CMLC 2026-07-12 Sermon

Howdy. And just a quick reminder to all of our

confirmation students, if you haven't finished

your sermons, go ahead and do a sermon write

-up for today. So, good enough. Now, there is

a movie. that has become one of the more well

-known films in recent history. One of the stars

of that movie is Tim Robbins. Now, as I say that,

you may or may not necessarily realize which

movie that it is, but when I also tell you that

it's starring Morgan Freeman, you're much more

likely to know which movie that it is. It seems

like it doesn't matter who the star is, it's

a Morgan Freeman film. But the movie I'm thinking

about is Shawshank Redemption, and the story

is about a man named Andy Dufresne. a man who

is wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife

and sentenced to life in prison. And what makes

the movie so powerful is not just the fact that

he's wrongfully in prison or suffering for no

fault of his own. It is a question that follows

him throughout the movie. How does someone survive

when everything tells them nothing's ever going

to change? Andy knows he does not belong there.

He knows that he did not commit the crime. He

knows that this prison sentence, this is not

something he deserves. But over and over again,

the circumstances around him seem to say the

same thing. This is your life now. This is where

you belong, and this is where you will stay.

Throughout the movie, you see these moments where

it seems like maybe something will change. And

maybe a guard will help him out. Maybe a warden

will listen to his words. Maybe somebody will

discover the truth. But time and time again in

this movie, those moments of hope and optimism,

they just seem to disappear. And even when someone

comes forward with information that could prove

Andy's innocence, and you as the audience begin

to think, maybe this is it. This is how he will

be free. Those who have power over him do not

use that truth to set him free. Instead, they

protect themselves and their own interests. They

hide the truth and they get rid of the person

who could have helped him. Andy is left in the

same place. Trapped. Stuck. Waiting. And maybe

you felt that way before. Maybe not in a prison

cell, but maybe in your own life. Maybe physically.

Maybe mentally, spiritually, maybe emotionally.

And yes, we do hear the words from Isaiah. For

as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there, but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed

to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall

my word be that comes out from my mouth. It shall

not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish

that which I purpose. and shall succeed in the

thing for which I sent it." Yes, ultimately we

believe that. Sure, we trust that. But frankly,

sometimes we struggle with it. Because if God's

Word truly accomplishes His purposes, why does

it sometimes feel like nothing is happening?

Like nothing ever changes? Why does it feel like

we continue to proclaim God's Word, continue

to teach what is good? continue to pray to our

loving God, continue to serve God and the people

in our lives, and yet people still seem unchanged.

When will people finally hear and know Christ?

When will those who claim His name actually change

their hearts and their lives? Why does it seem

like the Word keeps falling on deaf ears? And

for those of you who are parents, maybe you know

this feeling where you teach your children, you

tell them what is right, you show them what is

good, you pray with them night after night, and

then they grow up and make the very mistakes

that you warned them about. And maybe we wonder,

did any of it matter? Was all of it wasted? And

Isaiah's answer is no. The Word of God is never

wasted. The words are never wasted. They are

still there for a reason. And Jesus gives us

a picture in this parable of the sower. At first,

it is a very strange picture of a very strange

farmer. Because look at where he puts the seed.

The seed falls on a road. And of course, birds

come and devour it. How often Are there people

whose hearts are not even open to the Gospel?

Could you imagine going down to Memorial Drive

in Kirkwood and scattering seed onto the road

in the middle of that intersection, hoping that

something would grow? You would think the farmer

had lost his mind, and so do all the people driving

through that intersection. Why would God sow

the seed on a road where seed won't do anything?

But then the seed falls on rocky ground and at

first you're a little bit more hopeful Because

it grows quickly But it does so because it can

only grow upward But because it has no depth

for roots it withers when the Sun comes How often

has there been someone who was very excited about

the gospel, right? Someone who actually seems

to be responding to following Christ, who wants

to read their Bible, who wants to be here week

in and week out, who wants to volunteer for every

single thing. And then they're gone within a

year. For what reason? How often because faith

for them was about the emotion they experienced

without truly knowing the Christ who gave Himself.

and then the seed falls among thorns. And it

grows, but the thorns around it keep it from

having a chance to bear any real fruit. All the

things we care about this world, hobbies, TV

shows, people's opinions, some episode of Love

Island, trying to attain wealth and security,

they take away our focus. our desire to give

time and energy to God, to spend time in His

Word, to help others in His name. We may be able,

yes, we're able to do some nice things for people

from time to time, but how often is it just because

we get something out of it? Or it just gives

us another excuse to go hang out with our friends.

