“The Inherent Power Of The Word Of God!”

“The Inherent Power Of The Word Of God!”(Mk.4:26-29).
One missionary admired the natural palms of the Mbembe area (AKA Ndzali) in Donga-Mantung. He thought to himself how the Mbembe people could be more economically empowered if what we call “American palms” was introduced to them. That is how the Mbembe Evangelization Project came into existence. The larger vision of the project was evangelization, but not only through the word of God, but for Christ economically empowering the people.
A “Demonstration farm” was started with the aim that the indigenes would buy the new seedlings and plant on their own plots for quantitative and qualitative oil improvement.
How disappointed were the initiators when after several years the Mbembe people were nonplussed as far as the American palms farming was concerned.
When asked to know why the lack of concern for Palm planting, a Mbembe man will reply with a question, “Do we plant the palms that we harvest?”
Surely not! God uses the birds and other creatures to plant, not only palms for the Mbembe people, but other fora and fauna in other places.
Until recently medicinal plants were not reproduced by humankind. They just grow naturally.
Mark, the first of the biblical Gospels recounts how Jesus used the natural growth of crops to demonstrate the “inherent power of the word of God.”
The Lord says, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
To grow the kingdom of God, our responsibility is to spread the Word in the word of God, but it is not in our power to determine the outcome. The Holy Spirit is the one who prepares the minds of listeners so that the inherent power of the word becomes effective in the hearers.
You see, a young minister, sent to a new parish preached the same sermon for the first four Sundays of his stay. After the fourth Sunday an old man went up to him and sought to know why he preached the same sermon for four Sundays. The minister replied, “From the first preaching, nothing has changed. I will keep on preaching the same sermon until the people do what is required from the sermon.”
Again, once upon a time there was a minister who was find of staying up late into the night. One day God asked to know why he was always up late into the night. He said he was worrying about his parishioners. God told him, “Pastor, go to sleep and leave the worrying to me.”
My friend, you and I can only do our part, and leave the rest in the hands of the Triune God.
We may (not) be the ones to do the harvesting, all we know is that one person plants, another one waters, but it is God who gives the growth.
The gospel (like the soil) has the inherent power by itself to transform hearts (produce grain…).
May we always be humble not to take the credit due to the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, grow your kingdom through the internal power of your word alone. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.