The Seed and the Soils

If you have your Bibles this morning, I want you to turn to Luke chapter 8.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 8.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

It is a joy to be back.

I had a wedding that I had already planned and was in Mississippi doing that last weekend.

Missed being here.

Missed being in my spot.

But I'm thankful for the opportunity to go back.

And I did my part.

Now they've got to work out the rest of it.

But I was able to do that.

Glad to have Dawn here this morning.

We realized on this move that this would be a summer of transition.

We didn't know all that would be entailed in it.

And everything is glorious except the fact that we're trying to sell and trying to buy.

And so just to give you an understanding, yesterday during our picnic together, I was waiting to get a word on whether a property was for sale.

And also having to make a decision of whether I was going to, we were going to buy a house on a deadline by 3 p.m.

So I was trying to get across to the person who may know about the property and find out about that.

At the same time, I had the real estate agent telling me, you're running out of time.

You're running out of time.

You know?

And here I am greeting people, not only in our church, but throughout our community.

It was kind of chaotic, quite honestly.

But we paused a moment because I don't think God's the God of chaos.

And we're going to trust him either today or tomorrow or whenever it comes to work those things out.

So are you all praying?

I just thought I'd remind you and give you a little update in case you ask.

Sometimes when people ask them, I share kind of where we're at.

And then somebody else asks, and I share again where we're at.

And then somebody else asks.

Anyway.

I don't know about you, but I love a good story.

I don't know anybody that don't love a good story.

And I realize everybody's not a reader.

I do read.

I go through seasons of it especially.

And I read stories.

I listen to stories.

When I walk, I listen to stories.

I also watch stories.

Now, when I say I watch stories, I'm not talking about soap operas, okay?

I guess they're almost gone now.

But I used to hear ladies talk about watching their stories.

And if you ever went and visited somebody in their home or in a nursing home in the afternoon,

you better be careful because you might interrupt a story.

They always want to be respectful of the preacher.

But, man, they sure didn't want to miss out on what was ever happening to Luke and Laura or Bo and Hope

or some of them people.

Somebody knows who I'm talking about.

I can tell.

But anyway, soap operas made daytime television become synonymous with bad television.

You know, they really did.

And now the craving calls for Netflix and Prime Video and we love our stories.

But whether it's a secret love of soap operas

or the one that reads Amish love stories that fill up too big a part of too many church libraries,

everybody loves a good story.

And more than almost any story, I love front porch stories from old wise men

who talk about the way it used to be, I guess.

I thank God for those lessons along the way.

But I will tell you that the greatest stories are those that are shared by the Lord Jesus.

He is the master teacher.

And he taught in a variety of ways.

And one of the ways that he taught was to throw in little stories along the way.

They're called parables.

That term is used 48 times in the New Testament in reference to the stories that Jesus told.

That word parable literally means to be thrown aside or to be placed alongside.

And that's exactly what he did.

As he shared biblical truths, scriptural truths with folks,

he would tell them a story that would meet them right where they were.

For instance, this morning we're going to look at an agrarian story.

It was an agrarian society in which he lived in.

There were a lot of farmers that he dealt with.

And therefore he related to them just the way they understood it.

I'm thankful that we serve a God that meets us where we are,

speaks to us in a way that we can understand.

We just have to respond in obedience.

So for most of the several upcoming weeks,

when I say most, I know that Father's Day is coming up.

And I bless ladies on Mother's Day.

And I beat up men on Father's Day.

That's what you're supposed to do, I think.

And then I believe that we have an independence in this country

that we ought to thank God for and we ought to do something to protect.

And so we'll take some time to talk about what our role is as Christians

in the America in which we live.

But besides those matters, we'll spend a lot of this summer

talking about the parables of Jesus out of the gospel of Luke.

There are no parables in the gospel of John.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic gospels.

Easy for me to say.

Meaning that they share a lot of the same stories along the way.

And nobody retells these stories with more color or detail than Luke.

A physician by trade, he gets to the nitty-gritty details on matters and shares with us.

And we begin with a very popular parable, one you're probably familiar with.

But I picked this one in the midst of the other stories because in the midst of this story

and in the explanation of the story,

Jesus shares why he uses parables.

