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Sow what? The Word of God! Sow when? All
the time! Sow where? Everywhere…but hopefully on good ground!
This parable answers the question, “Why
doesn’t everybody get saved?” As tremendous as salvation is, it’s a wonder
that so many do not get saved.
Ill.—if you were Governor and you went to a
prison and offered every single inmate a pardon, you’d expect every single
inmate to accept the offer…so why do many turn down the Lord?
What is a parable, and why did Jesus teach in
parables?
Parable = ‘to place alongside of’. It’s an
illustration alongside a truth. It’s an earthly story with heavenly
meaning. It’s a physical illustration of a spiritual concept. You see, we
live in the physical, and don’t often exercise the spiritual part of us. So
these illustrations help the light to come on in our understanding in our
spirits.
So, why teach in parables? The disciples
wondered the same thing…
v. 10.
v. 11-12 Jesus says there’s 2
reasons I teach in parables:
To reveal and to conceal.
To reveal truth to those who have accepted
Him and to conceal truth from those who have rejected Him.
The principle applies to us today: if you
respond positively to what light God has given you, then God will give you
more light. But if you reject the light, you won’t get any more light. If
you fail to step into the light shone before you, no more is offered. If
you obey the truth you know, God will share more truth with you…but if you
don’t, then why should God give you more?
There’s no skipping steps with God. You
cannot bypass the process He has set for us.
Psalms 37:23
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD…
Some people say they stopped growing in the
Lord at a certain time. They were going forward, but then it seemed to
plateau and level off. If I were you I’d go back to that time and see if
there was a command you never have obeyed. You cannot circumvent that
truth. The train stops here until we meet the requirements to go forward.
God does not reveal truth to us so that we
may consider it, but that we might obey it. “Use it or lose it!”
Jesus came to His own in Israel and they
rejected Him, so now he goes to the individuals, and uses parables to
conceal the truth from those who don’t want to believe, and to reveal truth
to those seeking more light.
Tonight we see 3 elements to this first
parable: the sower, the seed, and the soil.
Notice that only 25% of the seed ends up
being successful. 75% didn’t take. So, what’s the problem?
The seed? Is it the problem? No, v. 19-20
say the seed is the Word of God. It is inerrant, infallible, and inspired.
Now granted, we don’t want to use a watered down Word…and many translations
and paraphrases unfortunately do just that…but ultimately the God breathed
Word of God is perfect, and so powerful that even well meaning but misguided
interpreters cannot undo it even with many unfortunate renderings they apply
to it often times.
Consider the power contained in just a little
seed. If I were to hold a few apple seeds in my hand, there would be the
possibility of an entire orchard. That’s exciting, because even if I only
preach to a handful of folks tonite if I can just get some seeds planted
they can spread and reproduce and be fruitful for ages to come!
The seed of the Word is daily carried all
around the world online with little effort…imagine what we could do if we
tried!
Within the acorn is the potential of a mighty
oak tree.
1 Peter 1:23
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word
of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
There’s no problem with the seed.
Ill.—not long ago they found a seed deep
within a pyramid in Egypt. It was estimated to be 3,000 years old. Just
for the fun of it they planted it to see if it would grow and reproduce, and
it did!
The Bible is the seed, and in it is amazing
potential. Each of our s.s. teachers scatters seed each week. Children’s
workers and WOL Club leaders / radio opportunities / choir member playing
practice CD at work! / missionaries we send out / sermons preached here and
in thousands of other places…
We’re privileged to be one of places still
seeing souls saved, though not as many as we’d like, it’s much more than so
many…and how is that possible? By scattering a lot of seed!
God has promised that His Word will not
return void.
Psalms 126:5-6 5 They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. 6 He that goeth
forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Usually we use those verses to make a point
about the burden and the tears we should have…but I’m afraid some have that
heart but don’t scatter the seed…the precious seed that is absolutely vital
to the process of seeing a loved one get saved! Do you ever get around to
talking about the Lord? Do you ever share the actual words of the gospel,
or just pray for them or for someone else to do the talking?
Elsewhere the Bible says if we sow sparingly
we will reap sparingly…but if bountifully then, well!
We need to sing out the “Wonderful Words of
Life.”
Why doesn’t everyone get saved? Why do many
lost people visit here and walk out lost? Well, the problem is not with the
seed.
