The Kingdom and Strategic Growth
In Matthew 13:1-9 we find the familiar Parable of the Sower; one of the few parables of Jesus that He explains. In the parable, the farmer sows seeds that fall onto four different types of soils – hard, resistant ground, rocky, shallow soil, weedy soil, and good ground. Jesus explains that the farmer’s intention is not just scattering seed. But his desire is that the seed eventually produces a crop – the bigger the better.
After sharing the parable, His disciples ask why He teaches in parables (this was a change from His first year of ministry). In Matthew 13:10-17 He explains why parables and then in v. 12 He states a strategic principle – Whoever has will be given more… The Lord of the harvest seeks to honor those who respond to the message.
In the explanation that follows (Matthew 13:18-23) He explains that the fourth soil person is. “But the one who receives the seed good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop…” v 23. The farmer’s goal is realized by those seeds that produce a crop.
Later in Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus shares another parable, The Parable of the Talents. Here He introduces it (v. 14-15) by saying the kingdom is, “…like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.” The three servants were given different amounts of capital to invest while their master was away – each receiving according to his ability. The first two immediately put the money to work.
After a while the master returned, and the servants were called to an accounting review. They reported their initial capital and the results of their labor. In v. 20-22 the first two say, “You entrusted me with… I have gained…” Note the growth and the master’s approval of their efforts. Also note the third servant is chastised for not growing the initial capital. In v. 27 the master says, “…you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest.”
Finally, in v. 28-29 the master says, “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more and he will have an abundance.” It is a repeat of the same principle stated earlier in the explanation of why speak in parables.
Growth is a Kingdom principle and the Lord desires growth in our ministries. We labor to that end, always acknowledging the truth of 1 Corinthians 3:7 ESV, “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
Developing Kingdom Leaders - Tom Yeakley 