Having a Hundredfold Heart — Sermon by the Very Rev. Dr. Craig Stephans

Let us pray.

God, we thank you for the presence of

your Holy Spirit with us. Come, Holy

Spirit, fill us, confirm to us this day

that we are your sons and daughters and

inspire our prayers and give us life, O

Lord, we ask through Jesus Christ our

Lord. Amen.

>> Amen.

>> Please be seated.

Our

scriptures today of Isaiah 55 and Romans

8 and Matthew 13 are full of life and

the good news of Christ. And upon

returning from a week at Lamb Institute

in Honduras, I feel like my heart and

soul are full of life, full of the good

news of gospel because of the time that

we spent as a team together and also in

the midst of such a godly place and

people as Lamb Institute and I am full

and overflowing after this trip and in

fact that was one of our prayers during

the trip is that God would just keep

pouring into us that he wouldn't stop

that we would overflow.

with his love and with his presence. And

we appreciate all of your prayers for us

while we were in Honduras. God, I think,

answered every one of them. We were

healthy. We were energized. It was a

extraordinary experience of definitely

being blessed and I think of being a

blessing. And this trip I worked in the

garden some. The last year's trip some

of us were down at the bottom of the

hill working on a wall which was

beautiful to see how they completed it.

But this year I went to the top of the

mountain to the garden and discovered a

nice cool breeze and a wonderful view

that I had missed out on last year. And

we spent a few days up there gardening

in this wonderful garden that they have.

while meditating on this gospel passage

of the seed and the the sewer and the

seeds. I feel like God gave me insights

from the work that we were doing and

what we saw there. And so we'll share

some of that as we go through this

gospel passage. One of the insights that

seems pretty obvious that God really

impressed upon me as I meditated on this

passage this time is how this is a

passage that I'd so often read about the

seed in my own heart. And it's up to me.

It's about me and my relationship with

God and what I do. And it is about that,

but it's so much also about our life

together and how we together receive and

protect and nurture the seeds that are

planted in our own hearts and in all of

our hearts together. And that was really

something that we experienced and I

experienced this past week as our team

of 11 people gathered each morning for

morning prayer at Kasa Lamb where we

were staying. We had times of prayer in

the morning in addition to the morning

prayer liturgy where we prayed for all

of you, for our families, for our work.

And we always started 45 minutes before

whatever time we were having breakfast

that day. So we started anywhere from

6:15 to 6:45. And I always tried to get

down there early, enjoy the cool breeze

there on the on the patio in the back

and spend time alone with God. And I

always woke up early thinking, I'm gonna

beat everyone down there. And I never

did. There was always one of our team

who was there praying, reading the

scriptures, reflecting, meditating on

what God was saying. And it was a

delight and always, you know, a little

challenge, too. But it it revealed to me

like that's the way that we receive and

nurture God's word. We spend time on our

own with the Lord and we spend time

together with the Lord and with his word

and in prayer and encouraging one

another and being encouraged.

Something else that really struck me

about our life together and how God has

brought us together in a family of faith

for his purposes is a question that was

given to Caris Warner who was with us

last year and this year by Lety who is

the daughter of the founder of Lamb

Institute. She's the daughter of Susie

McCall. Letty's about 31 and she is at

the house with us. She goes to all of

the activities with us. She gets to know

us very well. And this week she asked

Caris about her grandma and where was

her grandma and why wasn't her

grandmother on the trip this year. And

Cara said, "Well, who are you talking

about?" Cuz her grandma didn't come last

year. And Letty, who knows us so well

now, had seen the relationship between

Caris and Claudia and just assumed that

because they were so close, Claudia was

her grandmother. And for those of you

who don't know, Claudia Thomas went with

us last year in his Caris's

grandmother's age and was is just so

caring and wonderful. And so it was

perceived that they were grandmother and

granddaughter. And this year that

happened as Peter and Sebastian were

working up in the garden. The man Ariel

who stays there is Honduran who works in

the garden asked Peter about his son.