And Jesus says the sower goes out and scatters

seed everywhere. on the road, on the rocks, among

the thorns. And yes, some of it does get onto

some good soil, sure. But we look at this and

we think, why would a farmer do this? Sure, he

got some seed on good ground and produced something,

but why waste so much? Why not just focus on

the good soil? Why? And no, it's not just because

he must have been an Aggie. This is not just

a picture of a careless farmer. This is a picture

of a generous God. The sower does not stop sowing

because some seed does not immediately grow.

The sower keeps sowing. The word keeps going

forth and the rain keeps falling. And that is

why we are not meant to look at someone and say

that person is a lost cause. That person will

never know Christ. That person's heart is too

hard because we never know what God is doing

beneath the surface. But then the disciples,

they ask Jesus a question. Why do you speak to

them in parables? And frankly, isn't that the

question we keep asking all the time? Jesus,

why do you have to make these things so complicated?

Why not make it obvious? Why not make the Gospel

completely straightforward? Hey everybody, I'm

here to save you. That's great. Why does Jesus

have to speak in all these images and stories?

And Jesus responds by quoting Isaiah. You will

indeed hear, but never understand. And you will

indeed see, but never perceive. For this people's

heart has grown dull. And there's almost a part

of us that may become upset. A little piece of

us that wants to say, God, what are you doing?

Have you given up on some people? How could you

leave them in the hardness of their hearts? But

you know, humanity, it has created its own problems.

We know that we deserve far less than what we

have received. As much as we have spent the past

week celebrating who we are as a nation and giving

thanks for the freedoms we enjoy, we also have

to face the fact that humanity, even our own

part of it, is every bit as broken and twisted

as God has always said we are. Sin is not simply

over there. It is in here. But when Jesus speaks

about people who do not understand and do not

perceive, we naturally ask, does that mean that

God has finally given up on them? And this is

where we may become tempted to believe that God

simply gives up on some people. And we think

those people are too far gone. Those people will

never listen. Those people are a lost cause and

we need to make sure they stop ruining it for

the rest of us. And the danger is that we begin

to think that this only applies to those other

people. We must be talking about the atheists,

the agnostics, the Hindus, the Muslims, the secularists,

the people who reject the Christian religion.

Clearly, those are the ones who have the issue.

But look who Jesus is speaking to. It's all of

us. Because all of us have moments where we hear

God's Word and we push it out because we want

to reshape it into something easier. We hear

what God says and we think, surely He didn't

mean that. Surely, with my modern knowledge,

I can adjust this. Surely my way of looking at

it would make a whole lot more sense. You see,

Jesus is not saying that God does not desire

people to know Him. Jesus is not saying that

God delights in people being lost. The problem

is not that God has stopped speaking, but rather

our hearts are unwilling to hear. And rather

than allowing people to pretend that we have

this whole faith thing figured out, By having

a really easy message that we can just say really

quickly to everybody, God presses us to see who

wants the real thing. Who really wants Jesus?

Not just a quick slogan. See, the problem is

not that God's Word is unclear. The problem is

that our hearts know exactly what Jesus means.

We know what he means about mercy about humility

about conviction about grace and about sacrifice

We know exactly what he's saying, but we don't

really want it to be that straightforward because

then we'd have to do it period We want to fight

and we want to wrestle and we want to struggle

with it That is why the answer is not simply

getting more information because then we would

just tell ourselves that we know exactly where

to go in life, and what to support, and which

bumper stickers to use, and which comforting

slogan to embroider, and which copy of Chicken

Soup for the Soul will inspire people for 30

seconds before going back to life exactly as

it was on our own terms without changing at all.

But Jesus was asking something deeper. Do you

actually want the Kingdom of God? More than that.

Do you want the actual King? Because the Kingdom

cannot be separated from Christ. You cannot perceive

the Kingdom apart from Him. You cannot understand

God's purposes if you keep walking away from

the very One who reveals them. It always comes

back to Christ. You cannot hear one sermon, learn

one lesson, read one Bible scripture, and think,

I've got it, now I can move on. James says it's

like someone who looks at his face in the mirror,

and then immediately walks away and forgets what

he just saw. The Christian life is not mastering

one lesson and then graduating. It is returning.

Time and time again. Returning to Christ. Returning

to His Word. to his promises, returning to his

forgiveness that we need every day, returning

to the place where the sower continues to sow

his seed. Let me explain it from another perspective.

