The Sower and the Seed
February 9, 2020 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: We must be faithful to share the Gospel.
Focus Passage: Mark 4:1-20
Supplemental Passage: But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25 NASB)
Introduction: As I was finishing this sermon, I thought of a memory that I hadn’t thought of for a very, very long time. It was me as a little boy of maybe 6 years old, playing in our front yard. We had several of those old fashioned yard chairs, the green ones made out of metal. We also had a two seater wing. I remember lining up those chairs and getting my stuffed animals out of my bedroom to put in them. I would stand up at the front and lead singing and then preach to my stuffed animals. I’d give anything to have a video of that just to see what I said! But, even as a kid, I loved church so much that I would play church in my front yard. As I was typing this, I also remembered that I used to do the same with the living room furniture! But, I quit playing church. I was saved and became part of the Church!
I. The Sower
a. The sower does what a sower does, he sows seeds
b. This isn’t the fancy modern method of using machinery; the sower dipped his hand in a bag of seeds and strew them around
c. The sower wanted the seeds to not just germinate, but to produce
d. We are the sower
II. The Seed
a. The seed is the seed
b. Every area gets the same seed
c. It doesn’t change based on what type of soil it is going into
d. The Gospel is the seed
III. The Soil
a. Where the seed falls is the weak link in this parable
b. The seed that fell on the road is those who HEAR the word but don’t do anything about it
c. The seed that fell on the rocky places are those who HEAR and it looks like it has taken root, but looks are deceiving. When struggles or persecution come, they quickly die for lack of root.
d. The seed that fell among the thorns are like those who HEAR and who look like they, too, have taken root, but the world has a grip on them and they also die.
e. The SEEDS that fell on the good soil are the ones don’t just hear the word but ACCEPT it (or believe it), They germinate AND grow to maturity where they, too, bear seeds.
Application/Invitation: In the parable, the weak link is the soil. But today, there are two weak links. The soil AND the sower. We have been told what to do and we don’t do it. We are told to obey the Great Commission and we memorize it instead. We are told to share the Gospel and we give money for someone else to do it, whether it is the preacher or the missionary. It is time for some soul searching. When is the last time you led someone to the Lord? Have you EVER led someone to the Lord? When is the last time you shared the Gospel with someone? Have you EVER shared the Gospel with someone? Inviting someone to church is NOT the same as sharing the Gospel. When is the last time you invited someone to church? Have you been a Believer for more than five years and have never shared the Gospel? Have you been a believer for a long time but haven’t shared the Gospel in more than five years? Like the seed, have you received the Gospel with joy, but have no root? It is time to quit playing church. It is time to quit warming a pew and being grumpy all the time. It is time to BE the church, that is, time to be a soul winning disciple! Are you ready? Are you with me?