Why do we even need to study them to start with?

Why was he using them?

So I want to begin by us seeing the story.

And then here in this passage, he gives us the explanation for the story

and then tells us why he'd use the stories anyway.

Pretty unique passage.

Luke chapter 8, beginning in verse 4, it says this.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him,

he said in a parable, a sower went out to sow his seed.

And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot,

and the birds of the air devoured it.

And some fell on the rock and it grew up and withered away because it had no moisture.

And some fell among thorns and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

And some fell into good seed and grew and yielded a hundredfold.

And as he said these things, he called out,

he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus, it is my prayer today that you will give us the spiritual ears we need

to hear what you would have to say to us.

Lord, we know that the soil of our souls are different.

Some days, different than others.

But your seed is the same.

So God, as you give us the seed of your word today,

help us, Lord, to be receptive, to be obedient,

to allow you to speak to our hearts and lives.

I particularly am burdened this morning for one who may be here,

who's never acknowledged you as personal Lord and Savior.

May today be the day of salvation, O Lord.

In Jesus' name, amen.

A good question for us to focus on when we look at this passage is,

is the emphasis on the sower, because it's often called the parable of the sower,

is the emphasis on the one slinging the seed,

or is it on the seed, or is it on the soil?

And it really depends on where you put your focus,

because if you want to speak of the faithfulness of the worker,

you speak of the sower.

And if you want to speak of the power of the product,

you mention the seed.

And if you want to speak of the one who receives it,

you speak of the soil,

because there's different spoils respond in different ways,

and some fail to respond to the seed in different ways.

But Jesus goes on immediately and explains the meaning of this story

when he says in verse 11,

now, the parable is this,

the seed is the word of God,

the one along the path are those who've heard,

then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts,

so that they may not believe and be saved.

And the one on the rock are those who,

when they hear the word, receive it with joy,

but they have no root,

they believe for a while,

and in time of testing fall away.

And as for what fell among the thorns,

there are those who hear,

but as they go on their way,

they're choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life,

and their fruit does not mature.

As for those in the good soil,

there are those who,

hearing the word,

hold it fast,

in an honest and good heart,

and bear fruit with patience.

Therefore, there are three important parts to this story that we ought to get.

The one is the throwing of the seed,

slinging seed.

The seed is the word of God.

It is the gospel message of Christ,

and no one will hear it or have a chance to personally respond to it

if it's not thrown out before them.

If the seed of the word of God has changed your life,

listen to me, Christian.

You have a responsibility.

We have a responsibility to throw some seed ourselves.

We don't just rely on the preacher to do it on Sunday.

We throw some seed ourselves.

I don't pick that up from this story, honestly.

I pick it up from what Jesus said in so many other places.

I pick it up in what the Apostle Paul said often.

I pick it up in what John taught us.

I pick it up in what Peter said,

and what each one of them did with such a passion.

They gave their lives for the message that changed their lives.

And so if your life has been changed by the gospel,

you gave your life to Christ.

It's no longer yours.

Sow seed with it.

Share with somebody what God has done in your life.

There's the throwing of the seed.

There's also the potential of the seed.

A farmer does not know how successful the seed will be

when he throws it on the ground.

He does not know.

There are predictors along the way,

but farmers tell me that you never know what will happen

from the time the seed is thrown to the harvest time.

You pray for the best.

For the last 15 years, I pastored a church

that was surrounded by soybean fields and sweet potato fields.

Vardaman, Mississippi, eight miles from the sweet potato capital of the world.

Self-diagnosed.

But anyway, that's what they did.

And they were taxed when I left

because fertilizer is high and it ain't raining enough

and all those things.

I was, when I was looking at this passage of scripture one time,

I text one of my farmers.

I said, is there any way you know?

You know.

He said, well, we get hints.

But there's no way we can know the success of the product

unless we put it in the ground and trust God to see what happens.

You pray for the best.

And even with their concerns, they still throw in seed.

When circumstances run them late, they start late.

They stay up late, but they still plant the seed.

