CASTING SEEDS
MATTHEW 13:1-13
INTRO-
OVERVIEW OF MATTHEW 13
FARMER WHO THROWS SEED- IT FALLS ON 4 DIFFERENT SOILS
1. PATHWAY
2. ROCKY
3. THORNY
4. GOOD SOIL
AS FATHERS, LEADERS OF OUR FAMILIES, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME TO MAKE SURE THE SEEDS FALL ON GOOD GROUND.
WE CAN REPEATEDLY THROW SEED UNTIL IT SETS IN GOOD SOIL AND WE SEE FRUIT.
THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT GOD GROWS, AND NURTURES HIS SEED, BUT WE ARE REPEATEDLY TOLD TO THROW THE SEEDS AND HELP KEEP THE WEEDS OUT OF THE GARDEN.
WE WILL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE TO TEND TO THE FIELDS HE HAS INTRUSTED TO US.
THESE WOULD BE OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS...OUR WIFE AND OUR CHILDREN.
***THE BEST THING FOR A CHILD TO SEE IS A FATHER THAT LOVES HIS MOTHER
OUR SUCCESS DOESN’T DEPEND ON OUR FALLING DOWN OR MAKING MISTAKES AS MUCH AS IT DOES ON OUR ABILITY TO GET UP AND GET GOING AGAIN.
EVERYDAY IS A GOOD DAY TO START OVER AGAIN WITH RENEWED STRENGTH AND DETERMINATION, AND WE WILL BE A LITTLE BIT WISER FOR THE EXPERIENCE.
IF WE KEEP OUR VISION IN FOCUS AND FOLLOW GOD’S PLAN.
RAISING OUR FAMILY IS LIKE THROWING SEED, WE TRY EVERYTHING WE KNOW TO GET GROWTH.....
LIKE A FARMER...WE WILL DO WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO TO GET THE GROUND TO BE FERTILE.
*** WE MUST PLANT, NO PLANTING , NO GROWTH, IF YOU DON’T PLANT, IT WON’T MATTER THAT YOU KEEP THE WEEDS OUT
***JOHNNY APPLESEED THREW SEEDS AND MOVED ON, AS PARENTS, WE THROW SEED AND WATCH THE FIELD.
JESUS IN THIS PASSAGE USES WHAT THEY CALL A PARABLE TO EXPLAIN WHAT HE WANTS TO SAY.
A PARABLE IS SOMETHING THROWN BESIDE SOMETHING ELSE, A BETTER TERM...A COMPARISON.
IT IS A EARTHLY STORY WITH HEAVENLY MEANING. SOMETHING ON EARTH COMPARED TO SOMETHING IN HEAVEN.
***I AM ONE WHO WANTS IT IN SIMPLE STRAIGHT TERMS.... JUST GET TO THE FACTS DANNO
everyone that was at the lake was not interested in what Jesus had to say.
HE MOVED OUT IN A BOAT, BECAUSE THAT WAS LIKE OUR SOUND SYSTEM TODAY, IF YOU NOTE WHEN YOU ARE BY WATER, SOUND ECHO’S. JESUS WAS JUST MAKING HIMSELF AVAILABLE SO THAT AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE COULD HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY.
PARABLES ALSO DO A COUPLE OTHER THINGS- PEOPLE THAT COME TO A SANCTUARY TO HEAR A MESSAGE ARE USUALLY BOUND UNTIL THE END OF THE SERMON TO LISTEN.
THIS WAS A OPEN AIR MEETING, LARGE SPACE....
JESUS USED PARABLES TO KEEP THEIR ATTENTION,
AND SAYINGS AND EXAMPLES THAT PEOPLE WERE USE TO.
IT IS A LOT EASIER TO REACH PEOPLE WHEN THEY GIVE YOU THEIR ATTENTION AND THEY CAN RELATE TO YOU.
****TODAY IS FATHER’S DAY, A DAY WE HONOR FATHERS. MOTHERS DAY IS THE DAY MOST FLOWERS ARE BOUGHT, AND THE GREATEST NUMBER OF LONG DISTANCE CALLS ARE MADE. FATHERS DAY IS THE DAY MOST COLLECT CALLS ARE MADE.