A 2nd question: Is there a
problem with the sower?
v. 37 Jesus is the sower in this
parable, so we know He sowed right. What did He do right? He sowed! Sow
what? The gospel of the Word. Sow where? Everywhere! Sow when? All the
time!
The magic formula of the sower is to sow
plentifully everywhere. If you aim at nothing you’re sure to hit it!
We must try and try again, over and over, all the time!
We cannot continue to allow seed sowing
opportunities to get by us. Don’t wait to be led…God has already led!
Don’t say I’m looking for an open door…the door is wide open until one day
very soon when God will shut it, and then no more sowing can be done!
You should carry gospel tracts from the rack
in the lobby, and tuck your tip in it in the restaurant, and hand it to
friends, or leave them in lobbies and restrooms. Some here use my plan on
the back of the church business cards, the Five Facts, also in the lobby.
There’s much room for improvement around
here, when it comes to scattering seed, and we have several people who are
very excited about some new visions and plans we have, to be disclosed very
soon.
Sow plentifully…
Also: passionately…that’s where the tears
and the burden come in. The seeds only spring up if they are watered with
our tears. When is the last time that you wept over a lost loved one?
Plentifully, passionately…
And: patiently… in due time we’ll reap if we
‘faint not’. Don’t give up.
Ill.—farmers don’t plant on Monday and expect
to reap on Monday, or even next week or next month. Just obey and do your
job, and trust the results to God! Plus, we often will never know the
results of our witness…I believe we will have some surprising discoveries in
heaven!
In this parable, there’s no problem with the
sower or the seed, so the problem has to be with the soil. [the human heart
is the soil]
4 kinds of soil in this parable:
v. 19 The indifferent heart is
pictured by ‘the wayside’. This is the footpath alongside the fertile
field. It’s been walked on so much that that dirt is hard and the seed
won’t make it. This is a hardened heart.
Just pray for them, and God can break up that
soil, and perhaps a seed can get into a small crack sometime! Some won’t
look up until they are flat on their back…so pray for circumstances to get
their attention! Some need a near death experience to shake them up. Any
religion is good enough to live by…but I need one that’s good enough to die
by!
v. 5-6 The impulsive heart is
pictured by stony ground. It’s totally different than the wayside. It’s
not rock on the surface, there is just a little soil, but then rock
underneath. The seed doesn’t get very deep, so it springs up quickly. But
it has no root system, and dries up and withers away.
These are impulsive decision makers who
actually make a profession of faith. Maybe it’s an emotional, impulsive
decision…yes, I wanna be saved! But there’s no depth or root to them, like
‘easy-believism’. And in a few weeks or months the FBI couldn’t find them!
Ill.—Alka-Seltzer Christians: a lot of fizz
at first but soon they fizzle out. Like a faulty rocket, they make a lot of
noise and fire at first, but never get into orbit.
It says the sun comes out and they wither
away. That’s circumstances and problems. Some come to God w/ problems
thinking that if they get saved their problems will all go away. Is that
true? If getting saved is the end of problems then I say it’s the FRONT
END!
Indifferent heart, impulsive heart…
v. 7 The impure heart is in
thorny places. The thorns and weeds here may have been cut away at ground
level, but the roots were still there.
Ill.—mow the dandelions in your yard…are you
rid of them? Of course not, they’ll be right back!
These thorns and thistles and weeds represent
worldliness.
v. 22 The world and riches choke out
the Word!
The word repent means to turn, and as you
turn TO Christ, you should also be turning FROM something, and that is the
world system.
“The world behind me, the cross before
me” is the best verse of “I have decided to follow Jesus!”
Let’s be clear now: these 3 examples are not
believers who lost their salvation…they were never saved at all! The
evidence of a true believer is that they bear fruit, Jesus said, by their
fruits ye shall know them. James was right: faith w/out works truly is
dead! We’re not saved BY works, but a true faith will work!
The last example is the only true believer:
v. 8 This is the heart that humbly
receives the truth of the Word, in genuine faith and repentance this one
gets saved and is filled w/ the indwelling Spirit of God.
What kind of ground are you? If you are one
of the first 3 types of soil, the good news is, you don’t have to stay that
way. Make sure you have a fertile heart…ask God to stir your soul and turn
the layers of your life over, and turn them over to Him!
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