And if the seed is the gospel here, which it is,

and there will be no gospel spread

unless it is thrown out by those

who God has not only commissioned

but empowered to do that,

then we need to get busy throwing it out.

W.A. Criswell pastored First Baptist Dallas for 50 years.

He's a legendary pastor.

And he's known to have preached through the whole Bible,

verse by verse, during those 50 years

when he would get up and preach.

But one Sunday he stood up

and he merely read over the proposed budget.

Now, I will tell you that the proposed budget

of First Baptist Dallas, there's nothing merely about it, okay?

But he stood up and read over the proposed budget.

He talked about the ministry

ministry that came through each line item

and how the money that went into that line item

would be used for ministry.

He talked about the missions

that were supported through that ministry.

He talked about the day-to-day responsibilities

and obligations in the facility itself.

He talked about the importance of faithful tithing,

faithful giving.

And when he came to the end,

he gave the invitation.

And a dozen people came down the aisle

and got saved.

How?

Why?

It had little to do to nothing to do

with what he said that Sunday morning.

The people in the pew had scattered seed

all week long.

One people to the Lord,

brought them to church with them

and let them come down

and be recognized publicly

for the decision they made privately

in their heart and life.

Don't ever be mistaken, folks.

What happens on Sunday during worship

has as much, if not more,

to do with what happened in our lives

during the week

than it does what happens

in this very hour.

We influence this hour

by how we respond to it

throughout the week.

However,

when we've grown in the Lord,

when we've scattered some seed

of the gospel,

when we've invited folks to be here,

when we've been prayed up

before we come

and we ask God to work

and we move in our midst,

God inhabits the praise of his people.

He honors a people

that is hungry and pursuant.

And it's not that we deserve it.

It's not that somehow we can earn it.

It's not that somehow he's required

to do something in response

to what we do.

simply God honors it.

He honors people

who are willing to stand boldly

and proclaim his message.

You say, well, preacher, you know,

I don't know that's something

y'all talk about.

I think about a college football game.

Y'all probably know something about that.

Put those outlandish stickers on your car.

You got stuff hanging out the trunk

headed down the highway.

The prep for tailgate

is quite amazing, quite honestly.

The work that goes into that.

We dress like everybody else.

Go to those ball games

and everybody matches, you know.

You go to church

and somebody has the same outfit on you,

do it, kills you.

But you go to a ball game,

everybody's got the same outfit on you.

You love it, you know.

It just fires you up that much more, you know.

Can you imagine

if God's people

got that fired up

about worshiping the Lord Jesus?

I mean, I know that's a preacher comment.

I know it is.

But I mean, think about that.

Think about how you anticipate.

You anticipate.

You anticipate

and look forward to

watching what's going to happen

in that ball game.

Watching your team succeed

and get excited about that

and do all kinds of that.

The reality is,

can you imagine

if God's people

got that fired up

about worshiping the Lord Jesus?

Brian, I'll tell you,

they'd sing different,

wouldn't they?

You know?

If you ever get a glimpse

of the power

of the seed

of the gospel,

not only will it change your lives,

but God's going to allow you

to see lives changed

right before you

as you share it faithfully.

And that brings you

not only to the potential seed,

but the response to the seed.

Because the soil represents

the different stages

of people's mind,

the different stages

of people's heart,

and the heart of those

that hear it

and how they respond to it.

There are those

that hear it

with a closed mind.

That's that seed

that falls along the path

and are trampled

or eaten by birds.

That hard soil

represents those

who hear God's word

and they choose

not to understand it.

They choose

not to respond to it.

Some people

that you share with,

you'll do it

with closed ears.

They've attended church

with a closed mind.

They are determined

not to do anything

no matter what God

says for them to do

before they ever

have a conversation,

before they ever

enter into a church building.

Their minds

are closed

to any suggestion

that they don't

want to follow.

And when our minds

are closed

to whatever,

if you've never

given your heart

and life

to the Lord Jesus Christ

or if you are

a Christian

and know beyond

a shadow of it,

I want you to hear me

this morning.

if your mind

is closed

to any suggestion

that God would have

for you today,

that anything

God would tell you today,

Satan can easily

snatch a truth

and allow you

to miss that truth

because you had

a closed mind

coming in.