ILLUSTRATION-“A LITTLE BOY WAS ASKED TO DEFINE FATHERS DAY. “IT’S JUST LIKE MOTHERS DAY, ONLY YOU DON’T SPEND AS MUCH ON THE PRESENT.”
***GROWING UP IN THE 60 S AS A KID....I REMEMBER “FATHER KNOWS BEST” AND “LEAVE IT TO BEAVER”....WHOLESOME SHOWS WITH GOOD MORAL VALUES.
***IN THE 90’S IT WAS “MARRIED WITH CHILDREN”..THIS WAS A GUY WHO WAS NOT FAMILY ORIENTED, LIVING HAD NO PURPOSE, IT WAS A SLAP TO MANHOOD TO BE OF THE SAME SPECIES AS HIM.
***EVEN THE SHOW “HOME IMPROVEMENT”, WITH ALL THE MAN POWER, ALL THE MASCULINITY...SHOWED A MAN THAT DIDN’T MAKE GOOD FAMILY DECISIONS.
***I STILL STAND BY MY STATEMENT–“CHRISTIANS ARE NOT WHIMPS, AND WHIMPS DON’T MAKE GOOD CHRISTIANS”
I WANT US TO LOOK AT SOWING SEEDS IN LIGHT OF OUR FAMILIES. FATHERS, WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE AS WE ARE THROWING SEEDS THAT IT GETS TO GOOD GROUND AND PRODUCES FRUIT AND DOES NOT DIE.
“Throwing seeds...any good thing we can teach or apply to a persons life that lines up with God’s word.
IF YOU ARE HERE THIS MORNING, AND YOU HAVEN’T GOT CHILDREN, I WANT YOU TO DETERMINE THAT YOU WILL THROW SEEDS OUT TO OTHER CHILDREN, OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE YOU ARE IN CONTACT WITH.
ILLUSTRATION- “REAL MEN ARE NOT JUST THE ONES THAT HAVE MUSCLES POPPING OUT EVERYWHERE (THOUGH THEY MIGHT) I KNOW PLENTY OF PHYSICALLY STRONG CHRISTIANS, BUT MEN, MEASURED BY GOD’S STANDARDS ARE THOSE THAT HAVE A HIGH REGUARD FOR FAMILY AND TAKE THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND THEM SERIOUS. ***COMCAST WEIGHT LIFTER
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT A FATHER SHOULD BE LIKE.
**HE PROVIDES
**HE CARES
**HE NURTURES
**HE WANTS TO SPEND TIME WITH US
**HE SHOWS US HOW TO LIVE
***NOT LIKE CHARLES BARKLEY, THE BASKETBALL PLAYER WHO STANDS AND SAYS HE IS NOT A ROLE MODEL FOR KIDS AND THEY SHOULDN’T BE LOOKING TO HIM FOR ONE.
I WANT YOU TO SEE WE ARE CALLED TO PLANT. WE THROW SEED AND WE ARE TO EXPECT TO SEE A HARVEST.
***BUT WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF THE GROWTH GOD GIVES THE GROWTH HE GIVES THE INCREASE WE CANNOT MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN
THOMAS EDISON TEACHERS SAID HE WOULD NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING.
ALBERT EINSTEIN WAS SLOW AND THEY THOUGHT HE WAS MENTALLY CHALLENGED
WINSTON CHURCHILL WAS IN A SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASS AND WAS TOLD HE WOULD NEVER WORK AT THE LEVEL OF OTHERS.
WE ARE CALLED TO PLANT...GOD GIVES THE GROWTH.
WE ARE TO TAKE WHAT SEED WE HAVE AND AVOID THE GROUND THAT WOULD NOT LET IT GROW.
**1. PATHWAY GROUND...EVERYBODY STOMPS ABOUT AND IT DOESN’T GET INTO FERTILE GROUND. IT IS THE PATH THAT MOST PEOPLE TAKE, EVEN IF IT IS THE WRONG PATH.
