Sermon 090709. The parable of the sower.
The Salvation Army’s first doctrine is, “We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.”
(General discussion on working in my garden)
The gardeners here would know that some plants will just not grow in some situations, Jesus also knew this and tells about this. Remember in this parable the seed that Jesus is talking about is the word of God.
The seed that fell on the path, no doubt a hard, well worn path, well this is a no brainer, and seed will not grow there. It is trampled and the birds seeing a free lunch take the opportunity and eat it.
Jesus compares this seed / the word of God, to that, that is heard and then the devil comes and takes it away from the hearts of the listeners so that they will not be saved.
How might that look?
You don’t really believe that stuff do you? Jesus, oh he was just another good man, very clever, but hardly the son of God! I tell you what; if you start getting involved in that church they will expect things of you. Or this one a friend was told by another friend of theirs when they asked them if they ever thought about God, and Jesus, “well I think it’s easier not to think about that stuff.”
Yip, eternal consequences just shuffled off to one side, all just flicked away with a lie; remember the devil is the father of lies.
A whatever; it does not matter, does it? Carry on as per usual, no change just the same old dry, dusty path, well trodden; no change, no life change, just heading in the self set same direction.
No one is saved on this path, there is no belief, the word hits it, it is trampled, crushed and like the birds it flies away in the wind.
The sad thing is that people, it is people who allow this to happen; there is on their behalf no ear to hear, anything other than the lies. What a shame what a loss. Really their loss. (pause)
The seed that fell on the rock, Jesus tells us that they are those that receive the word with Joy when they hear it, but they have no root, they are those that in time of testing they fall away.
The bit of a plant that holds the plant to the soil, it holds it, spreads, and allows nutrients to flow. Without the root without this part of a plant, the people / the soil involved goes through a time of testing. They fall away.
Imagine yourself as rocky soil, seed lands on you, it can’t break the surface, but you’re happy that the seeds there, it starts to germinate, but can’t break the surface, it’s not growing into you. God’s word is not making a change in your life. It’s having no effect, no change. The winds blow a few of these little plants that were starting to grow blow away, you knock a few off during the day, you have a shower they are all gone. Life goes on.
In Eighteen hundred years ago it could have looked like this, “I could believe but I don’t fancy being feed to the lions or be used as sport and a warm up exercise by the gladiators.”
In life this can be likened to: “Jesus, he’s my Lord and savior, but my friends, my parents; my rugby coach doesn’t like me going to church. Dad says that our family isn’t and no kid of his is going to be religious. My mates laughed at me when I told them I was a Christian. If I really take all this on board I’ll have to stop my lying, I’ll have to put God ahead of my relationship with?, if I tell her she might leave me, Mate I‘ll have to go through some life change because that’s what God requires of me.”
Times of testing, sure as eggs, as Christians we will encounter them. If the word has grown inside us if it has taken root in us it will help us to hold fast. (pause)
Now the seed that fell among the thorns.
Well I know this soil well. At times this has been my life. The work, the car troubles, the rates, the groceries, the career, the way to get ahead, the game, the fishing trip, did I mention the career. The word takes a grip it grows in our lives we are even sure that Jesus is our Lord our Savior, and he is, but all these other things press in and take precedence. His word, the saving grace of God is within me, within us, I would like to spend more time in the word, join that study, I will tell my friends all about God, when I get the chance. But right now I’ve got this to do and that to do. Life is just so busy, and I want too. But?
Jesus said, “and they do not mature.”
So close, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures and they do not mature.
Stink, how much for a new car tyre, how much for the extras in the groceries, how much to go to the movies or the rugby down the road at the stadium? What cost for a study bible, or the cost of petrol and an evening out at a home group.
Which of these things have eternal consequences?
I think Jesus is telling us that the word of God is vital to our lives to our living and to our relating to those around us. (pause)
But the seed on the good soil, now that is another thing.
This soil is good, it’s got the right conditions for growth, it’s not hard and impenetrable, it’s not going to get hot and destroy the plants before they take root, there’s no weeds that are going to take the nutrients away from the plants and stop them maturing.
This soil is good!!!
The seed falls on that good soil, that stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
When Jesus told this parable he called out, that means he raised his voice and called out, “He who has ears to hear let him hear.”
The word, “hear”, is used I think seven times in this passage. Hearing is an interesting thing. Sometimes it’s optional.
"Today in class we are going to be studying a book called Old Yella, a 1956 novel by Fred Gipson." OK, my English teacher may have got my attention for that long, as long as it took to introduce the book. In fact I had to Google who wrote the book and when it was written, shows how much attention I paid. I sat in class with my eyes open, gazing at the front of the class, but I wasn’t there, my mind was down the creek, looking for eels under rocks, my mind was riding my bike, I was down the beach, my mind was visiting granddad Moffatt and listening to him telling jokes. I was not in third form English and my school cert results in the fifth form showed that I wasn’t in the forth or fifth form English classes either. Many eels, many jokes, hot summer days and many kilometres on my bike later; I failed school cert English.
Now if I had heard and retained what I had learned, who knows what great academic achievements may have been produced. But the teachers’ words just fell.
As I said hearing is an interesting thing, sometimes we choose too sometimes we don’t.
Choosing to hear the word of God is vitally important – it’s pivotal to life itself.
The word of God is different to any other written word. Jesus told the devil that “It is written: “man does not live by bread alone. But on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
God spoke every thing into existence. The word of God is powerful and life giving, those who hear it and retain it, those with a noble and good heart, by persevering produce a crop.
Jesus is telling us in this parable that the word of God is vital to our lives to our living and to our relating to those around us.
This bit is terrific, you don’t even have to start with a noble or good heart, in listening to the word and putting it into action in your life, this occurs, you don’t have to be born a noble, and none of us start out good, all have sinned. (Take a look at the women in the passage, one of them Jesus drove seven demons from, she had a shady past, she is now known as one of histories greatest saints) Listen to this from the writer of Acts, “Now I commit you to God and to the word of grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32) Those who listen and put the word into action are able to evidence that word in their lives and are fruitful, they produce a crop, the Holy Spirit makes the change, life change!
A crop of right relationships with God and those they interact with, a friend or two also comes to know the Lord because of their witness, the man at the dairy enjoys talking to them in fact they become one of his favorite customers, their boss appreciates the change in them and their new work ethic, their teachers appreciate the change in class room behavior.
Jesus is telling us that the word of God is vital to our lives to our living and to our relating to those around us. (SBI)
The word of God is powerful and life giving, it brings freedom; it shows the way to life as it is meant to be.
The word of God is powerful and life giving, through the word of God we can come into an understanding, of who we really are.
The word of God is powerful and life giving, we can come into a personal relationship with God.
The seed in your life / the word of God, where is it falling?
I believe that in life the option for where the seed falls is ours, do we allow it to fly away with the birds, to dry up in the heat of the sun, to be choked out by the weeds or do we allow ourselves to understand and live life as it should be. In right relationships with God and those around us? The choice is ours.
Do we listen to the lies, do we worry about what others think or might do, shall we allow things to take priority over God, or do we engage – do we accept that the word of God is vital to our lives and living.
The choice is ours!
Responce
If you’ve taken the time to read this sermon please rate this sermon. Thanks Andrew.