And there are those

with a cloudy mind.

Some seeds

of the gospel

fall on rocky soil

and they may

shoot up quick,

but they fade

just as fast.

Maybe they get

caught up in the emotion

of it

and don't really mean it

or maybe tragedy

strikes their life.

The rug is ripped out

from under them

or maybe sin

catches up with them

and they get a thrill

and a chill

from personal change

to come

but when the worship

hour is over,

so is their

religious experience.

A lot of folks

that walk down the aisle

in the Baptist church

get baptized

but they never

get saved.

And that's why

you'll notice

that sometimes

you might see

somebody come down

the aisle,

you might see

somebody baptized,

you may never

see them again.

There's probably

people on the roll

of the church

that have hardly

darkened the doors

of the church

since they ever

joined the church.

Why is that?

Well, I'll tell you

why some,

I can't tell you

particularly each individual

but I can tell you

this,

there's some folks

on a membership

in a local

Baptist church

that are lost

without Christ.

They never truly

surrendered their life

to the Lord.

They're confused

about the circumstances,

clouded by the world

in which around them

and as soon as

Monday comes,

you know,

the trial,

that they fall apart

and fall away

because they don't

know Christ

or who they could

be in Him.

real salvation

does not roll off

you like a duck's

back.

It is not in one ear

and out the other.

Some miss it

due to a cloudy mind.

Then there's others

who miss it

because of a cluttered

mind.

They don't follow

the Lord in their life

because they've got

a cluttered mind.

The world's full

of distractions

and all those

distractions can choke

out the Word of God.

The world promises

a lot but provides

nothing that really

lasts and people

place too much value

on stuff.

stuff that will

not last

and it takes

over their lives.

Jesus said

you cannot serve

both God

and money

and it's true

about the things

you spend money

on as well

and when the mind

is cluttered

the thorns

of the soil

will snuff

the seed

of His promises.

And then sometimes

the seed

falls

on those

with a committed

mind.

That soil

is fruitful

because it

receives the seed

and lets the message

grow and take root

in their lives.

They're the human

blessings of the church

quite honestly.

They're the ones

that encourage

other people.

They're the ones

that witness

for the Lord Jesus.

They're the ones

that do the work

of the church.

They are faithful

to gather for worship.

They are faithful

to grow in the Lord.

They are faithful

to share as they go.

They are faithful

to give as God

gives them opportunity.

These are the ones

that make the church

strong.

These are the ones

that grow this church.

These are the ones

that change the world

for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Their mind is committed.

God,

whatever

your seed

you want to place

in my life today,

I'm ready to receive it.

I'm ready to respond

to what you would

have me to do.

Oh, how I thank God

for the committed minds

and hearts

and lives

in the church

of Jesus Christ.

It's kind of amazing

to me,

quite honestly,

to have lived

in this area

and then been gone

15 years

and come back

and there's a vague

acquaintance.

Some of us

knew each other.

There's a vague

acquaintance

with some others.

Some I don't know.

Some of you have come

within the last 15 years

or we vaguely saw

or you avoided me

when I was here before.

Whatever,

you know.

What's amazing to me

to see how God

is working

and moving

in the hearts

and lives

of folks

that I'm just

getting acquainted

with and knowing

and watching

that that same

spirit of God

stirred me

to be a part

of this

is the same

spirit of God

that's stirring

in the hearts

of those

who are committed.

Their minds

are set.

We're going to do

what God wants us

to do.

I don't know about you

but that's exciting

for me.