And at that time it was, "Where is your

son?

because he had disappeared from sight

just for a minute. He was safe. But he

had seen Sebastian and Peter working

together and talking together and

thought they were father and son. And I

thought, man, that is such a wonderful

image of God working among us. And it

wasn't just in our team, but it's also

between us and the children and the

youth and the adults who work at Lamb.

God just brings us together in such love

and care as he builds his family of

faith in his kingdom. And so the parable

about the sewer and the seed, it's not

just about us and the seed as

individuals. It's about us as the body

of Christ and the family of faith coming

together. In this parable, Jesus tells

the he tells us that in the parable and

the other parables, he is revealing to

us the secrets of the king kingdom of

heaven hidden from the foundations of

the world. In verse 10 of Matthew 13,

when his disciples come to him after he

told the parable, he says, "To you it

has been given to know the secrets of

the kingdom of heaven.

What has been hidden from the foundation

of the world?" He elaborates later. So

this parable, it is wonderful. It's

remarkable. It is the secrets of the

kingdom of heaven. It is the unfolding

of the mystery of God hidden from the

foundations of the world today made

known to us through Christ and his word.

And we enter into that.

As Jesus began this parable, he

emphasizes the seed is the word of God

that produces fruit, the fruit of the

spirit and the word of God given giving

wisdom and other attributes. This week

at Lamb, we were able to visit two

schools. One called Joy Academy, which

is the day school near the large home

that is in the rural area in the hills.

We also were able to visit the school

while the kids were in school in a place

called Florida Campo which is an urban

in inner city area where they have 300

students that come to school and we're

able to participate in devotionals at

both places which was an extraordinary

experience to see God working among

these children and through their

teachers and leaders. Both of those

emphasize the seed of God and the

results of God's seed being his word.

One the the leader talked about how we

can put the seed of God's word in our

heart and it will produce the fruit of

the spirit or we can put other things in

our heart that will produce other

destructive things. At the other

devotional they emphasize how the word

of God brings about wisdom. The

beginning the growth of wisdom. Both of

them in congruence with Jesus's parable

emphasize the word of God being the seed

that we need to put in our hearts. But

Jesus shows some of the obstacles to

that. The first one he says when anyone

hears the word of God and does not

understand it, the evil one comes and

snatches away what has been sown in his

heart. This is one of the secrets of the

kingdom of heaven. We have an enemy. The

spiritual forces of evil, the devil and

all of his demons that come against us

to steal God's word to prevent its

fruit, to prevent us experiencing the

life of Christ individually and

together.

There is an evil one. During our time in

Honduras, each day in the evening, we

studied Ephesians, a chapter each

evening, and concluding that with

chapter 16 and Paul's teaching about the

spiritual force of evil whom we should

be wrestling and battling and standing

firm against with the whole armor of God

on

because he comes. He comes to steal the

seed of God's word and prevent its

fruitfulness. This is what he's been

doing from the beginning. In Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, the serpent comes, Satan, and

he says to Eve, "Did God actually say,

etc., etc." And immediately he comes to

undermine and to steal the word that God

had said to Adam and Eve. He did the

same thing to Jesus when Jesus following

his baptism went into the wilderness

where he was tempted by Satan. And Satan

tempted him by trying to steal the word

that God had just spoken at his baptism.

You are my son whom I love. With you I'm

well pleased. Immediately Satan comes

and says, "If you're the son of God,

then do this." God's word says, "If you

cast yourself down, his angels will take

you up."

Is that really true? Test and see if it

is. He tries to undermine and steal the

word. And he does the same thing today.

trying to take our reliance, our trust,

our faith in God's word away so that we

fall for any of his lies and deceptions.

Our response is instructed for us in

Isaiah's reading Isaiah 55 beginning in

verse 6. God says through the prophet,

"Seek the Lord while he may be found.

