harvest is viewed as denoting the in-gathering of the Evangelistic effort now that may be included but I believe the view that is meant here con surrounding the understanding of a parable is because the picture of the king it takes the picture of the Kingdom as a whole from the time of Christ’s sowing until the eschatological Harvest according to this view Jesus recognized that his sowing had not yet produced The Harvest but his sowing was being accomplished in his disciples which he confidently trusted God would bring to its future fruitful consummation so this View the second one seems to be in keeping with the broad scope of the parabolic teaching during this day but I want you to notice in verse number 29 the word but when the cry permits immediately he immediately puts in the sickle now that word sickle is really often a symbol of the arrival of the kingdom of God and the Judgment that will accompany it in other words when the Harvest comes two things happen the good fruit is gathered in and the weeds and the tares are destroyed so when the Harvest comes Harvest and judgment go hand in hand they go together remember the day of the Lord has not yet come the Judgment of God has not yet come but the Harvest has everything to do with two things gathering in his own and then also judgment on everyone else so in the second half of the seven year tribulation period on Earth referred to as the Great Tribulation that is the latter half of the seven year tribulation period between the Rapture of the church and the second coming the mediatorial reign of Christ on Earth for a thousand years will take place that’s known as the Millennium now the Book of Revelation chapter 14 to 16 describe the seven bold judgments in these chapters there’s a warning to mankind that the Judgment of God’s Wrath is soon to be poured upon the earth now I’d like you to take your Bibles and turn to Revelation last book of the Bible and turn to chapter 14.
because here in Revelation chapter 14 we see something now just to give you a sense of what Revelation is doing we have the taking out of the church from the earth then we have a three and a half year period we have the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel in fact that is the structure of the 70th week of Daniel uh aka the the day of the Lord right in the middle of the week the Antichrist will break his Covenant with with Israel and then there’s seven trumpet judgments on the last trumpet judgment there is the Bold judgments and so that’s where this is speaking to so in this section of Revelation there is there’s one this is like one more Scene which furnishes the background of the seven Bowls the seven bowls of judgment and the scene is in two parts picturing becoming judgment now before I look at that remember the coming judgment is going to have two things going on it’s going to have a harvest and it’s going to have a vintage those two things are together now while your hand is there in Revelation chapter 14 go back to chapter seven for a minute because remember the Harvest is going to be first the collecting of the grapes from the vine and that will be the multitudes that come to the Lord not only uh specifically here in this chapter in the tribulation but I want you to notice what it says in Revelation 7 verse number 9 through 12.
it says after these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues standing Before the Throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes and palm branches were in their hands and they cried out with a loud voice saying salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb and all the Angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying amen blessing and glory and wisdom and Thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our god forever and ever amen in other words that it give us gives us a picture that in this Harvest right to the end of the tribulation there is this Harvest of the Gathering of the multitude of the nations of the multitude of peoples who stand Before the Throne of God and what are they doing they’re praising the Lord because they’re part of seeing this Harvest and they’re part of that Harvest so that is the good part of the Harvest in fact back uh over to Revelation chapter 14 and I want you to know the language it uses here in Revelation 14.
and verse number 15.
