The sower’s work is unimpressive. Picture a farmer scattering the seed by hand, walking 20 miles a day, up and down the same field. He looks out over the field at night and it strikes him that after all his work, the field looks exactly the same as it did that morning. Nothing has changed. He has worked all day, and what does he have to show for it? His efforts haven’t made any observable difference.

This is the hidden pressure of all spiritual work. When you’re teaching the Word to your children, you sometimes wonder if you’ve accomplished anything. You work hard to sow the seed of the Word. But what came of it? How do you keep going? By having great confidence in the seed. The sower continues to work, because he is deeply convinced that the seed he is planting will bring a harvest that’s pleasing to God.

You will be greatly helped by seeing, not just what the Bible is (the Word of God), but also what the Bible does (the work of God). Psalm 19:7-8 says:

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

What does the Word of God do? It revives the soul, makes the simple wise, gives joy to the heart, and gives light to the eyes… It does these things because of what the Word of God is—“living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12).

Are you struggling to sustain a ministry of the Word to your children? Your small group? Other ministry? Where is your confidence?

Jesus reveals the secret of the kingdom in a simple story: A sower goes out sowing seed. The seed falls on different kinds of ground. The seed on bad ground produces nothing of lasting value. The seed on good ground produces a marvellous harvest.

The seed sown in this story is God’s Word. This living seed has the power to produce life and sustain growth. If you’re inclined to think about the Word of God simply as information, think again. The Word of God has life-giving power.

Any seed will produce a crop if it’s planted in the right conditions, but different seeds will produce different harvests. The seed that we sow will determine the crop that we get. So, we must choose our seed carefully. The first question is: What kind of harvest are we hoping to see?

Once we’re clear about the harvest we’re looking for, we’ll be able to select the right seed. Is it a large crowd? Is it people who like the church? Many kinds of seed will produce these harvests. But Jesus is telling us that if we seek a harvest of people living under the blessing of God’s rule, only one seed will produce this crop.

The Word of God has produced the same harvest of people living under the blessing of God’s rule in every culture and in every generation. It will produce godly fruit in your life, and in the lives of your children, your neighbours, and your friends. We can have absolute confidence in the power of this seed to produce a great harvest today.

Are you clear about the harvest you’re looking for and what the seed is that will produce that harvest?

"The kingdom" is simply the rule or reign of God. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to ask that God’s kingdom would come, and that His will would be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

God is sovereign. That means He reigns everywhere. He reigns in heaven, on earth, and even over hell. But in heaven, God’s rule is recognised. That’s why heaven is filled with His blessing. In hell, God's rule is resisted. That's why hell is under His judgement.

On earth, there’s this strange mixture: God’s rule is partly recognised and partly resisted. That’s why we see a mixture of blessing and judgement. So, when we pray, “Your kingdom come” (Mat. 6:10), we’re asking God to make this world more like heaven than hell. And that happens as people come to submit to God’s rule in their lives.

The ministry of Jesus brought a taste of heaven on earth—illnesses healed, demons cast out, and sins forgiven. Ordinary people became followers of Jesus. Troubled people were set free. The kingdom of God was coming near. But then something happened: the ministry that was bringing such blessing was rejected. Some people were plotting to kill Jesus, while others were saying that He was in league with the devil.

But if the King is rejected, what hope is there for the kingdom? How can we know the blessing of Christ’s rule in this Christ-rejecting world?

As you see God’s rule partly recognised and partly resisted, what does this do to your confidence level in Jesus' ability to establish His kingdom?

Some Christians seem to have the idea that Jesus lived a balanced life. But the demands on Jesus were so great that He did not even have time to eat. Missing meals and losing sleep were commonplace for Jesus and His disciples.

If you’re surrounded by great ministry opportunities, don’t complain, be thankful. That’s what the Master did, and He didn’t listen to those who tried to slow Him down.

When Mary saw her son missing meals and losing sleep, she became anxious for His health. The brothers took a harsher view: “He is out of His mind.” Brothers say that kind of thing, don’t they? They wanted to restrain Jesus and bring Him home. The family is connected to Jesus, and they want Him to obey them! They want to bring Him under their control.

Picture Jesus’ family arriving outside: “A crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you’” (3:32). Jesus asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” (3:33). Then Jesus said to the folks who were listening to His teaching, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother” (3:35).