To know that I don't

understand everything

about God's plan

and I got some

questions along the way

that me and him

take up every morning

but to know

that before

the foundations

of the earth

God knew

there'd be a divine

appointment

of this time

in our lives

where people

would be joined

together

and be committed

to do a work

of the Lord

and allow him

to do whatever

he wants to do

in our midst

and to get on

that page

together

and to watch

how he's prepared

that before

I ever got here

and how he prepared

my heart

for it before

that's exciting

to me

because that's

how he plants

seeds

and the soil

takes it in

receives it

commits to it

I'm thankful

for committed lives

and hearts

and minds

in the church

of Jesus Christ.

now in the midst

of this story

and this explanation

there's an excursion

Jesus tells us

in the midst

of this story

why he uses

parables

and what their

purpose is

and it's not easy

to understand

but we need to

because he says

in verse 9 and 10

he says

and when his disciples

asked him

what this parable

meant

he said

to you

it has been

given

to know

the secrets

of the kingdom

of God

but for others

they are

in the parable

so that seeing

they may not see

and hearing

they may not

understand

now that last

phrase there

in verse 10

is from Isaiah

when the prophet

is led by God

in that awesome

worship time

in Isaiah chapter 6

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

and the message

is this

that the parables

as did

the prophetic

word

in Isaiah

serves two capacities

one is

they encourage

the believer

he mentions here

the secrets

of the kingdom

the secret

of the kingdom

is that as much

as I share

with you

what Jesus

means to me

and how he's

changed my life

you'll never

know what I'm

talking about

until you

experience it

if you jump

out of planes

where you're

nuts

number one

but if you

jump out of planes

you can try

to explain to me

what that's like

and I am not

going to get it

okay

I mean

the only way

you can really

know that

is to strap

a backpack

on your back

and jump out

of a perfectly

good plane

and hope

everything works

out on the way

down

that's either

faith or something

else

but whatever

there's no way

I can experience

that

unless I do

it

and the reality

is

living for the

Lord Jesus

and surrendering

your life

to him

and giving

your life

to Christ

is the greatest

decision that

you'll ever

make

but you'll never

realize that

until you truly

do it

you'll never be

able to grasp

it unless you

do it

and the mystery

of how God

works and moves

in lives

is hard to

explain

but it's pretty

wonderful to

experience

and those are

the secrets

are the mysteries

that word

the apostle Paul

uses the word

mystery a lot

when he talks

about the mystery

of the gospel

and literally

in that language

not in our language

but in that language

it means the same

thing as a secret

in other words

there are mysteries

or secrets

the gospel

there are matters

of our relationship

with the Lord

that you'll never

get until you

surrender your life

to follow him

and trust him

the mystery

of how God

works and moves

in our lives

it's hard to

explain

but it's pretty

wonderful to

experience

and those are

the secrets

of the mysteries

we're not

keeping them

from you

if you don't

know the Lord

you're missing

them

because you

don't have

Jesus

and these

stories

just back

all those

truths up

they help us

better understand

it

but then he

also says

here

that these

stories are

also

they're missed

by the stubborn

it's a hard

truth but it's

real

some people

ain't gonna

get it

you can scatter

all the seed

you want to

they're not

gonna get it

and a lack

of belief

can be stubborn

it can be

deliberate

and at times

it can be

unchanging

when people

hear the word

of God

they're accountable

to it

and when they

miss it

they're not

and God

in his mercy

let some

not even

get the parable

so that their

hearts would not

grow more stubborn

through their

rejection

because to whom

much is given

much is required

if you don't

understand these

stories you're not

responsible for

them

their curiosity

may be aroused

but they may

follow him

and want to know

more but they

will not fully

grasp what he's

saying through

these stories

and now that

is tough to

understand

but that's what

Christ is saying

he's saying

everybody's not

gonna get it

so what does that

mean for us

because I'll tell you

there's a tendency

there's a tendency

not among us

but among other

people

that because some

people aren't

gonna get it

and because it's

not gonna be

welcomed by

everybody

let's just not

bother sharing

it a whole lot

I mean we want

the church to

stand strong

and testify

and be known

for that

but on a

personal basis

if I'm gonna

risk a friendship

with somebody

by approaching

their spirituality

I just

soon just

just what

just what

how important

is your friendship

how much does

that matter

and how good

a friend are

you