now before this is given what is amazing in the Book of Revelation is that God gives one more chance to the world and he sends an angel with an eternal gospel and the angel preaches this eternal gospel and he gives one last chance for people to repent and believe the gospel that’s it one last chance all right and so that’s in the in verse number six and seven of Revelation 14. but now remember one that last chance is given no longer are men preaching the gospel this is an angel who’s preaching the gospel and this Angel comes for two reasons he comes now there’s several angels that come and they have specific jobs that they’re gonna do but they come for one reason either the reason to offer the Eternal gospel so others come in kind of the last effort to allow people to believe all right and then there is the Judgment of God now look at verse number 15 of chapter 14. notice the language and another angel came out of the temple crying out with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud put in your sickle and reap for the hour to reap has come because the Harvest of the earth is ripe then he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the Earth and the Earth was reaped and another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven and he also had a sharp sickle and remember in the Old Testament this whole concept of the sickle being pulled out is the thought of harvesting it’s and also the future judgment but along with the Harvest there is the Vintage and what’s the Vintage the Vintage the Harvest is this it is initial collecting of grapes from the vine it’s the initial collecting of souls into God’s Kingdom right and then the Vintage is part of the Judgment where the Vintage is the pressing of Those Grapes to produce juice you press the grapes so you get juice out of it right now look at the Vintage in verse number 18 through 20 then another Angel the one who had power over fire came out from the Altar and called with the loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle saying put in your sharp sickle and gather the Clusters from the vine of the Earth because her grapes are ripe in other words that’s a way of saying the time is right for judgment it is Judgment time no more preaching the gospel no more offers of Salvation no more it’s done and then The Vineyard has produced a wrong kind of fruit and must be trodden down and which says in verse number 19 and the angel swung his sickle to the Earth and gathered the Clusters from the vine of the earth and through them into the great wine press of the wrath of God so we’re seeing here and part of the day of the Lord in which it is God’s time to judge Humanity to judge the Earth and so the wine press in verse 20 was trodden outside the city that’s Jerusalem and the blood came out of the wine press and noticed the results of this treading out uh was blood flowing from the wine press it says up to the horse’s bridle for a distance of 200 miles that’s approximately the length of Palestine so that means that such a depth and coverage of blood suggest a massive Slaughter of human life in other words God brings in the angel to bring judgment upon the world and nobody gets away no one gets away in other words see so when we’re talking about the kingdom those two things always come together when we’re talking about Harvest we’re talking about God bringing in his people and God now holding judgment there’s nothing else to be done accept the Judgment of God so that means for you and I as we consider this Parable in mark chapter 4 there are a couple important things this Parable beckons us to do the first thing is this Parable beckons us not to lose hope why because we’ve just been informed on what God’s doing we’re just been informed on how God’s doing it we’ve just been informed on the Harvest means not only God bringing it to a consummation where we don’t see the growth right away but God’s doing it and we’re trusting in that but also that Harvest brings a judgment all right so that means we cannot be lost in a hopelessness and the reason why is this this world has gotten very small and there is a large amount of fear about the future is there not I have never seen so much fear about the future in our land and this has led to an atmosphere of Despair and an attitude of pessimism Doomsday is on people’s minds and matter of fact we have programs doomsday preppers you know people are trying to sell you patriot food and buy up all the MREs because you’re going to need all that stuff see you know be prepared at least in that way so doomsday is definitely on people’s minds however those to whom have been given the understanding of the Kingdom cannot be in despair because they know just what’s going on what’s going on as sea time is followed In Due Time by Harvest so will the present hiddenness and vagueness of the kingdom of God be succeeded by a glorious manifestation to bring in all the saints to gather them before God but also to bring judgment upon the whole world and execute God’s righteousness where it was not executed before so therefore we have a hope in our God who has spoken in the word of God and will accomplish all he has promised so see this parable causes us to hedge again any kind of hopelessness we can’t even do it we can’t go there a Christian should never be in despair when we look at the world and the reason why is we if we have a hope God’s going to accomplish his program is he not he’s going to take care of everything he will take care of it but there’s another thing that this Parable beckons us to do it beckons us to be prepared I don’t mean go out and buy MREs and patriot food I mean if there comes a harvest then we must be ready for it it’s too late to prepare when it’s upon us first we must know ourselves that we are born again and in the kingdom of God we must know that first that’s how we prepare all right another way we prepare in that first thing is that we are concerned about the souls around us we’re concerned about our family we’re concerned about our co-workers we’re concerned about the people that we have contact with who don’t know the Lord and we want to give them the Gospel of Jesus Christ because we know the power of the seed of God if planted in that heart is going to grow up into eternal life and they’re going to be saved and they’re going to be part of the kingdom of God so see it’s our job to be concerned about that that’s how we prepare all right and then secondly we must be prepared to meet our God by walking in holiness if we know that we’re Believers God is very concerned about Holiness