These words must have gone straight through Mary’s heart. Even His mother must submit herself to His will and bow before Him as her Saviour and Lord.

If Jesus’ own mother could not bring Him under her control, why would you think you can?

Jesus Christ is ready to forgive any sin that you’ve committed. He is ready to forgive open sins, secret sins, sins from long ago, and sins repeated many times. He is ready to forgive all your blasphemous words, thoughts, and deeds.

The blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cover every sin, including yours. Take this glorious promise and believe it. Come to Him and tell Him about your sins. Name them. Confess them and find peace with God through the blood of Jesus Christ today.

This promise is followed by a grim warning: “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (3:29). Many believers worry that they may have committed this sin. But rest assured, if you’re worried that you might have committed this sin, you can be certain that you haven’t.

These teachers of the law were in danger of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. What is that? They saw the work of Christ and concluded that He was in league with the devil.

The sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin of continuing to reject Jesus Christ and His work, accomplished in the power of the Holy Spirit.

These men could pass a Bible exam and submit first-class research papers. Their knowledge was impressive, but they refused to submit to the authority of Christ. They were educated rebels.

God stands ready to forgive any sin through His Son, Jesus Christ. That’s the promise. But if you go on refusing this Christ, there is no other way to be forgiven. That’s the warning.

Which did you need to hear most today, the promise or the warning?

These folks were not the local clergy in Galilee. These were the top brass religious leaders coming down from the capital city in Jerusalem. Why did they come? Because the Pharisees and Herodians were plotting to kill Jesus (3:6).

What does a plot to destroy someone involve? It begins with recruiting other influential people. The Pharisees probably sent word to Jerusalem about Jesus, and as a result of this complaint, an official delegation was sent to make an evaluation.

The teachers arrived with their clipboards to check Jesus out, and they came to this conclusion: “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons” (3:22). But that doesn’t make sense: “If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end” (3:26).

Jesus gave a very different explanation of His ministry: “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house” (3:27). Satan is the strong man who holds many people captive in his house. Far from being in league with Satan, Jesus has come to raid his kingdom, and to set the captives free.

But when these teachers studied Jesus, they concluded that He was in league with Satan. This is the same conclusion many people have come to in our country today. Apart from God’s grace, there is deep antagonism toward Jesus in every heart. When holiness takes flesh and comes near, we do not like it, because it shows us who we really are.

What is your conclusion about Jesus?

Suppose an angel were to ask you: “Why should you be allowed into heaven?” and you said, “Because I believe Jesus is the Son of God.” Their obvious response would be, “Well, so do the demons. How is your faith any different from theirs?”

Even more surprising than what demons believe is their obedience to Jesus: “Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ And he strictly ordered them not to make him known” (3:11-12).

These demons are under Jesus’ authority. They confess Him and they have to obey Him. This hits pretty close to home. In his book, Family Driven Faith, Voddie Baucham reports: “70 to 88 per cent of Christian teens are leaving the church by their second year in university.”

Why would 80 per cent of young people raised in church leave when they go to university? Could it be that these young people obey because they have to, and when the constraint of family is taken away, the true state of their hearts is revealed? Freedom reveals who you really are.

The Lord said to Isaiah “This people draw near with their mouth and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Isa. 29:13). That’s the natural condition of religious people. Unless God changes your heart, you will remain a confessing rebel, conforming when you must, but indulging your rebellion when you can.

Come to Christ today and say, “Lord, save me from the treason in my own heart. Don’t allow me to confess to you while continuing in rebellion against you.”

How do you know that a person has a saving faith in Jesus Christ? The answer is simple: He or she pursues a life of obedience.

This theme runs through Jesus’ teaching: “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14). “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mat. 7:21).

Many Christians are resistant to this teaching. They reduce faith in Jesus to a formula, an event, or a prayer. But the whole purpose of the death of Christ is that you should live a new life to the glory of God: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24).

God saves you by His grace, and you receive that grace by faith alone. But the evidence that you have received this grace will be seen in your pursuit of obedience. John Calvin put it well: "We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone."

The gospel leads to a life of obedience: “Through [Jesus] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5). Paul’s mission is to call people, not just to “faith,” but to “the obedience of faith.”

If you’re not a Christian today, God calls you to the obedience of faith. And if you are a Christian today, God also calls you to the obedience of faith.

What is “the obedience of faith,” in your own words?