Parable of the Sower
Notes
Transcript
Parable of the Sower
Parable of the Sower
Good morning everyone, I hope and pray you are doing well today.
I always tell you and it is true, it is a blessing to come back and be in God’s house with His people.
Today we begin a new chapter in the gospel of Matthew, we are coming to Chapter 13 and we are looking at Jesus as He teaches them the parable of the sower.
Now lets stop right here and identify what a parable is.... A parable is a teaching method Jesus employed to help people understand Kingdom truths. Defined, a parable is a earthly story with heavenly meaning…
It is just that simple and easy to understand.
So lets look at the first 9 verses....
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 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.”
Now I want you to hang on to this information, Jesus shares this parable with the people and a little bit later, verses 18-23, Jesus will given an explanation of the truth He has told the people.
We will look at those verses all through this message.
So lets begin with this truth today
1. There is a Sower....
There is the first piece of information that Jesus shares in this parable, there was a sower, who went out to sow.
The sower is the owner of the land, the farmer if you will. Why does he sow? He cannot expect a harvest unless he is at work. He works in the hopes of sustaining himself and family, but also in the hopes of helping others and increasing his ability to expand that work.
It is the same as planting if you will, You go out and put forth seed in hopes of having something in the fall. So they are scattering seed in the hopes of a great harvest in the months to come....
So while the sower represents the owner of the land, the farmer if you will… in this passage the sower is actually speaking about us in the kingdom of God. The children of God, the people in the pews along with those in positions of authority like Pastors and Deacons, other elders.
We are to be at work in the land that is ours, that has been entrusted to us just as the farmer does for his land.
We are the sower of the fields...
What did Jesus tell us in Matthew 28
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And then from the book of Acts.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Both of these passage point to the necessity of working toward a harvest, that is our ( me and you )responsibility. We cannot continue as the church, as Christians and pass the buck and say that is their job and not my responsibility, it is theirs...
Jesus says plainly if you are a born again believer you are responsible for sowing.
And then we must identify the seed.
Have you thought about the seed that was being sown, was it wheat, rye, or some other type of grain… well no, it was none of them.
Matthew 13, verses 18 and 19 tells us exaclty what is being sown
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
The truth about the kingdom of God has been distorted by the religious leaders, Jesus has intrusted the true message of the kingdom to His followers, and they are to carry the message of God to all who would hear the word.
So the message we carry is the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, who came to this world, born of a virgin, lived and died a sinless life, in fact Jesus gave His life as a ransom, the payment to satisfy the penalty of sin in our lives. He gave his life and died on the cross. He was buried and rose on the third day, alive and because Jesus lives all those who are His live as well.
The message of His death, burial and resurrection is the message, that is the seed we are to scatter to the world, it is a message for all to hear that they might have life.
So stop right there and let me ask you a question, one that you must consider. What keeps you from sowing?
Is it fear that has keep you from sowing? 2 Tim 1:7 Paul remind young Timothy,
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Sowing doesn’t require experience, it doesn’t require anything other than your heart, your testimony and a desire to see others saved. I believe God will take care of the rest… Amen.
So are you ready to sow?
And this brings us to a second thought today....
2. The Seeds Fell on Different Ground....
Now I think it is important that Jesus takes the time to make sure we understand all the different types of ground or soil that the seeds were down upon.
That makes sense to us, even today we know there are differences in soil in our natural world. There is deep rich dark soil, there are areas that are red and rich in clay. There are some areas where the soil is very thin over rocky areas of land.
So there is a mixture of soil, we understand this...
Now listen to what Jesus says about the soil that the owner of the land sowed his seed upon…Look at verses 4 through 9...
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.”
A. The hardened pathways....
So right off, Jesus says the seed fell along the pathways, and the birds came and ate them
That ground is hard, it has been packed down by years of travel and it made it impossible for the seed to grow, they were left laying there, serving as food for animals like the birds.
But what is Jesus saying spiritually?
If you will drop down to verses 18-23, Jesus provides some explanation for this parable...
So lets look at verses 18-19
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
Jesus says the seed being sown is the word of the Kingdom of God, so the seeds are all good. The seed is alive and active…Hebrews 4:12 says
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
So the Word is able to work, to bring forth truth, light to the heart of man. It is perfect and good.
Why do I know this, because the Word of God is good my friends, there is nothing evil, amiss, or untruthful. The Word of God is the unfallible, perfect Word of God
But the pathway is hard, referring to the hardness of heart that many had concerning Jesus.
They are so jealous, so turned off because of His work and following so that when the Word was shared with them they would not receive it. The religious leaders, the Scribes and the Pharisees heard, but due to the condition of their heart, they could not receive the Word of God.