Let's go back to that movie we mentioned. The

issue was not whether or not there was truth

to be had. Finding the actual guilty person,

they knew the truth. and it would have rescued

an innocent man. The problem was that it did

not fit the narrative they had. The plans, the

goals of the warden. Even when something is straightforward

and clear, that's often when people twist it

the most for their own gain. The clearer it is,

the easier it is for many people to twist it

around. And sadly, we do that with the Gospel

too. using it to make ourselves into good people,

good Christians, without worrying enough whether

we're pursuing Christ and His righteousness at

all. But let's stick with that character Andy

for just a little bit longer. Because the best

part of that movie is the part you don't see

coming. Spoiler alert, Andy does escape. Sorry

Dino. But how? Because every day, he had this

tiny little rock hammer. And every day, he carries

away a little bit of dust into the courtyard.

And nobody understands what is happening, or

at least I didn't, until the very end. When Andy

disappears and no one can find him, until the

warden in his anger throws a rock at the poster

on the wall hanging in his cell, and discovers

a hole behind that poster. A hole that was not

created in a day. Not in a week. Not in a month.

But in 19 years. Years of work that nobody saw.

Years of effort that nobody understood until

finally, the wall that looked impossible to overcome

was no longer standing in his way. And isn't

that how God's Word works. We want immediate

results. We want the quick response. We want

someone to say, right then, yes, you're right.

I will change. The struggles are over. But Jesus

shows us something different. The road looks

firm and established, but nothing grows there.

The rocky soil produces excitement, but nothing

grows with no roots. The thorny soil has growth,

but there's no fruit. God is not looking for

quick results. God is growing roots. God is producing

fruit. God is doing a work that lasts. So sometimes,

the person that you're praying for has not ultimately

and for all the rest of time rejected God's Word,

because sometimes the seed that you've been planting

is waiting to grow at the right time. Sometimes

the soil is still being prepared by God and changing

from rock into flesh. Words are not wasted. Soil

is changing, and the farmer has plenty of seed

left to sow. But the greatest evidence that God

does not give up is not found in the field, it's

found at the cross. Because there may be any

number of people saying, Pastor, that's just

the way you're looking at it. I see it more black

and white. I have a much clearer understanding

of what this passage is saying. But you see,

Jesus Himself walked that road. The road that

led to Calvary. And you see, the cross was planted

in rocky ground. Not because something needed

to grow there, but because someone was going

to die there. And the thorns that choke out life

in the parable? became the crown twisted upon

His head. The thorns that represented sin and

suffering placed upon the brow of our Savior.

As His blood was shed, the life was given a hundredfold,

sixtyfold, thirtyfold. Forgiveness was given.

Hope was given. Eternal life was given. The place

where humanity expected to see defeat? became

the place where God accomplished salvation. The

cross looked like the end, but God was already

bringing forth life. And that's why we know that

no story, even that road and those rocks and

those thorns, they are never beyond God's reach

because God has already entered into the darkest

place. He has already gone into death itself,

and then he brought life out of it. So what does

it mean for us? It means that when we baptize

someone, whatever their age may be, we know that

baptism is not a magical moment where every struggle

now disappears. People who are baptized still

struggle. People who are baptized still wander.

People who are baptized still need to be brought

back to God's grace. but the seed has been planted.

And God continues His work. When we gather around

this table for communion, we receive Christ's

body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, yet

we know we still struggle with sin. We still

need to confess. We still need forgiveness. God's

Word does not simply just give you a little flash

or an idea of faith, and then we've got it figured

out and He can leave us alone. God's Word continues

to speak in our hearts. The Spirit continues

to work in our lives. The sower continues to

sow. So maybe, maybe today you feel like the

road. Maybe your heart feels a little hard. You

know why. You know what's hurt you. Or maybe

you feel like the rocky soil and life just dries

you out. You don't know where to spread. Or maybe

you're just surrounded by thorns and everything

that worries you just consumes your time and

your energy. But hear this. God's Word has not

given up on you. The sower is still sowing. The

rain is still falling. And the Spirit is still

working. And the God who promises that His Word

will not return empty is still accomplishing

His purpose is with you and with them. His purpose

is not merely that we call ourselves Christians

and be done with it. His purpose is that we become

people who bear fruit. Fruit of the Spirit. Love.

Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness.

Gentleness. self -control. A harvest of people

transformed by God's grace. A harvest of people

who know that the prisoner has been set free.

A harvest of people who go forth in joy and proclaim

the goodness of God. Because the sower has not

stopped sowing, and he will not stop until his

harvest is complete. Thanks be to God.