**2. ROCKY GROUND- WHERE THE SOIL IS SHALLOW AND IT BEGINS TO GROW BUT HAS NO DEPTH
**3. THORNY GROUND- WHERE THINGS BEGIN TO GROW, BUT ARE CHOKED OUT BY THE WEEDS OF LIFE.
**4. GOOD SOIL- WHERE WE PLANT OUR SEED- WATER IT, CHECK IT, WEED IT, TALK TO IT (SOME DO THAT) AND CONTINUALLY WATCH THAT NOTHING HARMS IT AS IT MATURES
**ILLUSTRATION- THE MOST MASSIVE LIVING THING ON EARTH IS THE GENERAL SHERMANS, A GREAT SEQUOIA TREE FOUND IN CALIFORNIA SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK. THE TREE STANDS ALMOST 280 FEET TALL, WEIGHS 2800 TONS, AND ARE 2200 YEARS OLD.
(COULD THEY TELL STORIES)
THEY START OUT AS A SEED THAT WEIGHS 1/6000 OF A OUNCE.
THE GREATEST STRENGTH OF THESE TREES IS THAT THEY GROW NEXT TO EACH OTHER AND INTERLOCK THEIR ROOT SYSTEM. THIS KEEPS THESE BIG TREES FROM FALLING.
**THAT REMINDS ME OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT LAST WEEK ABOUT NEEDING EACH OTHER
ETHIOPIAN PROVERB SAYS “WHEN SPIDER WEBS UNITE, THEY CAN TIE UP A LION”
I WANT YOU TO WRITE THESE THINGS DOWN...3 POINTS THAT WE WILL LOOK AT ON FATHERS DAY, MENS DAY
I. FATHER’S (MEN) ARE IMPORTANT
SOCIETY WANTS TO DOWNPLAY MEN, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RAISING A FAMILY, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU HAVE ETERNAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR FUTURE.
ILLUSTRATION-
BRAGGING RIGHTS OF THREE LITTLE BOYS
“THREE BOYS IN A SCHOOL YARD WERE BRAGGING WHO HAD THE BETTER FATHER: THE FIRST BOY SAYS “MY DAD SCRIBBLES A FEW WORDS ON A PIECE OF PAPER, HE CALLS IT A POEM, AND THEY GIVE HIM $100.00. THE SECOND BOY SAYS “THAT’S NOTHING , MY DAD SCRIBBLES A FEW WORDS ON A PIECE OF PAPER, HE CALLS IT A SONG, AND THEY GIVE HIM A $1000.00. THE THIRD BOY SAYS “MY DAD IS BETTER THAN THAT. HE SCRIBBLES A FEW WORDS ON A PIECE OF PAPER, CALLS IT A SERMON, AND IT TAKES 4 PEOPLE TO JUST COLLECT ALL THE MONEY
DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU HELD A LITTLE BABY. YOU WERE CONSIDERED UNCLEAN AND YOU LOOKED THROUGH THE NURSERY GLASS.***THEY DO THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENT NOW
YOU FELT LIKE THEY WOULD BREAK I WAS SCARED TO HOLD THEM, AND NOW I WAS SCARED TO HOLD MY GRAND KIDS
YOUR IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU MUST SHOW THE MANLY LEADERSHIP SIDE AND YOU MUST SHOW THE TENDER SIDE THAT ALLOWS THEM TO KNOW THAT THEY CAN COME TO YOU FOR ANYTHING AND YOU WILL LOVE THEM.
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS STERN IN THE FACTS OF HIS WORD, BUT HE CONTINUALLY LEAVES THE DOOR OPEN FOR US TO COME AND BE WITH HIM, FOR HIM TO WRAP HIS ARMS AROUND US AND LET US KNOW HOW MUCH HE LOVES US.
THIS PASSAGE THIS MORNING IS NOT ABOUT RAISING KIDS, BUT IT IS ABOUT CASTING SEED AND NURTURING IT, WHICH IS WHAT WE OUGHT TO DO AS PARENTS.
SOME HAVE LEARNED ALREADY THAT THERE IS NO GUARANTEE, A FARMER CAN DO ALL THE RIGHT THINGS AND STILL LOSE A CROP.