So the Word is snatched away. The birds of the air speak to the prince and ruler of the air, the devil.
My friends, we must always guard our hearts, for out of the heart, the very core of each person springs to life, what we receive and believe, what we say and do.
The religious leaders had hardened their hearts and thus very few of them were able to believe.
B. Rocky soil....
Jesus goes on to share the next type of soil that the sower came across while sowing His seed. He says the seed fell upon rocky soil.
Lets look at verses 5-6
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.
With the rocky soil, we see that the seeds sprouted quickly but with the soil being so thin, the roots had no place to go… and without deep roots that could tap into water down deep in the soil, without a place to grow deep and stand strong, we see when the sun came up, the heat scorched the plants and they dried up and died...
Now going back down to verses 20 and 21, Jesus illustrates those who receive the word gladly but their lives quickly crowded it out, they abandon it once persecution comes…
lets look at verses 20-21
20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
Two things can be shared here
There are those who gladly receive the word of God Jesus says , but when difficulty comes, when persecution and hardship come, they fall away.
Listen to Jesus in Luke 8:13
13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
You see they have not grown, they have not put down deep roots, mainly because they have a crowded life, they have failed to put Jesus first and thus when life gets tough they fail away.
Some would say perhaps these people never truly believed and at the first moment of difficulty they fall away.
2. We can apply this to the church, There is an old saying when the “going gets tough; the tough gets going.” I have seen many, many people in almost 40 years of ministry , make a commitment to serve, to stand up for the faith, to make themselves second and as soon as something happens , they get a good punch in the gut, you know what happens… they give up.
I have seen it so many times. when that happens the devil as won in your life and your ineffective. Many expect the devil to come after you if you are a child of God. Don’t give up.
Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world..... You have Jesus on your side… why give up.
Then Jesus goes on to a new place...
C. Thorny areas...
As the one sowed the seed, some fell among thorny ground, look at verse 7
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
When you look at verse 7, we see that Jesus says the word was received, it grew for a period but then was chocked out why the thorny plants around them, they grew and took over.
Think about planting flowers or seedlings in the garden, unless we keep the weeds out of those areas, those unprofitable weeds will choke them out, and kill the good plants.
The same is true for believers, listen to Jesus explain this in verse 22
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
For this person, the Word cannot endure, even though the soil was good, the seed did not endure.....some might even say did these people really believe?
The cares of the world are the anxious, unrelenting attention that we give to this present life. We are so worried and consumed about so many things that we rob God and keep Him form having the place in our life that He desires.
We have effectively crowded out God...
Secondly the deceitfulness of riches is the way the world acts in acquiring those riches. Again they put the pursuit of wealth ahead of God who is the one who gives all the we have in life.
God deserves our whole heart not just a portion of it.
Go back to the sermon on the mount, Jesus says our focus must be Him and the kingdom. Listen wealth isn’t the real issue, it's the heart of man that is deceived by it...
Jesus said Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy and where thieves cannot break in to steal. Matthew 6:20
My friends, Jesus tells us where our treasure is, there our heart is....What is your treasure?
Is God your greatest treasure? Your family next… and so forth.
And then finally,, we come to good soil
D. Good soil....a great harvest...
Jesus says finally the seeds feel on good soil and it produces a great harvest.
Listen to Jesus in Matthew 13:8
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
This is the good ground, the heart of man that retains and holds dear the precious word of God, this person not only retains the Word, but it produces a harvest, more people have seen their hearts changed...
A great deal of fruit and sprung to life from this one life where the seed feel on good ground.
Do you remember what Jesus said in John 15.... “.....If a man remains in my and I in him, they will bare much fruit”...
Wow, a hundred fold, some sixty and some thiry… the number isn’t important, the great truth is that fruit was produced.
If the seed, the word of God has taken hold in your heart, then you are supposed to bear fruit.
Are you bearing fruit....
Now just one last thought this morning...
3. Are you Hearing what Jesus is Saying....
Jesus says He who has an hear, let him hear.
Lets go back to verse 9
9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
What Jesus says here is this, You have heard, you have received the Word, His teaching and His salvation
And having heard, you are responsible.
You might ask, what I am responsible for? Sine you are the redeemed church, you are responsible to bear fruit.
Some 30, some 60 and some 100....
We are called to sow, to take the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere you go, you are to scattered the seed of God’s word, the good news of Jesus to all you come into contact with....
The seed will fall on different types of soil, we cannot help all that… our task is simple to scatter and let God take care of the rest.
And if you are not willing to scatter, if you are not willing to sow… something is wrong.
Will you be the sower?
Pray