Call upon him while he is near. Let the

wicked forsake his way and the

unrighteous man his thoughts. let him

return to the Lord that he may have

compassion on him and to our God for he

will abundantly pardon. And that is such

good news. When we turn to God, he's not

angry. He doesn't punish us. He has

compassion and he pardons us. No matter

how far we've gone, no matter how long

we have strayed, when we return and we

seek him, he has compassion and pardon

for us. And he says to us to confirm

even in Isaiah the power of his word. He

says, "For my thoughts are not your

thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways,

declares the Lord. For as the heavens

are higher than the earth, so are my

ways higher than your ways, and my

thoughts and your thoughts. For as the

rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return, but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout, giving

seed to the swer and bread to the eater.

So shall my word that goes out from my

mouth, it shall not return to me empty,

but shall accomplish that which I

purpose and shall succeed in the thing

for which I sent it. So important for

God's word to take root in our heart

that it might accomplish God's purpose

for speaking it and bring it to life in

us that it would bear fruit and produce

a harvest. And that's why the devil

wants to steal it away. Wants us to

ignore it, to be too busy, too

distracted to focus on God's word, to

believe his lies.

The value of studying the Bible

individually and together is manifest

among us when we do it, when we protect

and nurture that seed.

Paul or Jesus goes on to give another

thing that can happen to the word. He

says that as for what was sewn on rocky

ground, this is the one who hears the

word and immediately receives it with

joy, yet 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. We must till our hearts and

put the seed deep in our heart and soul

so that it will take root and bring

life.

Because what we know is that Jesus has

promised that tribulation that trouble

sometimes persecution will come in this

world and if our the word of God does

not have root in our heart when that

tribulation or persecution comes we will

soon doubt God's word and think that we

have to go another way we'll lose our

trust in God and think that we have to

trust in ourselves that we have to take

control that we have to

plate people and subordinate ourselves

to what other people and the world want

and that causes the word to blow away

from our lives and bear no fruit. Paul

writes in our passage from Romans in

Romans 8:6 he says to set the mind on

Romans 8:6

the flesh is death but to set the mind

on the spirit is life and peace. When we

set our mind on the spirit, we

experience the life and peace of God.

And that life and peace of God assures

us that we are his, that his word is

true. But if we go along according to

the sinful nature, according to our own

desires and indulgences,

we won't know the life and peace of God,

and we'll doubt his word. We'll doubt

his presence. But when we believe God's

word and we believe that we are who God

says we are, we won't give up that

truth. We won't give up our relationship

with God. No matter what comes against

us, we will have built our life on his

word. And no matter what storms come

against us, that house will stand.

Paul says further in Romans chapter 8

Romans 8 · chapter mention

that God's spirit dwells in us and gives

us life. He says, "You have received the

spirit of adoption as sons by whom we

cry, aba, father." The spirit himself

bears witness with our spirit that we

are children of God. And if children,

then heirs, heirs of God and fellows

with Christ, provided we suffer with him

in order that we may also be glorified

with him. As we set our minds on the

Lord, as we submit ourselves to his word

and study it on our own and with each

other, God's spirit makes known to us

and confirms to us that we are his

children and he inspires our prayers to

God. Aba, father, it is an assurance of

our relationship with the Lord as his

beloved children. And it's not something

that we will let go of because we'll

know who we are in Christ. But if we

don't submit ourselves to his spirit,

studying his word alone and with each

other, we won't come to that assurance

of who we are. And we'll be blown to and

fro by whatever tribulations, whatever

pressure comes against us in this world.

when we were at the Lamb School in

Florida, Campo, which is this urban

setting. They have this pretty cool

building with a it's a soccer court, but

it's like a basketball court. And it's

open air with a fence around it up like

on the third floor. And that's where 305

students gathered for their devotional.

And as we were sitting there

participating with them and we felt the

cool breeze come in that open air place

and I saw the leaves of the palm trees

blowing in the wind. You know it came to

my mind that we can't see the wind just

like Jesus says in John chapter 3. But

John 3 · chapter mention

even then and there I could feel it. I

could see its effects. And God says you

don't see me but look around at these

students. Look at the adults who care

for them.

