The Blessing of Giving

Mark 4:26-29

A father was shopping at the mall with his 16 year old daughter when they ran into a friend they hadn’t seen for some years. “I can’t believe how much you’ve grown!” the friend exclaimed to the daughter.  For the father, the statement was an epiphany, because he suddenly realized that his little girl was, indeed, “grown up.” when had it happened, he wondered as he fondly remembered the pencil marks on the wood trim in the doorway to the kitchen at home.

Maybe your home has your children’s “growth chart” etched somewhere. Charting a child’s physical growth is great fun, especially for the children. Kids love it when they see that they are taller!

Physical growth is no accident, because God designed our bodies to grow!

• He created and energized a growth process.
• It’s automatic as long as the body is provided proper nourishment, regular exercise, and remains disease free.

First--God designed his kingdom for growth just as he designed human bodies to grow.
    - His kingdom is not static! It grows because the God of the bible is growth-

          oriented.

• Progress, growth, and increase are all measurable characteristics of God’s work.

The parable found in mark 4:26-29 gives us a holy glimpse into the process of growth in the kingdom.

Jesus begins by saying, “the kingdom of god is like . . .” (verse 26).  In other words, if you want to know what the kingdom looks like, “take a long hard look at . . .” This divine story features a man who casts seed upon the soil, and after each hard day’s work, he retires for the night, awakening one morning to a field full of sown seed that has begun to grow.  Plants have sprouted up, breaking through the ground. The farmer is not sure how the seed has grown (“how he himself does not know”), but he is sure that it has because the evidence is before his eyes! (v. 27).

“How” the seed grew is not the farmer’s problem. It’s god’s problem.  God himself has solved the mystery of how seeds grow.  The farmer’s role is to faithfully sow the seed, not figure out how it goes from hard kernels to supple sprouts.

Our responsibility is sowing; God’s is growing.  God and man must work together in the sowing/growing process.
Two--Life is a seed.

Seeds don’t generate their own life.  Seeds have life because the one who is life placed it there.  The soil has been created with the ability and power to bring the life from the seed.  The soil, by itself, produces a crop from the seeds.  The crops are the result of a process with distinct stages of growth.  First, the blade springs forth from the seed.  Next, the blade develops a head. The head will hold the fruit of the seed.  Last but not least is the mature grain in the head. Mature grain means harvest time!  The miracle that takes place is absolutely amazing! A small, seemingly insignificant seed grows into a huge harvest.

Three--the harvest has come!

Harvest is the purpose for planting; it’s the goal during the growing season.  Growth is the means to that end.  In order to have a harvest there must be growth.  The kingdom of God is all about harvesting souls.

In Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus announced to his followers, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”  It is critical for us to note here that the Lord doesn’t ask us to pray for a harvest.  God’s harvest field is plentiful, not pitiful or puny! It’s bountiful!

Four--how do you recruit laborers into the harvest field?

a. Know that when you give to God’s work, you will receive a return.  Luke 6:38 states, “give, and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For my your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.”

1. Based on God’s word, you can be confident, and rest assured that when you give your tithes, offers, and special gifts, you will receive blessings in return.  Jesus would not have said, “Give and it will be given to you,” if it were not true!
   
   Sowing is the first step in the “growing” process.  Open your heart, hands and pocketbook to release financial resources.  Remember, there is life in the seed.
   Don’t sit on your God-given resources. Sow them so God can grow them.
   
   What we sow, God will grow it!
   . He will multiply and expand your gifts.
   . Churches that sow will grow.
   . God guarantees it from his word.
   
   
   ~~~ Amen ~~~