let me tell you

something

if I ever do

get home

in Pickens

and you ride

by and there's

flames coming

out of the

windows

at two o'clock

in the morning

please don't be

bothered by waking

me up

you know

just go ahead

and knock on

the door

just go ahead

and let me

know

please

when people's

lives are in

the balance

sometimes we

have to step

out and trust

the God that

gave us the

seed is the

same God that

has put me in

this spot

to share this

truth with this

person

and I've got to

trust him for the

results

you know the

cool thing about

it is

is I'm not

responsible for

the results

I'm responsible

for the

faithfulness of

sharing the

testimony

of scattering

the seed

of throwing it

out

I can't control

the soil

man I can

sure throw

some seed

the truth of

the matter is

they'll be

missed by the

stubborn

so what does

all this mean

for us

how does this

play out

what does it

really mean

get this and

we'll close

food trucks

waiting

scatter some

seed

Christians

share your

faith

the world's

coming to an

end

and we need

to get up

off our

worshipful

premises

and get out

and share the

love of Christ

with a world

that desperately

needs Christ

don't you think

this world

needs Christ

I mean is that

not obvious

that it's dark

man a little

light will change

the whole room

really will

you got to

trust the

message

you got to

trust the

God of the

message

scatter some

seed

and then

trust the

Lord of the

harvest

trust him

the seed

will bring

forth fruit

you cannot

read the

soil

do you hear

me

you can't

read the

soil

God

honors the

process

share your

faith and

watch God

move

throw some

seed on

some hard

ground and

see what

happens

may not be

as hard as

you think

it is

and third

don't be

stubborn

don't be

stubborn

if you don't

know the

Lord Jesus

today

don't be

stubborn

listen to

what he's

saying to

you

listen to

how the

Holy Spirit

speaks to

your life

and you

come to

him today

don't let

your crusty

heart grow

harder from

hearing the

gospel and

not responding

because that's

exactly what

happens

that's what he

told us

that happened

come to

Jesus

I am

thankful

that any

time I

stand up

here and

share with

you that I

can say with

confidence

that today

is the day

of salvation

same God

scattered seed

told stories

changed people's

lives

almost 2,000

years ago

the other week

I said over

2,000 years

ago

that was

that's not

true

but almost

2,000 years

ago

the same

God

did that

the same

God that

will use

you today

and allow

you to

impact

lives

greater

than your

ability

beyond

your

perspective

beyond

what you

can imagine

I don't

know about

you

but I

don't want

to be a

part of

something

that we

can come

up with

I want

to be a

part of

something

that God

gets in

the middle

of

of people

who just

scatter seed

and trusted

for the

results

may God

touch our

heart

may we

respond

with

obedience

and may

he honor

our efforts

with every

head bowed

and every

eye closed

my burden

is always

that there's

a possibility

somebody

may be in

this place

who's never

given their

heart and

life to the

Lord Jesus

Christ

maybe

everybody

around you

thinks you

have but

the reality

is in

your heart

you never

have I

encourage you

to come

right now

come and

let God

change your

life we'd

love to

guide you

in that

process I

promise you

we got

time I

promise you

we'll take

the time

maybe you're

here this

morning and

you know

you're a

Christian but

the reality

is man

your seeds

in your

pocket

you're

scattering

anything

possibly not

even being

much of a

blessing to

folks around

you they

wouldn't want

to listen to

you anyway

maybe today's

the day of

renewal

Lord will you

change me will

you change my

heart will you

give me

opportunity

God as you

give me

opportunity will

you give me

the boldness

and the words

to walk through

those doors

of opportunity

God I'm

thankful that

I'm not

responsible for

what happens

without I'm

just responsible

for what I

do with it

so help me to

be faithful

maybe God's

drawing you

to be a part

of Pickens

First what a

blessing that

would be for

you to join

us in the

journey you

ain't perfect

neither are we

we're gonna do

it together until

Jesus comes and

so I encourage

you to just

simply obey God

and follow his

lead maybe you're

made a private

decision for God

but you've never

made it public

baptism the lack

of baptism in a

believer's life

is a hindrance

in their walk

with God

and it's also

a powerful

testimony that

changes other

people's lives

if you've never

been baptized as

a believer

then you come

let's work that

out we'll plan

for that together

Lord Jesus I

don't know what

you're speaking to

our hearts and

lives but I know

you're speaking

mine and so

God I ask this

morning Father that

you will work and

move in our midst

that we'll just

simply obey you

and trust you with

the results dear God

lead us right now I

pray in Jesus

precious name

amen