You see my impact. You see the effect of

my spirit among these children. And we

certainly did. We saw it in the light of

their eyes and the joy of their heart

and their laughter. We saw it in the

care of the adults who cared for them

like spiritual mothers and fathers. And

we experienced it in their welcome of

us, their hospitality of us. These

children who reached out to us in love

and blessings. It was the effect of

God's spirit to such an extent that we

know it that no one can tell us that God

isn't moving among his people because he

is. He's transforming lives.

The third thing that can happen to the

seed of God's word, Jesus says in verse

22, "As for that which 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."

This is something that happens among

those who receive the word, those who

believe, but they don't practice the

disciplines that are required to nurture

that word so that it grows and produces

fruit. And this can happen to any of us.

When we were there working in the

garden, one of the things that we did

was take the hoe and clear out a bunch

of weeds and bristles and things like

that from some of the areas around the

some yuca plants and cilantro plants.

And I'll be honest with you, that's not

something I normally do. And it is hard.

I've got a blister here. my back sore

from being out there working because it

takes work to keep those thorns and

thistles away from the plants that

produce fruit. And we can sometimes be

deceived into thinking, well,

everything's by grace. I believe, so I

am good. And then we become slack or we

neglect spiritual disciplines of reading

the word, of allowing God to rebuke us

and convict us and challenge us through

his word, his spirit, and other people.

And those thorns will grow up and before

we know it, we are producing no fruit in

our lives. And that word becomes

oppressed by that which is around it.

One of the other things that I did was

lifted a bucket of cement from one of

the Hondurans to another guy up on the

scaffolding. And you know, I'm thinking,

okay, this is good exercise. And you

know, if you ever go to Lamb with us,

you don't have to worry about not being

able to exercise because you will do

exercise. So I'm lifting this thing and

I think, man, this is I can do this. And

meanwhile, one of the Hondurans is

mixing the cement on the ground. So he's

constantly pouring water in it, taking a

shovel and mixing it, then putting in a

bucket. Then the guy is building a a a

bathroom. And so the guy mixing the

cement has to go and confer with the guy

making the walls. And he gives me the

shovel. And I'm like, "Yeah, I can I can

do this." You know, I lift weights. I

work out. He'd been doing it for hours.

I did it for like 2 minutes before I was

like, "Oh my gosh, I can't keep doing

this." You know, you got to pour the

water and then you mix it so that it

stays soft and doesn't harden. And it is

hard work. And the same is true for our

hearts. It's not easy in this world to

keep our hearts soft and nurtured and

not hardened. Takes hard work. By the

grace of God, he strengthens us so that

we can do it. He places us in the body

of Christ so we can do it together. But

it doesn't happen on its own. In fact,

this is the nature of all three of these

negative outcomes of the seed is they

all happen because the person who

receives a seed is passive. The devil

comes and steals it. The wind of

tribulation and persecution blows it

away or the sun scorches it or the

thorns grow up while it's just waiting

and choke it. We have to be active and

disciplined in our work. Paul writes in

Romans 8:12, he says, "So then, brothers

Romans 8:12

and sisters, we are debtors, not to the

flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh,

you will die. But if by the spirit you

put to death the misdeeds of the body,

you will live." For all who are led by

the spirit are sons of God. We have to

make the decision, the commitment to be

led by the Holy Spirit into those things

that bring life and also to cut off and

cut out of our lives those things that

bring death, that bring destruction,

that just bring apathy, that oppress the

word of God and his spirit in our lives.

And we have to make the commitment not

to be distracted by the cares of the

world to see things according to the

kingdom of heaven in which we bel live

and to which we belong rather than

according to this world.

And finally, the seed that falls in the

good soil or the good heart is the one

who hears the word and understands it.

