The Parable Of The Sower. The Seed In Your Life, Where Is It Falling? Series

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?