in fact remember what it said in Hebrew strive for peace with everyone for the Holiness without which no one will see the Lord see because Holiness is connected to the sanctification of the spirit of God which is the same word that means to set you apart for God God is setting you apart he’s preparing you for his presence yes we’re not going to be made perfect on this side of Eternity but he’s making you the direction of your life is getting to the place where your desires your goals is going to want to be with the Lord right that this world really has nothing to offer you all right you’re just an alien in a foreign land you’re just passing through you’re just a Sojourner you know I read a story of um of a general Eisenhower great General second world war was the second or maybe first and second he was part of uh just before General Eisenhower died uh Billy Graham was invited to visit him at Walter Reed hospital in Washington DC he was told that he can have 30 minutes with him when he went in the general was wearing his usual big smile even though he knew he didn’t have long to live later Billy Graham told what happened there when the 30 minutes were up he asked me to stay longer and said to me Billy I want you to tell me once again how can I be sure my sins are forgiven and that I am going to heaven and because nothing else matters right now he said I took my new testament and read him scriptures I pointed out that we are not going to heaven because of our good works or because of money we’ve given to the church and so on and so forth and we were going to heaven totally and completely on the basis of the merits of what Christ did on the cross period therefore he can rest in the comfort that Jesus Paid It All after prayer I said thank you I’m ready it’s an interesting story because it does confirm that one of the most important things upon his mind at that point in his life was I know there’s something after death I want to be ready with the proper truth to be able to stand before God and give an account of my life and to know that my sins are forgiven and that I can enter into his presidency so that must be it we must be prepared in that way but how many people are really preparing for eternal life how many do you know of any I know they’re preparing for their 401ks and for their 403 B’s and for all their retirement which may not be there in a couple years all right they’re buying this they’re buying that they’re preparing physically for this world but they’re not preparing for eternity see this parable really does beckon us to be ready spiritually and now it it reckons us to be ready as far as Holiness is concerned am I walking in holiness see if Jesus spent a day or two I wonder what you would do if he spent a day or two with you what would you do would you maybe change your clothes before you let them in or hide the magazines and put your Bible where they had been would you turn off all your media and hope he hadn’t seen or heard and wish you hadn’t uttered that last loud nasty word would you hide your worldly music and put some hymn book out could you let Jesus walk right in or would you have to rush about and I Wonder If the Savior spent a day or two with you would you go right on doing the things you always do would you go right on saying the things you always say would life for you continue as it does from day to day or would you maybe change your plans for just a day or so would you be glad to have him meet your very close friend girlfriend boyfriend and friends too or would you hope they’d stay away until his visit was through would you be glad to have him stay forever on and on or would you sigh with great relief when he at last was gone see it might be interesting to know the things that you would do if Jesus came in person to spend some time with you that was a poem you know and the author is unknown so I changed some things but is it not true that believe me when you are born again to God’s kingdom you must be different you must consider and prepare your life in Holiness to meet God that’s what every day of your life is to meet the Lord see that’s what prepared means so this Parable does bring a very practical conclusion that we are beckoned to not be hopeless and to be prepared I like what it says in Luke later on in Luke where he says but watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the cares of this life and that day and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap for it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth it will come see in other words there is a definite consummation to the kingdom of God will you be there and will you be reaped as one of God’s born-again children or will you be under God’s judgment so our texts taught us to cast seed for growth and the seed is the word of God it taught us that there’s a mystery growth going on when you do cast the seed and God is building his kingdom bringing people from all over all tribes and Nations into his Harvest and there will be a definite Harvest that the word brings ashore Harvest of souls who are born again and a harvest of judgment on those who are not born again see the the conclusion would be be ready be ready and if you know somebody doesn’t know the Lord help them to be ready amen let’s pray Lord thank you again for the word of God it is just truly amazing the things that we find therein and Lord that you would even give us the answers to the parables to those who are your children that we would know them and that we would know how to live our life because of them and we would know Lord that you are doing something that your word is powerful that your kingdom will come that Lord everything you say will be done that that seed when it’s planted it will bear a crop the Harvest will come and it will come with a good part and it will come with a judgment part so Lord I pray this morning for those who know you as their lord and savior that they would come and they would have their hope rekindled and they would be prepared every day of their life not only prepared with the seed of the Gospel to share it with others but also Lord to walk in holiness to obey everything that you commanded us as your children and Lord to learn how to live in the light of the implications of the Gospel as the spirit of God Is sanctifying Us and setting us apart more and more unto God so I pray Lord if you came to visit us we would want you to stay because we’re going to be with you for all eternity thank you Lord for your people use this message how you will how you see fit and I pray this in Christ’s name amen