Parable of the Sower

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another -Proverbs 27:17

Unity

Well church, we are striving to become one with each passing week. All of us got excited at the start of the new year and I hope the excitement is still with each of you as we all believe that something big is bound to happen through Awakening Church this year. I believe, as Pastor Jonah has mentioned week after week, if we are not unified under one mission, then how will the mission be accomplished? How will God’s mission move in our lives and begin to work itself out through our church? It is a big ask because each of us are individually very busy.

We work our jobs. We provide for our families. We make decisions that will benefit our families, teams, ministries, and other groups that we have been given to lead. But the reality is that none of these causes will be successful if we do not keep Christ at the center. We have to reevaluate our hearts and minds onto King Jesus each day so that we can ensure we are moving in the correct direction, reminding ourselves of God’s overarching mission with each of our relationships and goals that he has called us toward.

It is our goal to reach the east side, to reach those in Seattle, the west, and the world. Do we all have the same goal? The same mission? If we do, then we will strive to live in community with one another so that each of us becomes sharper and sharper with each meeting we have with one another. Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another”

Have we met with one another and talked more in-depth about the miracle that each of us is pursuing?

Have we discussed the idea of traveling overseas to be on mission at some point this year?

Have we gotten together and expressed our fears and concerns about life with one another?

You know, as I’ve been rewatching The Chosen this year to prepare for the beginning of season 4, something I’ve noticed is that almost every episode has some sort of conflict. In the end, although you may not see that far down the road in your relationships, a relationship without conflict, without a real test, (pause) does it ever have the opportunity to grow? Through the strife and struggle that relationships have, it has come to my attention that it is the only way that we grow. It is the way we become refined. We cannot allow hiccups or bumps in the road to define our relationships, however, we must be refined by them.

Our community of believers have to be unified underneath one mission. We must become one unit and take steps toward God’s mission if we are setting our eyes toward big goals this year. We are fortunate enough to have a great pastor who has been dialing in unity for some time now.

It truly is Jesus’s mission and nothing else. We all have a 9-5, an obligation to go to work so that we may provide for our families, and provide for those who are in need. However, if God’s great commission that each believer will be held accountable to at some point is not the overarching theme of our lives, are we truly becoming one? Something that I have spoken about with a friend of mine is the time each of us spend with one another. Looking back at how the disciples lived, watching The Chosen, seeing the opportunities our church makes for all of us to be involved in one another’s lives, causes me to question my own life and reevaluate my time that I spend putting effort into unity, becoming one.

Becoming a father last year has been a big change for me and my “routine”

I say routine like that because I question if ever had a routine before becoming a father. This new title that my life has taken has required a lot more time of myself. It has placed limits on my availability.

So allow me to point the finger to myself about everything that I have mentioned so far. I have been pursuing what it looks like to do ministry full-time in this season of my life.

This brings me to the passage that we will be turning toward today. Matthew 13:1-9, “The Parable of the Sower”

This parable is one of the parables where we get to see Jesus explain it to the disciples. There is a bit of fear that I have preaching on this because first off, 1) the simplicity of the passage, however, there are plenty of takeaways we can have from it. 2) I have had to persevere through conflict in relationships. 3) I have struggled to remove myself from my home with the birth of Olivia and the comforts that surround me at home and sow the seed as the sower does. 4) I have begun a new job at Chick-fil-A and it is my first time working in a kitchen that is quite literally running chicken out the window.

If anything must be unified it must be that store to create good results. We all have to be on the same page, producing the same quality food. When someone makes a milkshake that’s not full or overfilled, we have to correct it before sending it out. When we interact with guests, we want to make sure that we are consistently providing everyone with the friendly service they deserve from the moment they enter the drive-thru or walk up to the front counter. Friendly reminder, no dine in option at the Downtown Bellevue location ;)

English Standard Version Chapter 13

And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”