SO CAN PARENTS. THE FARMER CAN STILL TILL THE GROUND AT THE RIGHT TIME , PUT IN THE RIGHT SEED, IRRIGATE, FERTILIZE, BUT IT DON’T GUARANTEE A CROP.
WE STILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND WE NEVER KNOW WHAT THE LORD IS DOING IN A PERSON’S LIFE.
II. CONSCIENCES FATHERS CAN DO WONDERS
FATHER’S, MEN, YOU HAVE TO PURPOSE IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE’S LIFE.
REMEMBER THE DIFFERENT GROUNDS:
1. PATHWAY GROUND- IS GROUND THAT NEEDS TO BE CULTIVATED, IT IS BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP AND SLOWLY BREAKING UP THE HARDNESS OF THE HEART
IT IS SETTING EXAMPLES, AND WITH BOTH STERN AND LOVING MOTIVES TO MEET PEOPLE’S NEEDS AND PATIENTLY RELAYING ON GOD TO GROW THE SEED THAT HAS BEEN PLANTED.
2. ROCKY GROUND- DEEPENING THE ROOTS, TREES DIE FROM THE TOP DOWN, YOU ARE SPENDING YOUR TIME WORKING AT THE ROOT OF PEOPLE AND CAREFULLY EXPLAINING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS TO HELP THEM ALONG THEIR JOURNEY.
NOT MAKING FALSE PROMISES, OR CREATING EXPECTATIONS THAT THEY CANNOT MEET.
ILLUSTRATION- “SPENDING ONE HOUR A DAY...DOING WHATEVER THE PERSON WANTS...” THE AVERAGE FATHER SPENDS 6 MINUTES A DAY WITH THEIR CHILD WITH DIRECT CONVERSATION
TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE THEM IN THEIR TIME OF NEED
3. THORNY GROUND- CLEARING AWAY..HELPING THEM TO ESTABLISH RIGHT PRIORIES.
POINTING THEM TO GOD...SHARING THE PROMISES OF GOD WITH THEM
EXPLAIN THE SECURITY WE HAVE IN JESUS CHRIST AND NOT ON THINGS
SOMETIMES GETTING HURT BY THE THORNS AND CUTS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT TO BE TRIMMED OD WHAT THEY ARE USE TOO.
III. TELLING THEM AND SHOWING THEM THAT WE LOVE THEM
WE NEVER KNOW WHAT A TINY SEED, PLANTED AT THE RIGHT TIME (A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT , A DEED OD KINDNESS) MIGHT BECOME.
CHANCES ARE IT IS NOT THE BIG THINGS THAT ARE REMEMBERED. IT IS THE EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE AND SUPPORT, THE SEEDS THAT ARE GROWING THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
CLOSING THOUGHT WITH A POEM
MENDER OF TOYS, LEADER OF BOYS,
CHANGER OF FUSES, KISSER OF BRUISES,
BLESS HIM, O LORD.
MOVER OF COUCHES, SOOTHER OF OUCHES,
PONDER OF NAILS, TELLER OF TALES,
REWARD HIM, O LORD.
HANGER OF SCREENS, COUNSELOR OF TEENS,
FIXER OF BIKES, CHASTISER OF TYKES,
HELP HIM O LORD.
RAKER OF LEAVES, CLEANER OF EAVES,
DRYER OF DISHES, FULFILLER OF WISHES,
BLESS HIM, O LORD.
FATHERS DAY WAS OFFICIAL IN 1972...UNDER PRESIDENT NIXON. IT IS JUST A HOLIDAY IF WE DON’T TAKE FATHERHOOD SERIOUS.
IT SHOULD BE A DAY TO HONOR THE MEN IN OUR LIVES, BUT FATHERS...I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU TO REFLECT ON WHAT THE LORD IS SAYING TO YOU THIS MORNING. TAKE THE STEPS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE’S LIFE.
WHAT WE PREACH BY LIPS, WE MUST LIVE IN OUR LIVES
BEING A POSITIVE INFLUENCE, ENCOURAGER, COMFORTER, AND URGING AND HELPING THEM TO LIVE FOR GOD.
