The Parable of the Growing Seed

Jesus said in Mark 4:26-29 - "The kingdom of God is as if a man (a farmer) should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade (the stalk), then the ear (the head), then the full grain in the ear (the head). But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, beacuse the harvest has come."

The apostle Paul wrote in Col. 2:6-7 - "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established (or stengthened) in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding (or overflowing) in thanksgiving."

I believe Jesus is showing us here in the Gospel of Mark, and then the Apostle Paul is also showing us in the Book of Colossians, that there is a 6-Step "Process and Strategy and Plan" for fulfilling Christ's "Great Commission" to "Make Disciples" (Matt. 28:19-20) - for "Developing & Duplicating Devoted Disciples" of Jesus Christ. And here it is:

1. STEP #1: "PLANTED" - Sowing the Seed (which is the Word of God) It must be scattered, and planted in the ground first...
2. STEP #2: "ROOTED" - Becoming Rooted & Grounded - It then becomes "rooted" in the soil, and begins to "sprout", and grow...
3. STEP #3: "BUILT UP" - Growing in the Faith- It starts to grow up, and is "built up"...
4. STEP #4: "STRENGTHENED" - Established in His Service - It continues to grow, the stalk gets bigger, and thus needs to be strengthened...
5. STEP #5: "TAUGHT" - Instructed (or Watered) in His Word- It is then watered (by God with the rain), and continues to grow...
6. STEP #6: "OVERFLOWING" - Abounding in Fruitfulness - The full grain appears in the ear (the head), and it is then ready for harvest...

These, I believe, are the 6 Steps that are needed to make up "God's Blueprint" for "Growin' Disciple's - God's Way". I am in the process right now of writing a "Growin' Disciple's God's Way" Discipleship Curriculum (A series of 6 Books, or 6 Discipleship Workbooks) that will go along with this discipleship plan. So please stay tuned, there is alot more to come!