He indeed bears fruit and yields in one

case 100, another 60, and another

30fold. It is the fruitful heart that

has been developed and nurtured. And

this was certainly something that was

encouraging when we showed up at Lamb

where we had worked last year. And one

of the areas was just this rocky ground,

this area of ground near the chicken

coupe where part of our team spent a day

last year clearing out rocks, tilling

the soil. And today there are plantain

and banana types of plants that are over

six feet tall there.

It's taken a lot of work from then and

between then and now by other teams. It

took nurture and work, but it has

produced fruit. And that was one of the

first things I heard when we got to the

top of the mountain where the larger

garden is is those who had worked that

ground last year said, "Look, that's the

area where we cleared last year and look

at the plants that have grown, the corn,

and the other things." It was a

wonderful confirmation that as we apply

ourselves to God's word and do the work

he's called us to do, he will make the

fruit grow

happens in the midst of us all.

One of the the other neat experiences we

had was they had just planted a bunch of

corn and the corn stocks were just like

a foot or two tall and we went around

putting fertilizer on each of the

stocks. We were in pairs of two or

three. I had a little boy named Marcus

where I dig a little hole. He'd pull

pour the fertilizer in. Peter and

Sebastian did it. Caris and Caitlyn did

it with a young man named Darwin and

Masiel who is with us with the Honduran

who works there, Ariel. And to me, it it

was such an example of how we grow and

nurture our hearts together. One of us

digging a little, one of us putting

fertilizer in, someone else will come

along and water, others will come along

and weed, and those corn stalks will

grow. And we can be assured that the

same will happen in our heart

as we practice the presence of God and

practice also the presence of people.

Attuning ourselves to God, what he's

saying, what he's doing both in our

lives and together, but also attune

ourselves to those around us. not just

passing by but really being in the

presence of each other that we might be

known and that we might know each other

and confirm and encourage one another.

The early saint Aronyaeus who was in the

second century a bishop he wrote a book

called against heresies as a response to

some of the gnostic teachings that

devalued human life and the things of

the world. And it's in that book that we

get the famous phrase the glory of God

is a human fully alive. When our hearts

are nurtured and we continue to nurture

them individually and together, we

become people who are fully alive for

the glory of God, for the sake of Christ

and his work among us and in those

around us. And there's this wonderful

promise in Romans 8:1. If the spirit of

Romans 8:1

him who raised Jesus from the dead

dwells in you, he who raised Christ from

the dead will also give life to your

mortal bodies through the spirit who

dwells in you.

life. Life as God has it. Life as Jesus

demonstrated it, given to you now and

for eternity.

So I want to leave you with what I think

is the one message if you were to sum up

the message of scripture into one word

and it is prevalent in the passage from

Isaiah chapter 55.

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

When you listen, you'll hear it. Come

everyone who thirsts. Come to the

waters. And he who has no money, come

buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk

without money and without price. Why do

you spend your money for that which is

not bread and your labor for that which

does not satisfy? Listen diligently to

me and eat what is good and delight

yourself in rich food. Incline your ear

and come to me here that your soul may

live.

Don't waste your time with the things of

this world, but come

come to the Lord. Hear his word and come

that your soul may live today and

forever.

So let us close

in prayer coming to the Lord and

inviting him to come into our hearts.

And if you have not ever come to the

Lord with your whole heart, if you have

not invited the Lord to come into your

whole heart, now is a time to say to the

Lord, I come. And to invite the Lord,

come to me. So let's pray.

If you've never done that before, I

invite you to just say a prayer like

this. Jesus, I come to you.

I believe that you are Lord and Savior.

Jesus, come to me today.

Show me your compassion.

Pardon and forgive my sins

and fill me with your Holy Spirit

and give me eternal life.

Come, Holy Spirit, to all of us. Fill us

with your presence. bring us before your

throne as your people and help us to

live the life you have for us bearing

fruit. God, we ask for a hundfold

harvest

for us as individuals and for us as a

people of God. All for your glory and

the sake of all of those for whom Christ

died. Amen.