The Goal is Whole: Empower Others E6: Growth Secrets

FULL STUDY:

In this final day in our study on empower others, we will turn to a vital parable Jesus told, to help us understand His purpose in the expansion of His kingdom, and principles of fruitfulness:

“Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. (Mark 4:3-20)

Needless to say, the parable of the sower is crucial. As Jesus said, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?” (verse 13). It seems like understanding the parable of the sower is fundamental to understanding all parables.

The picture is of a farmer sowing seed on different types of soil. The results of the planting are very varied, ranging from zero fruitfulness to 30, 60 or 100 fold return. That’s multiplication! Some have got too caught up translating this as the quality of soil we plant into, but that is not really how Jesus explained it. It is much more to do with the quality of nurture and response than the quality of “soil”. When someone receives Christ they are made a new creation. It’s a level playing field. But what determines the level of growth is how things proceed from there. That’s why having a vibrant new creation community to welcome them is so important:

“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Colossians 2:6-7)

Fruitfulness is dependent on the extent to which we “walk in Him”. These are the things we need to look out for in the parable:

1. Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown

How crucial this is! This definitely applies to a person receiving Christ, but also on the level of planting a new “INN”. Matthew’s gospel is more specific on this, saying, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.”  Lack of understanding is the problem here. When a group doesn’t fully understand the process, or the “word of the kingdom”, they can so easily get drawn back into traditions, and typical small-group activities and completely drop the new creation realities we seek to carry in the INN vision. That will stunt growth and thwart multiplication, as well as diluting the quality of community life available in the new creation. Make no mistake here, Satan opposes what we seek to do. We need to be wise to this and cover all new INN-plants in prayer, resisting him on behalf of the new group being formed.

In addition, we need to be available to discuss and interact, helping everyone understand clearly – especially those who have only recently received Jesus. Jesus specifically said the evil one gets in where people don’t understand. No amount of time is too much to help people work through things and come to a knowledge of the truth.

2. “When affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away”

This builds on the last point. If someone enters and receives the revelation with joy, the evil one will seek to stir up trouble and persecution. At times like this, being surrounded by the new creation community is vital. Those of us nurturing others in their walk with Jesus, and the INN vision, need to be so aware of this, and be ready to jump in and support as needed. We also need to warn those involved that persecution might come, and how they should respond. Let’s make sure they know also what Jesus said elsewhere:

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

Check back also to our study in unit 3, day 3, “Victory in trouble”.

3. “The worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

This is a big one! Our modern world is very busy, complex, and demanding. There is no doubt that distractions of lifestyle will greatly impact levels of fruitfulness. Let us encourage those who are planting to be realistic about what they can commit to, and also make lifestyle adjustments where necessary to enable them to embrace the calling of the Holy Spirit to co-work with Him in the plan of multiplication. Life burdens, getting drawn away in money-making schemes and careers, and allowing the desire for other things to take hold, all choke the growth, sometimes completely. This is so damaging, and such a big threat.

4. They hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

The fruitful ones are simply stated as those who hear the word, accept it, and produce fruit of various levels of multiplication. This is the person or group that takes time to embrace the life of Jesus, and what He is saying in the midst. But more than that, they accept it. The word used there means “to actively take” something, or “to get hold of it” (Strong’s dictionary). The Discovery Bible explains this as

to actively accept; taking something that is available. This can often be a self-prompted taking, involving more initiative or aggressiveness than a different Greek word that means to passively accept something – receiving something because it is offered.  That other word can highlight the initiative of the giver, whereas the word in this parable highlights the initiative of the receiver.

What does all this reveal? Fruitfulness doesn’t “just happen by chance”. Nominally receiving something isn’t the path to fruitfulness. The fruitful person, or group, is one that actively goes after the things of the Kingdom, looking to take hold of the fullness, pushing for growth and fruitfulness. This is not human effort, but rather actively and intentionally taking hold of the Kingdom, aligning fully with the purpose and ways of Jesus, and becoming zealous channels of His life. Jesus said:

“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” (Matthew 11:19)

This is not human physical violence, but an attitude of heart, a determination.

Now, with all we are doing, we need to read and understand all this in a group context. It is not just an individual coming to a place of understanding, and actively accepting the word, although that is vital. This is a group thing, an issue of unity. This is so crucial. It is better to work through things more slowly if needed, and/or engage one or two experienced mentors to help steer the group into fruitfulness together. Lack of unity in the group is a major stumbling block to fruitfulness. This is why the Vision champions so strongly the principle of “shared discernment”, and our process of planting through the INNcubate track. The goal is for the group to “gel” around the word of the Kingdom that Jesus is speaking specifically to this group.

Sometimes there may be one or more group members that just feel “out of synch” with what the group seems to be receiving. Maturity will call for those ones to possibly be released and nurtured into a different group. This is a matter for discernment and prayer, where everyone pulls together to get understanding from the Holy Spirit in an attitude of peace and harmony.

The church Jesus is building is not a rigid organization, but a thriving, organism. The most fundamental of all values, that is so essential for fruitfulness, is the willingness to stay yielded to Jesus, looking for His direction, and then actively taking hold of it.

There is no striving in fruit-bearing, because fruit comes from abiding in Jesus. Fruit manifests through us staying calmly in union with Him. But staying in the place of abiding can sometimes be a fight, and we need to be ready and equipped to help those we nurture succeed all the way in this, right into abundant fruitfulness.